Feeling regal

Well of course I am.  I just was crowned!  I believe it was number 16.  That would be the number of the tooth, not the number of crowns.  Decidedly poorer, but happier with my chewability factor, I look forward to exercising both sides of my molars!  I am amazed at artisans.  My doc is, as mentioned earlier, one.  His PA is likewise.  My dentist is one.  His assistant is one.  In fact, she is amazing.  Who else could make a visit to the dentist something to which I look forward?  Perhaps the overarching factor in each of these people is their humanity!  They all seem to care about me!  And for that (along with an amazing number of other things), I am thankful.  And you!  You are loved!

The things you learn at 4:00 am!

So, having done this some 459 times, I decided to check out the fun things one can do with formatting one's blog.  Surprise, you can highlight!  Pretty annoying, isn't it!  Perhaps it would be better to simply change text color.  Or not.  I would guess strikeout might even be more disconcerting!  I'm not completely sure of a couple of other options, but I don't want to overload you with my technical expertise!  Suffice it to say, sometimes simple and straightforward presentation is the best.  You are loved!

It's just a little blue flower!

When this is the way you start your day, how could it possibly be anything but spectacular?  And it was.  Spent a little time eliminating lily residue for the upcoming season.  Then it was off to brunch with three of the most delightful people with whom you would be privileged to ingest comestibles!  I have long ago given up trying to trace the path of friending.  It would be serpentine at best, filled with detours and construction at its worst, but in this case, the destination is more important than the route.  These three hold an amazing space in my heart, and spending time with them was my noon glory.  Then it was off to the kids for an afternoon of this:

You need to understand, I can trace this friendship!  One of the all day glories is spending time with former students who have grown into very present friends!
To call the day spectacular would be an understatement.  So let's just call it glorious!  Know you are loved!

Celebrations

I find myself in an unusual situation/mood this evening.  First, for September, it is a gorgeous day.  I'm celebrating the work we got done and the work there is to do.  The very fact that we can work is worthy of celebration.  Second, and this will seem strange to you, I celebrate the fact that simple beauty can still give me goosebumps!  Don't ask me how I discovered this link, but if you google Collabro (the winner of Britain's Got Talent) and listen to their encore performance, you might just get matching goosebumps!  I also celebrate tonight the life of a man who at 97 is in an epic battle for his life.  A truly unique man, who in his very approach to life inspires most everyone he meets.  He may not win this battle...but he has made this world so much the better.  After my ostrich day yesterday, it's only fair to recognize the reasons for pulling one's head out...of the sand.  Oh yes, and I celebrate each of you!  Know you are loved!
► 2:41

It's an ostrich kind of day

I'm headed for Menards,, the latest tune on the radio resonating in my head, and the news comes on.  Someone was beheaded, and the perpetrator shot.  Someone set fire to an airport building.  Someone was arrested for assault.  I turned the radio off.  What was an anticipatory mood turned into a holy crap mood.  And I wanted to bury my head in the sand.  If it doesn't directly affect me (no one has attacked me or set me on fire), I can ignore it, right?  Wrong!  I buy into the fact that if we are not part of the solution, we are part of the problem.  So here's what I'm going to do.  I'm going to go out of my way to be nice to people.  I'm going to listen more and talk less.  I'm going to model the behavior I would expect from everyone else.  And I'm going to let people know they are loved.  Perhaps we can adjust "The Circle of Life" (the tune on the radio!).

Gray day

My good friend Scott talks about the impact of black and white photography.  On this particular morning, I thought nature was pretty much in agreement with him.  While there are tinges of color here, the pattern in the clouds, offset by the proximity of the trees, captured my attention and imagination.  Sometimes, there are many shades of gray between the extremes of black and white!  And on those shady days, there is beauty!  May you find yours, and know you are loved!

Leftovers

I love to cook.  This comes as a surprise, right?  This usually means I cook for thrashers, or so it would seem.  This results in copious amounts of leftover foodstuffs.  Here's the irony.  I'm not a huge fan of leftovers...even when I know they are good (who says I'm egotistical?).  This results in a sharing situation.  Thankfully, the neighbor to the north greatly appreciates any tidbits offered!  I believe this is called a symbiotic relationship.  We enjoy the original run.  She enjoys the rerun!  There are limits to my generosity, however.  She might have had two pieces of the blueberry pie.  She had one.  I turned aside my aversion to leftovers and forced it down for breakfast.  In fact, it took great restraint not to force it down when nature called at 3:00 this morning!  My self control has to be admired, right?  When you put blueberries together with sour cream, almond flavoring and egg in a crust flavored with blueberry extract and made with vodka, covered with a pecan crumb topping, force may not have been the right word!  I may have to adjust my fan level!  Know you are loved!