September 06

Today's my birthday! I turned ... one year older today.

It was a very low-key day, really. I went into town with Boyfriend today to get some cross trainers (my excuse for not going to the gym regularly is thus invalid), then went to my neighbor D'Anna's house for a Labor Day party. D'Anna surprised me with a birthday cake -- what a sweetheart she is!

It was actually a very low-key birthday, which is just what I needed. I considered inviting friends out for dinner, but decided at the last minute that what I really wanted was a day with no pressing obligations. Today was precisely that.

Maybe, for my next big milestone birthday, I'll have a party. Until then, today was just perfect.

249/365 -

July 12

Oh, pretty flowers, my constant summer fall-back option.

After yesterday's ambitious photo walk, today I didn't really feel like going out (except to put my poor sneakers on the clothesline to dry after getting caught in the cloudburst). When hunger overcame apathy, I grabbed my camera for a quick walk to Roslindale Square and a stop at the fabulously cheap-and-cheerful Wapo Taco. It was closed.

Turns out, the highlight of my walk was right at the beginning. I stopped and got photos of these marvelously blue-purple flowers on my neighbor Nicolene's porch -- perhaps 150 feet from my own front door. They have a sort of wild exuberance that helped cheer me up.

I wish I could grow plants. Except for tomatoes, which are known to thrive under benign neglect, I've never grown anything substantive. Maybe someday, when I have a yard, I'll try again.

193/365 -

July 05

This is one unhappy kitty cat.

When my landladies go away for a weekend, I usually volunteer to take care of their critters -- Jasper the dog, Tico and Ulti the cats, and the fishes (thus far unnamed). Tico is accustomed to having his time outside every day, but when I'm in charge he has to stay indoors. It's not me being a bastard by keeping the cat in; it's more that I worry that he'll go out one day and get injured, or hit by a car, or perhaps worst of all, simply not come back. I'm not ready to be the person responsible for caring for the pet who mysteriously disappears -- particularly when I write the owner a check once a month for rent!

I caught Tico gazing balefully at me from the front window today, either longing to go outside or trying to make me feel guilty by hamming it up. Either way, I think it makes for a POTD that really tells a story.

186/365 -

June 02

I'm notoriously bad at growing things. When I see flowers like the ones my neighbor Nicolene grows in her front garden, I'm left green -- pun intended -- with envy.

A couple of summers ago, the boyfriend and I grew tomatoes in pots on our front porch. Boyfriend even put some mint and spices in the soil around the base of the plants. Our reasoning in growing tomatoes was sound enough -- they thrive under "benign neglect," which is pretty much the best a plant will get under my watch. The tomatoes grew tall on their stakes, because I didn't know that you're supposed to prune from the top, and while we harvested perhaps two dozen small tomatoes from the plants, it took two or three of these miniature tomatoes to equal one supermarket specimen.

Nonetheless, it was nice to walk out the door to a little forest of green that summer, if only because it was green and living and vibrant. I may have to try my hand at gardening again soon. Practice makes perfect?

153/365 -

April 23

My neighbor has an apple tree that blossoms beautifully every spring.

She has a green thumb and ... let's call it eclectic taste .. when it comes to landscaping. Her yard is an ever-evolving experiment in unlikely combinations of plants -- sometimes deliberately planted, other times not. Wildflowers ring her fence line and grow halfway out over the sidewalks, and anybody allergic to bee stings treads carefully when visiting or passing by.

When the tree blossoms, it's really quite beautiful, though the fragile blooms don't last very long. It's always a special treat to walk by and see it in all its glory in the springtime, and usually it's the first true harbinger that warm weather is on the way.

Besides, it makes for a very pretty picture.

113/365 -

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.

07/365 -