it ain't no picnic, people

don't you love those days
that start out good
and end up completely spectacular?
(this, other than a quick crop, is straight out of the camera, folks...those are the honest-to-goodness colors of my day today.)
happy, happy sigh...

we don't plan these shots.
the universe does.

Purple bells.

I'm just saying...

Actually, as you read this, dear blog-surfers, I am trapped in a business meeting, far far away from home... Well, okay. Four hours away from home, but it might as well be far far away. Undoubtedly the sun is shining. Undoubtedly the sky is clear and blue and the world is filled with joy and bird song and all that. I won't know. I will, undoubtedly, be locked in a windowless room with a group of people who are just as thrilled to be deprived of the pleasures of the outside world as I am ... I will be buried beneath stacks of reports printed in a font so small that the only twenty year olds can make it out. (Note of a pet peeve -- if they want experienced management, you would think they would consider printing the reports in a font size that the average 40+ year old can read without suffering eye strain.) I will be dressed uncomfortably in business attire, trying to discreetly slip my feet in and out of the high heels that feel great, but only for about the first hour and a half. I will, at some point in the middle of the day, once the coffee buzz and excess of carbon dioxide has reached a level that could be categorized as critical, then get to have a lunch conveniently delivered to the meeting room -- a lunch that will, undoubtedly, consist of some kind of deli sandwich that bears at least one piece of produce that has gone over to the dark side. There will be a cookie that I will try to resist, and will eat anyway, and will instantly regret. There will not be fresh fruit. After lunch there will not be a nap, although, we will ALL wish there was one. There WILL, however, be more stacks of reports. In an effort to rouse the room back to a state of interest, there will, undoubtedly, be a game of some kind that will, undoubtedly, involve some kind of role play. I will hope to get to play the role of the disgruntled employee. This will continue until approximately 6 p.m., when we will break for about an hour to go up to our rooms and change clothes -- undoubtedly into evening-style business attire (e.g., the same type of outfit as during the day but made up of black or white combined with a bright color as opposed to the somber-please-oh-please-don't-look-at -me colors that dominate the daytime portion of the meeting -- because, don't be fooled -- dinner is STILL a continuation of the meeting. If you think it isn't you are either new or will learn soon enough or won't last long.) Then, finally, we'll get to go back to our rooms where we will finally kick off those darn shoes, kick back onto the bed, call home for a bit of commiseration, and get to bed early, because we get to do it again tomorrow.


On the plus side, I get to have all this fun with a really great group of people. And I usually come away from these meetings a lot better off than before I went. They are seldom a wasted of time. Still. If you can think of a way to rescue us all ... please ... I'm just saying...

i was too late to meet the leprechauns,
but thumbelina offered me a drop of tea
in a daffodil cup.

Sshhhh. Busy thinking.

little pockets of sunshine
even on a cloudy day

Go Dog Go!

Note: there were actually three of them happily hanging their heads out of the back of this car, riding around town and thoroughly enjoying the day yesterday, but one seems to have been a bit camera shy.

P.S. Wouldn't Woodrow be a great name for a dog?

these cherry blossoms
don't count as part of the festival
but they make the library
an even nicer place to visit.

please try to contain your shock and surprise,
but here is another flower

once again, the process of blondification has been completed.

ANOTHER grey and rainy day, with too much work and a serious attack of the poor-pitiful-wretched-me-blah's.

The cure:
1) Go shopping. Despite the rain and dim/dark/cloudy weather, buy brand new summer sunglasses ... try on sandals and flip-flops ... browse through shorts and capris and horrible jewel-encrusted halter tops.
2) Come home, take a nice hot shower, and slather on some coconut scented Panama Jack suntan lotion. (Well, it IS moisturizing ...)
3) Cue up a little Sammy Hagar and the Wabos on the iPod, and dig out last year's beach photos.

Sigh.

This shall pass.

See the blur?
That's because this weed actually grew while I was taking its picture.

heirlooms

it reminds of the corkscrew curls
in a little girl's hair

It was still on the dark side of dawn when I left the house this morning.
It was nearly dark when I got home from work this evening.
For all I know, it was sunny at my house today.

At work, though, it SNOWED.
That can only mean one thing.
SOMEBODY is in town.

in my dreams, that top window is where
my easel sits, facing the north and east
(linda is there, too, and we're both happily slinging paint and giggling about monty python)

Yes, I could have posted more daffodils, but with that yellow going on out there, I thought, "Huh."

So. Here's some purple for you...

t i- i- i- i- i- i- i- i- me
is on my side
(yes it is)

this store sells elves

but not the kind that clean your house
(i checked)

springity-ding-ding-dong-dee-doh

IT'S SPRING!!!!!!

wait a minute
are you serious?
is today REALLY the last day of winter?

hold on now...
i'm suddenly feeling very verklempt...

the cupcakes were delicious
homemade frosting and everything.
(yes, i made them)
now i am five pounds heavier
and i just almost don't care
(they were that good)

it's an uprising

the little door opens
and a deluge of paper floods the house
(but i still get excited when i hear its squeaky call...)

Lenten Rose from a sunny day this weekend.

(Go HERE for today's photo of what I wore for St Pat's...)

i know that eventually i'll quit crowing about the weather
but it may take a little while

No sunshine here today at all.
But see the lumps on those branches?
They're leaves.

the forsythia are coming!
the forsythia are coming!

lookin' for my lost hour of sleep...

from a sunnier day last week
a complement of blue and orange
just hanging out there

Today was grey and dreary with a long list of chores on the agenda. I did laundry and cleaned house until I was worn out and ravenous, so Doug took me out for a late lunch with pancakes.

I was too hungry to pause to take their photo today. (Meaning the pancakes, that is.) But anytime I have pancakes I am reminded of the best pancakes in the world, made by our friend Don when we are up at the cabin on the lake in Ontario. And that reminded me that I had this photo back in the archives.

Oh yeah. Thinking about pancakes takes me there. So, please excuse me while I drool for a while... and while I go off and dream of clear, cool summer mornings seasoned with the smell of coffee and bacon and pancakes, the sound of loons on the lake, and nothing on the agenda but catching a few fish.

evidence of the upcoming springification of the neighborhood

it's gloomy and gray today
but at least it's not snowing

oh, children of winter, take heart
spring is just around the corner

it was the last apple.
but i let them have it.

Hello, darlin'
Where you been?
It's been a long time...

at the crossroads
stands a house of stone

did i say you could take our picture?

The Commute #9 -- Heading Home

(and trying very hard not to grumble about the weather-person, who is forecasting rain)

this is not a squirrel.
it is a fuzzy wuzzy little buddy.
(i always want to pet these things, too...)

fuzzy wuzzy little buddy...
(I always want to pet these things)

oh great. another squirrel.

closed on sunday

standing watch over the remnants of memories

Blue skies ... sunshine ... Saturday ... dear daughter in town...
It just doesn't get any better than that.

i'm pretty sure this is a good sign.

hangin' on...

What are you looking at? EVERYBODY does that sometimes...