dress boots

a solemn event on campus dictates professional dress, so i purchase a cheap pair of boots - with heels. my first heels since a foot surgery many years ago after which the podiatrist recommended running shoes only (!) or at the very least flat shoes. but in these boots i click when i walk, i am much taller, and i even feel pretty stylish. i start to remember why i like heels so much. but soon enough my bunions start to scream, my instep aches, and shooting pains course up my foot. i rush to remove the offending footwear. and finally i find blessed relief in my big old clunky sensible shoes. you know, the flat ones.

snowstorm/snowday

the view to my left as i sit at my desk and glance out the window. and it's still snowing. a few more snowstorms like this one and i may be looking out at a wall of white.

found money

discovered in a pocket of a garment that obviously has not been worn in six-plus years - this receipt and all the change from a $20, save the penny. wish i'd realized it was there all those payday mornings when i scrounged around for loose change to buy a coffee.

newfangled dolls

my first doll had a hole in her mouth and another one in her bottom. when you fed her from her pink tipped plastic bottle, she promptly wet out the other side whatever it was that you put into her. today's dolls have motion sensors so they can giggle and coo and wriggle and crawl as they are approached by their tiny owners. and also by older folks who are mindlessly passing by their shelves in the store on their way to buy shampoo and toothpaste. folks who scare easily when they can't figure out where those odd noises are coming from. believe me when i tell you the din of their collective chattering sounded like a chorus of crazed chipmunks. i didn't even stick around to see if they still drink from their bottles. 

a new day

and what a day it was, full of unity and pride, emotion and awe, inspiration and hope. i go to bed, not wanting the day to end - but so eager to see what's to come.

forecast for january 20th

"red sun at night,  sailors' delight."

a grey afternoon, with this unexpected burst of red-orange as the setting sun emerges from clouds.

sailors aren't the only ones who are going to be delighted tomorrow...

re: birdseed

see that feeder? i filled it three hours ago. i really do go through a lot of seed!

helvetica

looking at techno-friends, i see some of them as real geeks but have never particularly thought of myself as one. but i wonder now, because in a few minutes, our local pbs station is airing a mini-documentary that i've been dying to see. it's called helvetica and it's about typeface. yes, fonts.  the impact they have on advertising. the way they've affected business. their place in our culture. i can't wait. 

now here's a quiz for you: what font are you? take it - it's fun! then leave a comment and let me know what font you are. btw, i'm times new roman. 

brrrrr

mighty chilly this morning according to the thermometer in the car. so cold that the pipes froze at work and they closed the building. how odd to have a day off when we aren't even having any snow!

evening "star"

on my way home these cold dark nights, venus shines brilliantly in the west. as i drive, i consider our system of planets, the stars beyond, and the galaxies farther still, unfathomable distances from our own huge milky way. i wonder about space travel and light years and try to rationalize the ways such great distances affect time. i imagine the possibilities of other worlds. on nights such a these, i just can't help but wonder what's out there.

out of sync

sitting here tonight, engrossed in work, i found myself suddenly buzzed by a mosquito. in the house. on the coldest night in january. here he lies, poor unfortunate fellow. had he emerged as nature intended, outside in the warmth of a lush july night, he might have lived a longer life. then again, he might have gotten smacked with the fly swatter that would no longer be tucked away in a closet somewhere, waiting for spring. 

an early morning muse

as i dry my ears this morning, i wonder about q-tips. where did they come from and why were they made? and most importantly, what's the "q" for? why not c-tips or w-tips? coffee cup in hand, i do a little early morning sleuthing. and come up with -- copyrighted information from the manufacturer! it's too early to read the terms of use and there's no time to do any more research. so if you're curious, too,  just google q-tips for yourself to find  the answers to these and other pressing questions. 

birdseed

when i am an old lady and it's time for presents, do not give me perfume or house coats or baskets of teas. give me birdseed. because the older i get, the more i enjoy birds. and the more i enjoy birds, the more i feed them.  the more i feed them, the more they eat. and the more they eat, the more i have to buy. the more i have to buy, the more expensive it becomes. and at this rate, bird seed purchases will be eating into my meager monthly social security check. so remember, dear readers, at gift-giving times, please - just send seed. thank you. 

cozy spot

just in case anyone wants to sit outside and read on a frigid new england saturday at the dump.

perigee moonlight

january moonlight, bright enough to make night look like day, 

with setting saturn glowing brilliantly through the trees. 

last january this moon was so bright 

i tore down bedroom curtains to let in the light. 

luckily for me tonight, the windows are still bare. 

before the sun

a glance out the window just before dawn showed a hint of blue where grey had been and white would soon be. a mad rush in slippers to get the camera and get outside for a shot before the light changed, which it quickly did. the day dawned crisp and cold and calm, with a hint of birdsong. a lovely start to the day.

the earth at perihelion

this is the day the earth is the closest to the sun in its yearly orbit - earth's perihelion. from the greek, peri- meaning around and helios, sun. how odd that the planet is as close to the sun as it could possibly be when the weather is so very cold. and when will earth be the farthest from the sun, you ask? on the 4th of july. doesn't it figure?

a spectacle

finding new glasses is such a trying experience. so many styles to choose from and decisions to make. plastic frames or metal? silver or gold? round or rectangular or oval? bejeweled or understated? try a pair, put them down - but where? if you put them back in the correct tray, you run the risk of getting them confused with others you've tried on and dismissed. if you put them on the counter, you soon have a small but confusingly jumbled collection. find a pair that at least looks promising only to be told the lenses are too small for your prescription. there are far too many details for me. i'll just wear my old specs for a while longer  until i muster more patience with the process of buying new ones. 

night ride

moon over the village on the ride home tonight. a waxing crescent, headed to first quarter by the week's end. when i was a kid, i was amazed at the way the moon followed us all the way home when we were out at night. and i watch it still, even now, and continue to marvel at such things. 

holiday aftermath

seriously, it takes roughly five or six nights to decorate this place for the holidays. the tree, the doors, the mantle, the cupboard shelves and windowsills. and it takes about twenty minutes to "grinch" it. not a task i enjoy at all. it makes me a little sad. but it's about done for another year.

a brand new year

knowing full well that nothing ever gets resolved with resolutions, i'm instead making a few new year's intentions. wish me luck!

• to work less and play more

• to see the ocean in each season

• to try quinoa

• to eat more vegetables -  or at least drink more v8

• to teach the baby girl to play candyland

• to get a new camera lens

• to tag blog postings (starting today!)

and what are your intentions??