Absolutely nothing to say.

How easy it is to mirror another universe.
I've given up reflecting teenaged boys and taken up puppy dogs.

How come the reality is sometimes so different from the dream? Does mass and pressure make that much difference?

I spend a lot of time in grocery stores, since I work for one of the major companies that sell there. I'm partial to our local Kroger company, King Soopers, but interesting things are happening at Safeway. The company is changing the design to "Lifestyle" stores to make shopping an event, similar to shopping at Whole Foods or Wild Oats. I'm not sold on it. The fixtures are changing over to laminated plywood to appear more elegant, the lighting is more focused into spotlights, there are areas of "wood" flooring in produce and other places. You really have to make a dramatic adjustment when you walk into the store since it's darker than outside. The Safeway "White Shirts" are all over the stores, placing and replacing stacks of Vitamin Water and Firelogs.

King Soopers has gone the other direction, adding brighter lights to their stores. There is a real neighborhood feel to the ones here in Boulder, especially the one on Table Mesa Dr. Along with the genuine customer service at King Soopers, I appreciate that the management is a lot easier to deal with than Safeway management.

This fella is spending a year at Disney World.

I can't imagine a year there, but more power to him. Spending a year doing anything you love is something to be proud of.

Stinking, friggin' cold. I haven't been sick for years and now I have this lingering mess of mucus in my head. At least I'm not alone since the whole family got it. I imagine it could be more depressing but I don't want to.

The last few months, I've been working my way out of a dependence on convenience. I have plans that promise to be highly inconvenient but I want the product so I have to change my patterns.

First, I changed the accounts where I work, not for the convenience factor, but for the fact that I was getting lulled into the rhythm of the small picture. I enjoyed the place and the people but sometimes, too much agreement can stick a person where they don't really want to be.

Next, I arranged my schedule to work out 3 days a week and bought a yearly pass to the rec center. So far, I've been keeping to the schedule and finding little treasures such as the wet sauna and swimming in place against the jet sprays in the lazy river portion of the pool.

There are changes happening with the advent of our empty nest. Pulling my attention off this last one is harder than I imagined with lots of starts and stops. The other one is turning 21 in a couple of days. My body is becoming a little ole' lady! I just don't want my life to be one.

It's January 7th and I'm watering the yard out of necessity, not out of pleasure. We've had record snows in the mountains but it is so dry here on the plains. Dry and dusty winters are not my favorites.
On the other hand, it makes for pleasurable outings with the dogs. Bikers and walkers and joggers abound.

Someone recently asked me what my future holds. Gee, I'm not sure beyond an upcoming empty nest. This is an odd time of life for me. I always had future goals and plans for myself mocked up till I had kids. Their needs were so prodigious and I was so fascinated with the process of child raising that I'm just noticing how much of my attention has been wrapped up in this family.

I've been keeping an eye on the rest of the world but it surely looks different now that I can give it my full attention.

My next project? Mankind.

in just by e.e. cummings

in Just-
spring when the world is mud-
luscious the little
lame baloonman

whistles far and wee

and eddieandbill come
running from marbles and
piracies and it's
spring

when the world is puddle-wonderful

the queer
old baloonman whistles
far and wee
and bettyandisbel come dancing

from hop-scotch and jump-rope and

it's
spring
and

the

goat-footed

baloonMan whistles
far
and
wee

A new year and a new moon. What a nice combination!