Friday, January 25, 2013

looking back

It should be this way: you're about to travel to Greece, you read all you can so that you are informed once you're there.

It's never like that for us. Indeed, it's quite the opposite: we travel, the trip sinks in. We then read and watch. (Today, it's DVDs on ancient Greece.) It's so much better in the reverse! We understand. We've seen it! It makes sense. (It doesn't hurt that the story of ancient Greece is one harrowing tale, so that it makes for good Friday night DVD-from-the-library-and-therefore-you-have-to-take-what's-available viewing.)

So I'm thinking of ancient Greece tonight. A better topic than, say, the gray day that we have outside.

In earlier hours, there was the usual -- school work (I had a class to teach today), though in the morning, I had the company of Isis, who is ever the adorable cat  (all snuggled into his paws as in the photo below), once night is over and our struggles as to who should have what portion of the bed are behind us.


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To document the utter colorlessness of the day, I take you once again to Lake Mendota, now covered by an insignificant coating of snow.


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On the way home from campus, I drive slowly. A snow shower comes and goes, never quite letting the flakes stick, never adding that gentle coverup to the January landscape.


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But, there are notes of 'color,' even on a day like this: my cold is nearly done (a nod perhaps to my mom here, who is a strong advocate of using the oil of oregano capsules at the very first onset of the sniffles). The brutal work week is behind me. I have a bunch of yoga classes this weekend to choose from. And, today, I went grocery shopping. And the flowers in the store were on sale ($5 a bunch!) and so I bought some.

Ed, I've come back with a bunch of flowers. This should come out of my funds, not yours... right?
It's okay, they can be from me.

That's one way to get your Traveling Companion to buy you flowers, if you're just itching for them. And I was. Especially during winter. Now.


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