It’s Carnival Time…On The Beach!

Well, here in Southern California, Memorial Day Weekend, the official beginning to summer, is upon us. I’ve got my Beach Boys music, a couple of half-burned tiki torches, a ¾ bag of charcoal, my Dukes of Hazzard beach towel, coconut scented sun tan lotion, a bunch of meat, a cooler full of drinks and a beach ball that I just now realized has a hole in it. I know what you’re thinking…it could only be time for church.

Nope, it’s time for the ‘start of summer’ Carnival of the Mundane (or Carn-E-Vahl, if you prefer). Mundane is my middle name, so hosting the carnival just seemed like the natural thing to do. I want to thank everyone that I pestered (or begged) into writing something for this carnival as well as Postmodern Sass for allowing me to host. I’m betting she won’t do that again. OK, here we go, but before we start, I have to say that the only lobster claws here this week will be on the grill…

Silver Neurotic gets us started appropriately enough with her explanation of why August is the most mundane month of all. Hint, it has something to do with the heat, which in inland Southern California is downright miserable in August. Actually, I made that up. I have no idea what the heat feels like in August because I don’t go outside between then and Labor Day. Odat was nice enough to give up her weekly Happy Dance Friday for me so that she could participate in the Carnival too. I told her she could do the Beach Blanket Bingo, but she wisely declined. She wrote a great poem of her mundane summer memories, which I had to read yesterday and then somehow muster the excitement afterward to go to work. I can almost hear the seagulls gulling (is that what they do??).

Sam and Beckyboo's Owner writes for us about a favorite tea she recently served visitors she had with her. And what is the perfect compliment to tea (besides Splenda…that’s now $50 you owe for cross promoting your product, Splenda)? Yep, the good ole bagel. Well, Tracy's summer got off to a bit of a rocky start when she discovered her cat had eaten her bagel. It’s a lot better than my cat, which used to try and eat my hair after it had been washed. On second thought, don’t ask…I retract that statement.

Apparently, summer can be steamy in other places. This week’s carnival is no different. Mist 1 writes for us about her UPS guy’s shorts. Sadly, I will now never, ever again sign for another delivery at our office the same way. Thanks Mist! Continuing the hotter side of summer, Glamour Puss tells us about what summer reminds her of and how a little mystery is still important between the men folk and the lady folk. I couldn’t agree with her more and that’s saying something because mystery to me is usually what tie matches my shirt.

Summer is a great time to be in the sun, unless you aren’t wearing protection (I mean SPF people). That isn't a problem for Mark, who has a 55 SPF lotion. Yikes, I bet nothing gets through that! Kat could have used something like that when she got the sunburn that inspired her to write a great poem about her pain. I really think she’s the consummate pro since she chose not to rhyme itch with b - - ch. Although I guess it’s easy to be professional when you live somewhere that is cool enough to serve fries with gravy on top. Speaking of sunburns, Patti has a great way to avoid them. She would rather not to go to the beach (although she still listens to the Beach Boys -- maybe it's their car songs). I tried not going to the beach for a year, but I went into withdrawals not having sand in every one of my body’s cavities. In a sad turn of events, Lizza says that summer is coming to an end (well, just for this year, I mean) in the Philippines. Fortunately she wrote about a traditional summer drink there that helped me dry my tears...I wasn't crying. Did I just say I was crying?

Token dropped by the carnival to tell us about the pool that she and her hubby aired up and filled with water (Pool Party!!) and to say hello. After reading what Phil had to write, he would prefer that is exactly what you say to him. He doesn’t appreciate when someone walks by and asks how he is, only to not wait for his actual response. Wow, I thought that was just what people did to me. It’s too bad too, because I usually have a pretty good story to answer that question with…if only someone would listen.

Karl teaches us about the love bugs that seem to be invading where he is right now. Before reading it, I couldn’t possibly see what was wrong with floral painted VW Beetles driving around, but then I saw the picture accompanying his story. My reaction was ‘wow, I have those things in my driveway!’ Isn’t it great when people have things in common?

Well, it looks like the sun is beginning to set, so I better wrap this carnival up and get the beach fire started. I think it’s legal on the beach, but if it isn’t, I’m sure the cops will be by shortly to let us know. As Eden reminds us, ‘if you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.’

It’s probably a sure bet that I left a few people out accidentally. If I did and you’ll kindly email me with your displeasure, I will gladly include you. Too many years in the sun has made things like preparation, order, memory and organization pretty difficult for me, dude.