Amaryllis sillyramA

I dreamed that someone cleaned up my work area. The stacks of paper were gone, which was alarming. It was big and roomy. When I got to work it seemed a very small cubicle.

And I dreamed there were uninvited people sleeping in our house. And my hair was in these weird ponytails. And the bathroom was too crowded.

Then I got up. Whew!

Headed over to Aurora to get the emissions test done on my car. During part of the test, was privy to a conversation several of the attendants were having about smoking something without a gas mask and getting purple eyes. Passed emissions, and in a few minutes I’ll renew my tabs online. Neat!

On the way home, I was waiting for the light to change at a very busy intersection. There was a man slumped in a doorway near the corner. He had a fountain coming out of him. He looked kind of like a statue, he was so still (except for the fountain). But then the fountain stopped and he sat up.

Got home and caught an early bus. In the U district, stopped first at Rudy’s barbershop to get tickets for the upcoming mc chris show. I am so excited for this show, there is simply no way to express it accurately.

Next stopped at a store that just opened up in Pier 1’s old space. It has a suspicious name — American Apparel — but according to the website it’s sweat-shop free, so I thought I’d see if they have any good white button shirts. No luck. There were some cute bras but no underwires at all. There was a strapless velour top/shorts combo that shot me right back to 1979. There wasn’t anything I would wear. I suppose if I want a good white shirt I’ll have to look elsewhere.

Northbound on I-5, we spotted this plate on a fancy car:

Yum, yum!

A few months back we were at our friend Anthony’s restaurant, and there was something new: a bottle of BibiCaffe decorating each table. When I realized they were full bottles, well, I freaked. I hadn’t seen a bottle of BibiCaffe for years, and it used to be my favorite thing. Better still, there was a web address printed on the label! I was able to go home and order a case of it from a place in Eastern Washington!

I like it best over ice with cream. I’m having some right now, and it is so good.

Today when I was walking to the library I saw a robin hopping around under a bush with a beakful of dry grass. I just love nest-building time! I’ve seen several crows with sitcks in their mouths lately as well.

The robin was so sweet I decided to try to get a picture of her. I got my camera out and stepped quietly back to the bush and tried to get a clear shot, but she kept hopping behind something. I’d move a little, she’d hop behind a branch, I’d move again, she’d hide again right away. So I pretended to be interested in something across the path for a minute, and she came back into view. Yay! She hopped up into the bush — I wished she’d hold still for three seconds — and hopped to a branch closer, and a branch closer, and suddenly there she was at the nest a few feet away from my head! She got right down to arranging her pieces of grass, while continuing to avoid the camera quite well. I got a couple shots of her tail, and one where if you zoom in you can see her pretty little eye. I’ve always loved the eyes of robins.

http://jeroboam.net/robin.jpg

Say, if you happen to know what kind of bush that is in the picture, please tell me! I’ve been drinking in the aroma from those blooms for years, and I’d love to have that oh-so-heady perfume in my own garden.

Ella Minnow Pea (Dunn)

This is one of the best books I’ve read. I’m going to read it again soon, even though there are other books I am anxious to get to.
You must read it too.

I wish I could say more about it but I’m afraid you’ll just have to read it and find out for yourself.

Speaking of which, the dedication page of Squids Will Be Squids
(Scieszka, Smith, Leach) reads:

For me to know

For you to find out

And that’s just a tiny sign of how entertaining a book it is. I got it for nephew M. for his third birthday last month. I figure he’ll grow into it.