59 / 365 Storms Afoot

Strong storms arrived in our neighborhood late this afternoon, accompanied by the always worrisome sound of the county tornado-warning sirens.  When I got home, H was away at a class, and the house was extremely quiet.  The sky had taken on that yellow, pre-tornado look, and the rain poured down.  As the cracks of thunder kept getting louder, I found myself planning for the worst:

1.      Check on my mother-in-law.  Find the portable oxygen tank and prepare to fill it on short notice.

2.      Locate the cat carrier, remembering not to tell P the cat that he is #2 on the list.

3.      Determine how to fit all of the following into our small, centrally located guest bathroom: H’s mom (with oxygen), P (with food, water, litter box), me, and hopefully H (as soon as he gets home).

4.      Change my clothes into something more comfortable in case the house blows away.

In reality, the best I was able to do was to slip into looser jeans (see #4) and consume a package of Girl Scout cookies.  I’m glad the storm wasn’t any worse than it was.

58 / 365 Italian Bread Dipping Oil

H and I know that Spring is right around the corner when we can sit outside on the patio at Bella Italia with bread, pasta and a glass of wine.  Although this looks like a picture of the Sun taken through the Hubble telescope, it’s actually a mix of olive oil and spices for dipping fresh-baked bread.

57 / 365 Ending a Nice Day

The cupcake above capped the end of a busy day. H and I spent the afternoon introducing our Brazilian friend R to the Atlanta Botanical Garden before taking him to the airport.  Today was the last day of his seven-week stay in Atlanta; as I write these words, he is flying back to Amsterdam to resume his studies.  It was a delightful visit.

56 / 365 A Mixed Bag

I felt a bit out of sorts today, making the day's bright spots somewhat difficult to recognize.  Still, there were a few things that did speak to me: the clatter of more sandhill cranes (heard, but not seen); a graceful turkey vulture (sounds like an oxymoron) riding the thermals above the trees; and the sun glowing through the tulips on our kitchen table. 

55 / 365 Fun Meter

I think the Fun Meter was set a little too high for today.

54 / 365 Value Scales

I was downstairs in preschool today and just had to stop by the art wall.  Being an art major, I’m always interested in seeing what the kids are doing.  I love this study of the gray value scale with the painted light-to-dark strips used to create the word “value.”  And those fun little airplanes.  What a great project… it takes me back to my own school days.

53 / 365 Soaking Up the Rays

H took this picture of P during their lunch break together in my office.  Both were enjoying the open window, cool breeze, and warm sunshine.  I bet there was a game of Scrabble going on as well.

52 / 365 Twinkle Toes

I absolutely LOVE these fancy little feet!  They belong to C, the six-month-old granddaughter of a friend from church.  “Mimi” was watching after C today and brought her by the office to visit.  C and her ensemble were the highlight of the morning.

51 / 365 The Sleeping Chair

Don’t confuse this chair with the one in yesterday's post.  While the red color may make it look happy, the chair is definitely meant for snoozing.  It sits in my office, and you’d never guess by looking at it, but there’s something about this piece of furniture that induces sleep within minutes of stretching out across it.  I thought the problem was just me, but H says the same thing happens to him.  Needless to say, today was a restful day here.

50 / 365 The Happy Chair

My sister and her husband have been in the mountains of Blue Ridge, Georgia since Thursday, where they rented a cabin for a long weekend.  H and I drove up this afternoon to visit and have dinner with them.  We ate at the Toccoa Riverside Restaurant, which sits right on the river and is home of the Happy Chair.  We had a blast!

49 / 365 What’s That Sound?

It’s been getting warmer, so the windows in our home offices have been open all day.  Late this afternoon, H called out to me and commented on the “very loud geese” he was hearing.  Always up for a bird adventure, I took off downstairs with my camera.  Sure enough, there were several flocks of large birds flying in formation over our house.  They weren’t geese, though… they were sandhill cranes, migrating north.  They have a very strange, rattle-like sound that creeps up on you and can be heard from more than a mile away.  (Here’s a  link to a recording of their distinctive call.)  It was such a thrill to see them.

48 / 365 Battle of the Wills

P the cat has to take several pills a day, one of which is ENORMOUS.  The vet cuts them in two and instructs me to give him half in the morning and half in the evening.  Even at half their normal size, though, the pills are huge. 

Luckily, I have discovered that P actually likes the pill and eats it like a "chewie" – that is, when he’s in the mood to do so.  Each day starts with coaxing, nudging, and tapping -- anything to get his attention and make him think he’s missing out on the world’s best treat.  The evenings end the same way.  He can be very stubborn.  Tonight is one of those nights

47 / 365 Just Short of Bedlam

The morning started out a little too chaotic to suit me:  The roofers were working unannounced at the same time parents were arriving to register for next year’s preschool; a not-so-good smell in the lobby was probably a diaper that needed attention (but might have come from the church kitchen -- we were serving broccoli and cabbage for dinner this evening); our newsletter volunteers were patiently waiting for me to open the office to start their work; and the phone was ringing.  All this, and it wasn’t even 9:30 a.m.  The good news is that I’m getting better at readjusting quickly.

46 / 365 Memory Can

As I was proofreading our monthly church newsletter, an article under the Children’s Academy headline took me by surprise:  The craft project for March 27th is going to be a soup can pencil holder.

Why, you ask, is this such a big deal?  Because many, many years ago (so many that I can’t remember the details), I made a juice can pencil holder for my father.  I know this because Dad kept it on his dresser, filled with pencils and pens, until the day he died.  It's now on my desk, and I think of him every time I see it.

45 / 365 Cupid’s Day

H likes to say, with emphasis, that “every day is Valentine’s Day at our house!”  And honestly, I can’t really argue with him, given that he truly does treat me like a queen all the time.  I'm a lucky gal... and, as he readily agrees, he's a lucky guy!

44 / 365 A Stroll in the Park

Today was such a beautiful day that H and I felt compelled to spend part of it outdoors at Wills Park in Alpharetta, soaking up the sunshine and crisp air.  This park features an eighteen-hole Frisbee Golf course, and the chain baskets at each hole are unmistakable.  Quite a few teams were out there playing, and we had to dodge a number of discs as players took their best shots.

43 / 365 A New Titleholder

H and I get together with a group of friends on a regular basis.  Every couple of months we have a game night, and on those nights the winner gets to take home a gold wrestling belt.  H and I have had the belt for quite a while now, but tonight, after a tough game of Wits & Wagers, the tide turned and a new winner was declared.   It was tough handing it over, but we’re already planning to defend our honor.

42 / 365 The To-Do List

Today was a catch-up day filled with all the chores that get set aside during the week: grocery shopping, cooking meals for friends and family, filling the birdfeeders and birdbaths, watering the plants, and folding laundry.  I’m sure there was more, but I’ve long since lost the list.

41 / 365 Spaghetti Night

H never complains about the meal menus or my cooking, so when he asks if spaghetti is anywhere in the near future (as he did yesterday), I do my best to oblige.  Tonight’s spaghetti sauce wasn’t one of my best batches, but that didn’t seem to matter.  He just smiled and told me, as he always does, “Thanks for keeping me alive!”  He is (as he constantly reminds me) a prince among men!

40 / 365 An Unexpected Gift

This early Valentine surprise was delivered to my colleagues and me by our church Wednesday Dinner Kitchen Crew; we each got one.  What a delightful way to end the day!

39 / 365 Hot Stuff

In an effort to avoid running up the church’s electric bill, our office is kept pretty nippy in the winter.  We all dress accordingly, donning sweaters, scarves, and, in some cases, blankets.  I discovered my cohort T this morning at her desk, snuggled into this beautiful blue blanket.  The ties on the edges make me think of flames shooting out around her, adding an imaginary warmth that probably isn’t really there… but it sure looks good.  I think the tiara is a great extra touch!

38 / 365 Bright Spots

I was looking for a little bright spot in an otherwise dreary day and thought about this little tree.  It’s growing by the side of the road in a large wooded lot between homes.  Someone dressed it up for the Christmas holidays and never removed the bows. 

37 / 365 Game Day

Pre-Super Bowl snacks – a fun evening with friends.

36 / 365 The Birthday Queen

Today is my youngest sister L’s birthday – she’s the one wearing the festive hat.  In celebration, the girls (my middle sister S, my niece J, and our dearest friend H) took her out to lunch.  What a great giggle-fest!

35 / 365 Go with the Flow

The day began with a trip to the vet for P.  Along with other tests, the doctor took his blood pressure.  I had no idea there were arm cuffs that small.  He looks thrilled, doesn’t he?

34 / 365 Keeper of the Crab

I am one of three hard-working administrators at our church.  A plastic tiara sits at P’s desk, and on birthdays she hands it over to the celebrant to wear around the office.  If it’s a really silly day, P makes it available for one of us to wear just for the fun of it. 

On Thursdays, volunteer C comes in and works with us, making that our favorite day of the week.  Today, C brought in a large, soft spongy crab and told P she could be the Keeper of the Crab.  When someone is really in a “crabby” mood, the creature is to be placed on the grumpy individual’s desk to signal a warning to others.  For obvious reasons, you don’t want to find the crab at your post.

Now, I suppose if it was your birthday AND you were crabby, you could receive both the tiara and the crab – with the result that you’d certainly be sending out mixed signals. 

33 / 365 The Apothecary Shop

As H was fixing his morning cup of coffee, he looked over at the kitchen counter and noted that with all the measuring, weighing, and mixing going on, it looked like an apothecary shop.  I explained that I was merely gathering my snacks together for work.

32 / 365 Persistence of Mother Nature

Each year for Easter our church parishioners order potted white lilies in memory or in honor of loved ones.  The lilies are placed in the sanctuary for Easter morning and add a gorgeous touch of festive celebration. When the service is over, the individuals who ordered the flowers are encouraged to take them home to enjoy.  However, there are always some left over.

A couple of years ago, my colleague and I couldn’t stand the idea of the leftovers being tossed in the trash so we started planting them on the church grounds.  Each year we add a few more, hoping for a field of lilies one day.

As I was walking into work this morning, a bit of green in the area that we plant the lilies caught my eye.  Yep!  You guessed it!  Little tips of lily greenery were poking their heads above ground.  It just made me grin from ear to ear, especially since it’s still so cold and gray and rainy today.  Mother Nature is such an amazing powerhouse!