Florence Henderson's twin

I saw her. On the tram. She had all of the shape and glow of the real Florence Henderson, without the expensive clothes and tight skin. She made me smile and think about silly things, like how the Florence Henderson would never ride on a streetcar in Heidelberg with a bag of groceries and a run in her hose. And that really, riding in streetcars reminds me that we are a bigger group of people moving - sometimes in the same direction, sometimes not. In the privacy of my own car, I tend to think it is just that, private. I sing as loud as I want to, I chew gum, talk loudly, and pay attention to me and my car and my life. Public transportation changes the game. It takes the people from all of the cars on I-25 and puts them in the same vehicle. Maybe Florence Henderson has another twin - we'll just never know. Journey on. ~love~

Looking to cure those winter blues?

Me too.

May I suggest the following:

1. Flowers. You can never go wrong with flowers. Buy them for yourself. Convince someone else to buy them for you. Potted plants, fresh cut, secretly snipped from a neighborhood garden, however you get them, just do it. They are a perfectly good antidote to the winter doldrums. I bought myself a blue hyacinth and now my room smells like the botanical gardens. Unfortunately, I think this winter grey is getting to Penelope (the hyacinth) as well. I woke up this morning and noticed that one half was completely drooped floor-wards. I had to intervene with some string. I stand by my thought, though, that flowers help.

2. Chocolate. Milka chocolate is on sale this week. I bought 2 bars. Delicious. The danger here is of course eating too much chocolate and gaining a little bit too much padding for the winter cold. I'm willing to risk it though.

3. Good, peppy music. I'm enjoying Regina Spektor's "on the radio" for dancing-around-getting-ready times, and a great mix of instrumental music from movie soundtracks for oh-my-goodness-my-presentation/exam/class/meeting/work-is-in-20-minutes times.

4. Cleaning. Every day I am a bit more my mother's daughter. I am ready to embrace it. A clean room is a happy room. Organization kicks back against the chaos that robs joy (and is so often onset by that freezing cold grey just outside the window) This also ties directly to the whole music thing...dancing with a mop = anti-winter blues

5. Candles. Thats all I have to say about that.

6. Coffee. The sustinance of life. Goes well with chocolate.

Alright, back to work. ~love~