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| Self-portrait reflected from car window |
I made a special trip down to the mailbox this afternoon to see if the book I won from Shona Cole's giveaway last week had arrived, and it had! Joy of joys! Only about half an hour remained before I had to walk down the street again, albeit a little farther, to meet my daughter at the bus stop. I read the first chapter carefully, and then I turned the pages a little faster, feasting on the glorious images, the gentle words, and the overall atmosphere of the whole thing. I will read each page slowly and give it the attention it deserves, but I couldn't help myself today. I never have been one of those people who don't read ahead until they've actually done the exercise. Simply not possible for me!
So, it was time to go, and inspired by Liz's book, I grabbed my camera to take with me for the journey down the street (rather than taking my iPod to play Solitaire whilst waiting). Come with me . . .
The lantana flowers have long gone from the bush in the front garden and turned into berries.
A vigorous and optimistic snail is making his way up our garage door. Not sure what he thinks he's going to find there that's worth the trip!
I was struck by two things on my way down to the bus stop. One was how many empty spaces there were, waiting for children and adults alike to come home and fill them with their presence . . .
. . . and also how even so close to midwinter there are still flowers about here in Central Texas.
I appreciated the things that my neighbors do to make our daily life beautiful.
And at the end of the street I was rewarded by the sight of my first-grader exiting the bus doors.
I wanted to take a picture of her lovely face but got the forced smile, so I asked her to think about our new little cousin Penelope who was born two days ago, and I was rewarded with this.
Then as we reached our house and were about to go inside, I looked up into the sky and saw two contrails in the deep blueness. I must remember to look up more often.
