A Month of Fundays: Day 1 – Hot Sun and Cool Drinks on the Patio

Here’s how we’re playing this and yes, feedback is always good. I’ll tell you what fun activity I did today and encourage you all to play along; we all need a little bit of fun in our lives. Some of these things will be small and simple things while others may be bigger, all day events. I’m old, yo – so you won’t think all of them are fun; but I do and I’m the one doing them. Each day I’ll write up what I did the day before and tell you what I’m planning on doing tomorrow. I say planning, because let’s face it things rarely work out exactly according to plan – at least in my experience. Also, fun is sometimes about spontaneity; I’m leaving room for surprise fun. If you don’t want to do my fun thing, do another fun thing of your own and leave a comment telling me what that was. I’m going to try and leave you with a related song and picture each day. I would love to see pictures of your own fun activities…I’m not computer savvy enough to know if you can leave those in the comments. I know I don’t know how to do that. Feel free to leave pictures on my email or facebook page if you know those things about me. Or, leave them on your own website / blog and let me know in the comments.

Fun Day 1: I had drinks with the girls today, on the patio of Psycho Suzi’s Motor Lounge. If you’re in MN I recommend. It’s kitschy in a good way. Who else combines the Mississippi River with tiki cocktails and pickle roll-ups! And no, I don’t think you have to have an alcoholic beverage for a funday – I’m really just going for a long cold drink on a hot, hot day. Lemonade, mint juleps or sweet teas are all good options; heck a smoothie at Jamba Juice and a walk around a lake works too. The conversation with Tera and Megan is what made today fun. Yes, part of it is the fact that I feel my college education amounted to something because my tiki drinking friends include an editor and a book buyer. But also because our conversation easily flows and people watching is infinitely more fun in the humid summer sun. I feel like there should be some kernel of knowledge in each post during this month of fun days, but honestly, sometimes it’s just nice to kick back, relax and have a laugh. The thatch looking umbrellas and “waterhole” help-yourself-plastic-container-of-water (which tasted suspiciously of an over chlorinated pool) only added to the ambiance. And what was that conversation you ask? Um, I don’t remember. There was some recent book reading chatter and drunk-people-at-the-next-table discussion. We talked about a large book signing and my recent trip to the UK. There was some debate about marriage, family homes and the water levels in North Dakota. First time boyfriends and lasting relationships wound down the afternoon. You know – all very serious fluff. Huh, my month of fundays may be very boring for some of you. On the other hand, I spent the afternoon in the sun drinking something called a Psycho Zombie…and it tasted like paradise.

Picture: There are kinks to work out. I’m not used to carrying a camera with me, but the scene at the top could have easily been from the afternoon. Take a picture of the drink, cocktail umbrella, the friends or the place you choose to have your long cool beverage on a hot, hot day.

Song: You’d think something Polynesian with a good drum beat with my surroundings, but I couldn’t get Enya’s “Lazy Days” out of my head. Apparently I’m both old and quirky; you’ve probably already suspected as much.

Tomorrow: Dance Like No One is Watching