day lily

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Many moons ago, I transplanted day lilies from rural Indiana to the front yard of my first house.  When we moved into this house, I brought some of them with me.

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new library materials!

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On June 29, we picked up a new batch of library materials for the first time since March 13 -- the last day the library was open as it used to be.

We have to "shop" online, reserving things we'd like to use, and then we have contactless pickup in the lobbies of the various branches.

This is a lot better than no access at all to the contents of the library!

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strawberry shortcake for supper!

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Following a tradition from my mom's family, we had strawberry shortcake for supper last night.  With ice cream.  Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm......................

We have begun to have milk delivered to the house, just like olden times. (They will also bring butter, and ice cream!)  It's the same dairy we've been buying milk (and butter) from at the grocery store for years and years.  We'd thought about home delivery before, but what if we weren't home to take it in.....

Now that we're home all the time, we're availing ourselves of this amazing service, which spares us at least a couple of grocery trips each month.  We don't need butter yet, but will order it when needed.

Did I mention our dairy makes the very best vanilla ice cream EVER?   :-)


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TED talk about autofocus glasses

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I want autofocus glasses!!!


(Ordinary readers are good, but autofocus would be better!!!)

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incredible

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The Incredibles is an animated movie about a family with superpowers.  It's a pretty good movie.  Dash is the son, and Violet (not labeled here) is the daughter.

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public service announcement

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There are some things I want to be able to see through.  My glasses.  The car's windshield.  Airplane windows.

There are some things I do NOT want to be able to see through.  Toilet paper is near the top of list.

This is easily the worst toilet paper, square for square, that I have used since I was in Europe in 1970.  Better than nothing, but not something one would choose, given other options.

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chalk

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I don't know what was here before it rained.  But isn't this leftover chalk on the sidewalk cool?

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glass doorknob

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When sunlight hits the glass knob on our bathroom door just right, we get this.  :-)

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mended socks!

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When I mend my socks, I feel that I am sticking it to the Man.

"Take THAT, military-industrial complex!!!  I can mend socks, rather than throw them away and buy new ones!  Hah!"

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panda in the window

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In addition to chalk on sidewalks and driveways, people are adding stuff to their doors and windows.  Bears in windows are seen more and more frequently.

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sign of the times

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Sign in my neighborhood, thanking those whose work keeps us all going.  Thank you!!!

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sunlight through the blinds

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quarantine: finding awe and beauty at home

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Here's an article from The Greater Good Science Center on finding awe and beauty in our usual daily surroundings.


Here's something from my daily surroundings that makes me happy.  Itty bitty plastic flamingos and a melted-plastic-bead star (made by my kid when she was in elementary school).

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narwhal

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Narwhal finger puppet, spotted as I picked up trash while walking.

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Funny things people are doing to entertain themselves while quarantined.

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Funny things people are doing to entertain themselves while quarantined. 

Several of the ideas in the link above made me laugh out loud.  The etch-a-sketch drawing is incredible, but my fave may be the dinos wandering down the street...  :-)


This isn't funny "ha ha" but some might think it funny "odd" -- Here's the current state of my kitchen windowsill.  Growing a plant from a teeny potato.

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from way back before lockdown

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Many moons ago, some time before lockdown, I went downtown and had lunch with a friend.

These wreaths are painted on the doors into the restaurant.

Love the way the paint is translucent, so the layering is significant.  We can see the edges of the leaves through each other, and through the green balls (which may be olives?  this is a middle eastern restaurant).

They were having "put the work of school-age art students in shop windows" at the time I was downtown.  I love the fish, and I admire the paper collage portraits, especially the one on the right.

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sunrise

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Sunrise through the circular window in our front door.

A bit later, on the same day as above.  The screen (screen door) is much more visible in this one, but I kind of like the effect....

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After the rain. Sunrise.

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After the rain.  Sunrise.

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spray paint in the 'hood

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They are replacing all the gas pipes in my neighborhood.  (One of the workers told me the mains were put in 100 years ago!  Odd, given the houses on our street were all built after WWII.)  Replacing the infrastructure *before* it kills anyone -- what a concept!!!



There's a lot of spray paint all over the place, as they mark the locations of water pipes, gas pipes, and whatnot.  (I have no idea what white or pink mean!)

I pick up trash when I walk.  After years of picking up trash as an almost-daily practice, I have a pretty good eye for things that are not natural in the landscape.

I knew the blue was from the gas-replacement guys spraying, but the shape??  I picked it up to see what it was.

It's the husk a cicada leaves behind when it shifts from one size to another.  (They moult, like lobsters.)

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leis

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Fake-flower leis glowing in the sunshine.

Parents wore these leis at a swim meet about 20 years ago.  Ours have been hanging on the bulletin board in the kitchen ever since.


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