On A Blue Bench

I took this picture a few weeks ago, on Martha's Vineyard.

This spider web was quivering in the wind, like maybe it was cold. But the strands of the web held fast, and it didn't blow away. I wonder if it's still there and how long it will last.

Enjoy the weekend.

Working Hard

This week I am a busy little bee. The phone's been ringing off the hook for my day job, I've been designing letterhead for my dad in my spare time, and I've been adjusting to life back in Boston (translation: I still haven't unpacked from my week in North Adams and I'm half living out of a suitcase).

I've also been spending extra time in the kitchen. On Tuesday I baked oatmeal raisin cookie bars (I used butter instead of margarine and put all the dough into a 9"x13" pan to make the bars) for my very first book club meeting. Yesterday I made my first "lasagna." It was actually lasagna-style baked ziti (my substitution: elbows instead of ziti and ground turkey instead of beef). It was yummmmmmmy! Tonight I made chocolate chip cookies (weirdly, this was another first for me and I opted to omit the walnuts) for Eric to bring to a pot luck dessert meeting.

*It's Thursday. Know what that means? Lost In Thoughts, the Everything Little Miss weekly inspiration series, is all new!

Yearly Inspection?

Over the weekend, this notice appeared on the door to our building.

Yearly inspection? We've lived in this apartment for 2 years and 23 days, and this is the first time we've ever had an inspection. Must have something to do with that mouse I saw a few weeks ago. We haven't had a problem since, but somebody must be having an issue.

Anyway, Monday night I had to empty out all of our kitchen cabinets. I put all of the food into old grocery bags, and piled all of the plates, bowls, glasses, etc. on the counter. What a pain.

The notice said the exterminator would be coming between 9 and 10. Well I work from home, so I know that he showed up at 10:45. He was pretty old and he was probably only here for 15 minutes. I have no idea why I had to empty all of the cabinets (I worked while he was in the kitchen, so I didn't see what he was doing), but it seems like all he did was put a mouse trap in the back of the cabinet under the sink and another one in the crevice between the cabinets and the stove.

Then he went and poked around in the bathroom. He had something with him, but I don't see it anywhere, so I have no idea what he did in there.

After he left I had to put everything back.

I sorta hope this "yearly" inspection really only happens once every 3 years.

Muir Woods

Saturday was a full day. We went to the farmers' market in the morning and got some peaches, fancy cheese, a giant loaf of bread, and some granola that had a tag line claiming it was the best on the planet (it wasn't).

Then we took a zip car over the Golden Gate Bridge to Muir Woods to see the redwood trees.

It was my first time on the bridge, and even though it was too foggy to see anything I really enjoyed it. I've seen the trees before, but they're still so completely stunning.

We broke the rules (bad signage, I swear) and ate our cheese, peaches, and bread on a bench under some enormous trees. There was a ranger nearby showing a group of kids a banana slug. Don't know what it is? It's basically a giant yellow slug with super sticky slime.

When we left the woods, we came back to San Francisco for a tour of Alcatraz. I'll write about that later.

Daisies

Yes, more flowers. I love them, so I take pictures when I have my camera. I took these on Monday, on the Vineyard.

Daisies make me think of innocence. I can just picture a daisy chain crown sitting atop a little girl's head. In my imagination the girl is having a tea party under a tree or she and her friends are all dressed up and putting on a small parade for their parents. It doesn't matter what she's doing, it just matters that it's summer and she's having fun. Maybe I'm the girl?

Do you like daisies too?

*It's Thursday, so there's a brand new Lost In Thoughts up at Everything Little Miss.

Lilies

I think you've probably figured out that I'm rather fond of flowers. It won't surprise you that I took a few photos of lilies while we were in Vineyard Haven for our little vacation.

The day lilies were in full bloom, and so orange.

I don't know what variety this is, but the color was calling my name.

And this one was even irresistible to this fuzzy little bumble bee. Pretty, right?

A Day At The Museum

My parents and brother came to town for the weekend. On Saturday, while my dad was at a chiropractic seminar and my mom was at the Museum of Fine Arts, The Schwarz and I took my brother to the Museum of Science. The Schwarz's mom found out about or plans, and hurried down to the Harvard Public Library to get a pass to the museum so we could get a big discount on tickets. Cool, huh?

We had a great day! We saw tamarin monkeys in the Human Evolution exhibit and we also went to the Butterfly Garden. The museum currently has an exhibit about Mythic Creatures (no photos allowed). It wasn't what I expected, but it was interesting because there was information about how the myths began and why people believed in the creatures. On the other hand, the flow and lighting of the room made it difficult to read about the legends. 

Ouch!

I have been coming to Florida every year for the past five years. Every year I forget one thing: the bugs. And every year, I have pretty bad allergic reactions. 

I woke up in the wee hours this morning because I had so many painful, itchy no-see-um bites (I'll spare you and keep those photos to myself - yuck). I actually ended up icing my legs around 3:00 AM! I've also been using Caldyphen, and the Benadryl we found this morning is even more helpful. Can somebody tell me why the bugs like my ankles so much? I have bites all over my body, but they really seem to be drawn to my ankles and the tops of my feet. 

No-see-ums are my enemy and I must block them out of my mind because they're so unpleasant. I don't think moving to Florida will ever be an option for me. Luckily, I love New England, so I don't think it'll be an issue.

Cicada

I found this cicada on Matha's Vineyard this past Memorial Day weekend. While I was happy to find a bug sitting still for long enough to capture on camera, I could tell it was nearing the end of its life. I don't know how old it is; it could be 100 in cicada years. I like to think that this insect lived a long, healthy life and was merely retiring to the Vineyard. 

Some people are disgusted by bugs, but I've always found them really interesting. Look at those wings! Isn't nature amazing? Just beautiful.