A Week in Ordinary Time

I've had a pretty quiet week. It's a good thing for life, not so great for blogging, as I feel like I should be supplying some worthy entertainment with every post. Some bloggers find that the discipline of daily posting gets you over that hump, because there will not always be news, but there is always something to write about if you set the bar low enough. I agree; I love to read about their daily doings and I for myself I enjoy having a quiet life where I can have the pleasure of the little details of life without the exhaustion of great drama or excitement. One day's adventure was getting out of the car to get a closer look and some pictures of a beautiful display of orange and yellow pansies and tulips. I'd been feasting on the sight of them every time I passed, and finally decided to get a closer look before the exuberant Oklahoma Wind blew the tulips to bits.



I also had the great pleasure of getting back in contact with a dear friend from high school. I had not spoken to Emma for about 40 years, but had often thought of her and wondered where life had led her. Now I know a little bit, and will know more as we fill in some of the blanks. It's made me think a lot about friendship and time, and about my own somewhat reclusive personality. I feel like I've played a lot of parts in my life and when I was done with the various phases I just stepped away, closed the door, and never looked back. Getting in touch with Emma has made me look at what parts of my experience I want to reclaim, and what I want for myself in the future.

Maybe it's no coincidence that I'm giving this a lot of thought this month because I am turning 60 in just a few days. I feel good - still healthy and strong, but it's one of those big birthdays that makes you take stock. Some of the things I thought I would like to accomplish are now forever beyond my reach. If I thought I'd like to replicate the voyage of the Kon Tiki I've surely waited too long. Some things I can still do, but given time and strength I will probably end up scaling back a bit. I may hike and backpack on the Appalachian Trail, but I will not be likely to do the whole thing at one go.

And a few completely unrelated bits of information: Because it's spring and there are cute animal babies about I have been looking at quite a few animal cams where you can watch the activity in real time. This one, from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, features an eagles' nest including a chick. One thing that stands out for me after watching quite a lot of them, is how little animals do from one minute to the next. All of those Disney Wildlife films I grew up on led me to believe there was a lot going on all the time. Knowing a little more now, and thinking about it a bit, I imagine that if wild animals led as active a life as tight editing had led me to believe, they'd have to eat a whole lot more food!

I've cast on the for the Float Stole from Interweave Knits. I'm hoping that because the stole is worked lengthwise I will have the benefit of the beautiful hand dyed yarn without disastrous pooling or flashing. I'll be bringing it, Mr. Foster, and at least one sock in progress to Denver with me this week for my annual visit. I probably won't do much on any of them, but I hate to arrive anywhere without a project, and one to work on if I don't feel like working on the original. Lord knows yarn is not sold in Denver!

If you are in the habit of picking up the occasion bunch of flowers for your table or for special occasions you could do a lot worse than check out the local Asian market. I was feeling rather blue yesterday, and on her way home Shana picked up some flowers for me at Super Cao Nguyen to cheer me up. For about the same price a the large mixed bunch of flowers at the local American grocery, she got about eight fresh beautiful sprays of orchids. The moral of this story? Don't shun your local ethnic markets. I love to visit them, and prices are generally excellent.