I Dare You To Watch This and NOT Smile

I can't explain it, but watching this made me grin like a madwoman. Charming!

P.S. Happy Summer!!

Quick Hits

A dogwood tree fell in our yard during Thursday evening's storms. Not a big deal since it didn't hit anything and isn't in the way. It seems almost a shame to have to remove it -- the cats think it is their personal feline jungle gym. They are all over it.

I've decided that planning our vacations is nearly as much fun as actually going on them. It finally got slow at work the past two days so I started working on our August plans. We're going to Washington state to see North Cascades, Olympic, and Mt. Rainier national parks. And since we're flying into Seattle, I think we'll have to make time to see the Science Fiction Museum just because.

Work is still kicking my ass, but in spite of that I am glad that they switched me to the Midtown location. Change is good. Still covering the "gritty downtown location" two days a week. Also still forced to "share" my Midtown office with a physician two of my three days there. And by "share", my employers mean when she is there I don't get to use it. Not fun.

So why haven't I been around here more? Ironically, my near constant access to the internet provided by my smart phone is the reason that I haven't been around very much. Now that I don't need a computer to read my email and get directions and stuff, I have less of a reason to get on the internet. I'm too busy to do it at work any more and don't really want to sit behind a computer at home since I spend so much time staring at a screen at work.

Tomorrow is my birthday. Forty five sure feels like halfway (or -gulp- more than half way) to something. Anyway, I decided to get myself a present: I'm hiring a housekeeper. I suck at cleaning, don't do it often enough and don't like it. I am more than happy to pay someone else to do it. So that's the plan. We've talked about hiring people to do the yard work also, but I am on the fence about that. I don't dislike yard work. I just don't like doing it when it is hot (kind of a problem when you live in Atlanta - it is hot all the dang time). I'd rather mow the lawn than vacuum any day, even if it is 95F and 95% humidity.

Oh Hai

Soooooo, whatcha been up to?

Merlin the Mighty

Cats are well known for leaving "gifts" of prey at their owners' doorstep. My cats are no exception, which is why it is wise to look down before leaving the house barefoot unless you really enjoy having chipmunk intestine between your toes. Count me out.

Today, Merlin brought us a gift of his own, but I'm not sure he really gets the concept. He was quite proud of his catch. And as usual in our cat household, the prey he was in the process of eating wasn't quite dead yet. Merlin ate the wings first. A bird, you ask? Sadly, no. The noble creature that Merlin bagged was... a butterfly. Which he carried to our doorstep, meowed until we opened the door, and then ate in front of us. He probably didn't understand why we were laughing at him.

Alive and Kicking

'Been a while. Figured I should let people know I am still alive (PDM and the cats are all OK as well - I know LL must have been worried sick). I haven't been posting since my work assignment changed a month ago*. When I feel like posting, I don't have time. When I have time, I don't feel like posting. Thus my month of silence.

I don't really feel much like posting right now, so I will leave you with the little blurb below and this photo of the morning sky over the north Georgia mountains, where PDM and I had a short getaway last weekend. We stayed in a cottage at a state park, and this was the view from our back porch. Not bad, eh?

*Still covering the gritty downtown location, but now I spend the other three days at the upscale midtown location. I was feeling burned out at the main location, so I am generally happy that they switched me to new horizons. Traffic is more of a hassle since I am going into the heart of Atlanta every day, but on the plus side my lunch choices have improved dramatically. You gotta look at the positive. This is a good thing long term, but in the short term there is a situation that makes this change very challenging and sometimes irritating. It should smooth out in a few months (fingers crossed). Maybe I won't be quite so damn busy after that. One can always hope.

Hammock Time

This is the view from our hammock. Rather awesome, no?

Atlanta had such great weekend weather*, I brought the hammock out of storage early and had some well deserved time to rest in it after a whole lot of yard work. It was our annual "chop down the old monkey grass" weekend. Like I always say, if it has "monkey" in the title, it is bound to give you trouble. We also did a bunch of other chores that you don't want to hear about.

Now the smell of charcoal smoke and jerk pork is filling the evening air. I am sipping wine and catching up on internet stuff while my husband cooks. Hope your weekend was equally productive and enjoyable. Smells like it is time to eat - gotta go!


*It isn't all wine and pork aroma. We are paying dearly for the early spring with a very high pollen count - especially considering it is only February. At least we are warm and comfortable while we sneeze and rub our eyes.

What a pain...

I spent eight hours today moving my CDs and assorted booklets and cover art from jewel cases to plastic sleeves. Sadly, I did not even come close to finishing the job. I am just glad that all the music we have purchased over the last several years is digital and not still sitting in my "to do" pile. I've got several hours to go before I can box up the jewel cases for the recycler. Some other time... not tonight.

Parts of my 2011 decluttering effort have been more painful than others. Today moved straight to the top of that list. Apparently, I am too old to spend eight hours sitting cross legged on the floor. *sigh* At least I have a nice desk to sit at while I complain about my lower back pain on my blog. And a good chair with lumbar support that is doing more to soothe my back than that useless painkiller I took an hour ago.