Well hey, look at that! It's December.

I always miss the best photo ops. I was rushing to get the girls out the door for their karate lesson at 4pm this afternoon, and as soon as I pulled out the driveway and headed down the street I saw it: A strong golden slant of light coming from the only break in a gloomy, cloudy sky shining (I kid you not) directly on the white steeple of the church down the street. So pretty! I didn't have my camera with me and the girls were already very close to being late, so I did the best I could. I dropped them off quickly and sped back home to grab the Nikon -- but of course by the time I had all my gear, the light was gone.

*Sigh!*

I drove around a while, hoping for another dramatic break in the clouds somewhere. No luck. Oh well. I did still manage to get a pretty shot or two, but nothing like what I'd hoped for.



I got back to karate about half way through their lesson. They had finished practicing their forms and were on to a rousing game of Dragon, Dragon, What Time Is It? It's sort of like Mother May I, as I remember it: One person (the dragon) stands at the front, her back turned to the others, while they chant "dragon, dragon, what time is it?" in unison. She replies three o'clock (or whatever) and they have to move forward three paces in the predetermined karate stance (chicken kicks seems to be a favorite). When they get close enough, the dragon replies "Dinner time!" and chases them all back to the other side of the room.



When we got home from karate, we realized our water had been shut off. The city has been tearing up the underground water pipes for the last two months or so, and while they've been working all around us nearly the whole time, they have only now begun work on our particular street. It would have been nice to have had some warning -- a little note tucked in the door yesterday, or even a knock at the door today before they got started: "Hey, FYI we're cutting off vital services for a few hours. Hope you don't mind!" -- but no.

GRRRRRRRR.

It's back on now, and we've stocked up on bottled water for the inevitable days of continued incompetence before they move on to the next street, but just.... UGH.

In other news, my little weekend trip to Phoenix is coming up! I feel like I have all sorts of things to do to get ready, but when I sit down and actually try to do some of it, I experience a mental block; all I want to focus on is the fun I'll have, not the work it'll take to get there. I am overwhelmed and useless. I should probably be doing some of it now, in fact, lol.

Welp. I guess I'll do that, then. :-)


~RCH~