hurah!

My computer has been returned to me, much to Mayhem's delight. Her two favorite places to sleep are on the computer bag or directly on the keyboard itself... I was amused that the both the bag and the computer returned from the repair facility minus cat hair (and working properly, too)!

computer may be dying

Contrary to popular believe, I have not fallen off the face of the earth! My computer is being repaired and so I have been relying on school internet access to get my work done. Hope to have things up and running soon.

Better than chocolate

I love flowers, especially the ones that don't require too much care, since I lack a green thumb. So I just can't resist helping myself to the eye candy in the floral department of the local grocery, and a sale price only sweetens the deal! Here are pictures:

Reason # 37 why I am glad I don't live in Malaysia

There are certain news headlines that just catch your eyes and you cannot help but investigate further. The one that got my attention today was "Woman mistaken for monkey shot out of tree!" Wow! Apparently, this Malaysian woman was picking fruit in her neighbor's sapodilla tree (yum, I just love a sapodilla every now and then), and had failed to ask her neighbor for permission to do so. He returned home from work, saw the branches "rustling" and assumed it was a monkey. He shot into the tree and heard her screaming and thankfully stopped firing. The woman is now in stable condition at the hospital with a gunshot wound to her abdomen, in case you were wondering.

Now there are several life lessons to be learnt from this sad tale:
1. Always ask for permission before "borrowing" your neighbor's fruit
2. Always identify your target before you fire a gun

and...

3. You can not only climb a sapodilla tree without a ladder, but you can eat its fruit too! (see link below)
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/523694/sapodilla

Looking forward to spring

As I sit with my "tiny" lapdog Nikka lounging on me (what is so bad about 60 lbs of dog when she adores you?), I think that it is time to add another post to my blog, but unfortunately I haven't been out to take pictures lately. It is the time of year when the robins are returning from more exotic locations, the snow is retreating and everything takes on a general mucky shade of brown. Not very picturesque in my opinion. It is at this time I especially miss living in the cool evergreen forests of the northwest coast.

But soon, the tips of each branch of the maple trees that line the streets will start to turn red as the promise of buds appears. The ginkgo trees in the park will sprout small fan-shaped leaflets, and the catawba trees will unfold their huge leaves. Petaled flowers of the crab apple and catkins of willow will spring forth, the warm breeze will sprinkle pollen and sepals to the grass turned a delightful shade of light green. The air will be alive with the calls of birds, from the loud demands of blue jays, trills of warblers, the occasional song of a cardinal, and flashes of color from their feathers will adorn the tree branches that are their refuge. Squirrels will again tease Nikka from beneath the trees, and cause her to chase after them as she forgets momentarily that she is still attached to me with her leash.

Ah spring! I await your pleasant embrace.

Living up to her name

About a week ago, I received a very lovely Valentine's gift from my dear husband. He purchased an ipod for me so that I have something to listen to when I am working out indoors. I had been listening to a few songs before going to bed to drown out the cacophony that the kids downstairs call music. I placed the ipod next to my bed (I sleep in a loft so the lamp, books, etc are all placed next to my bed) and woke up in the middle of the night to Mayhem playing with the headphones. I removed the ipod from her possession and promptly went back to sleep. In the morning, I grabbed the ipod without taking a close look at it and went to work. I didn't use it all day and returned home, but as said neighbors were again listening to something that can be most closely described as screeching combined with a single loud bass guitar note , I tried to use it in an attempt to retain my sanity. I then discovered that Mayhem had done more than play with my headphones, she had CHEWED on them. Just enough to almost completely sever one headphone from the wire to which it is attached.

Fortunately for me, there is an apple store in the mall which replaces headphones for free, no matter what has happened to them. I can't wait to tell them who is responsible...

Woodpecker

I also spotted a little friend while walking around Saturday. Nikka desperately wanted to catch him, but he wisely stayed far above our heads in an old snag.