Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens.....

Woke up this morning to a deliciously gray morning with a hint of rain in the air....in fact we had a bit of a drizzle and I stood out by my car for a few minutes enjoying the weather change before heading in to work. I figured why not....I am not made of sugar, I won't melt and if my hair dries a little funny who cares? It was totally worth it just drinking that fresh rain-drenched earthy smell that filled the air.

Driving down to the office this morning I started thinking of all of the wonderful things the world has to offer that makes me smile and love this precious little planet all the more. I thought I'd share a few of them with you today. Yes, I am sure that I have done posts like this one before (I am much too lazy to actually check) and it probably happened the last time we got a good rain (so it makes me a bit contemplative....deal with it!)

Oh, and not to go all Julie Andrews/Rogers and Hammerstein on you but I really DO love raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens. Not that this is such a surprise....I think the whole family knows of my love for wool, rain, cats and how I dislike gold and rather love copper and silver instead. You'll probably also know most of the other things on this list.....but then again, maybe you will learn something new.

I still love dragonflies (man do we have a ton of them down here in Utah....except for winter you can't go a day down here without seeing at least a few of them zipping around....and we are talking BIG ones....not the cutesy tiny ones I usually saw up in Washington).

I also still love to watch crows and spend nights stargazing (though the stars are limited here in town.....I love going to my friend Cynthia's house because the light polution is much less and you can see so much more. I still can't see the Milky Way from her house though so I am looking forward to heading up to Dad's in October (if he still wants me!) and enjoying those dark skies!)

Here are a few other things:

I love quotes and poetry....and enjoy finding new ones. I stumbled upon a line of Robert Frost this morning that I don't remember reading before (funny since I have his complete works!) but found delightful: "My sorrow, when she's here with me, thinks these dark days of autumn rain are beautiful as days can be; she loves the bare, withered tree; she walks the sodden pasture lane". Funny how all of my favorite poetry pieces have to do with a love for Autumn....I really need to find time to start writing poetry again.

I love squids (not as sushi) but I find the science behind them fascinating. It ties into my love of oceanography and all things underwater but everytime I find a book on the giant squid it somehow finds its way into my shopping cart or gets hauled home from the library. I've also begun collecting some "squidy stuff" from Etsy.......bad, bad Etsy! Which reminds me I need to find someone with a boat who would be willing to take me out....I haven't been out on the water in ages and miss it. Driving out to the lake and sitting around just isn't the same thing as being out ON it...bummer its too polluted to swim in.

I love the maple tree outside my work window and the pines across the street that I can look at during the day. I miss having trees around me.... my little Norfolk pine and ficus trees are growing nicely though...for now they'll have to do. I look forward to maybe moving to Oregon someday where I can be within driving distance of the ocean and be surrounded by my beloved pines. I'm thinking about taking a "mini vacation" of just a few days in the spring and driving over to the Redwoods....if Dan and Bill can let me go for a few days that is, as our busy season starts April/May.

I love gloriously blue skies in the winter when the world is covered in a blanket of white. Typically those are your colder days but I love the contrast in colors....and its funny but the sky always seems to be the most vivid shades of blue in the winter.

Wood smoke....

The bright orange of a field full of ripening pumpkins....

The promise that Halloween (undoubtedly my favorite holiday) is just around the corner....

And with that the joy of knowing fall is nearly here!....

The taste of homemade pumpkin butter spread on my toast in the morning....

"Girls Night In" at Cynthia's house....

Finding inspiration for all new crafty designs....(finding the time to make them is another thing!)

Oh to be a skinny girl.....

Then I could wear this:


Not that I was a Buffy fan....I love the movie, even now, eons after its release but I couldn't get into the series (sorry Joss). And its not that I am against Twilight (seeing as I own the first 3 books, have the movie and am anxiously awaiting New Moon later this year). But you have GOT to love what the shirt's creator has to say about it:

"Don't you think the vampires-are-people-too thing has gone a little too far? I mean, the whole point of a vampire is that they survive by sucking your blood. I don't care if his skin glows and twinkles and he smells like kittens and fabric softener, he's still just a glorified syringe. Remember the last time you had blood drawn? Yeah, me too, and it sucked! It's time we put an end to this nonsense: Edward, may I treat you to a stake dinner?"

Gee girl, don't hold back! It kind of smacks of a gal who offered up a free blood buffet and was rejected, doesn't it? Maybe O negative wasn't his favorite flavor or something....

Regardless....it has certainly kept me snickering this morning.

Standing in the Rainbow....

My roomie and I went out after work yesterday to grab some food (mmmm....Nathan's hot dog sliders at Marleys) and to pick up some paint for the bathroom and a project I am doing with a wall of my bedroom (which will post next weekend once it is done).


I debated about bringing my camera and decided against it....silly me.....I should remember that's when the best shots show up.


First: Marley's is inside the local Harley Davidson dealership/repair shop/retail store/I'm-a-yuppie-but-want-to-be-a-bad-boy hangout. The building is all steel girders, rust and old mill wood. Fantabulous. I HAVE to go back and get some shots.


Second: We get to Lowe's under somewhat cloudy/sunny skies and waited FOREVER for our paint to be mixed up (that's what we get for being girls and wanting 3 different colors for the bathroom walls and me doing the same for just ONE wall of my bedroom (again...I'll post it when its done....it should be kewl!) Anyhew, we left Lowe's, paint containers in hand, and walked out into a deluge; I half expected Noah to go sailing past as we walked out to the car! In the time it took to walk 50 feet to the car we had water streaming off of us....


Now why is this second item "photo worthy"? Because the rain was rushing down and the sun was still out in enough places that there were literally rainbows everywhere you looked. On the drive home the rain eased up enough that a glorious double bow stretched across the front of the Wastach Mountains...it probably would not have made for a good shot, considering all of the buildings that would have worked their way into the shot, however it DID remind me of something.


Have you ever had a dream from your childhood that lingers into your adult life? Actually I've had a couple...some have happened (if in unusual ways but I can consider a few of those dreams as realities now) and some have yet to come true.


Take the rainbow. Ever since I was little I have wanted to find the end of the rainbow....not because of some mythical pot of gold (though the money wouldn't be a bad thing necessarily). No, I always wanted to stand at the end of the rainbow and cradle the colored beams in my cupped hands...watching as it danced across my skin and bathed me in its light. And before you mention it....no, rainbows from crystals are NOT the same thing....I've tried and it just isn't the thrill that I imagined as a child.

Lately rainbows look closer than ever....I was in my car a few weeks ago and started chasing one. It kept dancing a few streets over from where I drove and then finally ended somewhere in bracken and back lots that I couldn't access.


Stupid rainbow.

While I didn't realize my dream that day, I was filled with the satisfaction one has in chasing down their dreams. That same feeling came over me yesterday as I watched that glorious double bow on my way home....

Maybe some day.......