A day too pretty to be easily upset.

This is not boasting, it's just the truth, and a quirk of Mother Nature's timing. Try and remember that when you're having your gorgeous 80 degree summer heat and it's 115 degrees here. We sometimes go straight from our mostly milquetoast tepid winters directly into 100 degree blasts of summer days, so when we get Spring, even if it's in January, we tend to celebrate it. I know that some friends who will read this are house-bound in sub-freezing weather with two foot drifts of snow.

The weather is wondrously lovely today, heart-achingly so. 74 degrees.

My one class of the day ended at 9:20, and I've been studying and cleaning. Half my windows are open. Gorgeous music has been playing all day on my Harold Budd station on Pandora. The puppies are stationed at  open windows, enjoying the smells through the screens. Mochi is been barking too much, but I approve of exuberance in its many forms. The pretty day has been a treat for the doggies, too.

I've picked up about 4 more pounds of pecans.

I went to the store for dinner fixings, and the little old lady in line ahead of me was unhappy with the bag arrangement of her things, the cashier said she'd fix it, but the little lady hobbled off in a fume. I checked out quickly and rushed to catch up with the little lady. I'd arranged my bag and purse in one hand so I had a free hand to help her. She turned from frowning to beaming. I think sometimes old folks feel so marginalized that they just expect to be ignored and disappointed. Anyway, she said it was so kind of me and kept smiling. It was no trouble on my part-- it was an extra minute I got to be outside on a beautiful day.

Dinner is in the oven and is smelling amazing. It's been a beautiful Spring day. I know there will be more cool weather and likely some extremely cold weather yet this winter, but I hope we get a whole raft of more days like today.

Here's a gorgeous piece of music that played on my Pandora station.

Sunday, Puppy Sunday: lap dogs

How will I ever get anything done today? They're so warm and cozy!!!

Sunday, Puppy Sunday: afternoon nap

Mochi wore herself out playing on the sun, and now she seems boneless. It melts my heart to see her sweet little feet. I think we both need a nap!

Back to school

School is going very well so far. I'm much happier with my coursework so far. Will write more again soon. 

I tried to post a Sunday Puppy pic from my phone, which obviously didn't go through. I'm having major connectivity issues between my house internet as well as my phone just spontaneously shutting off, even though it just said it had 77% battery remaining. If I can't get the phone issue resolved, I may be making a quick trip to Dallas to visit the Apple store and get a new phone.  I REALLY don't want to buy a new phone right now, but it's 2+ years old, which makes it something of a dinosaur. I just need to be sure I can get my thousands of puppy pictures off of it. :)

Sleepy puppy.

Winter break is winding to a close. 

Lingering effects.

This ghastly head cold seems near to having run its course. I know I'm over the worst with a headcold when the rib-crunching coughing arrives. I've tried to irrigate my sinuses once daily with a saline rinse up each nostril, but sometimes I can tell the pressurized mist is not making much headway. *bad pun, intentional* At least I'm feeling remotely human again. I've been laying around with puppy dogs for the past 4 days, so actually feeling like doing things is a major improvement.

I  came across this article today of a gentleman in England who started a spiderwort plant in a large glass bottle terrarium in 1960. He watered it 12 years later, but has otherwise kept it completely sealed for over 50 years, and it's a thriving little ecosystem. Absolutely fetching!  Here's a link to the lovely story.

Trying to get my mud in a ball for the coming semester. I need to clean my study space and really get stuff in order. I can't believe that there's only one week of winter break, but, in fairness, I've spent about a week of the break sick. I'm so glad I wasn't sick DURING classes.  Hoping for a great semester.

A year or so before a particular "cup song" took the internet by storm...

...there was this "cup song".

This song, Robyn's Call Your Girlfriend is not my favorite for lyrics or message, but the harmonies here are fantastic. Actually, the song is utterly hoe-baglian. I hear a woman singing lyrics like this and the first thing that comes to mind is "ooh, girl! that's exactly how he's going to break up with you, too, on down the road."  But Pop Music: go figure. There's also the issue of pop culture creep wherein a talented young lady from Sweden incorporates a double-negative, but Pop Music is also no respecter of grammar.

Erato from Sweden.

Sunday, Puppy Sunday: nursing mommy back to health

Puppies are being most attentive as I convalesce. 

Sicky.

I'm in that state of unwellness in which I know I'll lose my sense of smell and taste within 24 hours. It's coming on, in other words. I don't think I've had a raging cold in a very long time, so I suppose I'm overdue.

Proud to say that I dragged myself out of bed and away from the vortex of comfort that is the bed-hounds (furnacle mode soundly engaged with this recent cold snap) and put my carcass through a shower. I now am wearing clothing that I could reasonably wear in public without shame, where an entire weekend in pajamas would have been justified. Aren't you proud of me?  After dressing, I pulled on a pair of wool socks and paused for a moment as my furry house shoes beckoned tantalizingly from the side of the bathtub where I'd stepped out of them just before my shower. I opted for a pair of clogs instead, and I'm feeling that my day's work has been achieved. I could switch back to the house shoes at any moment. At least I made a running leap at pretending to be a civilized human for today.

Since I am unwell, I have some piddling things to do around the house, and some writing to do, so maybe I can get something accomplished slightly beyond getting cleaned up and dressed.

About a year ago, I splurged $5 on a tatty old swivel/rocker chair from a yard sale. It's probably 60s or 70s vintage, but it sits very low, and I've discovered it's ideal for not-quite-loungey sitting when I'm messing with my laptop at the coffee table. The real feature with this chair is the way it is shaped and its low profile, because the pups can climb up the chair and encircle my butt. They are sort of like a furry tutu encircling my posterior, and everyone wins. They get to maximize warmth and contact with mommy, and I get to write without Chuy trying to sell me on the fiction that he is a cat and should be between me and my keyboard.

Now, for coffee!

To paraphrase Queen Elizabeth II:

2014 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure. 

I'm glad we've finally kicked that one to the curb.