frowny face
- seemingly insatiable cravings for yet more music
- caffeine addiction creeping back up
- overcrowded dance classes
- the current state of my closet
- 2,000 miles
smiley face
- lots of new records
- feeling more energized at work again
- feeling slightly more self-confident
- fruit
- unlimited off-peak phone minutes
- Capitol Hill Block Party this Saturday
- photo stroll this Sunday with kitty and LaidOutInLavender and hopefully lukadogwalker, too (ad hoc Puget Sound-area Vox meet-up!)
- flying down to the Bay Area the following weekend for long overdue visit with Kathleen and Kevin
- August 12
- that sticker artist:
*hangs a "Gone on a stakeout of UPS delivery trucks until my copy of FFIV arrives" sign*
You can clearly see the Blueberry Iron Curtain surrounding both East Tart, West Tart and the Strawberry-Kiwi ghetto. To the west, the Mandarin of Good Hope and the Fjords of Raspberry.
J and I were driving from breakfast to a small nature park on Kiawah island in South Carolina last week. We were almost to the gate when we realized we didn't have sunscreen, binoculars or anything else.
We turned the car around to head back to the hotel, when we drove by this great egret just hanging around a bridge. We were able to observe him amazingly close from our car window. J took these photos of him.
Great egrets are large herons found all over the world. Hunters in the late 1800s and early 1900s killed off 95 percent of the population in North America to use their feathers for clothing. Great egrets were almost extinct when two elderly women decided they wanted to protect the species, but women were not allowed to vote at the time. So they enlisted the help of a politician, who formed an organization with them and made it illegal to hunt these birds.Their population recovered nicely.This organization is now known as the Audubon Society.
The oldest great egret on record was 23 years old. These birds are not endangered, but are highly vulnerable to loss of their wetland habitat.
Two days from now I shall be jetting my way across the Pacific for just the second time in my life. I am going to Hawaii. I hope very much that when I step off the plane, the ocean air will hum with a smile of recognition and say welcome..."eia kā ʻoe hoʻi mai...so you have come back again." (Or at least that's what the online translator said.)
I am meeting my family in Kauai for a week. Mountains have had to be moved (8 pets + 1 week = lots of petsitting) and movidas masterminded (I shall be working remotely M -F next week with my day starting at about 4 am local time) so that I could go on this trip, but it's going to happen.
I hedged for a long time on whether to go or not. I was concerned about being away from the office for that time--uncertain for a short time about my job security. I was concerned about spending that much time alone with family. (Hey I love them, but close quarters can be stressful on anyone.) And, I was concerned about going back there, a second time, alone.
Luckily these things all passed and I got off the fence in time to get a ticket (thanks, Dad--gotta love those frequent flier miles) in early June. I am back in the good graces of most all at work and am a golden girl with my team. Recent events have given me some perspective on family and I'll be glad to be with them as their newly minted adult daughter. And, oh yes, I am pleased to be going back alone. I rather prefer it.
The first visit, you see, was to Waikiki and then to Maui for a honeymoon back in 2002. It was a great trip--and remains so, the memories no less diminished by the end of the marriage. In a funny way, I'm more free to enjoy those memories now than before. My ex used to talk about that trip like it was heaven...he'd bring it up in good times and bad, sometimes daydreaming about the adventures we had, sometimes cursing me/us because the life we had was so different from that week--a week of vacation when we had no responsibilities and wedding money meant that finances weren't a concern. It always seemed a bit unreasonable to me.
So, I'm heading to Kauai and not Maui this trip, but to the islands nonetheless and am looking forward to it immensely. It's actually supposed to rain most of while we're there and I can't wait to see it, smell it, taste it. I love the rain, just about anywhere as long as it's not deadly, and I would love a week of rain and clouds, even heat, to write and walk and dream in.
Hopefully many pics and posts will be forthcoming. Posting from Hawaii just a has a romantic feel to it.
Vox Hunt: Recent Purchase
Show us the last thing you bought.
I've been on a bit of a buying binge (being home alone will often call for some retail therapy), so here are the last few things that have come home with me.
This morning we made almond milk with the water of a young coconut. We then made a strawberry shake with the almond milk, some of the coconut meat, fresh organic strawberries and ice. DELICIOUS. Very creamy and smooth. We didn't add any sweetener, so it's just the flavor of strawberry, really. Very filling.
What question do you wish you'd never asked.
Submitted by cha0tic.
Would you be an outlaw for my love?
Yes! The song lyrics continue, and it's a legitimate answer. The thing I hate more than the fact that The Outlaw broke my heart is that I wasted such a good nickname on him. Never trust a redhead.
Show us the last thing you bought.
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