Sunday, February 28, 2021

Feeling Restless

Picture of the Day for February 28, 2021. I took an hour-long drive today. Ended up on a remote road behind the Salt Lake City airport. It was interesting to see it from this vantage point. The Sunday drives I’ve been taking have been helpful, but I’m so restless I don’t even know what to do with myself. 

Saturday, February 27, 2021

Dollar Store Decisions

Picture of the Day for February 27, 2021. I needed to pick up some storage bags that I’ve only found been able to find at the dollar store. Sadly, this was the least scary of the dollar store options for me today. I had to choose between going into the store with the scary guy lurking in the parking lot or the store that was the most disreputable-looking. I chose the shifty-looking store. 

Friday, February 26, 2021

Expensive Mac and Cheese

 Picture of the Day for February 26, 2021. Did I just spend $14 for frozen mac and cheese? Sure did. Do I have any regrets? Sure don’t. I love Beecher’s flagship cheese which is super sharp (the sharper the cheese, the better) and I love mac and cheese. Match made in heaven. 

Thursday, February 25, 2021

Mrs. Backer’s Bakery

Picture of the Day for February 25, 2021. Dropped by Mrs. Backer’s Bakery today for some treats because it’s the best bakery on the planet. They also have the best sign (pictured) and the best building (pink). Definitely a throw-back to the World War 2 era. In fact, they are celebrating their 80th anniversary this year. I suspect when they opened in 1941 it was earlier in the year before Pearl Harbor and the U.S entering the war, but it made me think about how life always goes on, even in the face of historical events. Just like we’re doing now during the pandemic. 

Wednesday, February 24, 2021

Glasses-free Work Day

Picture of the Day for February 24, 2021. Went into the office today. Guess what did not accompany me to the office? My reading glasses, that’s what. They opted to remain on my bathroom counter. I actually ended up managing just fine without them which means I probably rely on them as a crutch a little too much. 

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Rockstar Parking Karma

Picture of the Day for February 23, 2021. My rockstar parking karma always comes through for me! Got the parking spot closest to the Walmart entrance today. 

Monday, February 22, 2021

Missing Clown Sock

Picture of the Day for February 22, 2021. I found this clown sock which had been missing for a month! I love wearing my clown socks (secretly) during important work meetings. 🤡

Sunday, February 21, 2021

Jerrie Cobb Biography

Picture of the Day for February 21, 2021. I discovered this biography of Jerrie Cobb at a used bookstore today. Jerrie Cobb was a member of the Mercury 13, a group of female pilots who underwent the same physical testing as the original Mercury 7 astronauts. I never met her in real life, but I was fortunate enough to attend her induction into the National Aviation Hall of Fame several years ago. Eileen Collins, the first female space shuttle commander, accepted the honor on her behalf and Rhea Woltman, a fellow member of the Mercury 13, was also in attendance. 



Saturday, February 20, 2021

A Discovery of Witches

Picture of the Day for February 20, 2021. I’m totally obsessed with the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness who is a professor of history at the University of Southern California. This is PhD-level fiction about vampires and witches and daemons. Nothing stereotypical about how the author handles this genre. The sense of history is so rich and she makes historical figures seem so real. I was listening to a podcast recently and the presenter mentioned the “man who had the largest private library in Elizabethan England.” I knew, from reading the novels, that it was a reference to John Dee who was Queen Elizabeth’s astrologer and owned 3,000 printed books and 1,000 manuscripts. Definitely impressive for the 16th century. 

Friday, February 19, 2021

Lazy Snow Removal

Picture of the Day for February 19, 2021. If you wait long enough, eventually the 10 inches of accumulated snow on your steps will melt. Much easier than shoveling  

Thursday, February 18, 2021

Alien Invasion or Cool Sunset? You Decide

Picture of the Day for February 18, 2021. Finally got out of the house after having been housebound for the past two days due to snow. Saw what is either an alien spaceship descending through the clouds or just the beginning stages of a really pretty sunset. 

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Comfort Food

Picture of the Day for January 17, 2021. My favorite comfort food lately is a little bit of toaster waffle with a whole bunch of melted butter. Yum!

Tuesday, February 16, 2021

William Shatner & Ancient Aliens

Picture of the Day for February 16, 2021. I think I’ve mentioned on this blog before that my one of my guilty pleasures is Ancient Aliens on the History Channel. I still get a thrill every time the narrator says “ancient alien theorists suggest...” So what could be better than that? William Shatner sparring with those ancient alien theorists during a round table discussion, that’s what. At one point Shatner said they needed to speak to an engineer to validate a point of contention and one of the panelists said “well, actually I have three engineering degrees.” Ha!

Monday, February 15, 2021

Flamingo keeping me company

 Picture of the Day for February 15, 2021. My oldest sister dropped off this Valentine’s Day present - a pink flamingo! It’s sitting in my home office chair keeping me company. 

Sunday, February 14, 2021

Best “everything” bagel

Picture of the Day for February 14, 2021. My niece made “everything” bagels and dropped off a couple for me for Valentine’s Day. This was the best bagel I’ve ever had - and I’ve consumed a large quantity in my life. I could eat a million of these (but not at the same time of course 😀). 

Saturday, February 13, 2021

Clyde Squires Sketch

Picture of the Day for February 13, 2021. I’m on an art-buying spree. This is an original sketch by Clyde Squires (a Utah native) who was a famous illustrator for ladies magazines in the early part of the 20th century. 

Friday, February 12, 2021

Wide-bottomed tree

Picture of the Day for February 12, 2021. I was out for a walk today when I noticed this tree with an unusually wide trunk. It looks like the tree has gained the dreaded COVID 19 pounds. I feel you, tree. I feel you.  

Thursday, February 11, 2021

I am not a cat

Picture of the Day for February 11, 2021. The media sensation du jour is the attorney who inadvertently showed up to a court hearing on Zoom using a cat filter. I’m writing about this becauseI laughed the “ugly” laugh where you can’t breathe when I watched this video. I can’t even remember the last time I laughed so hard. It felt good to giggle uncontrollably. It was a nice reminder that life can be so wonderfully absurd at times. 

Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Work Signs

Picture of the Day for February 10, 2021. Went into the office today for a client conference call (since my home internet has been a little shifty lately). Took pictures of some of the “be super careful” COVID-related signs that are hanging throughout the office. It’s wild to think that this time year everyone was working from the office without a social distancing care in the world. 




Tuesday, February 9, 2021

Another Weird Present

Picture of the Day for February 9, 2021. My sister had another weird present for me when I met her for dinner tonight - an auto escape tool that allows you to break a car window in case of emergency. She had purchased one for her car, but Amazon accidentally sent her a box of 12 instead of just one item. Amazon told her just to keep them so she has been distributing them to friends and family. Amazon’s loss is my gain!

Monday, February 8, 2021

Woman Saving Naked Man

Picture of the Day for February 8, 2021. This is the second of two Brian Kershisinik’s pieces I picked up at an art gallery moving sale. It’s a subversive take on a traditional artistic image of St. George slaying a dragon while rescuing a helpless maiden. In this painting, it is the woman saving the naked man. I had seen another version of this painting that Kershisinik had done where the woman was slaying an alligator. It was so quirky that I fell in love with it immediately. I would have purchased it in the spot, but it had already been sold. I prefer the alligator, but I was delighted that the dragon version was available so I purchased it on the spot. 

Sunday, February 7, 2021

There’s a lot going on here

 Picture of the Day for January 7, 2021. I drive past this house frequently on my way to the freeway entrance in my neighborhood. There’s a lot going on here. Ducks, geese, and an Italian chef doorman. 

Saturday, February 6, 2021

Stunning Sky

Picture of the Day for February 6, 2021. I tend to live in my head. It’s one of the reasons I’m not good at listening to audio books. The voice of the narrator invariably competes with the running dialogue going through my head. Occasionally, however, I do pay attention to my surroundings. Today I looked up to see this stunning sight in the afternoon sky. 

Friday, February 5, 2021

Thursday, February 4, 2021

Stress Eating

Picture of the Day for February 4, 2021. Bad day at work. One of the worst in a long time. Logged off early and had peppermint ice cream topped with chocolate magic shell. It helped. 

Wednesday, February 3, 2021

View from My Office Window

Picture of the Day for February 3, 2021. Went into the office today. I love the view out of my office window. Every time I looked out I saw something different - from threatening clouds to rain to sunshine to snow to sunshine to sunset.

Tuesday, February 2, 2021

Small, Weird Present

Picture of the Day for February 2, 2021. Prior to meeting my sister for dinner tonight she said (and I quote exactly), “I have a small weird present for you!” In a million years I never would have guessed it was a dermalplane razor for women. She had ordered a pack of them and gave me one of the extras. It was indeed a small, weird present, but a welcome one since they are quite trendy now. They are supposed to exfoliate your skin to reveal a new, youthful you. The next time you see me I may look 10 years younger. 😀

Monday, February 1, 2021

Red Tree

Picture of the Day for February 1, 2021. New month. New goals. Trying to get more than 80 steps a day. For me, working from home during the pandemic = sedentary lifestyle. Sometimes my only exercise is to get up from my work desk to grab a Diet Coke from the kitchen. I made myself carve out some time this evening for a walk. I love my neighbor’s tree completely covered in red lights. It’s like a magical beacon.