Only real disappointment was that I forgot to ever take my camera into town, which is a shame because there were several great photo opportunities along the way. *sigh* So I have almost nothing to share but a few pictures from around the house.

But it was a lovely trip. I kind of wish I was still sitting by the pool and reading a book, or browsing through crazy litle stores. Until next time, certainly.

I’ll spare you the photos because even I couldn’t bear snapping a shot of the yuck.

It’s amazing how good veggies that were picked just a few days ago that never had to be frozen will taste in a situation like this. Ahhhh. Summer, you’re not so bad after all. I almost (but not quite) forgive you for those 100+ degree days last month.

Today I sat down and finally figured out who it was, then bought the digital single from Amazon. It’s going to be on his upcoming album Lady Killer, and if the entire album is in this style? I’m buying it, absolutely. Just listen to his voice and bask in its greatness.

Last week I had the first week of my lap swimming class, in which only two of the eight participants (including myself) showed up, and the other was a 13-year old kid. (We were also joined by someone who was signed up for the beginner class but was afraid it was too basic.) This is out of eight people total that were signed up.

Well, tonight? Beth and Megan were back from vacation, so they were there. I was there. And that was it. Including a lack of instructor.

Now, our instructor had said she wasn’t going to be there. But she’d also said there was a substitute that was supposed to teach us that week. Oops. (The guy who wasn’t signed up for our class actually did show up, but he decided to try the beginner class and afterwards said he’s going to stick with it because it’s a better fit.)

The thing is, I’m actually pretty happy about this. Since the instructor didn’t show up, they’ll have to make it up to us on one of the make-up-dates that are reserved for that very reason. And it meant that Beth, Megan, and I got to swim a little, then stop and chat, then swim some more, chat some more… Very relaxed, and super-fun because they are both adorable and a blast to be around.

All in all? A pretty great evening, in what could’ve just as easily been disaster. So, so, so very nice to see my favorite pair of running sisters! Now I’m off to e-mail Arlington County to let them know our instructor no-showed…

I knew that my friends Beth and Megan (who both signed up, yay!) wouldn’t be there last night while they’re on vacation, but I wasn’t expecting the grand total of people appearing to be a whopping… two. Including me. And the other was a 13 year old. Apparently it’s vacation season for everyone this week. Then, we got joined by a third person who had been signed up for the beginner class but it was too basic for him. (Gee, I guess he should’ve signed up for the intermediate class.) So part of the class got ursurped by our instructor trying to figure out what to do with this sudden addition.

Fortunately, about halfway through, she was able to really focus her attention elsewhere, and then I got what I’d been wanting from the class. Ended up swimming some intervals and sprints, and it totally kicked my butt. So in the end it worked out well, but about 15 minutes into class I found myself seriously wondering if I’d wasted my money this time around. But things are looking much more promising for the remaining classes, though, now that everything seems to be falling into place for the class.

I do think the funniest part of the evening, though, was the instructor telling me that she was a little boggled by the teenager being in the class, and who could she talk to about drinking cocktails and such now? I think I like her.

(Also trying out a new import-blog-posts-into-Facebook option since the built in one has been erratic and untimely as of late. We shall see…)

When I first heard about Freecycle years ago, it was fairly brilliant,  a way to offer up things that you don’t need, so that instead of throwing them away someone else will come and take them off your hands. No payments, just giving things away to someone else who wants them. Over the years I’ve given a lot away on Freecycle.

For the past few years, though, the DC-area Freecycle groups have become slightly… well, draconian. They were splintered into lots of smaller groups, which made sense. But suddenly they started demanding that people prove that they were in that small geographical focus, something I always found silly because does it really matter if I live on one side of a town line or the other if I’m going to keep things from being thrown away? This is an area with enough communities and towns all up alongside one another it’s not like I’m in Topeka signing up for things in Chicago. I had to actually fight to get onto the group where my office is; it’s easier for me to have people pick up things here, based on location and hours, than where my home is.

Today, the group for where my office is located sent out a note saying the following:

The Freecycle Network™ made a structure change from groups serving large geographic areas to local groups serving local communities several years ago. This “local focus” helps us create a close-knit, local giving community of neighbors helping neighbors that makes a real impact.

In an effort to maintain our local focus, we need to reserve membership in this group for folks who live in McLean, Vienna, Great Falls, and Merrifield.  Local charities are welcomed (and encouraged) to join. Working here isn’t enough to qualify, you *need* to live here.

If you don’t live within the community we serve, we need to ask you to unsubscribe from this Freecycle list and join the Freecycle group where you live. This will ensure that you are participating with your neighbors, and building community there. Over the next several weeks, we moderators will be doing a clean up, and in the process, might actually take care of this for you.

It’s nice to see this local group go completely opposite against this statement from Freecycle’s “About” page: “The Freecycle Network is open to all communities and to all individuals who want to participate.” In an area where the majority of people work and live in different areas, this message is loud and clear. “We don’t want you. Throw away things rather than try to give them to us.”

Well done, Freecycle. Every time I see a landfill from now on, I’ll think of you.