the occasional lol

is good for you. i swearz.

happiness is...

warm laundry, apparently. :)

10-4

i see nothing wrong here. this looks perfectly fine to me.

things the cat has tipped over tonight

1. the box
2. the box
3. the box
4. folder of paintings
5. the box lid
6. the box
7. something metal in the kitchen that i haven't checked on yet
8. laundry basket
9. the box under the original box (which was put out of reach)
10. small folding table

just another night in the science lab that is our house.

ICE cream

your basic chocolate ice cream. emphasis on ice.

about that foster dog

If you were wondering about the aforementioned foster dog, you can see photos and read updates here. Very sweet, very lovely, VERY puppy-energy girl.

treeing walker coonhound, anyone?

serenity

there was an unusually lovely dawn a week or two ago.
new motto: waking up early can be a treat! (if i say this often enough - and if more mornings are this beautiful - no doubt it will come true.)

relief

thank goodness for medicine. however briefly, it has brought an amazing respite.

robbed

finally

this is much more like it!

good point

words to live by

Ann Nixon Cooper, 106 years old, on the secret of her longevity:

I don't know how it happened, but being cheerful had a lot to do with it. I've always been a happy person, a giggling person -- a wide-mouthed person!

wow

that was FAST.

nooo, thank YOU

yes, yes, we're voting already!

Whoever invented "robocalling" has inspired us to seriously consider living off the grid.

Just saying.

friends

generally, it is not nice to give a new friend rabbit ears. luckily, this one is very good natured.

contemplating

thinking of spring

seeds to start this winter

1. columbine (pink, red & yellow, blue & white)
2. larkspur
3. bachelor's buttons
   
4. lobelia
5. sweetpea
   
6. poppy
7. daisy
   
8. petunia
9. catnip
10. alyssum (white, red)
    

aster novae angliae, by Brian Arthur

waiting

waiting somewhat anxiously to find out if our possible foster dog gets along with cats. or, possibly more accurately, if she goes bonkers when a cat is wafted by her. not that that's a foolproof indicator of how a dog will do when meeting the resident cats, but it's a start.

we were lucky that our cats were of very little interest to the daisy. and daisy was pretty lucky that they always kept their claws sheathed when batting at her rump as she passed by. i think we were all quite lucky, all around.p.s. you know that song, that you don't know what you've got till it's gone? i really thought we did, but it turns out, we didn't, not completely. big props to the daisy.  best treeing walker coonhound ever.

friendly

em*bark*ation

tonight we signed up to be fosters. *bites lip*

it will be exciting!

fill in the blank

any number will do!
i was thinking the other day that this has all been a clever trick, boosting the price past $3 per gallon so that anything less will seem like a real steal. if so, i have to say it seems to have worked!

ah, marketing.

harmonious

there's a road in California being grooved to "play" the William Tell Overture when it's driven over at 55mph. the overture may be better known as the theme for the Lone Ranger. how fun is that?

dragon whaaa?

last week, for fun, i took apart my very old and very done-for PDA. it's been irretrievably defunct for at least three years. this was its last hurrah: simple entertainment, courtesy of a couple of pairs of pliers.

it's true that after it broke the first time, i accepted a refurbished model which worked fine for another two years. it only now occurs to me that "refurbished" might be technical jargon for "whatever is laying around the shop." here's what i found inside, and it ain't exactly Intel. but gosh, it does sound exciting!

takeover

Luna has taken up regular residence in Daisy's crate. very cute.

uh oh

is this irony? we were just glad that wasn't our cart. we'd have moved it, but...
this is a prime example of why i keep telling the spouse that our new car is really just a metal box.

choices

which is it better to be? someone whose job is "statewide bear coordinator" or the actual bear?

"(Bears) spend much of their daily activity just wandering around, looking for things that are interesting."

-- Doug Updike, the statewide bear coordinator for the California Department of Fish and Game

me too, me too!

p.s.

boy, is it lonely around here without the Daisy.

we've been looking at 'available dogs' from several rescue groups, but haven't found The One just yet. we've talked about fostering, adopting, and fostering and adopting at the same time. hope we'll find our match(es) soon.

claustrophobic

spending lots of time taking lots of photos with new camera, but not allowed to upload them until i make some space on the hard drive. self-imposed rule, but still... rats.

really?

wow. not sure if i believe this was a completely natural occurrence, but it's pretty darn amazing.
click here to go to the original posting on iReport, which includes a link to the related news article.

no sign so far

yesterday & forever

this is odd. i was thinking yesterday that the hurt of losing daisy hasn't much diminished in the last two and a half weeks. then today, it seems like it was forever ago that she was here. this must mean it's time for us to write our 100 things we'll remember about her.

meantime, we are starting to think about fostering or adopting. there are just so many in need of homes.

cat humor

odd

So I'm sitting here, with the house to myself. G is off at a show, seeing a band I'm not so into. This is all fine and good. There are plenty of cats around, and since I was somehow converted from a dog person into a mostly-cat person sometime in the last ten years, this is also fine and good.

Yet the house feels awfully empty tonight. We've slowly been putting away Daisy's things, but aren't moving too quickly as that would feel worse.

Anyway, for the first time since she's been gone, I haven't heard a single noise tonight that I've initially mistaken as coming from her. Nothing that sounds like scratching at the back door, or the muffled thump of a big girl settling into her bed, or louder-than-usual crunching sounds that could be someone pilfering a tasty serving of cat food.

Truth is, this stinks. As sad as it is to keep having those automatic thoughts of "oh, it's the dog," and then remembering it can't be her, it's even more sad to not have them.

Sigh.

Sorry, cats, no offense intended. Guess I'll try pinning one of you in my lap to trim your claws. That's sure to snap me back to positive thinking.

waiting

Keeping Daisy's spot warm.
Who got a plain old A on her report card?! That's right! No fancy plus for Daisy. Good girl. :)

new camera

got a new camera and completely love it. haven't installed the software yet to upload the ~2400 photos taken in the last week, but soon, soon! also, really looking forward to taking apart the old one to see what's inside. hey, maybe photos of how photos are made... ooh!

also, sweet photos of one of our girls in particular really missing her "big little sister." very cute. really will upload soon. =^-^=

funny

ha. spouse thought i had mis-cropped this photo somehow. nope. this is just what it's like to try to take a photo of a hound.

big impression

No doubt we'll soon be able to write about Daisy without tearing up. Just not yet. We still expected to be fighting the good fight with her; we still want to be fighting that fight. It's hard to turn off that instinct, though it isn't doing us any good. She became such a big presence in our daily lives, always in the middle of whatever was going on, with that big heavy tail ready to sweep coffee tables clear or wreak havoc with low-napping cats. It will take some doing to begin to fill the emptiness and to focus on the many good memories. She was quite something, our Daisy.

sigh

In reading through Daisy's adoption papers, there were a few guesses as to her age. By our vet's estimation, she likely still had several months to go before turning three. Not that this makes things any better or worse; we're still heartbroken.

Sigh. :(

intangibles

1. curiosity
2. honesty
   
3. honor
   
4. gratitude
5. hopes
6. dreams
7. practicality
8. laughter
9. love
   
10. joy

so thankful for these.

In Memory of Daisy

Rest in peace, Daisy girl. You'll live forever in our hearts.

oddly-named baseball teams

Represented here are some of the best (named) in baseball. There are teams named for food, occupations, historical figures, insects and animals one wouldn't ordinarily associate with athleticism, and a few things that defy ready explanation. One thing is for sure: the household t-shirt collection is about to get a lot more interesting.

1. Modesto Nuts
2. Bradenton Juice
3. Newark Pepper
4. Lubbock Crickets
5. Savannah Sand Gnats
6. Grand Prairie AirHogs
7. Batavia Muckdogs
8. New Bern River Rats
9. St. Cloud River Bats
10. Leones de Ponce
11. Cincinnati Porkers
12. Rochester Honkers
13. Mayfield Clothiers
14. Madison Hatters (now the Great Lake Loons)
15. Wilson Tobs (as in, Tobacconists)
16. Appleton Papermakers
17. Holyoke Paperweights
18. Evansville Triplets
19. Anchorage Glacier Pilots
20. Thomasville Hi-Toms
21. Wichita Wingnuts
22. Waterbury Frolickers (later the Waterbury Spuds)
23. Casper Ghosts

... and finally, the most inspiring team name of them all:
...24. Fukui Miracle Elephants

Wow. Now that's a great name for a baseball team!

raccoon, you say?

430am. "BOW! Bow-ow-ow-ow-ow! Bowww! Bow! Bow-ow-oooow!" Guess who has treed a raccoon. Good girl. Very impressive. It took considerable convincing and, eventually, physical inducement to get her to let him go about his business. It was fun to see her so lively for a little bit there. She had a very good time, and was understandably proud of herself. We were too.

signs that it's time to get a new camera

January 2004: Very first digital camera arrives!

1. 2005: camera lens begins to disintegrate
2. 2006: lens cover stops closing properly
   
3. 2007: camera begins turning off of its own free will
4. ...repeatedly
5. ...at key picture-taking moments ... resulting in much hushed cursing within earshot of children and the elderly
   
6. camera software begins malfunctioning, requiring clever user procedures to permit proper downloading of photos
7. 2008: after growing increasingly disagreeable over the last year, an important camera button begins detaching of its own free will
8. ...repeatedly
9. ...and is then forever lost at a ballgame
10. camera stops recognizing light when turned on, shows nearly black screen

I concede the match. Really, it has been clear that this day was coming sooner than later. Three weeks after buying $100 of printer cartridges and paper, the printer purchased especially for this camera broke and would print only partial photos and very streaky ones at that. It lasted about two years, all together. Oh well. There it goes.

recuperating

Last Friday's chemo was a bit rough. No sooner had we gotten Daisy home from treatment than it became apparent she needed to go right back to the hospital. Once there, things got even more dramatic. We were so glad that her oncologist and vet tech were there to help. They checked her in for another overnight stay, administering antibiotics, other meds and fluids intravenously. She was well-hydrated and in good shape, though quite tired, when we picked her up Saturday afternoon.

We're hoping for a return to her high energy levels of last week. It was wonderful to see her so playful. Since Saturday, she has de-stuffed a couple of her toys and played a little chase, so her mood remains pretty upbeat. This is helped in no small measure by the excellent homecooked meals she's enjoying - rice and turkey, rice and chicken, mm-mmm! The doctor expects she may be tired for a few days still, and confirmed we should continue to step down her Prednisone dosage through the remainder of the week. The Zantac and anti-nausea meds will continue as needed.

The best news is, no chemo this week! We'll take her in for some bloodwork, to confirm her white blood cell count is where it needs to be, but other than that, she gets to lounge around for a bit. Thank goodness, too. We're all ready for a small break, and Daisy surely deserves one.

full moon dog

Good girl.

bracing ourselves

Daisy has had a really good week. she had a little bit of nausea a couple of nights ago, which was addressed easily with medication. she's otherwise been amazingly peppy, interested in playing ball, de-stuffing her favorite stuffed animals, cadging treats.

tomorrow she gets her first dose of doxorubicin, a very powerful chemotherapy agent. it can cause damage to her heart, so they will administer it very slowly, and monitor her closely throughout and for a few hours afterwards.

we are hopeful for continued good results.

so LAME

fake fireworks, fake beauty.

this girl is LOVELY. what is wrong with people?!

Flawless.

thankful

Relief! --- sweet relief. The meds worked some magic. Shortly after 2am, about two hours after taking Zantac and metoclopramide, Daisy nosed and then ate the biscuit G had given her several hours earlier. An hour or so after that, she got up, wagged, and ate about half of her dinner. By 330am, she was back in her bed, ready for more peaceful snoozing. I stayed up to keep an eye on her until 7am, and with all systems seeming to be in good shape, headed to bed myself.

Today, Daisy has had a good day. She rolled around in the grass and chased after her favorite ball a couple of times. When G got home from work, she was happy to see him, and readily responded to "sit" and then "puppy up!" (our tactic for letting her know when it's okay to jump up on us).

We hope the chemo will do some significant work at combating the lymphoma, and allow her a few good months. She's just such a young girl. Cancer always sucks, and it's never fair, but ... you'd think a dog could be spared such drama. Unlike people, dogs have little need for drama.

Well, it's time for our little household to get some much-needed rest. Daisy has already gotten started, lying with her head tipped over the edge of her bed, as always. Her feet are twitching as they carry her toward interesting smells in her dreams. Good night, everyone. Sleep well.

=^-^= ... =^-^= ... =^-^= ... =^-^= ... ()^-^()

hoping

Daisy had an okay morning, and an okay afternoon, but the evening has been awful. After much debate, we gave her doses of Zantac and metoclopramide to help settle her belly, then followed that up with one of her favorite treats, a fortune cookie. She always waits patiently for her fortune to be read to her, and then it's cookie time. Tonight, her fortune said:

You are heading for a land of sunshine.

I don't know why that's making me cry.

tangibles

1. family
2. friends
3. health
   
4. shelter
5. food
6. water
7. clothing
8. transportation
9. gainful employment
   
10. ripe cherries!
    

no complaints, none at all.

an observation

the people who say "don't squash mosquitoes that are biting you, it might make things worse" probably aren't the people getting eaten alive by them. i've dispatched five of the little buggers in the last two evenings, and that's just inside the house. if they have tiny little souls, i don't want to know about it.

just saying.

better

for the first time in a couple of weeks, Daisy's appetite was somewhat lacking today. she is still lethargic, but she continues to have moments of simple doggy happiness and energy. she still wants to smell everything that can possibly be smelled on her walks. she still perks up at the sight of treats (really, the sound of a treat bag being opened is enough to bring her trotting over) or of a favorite toy. her respiratory rate was much better this evening, which means we are all breathing a little bit easier!

breathe in, breathe out

Daisy seems the same today as yesterday, mostly lethargic, and then very rapid panting in the evening. the doc believes this is not due to the slow step-down in steroid dosage, but rather a continuing symptom of lymphoma that (we hope) will resolve as chemo continues. it's very tough to see. we can't tell if she is mostly okay or is suffering. when G squeaked her favorite purple puppy toy, she waited to see if he was sincere about playing or just tricking her into going outside. (it was both.) he squeaked the toy again and Daisy bounded up from bed, tail wagging high and happy, and paused only briefly before deciding it was okay to go outside and play. they had a pretty good time, as evidenced by G's delicate handling of the rather soggy puppy as he brought it back inside.

so, we wait, we watch. we hope.

day 15

day 15 of knowing Miss Daisy has stage 5 lymphoma. she has become a fast favorite of the doctors and staff at the animal hospital. on our last visit, they spent more time playing with her than talking to us about how she is doing, which is actually fine, as they encourage us to call with updates or questions at any time. we feel good that she is in well-qualified hands. and she seems to feel good as the abatement of most of her symptoms continues. we hope for more of the same.

seriously?!

here's a list i didn't really need.

1. ox tongue
2. pit viper
3. eel
   
4. chicken wing
5. bitter gourd
6. persimmon
7. caviar
8. goat
9. garlic
10. charcoal
11. raw horseflesh
12. lettuce and potato
    
13. cactus
14. silk
15. stout
16. cypress tree
17. whale
    
18. hot spring
19. tomato
20. squid gut
    

these are japanese ice cream flavors. seriously. not kidding.

levity

thanks, cheezburger frenz, we needed that! =^-^=

chemo girl

Daisy is doing pretty well, we think. She is really enjoying the home-cooked rice and ground beef (gosh, who wouldn't?!) and is perplexed that she is now allowed to chew on whatever toys she pleases. We're changing some of her medications to see if that helps with some things, and are very happy to say she doesn't seem to need the anti-nausea medicine any longer. We hope!

energy

today Daisy had enough energy to play for a bit. the doc said if she wants to play, we should let her. easy enough. then she tires out and is ready for a good snooze, resting up and letting the chemo do its thing. we'll keep trusting her instincts, and hoping for the best.

toughing it out

daisy girl is hanging in there. she had another pretty good day today. yesterday's chemo (vincristine) hasn't knocked her out, her appetite is great (thanks, dad, for the rice and ground beef!), and she looks like she might be gaining back a wee bit of weight. baby steps are fine with us! she's snoozing soundly now, so it must be time for us to get some rest too. good night!

better

today was a much, much better day. thank goodness.

the not-great thing is that our girl is down to just 56 pounds, almost as skinny as when she first came home. she's really little more than skin and bones. even her tail is skinnier. but we have at least three reasons to be happy: she ate well today, which should begin to translate into some good weight gain. her platelets have more than doubled since last friday. and, we have started chemo in earnest.

we are hopeful some serious cancer-cell killing is now underway. onwards we go.

hanging in there

she is hanging in there, doing her best. today was a hard day.

miss daisy

miss daisy has stage V lymphoma. we are crushed.

downside

good seats do not necessarily equal good view. not complaining, just saying.

we've got a million of these!

rats

i keep getting an "internal error" when attempting to post a photo. hm. i'm not using the PC that has been causing all the trouble, either! rats.

i'll try again tomorrow. good night!

fond memories

i don't have a photo of Yong, but this one of Tim not taking any nonsense from a sock puppet helps anyway.

have a little Faith

a good friend died today. very sudden, very unexpected. he was young. his daughter is just a little girl. he loved her more than anything in the whole world.

if only.

things i know now

1. a difficult childhood can be made into a remarkably strong foundation from which to build a life
2. letting go and getting over it is so the way to go
3. i don't have to wear what they're wearing
4. it actually is better to be smart than cute
5. it is nearly always best to assume positive intent
6. it really is okay to be different
7. disco did die, and that's definitely okay
8. brussels sprouts almost never kill anyone
9. people are inescapably limited by their own experience and imaginations; growth means getting way, way out of one's comfort zone
10. as Will Rogers said, "I'd much rather be the man who bought the Brooklyn Bridge than the one who sold it."

no UFOs here

True story, slightly altered to offer the tiniest bit of anonymity:

Control Room: "Police. What's your emergency?"
Caller: "It's not really. I just need to inform you that across the mountain there's a bright stationary object."
Control room: "Right."
Caller: "If you've got a couple of minutes perhaps you could find out what it is? It's been there at least half an hour and it's still there."
Control: "It's been there for half an hour. Right. Is it actually on the mountain or in the sky?"
Caller: "It's in the air."
Control: "I will send someone up there now to check it out."
Caller: "OK."

The mystery was soon solved, as the exchange between control and an officer at the scene makes clear.

Control: "This object in the sky, did anyone have a look at it?"
Officer: "Yes. "

[....wait for it......]

"It's the moon. Over."

HA!

this is a good point

Hear, hear!
All kittehs, regardless of grammar skilz, can easily recognize a true hero.

oh yay

thank goodness the hard drive has been fixed!

... er..... well, thank goodness i backed it up.

why does anyone buy hewlett-packard anything?

i'd rather be

1. sorting fossils
2. reading
3. culling photos
4. writing the grocery list
   
5. curling up with a cat
6. finding the dog (she's around here somewhere)
7. sorting laundry
8. washing the car
9. finishing vacuuming
10. this
    

... than sleeping. sigh. off to bed.

listening

1. Etta James
2. Blue Man Group
3. Rent
4. Drive-By Truckers (spouse's choice, thanks)
   
5. Herb Alpert
6. Gov't Mule
   
7. Stan Getz & Gerry Mulligan
8. Keb' Mo'
9. Vanessa Carlton (love that one song)
10. P!nk
    

surrounded by

1. dog
2. cat
3. remote controls
4. camera batteries
5. horticulture books
6. pillows
7. another cat
8. odds and ends
   
9. piles of stuff
10. good intentions
    

graceful

Bando Tamasaburo, onnagata supreme.

Tamasaburo in [Musume Dojoji] / Kabuki Dances

hopeful

might as well be hopeful. after all, why not?

sigh

Still sad.

gone far too soon

How can this be? Tim was one of the best. From politics to sports to you-name-it, he could handle his end of the conversation and have a good time doing it.

This photo, by Marc Andrew Deley, captures so much of what Tim represented: focus, diligence, straightforwardness, integrity, and the complete comfort that comes with being well-prepared and entirely honest in all circumstances.

Tim, we miss you already.

reminiscing

$2.33 a gallon? Why, I'd give my right.... oh. Well.

Truth be told, that still seems like way too much to me.

oopsy

sorry, kitty. he didn't mean to!

things in the cupboard

1. milanos
2. pumpkin seeds
3. peanut butter
4. marble cake mix
5. hello kitty rice candy
6. tapioca
   
7. tea
8. lemonade mix
9. saltines
10. dried apple slices
    

languages i wish i spoke

...fluently, or at all; i'm not fussy.

1. Japanese
2. Native American (all)
   
3. Tahitian
4. French
5. Italian
6. Mayan (any of the family)
   
7. Chinese
8. Vietnamese
9. Khmer
10. everything else too, including better Spanish
    

taiyaki!

things you realize when the power goes out

1. hey, the power has gone out
2. i wonder when the power will come back on
3. if the county sends an emergency email alerting us to the outage, how will we know?
4. hey, the power just came back on!
5. rats, it's out again
6. boy, the neighbor's generator is really loud
7. i wonder what's in the fridge?
8. hey, the power just came back on!
9. rats
10. how long will this laptop battery
    

now that you mention it

things that are growing in my garden:

1. weeds
2. "
3. "
4. "
5. "
6. "
7. "
8. "
9. "
10. "

at least you have actual flowers growing in pots on your deck. that does count for something!

if i had a free hour, i'd

1. organize photos
2. write a note to uncle peach
3. call my parents
4. read a book
5. sit quietly
6. gather stuff for donation
   
7. drive already gathered stuff and donate it

tomorrow, i'll find that hour. (or the first of seven of them, at any rate!)

reasons i stay up at night

1. because it's quiet and i can THINK
   

incentive

if i collect and fold the laundry,

1. i'll actually have clean clothes to wear tomorrow

gosh, that was pretty persuasive!

Earth to America

Blue Man Group is fantastic, as always.

ugh

oh yes. this is GREAT.

fridge

newly restocked.

1. chocolate pudding
2. milk
3. swiss cheese
4. peppered turkey
   
5. yogurt with dark cherries
6. 2.5 tiny margaritas from 2007 (or was it 2006?)
   
7. carrots
8. broccoli
9. umeboshi
10. gohan desuyo! boiled seaweed - mmm!
    

immediate vicinity

1. sleeping dog, drifting off of her bed, nose-first
2. cat with twitchy tail, stalking my shadow
3. laptop
4. box of pretzels (woo!)
5. vacuum cleaner
6. really awesome, semi-old typewriter (it could use a fresh ribbon if anyone has a spare)
   
7. piles of stuff that need to be put away
8. "
9. "
10. "
    

simon tofield!

is my new hero.

things i could do without

1. spring flu

that pretty much sums it up.

a decent surgeon

i've been awake for over 43 hours. i'm ready to keel over (and plan to, in a few minutes), but i wonder if this is what doctors feel like after they've worked constantly for extended periods of time. if so, i don't think i ever want to have surgery again.

sincere thanks

Thanks, Ollie. You made our lives a lot brighter.

AP photo. If this is yours, I will gladly add credit.

good morning!

no idea who created this, but it's my life.

[would love to give credit, so if this is yours, please let me know. you're AWESOME.]

day off

Ahh. A good day off. Skimpy in fossil terms, huge in breathing space.

adventure

Day trip to a state park. Great fun was had by all.

if only

louise "lou" hall
november 7, 1992

remnants

1. red marble
2. tattered rabbit
3. pap's big blue velvet armchair
4. handmade clothes from mother
   
5. tom & jerry
6. izod sweater
7. richard scarry's best storybook ever!
8. little stool, for reaching all the things i shouldn't
   
9. feathers from melian
   
10. memories
    

spoons

at our house, no one washes the dishes until we run out of spoons. this is probably some sort of sign.

up home

1. green beans
   
2. turkey
   
3. lemon pie
4. basketball games
5. napping
6. bead bracelets
7. miniature japanese irises
8. lovely flowing guitar music
9. cardinals, nuthatches, flickers, doves, goldfinches by the dozen
10. family time
    

noisier

Correction: volume boost to 16.

noisy

Fact: The return of spouse and dog to the house typically requires boosting tv volume from "5" to "12".

guess who

Guess who this is.

"Academically successful, he attended Dartford Grammar School, where he passed 3 Advanced Levels (A-levels) before entering the London School of Economics on a scholarship. He studied for a degree in accounting and finance, but attended for less than a year and did not graduate, leaving to pursue a musical career."

a. Mick Jagger
b. Peter Gabriel
c. Howard Jones
d. Crispin Glover

London School of Economics?! Mercy.

tumbleweed

the wind is doing its best to make a bigger impression than wednesday's rain. reminds me of:

1. taking a trolley ride over the Golden Gate bridge with my parents; between the fog and the wind, it was a miracle we made it across in one piece
   
2. zipping down the hill on a hand-me-down blue bike with bad brakes, on my way to Karen's house
3. the spring day Grace and I drove two hours to the beach, where we huddled in blankets and tried to nap as wind roared and rain sprinkled; anything to get away from grad school pressure for a few hours
   
4. The Wizard of Oz, with Dorothy landing on a witch
   
5. the wind tunnel that exists only at the western exit of our office building
6. trying to walk up a very icy hill to the metro station one windy winter day... it took three tries to get there
7. riding behind my dad on the snowmobile, ducking my head to avoid windburned cheeks
8. watching people parasailing from a cliff in Lima
9. standing at the top of the St. Louis Gateway Arch and feeling sure it was swaying
10. i nearly forgot! sitting at the cafe del mar on the old wall in Cartagena, thinking we could get blown over the side at any moment
    

cats and dogs

it is raining in SHEETS. reminds me of:

1. the rain barrels at Grandma's house, and how soft her hair is from washing it with rain water
2. playing in puddles with my best friend Karen
3. after a huge rainstorm, finding a tiny baby rabbit behind a downspout at my university dormitory, and raising it for a month with the help of a kind-hearted Resident Assistant (we released it in my sister's backyard out in the country) (also remembering how it pooped all over a double-page ad of Madonna that we used to line its box - one of my favorite photos ever)
   
4. how everyone in Tokyo seems to have an umbrella and can even ride their bikes and smoke cigarettes while holding them
5. rain hammering on the tin roof at a cottage in Point Reyes
6. rinsing mud spatters from newly sprouted miniature iris and chionodoxia
7. the leak in the basement
8. going for midnight swims in summer, even in the rain as long as there wasn't any lightning
9. the smell of the forest after a spring shower, when we'd go mushroom hunting in the early morning and the mountains were still full of mist
   
10. getting drenched at a baseball game, waiting it out for two hours (hooray for ponchos!), and then cheering the home team on to a big win

i do love the rain.

A friend wrote this recently. He's exactly right. We should all live this way.

"...The possible shortness in life for EVERYONE is such a real understanding for me.

"I get it. I understand it. And I am assuming nothing. I need to make each day the best thing possible, and that means significant changes in what I choose to do."

one fuzzy bug

you don't even have to watch the whole thing. i just like the fuzzy bug.

:) !!!!

clearly this warranted back-to-back cheezburger postings.