name that smell

view from the top
Originally uploaded by Julep67.

it's warming up kids. it rained today. as I went back and forth across campus today, I tried to avoid stepping in puddles. I was trying to avoid them because I had dressy shoes on and was going to an event and it wouldn't have been good to show up all damp from the puddles.

part of me really wanted to jump in with both feet and splash the water and not care a bit about it. alas, the other part of me was working at this event and couldn't give in.

I noticed too, on my trips back and forth, that it smells like spring. it's that smell that you tell yourself is the mud thawing out from under the snow but the logical part of your brains knows that it's actually dog shit thawing out. either way, mud or poop, it's what spring smells like!

oh, in other news, I was approached by a South American lady who is writing a book about people's relationships with New York City. She wants to use this photo in her book (as well as another one I took) and I told her yes! I think it'll be kind of neat to have some of my photos published in an actual book. She's agreed to send me a copy after it's published. neat huh? I particularly like that she chose this photo because it has our car in it. Mark was the one who saw our car and had me take the picture. It's not everyday that you can see your car from the top of the Empire State building!!

oblivious

inside the claw machine
Originally uploaded by Julep67.

I would like to know why, when I was in high school, in my small town, I never ever (never ever ever) once heard Aztec Camera on the radio yet, at least 1 in 3 times I tune into the 80's music station on our digital tv system, I hear Roddy Frame's lovely voice, singing to me?

This never ceases to strike me as "odd."

snow grains

fun world ferris wheel
Originally uploaded by Julep67.

the forecast currently calls for snow grains.

I don't even think I know what that means.

spring is supposed to officially begin this week but it feels like it's a long way off.

I know that baseball stuff is happening already.

I saw some green grass beside a snowbank yesterday.

those are good signs for sure but still, it's cold. snow grains.

I'm sick of winter.

truly sick.

I long for warmth, for sunshine, for naked toes in the grass and needing to wear sunscreen and wet towels on the deck rail.

soon, right?

sunday

icy morning
Originally uploaded by Julep67.

hey folks.

the freezing rain we woke up to on Friday morning didn't last too long, fortunately. It melted rather quickly and caused a lot of mini-floods in the roads and streets of our town. because it's been so cold lately, the storm drains were frozen solid. all the melting ice and falling rain just sort of pooled in the streets for a while on Friday. fortunately, the sun came out in the afternoon. big chunks of ice rained down on the ground everytime the wind blew. it was neat to see.

it took us until about 9 a.m. to get out of the driveway so I was a little late getting into work. because all of the local schools were closed for the day, some folks didn't make it in at all.

the weekend has been quiet around here. I picked up a headcold last week that is still dragging me down. because it's all in my head, by the time I'm ready to go to sleep, my head is starting to fill up and it makes breathing tough. I get up frequenly in the night to blow my nose and get something to drink. it's not fun and it's been going on since Tuesday. it can stop anytime it likes.

today I need to get the laundry done but once that is done, I don't really need to do much of anything else. I might even squeeze a nap in if I feel like it. it's nice to have options.

zambonied

our porch, driveway and street, actually, for as far as you can see from our front door, looks like a skating rink.

it's raining right now. the effect of the water on the ice is not unlike that of a Zamboni on a rink.

I'm not embarrassed to admit that going out in that, before it melts, makes me very nervous.

I hate freezing rain.