Friday Fragments*

When life's hectic, every day seems full of fragments!  Why not celebrate it?  As I've been known  to say during ongoing crises, "Well, at least it's not boring."  (*Mrs. 4444's post isn't up at "press time," but go here to see what Friday Fragments is all about.)

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Morning: a Winter Harvest

I believe I planted this box with a mesclun mix in October.  I got one really good harvest in December, and then it sat there (under cover) sort of in suspended animation through the coldest part of winter.  As the evening draws later and the nights linger above freezing, I've been able to uncover our lettuce and it's starting to grow again.

Actually, the arugula's growing like crazy.  The other ones are just...stretching, checking things out.  Still, it's green.  I reseeded a couple of weeks ago, but nothing's come up yet.  That's ok, I've got more seed, and more time.

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I believe I've discovered a new tongue twister.  Say this five times fast: "An '04 Ford F-150."

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I thought I'd share with you a game I've developed to make the rush-hour commute a little more enjoyable for myself.  I call it the Red Light Game.  You have to have another driver to play it with, and it has to be a particular kind...the kind who tailgates you in stop-and-go streetlight traffic, as if you could control the unending line of cars and red lights ahead of you.

Once you have this kind of driver positioned behind you on the road, approach the next stoplight slowly.  Stop at least one car length back from the car in front of you.  The anxious driver behind you will most likely park so close to your back bumper that you won't be able to see his headlights (or hers).  Then you'll know you've got a live one!

Take your foot off the break and roll forward two or three feet, then stop again.  The car behind you should roll up to nearly kiss your bumper again.  Continue, using the remaining space judiciously enough to last through the stoplight.  See how many times you can make the other driver move!

I've never yet had a driver realize I was playing with them, and I find it delicious that I'm usually laughing aloud while they're probably gripping their steering wheel with white knuckles, as their blood pressure rises and their car jerks repeatedly to a stop.  If they manage to go around me once traffic starts to move, I like to smile and wave, as a way to thank them for playing.

It's lovely to start the day with a laugh, don't you think?

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I'm still going ga-ga over our upcoming trip to Europe this summer.  We still have four months to go, but as a friend pointed out, the anticipation lasts much longer than the trip, so I'm enjoying it to the hilt!  I realized the other day that I'm pretty familiar with Paris, having lived there for a year, but I know next to nothing about London.  So I'm filling my not-really-spare time at work with web searches like "St Paul's Cathedral" and "Portobello Market."  Fun!

I've also realized that I'm going to have to invest in some shoes.  Some seriously good walking shoes.  Preferably ones that don't scream "SNEAKER!"  I'm not sure of the best place to find them, but I'm willing to sink a fair amount of overtime earnings into a good pair.  Any suggestions for sources or brands?

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Thanks for reading and commenting.  Hope everyone has a great weekend!