Why, Yes....Please!

What?!

A book that combines some of my favorite things...
Mr. Darcy,
Elizabeth Bennett,
PD James,
and a good murder mystery?



How marvelous!

Winner, Winner....

When it comes to decorating, I have definitely been gifted (if I do say so myself) with my mom's eye for eclectic styles, furnishings and colors. If asked what color my decor is....I have no idea what to say. There is a bit of everything. Nothing appeals to me less than the 7 piece matched set of livingroom furniture.

Last fall, mom and I were wandering around an antique store in Mount Vernon. My eyes found a striking mid-century chair.

"Come look at this chair, mom!"

She replied from the other end of the loft, "I found a chair I like, too."

And she had. The mate to mine.

But guess what! I live here and she doesn't...so they are living with me!

I love the simplicity of the danish modern styling and the fun cutout on the back. Joe picked out the new fabric for the cushions, and I added fresh foam.

As I write this, I am thinking that too much gloating might be a bad idea. Since the great chair arm-wrestling tournament, mom has found a simply gorgeous sideboard that just would not fit in tne overhead bin on my flight back home.

Oh well. You can't win them all.

The Hunger Games: or, Why I Usually Avoid Books on the Bestseller List

I won't try to add anything to deep and meaningful to what many others have already written about this series. I will say that the book was a page-turner and a good read...and that I finished it in a day and a half...the first soaking up spring sunshine and the next curled up on the couch in a more typical Washington-rainy-day-weather pose.

Biggest concern: how the book was marketed to kids...and it is all moral relativism. No definite rights or wrongs, just big patches of gray. These are hard enough areas to conquer as an adult; and to be frank, the youth of today, without the responsibility and critical thinking skills gained with maturity, usually lack the depth to be able to navigate these issues.

Decluttering...ad infinitum

I seem to have a never-ending supply of stuff. I'm pretty sure that when I leave the area, it reproduces (asexually, I hope).  I have figured out the biggest problem: Whenever I move, I declutter rather ruthlessly.  But as the day of the move approaches, the last 10 boxes or so get filled up with all the small random stuff that is somehow, possibly, useful. And those boxes are in my garage. Ick. I hate the thought of going through them. Terrible laziness has set in and my ambition has atrophied. And that is the danger of out-of-sight-out-of-mind.

I did finish cleaning out the master closet, for now. I have organized and sorted my clothes until they only take up one side, including my seasonal items which are boxed up.

What I really need to do is watch Hoarders, then set the timer for 20 minutes, and see how much stuff I can get through every night in the garage.

Quote of the Day: Jack London

You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.
~Jack London

Mom and I have been  dealing with this all week, and we are going to have to buckle down today to get-er-done. She has been working on the most beautiful gourds, and we are going to create an etsy shop for her (sparrowinthetree.etsy.com) but need to crack the whip on taking pics and doing our visual layouts for her future photos. So we shall go after that inspiration with a club...right now.

A Day in the Desert

We spent today (it was 100+) at the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum and Zoo with my mom. It was wonderful.  This is the kind of place that if I lived here it would be worth buying an annual pass to, just to see it in all different seasons. I could write a long-winded commentary, but you can just peruse a few pictures instead.

Momma and baby groundhogs

Harris' Hawk

Saguaro buds. We are a week early for all the stellar blooms, but they are still beautiful.

Grey Fox. I'm pretty sure this little guy wants to come home with us. The kitties won't mind, I'm sure.

Prickly pear in bloom.

The requisite "I'm holding my arm out to take a picture" shot.

Sweet dove nesting atop a saguaro cactus. My favorite shot of the day, as I just happened to look up and see her settling in.



I believe these are called Firework Cacti (or something like that).

As a matter of fact, an ordinary desert supports a much greater variety of plants than does either a forest or a prairie.  ~Ellsworth Huntington

Hanging out in Casa Grande

Joe and I at Old Tucson

Yesterday was a bit of a wash-out. After seeing some lovely home gardens for the annual Garden Tour, I ended up with a nasty nasty nasty headache and spent the rest of the day down-and-out.

I thought this painted wall in one garden was so interesting and coolingly beautiful. I would never have thought to paint the wall blue. Now mom and Bruce are thinking of doing the same.

Blue Garden Wall

 Today we are going to bowl with Mom (aka: Ms. My-League-Team-Came-in-6th-in-State). We shall see if I can break 100 with my game the way the thermometer is!

Mount Rainier from Above

This was the gorgeous view of Mt Rainier peeking her head through the clouds as we headed south to Arizona last evening.

I think Joe might have been sorry that he pointed it out to me, because then I was pretty much leaning from the aisle seat all the way over him to take pictures (while attempting to keep my seatbelt fastened).  It was so beautiful the way the clouds on the mountain lay in the crevasses...looking so soft and smooth that you could just slide right down.

31 Day Challenge: I'm Done!

And my grand total of weight loss for the first round of this diet is (drum roll, please....) 21pounds!

What I need to do is highlight that number with fireworks and a neon sign. Would that be overkill? I think not.

So now the work continues, but I feel like I have had a good start and am on my way.

31 Day Challenge: Day Twenty-Eight

Weight loss so far: 18.5 pounds

As I near the end of my initial 31-day kickoff to my new life, I was contemplating what my next month's goal should look like. Here's what I have come up with. Next month, my focus will be another 10 pounds and a conscious effort to tone up my belly, also known as The Bane of My Existence.  This means a minimum of 15 minute abdominal workouts on the ball every day, and incorporating at least three days of week of either yoga or cardio/abs.

I probably won't blog about this quite so often, as this was really needed to keep me accountable publicly. Its rather funny that no one has commented, but I have received numerous emails. Silence is NOT golden, people!