Wiped...

...but smiling.

I suppose I should be more upset over losing my car in November.  I had loved driving that SUV.  As a proud mom I had hauled the kids' instruments on countless performances and competitions.  I had covered thousands of miles up to Northern Utah and back, and taken my mom on three treks halfway across the country to visit family in Kansas.  (Stopping at a dozen quilt shops along the way.)  That car was my portable craft room and Disneyland shuttle.

We had some good times together.

But this morning I realized just how much I missed by driving to work every day.

It's only a mile.

This morning I feasted on the clouds everywhere I looked.  A rainstorm was just starting to blow through, and the cold, moist breeze on my face felt like therapy.  Overhead ducks formed a V as they moved through.

Birds sang, as delighted with the cool, moist morning as I was.

I noticed stormfall on the acacia.  It was only two days ago that I noticed the acacia already blooming.  More noteworthy, although I've been driving this road for nearly forty years, that was the first time I noticed acacia growing here.  It brought back a happy memory of dinner at Mattie's Tavern on the way to Solvang, where each table had a tiny vase with a sprig of acacia and one dainty jonquil.  I've grown jonquils in my yard ever since.



Two days ago, after a whole night of rain, this little flood control stream was full of water racing to the sea.  Today it was down to it's usual weak trickle, but the peepers are singing, nevertheless.  With tree frogs disappearing, I am grateful that we still have the little things in our neighborhood.

Arriving at school for the day.  Not a bad view to greet me on any day, but with the clouds (have I mentioned I'm nuts for clouds?) it was especially gorgeous.

I don't know how long the 2BX and I will be able to keep this sharing process going.  We don't really have many options at this point.  But I have few complaints about my daily walk to school and back.

For now, it's Friday.  I'm really tired.  Had my annual appointment at the dermatologist.  She checks out my skin and freezes the pre-cancerous stuff.  (I wish those water skiing vacations had been more fun; they weren't worth the wrinkles and  pre-cancer stuff that are the price of too many serious sunburns when I was a kid.)  Had to remove a new mole to send for biopsy, but the rest was just the freeze burn stuff.  One of them was right under my bottom lip.  I kind of liked the way the burn looked and am thinking of getting a little heart-shaped tattoo there.

The skin care not a difficult procedure, but I find it tiring anyway.  Kept up my gym workouts and clogging.  In fact, I overdid at the gym on Monday.  I returned to the leg press machine after six months of profound lazy, and at the same weight I left off on.  It took me a whole day of not being able to sit down or get up properly to remember that stupid mistake.

So I'm just appropriately tired.  Begged off the trip to Simi for dinner with Mom.  I'll be going in early tomorrow for the day and overnight, then taking her to Disneyland on Sunday (in the rain).  Felt I needed tonight to do laundry, pack and just kick back.  Had my hair washed and jammies on by five, and am loving just relaxing on a Friday night.

Hope you are all headed for a relaxing weekend, too.

Hugs!