The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain.

It's raining, again, which is not exactly . . . cool? 

I want to run around outside with out getting mud on my socks.

But I can't. 

Obviously. 

So, now, I am going to stay inside and load up on carbs.

And sugar. 

And berry-goodness.

Because I've made some pretty awesome pancakes.

And it would be a shame to let them waste. 

Formidable dark clouds, Norwegian jazz, and the splatter on window panes.

After yesterday's post, I began to hear the tornado/storm sirens going off from the outskirts of the city. The formidable dark clouds approached, thunder boomed, and I ran frantically through each room of the house shutting all the windows so that I wouldn't have to clean up a mess of rainwater when the storm passed. Today, it is raining again, minus the thunder and lightning bolts; instead, just kind of that lazy Monday rain, a downpour just enough to make the sky hazy and distant, but not so torrential as to make one afraid of stepping outside. 

Its kind of nice, in that serene, quiet kind of way. The house is silent, settled. John's bumbling about in his studio, listening to Norwegian jazz . . . Arild Andersen  or something or the other. . . I can hear the resounding melodies of the bass. I can smell the thick scent of oil paint, linseed, and canvas, maybe a splash of turpentine, drifting its aroma from the room. It's enough to give you a headache, so I hope he opened a window. 

I'm in the dining room/kitchen. I can hear and see the splatters of rain hitting the window panes of the kitchen ceiling. I'm debating whether I want to chop up a couple tomatoes and make a marinade. Pasta sounds delicious right now . . . or steak . . . which is weird. I usually never consciously want steak. Must be the jazz, it throws off my moods. 

Picnic!

The cleaning is over. Now I'm settled in with a nice bottle of wine, grapes, and cheese, sitting outside on the patio, and watching some most disturbing stormclouds make their way across the horizon. They'll be here soon, and I'll have to go back inside to the smell of bleach and clean, unless I want to get wet. 

I should probably take the cheese in before it rains. It'd be a shame if it was ruined. 

Cleaning before a trip to France.

I've spent the bulk of the morning cleaning. I'm leaving for France in less three weeks now, and I woke up this morning with the feeling that I shouldn't leave the house in disarray when I go and I won't have any other time from here to then to clean it. Of course, John will be around over the summer, but I kind of feel guilty leaving him to live in a mess. Anyways, I should go, I've mixed up a bleach solution and am going to sanitize all the surfaces in the kitchen. Then, I'm going strip down the wood floors to buff, polish, and wax them. Fun!

The air smells like onions, wild onions.

The air smells like onions, wild onions.
I don't really like the smell, maybe because I don't really like onions.
It's the texture . . . the kind of slimy, kind of crunchy, feel.
I suppose I should shut the windows then, to get rid of it. 

But afterwards, what will happen when the odor leaves.

I'll no longer be able to waft in the smell of magnolias and redbud blossoms. 

Fragrant tulips and the smell of green grass along a fresh cut lawn. 

Ah, maybe I'll just deal. 

The Perfect Hiking Tunes.

This is what I've been listening to lately, especially while hiking. It has that feeling, you know, mellow and good for the soul. Try it out sometime.

There must be some way out of here, said the joker to the thief. There's too much confusion, I cant get no relief.

Well, I'm not in the best of moods. I just got back from backpacking down south and am thoroughly sunburned. Being the type of person I am, forgetful and all, I forgot my bottle of sunscreen (and incidentally my bottle of aloe as well), and as it would happen I was camping/hiking in a region seemingly devoid of life, so I thought naught of driving the 20-30 mile distance to get some. I should have made the drive, thinking now, as I aspect the spreading red whelp-like areas covering my shoulders, arms, legs, and feet. Luckily, I thought to bring a hat, so my face was spared. 

The hiking was great. I took the break as I chance to be alone, without worrying about being bothered by colleagues at work or John at home. After my last post on Wednesday I went back into the lab, finished my work for the week. Then, quite rashly and without plan, I left town. I didn't need to pack because I still had all and any gear in my car, from the trips down to the Gulf (apparently though I removed the sunscreen from vehicle, how thoughtless). This rashness of course sent John into a tizzy when I never came home, but he's gotten over it. 

I just had to got out of there. Leave town for a bit to grab a hold of my bearings. The hiking did the job. There's something about standing cliff side, overlooking a ridge that puts life into perspective. Of course, there's also something about sleeping on the rocky ground and playing at being neighbors with the local wildlife that puts life into perspective as well. 

Anyways, I should go and catch some sleep. Tomorrow I need to get around to caring more about the will of things in the garden. If the weather turns out nice, by the middle of May I'll be planting in beds the beginnings of my strawberry patch that I've already started from seed. Also the greenhouse is yielding for me some tomatoes, peppers, a variety of herbs and spices, and not to mention a fortitude of berry plants. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited. 

There is always time for pie.

I've been able to to post the frequencies of my life these past couple of weeks (I'm not including my last post into the mix, because quit frankly it was a spattering, to make myself feel as if I've been keeping up to date). Work has become more busy. I spent the last two weekends (Thursday-Sunday) on down at the Gulf (of California) doing field work and then for the weekdays (Monday-Thursday) in the lab, running samples and punching data sets. I'm not complaining per se, but it's exhausting. Throw in a bunch of students and homework problems, and I'm left with no time at all to compose my thoughts. Today, at least I got a break to leave early and have spent the afternoon in the garden, tending to my seed sprouts, listening to bearable music, and making strawberry tart (and naturally then, eating a bit). 

It looks yummy, huh? Well, that's because it is. Ha. 

Bitch, please!

I've been a tad bit busy the past week, with you know life and all that jazz. I'll give you the scoop on it all later, for now I need to catch up on some much needed sleep. I'm running on two hours and that just doesn't sit well with me. 

Oh, and I realize I still need to post another mix for the month. I'll get around to it sometime.