Last Day

My last day of work was filled with the hustle and bustle of last minute business. I did the usual last day things. I chatted at goodbye parties, pranked lockers, disinfected my desk, and shredded unneeded paperwork. I was busy reading stories while struggling to hide my tears. But, much to my coworkers' delight, there was still time for one last puppet show.

Lazy Days of Summer

Summer Reading just ended and things are starting to wind down for me at work. I should be taking care of this ...
Instead I am testing out the relative safety and entertainment value of this year's summer reading prizes.

I am calling my latest masterpiece "February Snow"

Catalina

My time in California is nearing an end. Therefore, I must do everything on my why-has-it-taken-you-so-long-to-get-around-to-this list in the next five weeks. On Monday, I went with my friends Jessica and Stacey to Catalina Island. Catalina is an island with a very small town called Avalon and then the rest is wilderness which includes some rather amazing wildlife. For this trip we stayed in town.

Here we are on the boat. It was a two hour boat trip from Marina Del Rey. Before we left for the trip, I was expecting the island to look like Maine.

It didn't.

The highlight of the trip was the glass bottom boat tour. They feed the fish so they will swarm really close tot he boat. When the greedy fish weren't around we could see underwater plants and the garibaldi fish.

This is a photo from the glass bottomed boat. The clouds burned off as the day went on.

Of course, we found the local library. (We love libraries). It is a very tiny branch from the same system I work for.

No blog entry about California is complete without a flower photo. Hibiscus? Correct me if I am wrong.

Meine Lieblingskarte

I have blogged before about being part of Postcrossing. I have received some amazing cards from around the world - mostly Europe and Asia. Usually members take your preferences in stride and send you a nice card. Usually it is some sort of famous monument, nature scene or artwork. One day, I found this in the mail.
My fellow postcard fanatic in Germany saw that I was a bibliophile. She sent me this absolutely amazing card. She said that it was homemade. Look at the amazing detail in it. I am not sure there is a card to top this.

I Had Forgotten

Becoming one with nature in Los Angeles is difficult. You can fight the traffic all the way to Griffith Park and go hiking. You can drive up and down the Pacific Coast Highway, find a treasured spot to parallel park and walk along the beach. In both of these instances, you will enjoy nature along with 7.5 million other people who are breathing the same mixture of pollutants, nitrogen, and oxygen as you are. If you really want to rise above the pollution and the population, you must drive for at least 2 hours into the mountains. (This estimated time does not account for traffic).

I had forgotten how easy it is to enjoy fresh air and glorious views in Utah. This weekend I took a scenic drive into Provo canyon. We crossed over the nearly overflowing Provo River and passed a couple crowded parks. We pulled into Big Springs Park to find this view.
The higher peaks are still snow capped providing Utahans with that pesky fear of flooding and me with a beautiful vista.
The relatively abundant moisture makes the plant life unusually lush.
Although, we picnicked far from the water, the rapids provided the soundtrack for our evening.
I think I could tolerate these views on a long term basis.

Happy Early Birthday to Me!

I learned a few things on my mission. I learned that ALL Dutch people love windmills and Delft blue pottery. I am, of course, not exaggerating. I also learned to love tea. As a result I love teapots. My friend/mission companion/maid-of-honor/former roommate found this for me.

It is actually a clever salt and pepper shaker. Isn't it adorable?
It utterly and completely fulfills my need to surround myself in Dutchness.

Do I Work Too Much?

On Saturday, I was walking back to work from my lunch break and standing at the corner of a very busy street waiting to cross. I knew it was going to be a minute so I moved into the shade. A moment later, two boys and their mother approached carrying McDonald's food. The boys were typically developing young children and as such were kicking each other.

Trying to escape, his older brother, the smaller one moved closer to me. He was probably five, but seemed very small on that very busy street corner. He had a round face, round glasses, and his hair was cut to look like a bowl. He stared up at me in almost amazement. This was our conversation.

Boy: Do I know you?
Me: Do you go to the library? I work there.
Boy: I go to the library all the time!
Me: Well, then you know me.
Boy: Mom, look! There's the lady that lives at the library?