Early morning reflections...

Eleven hours of sleep...sheer bliss. Too many of the four and five hour nights lately.

It's still unnerving when Calvin The Paw licks my ankle. We're in the kitchen, where I'm prepping his breakfast, while he supervises from the footstool next to my leg.

Last evening's party distracted his usual feeding routine, and he's quite anxious(--and I was asleep when he would have been doing his usual late-night snack lobbying).

Does that mean "hurry up, you're doing fine", or "go any slower and you'll do"?

Off to play with the posies...Its a beauuuutiful day in central PA!

Simple Pleasures

A hot fudge sundae, friends, laughter,

"You mean Erika didn't tell you about the chocolate spa?" " Now that's for someone who's really into chocolate!"

I suppose its no worse than milk baths for smoother skin...

My Biologist side immediately started speculating about the likely effects of immersion in melted chocolate, while my Hedonistic side was cheerfully endorsing the concept of good, sticky fun....

More on World Conquest and Domination...

Tonight I arrived home covered in grime and cheerfully squelching water with each step. I just spent HOURS watering every description of parched plant, and the occasional passer-by, who took it in good spirit. Another fun evening at the local DIY mecca...

Reprise

And the song of the moment is, Rachmaninov's Symphony No.2 in E minor. Brooding and beautiful, powerful, and compelling, and somehow soothing. It quiets the mental static, and I can feel the house, and this neighborhood, settle into peaceful repose. Lots of time in front of computers and microscopes today. The work requires an intense level of concentration, but also allows too much time to think. Some questions really don't have simple answers, and successful resolutions require patience on the order of growing bonsai. Me for the wide open spaces and the weight of millennia...

Morning moments...

Oh those lovely quiet early morning moments... Waking just as the sky lightens, birds chirping, the scent of fresh, moist earth and new greenery wafting in the window, still half asleep as I negotiate the obstacle course to my bedroom door, and then..."...FEED ME NNNAAAOWWW!!!"

Did I mention Calvin The Paw? My backup alarm clock has four paws and whiskers...

Yet another reality check...

I had completely forgotten how over-rated a toss in the hayloft is--until tonight. There I was, happily musing on life while shifting more pavers, when the call went out over the intercom. "Need assistance in Outside Lawn and Garden." OK, fine, I went to find out what the issue was. Two lovely young ladies were hovering next to the cashier, who indicated their purchases and said "they would buy another bale of straw if we could locate it; the inventory says we have 21 of them." After a thorough search, I found the straw bales, safely locked up in an outside enclosure. Two different managers had the wrong key. Finally, as I was considering scaling the fence and tossing a few bales back over, Deb, the Ultimate Resource shows up and unlocks the gate. She dashes off, leaving me in charge of restocking the landscaping straw. In the initial excitement of delivering the Third Bale to the young ladies, who took off in a flurry of landscaping plans, and restocking the rest of the display, it was a few minutes before I registered the distressingly itchy state of my skin...ALL my skin... Cut oat straw is pernicious stuff. It gets, literally, everywhere. I spent the rest of the evening thinking tranquilizing thoughts, and actively speculating wether the customers would notice one more nymph among the fountains...and remembering my last close encounter with straw. Suffice it to say, those bodice-ripper romances which feature a torrid encounter in the stable were written by women with a decidedly evil sense of humor, or robustly healthy constitutions which preclude allergic reactions. Kinda makes you wonder how many romantic encounters ensue with one partner staring on in slack-jawed amazement while the other is rapidly covered in large pink splotches... Enough! Me for the bubble bath and Epsom salts...

Hiding from the cat...

Ever had one of those weeks when it seems like the Last Straw happened on Monday? ...and its only Thursday. My guardian angel will be filing for overtime. I'm hiding from the cat. Although he has a perfect right to demand pats, I'm tanked out. TMI, etc., Gleh. Though in all fairness, some rather odd things have happened which were to the good as well. Life strives for balance? Motto for the evening: Sleep Is Good

What Was I Thinking???

Today, it hurts to breathe. 6A.M. Wide awake, and ready to bounce out of bed... Eyes widen, and outraged muscles protest. "Maybe I'll rethink this..." Last night, I came home grinning hugely and covered in brick dust.

Judy took one look, and said "you've been driving the forklift again."

"Yeah, and it was great!!!, and we got soaked in the downpour, and then I got to restack the pavers." LOTS of pavers.

To think I've been feeling guilty about not signing up at the lovely fitness center attached to my real job.

My part time job at a local DIY mecca is rounding out my life in the most interesting ways. Not only do I get to meet, and chat up, all kinds of fun people who are singlemindedly determined to relandscape the planet, I get a more comprehensive workout than a personal trainer could ever devise.

Well, most personal trainers anyway.

I haven't felt this bad since I had a nasty run-in with the Fitness Video From Hell on the island. "Burning Buns" or something like that.

I spent the following week emitting stifled shrieks of pain every time I had to move, especially whenever I had to go down stairs.

This was in a place where there are NO elevators, and stairs are a fact of life. Going up stairs wasn't so bad, going down stairs, even the modest little four inches or so from my quarters to the corridor was enough to make me see stars.

"Just keep moving. If you stop, you're toast."

That eventually wore off, and meanwhile caused some sympathetic merriment among the staff.

This will wear off too...heh...I hope...

On to World Conquest and Domination...

Last night I got to drive the forklift. It was AWESOME! Heh; bumper cars at the amusement park were never so much fun...