Ready for Tomorrow (121/366)

These shoes look like they're raring to go.

Weathering It Out (120/366)

The sun always comes out from behind the clouds eventually.

Midnight Snack (119/366)

It was hard to get these little guys in focus.

Precious (118/366)

Sleepy (117/366)

My sheets are so soft and slippery, smooth against my cheeks and crinkly between my toes.  Bedtime is delightful.

Brown Eggs (116/366)

One of my eggs got a little sun.

Already? (115/366)

It was a loooooong day.  A very nice day, but a long one.  And now it's finally bed time.

The City Awakens (114/366)

It was blessedly warm today, and the city poured forth people, sunshine, and new leaves. It's amazing the difference between today and a mere two weeks ago!  The joy will be short-lived - it's going back into the 50s over the weekend - but glorious just for today.

Earth Day (113/366)

Happy Earth Day, everyone!  Celebrate, give thanks, lend a hand, hug a tree! 

Marathon Monday (112/366)

The End of a Good Day (111/366)

Waves and Wind (110/366)

I spread my wings today!  I've been taking a course on climate change and theology at my church, and today we had a field trip to learn about how rising sea levels might affect the coast.  We also visited an expo on sustainability and energy conservation. Our mini-road trip was a blast; it was so delightful to explore, and it was hard to choose just one photo!  So I chose just three, which was hard enough.

The beach was bedecked with speckled stones, of all colors and kinds.  The water was freezing, as we've only had one day above 70°,  but it felt so good around my toes.   A gang of kids were actually swimming, shivering in their swimsuits.  Of course, around here, if we didn't swim when it was cold we'd never swim at all.  

This is (the shadow of) the energy of the future! Can you guess what it is?

Studying in Sunshine (109/366)

Today was the first day it was warm enought to study outside, hurrah!  My deck chairs were happy to have shaken off the snow and stretched out in the sun, as was I.

Finally! (108/366)

Spring is here!  

Friendship Bread (107/366)

Ten days ago, I was the lucky recipient of a friendship bread starter.   My friend gave me about a cup of batter, which rose and bubbled as I eagerly anticipate the tenth day.  Today I added more flour, milk, and sugar, and separated the batter into four more bags of starter to share with friends; then I baked!   

Go (106/366)

Graduation is less than a month away, and I spent a good part of my day writing cover letters and preparing copies of my resume.  I have that twinge in my stomach - anticipation, exhileration, excitement, apprehension - that comes from imagining possibilities and spinning dreams.  The future has never been quite so open, and I've never been so on the verge of growing up.  I know my life is moving forward, and I am moving on.

It's with some bittersweet sadness that I'm aware of the actual "moving" part.  There's a very good chance, I'm beginning to know, that I won't stay in my city.  Even if I do find a job in the area, I doubt I'll stay in my neighborhood - housing's just so much more afforable elsewhere.  But I'll miss this place, where I've had such good friends, where I've done so much growing up, where so much of the time I've felt that I belonged.  I love the streets I walk on; the train tracks I step around and the trees I pass under.  I was suddenly glad today that I'd undertaken this photography project and gotten so many neat photos of my neighborhood's little quirks and unexpected beauties.  

This appeared on our step last evening.  It's so relevant to the way I'm feeling right now: so tiny, so new, and yet ready to roll.

Traveling (105/366)

Clouds Parting (104/366)

Last Few Rays (103/366)

Fusilli (102/366)

In my youth (okay, relative youth) I worked many a summer at an Italian restaurant in my hometown.  One summer I worked with a younger university student who had beautiful blonde curly hair.  We nicknamed her "Fusilli" after the curly pasta in one of our most popular dishes; I still think of her when I see fusilli in the grocery store or when I'm out to eat. 

In the drugstore today I was drawn to a new tube of hair stuff.  It had tight twists of cream suspended in an icy blue gel, and it looked just like giant blue fusilli noodle.  It's supposed to make "soft & sculpted glamour waves;" we'll see.   It sure looks cool in any rate!

Conversation (101/366)

Fascinating humans for centuries ... 

De Colores (100/366)

Swish Swish, Meow Meow (99/366)

I joined four good friends for a shabu shabu dinner tonight - it's Japanese for "swish, swish," and diners swish their food in their own pots of boiling broth, cooking it to their liking and creating their own soup.*  It always makes for a delicious and healthy dinner, even though we Americans, unaccustomed to chopsticks, make glorious messes of our meals.

These cats graced the hostess stand and looked out over the small waiting area, accompanied inexplicably by a Christmas tree.  The cat on the left has such a noble, understanding look on his face, doesn't he?  I wonder what he sees as he watches the customers each day, what stories he knows.

*There are also Chinese and Korean versions of this same restaurant concept, called hot pot.

Growing to Bloom (98/366)

I found this branch last week on the grounds around the library.  I hoped it would bloom and open inside, but it hasn't yet.  Maybe the conditions aren't right for it; it certainly must miss the open air.

I just realised that I haven't travelled outside of a six-mile radius since I came back to school after Christmas.  I guess that's life without a car, right?  And it must be what life is like for the poor as well.  I love my city and my neighborhood, so I certainly don't feel squashed, but I suppose I would like a little more room to grow.

It Extends Its Tentacles (97/366)

I made a vaccuum cleaner today - although "some assembly required" sounds like it would be more complicated than it actually was.  It was a pretty quick job.

Clouds (96/366)

I sat and watched the clouds for a long time today, and felt blessed by their presence.

Untitled (95/366)

How beautiful upon the mountain

Are the feet of the messenger who announces peace

Who brings good news!

Nature's Jewellery (94/366)

Baseball's Back! (93/366)

I'm not a native New Englander, but the Red Sox still run in my family, so I've always loved them from afar.  At this time of year, baseball's all I think about!  Hooray!

The Cool Night Air Like Shalimar (92/366)

And outside they're making all the stops
The kids out in the street collecting bottle-tops
Gone for cigarettes and matches in the shops
Happy taken Madame George
That's when you fall
Whoa, that's when you fall
Yeah, that's when you fall
When you fall into a trance
...
And you know you gotta go
On that train from Dublin up to Sandy Row
Throwing pennies at the bridges down below