Little Wing

A monarch lost her wing. I expect one of the outdoor cats caught it and ate the body. They're assholes that way.

The Fingerbone is Connected to the WHAT?

Great-great Uncle Adolph Russell Thompson's World War I draft registration card

All fingers on right hand off at or near wrist. That's what it says. I don't know what it means, but that's what it says.

So, I've been making up scenarios in my head for how he lost his fingers (or, rather, HAND). NaNoWriMo is just around the corner, y'all, and I need plot ideas. May as well mine weird family history for them, right?

Honeybee

A coworker gave me some plants a few years back. She swore one of them was coleus, which should only grow a few inches tall. It was not coleus. It was giant, mutant, evil basil. I do not like basil. I can't stand the smell or the taste. Even pulling the babies in the spring grosses me out. This stuff is, I kid you not, 4-5 feet tall. And now it's flowering, which I KNOW, I KNOW means it will just spread more. But in order to pull it, I have to smell it, which I'm not willing to do. Someday it will take over so thoroughly that I will be forced to move.

The bees like it, though.

Sedum is Blooming

A Visitor

She was so fat and juicy and revolting that I had to get out the big camera, so I could get a decent photo of her.

16561

I walked to work today. It was (as I may have mentioned!) cold and miserable. I decided I needed A Something, and I hit 10,000 steps on my way to the snack machine for Doritos. So that's the kind of day it was. Ugh.


And then I got annoyed with being cold and did some rage walking up to the stairs to the 10th floor. Which was fine, but walking back down I hurt my good knee. So I stressed the rest of the afternoon about having to walk home on a bum knee. It ended up being okay, thankfully.

I am driving in tomorrow though, so I can take extra warm wear.

C-c-c-c-c-c-c-cold

Have I mentioned how cold it's been at work this week? It's been cold, yo. Really, really, really cold. My hands and feet are like ice cubes, and they hurt. I know 60F doesn't seem that bad, but believe me, when you are sitting all day at a computer, it's bad.





I have drunk so much tea and coffee that I don't ever want to look at the stuff again. I think I have done most of my daily 10,000 steps walking back and forth to the bathroom, because did I mention TEA AND COFFEE?

Home Again

I'm back from vacation. Franny and Piglet spent pretty much the entire day like this. I think they may have missed each other.

Minnesota

Iowa

Illinois

Preparations, Ahoy!

I am frantically trying to get my shit together, so I can leave for vacation. Part of that meant running errands to get stuff I needed for Franny, because I'm taking her with me. She also got a new collar, which she agreed to model for me. Very sporty. 

Franny

Frances makes it difficult for me to leave for work in them morning, with all her cuteness.

Giant Ragweed

Giant Ragweed (Ambrosia trifida)

Giant ragweed, or what we called horseweed, when I was a kid. It is trying to kill me.

Art Box

I've had this same Art Bin art box since college. The interior is covered with ground-in graphite and charcoal. I washed it thoroughly. It still looks filthy, but at least the surface residue is gone now and won't rub off on stuff I put in it. I'm going to Minnesota in a few days, to visit family, and I needed something portable and easy to stow some art crap in.

Oldies

Metal


Biteyface


Bosslady

As I was cleaning and sorting and getting rid of mountains of crap, I came across a box of photos I'd forgotten about. These are some of my favorites. Harriet was the original bosslady, and Elliott was her willing minion.

20,000

Wednesday was a good day.

Milling About

Foggy Morning

I walked to work today, to avoid driving home this afternoon during the chaos of freshman move-in. As I was walking, the fog started to descend, and by the time I got to the edge of campus, it was pea soup. Absolutely gorgeous.

I've been averaging about 6 miles a day, according to my FitBit. I think it's probably pretty close to accurate, after comparing it to what my pedometer says. Most of that is split between walking to and from work, with a break in the afternoon to walk around in the stacks.

Loading Dock Tree

I've been walking in to work (and home again) as much as possible. When I do, I enter the building through the loading dock, where this little tree lives.

Puke Green

I found a puke green flannel shirt at Goodwill. I love this color. It uploaded next to a photo I took at work of the western horizon, and I think the two images go nicely together.

Goodwill Haul

Because I needed more books, oh yes, I did.

Monarch

Reflections

I walk by the IU art museum when I go to the public library, which I did today. I love the way the sky and nearby buildings are reflected in the windows. Thank you, I. M. Pei.

Advice from the Graduate Carrels

Graduate Carrel 7E, Herman B Wells Library

You can choose to blame
your circumstance on fate
or bad luck or bad choices
or you can choose to fight back.
Things aren't always going to be
fair in the real world. That's just
the way it is. But for the most
part, you get what you give.
The rest of your life is being
shaped right now with the
dreams you chase, the choices
you make and the person
you decide to be.
The rest of your life is a
long time and it starts
right now.

Dudevertising

Drinking Diet Coke will make your dick fall off. TRUFAX. So Coke created macho Coke Zero for manly men. And now they're advertising it with heavily gendered crap like this.

So. Gross. I can't even envision a scenario wherein I would willingly share my pop with bros or grillmasters.

Surprise!

It has rained and rained and rained. The garden is happy, but I'm getting a little tired of it.

Sunflower

The thing that I thought was a sunflower was clearly not a sunflower, onna counta it had a cone in the center and did not get any bigger. It was a Black-eyed Susan. Duh. I forgot I'd planted them a couple of years ago, and they do look an awful lot like sunflowers when they first form buds and bloom. THIS is an actual sunflower, though. With raindrops.

Box of Words

Reflection

Hark! A Book!

I needed a square(ish) format book for journaling, and I like working on kraft paper, so I rounded up some grocery bags and also grabbed some brown packing paper from the recycling bins at work. The boards are recycled from a kids' book.

This Is a Contorted European Filbert

We had another fire alarm today, so I took another walk in the Arboretum. This little guy is seriously weird looking. His leaves are shriveled up, like they're withering, but they aren't.

I also looked at the lily pond.

15,561

Some days cracking 10,000 steps doesn't seem like any kind of a big deal. Today was not one of those days.

Cosmos

My cosmos are finally blooming! And such a pretty, deep color, too.

Sunrise

I walked to work this morning and was rewarded with a delicately lovely sunrise.

The Watcher

Home Is Where the Tennis Ball Is

I have never been able to crate Frances, because she has confinement anxiety. I wasn't even able to keep her confined behind baby gates when she had her knee surgery. She went right through the gate. Surprisingly, she will willingly use her crate, as long the door remains open.

This is her new travel crate. I needed something lightweight and portable to take with us to Minnesota, so Franny would have a safe spot to chill out when things get hectic. As you can see, she has moved in, unpacked, and declared it HOME.

Goodwill Haul

Because I need more books.

Teal

There was one pair of Converse shoes in my size, and they were teal. WIN!

Forget-Me-Not

My forget-me-nots are finally blooming!