I think I have...

Unusually LONG toes. I even had someone tell me so. I could write with my toes. I think I actually have written with my toes, only that was a long time ago. C bought me finger toe socks for Christmas, and while I can't wear them with my Vibrams, they sure keep my toes warm.

On the way home from work I stopped at the store for some whole wheat lasagna noodles, and there in a discount cart was a Heather plant. I know! Doesn't that just make you think, Bonsai tree??? Okay, maybe not, but this is how my mind works. Heather is a woody plant, and it has some lovely lines, even if it is a vertical-looking plant. $3.49 for a Bonsai tree!!!

I arrived home, tossed together a lasagna (I never cook the noodles - just throw it together and cook it for an hour and it saves so much pain and agony!) and while it cooked, I took my prize Heather plant out on the porch. It was a lovely day, so I sat with a pair of scissors and an artist's eye and scrutinized this little tree into a work of art. I am training some of the branches to change directions, so it isn't finished yet, but this is pure pleasure for me. I love plants, and training this lovely little ordinary creation into something extraordinary? Well, it's not unlike teaching Kawi a new song.

Today I read more of the Yiddish document. I am almost finished with the third page now, even though I really should be working on other things. It is my treat. I work on "exciting" things like conference presentations or marketing or such, and then I escape into the mind of a German Jew and try to decipher his phonetics while unraveling his story.

I must give a happy little shout-out for Nat The Fat Rat, who after some courageous bouts with Clomid, has successfully conceived a Holbs-Lovin'-Fat-Rat! Congrats Nat! I knew you could do it! What a fabulous announcement for St. Patrick's Day! Oh, and in case you didn't get your fair share of wonderful bliss on the day of greenness, please check out Cake Wreck's St. Patrick's Day entry, Patty Cakes, plus the lovely Shamrock, er Clover entry for a good Irish chuckle.

Okay, but really, I AM Irish! - well, I am sort of German-Jewish-Catholic-Irish-Scandinavianish-Scottish-English-Mormonish. And how's that for an identity crisis?

The Little Rat that Could

Sunday night I finally mailed off my 2nd assignment for my CS class that ends on Thursday, and as a sort of reward to myself (aside from skipping around the kitchen island to get all of the flat places normalized from sitting all day), I glanced at some of the noteworthy blogs.

Sometimes the noteworthy blogs are really noteworthy, and sometimes they really aren't. The Sunday noteworthy was truly noteworthy. How do you explain noteworthy, when here is a young Idaho woman who writes about McDonalds ice cream cones and walking the dog, and makes it sound so inviting and magical? Really, I dare say that my first impulse was to think this life was overly simple, but after three minutes I was hooked!

I think the appeal for me was the sparkle in her words, and beautiful simplicity of her life. I say simplicity not as an insult, but rather as a longing for a more simple time in my own life. There was no biting sarcasm, or bleak perspective on life, rather it was like a hazelnut milk steamer: warm, frothy, rich, and welcoming (and the ones I get come in a sparkly white cups). I think that same simplicity ran over into her cooking blog also, which, much like me, is the essence of good food without the madness of measuring or precision - for the most part.

At work today, a fellow manager and I discussed a new website/product we are developing in a "we-are-smarter-than-me" brainstorming session. He asked me what would set us apart with this new tool. I told him about Nat The Fat Rat, and replied, we need sparkle in the simple things, like when you go to Disneyland, and everyone helps create this magical place. We need a magical place for our users to come that is simple, inviting, and - - - that sparkles! Thanks, Nat, for sharing the magic!