esprit de l'escalier

Daydream believer

Today I was in several long meetings and my mind began to wander a bit. I dreamed of small dogs (I had a visual spark for this, watching a little tufted-eared Yorkie wait to be let into its condo across the street from my window), snacks (it was going to be a long day and my daydreams often turn to food), and potential trips. I don't know exactly what that says about me - puppies, food, and travel - but I'm going to say good things.

My friend Tina is currently en route to Rome for 10 days, via Montreal. I was invited to go with her and her Dad, but then I got my job. Oh man. Obviously it wasn't a hard call - a job in my field for an organization I thought was cool vs. an awesome travel opportunity - but it did cause some twinges. Someday I'll get to Rome with Tina, but it was her posts on Facebook about her quick trip to Montreal that got me thinking about possible future trips.

Now my future trips are hampered by two things. One, my sister is getting married this coming June. It's going to be awesome, but it's remotely located and is going to eat up a lot of my time off. Two, being a newbie at work, I have 2 weeks of paid time off. So much for me going to Paris for my 30th birthday! Tina's short trip to Montreal makes me think that maybe I should plan for a long weekend that way instead. Anyone interested in joining me?

This is also a long winded way of saying that I am hoping to get to NYC for a long weekend in October. I have 4 days of PTO for the rest of the year, but I think I'm going to make it work. (The photo above is from my April trip to DC.)

Jade plants

These plants are several generations removed from my grandmother's jade plants (cuttings from cuttings). I like to think that she and my mother were/are jade whisperers.

Oh Seattle

So, not this past weekend, but the one beyond that, I went to Seattle for a wedding and to visit with friends. The people who got married? Seriously some of my favorites, who have wonderful friends. I have gushed about my trip to people on the phone, but don't know if a rambling "I love everything!" post would be very coherent, so I'm going to leave you with a few words and even more photos.

Last August found me in Seattle for a wedding too, and I'm liking my annual trips to the Pacific Northwest. I'd like to make it a habit, even if I run out of weddings to attend. I love the people I know there. I love the food. I love the weather (even if it rained - it at least let up for the outdoor wedding ceremony). Love, do you hear me? I'm gushing again. But seriously, who wants to meet me up there next August?

I carted around way too many cameras, that were way too heavy, and did not take enough photos to justify the bulk. I do think I have learned some valuable lessons about traveling with my cameras. Anyway, here are some photos. More here.

Meet me at the fair

My friends and I went to the Ohio State Fair this weekend. I hadn't been since middle school? High school? I can't remember. I've stayed away because generally I don't like heat and crowds, but I had a great time and plan on going back next year. We lucked out with relatively cooler weather and I fell in love with the fair. We didn't see the butter cow, but we did sit in on Holstein competition, only to discover at the blue ribbon ceremony that it was all about the utters. Which explained a lot.

My favorite place was the poultry barn. I wandered the the aisles of fancy chickens, marveling at their colors and sizes, wishing I could take one home. They had a ton of heritage breeds as well. Sigh.

I took my polaroid spectra and my holga. Below are my favorite polaroid shots. The fair was made for polaroids. See all my photos here.