this photo is one of my favorite moments while in London.

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today was nice, a little warm, but not heatstroke-inducingly so.

after taking care of some small tasks around the house i felt entitled to going out to tea with a friend. we've done this a few times already, and it's becoming a welcome ritual. we talked about her daughter entering high school, iPods, edward hopper paintings, and why certain photos look good in black and white. i came to the conclusion that some photos just work better in black and white not only because it forces you to look at the content of the photo but because b/w gives photos a certain timelessness.

after she dropped me off i had an urge to go for a bike ride around the neighborhood, but not before doing something i haven't done in about a year: play the piano. the keys felt slightly dusty under my fingers and i had to play a little slowly, upping the tempo the second run through a piece. the keys that were out of tune made me cringe so i would try to go by them quickly. it made me wonder if it would be pounded into my brain if i played out of tune long enough.

i love taking late afternoon bike rides. i love the sky as dusk falls, which is even nicer when there are clouds out. i'd been wanting to take the water bottle cage off the bike and replace it with the bike lock holder, so i did that before heading out for an hour and a half ride. it felt so good and freeing. sometimes i'd catch the whiff of blossoms in the air. and when young children see me whiz by on my bike they always seem to be enthralled and inclined to ask their mom or dad if they can ride their bike too.

when i finally came back to the house my back was covered with sweat...like coming from a sauna with aerobic benefits.

after years of folding laundry i'm only now getting the hang of folding fitted sheets.

more fun with light

seen in Leah Garchik's column on SFGate.com:

As to other mind-expanding activities, Ron Teague was in Barnes and Noble in Fresno when he heard a customer ask a clerk if the store had a book of translations "with Shakespeare on one page and the English on the other.''

my sister and i stopped into an eddie bauer's store this weekend.

i'm browsing a sales rack as my sister sits off to the side. she's looking in the direction of several saleswomen standing around in a circle. i'm not paying much attention till i notice my sister with a big grin on her face, looking as if she's about to laugh.

as i wander over to ask her what's going on, i notice one of the women bending over to pick up something off the floor and put it in a plastic bag.

"what's so funny?" i ask my sister.

"they found a bra," she said.

that wouldn't be so strange except eddie bauer doesn't sell bras.

other than how the heck does someone lose a bra out on the sales floor -- and this had substantial cups on them -- i suppose the other big question here would be: will someone actually come back to claim it?

the flash on this shot was unintentional. the photo's not as sharp as i'd hoped, but i like it.

this sis came down for the memorial day weekend. we had a grand ol' time spending time and money at the thrift stores on saturday. on sunday we got together with the bro. it's the first time we've all hung out together in months. after our brother left [the hub had left early to go fly fishing] we gals decided to goof around. she always wanted to model, i've always wanted to try shooting "fashion" shots. this would be a good time to utilize the cheap bling we got at the mall.

god knows what our neighbors thought with the strobes and flashing lights coming from our living room, not to mention the maniacal cackling. i already know they think we're strange.

i was up till 4 a.m. downloading music off the internet. a lot of stuff you'd probably snicker at. and i'm sneezing like a mutha today.