Really quick walk tonight and I saw all kinds of stuff. Baby bunnies bouncing around, seven deer chomping lazily on the nature center’s landscaping, a ginormous raccoon skulking about and lots of new flowers and trees blooming. I’d never noticed before, but Queen Anne’s lace looks so much prettier from the back. And a certain…

Lovely curls… …and buds with five o’clock shadow. Why the whiskers? Quotes on change are so cliche, but I read one today that I loved. “It’s not so much that we’re afraid of change or so in love with the old ways, but it’s that place in between that we fear…It’s like being between trapezes….

Maybe if I don’t move, she won’t notice me.  Sorry, little guy… I noticed. For a rodent with stripes, you’re pretty cute. Please don’t chew my plants. Here’s another attempted illusion that doesn’t work but isn’t so cute. New fad in China — people painting their dogs to look like other animals. Pandas are cute,…

I think a visit to the Farmer’s Market and a berry pie is in our future. Update: Thank you for the good thoughts and prayers – Bender has been found and he’s home safe and sound.

Quickly and quietly, the work week has crept up on me. Again. 

In honor of his birthday, here are a few life lessons we’ve picked up from my dad: Tennis shorts are totally acceptable as winter attire when accompanied by a parka. It is possible for a man to eat a bowl of cereal and shave on the way to work… while driving.    “Twip,” “Fiddlesticks,” “Schmoe,” “Squirrel,”…

This fine fellow was in the parking lot at Powder Valley before I walked a few miles this evening. He was bold and seemed to be in a hurry. Doesn’t he look like he’s smiling a bit? 

A little bit of gardening, sleeping, jewelry making, French Open watching, nature walking, church going, book reading….oh, the possibilities. Hello, weekend. I’m so glad to see you. Would very much appreciate prayers  for the safe return of my colleague’s lost puppy.   

Isn’t this neat? A leaf within a leaf! I don’t know what it was about Powder Valley tonight, but the typical “hey, you seen any deer yet?” friendly-as-can-be nature walkers were replaced by the gotta-get-my-cardio-in-today Spandex set. As one of the huffer-puffers strode towards me, her eyes were fixed on (what I thought was) something…

I thought I’d seen the weirdest yard art in our little community when I saw a replica of an Easter Island sculpture in someone’s back yard play area. Come to think of it, that’s still the weirdest yard art in town. Country Bear Jamboree also makes a good case. But Mr. Toad here was something…

All of my neighbors have gone so way overboard with the planting this year. Day lilies seem to be a particular favorite. Maybe I’ll get around to planting one of these days… But I’m not slow picking up Alice in Wonderland on DVD! Check out this clip with Johnny Depp and Tim Burton’s drawings of…

The continuing birthday celebration at our house this morning. The celebration at someone else’s house in our neighborhood… …filled with a joy and gratitude that can be shared by all. 

The past few days have been spent in Springfield, host to the state high school tennis championships*. And for the second year in a row, Tanner’s birthday has fallen during the tournament, so we’ve put off celebrating until he’s off the court (cake for breakfast tomorrow! Yay!). But none of that changes the fact that…

I got my Mother’s Day wish after all! When I headed to Springfield for the boys’ state tournament, I decided to have some fun. If I saw something interesting, I’d stop. And guess what I was fortunate enough to find along the way? Onondaga Cave State Park. It did not disappoint. After a detour off…

I was up before breakfast was ready, so I went outside and wandered around Sharon’s garden. So many beautiful flowers, including a purple columbine that I’ve never seen before. Then we were introduced to the “breakfast” in bed & breakfast. Oh. My. Gosh. We sat down to a big plate of fresh fruit and warm,…

For the past few days, work took me to our hospital in Baraboo, Wisconsin. The initial excitement for me was that, after almost ten years, I was going to have visited all of the hospitals within our system. But then, I got to meet Baraboo, population 11,244. We arrived fairly early, so we were able to…

Went to work super early this morning. As I waited for the parking garage gate to lift, I was taken with the way the sun played off of the dew and random web strings on the hostas in the landscaping. It seems impolite to ignore nature when it extends little gifts of beauty. So I parked the…

Standing at the kitchen window, I saw something adorable and furry scurry by. I grabbed the camera and tried to sneak outside to get a quick photo. Whoops, scared it. So I stood around and waited. Then this adorable little furry guy scampered up, followed by a baby that I couldn’t manage to get close…

My wonderful friend Lorraine’s birthday isn’t until next week, but thanks to messy calendars, our office took her to Shogun Steak House for lunch today. I’ve never been before and it was so much fun. Here’s a glimpse of the fun that we had. Lorraine was getting down with the birthday dragon… http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=11914698&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00adef&fullscreen=1 Shogun’s is…

Today’s work project brought a day trip to Jeff City and my old hospital. It was amazing…six years later and it felt like I never left. Lots of hugs from many of the same wonderful people. My current job is great, but it’s just not the same as working in a hospital. Or more specifically,…

Whoever said that you can’t buy happiness has never been to my favorite camera shop. I bought a new lens today to replace the lens that came with my camera. I’ve been doing some research and have discovered that the lens that came standard is crap. So I wanted a solid replacement. And thanks to…

The first of many massive magnolia blossoms on the tree across the way from us.  When two of our neighbors walked by and saw one of our kitties sitting in our open window, I heard one of them say, “Hi, Violet!” I don’t know which is creepier — the fact that she knew our cat’s…

Take my picture, please.  

So happy to see bees going about their business. Sure wish we’d start seeing more.  On a less serious note…so I missed the finales of my favorite reality shows and I’m just now watching the recordings of Top Model and the Amazing Race. A few weeks ago, it was the Project Runway finale. The absolute…

Some days are just really good. Not only did I win Cardinal tickets in a drawing, Mr. and Mrs. Bird welcomed their first little one into the world this morning. Okay, so it’s a face only a mother could love, but it’s still like witnessing a little miracle. Amazing.  And then there was the district…