In the Counting House Adding Up August 2014

Queenly me has put on my crown and headed out to the counting house to wrap up August playing in Julie Kirk’s My Month in Numbers game. 

In the spirit of welcoming a laid-back final month of summer, I decided to count less and play more this month.  So rather than doing my favored abecedarium of counting, at the start of the month I decided to limit myself to 6 categories – choosing a category for each letter in the word AUGUST.  So, in thinking of things that would be summery and fun, I started my month counting:

is for artist dates:  4.  Ala Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way mandate to take yourself out on a weekly fill-your-creative-well outing, I headed out for inspiration and fun.  I think my favorite was the Figment Festival which was held in a local park.  I managed not to take any photos (!) but Figment is one of those fabulous events celebrated by lots of communities in the U.S.  Here’s a little video clip which gives a perfect sense of what it’s all about.  In our local event there were costumes and music, bubbles and all manner of fabulousness, included chalked sidewalks for blocks leading the way to the park.  I think my favorite interaction was with a poet, who had a box of blended essential oil scents.  You gave her three words, and she’d pick a bottle from her stash.  And then you sniffed the aroma while she recited one of her made-up-on-the-spot poems.   Loved, loved, loved it.

is for umbrellas:  and there were 18 rainy days this month.  When I chose this category (and trust me, choosing something U-related isn’t all that easy, and I had to start the month thinking of two such categories!) I decided it would be fun to count rainy days.  I was secretly hoping for a stormy day which I could declare a summer snow day and cozy up and get cracking on the dozens, nay millions, of books awaiting my eyeballs.  Turns out we had one of the rainiest months in ages – and when it wasn’t raining the humidity was high enough to support an Amazon rainforest.  My garden became an overgrown jungle, but alas I made very little progress on my reading.  Now, to be clear, we didn’t have 18 days of solid all-day rain, but it did rain, sometimes hard and sometimes sprinkling on 18 separate days.  Here’s a peek at my favorite rain jacket.  This is my favorite photo of the month because it was one of those accidental things which I always find delightful.

I was actually trying to take a photo of my sweet cat Jupiter who was so happy to see me he rolled over.  I grabbed my mini iPad to take a quick shot and managed to capture me and not him.  Alas by the time I realized it he sauntered off with a mocking smile, so I didn’t manage to document his aberrant behavior.  But here’s a shot of his handsomeness from a different time.

is for glasses of iced tea consumed:  53.  This was actually an alternate category because I was hoping to be able to report how many goldfinches I spotted during the month.  But I also knew when I selected that category the count might not happen.  Usually at the end of summer and in the early days of fall our neighbor across the alley attracts quite a few of these delightful little birds thanks to their mini field of sunflowers.  I get to be entertained by their antics as I sit at my studio table on the second floor which overlooks their yard.  But for some unknown reason the neighbors didn’t grow so many sunflowers this year and the goldfinches haven’t yet appeared.  So I was forced to resort to my alternate category.  But here’s a peek at my favorite cherry goblet.  It actually looks prettier to have it filled with pink lemonade but this has been my summer of iced tea.

is for Uppercase magazines read: 3.  The arrival of Uppercase in my mailbox every season is a delight.  Earlier this year they had a sale on back issues and I stocked up on several of them and then got behind in reading them.  But magazines and summer just go together don’t they and I had an enjoyable few hours working my way through these.

is for sent mail:  10 packages and 83 letters/postcards.  I’ve happily been continuing my practice of sending out love letters.  I think it should be our preferred way of communicating, don’t you?

is for tomatoes:  26 “regular” and countless cherry-sized.  Oh the bounty of having a brother with a green thumb and a generous heart!  Nothing says summer more deliciously than garden-fresh tomatoes, and we’ve celebrated August with our fair share. 

And there you have it – my month in numbers.  I’m handing over the counting tools to you – what numbers has August brought to you?  How have you celebrated the month?  And how are you closing it out?  Do tell – you know I love to hear.