Reading Saves Time!

Never underestimate the power of reading. It actually saves me time on my drive home! No, I'm not reading while I drive, but I am a patron of my local library. Since I know where it is, turning down the road it's on creates a short cut to get around some congestion that occurs at a turn further down the road.

There is nothing else on this road - no homes, no businesses - just the library so the only people that realize where it comes out are library goers and the directionally gifted of which I would never fall into the second category.

I can almost always see the person who was in front of me who went straight instead of turning down the library road waiting 10 cars back to make a left turn, and I can't help enjoying it.

Blame it on the Rain

It hasn't rained in ages it seems, but today it dripped softly all day. Here are some good things that happened because it rained:

1) The nasty carnage of bugs on my windshield has been washed away

2) It made my after-work run more fun; it cleans the roads and my clears my mind

3) The tomatoes my friend is growing got a much needed drink although I love when she brings me the green ones

4) My husband cooked an awesome dinner. Which probably had nothing to do with the rain, but the rain did make the weather cooler which puts him in a cooking mood so I suppose it may have had something to do with it after all.

Mornings Are Great - Getting Up for Them is Hard

I hoisted myself from sleep this fine Saturday to go running on trails in the park. I scared three rabbits and smelled skunk but thankfully never saw one. Morning really is the best time of the day. Everything is yet to be and quiet rules the land.

As I was jogging I came upon a stand of pine trees. Pine trees are quiet. Other trees with arms outstretched, are waving around, catching the wind, whooshing and swaying. Pines embrace you with down turned limbs in a gesture of hushing. Hush, be quiet, be still. I stopped to be quiet with them for a few moments.

After my run I went to the market for peaches. My husband loves peach cobbler so that is what a few of them will be destined for. I also got a teeny pecan pie from the Amish there. It is about 3" across; can't wait to share that with him as well. From the vendor who sells fresh cut flowers, I picked the ones you see in the photo. Nearby an elderly gentleman picked up a small bouquet in a jar and told the person behind the table, "I'm going to take these for my wife. She will really enjoy them." Right you are, sir!

I also couldn't resist a pint of fresh blueberries. Some still have little stems and there are bits of sticks in the container. I love that. Their flavor is exquisite. No candy is as good as this.

Treasured by Wildflower

This Treasury is only up for four more hours and most of you will likely be tucked away in bed, but if you can't sleep, check it out.

Did you miss it? Don't fret - visit my dear friend's Etsy shop and check out her favorites. She created this funky collection and you'll find them - and more - all here.

And Now for a Little Romance

An excerpt from the Aria Images by Melody blog of an interview with Helen from Pepperina Press reads like a novel:

"I met my future husband on the night train to Venice, because he was wearing a South Africa Rugby t-shirt. That's really how it went. I was at the start of a three-month solo backpacking adventure around Europe, he was travelling with a high school friend for a few weeks, and we were caught in the chaos of an Italian railway strike. I asked him directions because I thought he was South African (false advertising, I tell you – he's Texan!) and somehow we talked all night on the train. We ended up in Venice, although he and his friend had intended to go to Rome. We spent two days hopelessly and wonderfully lost among bridges and canals and winding streets. We thought it was just a summer fling – I had to keep travelling, he had to go back to America to start medical school... but somehow it stuck. Four years, several countries and a fortune in airline tickets later, we went back to Italy to get married. You never know how a t-shirt's going to change your life...."


Read more and discover her artwork here.