Best days for going topless.

Pam's car was hit over the weekend. It was parked in front of the house and a neighbor, backing out, didn't see it. As her hubby works for Sears in Hoffman Estates and she works for Wheaton College, he needs a car more than she does to get to work. But she does need to get to work. Time to ask a favor.

"Oh sure, I'll come get you at lunch," was my response. How can I say, "No" when we are rather flexible about hours? Just get your work done and you get paid for 40 hours. And besides, Pam has fed my cats for at least 9 years. For that reason alone, I can take an hour at lunch to go get her and take her home for her dog.

Kacey has arthritis and needs medication. They have just started a new drug which has to be given 4 times a day which means Pam needs to go home at lunch. We swung by Wendy's for a quick lunch for ourselves and then to Pam's for Kacey.

The top is down. It has been down for over a week although there is a rumor of rain this afternoon and tomorrow. The weather has been beautiful. It was easy to pick up the girls last Thursday because I could put them into the back of the Jeep and buckle in the carriers without having to climb in. Ever been in the back seat of a Jeep Wrangler? A mailbox has more room.

It's been in the 70's during the day with upper 50's to low 60's at night. Other than needing a light shirt on some mornings, it's shirt-sleeves and blue sky and sunshine. I didn't go anywhere over the weekend because I was bonding so the Jeep sat topless, except for 3:30 a.m. on Sunday morning when a rainstorm rolled through. I thought about just letting the inside get wet. It's a Jeep, after all, but when the rain seemed to intensify after 10 minutes, I decided I'd get out of bed and just put up the top, not latch it. Once it dried, the next day, I put it back down.

On these kinds of days, I have to leave the house a wee bit early as the dew settles all over the interior. I have to wipe down where I'm going to sit. The inside of the windshield gets dew covered as does the rear view mirror. There's always a dishtowel with me on these kinds of days.

Pam laughed when she climbed into the Jeep. She had sort of forgotten that it's up rather than over to get in. I'm the same height as the seat so it's just a slide over for me. I always joke that a topless ride will mess up your hair. On the way back to the office, I had to plop on my visor which then gives me that "ring" around my hair.

Yet, I wished that I didn't have to go back to the confines of the box, the office, the phone, the desk. Would that I could just drive. I have no idea where I'd end up but I would have driven around for a couple hours, just drove. Fall is coming. I can smell it in the air. It may be an old Jeep, but days like this are balm for my weary soul.

Beverage: Mr. Pibb

Deb

Only a couple more hours

and the sun will be up. The above photo was taken in 2007 in Columbus, Indiana where I was attending a Highland Games for my clan.

It's just after 2 a.m. and I'm finally feeling tired enough to sleep. I didn't get up until 8:30 but I've been going all day without feeling tired enough to take the body to sleep. I don't have to go anywhere when I finally do get up except the cats will want me to feed them in roughly 4 hours.

I love sunrises and sunsets. I knew this guy from Florida, Bradenton, to be exact. As part of the pseudo-romantic talk some guys indulge in, he promised that "some day", we'd start our morning with croissants, juice and strawberries on the beach watching the sun come up and then drive across the state to have hamburgers, french fries and beer while watching the sun set. Nope, never happened.

My dad was an early riser. He would wake me up in the summer to go for walks into the fields. I remember following him as he plowed through the alfalfa drenched with morning dew. Spittle bugs made their homes in the alfalfa and dad would catch them and the dew, getting his pants soaked but making it sort of easy for me to walk.

Often times, we'd stumble into a deer rut, where the deer were either just leaving or had just left. The deer would come into the alfalfa field at night to sleep instead of sleeping in the woods. It would smash down the alfalfa but the stuff would spring back fairly quickly in a summer day.

What I remember most is the intense musky smell of deer. That is definately an animal smell which could be compounded by dew-laden grass. If we had a ground fog, that would trap the smell. It's not like anything I can describe for you. You know it if you've smelled it.

So what am I doing up blogging at now 2:20 a.m. I don't really know other than I wasn't tired earlier. I miss having someone to wake up with and go to watch the sun rise or set. It's quiet outside tonight and I know I will sleep soundly. I also know, there are days when I'd give my eye teeth to have someone poke me and whisper, "Come on. The sun isn't going to wait for you to get there to watch."

Beverage: Coca-Cola

Deb