.....SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO great, doesn't it?  I'm specifically speaking about Kamala and Tim and how they've galvanized the country and the world with their optimism, joy, exciting outlook for the future.  I'm sorry, but seriously, who doesn't want the future they're presenting????  Why on earth would anyone want to be dragged backwards in time to where only white men have all the advantages?  Oh, right!  It's the white men who are trying to drag us back!  Not all white men, of course!  Please don't get me wrong.  But when you look at the Republicans' scary, sad, insane, despotic, draconian choices for governing?  Seriously, is that what you want?  If you happened to miss Michelle's and Barack's speeches last night, do yourself a favor and find them.  They are exciting, smart, and talking to YOU, to everyone, to the US, to the world.  Tell me what they talk about with a vision for the present and future isn't what you hope for.  It's not a Democrat vs. Republican life.  It's the life we all want.  Opportunity, respect, grace, and to live your best life.  I mean, come on!!!  So get out there and vote for the future you dream of, the future you want for your kids and your kids' kids.  And if you don't have any kids, vote for the future you want this country, this planet to have because you love this country and this planet and you want to make sure it's a wonderful place to live.

This is what joy looks like.  Fabulous picture of Barack and Michelle from DNC convention night 2.  Go get you some!  Vote Kamala and Tim!

...is in my near future as my sister and I are headed there for....drumroll, please....ANTIQUES ROADSHOW!!!  We're sooooooo excited!!!  Ten years ago, maybe (I'm terrible with time!), I won the ARS lottery for Indianapolis, and my sister, who lives in Texas, and I went, stayed with Mom, drove downtown to the Roadshow with our trinkets, and had THE BEST TIME!!  Every year since, she and I put in for tickets.  She chooses a different city than I choose, and this year, she won the lottery!  We've been texting and talking about it so much since she learned she got the tickets -- what to bring???  The internet changed everything (on every level) about being able to do due diligence on items you own, so finding the thing to bring that I don't have any information about AND that might have some value is a challenge. Plus, since we're both heading out of town without cars, we can't lug, oh, a bureau or a dining room set, so we're trying to be judicious about our choices since standing in line for a long time is going to be the main thing we do that day :-)  We're both still trying to figure out what treasures to bring.

Do you watch the show?  Who is your favorite appraiser?  And most importantly, what would you bring???  It's been fun for us to take pictures of things we've both forgotten about from our childhood and share them with each other.  Fun really is the key word for all of it.  Both of us know we're not going to come up with some unknown national treasure that will make it into the Smithsonian, but the time that we're spending together?  Totally priceless :-)

Whatever your day brings you, I hope it makes you smile and puts a little skip in your step.

Isn't this hilarious?!?!  My partner's new fancy car played this song on the jazz station we were listening to.  I saw the title and burst out laughing :-)  If you don't know the song, google it and listen to it.  You'll find the title is a tad different and the song is a classic.

...has been different for me, and I'm guessing it's been different for everyone who celebrates this joyful, marvelous holiday.  It's my favorite holiday along with Thanksgiving...to me, it's kind of like the Jewish Thanksgiving.  I always celebrate with my family in Indiana and eagerly look forward to it every year.  That part isn't any different this year, but I did have the great good fortune of celebrating the second night with some marvelous old friends and new friends and their kids and their kids' kids, so it was a rollicking and festive and energetic evening.  Our fabulous hosts went out of their way to have vegetarian dishes for me, the only vegetarian among a whole host of people.  I mean, how amazing is that???  I never expect any special treatment due to my vegetarianism, but I have been surprised and delighted how much people want to take care of me and make sure I have something to eat :-)

I think the "next year in Jerusalem" part is very difficult right now, which is a phrase that occurs in any standard Haggadah, which is the story of Passover that everyone uses at Seder, though there are many different personalized ways of retelling the story.  Wherever you may stand on what's happening in Israel and the Middle East, that particular phrase from the Haggadah gives all of us pause.  I'm not here to tell you how or what to think.  My own personal view is that I believe people in every corner of the world all want the same thing - to feel safe, to be able to wake up, go about their day without fear, to love who they love, pray whoever they pray to (or not), have food on the table, shelter, and to hope for a better world without harm.  I've been thinking about that a lot, what with our presidential election coming up, war in Ukraine, war in Israel, Iran on the brink of doing unthinkable things, who knows what's happening in North Korea, the war on women and our reproductive choices, the war on gender and who you are....it seems like there's a lot of terrorism in the world, both foreign and domestic.  I was thinking last night that perhaps instead of "next year in Jerusalem," I want "this year and all years in peace."  I know.  It's a lot to wish for.  A girl can dream.

On a completely different subject, this iris was a bonus plant that one of my BFFFs mistakenly included in the cup plants that she brought me to plant at the cottage.  I never thought it would bloom, but look!!!!  And another iris bloomed yesterday!!  And two more are about to open as well!  Life is full of wonderful surprises, isn't it?  I hope your day is full of wonder and beauty and that you hug someone you love today. "This year and all years in peace."  Peace out to you.

....mind (mine) has been helped by a long weekend away at one of my BFFs' cabin in Wisconsin with them and my partner.  The election, perhaps-war in the Middle East, the orange f*ckwad on trial, Arizona's unimaginable ruling on abortion (are you effing kidding me?!), any time a GOP maroon opens their mouth, the headlines, and on and on....sometimes you just need to remember to b-r-e-a-t-h-e.  Why is that so hard to do sometimes?  I find myself holding my breath, realizing I'm doing it, let it out, and then the cycle hits again.  This mid-grade fear that our world is on the brink of collapse....colliding with the dichotomy of this gorgeous spring....and my personal optimistic point of view....sometimes you just need to push your reset button by gettin' outta Dodge.  So thank you, M and D, for your fabulous friendship and generosity in saying get your butts up to Wisconsin and chill!!!  We needed that :-)

Hoping you're finding room to breathe, treating yourself well, and not letting the constant fear rule you.  It's a tough time we're enduring.  Be kind to yourself and to others.  Kindness makes everything better.  Oh, and don't forget to dance :-)

....and taxes.  Nope, they have absolutely nothing to do with each other.  They're both just on my mind on this Monday, April 1st because they're both big things that are happening soon.  Talking to my sister yesterday, who lives in Texas (a liberal who lives in Texas who finds it very difficult to be a liberal who lives in Texas) said that her town has called a state of emergency because of the thousands of eclipsers who are going to be descending on her small area.  A state of emergency.  I mean!  I can only hope that the hordes who are going to be descending anywhere along the best path of the eclipse are well behaved and respectful of the environment they're descending upon.  I remember watching the last eclipse in 2017 with my then-new boyfriend, now my fabulous partner, and instead of getting eclipse glasses, he made an old-timey viewing box out of cardboard and whatever else one makes them out of.  I remember delighting in his ingenuity (I still do) and I remember going to the high school grounds near us to watch.  It was partially cloudy, but we did get to see a bit of it.  There were hundreds of hopeful eclipsers there.  It was a very mellow and lovely day.

Now, taxes?  Nothing mellow or lovely about them!  I usually start mine today, April Fool's Day, because I always feel somewhat foolish starting so late :-)  But it's my foolish tradition.

Took a beautiful spring walk yesterday.  All the daffodils are up!  As are these gorgeous flowers - Siberian squill.  Some lawns have entire carpets of them.  Aren't they just so grand and jolly?  I look forward to them every spring.

Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, I hope you have spring in your step and in your heart.

....happy almost Easter, happy Ramadan, happy whatever you might be celebrating!  Me?  I'm celebrating that we got bikes!!!  I will admit that I'm nervous about riding on city streets.  And I can't ride on the sidewalks because...well, honestly, I berate folks who do ride on sidewalks because it's the last bastion of security for walkers, of which I am an avid one, so....We have toodled around the 'hood, and I'm not gonna lie, it felt GREAT!  Though admittedly, riding a bike in Chicago in March is dicey, to say the least, with all the wind and rain and cold temps we've been having.  I hadn't been on a bicycle since...1998!  And I couldn't help it, but at the place where we got our bikes, I kept thinking, well, it's just like riding a bike!  And you know what?  It is! :-)  Although when we were kids, we didn't wear helmets.  I don't remember anyone wearing one - and we rode our bikes EVERYWHERE!!  But I also grew up in a pretty suburban place, not a lot of traffic then, and kids with bikes owned the streets in my old 'hood :-)  We're going to be taking them camping and on bike trails.  I need to build up my bike thighs!  I do yoga, walk everywhere, kayak, dance, and other stuff, but using my legs this way is much different from all the other stuff I do, so I look forward to building up a tolerance of more than 10 minutes - hee!  I also need a basket with flowers and a bell!  My partner got me a different seat without a nose (I had no idea that that thing that sticks out in front on a saddle - bike seat - is called a nose!  All the terminology I'm learning!)  Definitely different riding a bike at an older age than as a kid.  But still just as awesome!!

Whatever you're doing, I hope it's bringing you great joy.

I can't take credit for this beautiful pic.  It's from one of my BFFFs, flowers from her garden :-)

....which kind of snuck up on me!  We've been having warmer than usual temperatures (thank you, global warming) and that plus the time change has kind of discombobulated me.  Just wanted to check in, see how everything is with everyone.  Are you happy?  Enjoying spring-like weather wherever you may be?  Seeing snowdrops, crocus, tulips, and daffodils popping up?  Enjoying the trees all getting ready to sprout?  Getting ready to VOTE if you haven't already?  Yep, VOTE!!  And think about what you want for yourself, for your country, for the world.  You might not like the choices presented to you, but really, are you ready to give up all of your freedoms and basic human rights if you put the orange f*ckwad back in the White House?  Are you really ready to cower in fear, be terrorized, watch everything we've worked for over the last 248 years slip away under a despot's crazy, insane, racist, sexist, elitist, white nationalist approach to the world?  I surely hope not.  I surely hope you'll VOTE and VOTE for the good of our present and our future, the future of your children or someone else's children, how you want the future to be, how you want our world presence to be and what we stand for.  Yep, it's my sincere plea that you take a good hard look at the facts of this oh-so-crucial race and VOTE for the people who believe in you, not people who are only out for themselves and their wallets.

Enjoy the day.  Spread joy, kindness, happiness, and love.  You can do that just with a smile to a loved one or a stranger. It's so easy and you'll be amazed at how good it'll make you feel.

I look forward to this event every year, the woman and the crocus.  She makes me so happy :-)

....my god....going from jubilation to terror in the blink of an eye.  Devastating.  And this gun violence continues its domestic terrorism path, because that's what it is, domestic terrorism.  Guns in this country (I can only speak for my country) have become weapons of mass destruction.  I know that the definition of weapons of mass destruction, at least by Homeland Security, only include biological, chemical, nuclear, or radiological weapons, and I'm pretty sure the reason guns aren't a part of that definition, especially guns that fire more rounds in a second than anyone on this earth truly needs, is the grip the NRA has on this country.  I think we need to rethink that definition and take massive steps to stop this insanity.  People who gather anywhere, be it a synagogue, a mosque, a bowling alley, a classroom, a disco, a Fourth of July fireworks display, a Super Bowl celebration, should not have to worry about gathering in celebration of life by having violence and death destroy everything they're seeking to celebrate.  How many times do we have to read these same atrocious, sickening headlines before the people in our government, who we hire to protect us, DO SOMETHING proactive about protecting us????  It defies understanding, at least mine.

I needed to get that out.  This is Friday afternoon and I'm going to close my computer and breathe and relax.  I hope your day has brought you beauty and joy.

My wonderful partner gave me this fab box of chocolate for Valentine's Day.  So far, so delicious!

...game!!  And mostly super commercials!  Seems like the games have gotten better over the years and are so exciting to watch!  Commercials have waxed and waned.  They started out being so great years ago, then it seemed like they were trying waaaaaay too hard.  The ship seems to be righted the last couple of years.  It always comes down to the writing, doesn't it?  I think trying too hard to be hip fails every time.  If you don't have the basics of good, then it's hard to succeed.  The Super Bowl commercial that I was in briefly aired just after the third quarter.  I had a battalion of friends and family keeping watch :-)  Honestly, it was pretty cool to see the opening shot and know that THIS IS IT!!! It's a lovely commercial for Jewel, a local grocery chain that's showing in Illinois, Northern Illinois, and Eastern Iowa.  Below is a screenshot my BFF took.  Here with the marvelous Lee Kanne.  He did such a terrific job!  Actually, the half day of shooting at this cute bungalow on the west side of Chicago was awesome.  Amazing crew, incredible director, fabulous sound guy, darling makeup artist, terrific wardrobe folks....everyone was so wonderful at their jobs.  This felt like a huge gift to begin the year.

​I hope this day finds you enjoying whatever it is you're doing with a song in your heart and a smile on your face.