I actually got two postcards today. One from my cousin Ben who is in grad school in California, and the other from Nathan.

Nathan’s postcard is a lovely shot of the mountains across the lake, and although my backyard doesn’t quite look like that, the postcard is quite lovely.

However.

82 cents in postage? Really?

Nathan, you do realize that West Virginia is not, in fact, a foreign country, right? And it only costs 26 cents to mail a postcard?

Just checking.

This is the final list:

Plus Terry Prachett’s The Truth which I just found while cleaning out my backpack.

ADDENDUM the First:
And Capacity, by Tony Ballantyne, which I’ve been trying to read for a year.

Yesterday we made a brief trip to Hancock, and I decided it would be a good time to play with the landscape setting on my camera, as well as with the photostitch software that came with it.

(more…)

It’s that time of the week!

Nasturtium. They’re nice and spread quickly. And are edible, but I haven’t tried one.

Shrub Rose beside the drive way. It doesn’t have a strong smell, and the roses aren’t as beautiful as hybrid tea roses, but it’s hardly and survives benign neglect.

Yes, I really do like the orange sunflowers. Why do you ask?

Today I also got my loot for winning Todd‘s summer reading content!

It’s a bag of M&M’s that say Todd Wheeler, Contest 2008, and Summer Reading.

Thanks Todd!

As you may remember, I won Jim’s contest.

Today, my loot arrived!

(more…)

#@^$& @#*^#@ing @#&$#&@!

ADDENDUM the First:
G^$ @&## $* (&#$ing #^#$! #&$^&!

ADDENDUM the Second:
I’m going to go do some web design. May as well get all my frustration in at the same time.

Does my tap water smell like beta-mercaptopurine first thing in the morning?

It’s really disconcerting.

And unpleasant.

TGIF!

Kat, hanging out on the cat mat from Tania. Don’t look too closely or you see where all the cat fur in my house ends up.

Kit, thinking if she lies on the kitchen chairs, we won’t see her.

Despite the fact that I always find her there.

I found someone’s marbles.

I’m having a no good very bad day.

Amuse me.

It’s been awhile since I had a vacation.

I took of time over winter break, but that always ends up being just as busy as staying at work, only without the having to get up early bits.

Last vacation was October when I went with Michael to Florida for his conference. I did nothing, and it was good.

I’m tired.

I’ve got a vacation coming up (two actually) and people keep asking, “what are you going to do while you’re there?”

Um. Nothing? I don’t want plans. I don’t want a time table. I don’t want a to do list.

I want to wake up, and then roll back over and go back to sleep. I want to eat good food and read good books. I want to play with my camera and see if I can learn to take landscape pictures.

Of course I have things to do. After all,I’m going there to be in a wedding (Yes, yes. I’ll make sure Michael gets at least one decent picture of me in a dress. And I’ll post it. So you can witness this rare occasion for yourself.). And I totally want meet Janiece and Anne. Because they’re like totally cool (and I’m hoping some of their coolness will rub off on me!).

But beyond that? If we do something cool, that’s fine. If we do nothing, that’s also fine.

Mostly, I just can’t wait to sleep in.

By the way, I’m a jerk, because I’ve totally forgotten to thank Ilya for his lovely postcard. Those are lovely guns, and it’s best I not be around them when angry.

And I also forgot to mention that I TOTALLY WON Jim’s contest! (Go read the entries only if you are not faint of heart.) I’d like to say that makes all the pain and suffering of the past couple weeks worth it, but that would totally be a lie. So, I’ll leave it at YAY ME!

For Tania

If the above doesn’t work click here.