January 31

As of this afternoon, I'm now fortunate enough to have a double-hung window in my bathroom. Here's one of the landladies working on the installation this afternoon.

Our landladies remodeled our bathroom while we were on vacation last year. Unfortunately, certain aspects of the remodel did not go according to plan. They took out the window to reglaze it, but were not able to rehang it immediately. Fortunately, the storm window kept us from having a gaping hole in the wall over our bathtub, but it did lack that feeling of completeness that is so important in the room where one spends so much time naked.

The window was done months ago, but the windowsill had gotten damp and swollen, so the window didn't fit anymore. Finally, today, with some effort, the landladies were able to wedge the windows back into place. I thought it was noteworthy enough to photograph -- easily the most interesting thing that happened to me today.

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January 30

I've never met a person who hasn't wanted to peek into a purse or bag occasionally. I lump the impulse in with the urge to look in medicine cabinets and dresser drawers that all children seem to be born with and adults struggle to control.

So here you go: My bag, which pretty much accompanies me everywhere.

From the upper left, clockwise:

My laptop bag, a brown leather courier bag from Benetton. It was a gift from my boyfriend last Christmas. On it are my checkbook, for paying bills and making deposits to the joint checking account, a piece of mail I should have dealt with last week, and a DVD of "The Queen," which I got on sale for $5.99 at a 7-Eleven.

Next to it is my laptop, replete with National Novel Writing Month stickers.

Below that is the legal pad and clipboard that I try to keep with me at all times -- you never know when you're going to need to take notes. On the notebook is a small, flexible-neck flashlight (handy for blackouts), a fountain pen (my preferred writing implement), a ballpoint pen (for when I have to make carbons, etc.), and a Staedtler Proportional Scale, known in graphic design parlance as a "whizzy wheel," used to calculate dimensions for cropped photos and images.

To the left is my cords bag for my laptop and other electronics. It contains a mouse, network cable, power cord and A/C adapter, mousepad, and other assorted cords in a self-contained bundle that zips closed. When you're ready to go, your cords go in and the bag goes into the briefcase/attache/camera bag.

All in all, this is my self-contained office on the go. Some contents change, i.e., mail comes and goes, but for the most part this is it.

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January 29

I've used a couple of my recent posts to complain about the surfeit of snowfall Boston's received over the past month. There's likely to be more complaints -- many more complaints -- in the weeks ahead.

Not everybody in my household shares the same aversion to snow, however. While I'm pretty sure my cat, Pretty Boy, is on my side, Pogo (my dog, a Border Collie - Husky mix) just loves playing in the snow. I let him out into the backyard this morning and grabbed my camera to snap some photos. He didn't disappoint; as soon as he was done with more pressing matters, he headed right for the soft snow and proceeded to roll merrily in the stuff.

Pogo is 13 years old now. He's diabetic, going deaf, has a ventricular arrhythmia (heart murmur), and in the past year had a small tumor removed from his belly. He spends a lot of time napping. So when I get to see him frolicking in the snow, having pure, unadulterated fun, it brings me a lot of joy.

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January 28

Up until last night, Boston has had 44.5 inches of snow this winter. This morning, more fell -- four more inches, by my measurement.

This storm, however, didn't just bring snow. First it was snow, then sleet and freezing rain, then plain rain. The snow fell heavily enough that the plows and sanders didn't actually finish their jobs before the sleet and rain arrived. Sand and salt added to snow being wet by rain makes for a cold, viscous, slushy mud that's really quite gross. Depending on the weather, being behind one of these trucks can be a blessing or a curse. Blessing in icy weather, because you get better traction, and curse in this kind of weather, where the mud on the roads gets just about everywhere.

It's not too cold right now, and the rain will end soon. The best word to describe the current weather is "gross." And statistically, February is Boston's snowiest month. I'm trying very hard not to dwell on that bit of awesome, cheery news.

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January 27

Two slightly-scuffed cordovan shoes. Unremarkable, until you find out that they're on my feet, and that I'm wearing two shoes instead of one shoe and an orthopedic boot for my foot injury. My healing process has been slower than I had hoped it would be. I can sum up all the technical information in one sentence: My right foot still hurts!

That having been said, it doesn't hurt nearly as much as it hurt a month ago.

I'm getting back into the swing of everyday activities that had been closed to me while my mobility was limited -- exciting stuff, like long trips to the grocery store and filling up a cart with stuff, or shoveling snow, or just taking Pogo for walks that go past the backyard gate and actually involve getting all the way around the block.

It just occurred to be that one of the reasons I've been feeling so stressed out of late is, that with one bum foot, I really have been as busy as a one-legged ass kicker.

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January 26

It's been a snowy and chilly winter in Boston. Tomorrow's forecast, into Wednesday, is calling for snow and winds and other assorted nastiness. With the current temperature at 12 degrees Fahrenheit, it's long past time to quit wishing for warmer weather and get down to the business of staying warm. This means wearing coats, long johns, gloves, scarves, and a hat.

So here I am, modeling my new winter hat. It cost the princely sum of $12 at a booth in Back Bay Station. Considering its modest price, fake fur and polyester construction, it's surprisingly warm -- warm enough that I'm willing to go around looking like Nanook of the North wearing the thing.

I think I'm going to continue to wish for warmer weather, though. Spring arrives on March 21st, so it's only 53 days away. Only 53 ever-lengthening days.

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January 25

True confession time: I cook for my dog.

Since we found out that Pogo is diabetic, we've had to make a lot of adjustments to our life. Giving him a two insulin injections a day, for instance. Cooking is another change. Pogo got a stomach bug, so we put him on a bland diet of brown rice and oatmeal. Well, he loved his new food, so we decided to keep him on the diet, figuring that it was worth it to keep him healthy and happy. The vet instructed us to add protein to this new diet, and gave us some other recommendations to make this a better-balanced diet.

Pictured above is an assortment some of Pogo's favorite foods. I base each meal on oatmeal (in the canister) or brown rice (in the small glass). To that I add protein, usually cooked hamburger or chicken, usually with some carrots or apples cut into very small pieces. To all this, I add a couple tablespoons of wheat germ (which I forgot to squeeze into the group above). Rounding it all out is a children's chewable vitamin, to give Pogo the vitamins and minerals he needs to remain healthy.

Since changing his diet, the amount of insulin Pogo needs to regulate his blood sugar has gone down substantially. While doing all this cooking is a lot of work -- especially on the weekends, when I do a lot of prep work for the rest of the week -- it's worth it to keep my puppy dog healthy.

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January 24

When you go to KFC with an artist and a sharpie in your backpack, the unexpected will happen.

Harland David Sanders, better known as Colonel Sanders, founded Kentucky Fried Chicken. His face is synonymous with the fast-food chain, and his cartoon image adorns buckets, cups, and signs at the restaurant. However, my friend Keith (the artist in question) decided that the good colonel needed a facelift. In Keith's able hands (kooky, perhaps, but able), ol' Harland got a perm, edgier facial hair, and noticeably hairier eyebrows.

While I'm sure other people have interesting lives and more exciting ways of spending a Saturday night, I doubt they're as entertained as I was by this little bit of impromptu artistry.

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January 23

This has been a busy -- even hectic -- week for me. My usual method of coping with busy periods is to make to-do lists and then stick to them. Unfortunately, this week, capricious fate keeps lobbing new stuff at me, meaning that I can't concentrate on what I need to get done because I'm busy juggling the new stuff that's come up. And while I'm doing my best imitation of a swan (calm on the surface, but paddling like hell underneath), stuff I've meticulously added to my to-do lists just isn't getting done.

It's intensely frustrating.

Either I'll get caught up this weekend or I'll default to my secondary method of stress relief: decompensation. Which, on the plus side, will at least be entertaining for onlookers.

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January 22

Here's a scene from my commute today -- the corner of the Riverway and Brookline Avenue in Boston. Note the car in front of me, which has stopped halfway into the next lane of oncoming traffic. Note that I couldn't go forward, even though I had the signal, from cross traffic blocking the intersection. All of the confusion here was accompanied by the discordant blaring of car and truck horns from drivers on both streets, pedestrians crossing the street against the lights, and other assorted mayhem.

With scenes like this, it's no wonder that Massachusetts drivers have earned -- deservedly -- the nickname "Massholes."

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January 21

This photo is of a Hamilton "Glenn Curtiss" mechanical wristwatch from 1931. It has no crystal on the front, probably hasn't run in years, and is in dire need of restoration, yet it was distinctive enough to catch my attention immediately.

I'm good friends with a local artist who specializes in jewelry design, and visited him in his studio this afternoon to get photos of his latest creation. As I packed up my equipment, I noticed this wristwatch on one of the tables, among an assortment of "found objects," that he uses in his jewelry.

I have a passing interest in mechanical watches, but I've never had the time to delve into the topic as deeply as I research fountain pens, cameras, typewriters, etc. However, even with my slight knowledge of the topic, I recognized the Hamilton name and snapped this photo so I could do some research.

This watch is a rare and beautiful timepiece, and I hope to see it restored someday. There's just something satisfying about seeing something so elegant restored to vital functionality.

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January 20

I watched, transfixed, the inauguration of President Barack Obama this afternoon. I snagged this screenshot of the White House web site when it changed over at noon. For this historic occasion, I've decided a screenshot is the most appropriate way to commemorate the day.

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January 19

A photograph of a photograph. It's hardly original, but there is a story behind it.

Pogo's veterinarian (Dr. Ilene Segal of Parkway Veterinary Hospital -- I can't recommend her highly enough) has done a super job keeping him healthy and keeping us informed on his progress, how to care for him properly, etc. The vet's lobby and exam rooms have some framed photos of dogs and cats for decoration, and as a little thank you for her hard work, I decided to give her a photograph (with the hope that she'll decide to display it).

The photograph shows Lola and Riley, two King Charles Spaniel pups, in their Sherpa bag, ready to go for an outing. You can see the original photo on my flickr account. Lola and Riley's human lives in the building where I work, and she's been gracious enough to let me take pictures of these delightful little doggies a few times.

Of course, having my name out there on the photo (discretely signed on the mat in the lower right hand corner) doesn't hurt, either.

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January 18

Snow, snow, and more snow. I know I'm probably imagining it, but it seems like this winter has been one of the snowiest I remember in New England.

This is the view from my front porch this morning, during the last of the snowfall. The original photo was so dull and gray, I considered (and experimented with) rendering it as a black-and-white image. Ultimately, however, I ended up increasing the color saturation a bit, just to bring something out of the eye-catching yellow house on the corner, and the red of the stop signs and my neighbor's hat and gloves.

There is one good thing about the weather today: it's warmer than its been in more than a week. I don't like snow, but it's marginally better than having highs in the high teens and lows nearing zero. When air is that cold, it can't even hold enough moisture to snow.

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January 17

While I was in the Navy, I was fortunate enough to be stationed in Portugal for two years. While I lived there, I had the very good fortune to be introduced to ginjinha, a liqueur popular in Lisbon. It's usually served in a shot glass, which probably accounts for its reputation as a potent drink.

As I'm not a big drinker, I only partake of this truly excellent drink occasionally. I usually take it in a schnapps glass -- a SVALKA glass from IKEA -- and I sip it slowly instead of taking the whole shot at once. It's not the traditional way of inbibing the drink, but it keeps me from getting totally tipsy.

Today's pic is of a bottle of good ginjinha from Obidos, one of the ginjinha-producing regions of Portugal, and the glass. A friend who visited a few years ago brought the bottle, and I've been husbanding the thing carefully.

All in all, a lovely way to end the day.

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January 16

This revolving door (caught in motion) brings people into and out of the lobby where I work my day job. I'm sure this photo could be seen in a metaphorical light, perhaps even in a philosophical light. However, the truth of the photo is, I was very busy in an unphotogenic way today, and this was the only technically-interesting idea for a photograph I could execute in a timely fashion. (The stitched panoramic shot of the desk where I work, which is wide and curved, just didn't come out very well, despite multiple attempts at it.)

This is actually two photographs layered and blended. Both were shot with a tripod from precisely the same position. The first was an eight-second exposure of the door in motion, while the second was the door while stationary. I placed the stationary shot on top of the in-motion shot and reduced it's opacity to give an idea of what you were looking at, without losing the dynamic energy of the moving door.

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January 15

Makeshift sharps containers on the windowsill. What do you do with a used hypodermic needle? It's not the kind of think I'd had to consider before Pogo was diagnosed as diabetic, and on the list of things to worry about when you have a diabetic dog, it's not terribly high on the list. Nonetheless, you have to do something with the things.

Of course, disposing of used needles has to be done properly. You don't want to just put them in the garbage, where trash collectors can get needlesticks, or drug users could come upon them and start rifling through your garbage looking for more. You need to have the sharps in a reasonably robust container, and you need to make sure you can dispose of them properly.

Our solution was to use soda bottles (which we have on hand in ample numbers). We periodically take them to the veterinarian's office when Pogo has appointments, and the vet disposes of the needles properly. It's really an excellent system.

In an ideal world, I wouldn't have to worry about this problem. But then I wouldn't have a wonderful canine companion like my Pogo. And that would definitely be less than ideal.

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January 14

Peace signs magically appeared in the snow blanketing my poor, snowbound automobile overnight last night. I immediately thought of the Eagles song "Peaceful Easy Feeling," when I saw it. It was pleasant and pretty and strikingly eye-catching, and I hummed a few bars of the song, off-key, as I photographed the pleasant discovery. I started off the cold winter day in a decent mood.

Well, I got over that pretty quickly.

I was more than an hour late to work today, after not accomplishing a whole lot to begin with, when I stopped for lunch at a local fast food place, placed my order, and realized I didn't have my wallet with me. I went home and couldn't find the stupid thing, so I had to turn my bedroom upside down and shake it, since that was the last place I positively remember having it. My bedroom, which is somewhat cluttered to begin with, now bears a striking resemblance to ... well, a room that's been turned upside down and shaken vigorously. When an hour's searching revealed nothing but the floor, the bed, and various dirty clothes, I despaired of finding it and simply grabbed the keys and prayed that I wouldn't be caught driving to work without my license.

The wallet was in the car the entire time.

It's days like this that it's not worth falling out of bed in the morning.

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January 13

I was beside myself trying to come up with an image to post for the Photo of the Day.

No, really. I was -- albeit, not this literally.

It was a slow day for me, and I didn't get nearly as much done as I'd intended. I didn't get my car in for an oil change, I didn't get my car in for it's annual inspection, and other than helping a friend with a craigslist advert, I didn't accomplish bupkis today. It's not like I was even very busy.

Unfortunately, slow days don't always find me at my most creative, or my most observant, or my most experimental. Today was the exception.

I had to do a little repair work on my "boot," the special shoe I'm wearing on my right foot until it heals (which it's doing, albeit too slowly). The photo of the toe of the boot, having been carefully super-glued back together and adorned with a wooden sunburst of clothespins, was my best option until I decided to bend the self-portrait rule and do a little Photoshop magic.

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January 12

I've been a happy iPhone user for a little more than a year now. While I was initial skeptical, following the hype of the original iPhone's release, using the phone on a day-to-day basis won me over.

It was kind of distressing when my phone began turning itself off, apparently at random. The iPhone is a small computer, and when you're done, it goes to sleep, but it's always ready to wake up for an alarm or an incoming call. I restored my software to a new configuration, on the advice of Apple, and the problem didn't go away. The folks at Apple were adamant that the problem was software-related -- which didn't make sense to me. I narrowed the problem down to the switch at the top of the phone sticking.

The stars and moons aligned today, and I was able to find a parking space near the AT&T Wireless store. I went in and told them about my problem, only to be told that yeah, three people today have had the same problem with the switch sticking. Unfortunately, the repair involves shipping the iPhone out to Apple and waiting, so I opted to buy a new iPhone (pictured above).

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January 11

Peering down on the enemy. I've been trying to drop weight for almost a year now, since the first time I looked down at the scale -- this scale -- and saw my weight nearing 200 pounds.

I wasn't willing to try a severe diet, since I know myself well enough to know that I would not follow the diet properly. My love of Dr Pepper, bacon, and junk food would conspire to undermine any diet. Instead, with my partner's help, I began paying more attention to what I eat. I didn't cut out soda, but I did make more of an effort not to drink so much of it. I try (and sometimes succeed) to eat a healthy bowl of cereal for breakfast instead of waiting until lunchtime to eat. And I got a gym membership, although with my injured foot, I've been cooling my heels instead of working out.

Last night, I climbed onto the scale and saw that I'm nearly down to 180 pounds. When I'm able to begin working out again, my goal is to drop another 10 pounds over the next few months.

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January 10

Moon shot.

Last night, as I drove home, I noticed that the moon was very pretty, and decided to try and get a shot of it. Unfortunately, it's easy to overexpose a moon shot -- the very bright moon and the very dark sky makes for tricky photography. This was the first try, complete with flare, overexposure, and the like.

Still, I kind of like it.

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January 09

Strangers to Boston, and occasionally, Bostonians themselves, are confused, bewildered, and even baffled when trying to drive here. This photograph is a prime example of what's so confusing. The photo is taken at the corner of Ipswitch St. and Boylston St. Well, one of the corners (there are two) -- it's the corner nearer the 1200 block of Boylston. Last Sunday, this is what the sign looked like.

I probably drive by this sign once or twice a week, depending on the route I drive to work, and I'll continue to monitor its inexorable surrender to gravity -- especially since I can take this photo from the driver's seat without having to worry about walking.

(Image manipulated to desaturate background, punch up sign color.)

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January 08

Tico is my downstairs neighbor cat, and a fearless scourge of small birds in our neighborhood. I was doing the latest performance of the Backyard Ballet today, letting Pogo out and bringing Jasper in, when I spied Tico on the other side of the backyard, casually sauntering back toward the house with his prey. This is a common enough occurrence, but when it happened before, I hadn't been trying to complete a Photo of the Day project.

One of the problems of having an injured foot is that your world begins to shrink. I haven't been out doing much or going places, so I'm left with the house, the job, and the commute to document things about my life. I'm working on the whole healing thing, but it's simply going to take time.

Meanwhile, I chose this photo because Tico and his bird fascinated Pogo. Below are some smaller pics of Pogo trying to approach Tico. It was like watching a chase in slow motion; both Pogo and Tico were walking, Pogo with what I can only describe as a "hey whatcha got there?" expression on his face, while Tico was all "Mr. Cool Kitty," about the whole thing.

In the end, Pogo didn't get to see the dead bird -- much to his disappointment. Isn't it always the case that puppy dogs have to give up so much just to keep their humans happy?

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January 07

I helped my neighbor today. She left this for me as a little thank you. It's a very nice, soft scarf -- perfect for these chilly winter days. Unfortunately, the camera didn't show off the pretty white flecks in the material. I didn't want to open it, because the presentation was so nice and ... well, ribbony.

I'm pretty much cold from September to June, so any gift that keeps me warm is something to be treasured and saved forever.

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January 06

This photo feels like it should have some kind of artsy-fartsy name attached to it. "Pogo in the Backyard," though, doesn't quite do it for me. (I'll entertain suggestions. Really. Proof that somebody reads this thing would be wonderful.)

Since I hurt my foot, my landladies and downstairs neighbors have kindly let Pogo go into their backyard for his walks. Getting around sidewalks that are salty and irritate his paws is bad enough, but with an injured foot, I have trouble navigating slippery sidewalks myself.

Getting Pogo into the backyard is kind of a production. The landladies' dog, Jasper, is rather territorial about his backyard, so I have to bring him in through the basement dog flap while letting Pogo out onto the porch through the back door. It's a masterpiece of timing, really, and I'm getting much better at it.

While I was doing the backyard ballet today, I happened to look down from a second-floor window and thought to myself what a great photo it would be to get my black-and-white dog on a stark white background. Thus, today's photo of the day.

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