Category Archives: Life

lock ‘er up and throw away the key.

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not me , but exactly like me holding my keys in my hands just before i helped them to go missing
(and this baby is smart to just be focusing on one thing at a time)
and yet another
multi-task seemed like a good idea mishap unfolds
carrying trash, two sets of keys, donation bag, library book, coffee cup, dvd, lists,
and an odd assortment of things
to drop off, return, or deal with on my other random errands
determined to make one trip
i did get out the door
things balanced, hanging from wrists and various fingers
dropped trash bag in the dumpster first
 unlocked my car using my left pinky
threw everything in the backseat
drove off and finished all of my tasks
happy to be getting rid of things i no longer needed
bringing in groceries and new things i didn’t know that i needed
again, everything balanced
determined to get back in my door in one trip
tiptoed through the garden shortcut
made it in with all intact
put everything away and went to get the mail
sadly
my second set of keys was nowhere to be found
which included my mailbox key
searched and went through everything
retraced my steps
(as i learned to do from bert and ernie on sesame street)
looked in all of the hidden under-seat and in-between places in my car
figured keys would pop up somewhere in the next day or so
but alas, it was not to be
by process of elimination of all other possibilities
came to the conclusion
they must have fallen into the trash bag
that i threw away in the dumpster
 unretrievable
so i began the process of replacing them
my second car key was on there
i’d just listed my car for sale, with two keys
too expensive to replace
changed that detail in my ad
my mailbox only opens by key
can only be replaced by the post office
went to two post offices
each handled a part of it
had to pay $45 and have one of their people
come out, re-key it, and create a new key
my mail carrier who is great
left a massive pile of mail from the week
hidden on my front porch for me
why did i even have a massive pile of. mail?
key fixer guy came the next day
gave me three keys
need to get the padlock on my storage unit
cut off and replaced
mail restored, ad changed, buy padlock
next up
one job, focused, on task, slowly
figuring out
if there were any other important keys on that ring.
‘some people think my father was a spy, because of working for that government agency in vietnam,
but he can’t find his car keys, much less keep a national secret.’
*lauren graham, american actress
besides having startle response, and technology being my nemesis, another reason i opted not to be a spy.

*Lauren’s father, Lawrence Graham, was a candy industry lobbyist, president of the National Confectioners Association and worked for the United States Agency for International Development in Vietnam. (seems like a pretty good spy cover to me)

photo credit of smart baby with keys: google images

donkey nannies.

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Donkey nannies in Italy

I had no idea this was a thing, and my world was made better by learning that this happens.

Each year in Italy, grazing animals are moved from high pastures down to the plains. Newborn lambs are unable to make this journey on their own. Instead, they ride in the pouches of a specially made saddle on the back of a donkey or a mule nanny. They are taken down at rest stops and returned to their mothers for a bite to eat and a bit of nuzzling.
animals are such agreeable friends—they ask no questions; they pass no criticisms.”
-george eliot

Source credit: avant gardens Photo: medeamoon

designed for rest.

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terraced lawn with shady trees, designed for busy office workers to take breaks

shanghai, china

 

‘design is people.’

*jane jacobs

*jane jacobs (1916-2006) was an urban writer and activist who championed new, community-based approaches to planning for over 40 years.

ahoy!

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a beautiful morning spent paddling in the detroit canals and on the river

 not long after

we began this perfect day

it looked as though we’d been traversing the atlantic for weeks

having weathered the storms, sea, sharks, pirates, and the slightly bigger boats

catching rainwater in our hoods

 eating our last pack of dry ramen

thanks, for the adventure, friends

best day ever!

‘i’m afraid i’m an incorrigible life-lover, life-wonderer, and adventurer.’

-edith wharton

cows just wanna’ have fun.

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Cows have best friends. Lists of the world’s most intelligent animals don’t often feature cows, but they have more emotional depth than they get credit for. A 2011 study by scientists at the University of Northampton in England revealed that not only do cows have best friends,  but they also get stressed out when separated from their BFFs. The research was conducted by comparing heart rates and cortisol levels during 30-minute sessions in which a cow was penned with a “preferred partner” it was known to have a close bond with, then a “familiar but non-preferred individual.” When the besties shared a pen together, their heart rates were lower and other signs of stress were also reduced.

Cows aren’t the only animals that form friendships. Chimpanzees and bonobos do, too, as do several others, including dolphins, horses, certain birds, and marmots. Dolphins can identify their friends by taste, whereas most other creatures are known for simply grooming, remaining in close proximity to, and touching their besties — capuchin monkeys, for example, gently stick their fingers in one another’s eye sockets as a bonding ritual.

 

source credits:  gary larson image, university of northampton, vegnews.com, interesting facts

follow the sun.

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walking downtown each day

passing by this house/garden

that seems to come into being

overnight

 yet

vine

by

vine

and

stem

by

stem

with

sweat

and

time

and

sun

and

rain

and

soil

and

wind

and

toil

and

finally

a lot of

pure love

then one day

i look way up

 see shining giants

as big as the house

as bright as the sun

 stand proudly in front

this friendly gentleman

has found his home in his garden

has found his joy in this bright beauty

has found delight in sharing it all with the world.

 

“the flower that follows the sun does so even in cloudy days.”

– robert leighton

curves.

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i absolutely love

that when this sidewalk was created

someone noticed the majestic tree

growing for many years

beautiful in its natural place

respected it

and cared enough

to create a sidewalk that curved around it

rather than taking the tree out

to match the straight path that was planned.

‘in life, as in art, the beautiful moves in curves.’

*edward g. bulwer-lytton

*Edward George Earle Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (1803-1873) was a British politician, poet, and critic, chiefly remembered, however, as a prolific novelist.

‘the souls of emperors and cobblers are cast from the same mold.’ michel de montaigne

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i’ve recently seen not one, but two, outstanding cobbler shops

one in portugal

  a combo cobbler shop and bar

and this one in my town

bursting with creativity

a good cobbler is a treasure

both an artist and a craftsman.

“i think most of us are raised with preconceived notions of the choices we’re supposed to make. we waste so much time making decisions based on someone else’s idea of our happiness – what will make you a good citizen or a good wife or daughter or actress. nobody says, ‘just be happy – go be a cobbler or go live with goats.’”

-sandra bullock

burning calories.

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day one

of my return to healthy habits

slipped a pan of veggies

into the oven

got involved in a project

  over-roasted them a bit

is ‘char’ considered fiber?

‘food over flame burns, food over heat cooks.’

-alfred the great

take rest.

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on labor day.

“take rest. a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.”

— ovid

 

 

art credit: whispers of the countryside, david dockery, watercolor