Work in Progress

Hi, Everybody -- 

I haven't forgotten you!  I wanted to let you know that I've been busy looking for a new home for the Tree Fishing blog.  I've heard from a lot of you that you have had trouble leaving comments both here and on my Essence blog, so I am spending some time investigating alternative blogging services.  

I'm eager to share my photos and thoughts, so please stand by... I'll let you know about Tree Fishing's new home as soon as I find it.

Thanks,

Ellen

All in a Day’s Work

Today was my first day back to work in the church office after the holidays… highlights included coaxing a bird out of the gym, unstopping a toilet, and jump-starting the ice machine.  It was a productive afternoon.

Beginning Anew

Our New Year’s Day rituals include taking down Christmas decorations, setting up new calendars, and mentally getting ready for a fresh start.  It’s a great time to purge overflowing boxes of ornaments… except that I have a hard time doing that even when I really try.  So, each year I put them all back in their boxes to think about next year.

In the Garden

H and I explored the Atlanta Botanical Garden this weekend with our Brazilian friend R. A student and Ph.D. candidate of H’s brother (in Amsterdam), R has been working on an internship at Georgia Tech for the past seven weeks. Yesterday was his last day in Atlanta, and we had offered to give him a ride to the airport.

Fortunately, his schedule gave us enough time for a visit to the garden. Inside the greenhouses, the plants were lush and the flowers were blooming.  Outside, most plants were still in sleep mode; yet, the earliest bloomers were beginning to peek out. Even without a lot of color, the amazing textures and subtle shades of winter were impressive.

It was hard not to be delighted with the company and the sights.

Seasonal Transition

I love to watch the seasons change at Fresh Market.  Their displays are always bright and fun and wildly festive.  It takes a lot of willpower for me to keep from filling my basket with goodies every time I visit the store. 

Just a week ago, this center-aisle display was filled with Valentine's stuff, and now the Peeps are "in the house" (as H would say).  I realize that Easter is still two months away, but I think that maybe the Easter Bunny might swing by our house a little early this year… possibly more than once.

All in a Day's Work

I love this series of images. My sister has a website called The Permission List, and last week she came over for some computer tutoring from H. She brought a plate full of chocolate-chip cookies (to help motivate H), along with her list of help-needed items. The two of them spent about an hour adding, deleting, moving, renaming, editing, etc. At the end of the session, H showed her how to add a link to her blog text. The last photo says it all – you would have thought he’d handed her the moon.

At that, H went back to his office, fully satisfied that this day’s work was done.

Sick? Who's Sick?

My mother-in-law lives with H and me, and I love her dearly, but she can be a very stubborn woman, especially when it comes to seeing a doctor. At ninety years old, she remains pretty spry and is definitely “with it” – she doesn’t miss a trick. But when it comes to her health, she holds to the belief that a Bayer aspirin will cure anything and everything – just give it time.

She’s been feeling a little puny this week. It started off with a sore throat and steadily progressed to one of those deep-chest baritone coughs. Still, she ignores our pleas to let us take her to the local Urgent Care facility. Finally, today she succumbed, but not without a few choice comments and observations:

         I don’t know why I’m going!

         (cough… cough… cough)

         I can’t taste or smell anything, so I’m eating and drinking all 

         the things I don’t like. There’s no sense wasting food.

         Aren’t those the most awful flowers you’ve ever seen!

         (I explained to her that they weren’t real, but were silk flowers

         attached to pens so they wouldn’t “walk.”)

        I’m only here because THEY made me come!

        (Speaking to the doctor and pointing at H and me.)

        I would just like some antibiotics and some penicillin. I don’t

        need anything else.

        (She’s a real schmoozer once in the doctor’s office.)

They gave her the antibiotics, and she’s now on the road to recovery – we hope.