Things I noticed today...and other days...

1. I don't like sourdough bread. No matter how much Darrin tries to make me like it--I don't. I'll eat it occasionally, because that seems to make him happy, but it's unpleasant even when covered in Nutella.

2. I love salads. Today I made one with spinach, peaches, plums, mangoes, and blueberries and topped it with seasoned tilapia and lemon/chive/poppyseed dressing. I thought it was plenty for dinner, but Darrin said he was still hungry after eating three platefuls--hence, the purchase of the sourdough bread. He ate nearly the whole loaf. That is a lot of bread.

3. I think bumblebees are beautiful. I watched one buzzing about the morning glory which threatens each year to choke out our gooseberry bushes. The white trumpet blooms bobbed downward as the large bee (nearly three inches long and at least an inch wide) landed inside each one. Its bass buzzing was loud enough to be heard in my house. I quietly watched that golden, fuzzy bee for a very long time.

4. Sometimes ice cream is okay if it's a chocolate ice cream bar covered in chocolate and made by Haagen-Dazs.

5. I hate it when school starts. I'm missing my kids all ready. We did not have enough time to play this year. We're planning a family getaway on Labor Day weekend. It will be the first time in my memory that I've allowed any kind of celebration-type thingy to happen on my birthday. I'm not sure how I feel about that.

6. My crab apples are starting to turn. I think the tree looks almost as lovely with bright red apples all over it as it does when it's in bloom.

7. Tonight I had to run to the store for dishwasher detergent just as the sky turned to that glorious, velvety, glowing, deep blue which is my favorite color. I was standing in the parking lot waiting for the glow to fade and the sky to turn black, when I noticed a young man, late-twenties-ish, sort-of-tipsy-ish, at my elbow. He was holding a pizza box from Little Caesar's and offered me a slice, then asked if he could watch the sky with me, or maybe, just watch me watch the sky. I laughed. He said he liked my laugh. I said no, thank you, to the pizza, and told him I look much different--much older--in the light. He said that was okay, he did, too. I thanked him for the lovely compliment and pizza offer, told him not to drive home, then went into the store and bought detergent.

8. Tabitha and I spent too long at the grocery store today looking at dozens of roses...and smelling them. Today I like the orange ones tipped with red, and she likes the cream ones tipped with pink. We both decided we prefer no yellow or pink ones, but red is always lovely. Darrin says next time we should fix dinner before we go to the store. Then he and the boys can eat while Tabitha and I enjoy the flowers. I suggested he could buy some, then we could all eat and look at roses at the same time. He said he liked my idea better, which is just one reason I love my husband.

9. I love running. I know I've said it a million times. I can't help it. It makes me feel joyful. And if you ever see me running down a hill (without falling, of course), you'll see me grinning and if you're close enough, you'll hear me laugh.

10. When in Seattle, I saw the Happy Tolkien Boy Dance not just once, but three times! Sometimes, when I'm doing the Happy Samantha Dance, I'm really glad no one's around to see, but it still makes me smile.

Final note: I see Dead Bloggers. Not that the people are dead, just the blogs. And I don't really know how to handle this because birthday tributes seem inappropriate, somehow. So I missed blogging about AtP on his birthday, because he's not AtP anymore, and Mr. Fob's blog is dead, so I won't be able to blog about him on his birthday, and today is Tolkien Boy's birthday, but I can't say anything about that because his blog is dead, too...Seriously, this is a problem. Where can a person find a blog-dead therapist when needed?