May 2013

So today is the 13th of May so naturally we have turned on the heat throughout the house due to the crazy temperature. I skipped the bike ride this morning and opted to go for a walk instead because the sky was providing a mixture of hail and snow. Of course, today is the day after Mother’s Day, when spring is suppose to be in the air, flowers are in bloom and all of that, but Mother Nature, the Mother of Mothers, is cranky or something so here we are.

The responsible adult in me just cringes when the furnace comes on during this time of year.

On Saturday we met with a window replacement salesman and decided to sign on the dotted line to replace all the windows in the house. The windows are original to the house and they’re really good at leaking heat. Wood framed windows have a harder time standing up to the elements. The new windows will be vinyl windows. We are looking forward to our energy costs going down. I’m also looking forward to being able to put a room air conditioner in the bedroom window. The old windows were crank out windows and didn’t give us that luxury.

Not that we would need air conditioning today. I need to go find a sweatshirt.

So I’m finally working from home again today. I feel like I’m back on schedule and that’s a really good feeling.

I made myself a healthy lunch and have found my way to nearby Lock 20 on the Barge Canal. This is a park that is maintained by volunteers. It’s a popular spot with the locals and it is usually in really good condition. I’m watching two boats go through the locks as we speak. The first (pictured above) is a dinner cruise boat headed farther east to start the dinner and sightseeing season. The second is a little fishing boat with two guys on it. I don’t know where they’re headed.

I sometimes pay too much attention to the noise in the world and don’t stop and take a moment to realize the nifty things that we have right in our backyard. In a geeky way it’s cool to have a canal lock a mile or two from the house. It’s a good place to relax for lunch hour. Cycling seems to help me bring my awareness to the hear and now back to the forefront of the clutter that is in my brain.

And I smell lilacs as I type this. I can’t find a lilac bush on a quick glance around, but I can definitely smell them. My favorite flower, the scent of lilac reminds me of Grandma City. I’m smiling like a little kid right now, all because I took the time to appreciate the hear and now and then smell the flowers.

Little things make life grand.

Today, of all days in my adult existence, I needed to see something that would be a game changer. After a rough start to the day and some intense conversation, I needed some sort of glimmer of, well, something.

And then the universe led me to this.

Please take 10 minutes to watch this if you feel so inclined.

I have to admit that this is kind of awesome in a way, but really sad in other ways. Either way, don’t diss the Kiss Cam.

http://youtu.be/GE88upiaSyg