Meant to be

Today, as I left the parking lot of Ralphs, I drove past a homeless woman holding a sign asking for change and thought for a moment that I might stop and give her what I had. I offered a smile instead and headed to the gas station where I quickly realized I didn't have my wallet. As I retraced my steps I realized it was still in my shopping cart in the parking lot at the grocery store.

I smiled again at the homeless woman as I pulled in the parking lot and immediately spotted my wallet. Seeing an opportunity to tell the world (ya know, the 43 people who follow me on Twitter), I decided to take a photo of the mishap.  Which turned into 5 minutes of getting the right angle and picking the right effect.

I hopped back in my car, smiled for a third time and then looked down at my passenger's seat. No wallet. Are you kidding me?

A U-turn and an additional smile later, I was back in the parking lot laughing at myself. Did I REALLY leave it again? Unbelievable.

As I pulled out of the parking lot, I stopped to tell the homeless woman my story and that it clearly meant the five dollars I had in my wallet was meant to be hers.

I hope she bought something great.

Tampons to Tugboats

I'm visiting family in Tennessee to work on an ongoing family archive project.  There are so many great things about this, but I'm always blown away by the southern charm and true hostess qualities of my Aunt Bettie.

Your glass and your stomach will always be full.

And in one of the guest bathrooms, she's been sure to include everything one might need when traveling -- soap, shampoo, tampons, extras of everything and even tugboat toys for bath time.

100% Made My Day

I heart purple.

This came in the mail today.

No card.
No explanation.

Gifts

My favorite part of my whirlwind experience at Burning Man was the gifting; for no other reason than just that, to give.

I came home with some nifty new items, but my favorite experience was finding this girl on the playa.  She saw me with my Rice Krispy treats and b-lined directly at me.

"I. Am. The. Girl. You've been looking for.  You are about to make my week."

She almost reached in without asking and quickly said, "Can I please have more than one?"

Fun to find someone who loves those things as much as I do.


    photo: Bonnie Hawthorne

Puppy Love

This household had a rough day today. Our new little addition has good days and full-on-puppy-days.

Today was the latter.

Due to the full-on-puppy-mode, Ms. June was locked in the kitchen while I spent my day inputting hundreds and hundreds of email addresses.  Super fun.  I heart Excel.

There was whining and whimpering and huffs and puffs.  I'd peek in on her every once in awhile, but in general, we were mad at each other.

I decided to take a little break and have a seat on the kitchen floor to say hello.  This little one caught me out of the corner of her eye and quickly stretched her way over to my cross-legged lap.  She stepped on, put her nose down, pressed her forehead into my chest and just stood there.  "I'm sorry, mom."

Heart. Melted.

Sea Sick

Spent my morning at the dentist office waiting to hear that I needed to floss more, brush better and buy the latest and greatest toothbrush.  

Meeting with the dentist was surprisingly painless and he seemed to be pleased with my habits.  As I made my way into the next room for a regular cleaning, I had no idea what I was in for.  The hygienist sat with me first and was genuinely interested in what I did for a living.  She continued to ask questions as she slowly laid my chair back and put on her mask.  She adjusted my chair a few times...up, up, down.  Up. Down, down. Perfect.

She proceeded to ask me questions.  Not the yes or no kind.  Very detailed questions about succulents, climate change and politics.  Each time she finished a thought, she'd adjust my seat slightly.

At first, it seemed normal.  Adjusting for better reach perhaps.  But as she continued to tell me our planet was in for a whirlwind of change, she fell into a pattern of sorts.

Do you like the green agave or the slate?  If I had 30 seconds with Obama, I'd tell him we need to spend money on greenhouses.
Up. Up.
Down, down.
Scrape, scrape.
Down.
I hate social media.  They shouldn't call it social, they should call it segment media.
If you were just on the road, did you see all the crazy climate changes?  Which city was the worst?
Scrape, spray, suck.  Scrape, scrape.
Up, up.
Down.

I was slightly annoyed at first.  But as I continued to go up and down, it was comical and took my mind off the scraping.  It actually became a game for me to guess when she'd move me again and how long it would be before I laughed.