July 1 and the word is SMOOTH

It feels (as it does every year) that summer is whizzing by. There are so many things M. and I want to do while the weather is warm; and there are other things I want to do while the weather is warm.

There is great theater around here during the summer. We're planning to see The Foreigner at New Century Theater; Hamlet and then Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead at Hampshire Shakespeare Company; and Midsummer Night's Dream and Cymbeline at Shakespeare and Company in Lenox.

We want to invite some friends for dinner and also to have a big party, or maybe two. We have a beautiful yard with a pond and patios and decks that we love to share. It's a great place to mingle or just sit peacefully. The pond has about 19 fish (it's hard to count them, they don't stay still for long) and I saw a turtle a couple of days ago. There are lots of frogs, too.

I want to take a trip to the Berkshires (in addition to Lenox) to the Clark Art Institute and MassMoCA. I have a gift certificate to the latter.

During June, I took a Spanish class at the International Language Institute. Even though I've taken Spanish before, I signed up for the beginner's class. My Spanish is very rusty and I didn't want to feel overwhelmed in a more advanced class. The other people in my class (there were 4 others) also had some Spanish, so we were pretty much even. The teacher was great. She may be one of the best teachers I have ever had EVER. She was very young, but experienced and, obviously, very talented.

As someone who has taught a variety of subjects (including cataloging and exercise), I know that the first few times can be rough, no matter how well you are prepared. Smooth is the best way to describe her. She transitioned smoothly from one topic to another. She introduced new topics smoothly. On the rare occasion she did not know a word, she smoothly looked it up on her laptop. She was fun and friendly and the class was fun and friendly. We talked a lot (the whole point of learning a new language) and she was very fun and friendly  - and yes smooth - as she corrected our pronunciation or verb endings.

Because of so many other things going on during July and August, I am not going to register for Spanish, but I am looking forward to another class in the fall. While I'm looking forward to taking Spanish again, I hope fall does not come soon.