This weekend was one of discovery. Allow me to share...
After waking up a little late for church, and realizing that the pants I wanted to wear had not been ironed yet, I went in search of the ironing board and iron that can usually be found in the kitchenette. The board was there, the iron was not. So I had to either go to church wearing pants that looked like they had dried tied in a knot, or, find some other way of ironing them. Dilemma! But, I figured something out. My hair straightener works to iron clothes! Who would'a thunk it? Yep, I learned that a hair straightener can be used as an iron.
After church, while we were sitting at potluck, I learned something else! There were two little girls playing by the wall behind us. Keith was sitting across from me and saw them. He decided to try something. So he pulled out his pen/flashlight/laser-pointer and pointed it at the wall next to where the girls were playing. Sure enough, it worked. Like cats they started climbing the walls after the little red light. So, when you have a room full of adults, and two little girls, you can use a laser pointer to entertain everybody!!!
See, a day full of lessons that I will take with me for years to come.
11/12/07
11/8/07
Starbucks
I'm sitting in Starbucks right now. It is 10:37 in the morning on a Thursday. There are a lot of people here.
Across from me there is a young man with three or four rings on his hands. He's drinking something hot and studying for one of his classes. He steps outside for a smoke every now and then.
Next to him are two women and a little boy. One is his Mom, the other might be his aunt. They each have a hot drink, lattes I think. They got him a little hot chocolate. I think he's asleep now.
Next to them are some abandoned newspapers left by the gentleman who isn't sitting there any more.
On my right there are three older people. Two gentlemen and a lady. They are looking at something on a laptop, but I can't tell what it is. It must be interesting though, they are looking really closely and talking and pointing.
Behind them are three women sitting at a table. Two came late. I can't tell what they are talking about, but all three are dressed very business like, but quite fashionable. They all have dangly earrings and bracelets and they are all wearing pointy heels. One ordered the pumpkin spice latte, and when she tasted it, she exclaimed “Oh my God, it tastes like pumpkin pie!” I guess she didn't expect it.
Behind me I hear a shuffling of newspapers. An older gentleman is sipping on his coffee and looking at the business section. Or is it sports. Maybe he's interested in lifestyles. I bet he's looking for someplace to take his wife tonight. It's probably their 30th anniversary or her birthday or something. I bet she's at work right now, and has no idea he's planning something for her. I bet he'll pick her up at work with a bouquet of 30 flowers. Or maybe he's just reading the headlines...
A large group just walked in. They are all wearing white shirts and black pants and black-and-white-striped aprons that come down below their knees. It looks like their boss is treating them to coffee for a job well done. He is in a black suit. They are probably caterers. They have that air of high-end food about them. One tab, he said. There are about 12 people there. One tab. There are five women and five women, plus the boss. Did I count right? One is standing in front of me waiting for his drink and looking at the CDs. His pants are Dickies. The girl in all black has a big, silver belt buckle that she keeps hooking her thumbs over. She's with one of the guys, they just put their arms around each other. They all have a little black book in the pocket of their aprons, some on the left, some on the right. Some of these guys seem really young, other seem very experienced. They are “heading back to the operation” the boss says. They have their “goodies” so it's time to go. Just like that they leave, and it's somewhat quiet again.
The store is already decorated like Christmas here. They have a wreath in the window. All of their Christmas themed merchandise is on the shelves, red, green, white, snow flaked, candy-caned. The CD rack holds Christmas albums by Josh Groban and other names that I don't recognize.
My ice water is sweating on the table beside me. My coffee is not quite warm anymore.
I just heard the older people beside me mention Southern. One is talking about colleges in the area. I'm wondering what they are talking about. The couple doesn't seem too old. It looks like they are wanting to buy something. Property, houses. I don't know. They have a couple of maps out. I guess they are leaving now. Going to look at something or another.
The place seems empty now. But it's really not. I'm just here alone.
Across from me there is a young man with three or four rings on his hands. He's drinking something hot and studying for one of his classes. He steps outside for a smoke every now and then.
Next to him are two women and a little boy. One is his Mom, the other might be his aunt. They each have a hot drink, lattes I think. They got him a little hot chocolate. I think he's asleep now.
Next to them are some abandoned newspapers left by the gentleman who isn't sitting there any more.
On my right there are three older people. Two gentlemen and a lady. They are looking at something on a laptop, but I can't tell what it is. It must be interesting though, they are looking really closely and talking and pointing.
Behind them are three women sitting at a table. Two came late. I can't tell what they are talking about, but all three are dressed very business like, but quite fashionable. They all have dangly earrings and bracelets and they are all wearing pointy heels. One ordered the pumpkin spice latte, and when she tasted it, she exclaimed “Oh my God, it tastes like pumpkin pie!” I guess she didn't expect it.
Behind me I hear a shuffling of newspapers. An older gentleman is sipping on his coffee and looking at the business section. Or is it sports. Maybe he's interested in lifestyles. I bet he's looking for someplace to take his wife tonight. It's probably their 30th anniversary or her birthday or something. I bet she's at work right now, and has no idea he's planning something for her. I bet he'll pick her up at work with a bouquet of 30 flowers. Or maybe he's just reading the headlines...
A large group just walked in. They are all wearing white shirts and black pants and black-and-white-striped aprons that come down below their knees. It looks like their boss is treating them to coffee for a job well done. He is in a black suit. They are probably caterers. They have that air of high-end food about them. One tab, he said. There are about 12 people there. One tab. There are five women and five women, plus the boss. Did I count right? One is standing in front of me waiting for his drink and looking at the CDs. His pants are Dickies. The girl in all black has a big, silver belt buckle that she keeps hooking her thumbs over. She's with one of the guys, they just put their arms around each other. They all have a little black book in the pocket of their aprons, some on the left, some on the right. Some of these guys seem really young, other seem very experienced. They are “heading back to the operation” the boss says. They have their “goodies” so it's time to go. Just like that they leave, and it's somewhat quiet again.
The store is already decorated like Christmas here. They have a wreath in the window. All of their Christmas themed merchandise is on the shelves, red, green, white, snow flaked, candy-caned. The CD rack holds Christmas albums by Josh Groban and other names that I don't recognize.
My ice water is sweating on the table beside me. My coffee is not quite warm anymore.
I just heard the older people beside me mention Southern. One is talking about colleges in the area. I'm wondering what they are talking about. The couple doesn't seem too old. It looks like they are wanting to buy something. Property, houses. I don't know. They have a couple of maps out. I guess they are leaving now. Going to look at something or another.
The place seems empty now. But it's really not. I'm just here alone.
11/5/07
Wind-blown Color
I was sitting down by the elementary school yesterday afternoon, taking some pictures. The leaves on the tree over my head were orange, yellow, and almost-green. The leaves under my feet were mostly orange and crunchy.
When the breeze blew, the leaves on the ground would rustle and move a little. Leaves fell from the tree over my head, swirling around me. And the leaves on the pavement in front of me scuttled and rattled across the black top as the wind blew them in every different direction.
The wind hummed low in my ears, and caused the leaves all around me to rattle and hiss. They sounded like a rain stick.
The time I spent under that tree brought me back home in a way. The foliage at home far outshines the colors here. Here, most of the time we just go from green to brown. Not much orange or red in between. But under this tree, it was orange. It was a taste of what I've been missing.
When I caught the leaves in my camera, the colors that I saw just popped. The oranges were brighter, and reds were redder, the yellows were sunnier. Everything just seemed to glow through my lens, making me feel almost as if I'd stepped out of my world and into one of much more color.
The breeze that swirled around me must have carried me off somewhere with color and sun.
And then I noticed the trunk of the tree I was leaning on. It was actually pretty ugly, knotted and gnarly with lichen growing haphazardly here and there in ugly white spots. There was nothing especially spectacular about the trunk. Until I noticed something move.
A bright red lady bug was making his or her way up the trunk on the most ugly side of the tree. The stark contrast between the rough and grey bark and this smooth red bug was beautiful. That bug just crawled over whatever bumps or crevasses he came to. He didn't let anything stop his ascent. When the breeze blew too hard against him, he just hunkered down and clung with all his might to the bark.
More color in a drab situation. More color. Maybe that is what I need. More color.
See A Developing Story for a picture picture.
When the breeze blew, the leaves on the ground would rustle and move a little. Leaves fell from the tree over my head, swirling around me. And the leaves on the pavement in front of me scuttled and rattled across the black top as the wind blew them in every different direction.
The wind hummed low in my ears, and caused the leaves all around me to rattle and hiss. They sounded like a rain stick.
The time I spent under that tree brought me back home in a way. The foliage at home far outshines the colors here. Here, most of the time we just go from green to brown. Not much orange or red in between. But under this tree, it was orange. It was a taste of what I've been missing.
When I caught the leaves in my camera, the colors that I saw just popped. The oranges were brighter, and reds were redder, the yellows were sunnier. Everything just seemed to glow through my lens, making me feel almost as if I'd stepped out of my world and into one of much more color.
The breeze that swirled around me must have carried me off somewhere with color and sun.
And then I noticed the trunk of the tree I was leaning on. It was actually pretty ugly, knotted and gnarly with lichen growing haphazardly here and there in ugly white spots. There was nothing especially spectacular about the trunk. Until I noticed something move.
A bright red lady bug was making his or her way up the trunk on the most ugly side of the tree. The stark contrast between the rough and grey bark and this smooth red bug was beautiful. That bug just crawled over whatever bumps or crevasses he came to. He didn't let anything stop his ascent. When the breeze blew too hard against him, he just hunkered down and clung with all his might to the bark.
More color in a drab situation. More color. Maybe that is what I need. More color.
See A Developing Story for a picture picture.
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