That's been the main accomplishment of the day - getting my butt over there.

Bought a trowel, with which I dug a hole in my mom's yard and stuck a lavender plant in it.  Some people might call that "planting a lavender plant," but I think there's care and knowledge that goes into planting things.  Let's hope the lavender lives.

Before that, I was suddenly so hungry, I went to the restaurant next door where people are constantly complaining about food poisoning and had a hamburger.

I suppose the next step is getting the rest of the furniture out of the extra room and spackling the holes.  If I do the job right, I'll ignore my mom's comment that I don't need to worry about painting behind the bookshelf (which is actually two bookshelves just stacked on top of each other without being secured in any way - all this in an earthquake-prone area - my mom is stubborn about things like that).  But I'm low on energy, and moving all the books and the shelves themselves sounds like a hassle.  I'm hoping to get the windowframes stripped before I go to bed tonight.  I have a feeling that's going to happen tomorrow.  I'm not sure what possessed me to decide to paint this room, but whatever.

In a couple of hours, my dad will pick me up to go swimming in his pool.  That will be nice.  He came over to tell me that he won't be eating because he's fasting.  Then he went away and told me he'd be back at four.  My father puzzles me sometimes.

Yesterday after dressing, there is a panic flutter by my ear.  Fearing wasp the shirt is cast to the floor.  I spy a spider hop, and a flying 'daddy-long-legs'  looking like it is upside down in a 'ditch'.  Carefully grasping this creature, it sort of falls into the grass outside.
Today going outside I notice the same type of 'flyer' stuck fast at the bottom-left corner of the door, which a forward-sliding motion of a finger nail frees and dude flies to the sky.

We all had good news today, and it is a beaut here as well.  I am going to plant another tree or two, and keep 'farmers hours' and teh exhaustion.

It's windy and chilly in Chi-town today. I think the bugs have given up and migrated. :) I went to the Farmer's Market today and got some stuff. But there's not too much right now. There were no berries or tomatoes. The weather hasn't gotten warm enough long enough for them yet.

I couldn't sleep last night, so I got up and set all the arts and crafts stuff on the dining table, which was sufficiently covered with newspaper and played. I painted and dug out my calligraphy pens. It was fun. Fingerpainting is not only fun but freeing. I went to bed at 3:00. Needless to say I've been tired all day, took a nap this afternoon, and haven't gotten much of any writing done today (Does this and Facebook count?)

I am going to yoga in 1 1/2 hours. We're having pasta with a red sauce and crimini mushrooms I bought at the market.

than it actually was.  We are headed for hot that will last several days, but it hadn't got there this morning yet.  It just felt like it.  Humidity can do that, as I'm sure some of you Midwesterners know a lot better than I do.

I think I'm doing to make Day 2.  Not a single complaint out of my mouth today.  I have two manuscripts posted, and the grant proposal submitted, and now I'm going to be dealing with abstracts for a while.

Library tonight, briefly.  Then I think I will have fruit for dinner, since I have a honeydew melon that needs to be eaten.\

Time for a cup of water, and then more tea.

onions and stewed tomatoes simmering on the stove waiting for cus-cus and salad.
Waiting to give daughter a ride home from piano then dinner and Dr. Who. (yes, I cheat) w/popcorn and sweetie.
Listening to Susan read about 'widgets'.  Not understanding a frickin' thing.

Doesn't sound like me at all, does it? ;) Today was the day we took the parish secretaries out to celebrate administrative professionals day--we never seem to be able to so it any earlier than mid-May.  One of the secs belongs to the club, and, while it's boring for her to go there, it's  big treat for the rest of us, so it's our default place. I had french onion soup and a salad with fruit, coconut, mixed greens and a raspberry vinaigrette, topped with BBQ chicken. And a glass of wine. Then I went to the grocery store and came home and took a nap.

I was going to make another run to the store because I forgot a few things, but I went out to coerce the cat into coming in and got caught up in conversation with my neighbor for an hour so I don't think I'll bother now.

It started off sunny and fairly warm today, but it's clouded up and is now pretty chilly. Sigh--I want warm weather.

Were on for dinner tonight.

The spring has been good to my garden.  The larger one weighs in at a little over 2.5 pounds.  The big ones are brandywines grown from seed from an organic heirloom tomato seed supplier.

There is also plenty of herbs, green onions, and a number of different peppers.

Things are good here.

Weather: Currently 16 degrees Celsius.
We've been having record lows (in addition to the usual rain), but this weekend it's finally supposed to turn. Highs of 25 predicted for tomorrow and Saturday, which should be conducive to loafing/reading an afternoon away at the beach.

Reading: Haruki Murakami's After Dark, about to start Destroy, She Said by Marguerite Duras.

Dinner: TBD

Goals: Laundry (short-term), find someone to kiss (mid-term), keep looking at condos until one says "You're home" (long-term).

I don't know why this is such a dirsturbing issue to the Neo-Cons? It seems like a good idea to me.

These are the questions, and answers to them, from what I'm hearing

What should we talk about?

For starters, we could discuss, not launching missles at Israel, and maybe we could bring up the topic of not sending IED's to Iraq.

Should we bring the threat of force to the table?

I thought we were already fighting a war? Thats why it might be a sensible idea to actually speak with our enemies.

Will this stop terrorism?

No, this isn't about appeasment. We're just trying to open up a dialogue.

Does this legitimize terrorist orginizations like Hamas?

Thats a non sequitor. These orginizations do exist, they are capable of waging war, and threatening the security of the United States. We are already fighting them, and in that, we have already legitamized them.

What do we hope to accomplish?

We are simply trying to initiate a course to a peaceful resolution to our problems. It is merely the first step in a journey of a thousand miles.

Here is the true meaning and value of compassion and nonviolence, when it helps us to see the enemy's point of view, to hear his questions, to know his assessment of ourselves. For from his view we may indeed see the basic weaknesses of our own condition, and if we are mature, we may learn and grow and profit from the wisdom of the brothers who are called the opposition.
Martin Luther King

A blah day at work, but one amusing interlude.  After a chat with our UPS account rep on Monday, and our Pitney Bowes account rep yesterday, who should show up today but our copier account rep!  Amusing, but nice.  He's a very pleasant person and we all like him.  And I often joke with my friends that when I was put in charge of selecting a new copier, I went with the company that sent a cute man rather than a busty woman in a low-cut blouse.  (I'm serious, I met with four reps and three of them were busty women in low-cut blouses.  The cute guy was at least willing to take me seriously.)

But jeez, three in one week?

Ran some errands after work, and I am proud because I didn't drive.  I used the bus or walked.

Stuffed pork chops for dinner, once I make them.  Steamed broccoli and fried potatoes.  Should be good; I'm trying a basic recipe (from James Beard's book  Simple Foods) so it should go all right.

one of my favorite saints. She is the patron saint for those suffering from mental afflictions. Sweet Georgia Peach (I miss her noonday prayers) did a wonderful diary on a Saint Dymphna pilgrimage last year.

Speaking of mental afflictions there was a story in USA Today about the toll the housing crisis is having on the mental health of families.

Crisis hotlines are reporting a surge in calls from frantic homeowners. The American Psychological Association (APA) and other mental-health groups are publishing tips on how to handle the emotional stress triggered by the real estate meltdown. Psychologists say they're seeing more drinking, domestic violence and marital problems linked to mortgage concerns — as well as children trying to cope with extreme anxiety when their families are forced to move.

It is quite sad, also a lot of families have to give up their beloved animals.

Sigh.... as Lilly Tomlin once said "Things are going to get a lot worse before they get worse"

Went to bed really early last night, and there was a bird outside my window that would. not. shut. up. Finally at nine I guess it went to bed, but I tossed and turned until 11, after that 3:30 got here really fast!

It is like a Friday for me, I have tomorrow off and I am going out of town on a window shopping trip. At some point I plan on retiring in Northern Michigan, so I am checking out potential towns to move to when I retire. The lucky winner needs to have affordable housing, a decent grocery store, walking/biking trails right in town, diverse community, an abundance of natural beauty and a hospital. Some kind of public transportation would be nice, but this is Michigan, I am not going to hold my breath. I also need to just get away for a couple days and I have award points to use, or lose, for a free night in a hotel. It is supposed to rain all weekend, I know exactly where I am going and I cannot decide how to get there...too many options. ;-P

Yep... another HOT San Jose day today. Tonight, I will be presiding over another belt test. This time, it is three(3) supplicants students. The test is for yellow. That means I need to find out whether or not they actually learned how to take the edge off of a very ferocious attack. Since there are three, this time, I think I am going to suit up with karate gloves ... for self, (mine) protection that is.

... and they think all I am gonna do is run around after them like I did with the purple belt test

(... whilst grinning and cackling maniacally!)
Heh .... he-he-he!!! I find it most interesting that the black belts, and the instructor are keeping mum about what is gonna happen tonight!

I both managed to lose my license (which meant I couldn't pick up my rental car) and then Southwest lost my luggage (which means I can't take out my contacts ... the smallest bottle saline comes in is 4 oz, so it has to be checked). Fortunately, however, my co-worker's second flight was actually canceled, so he got to the airport here six hours late, which was about the same time I got there, so we shared a taxi.

And this hotel is, frankly, obscene (my hotel room has a 47" widescreen HD LCD TV), so I'm assuming dinner will be obscene also.

Finally finished reading A Wizard of Earthsea. Better late than never, I guess.

The conference sent out a stern warning that we were expected to wear business dress tomorrow. I guess they'll just have to get over themselves, because I may well be wearing jeans and sneakers.

Well, sent by FedEx, at least. Wanda hasn't downloaded her camera yet, so this is the best pictures I have:

Packed it up with lots of white tissue paper, care instructions and some spare pearls, and documentation for it (1407-1412, English/French illuminations). And a note to the recipient warning him not to pull the 'I'm not worthy' crap because he is, so there. Nyah!

Then I stopped at Trader Joe's to get wine for next weekend (they don't have a TJs in Ashland that I know of), came home, and went back to bed. it felt sooo good! Now I'm awake but not really up to packing yet. In fact, I might go back to bed for awhile...

I started to move some of the boxes of fabric stacked behind the bed, and discovered that at some point our Profligate Pet of Pee had got up on the box holding my balls of unspun roving and peed on it. Soaking four twenty-five-yard long balls of wool roving.

So today I've been very carefully soaking a lot of unspun wool in cold water and baby shampoo and draping it over the tub to dry.

So much for the planned productivity, but I saved my roving, damnit.

big bike ride of the season. Late start this year, though I've been walking in wind, rain and chilly temps for over a month. Dumped a tad bit of weight.

Am interviewing employees at 2 companies to create job descriptions and am writing three employee handbooks. I really love doing this. I have no idea why; people contact? playing with words? investigating? compliancy?. Matters not. Seems to be the next logical step in my business and am curious where it will lead.

Picked up a new account with a landscaping company. I wished this one into existence as it mirrors another I do: short weekend hours, good pay, low key boss who prefers I just hum in the background. I usually hum show tunes;)

Chicken and dumplings tonight. My partner fell in love with me again;)

When one of my lads decided he was afraid of spiders (I'll blame Tolkien and avoid responsibility for letting my son watch the LOTR Trilogy) I caught a couple of the biggest that I could find in the cellar at the chalupa. And we're talkin' critters with abdomens about an inch long. There are dozens of them in the cellar and they are gorgeous! Their legs are like strands of banded amber. I'd nab one and cup it gently in my hand for my son to examine. I asked him why he was so afraid of something so delicate and beautiful when he was so huge. As the spider sat harmless in my hand I think he began to feel a little silly for being afraid of it. A week later I caught another spider and let it run over my hands. I said things like "No, I won't let you run up my sleeve! I don't want to be tickled!" and again my son watched as I played with something that was a bit less scary. I talked about how the spider might get hurt if I dropped it and how careful I had to be. And he took it onto his own hand when I asked him to. Cupping it gently so that it couldn't fall and hurt itself. Now my son is proud of how he goes into the cellar with me to get apples and potatoes. And talks of that time, dimmed by the fog of ages, last summer when he was afraid of spiders.