All about lines

Ahhh, what recent upload to post... But this one strikes my fancy at the moment. So, this one it is. And, this one in color. You'll see from my Flickr note that I intended to only upload the B/W version, but somehow even though I was seeing B/W on my screen in Picassa, I hadn't actually saved it. But, after I saw them both "up," I found myself drawn to the soft tones - greens and almost purple cast of some of the color photos bouncing off the B/W. So, here it is.

It's funny that this was for the third in the series of weekly CMP "grid" prompts and yet it's the first one I've posted. I took photos for the second, just haven't gridded them yet. I took photos for the first before I decided to make it a prompt and then decided to take them again post-pre-Mom-visit-cleaning, and still haven't. But, these photos I started taking before I realized I wanted it to be a continuation prompt. A 20-minute lapse at the park before we picked up the oldest left me monitoring a slippy slide while, at the same time, I was savoring shadows cast by the structures. You see several crops from larger photos from that day in this grid, and then we went to the tea garden, and a number of things caught my eye there, too, that fit right in. Actually, there is one photo, specifically, I meant to include here and didn't because it is all about line. Darn (finger snap). To replace or not. In fact, I might.

So, I waited until 7:06 a.m. this morning to start allowing myself to plan the small block of time I should have to myself on Thursday mornings. I was "last call" today, and I was holding my breath, hoping the phone didn't ring. My partner has pneumonia right now and is quite sick, which, following the trickle down law of the "way things work" means that I feel like I'm living in the middle of an avalanche. I am, however, thankful that:

• both boys are in school for a few hours and there were no tears getting them that way
• two days ago the fog rolled in crisp and cold and soupy after two days in the 80's (for which we are ill-prepared and ill-tempered about)
• I managed to keep my hair appt over the weekend for a cut which I was not sure I wanted or needed (having let my hair go long again, I'm not big on buying into the need for a routine "trim"). I walked in unsure and out feeling stunned and stunning (at least in terms of my hair). It constantly amazes me that it took me more than 35 years to fall fatefully into the hands of the most wonderful hair person in the world. I always think it can't get better than the cut before, and it always does. And, I think he looks at me and sees that the hour he works on my hair is an something akin to an hour at a spa - and, I could be wrong, but I think he purposefully tries to ensure I walk out feeling confident and glamourous. I adore adore adore adore him.
• we did not get called for last call
• I wore my Must Have cardigan this morning and, ironically, similarlly colored handmade socks (which were the ones I grabbed in the dark of predawn) this morning, and the sweater, especially, makes me incredibly happy.

So, once I felt reasonably safe that the phone was not going to ring, I started jotting down my list, which goes something like this:

• listen to "x's" audio clips for CMP
• respond to "y"
• respond to "z"
• respond to "w"
• check in on "s" (who I'm worried about)
• check in at Flickr for group activity
• scan at least one page and upload
• check on "abc" for episode 48
• blog entry
• work on compilation music list from all shows
• work on other compilation list I need for possible special CMP episode
• download new batch of podsafe music for consideration
• work on odd painted/collage piece in sketchbook (awaiting top-level text)

But then I ended up needing to do a bit of chauferring that I hadn't intended. In the space between the extra drop-off and pickup (at least I swung a Starbucks run on the pickup end), I got some of the above things done. Not all. Some. And, I checked on other things, poking around at sites that came through in listener emails this morning and feeling amazed at how much some people manage to get done. I've always thought of myself as efficient and disciplined and far from slow. But, at times, more and more, I end up feeling like I'm just not getting enough done!