Do it

on reading books

"A story is not like a road to follow … it's more like a house. You go inside and stay there for a while, wandering back and forth and settling where you like and discovering how the room and corridors relate to each other, how the world outside is altered by being viewed from these windows. And you, the visitor, the reader, are altered as well by being in this enclosed space, whether it is ample and easy or full of crooked turns, or sparsely or opulently furnished. You can go back again and again, and the house, the story, always contains more than you saw the last time. It also has a sturdy sense of itself of being built out of its own necessity, not just to shelter or beguile you."

- Alice Munro, from the introduction to Selected Stories.

One of my New Year's resolutions is to read more (I know, it's already March)

it's been too long (as in years) since we've visited here: our special picnic spot, where Tim & I used to come when we first dated, and later where he proposed to me :)

Either A) we have a super-lucky yard or B) it is full of clover-mutating dirt -- I pick A.
(set out on Grandma T's old work table - which I'm sure has seen it's share of 4-leaf clovers ;)

it might rain tomorrow

"Rhubarb Pie" - John Fogerty



Roll my eyes & shut my mouth, this rhubarb sho is good! :P

ah yes indeed it's fun times

Burt on drums is the best!!!!!!!!

Awesome!

While exiting a Wegmans last night I noticed their display of Fortune magazine near the entry (because the current issue is Fortune's annual list of the Top 100 companies to work for in the U.S., and of course Wegmans is in there - #5 for 2013)...
But what caught my eye: the cover story is about the M&M's/Mars company!!! It's a pretty sweet read - One of my favorite little factoids that I learned: the "Ms" in "M&M's" stand for the last name initials of Forrest Mars Sr. (son of the company's original founder) and R. Bruce Murrie, grandson of the president of Hershey! (initially Mars asked Hershey's to supply the chocolate because of limited cocoa availability during World War II!)

looking for a come-up

Macklemore - "Thrift Shop"

couldn't resist, this tune is so catchy - it's my new theme song! :)
(Apologies to anyone offended by curse words)

Kaleidomatic!

I'm not usually a tech-y geek, but I am totally addicted to this iPhone app!!!
The above images were all generated from random stuff in our living room (green curtains, bookshelves, etc). It's even more awesome to watch it in motion - Turns everything you see into a Grateful Dead show! 8)))

red noses

Tim & I did something long overdue: went on a date to the Geneva ice skating rink!!! We used to go frequently during college years (um, last century) and try to go at least once a year now - but it's been a few years... Well this time around we were seriously the oldest people there! They played "kitschy, nostalgic" 80s rock-n-roll - we were authentic artifacts from the era!

During "intermission" I pretended to take pictures of the Zamboni machine in action, but really I wanted to capture the whole scene - it was sort of endearing: young girls fawning over the rink guards (with their excelled skating abilities), nervous parents, and younger couples (maybe college age?) getting amorous...

Actually the Zamboni is fun to watch (and it's always fun to say :)

Tim on the left:

Stevie Wonder - "Someday at Christmas"

Vallarta Adventures - we survived!

This was last Monday... We went on an amazing "outdoor adventure excursion", via Vallarta Adventures - We arrived at a remote location via speed boat, then rode donkeys over treacherous mountain terrain up to higher areas, then zip-lined and repelled through the jungles of the Sierra Madre! Unfortunately they don't allow you to take your own camera - instead you can buy photos taken by their staff, packages at $100+ which we opted not to do :( So, these are the only photos we have: sites we saw on our way to & from the activities (including a ride Tim & I hitched on the company "unimog" to get home afterwards). But we have great memories - It was awesome and I highly recommend it to anyone going to Puerto Vallarta!
(um, no - I'm not wearing a fake nose in the photo below):

deh deh de - dehhhh...!

Can't wait!


(but um, Q looks like Harry Styles...?!)

Click icon in lower right corner to watch this full screen

summer

swinging in a hammock under fans of walnut leaves, watching the walnuts slowly grow

long early morning walks up a country road, when the trees' shade still stretches over the entire road

more bird song variety the earlier you wake

hanging fresh laundry to dry

treasures at yard sales

peonies & geraniums

strawberries & blackberries & blueberries (they're coming...!)

hikes over hillsides covered with tall grasses and wildflowers (buttercups, sweet pea, phlox, black-eyed susans, daisies)

fearless young deer wandering the yard, growing larger each month

quiet gentle rain releasing the scents of the earth

loud booming thunderstorms that make a dog want to cuddle

kayaking rivers and lakes to see sites only available from the water view

bullfrogs

summer Olympics!

happy people on sidewalks everywhere

fans in windows

cold showers on hot sweaty afternoons

sundresses and sparkly earrings

shorts and tshirts and funky sneakers

flip flops

bare feet!

Corona beer and tortilla chips with salsa or guac or hummus

watching a vegetable garden grow

baking pie with rhubarb from the garden

picnics on the grass at outdoor concerts

toads on the sidewalk at night

campfires at sunset

fireflies! fireflies! fireflies!