212 / 365 Oh, the Days of Freezer Pops!

H and I were shopping today when a huge container of soon-to-be-frozen freezer pops caught my eye..  The next thing I knew, I was drawn to the colorful display (tugging H with me) as it triggered daydreams of the past. 

Mom kept these treats in the freezer for us as kids.  I remember the joy of choosing the perfect flavor, clipping off the top edge of the plastic wrap, and squeezing the frozen ice out of its wrapper… so cool, refreshing, and sticky.  By the time you finished, there was always a little melted ice at the bottom of the package to be slurped down.  I loved those things.

211 / 365 Something for Everyone

The family came over tonight to continue H’s birthday celebrations with dinner and dessert, followed by a rowdy game of Taboo.  As an extra bonus, my youngest sister L and her husband B surprised us with bags full of goodies from their garden.  It was a great evening.

210 / 365 Birthday Treats

Today is H’s birthday, and beginning early this morning it has been filled with surprises and well-wishes all day long.  Friends joined us for dinner at the house, and family will celebrate with us tomorrow night.  In honor of H’s special day, we made our ceremonial first visit to the Whole Foods bakery department.  The results were a crowd-pleaser.

209 / 365 Lube Job

Like many seniors, P often has difficulty moving meals through his system.  To help things along, his vet prescribed a little something that can be taken with his pills without compromising their effectiveness… and, as a bonus, has a flavor that cats like.  (I’ll have P fill out a survey later.)  I think he’s a little apprehensive about this newest remedy.  I would be, too… just look at the size of that container.

208 / 365 Cat and Mouse

H and P begin their work day.

207 / 365 Alarming

This was the scene outside the church office today.  One of our parishioners regularly maintains the church grounds; we had to call 911 when he was stung by a bee.  All ended well, but it was scary experience.

206 / 365 In-Home Pharmacy

P the cat has to take quite a few meds, but I hate popping so many pills down his throat one at a time.  (He doesn’t enjoy the experience either.)  To ease the burden, the vet gave me some empty capsules that I can fill with all the tablets at once.  I refer to it as his morning cocktail: antibiotic, appetite stimulant, and acid reducer, all in a chicken-flavored shell.  Yum, yum!

205 / 365 Anticipation

A new Whole Foods Market is about to open just around the corner from us, and there’s definitely a buzz of excitement in the air.  H and I signed up for a sneak preview tour of the store today and had a great time visiting the various departments, hearing about the company’s philosophy, and sampling lots of tasty treats.  At the bakery,  I learned that cake icing colors (see photo) are made from natural dyes (red flowers from beet juice, lavender ribbons from blueberries, orange petals from turmeric, and so on).  H, on the other hand, smiled broadly when the speaker pointed out the shiny new gelato station.

204 / 365 Roughing It

H and I visited REI today on a backpack-replacement mission for an upcoming walking trip with his brother and family.  We had bought two packs several years ago, but they are quite large (nothing says novice like wearing an enormous backpack to carry snack bars and a rain jacket).

In truth, neither one of us is particularly outdoorsy, but there’s something about this store that transforms us (at least in our minds) into Lewis and Clark.  As soon as we walk in we start studying the tents, checking out the canoes, lusting after hiking boots… and, again, reaching for the biggest, most colorful backpacks on the shelf.  As luck would have it, the first display we approached (pictured above) had packs stuffed so that we could see that we were already out of our league. 

I heard H mumble, Well, I guess we don’t need to be in this area, and he wandered down to the next aisle.  I followed behind, only to realize that he had discovered the packs with wheels (probably more our style).  By this time we were laughing as we pictured ourselves pulling Rollaboards down the trail – a sight sure to trigger heavy-duty eye-rolling all around.

We finally asked for help from a trained professional who directed us to stylish and sensibly sized packs (with built-in rain covers!) to carry on our journey.

203 / 365 A New Zealand Surprise

When my husband travels he sometimes brings back fun little surprises for me (often with an animal theme).  Before we were married he presented me with a stuffed red lobster from Boston (his very first gift to me), followed by a plastic wind-up crab that crawls and snaps.  H recently returned from New Zealand on family business, and I was delighted when he gave me the cutest little kiwi bird that winds up and hops around.  The bird and H just make me giggle.

202 / 365 Big Wheel

Last night my sister S and I attended a small cooking class that was organized as a fundraiser for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation’s 3-Day Walk for the Cure.  Our friend B is participating in the walk, and she had invited us to join in.  The event raised over $1500.  

Chef Lou’s menu included several breast-themed dishes and, as the grand finale, a Paris-Brest (seen above).  This French pastry was originally created to celebrate a bicycle race that ran from Paris to Brest and back to Paris.  The dessert is designed to resemble a bicycle wheel.  It was magnifique!

201 / 365 No Way!

This is the look I get each night when I tell P that it’s time for his pills.

200 / 365 Keeping it Green

I don’t know who Fireman Dan is but I love his sign. 

199 / 365 Reaching for the Sky

Lamb’s ear is a low-growing perennial with pale silvery gray-green leaves that are soft and fuzzy to the touch.  Interestingly, it also produces a purple spike that can reach a foot or so in height.  A few months ago, ready for a change, I cleared out the lamb’s ears in my garden and donated them to my girlfriend P, who was delighted to take them.

Not long ago P asked just how high the plant really grows because hers was getting pretty tall.  I thought she was joking, so – just to satisfy my curiosity – I drove over to P’s house with my mother-in-law M to see for ourselves.  We were stunned!  M said it looks like something that belongs in Arizona – and she’s right.  P must have some excellent soil.

198 / 365 Taking Flight… Maybe

A baby cardinal flew into the garage as I was pulling the car in.  I assumed that it would just as easily fly back out, especially since I could hear a parent chirping directions.  In my mind I was thinking, just how difficult can it be to locate an exit as large as a two-car garage?  Apparently harder than I thought as I spent the next forty-five minutes trying to coax the little guy to freedom.  I finally pulled both cars out (just in case they were blocking the view) and went back inside.  When I checked a couple of hours later the bird was gone.  I guess we all get confused sometimes, even in nature. 

197 / 365 Land of Plenty

I love going to the farmers’ market... it overloads my senses and puts my taste buds on high alert.  The vendors are friendly and always willing to talk about their harvest.  I bought a type of pattypan squash called Sunny Delight from the woman in the picture above, after which she suggested a variety of ways to cook it.  When I asked if I could take a picture of her vegetables, she was more than happy to accommodate and even had me wait while she filled up an empty basket with sweet potatoes so I’d have a “prettier picture.” You've gotta love it.

196 / 365 Stepping Out

This morning I was having coffee with my sister at her house when my young nephew M popped into the room to say hello.  In the middle of our conversation, M stopped speaking and, without warning, ran out of the room, calling back over his shoulder:

      You have to see my new shoes.  They’re AWESOME!

I don’t remember when I’ve seen him this animated about footwear.  I have to admit though, that this pair looks pretty cool.  The impressively rippled soles remind me of the treads on a Caterpillar tractor.

195 / 365 Thirst-Quenching

When I’m sitting on the back porch, I’ll often have a pitcher of water – filled with ice, and sometimes fruit – close at hand.  As I took this photo, the sweltering heat melted the ice almost immediately; meanwhile, droplets condensed on the outside of the carafe, giving it that cool and refreshing look. 

194 / 365 A Birthday in the Making

My niece J turned twenty-four today, and I stopped by to deliver a gift.  To my delight, I discovered my sister S in the process of icing her chocolate birthday cake.  S uses a family recipe given to her years ago by a close friend, and it is out of this world!  Like a good sister, I dutifully helped her lick the spatula.    

193 / 365 Up Close and Personal

I discovered this little fellow waiting outside the office door as I stepped out to collect the mail.  Surprisingly, he hung around long enough for me to take his portrait.  I didn’t realize just how gorgeous lizards really were until I got down on my hands and knees and really looked… such beauty in the details.

192 / 365 No Need to Turn the Light On

I am often up and down several times during the night, and I hate to turn the lights on.  I don’t want to wake H, and I sure don’t want to wake myself any more than is necessary, but I do need some illumination.  At one time we had a very subtle glowing light in the hallway, but it died.  We have replaced it with a great nightlight filled with colorful floating fish and other “ocean” stuff.  The beam on it changes colors and could light a runway.  I can definitely find my way now, and if not, I have something to entertain myself with until H hears the clock alarm.

191 / 365 Directionally Challenged

 

H, his brother D, and his sister C are all flying to New Zealand today to manage the will and estate of their recently deceased uncle.  Each one is flying from various cities around the world.  H’s journey takes him on a five-hour flight to Los Angeles, where he has a four-hour layover before embarking on a thirteen-hour flight to his destination.  He leaves today and doesn’t arrive until Tuesday (New Zealand time)...  a daunting trip, if you ask me.  With all of this on his mind, his last words to me when I dropped him off at the airport were:

Do you think you can follow the signs to Camp Creek Parkway and get home from there? I worry about you driving back.

It sounds a little silly, but my husband knows me well.  Directions are not my forte.  I’m a creature of habit and follow the same path out as I do in.  I’m not good with north and south, instead preferring left and right, all the while looking for visual landmarks (not helpful if you’re on the wrong road).  I get confused easily, and my car doesn’t have a GPS.

So, after several minutes of repeating directions back to him, we waved goodbye.  I texted him as soon as I arrived safely home and I’m now waiting for his LA shout-out. 

190 / 365 Amen

H and I took our cars in for service this morning.  Instead of waiting in the lounge while the work was being completed, we walked down the block and explored a nearby graveyard.  We were surprised at how multicultural the cemetery was, with headstones written in quite a few languages.  

189 / 365 Wet and Wild

These little guys were snuggled under the leaves of a potted begonia on a friend’s front porch.  I’m sure the parents were close by, but I was able to take a couple of snapshots without causing any excitement. Because they were so well hidden under the plant, I understand that the tiny birds were inadvertently watered a few times before they were discovered.

188 / 365 I Hear You Knockin’

Listening to a woodpecker tapping away outside in the backyard made me think of this skeleton that H and I recently saw at the Museum of Natural History in Washington.  Is this not the coolest thing!?  I could have stared at it for hours.  The head and beak are huge compared to the rest of the bones, and the neck doesn’t look strong enough to hold it all together.  I guess you have to have something really massive to handle all that tree-pecking (or, in our case, the metal rim around the chimney on our house).

187/ 365 Sky-High Dining

Today, C (a church member and a sweetheart of a gentleman) took three of us from the office out to lunch… just because.  We dined high above the city on the 72nd floor of the Westin Hotel in downtown Atlanta.  The restaurant slowly revolves, and we had a gorgeous panoramic view of the Atlanta skyline.  As we ate and chatted, our host pointed out landmarks and entertained us with stories and history of the town.  It was a lovely way to spend an afternoon.

186 / 365 Morning Visit

This morning, as H and I were having breakfast on the porch, he noticed a small turtle wandering across the yard at a pretty good clip (for a turtle).  H pointed to the reptile and turned to me, after which the following brief conversation ensued:

H:     Turtle! 
Me:   Where?

H:     There!  Camera!  Blog!
Me:   Upstairs!  Strawberry!

…and so, off I ran to get the tools of my trade and a treat for our visitor.  It’s a good thing that H and I can say so much with so little.

185 / 365 Fourth of July Traditions

H and I began our Fourth of July celebrations a week early by attending a patriotic concert at a local church (see picture) with my ninety-year-old mother-in-law.  The three of us will top off the holiday this evening by watching the annual Independence Day concert in Washington.  We’ve been doing this since H’s mom moved in with us six years ago, and it’s become a tradition that I really look forward to.

184 / 365 Future Shock

Tonight we got a glimpse of the future.  While driving by the soon-to-open Whole Foods Market, we spotted two electric-car charging stations in the parking lot… the first we’ve ever seen.  Five years from now such stations may be ubiquitous – and there might even be one in our garage – but I thought it would be good to record this first sighting.

183 / 365 “The Sync Button is Not Working!”

H had his Tech Support hat on most of the day with a variety of challenges.  My sister’s website was hijacked (her carefully crafted prose replaced with a taunting hacker’s message), and her email would receive but not send out.  A solution was found for each of these.  However, his easiest fix for the day occurred when I just couldn’t get my iPod Touch to sync with iTunes.  In exasperation I called him in, pointed at the upward-pointing arrow on the screen (see picture) and complained, Each time I press that button the iPod information disappears and I have to close it out and start again.  It keeps doing it over and over.

He quietly explained that I had been clicking the Eject button and that I should leave it alone.

I’m glad Tech Support has a lot of patience (the patience of a saint, as H likes to say).

182 / 365 Hidden Treasures

I have a decorative box in my bathroom filled with a plastic Gila monster, wax lips, a strip of ribbon, and a sheet of bug stickers.  The lizard came from my nephew when he was very small; the lips were something fun for Valentine’s Day; I don’t know where the ribbon came from; and the stickers are for marking off the calendar days of when I actually exercise.  I know it’s a little goofy (I can’t imagine H ever having anything like this in his bathroom), but it’s fun.  I really think everyone should have a treasure box.