Bibliophile

Yes, I admit it. My name is Doni, and I am a bibliophile. I love books and am hard-pressed to feel the need to excuse my addiction.

Today's excursion into Port Townsend only further strengthened the undeniable "ophileness" that is me. I saw this sign, for a yard and fabric shop, and immediately was transported to Diagon Alley. Yes, I am a Harry Potter geek - one of the best series ever to get children READING!!

It also told me that perhaps I'm not as Pollyanna as I like to think I am. Pollyanna would have never associated this sign with demented ovis.

I loved it on sight. My 14-year old son further decided that the picture needed a bit of surrealist color.

Such joy to be found in the unexpected, and unexplored corners of life.

Simple Pleasures

Ok, so today's word is actually two words. Simple Pleasures. The little things in life that bring us so much happiness, often without us even realizing it.

Today consisted of sleeping in (a premium for the insomniac), a yummy and satisfying breakfast made by yours truly and enjoyed by all who partook, finding discount DVDs of movies we've really been wanting to pick up, a snack of hard salami, varied cheeses and butter crackers, listening to the hockey game from the other room and getting ready to plan tomorrow's family photographic excursion. No fireworks, no bells, no whistles... just the mundane - and the joy I derive from them.

In my opinion, the "simple pleasures" often out perform the biggies... they occur more frequently - albeit, generally with less fanfare and acknowledgment. They rarely make your heart trip and skip like an unexpected proposal or some desperately wanted, unexpected gift. Instead, they feed the soul's "blood sugar" and keep our emotional health on target.

Silly things... we decided to drop the top on Bubbles (my '92 VW Cabriolet) tonight. A passerby said "nice night for the top down," and my response was, "it's not raining." We got a smile from a lady passer-by by who found a moment's joy in our unexpected display, and two pre-tween girls gigged and told their mother they wished they would ride with the top down tonight.

So for that 7ish miles from the store to our home, outside of town, we hunkered down in our heavy winter coats, cranked up the heat pointed at our feet and listened to uplifting classical, smooth jazz and gut-wrenching blues on the short, cold ride home.

The stars were magnificent.

Inspiration

Today's word is "Inspiration." My friend, Steve, is endeavoring to catalog his life adventures and memories as a goal for 2010.

It got me thinking about the little I actually know about my family, and how precious such information would be to me now that I no longer have everyone I started out life with.

As a newly-minted Oma myself, it seems important to some how capture at least a part of who I am, where I've been and how I see my place in this life.

I think I may have a new adventure-goal for 2010... although, I don't foresee being done in only one year... the play's not over yet. So, now in addition to my self-imposed daily word challenge (which, obviously, I've not entirely been meeting - it's been 4 days since my last posting), I plan to begin collecting snippets of "me" in hopes it will be interesting, entertaining and perhaps illuminating to those who follow.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Another blogger gave me pause... to consider the power of words. I've always been drawn to the written word - I admit to being a complete bibliophile. But even more... I truly adore the simple power of words, and the pictures they cause to form within my mind. I think that's part of why I like photography - it seems to capture sometimes just a single word, and at others - a complete dissertation.

So, I think that my New Year's Resolution/Goal (a couple of days late) is going to be expressing a single word each day... be it in a picture, defined by a paragraph or a lengthy essay containing both. Could be interesting...

Today's word: Uncertainty
"the outcome of the activity is unforeseeable"

2010 h0lds no definite direction, nor does the Magic 8 Ball tell us our economic health will improve. Today, duties were re-distributed from two positions that were eliminated due to budget cuts. It's been a bit scary - no one is safe, no is indispensable. Each only hopes we have something to keep us afloat for at least one more round of cuts.

I was one of the lucky ones... this time.

I'm thankful for having a "good" job, complete with benefits - and only a little resentful of the heavy, heavy workload put upon me (and many of my co-workers) trying to provide the public with the same level of service with so many less people and reduced resources.

So, my word is "uncertainty." Uncertain of my future, but ever hopeful. Ever watching. Ever hoping for for a sign of promise.

Happy New Year, My Friends...

In the New Year, may your right hand always be stretched out in friendship but never in want." (Irish Toast)