A Wonderful Day

Today was special. It had that magical quality that comes from everything working together. Al and I got to spend a lot of time together and nothing too much went wrong. Basil caught the magic, too. He got three walks today, and one was his favorite--a trip to the store. He's  asleep beside me now with his head on a pillow. It's good to see him so relaxed. He's such an uptight dog. I was sitting on the floor beside him yesterday. I sighed and he fled from the room with his tail between his legs. Maybe it was leftover trauma from his trip to the vet or maybe he thought Miss Nut, our antique cat, was after him. Whatever the reason, he couldn't be enticed back into the room until much later.

Hungry Pods Threaten Lafayette

In spite of the cold weather yesterday, Basil and I headed out in late afternoon to take pictures with my new camera. The park offers a more in the way of pleasing scenery than the interior of my house, and while Basil sniffed and performed his dog deeds, I could concentrate on developing an artistic eye. 

The trip wasn't totally successful (from a picture-taking point of view), but we did have a lot of fun. The picture here reminded me at first of hungry baby birds, but this morning, it looks more like a Little Shop of Horrors waiting to happen. 

The snow this morning was a nice surprise. 

The Surrogate Thief

I just finished reading a mystery, The Surrogate Thief by Archer Mayor. Since it was a library book, it had the requisite drops of blood and the random hairs and receipts; but it also had a running commentary by a person with faint and tiny handwriting. At first I was annoyed by her comments, but then I started thinking of her as another character in the book and looked forward to her insights: things like "Amen, Archer Mayor," "too true," "ain't thet so," and at the suicide of another character, "Oh, you poor woman." Towards the end of the book, she started writing entire essays in the margins--essays that have been erased, leaving only eraser bits behind. What a loss! Her brief comments revealed depth and sensitivity and gave many clues as to the life the woman must be leading. I checked out another book by Archer Mayor in the hope that it would also be enriched by this woman's comments. Much to my disappointment, there weren't any. Too bad. I was not ready to say good-bye.