58/365 Pink Skies

Work was busy.  It is always busy.  But so much busier than usual.  We have a new student that I suspect I will get to know very well.  His teacher was in tears at the end of the day... And that moved this student to the top of my to do list for tomorrow.

57/365 "But the eyes are blind. One must look with the heart." ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Laundry, shopping, lunching, working with the husband... this day went by so fast!

Now You
52 of You - Eyes
8/52

55/365 Elder Mill Covered Bridge

On the way home from Athens, the man and I stopped in several antique stores.  One guy told us how to get to a covered bridge just a few miles away.  Since neither of us had ever experienced a covered bridge (other than in pictures), we drove out to see it.  

This covered bridge was built in 1897.  It is one of only 15 covered bridges in Georgia.  

I thought it was awesome!  I would have loved to have climbed down in the creek but the recent rains made creek wading not a possibility.  

56/365 Around the corner

This is the fire hydrant around the corner from my school.

After a rainy weekend, the heavens dumped 3 inches more on us today.  The water saturated ground just can't handle this amount of water.  We had to call some parents to meet the bus on the main roads because of conditions.  Several roads are basically under water.

Since it is supposed to rain 3 more inches tonight and in the morning, the system decided to call a rain day (exactly like a snow day... but with a different form of precipitation).  I'm so excited!  I've already made plans to go to lunch with my sister.

54/365 It started with chocolate cake

Seriously, I ate a piece of Death by Chocolate cake for breakfast this morning.  A little later, we took advantage of a Bloody Mary bar.

We went shopping in some vintage stores and I scored a dress and a necklace.  It has been a blast walking around and visiting with friends and the youngest girl.

I love Athens, Georgia.

53/365 Coffee Bar

We stopped in to get out of the rain and to let the man drink a cup of coffee.  Even rainy nights in Athens are fun!

52/365 Plopped.... or propped

Actually, I didn't do any yard work today.  I was just trying to come up with some ideas using props.

Wheelbarrow
Hat
Fake flower
Boots

And me with my feet propped up.

Plopping in and out of the wheelbarrow was fun.  And I'll likely have a nice bruise across the back of my arms from when it almost dumped me out.

Now You
52 of You - Props
7/52

51/365 Fuzzy

I know the cough will go away eventually but reading that article that said that the average stay for a cough was 17 days did nothing to help me become more optimistic.  I'm off to bed early.  Again.

50/365 Just before the fog rolled in

After work, I ran by the grocery store and grabbed a few things to cook for supper.  It was mediocre at best but my intent was good.  Apparently, quinoa in everything wasn't a great idea.

49/365 Ready for spring

My husband brought home some gorgeous pink petunias today.  I'm so ready to start digging in the ground!   We've only had 3 nights dip into the freezing range this winter (guess who isn't complaining?) but I don't want to get too comfortable that the threat of frost is all gone just yet.

I did get out there today and pull some weeds and just soak up the sunshine.  Winter can be awesome in the south!

I set up a spring scene and used the little stuffed duck.  When I was trying to get the camera set up, Mili grabbed the duck and ran.  Fortunately, the duck was unharmed by Mili and is now back on her shelf in the den.

This means my husband may be right... Mili wouldn't do well if I got a couple of chickens for pets.  Silly dog.

48/365 Itchetucknee River

My husband and I drove to Ft. White, Florida to visit with some friends we haven't seen in 3 or 4 years.  They have a little house on the Itchetucknee River and it was a great backdrop for us to catch up with each other.

When I as a child and teenager, I floated down this spring fed river (think cold!) in an inner tube several times.  Then, I brought my children here several times when they were young.  I hope this river reminds them of happy times as it does for me.

As we went on a walk around the banks of the river, this quote came to mind: “Life is like the river, sometimes it sweeps you gently along and sometimes the rapids come out of nowhere.” Emma Smith

The day was filled with wonderful companionship and a lot of laughter -- a day of gentleness.

47/365 Lost and scared

My oldest step-daughter and her mother rescued a dog from the middle of the road (and in the rain).  They brought her to our house so that we could try to find her owners.

She has a pink collar but no name tag.  On Monday, we'll take her to the vet to see if she has a chip.

She hasn't made a sound. And she is stilling shaking a little.  But she is walking around checking out the house now.  Plus, she has eaten some chicken.  Mili seems only mildly jealous.  They've both been sniffing each other and walking about the house together.

She is so stinking cute!  I wonder what her story is.

2/18/13 UPDATE!
Yesterday morning, we took this pup to the vet to see if she had a chip.  She did not.  So we took her home.  She still seems sad but trusts us enough to sit with us and to eat from our hand.  It is so obvious that she has been fed people food because she sits in the kitchen at our feet whenever we cook or eat.

Last night, we saw an ad on Craig's List looking for a lost shih tzu.  It was her owner!  A sweet college student who had had this dog since she was in high school.  When the girl was getting out of the car, the dog started wagging her tail with excitement.  The girl was holding back tears as she cuddled with her found pup.  Apparently, the dog had found a hole under the fence and went out for an adventure before getting lost.

Oh, and her name is Princess.

46/365 Socks, socks, socks

I do love socks and I love for my sock drawer to be ridiculously organized.  Some of those socks have been purchased just to coordinate with particular race day outfits... others I've had since the 1990s.

It is almost impossible to have a bad day in cool socks so I keep on hand in case of emergency.

45/365 Homemade

Despite a rough night of coughing and hacking alongside my coughing and hacking husband, I did find a few minutes to make a Valentine's Day card today,

I've gotten a steroid shot, some antibiotics, and some cough medicine so I am positive that I am going to be on the mend now.

Happy Valentine's Day!

44/365 Happy night before the day of love

I'm still not feeling my best but I'm working on feeling better.  The kids had Valentine's Day parties today since they will be out of school until next Tuesday. It was a day full of chocolate and conversation hearts.  

Clearly this picture is edited... and not very well.  But I think it shows the idea I had good enough for now. 

43/365 Fighting it

My husband has been sick the past couple of days and now I feel like I'm fighting something.  I'm not giving in to being sick but I think I am going to go curl up in the bed now.  Extra sleep can't hurt.

42/365 Night and Day

There is a big difference in how I dress when I'm not at work.

Now You
52 of you - Diptych
6/52

41/365 Cookies for Chinese New Year

Happy Year of the Snake!

During my run this morning, my running partner talked about some oatmeal and banana cookies she had made earlier this weekend.  I couldn't get them off my mind, so I made some.  They were like little bites of banana bread -- so good!

Plus, they were perfect with the cashew chicken lettuce wraps (mine with fake chicken) and vegetable dumplings.

40/365 Weekending

I just love weekends where we get to work around the house and yard.

39/365 It's a horse, of course

Lawd.... Friday was a crazy one.  Even for the man.  I had to drive over the state line into Florida to pick him up from a gig where he was catering (he sent an employee back to town with his truck having the faith that someone would come and get him).  After we loaded up my Subaru (and I think he was impressed by how much room that car has), we drove with the windows down on the country roads.

I stopped for two different fields of horses.  Perhaps I should keep some sugar cubes in my car for future horse sightings.  This lady seemed mighty disappointed that I wasn't feeding her.

38/365 Reading by fairy lights

It was a day full of discipline referrals and meetings.  For the record, it doesn't matter if the blade is dull... you can't bring a pocket knife to school.

Nothing like a few minutes with James Herriot to unwind.

37/365 Light painting

Why have I never done this before now?

36/365 "Unbeing dead isn't being alive." e. e. cummings

I took the afternoon off at work today because I had to have blood drawn for my annual doctor's appointment next week.  The orders said, "Fast for 16 hours.  Nothing but water."

In hindsight, it probably wasn't wise to go for a run this morning -- on the morning I was all but starving to death.  By the time they drew the blood, I felt shaky.  Like I was getting ill.

Seriously.  Apparently, I get wimpy without food.

Afterwards, I met my husband at our favorite Indian restaurant.  Maybe what I really needed was just some coffee because when I got home, I curled up in the chair with the dog and slept hard for about an hour.

Upon awaking, I drank some coffee and went on some errands with the man.  We even stopped downtown and browsed through some vintage stores.

I've never had a problem with having blood drawn in the past so I'm going to blame it all on the lack of food.  And caffeine.

35/365 Better than flowers

He called to ask me to pick up something from the grocery store.  I was already running a few errands after work.

No problem.  Glad to do it.

When I walked in the door, supper was cooking and he was steam mopping the floor.

That guy knows how to make a girl happy.

34/365 Neighborhood swamp

This little bit of swampiness is a little over a mile from my house and on my running route each Sunday morning.  After running this morning, I made a point to drive by so that I could get a picture.

People really stare when you are standing on the side of the road with a camera.

33/365 Dinner time

Mili loves her new dog food.  I mixed the new kind with the old and she very carefully picks the old pieces out and leaves them on the floor.

32/365 That one leaf caught my attention

Probably the last Japanese magnolia picture for a while.  We are hunkering down for a hard freeze tonight and those blooms won't likely hold up well. Tonight will be the first night in 2013 with temperatures below freezing.  Not bad for winter, eh?