Standards
We stopped at a mall on the way home from work yesterday. Kevin needed a new pair of khaki chino-type pants for our trip, and we popped into an anchor department store to grab a pair. Two hours later, we popped out. Or pooped out might be the more appropriate terminology. My husband is a trim, average-sized man. He is not typically hard to fit, not needing special sizes or anything that might require a special-order. But it was almost comical to watch him walk out of the dressing room in pant after pant of the SAME SIZE, and look like he was just grabbing them from a pile of random sizing. They all varied in length up to three inches, and while some were so tight he couldn't...
Teachable Moment
I love my Apple products. I own the Apple Trifecta: iPhone, iPad, and Macbook Pro, and I consider myself very blessed. But the one Apple thing I do NOT like is the APPLE STORE. *Shudder* It is always filled to capacity with humanity, and while there is a plethora of cool gadgetry to keep you occupied while you wait (100 hours), you can rarely get close enough to said hardware to enjoy it. The only saving grace is if you have a Genius Bar appointment. Then you only have to wait about half an hour. Sigh. Yesterday, because my iPad was having difficulty charging (which is unacceptable as I head into a very long flight to another country), I went to the Apple Store armed with an...
On Spiders and Life
(If you are an arachniphob, I apologize in advance. But read anyway!) It started with my husband's fascination with the garden spider. There was one in the front flower bed that he made sure no one bothered because "they are GOOD spiders." So, we left it alone. Truthfully, I'm not all that bothered by spiders, as long as they stay outside, and aren't of the variety that can hurt me. This one was out of the way, and they do eat a lot of other insects that we find pesky. It's a nice relationship, as long as they play by the rules. Then, I noticed two more along the back of the house, just outside two of our windows. I found this a little troubling, even though they were still outside,...
The Chair
Like many desks in many offices, there is a chair that sits in front of mine. It's a small wing-back, with slightly out-of-date (but not offensive) upholstery, and it's not particularly comfortable. However, it is rarely empty. That chair seems to make people sit and linger. They start out waiting for their appointment with Kevin, then some come back afterward and sit for a while longer. They'll walk past the doorway and stop to sit for a few minutes to say hello, and then nine times out of ten, they'll find themselves talking about their families, their work and dreams, their failures and triumphs. There's just something about that chair. We spend an awful lot of time closed off in...
Sweet Dreams Are Made of This
I woke up this morning feeling excited. It's the last full work week before we leave for Europe, and even now, even with the documents in my hands, it still doesn't seem real. We've been talking about Europe for a long, LONG time. I have long had a love of the romance of Europe, the feelings that are conveyed in the art and city-scapes, the ancient history, the music, the food. In particular, Italy grips me and draws me in with her spectacular light and Tuscan countryside. I fully expect to weep when my feet hit the ground. There's a certain surprise that comes when a long-cherished dream comes true. Sometimes we've dreamed them for so long that we've come to view them as only a...