August 19

"... qu'ils mangent de la brioche."

Often -- and mistakenly -- attributed to Marie Antoinette, the phrase "let them eat cake," has a pejorative ring that is completely at odds with my experience at work tonight.

A resident is leaving us for the west coast, and his colleagues threw him a going-away party today. He's always been a very generous guy, and showed this by leaving the employees here the remainder of his cake (a quite substantial hunk of white cake with delicious icing). It made for a great dessert, especially when washed down with one of the cans of Coca-Cola another resident gave us, just as a thank you for being so nice to them.

It's nice to be appreciated.

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August 18

I can only describe this guy as a "Heck's Angel."

Note the ready-to-go attitude. That foot was kicking off as soon as the light changed -- he was rarin' to go. Then there's his business casual attire. Here's somebody who knows how to dress for success. Most of the people I see on these are dressed ... well, very casually. Then I noticed the helmet. He's not quite a Hell's Angel, but this is a motorist who loves his mount and has the devil-may-care insouciance that's necessary to drive in the City of Boston. This guy is ballsy.

So Mr. Heck's Angel, I salute you!

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August 17

Some people say happiness is the smile of a child, or a butterfly (thank you Mr. Thoreau), or two lovers walking on the beach, hand in hand, watching the sun set.

With all due respect, especially to Henry David Thoreau, those kind of saccharine musings make me think the people spouting them are full of crap.

Happiness, you see, is when your friend comes back from a break and brings you a large iced chai on a hot, humid, muggy day -- and not because you requested it, but because he knows you like it and he just did it.

That, my friends, is happiness.

*Happiness can also be the resident who asks you what kind of ice cream and toppings you'd like, just because she's headed that way.

229/365 -

August 16

The recipe for Deviled Eggs is suspiciously simple for such a delicious result.

Boyfriend made the dish for me when we were on vacation, and indulges my taste for it every couple of months. Having grown up in the South, I've had many different varieties of deviled egg, and liked most of them. I have to say, though, that boyfriend's recipe is the best. So I asked him to show me how he makes it.

Hard boiled eggs, mustard powder, mayonnaise, and paprika. That's it. I expected something more elaborate, and certainly something requiring more utensils than a paring knife and a couple of spoons. It boggles my mind how he could create something so divine -- pun intended -- from so few, and so humble, ingredients.

I proceeded to eat eight deviled eggs for breakfast -- well, eight halves equals four eggs, I guess -- and thoroughly enjoyed them. Hopefully I'll enjoy them more often in the future.

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August 15

It's not possible to tell whether this is a happy kitty or an abused one when looking at this photo.

For the record, it's a happy kitty.

Pretty Boy is a very affectionate cat, and he likes to lay next to me when I'm lying down. Today, with the temperature in the living room around 85 degrees -- I still haven't put the air conditioner into the window yet -- having a cat lying next to you is a little like having a fuzzy hot water bottle against your side. Fortunately, today he decided to content himself with rubbing himself all over my feet.

What can I say? He's weird, but he's mine.

227/365 -

August 14

It was a bright, sunny day. The temperature was warm but not too hot. These lucky folks were getting sailing lessons on Jamaica Pond. How perfect.

Too bad I was going to work.

The upcoming weekend looks to be nice, and I'll be putting more laundry out on the clothesline to take advantage of the sunshine and warmth. I don't know yet what I'm going to do for a photo of the day, since I haven't had the energy to plan any photo walks with people and seem to be out of the habit of going on my own anymore. Actually, having typed that, I think that's exactly what I'm going to do -- out on a solo photo walk. What nicer way to spend an afternoon?

226/365 -

August 13

I loved the reflection of the scattered clouds and blue skies in the facade of 111 Huntington Avenue as I walked back to work from my break. It rained this morning, and it was overcast and cool, with scattered showers, this afternoon as I drove in to work. That made the sun's appearance at 5:45 pm all the more beautiful.

I'm enjoying the weather, truth be told. OK, I could do without so much rain, but even that has its compensatory values -- the grass is greener and the flowers more verdant just about everywhere you look.

By the way, that should be the first rule for photographers: Look. If you're trudging around with your head down, not looking at what's around you, you can't see anything worth photographing.

225/365 -

August 12

Part of me finds it obnoxious that the driver of this stretch limousine parked at not one, but two, parking meters this afternoon. The other part of me marvels at the good parallel parking job he did. His most remarkable feat, however, was in finding two adjacent parking places to claim.

I had to make a few circuits of the block to find my own parking space, which is about a block further down the street from where I work. So naturally, I felt a brief surge of annoyance when I saw it. In fairness, as I walked by, I checked, and the driver had put money in both meters, so at least he wasn't being a complete jackass about it.

I suppose that stretch limo drivers don't have many options for where to park the 20-foot-long monsters in Boston. And whatever else I feel about it, I still admire his skill at parallel parking.

224/365 -

August 11

So in the off season, it seems Santa Claus summers in Boston and drives a Nissan Altima.

I spotted Saint Nick while driving to work this afternoon. I was running late -- sadly, not an unusual occurrence -- when I pulled up to a red light on Huntington Ave. and happened to glance over at the car next to me.

It's sights like this that inspire me to keep a camera with me most of the time. I used to do this anyway, but since starting this blog, it's become a habit for me. That's a good thing; I find myself looking around more, seeing more, and honestly, getting some of the funniest photos I've ever taken.

223/365 -

August 10

I made a trek up to Waltham today, to Bentley University, to participate in a "one-on-one paid interview" at their Design and Usability Center. They were looking for people with photography experience to review some kind of digital photo thingamabob, and they were paying $100 for sitting through a 90-minute interview. What's not to like?

So I made it there -- early -- with my 200 digital photos carefully saved to a USB drive as requested. I met the interviewer, and then I waited. And waited. And waited.

Turns out they were having technical problems with the new device, and I frankly ran out of time to sit there. I ended up leaving, but with my $100, since I'd done everything they asked of me.

Honestly, it was probably for the best that I didn't do the interview. After 90 minutes of technical difficulties, I probably wouldn't have an unbiased opinion on the stupid thing any longer -- whatever the heck it was.

222/365 -

August 09

Having spent a week in 90-degree weather, with lots of bright Florida sunshine keeping things hot, coming back to 70-degree weather with overcast skies was a nice change.

I had a busy week on vacation, and ended up spending most of today sitting in my pajamas doing nothing. I'm feeling a little tired, and think I've got a little bit of a sore throat from going from air conditioning to the humid outdoors to air conditioning over and over. Floridians are absolutely in love with their air conditioning.

I did finally drag myself out of the house to catch a movie with Boyfriend. Go see Julie and Julia if you get the chance; it's very worth it.

221/365 -

August 08

I started off my vacation album with a photo of a beautiful sunrise, so it seems only appropriate that I end my vacation album with another pretty photo.

That, and it's the best picture I've taken today.

Boyfriend and I left our timeshare in Daytona Beach too early this morning, but we got to see this stunning sunrise. We actually had enough extra time on our hands to have breakfast at Waffle House -- a real treat for me. We got lucky and had an entire row to ourselves on the flight up, so we had a little additional space. And we came home to a happy kitty cat, thanks to our wonderful landladies who took such good care of Pretty Boy while we were away.

The vacation was great, but it sure is nice to be home.

220/365 -

August 07

More than 20 years ago, when I lived in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, for a summer, I got to visit Kennedy Space Center. It was the highlight of a pretty crappy summer.

Since I vacationed here this year, I couldn't let the opportunity to visit again pass. It was just too much. So I dragged Boyfriend there with me, and despite getting caught in one torrential downpour, we were able to take the tour, visit some exhibits, and thoroughly enjoyed our tour there.

I got to travel out to the viewing platform nearest Launch Pads 39A and 39B -- the sites from where the Saturn Vs were launched to the moon, the Space Shuttles are launched, and the new Orion spacecraft will be launched. Discovery was on Pad 39A while we were there, though it was mostly hidden by the gantry. Then we saw the Saturn V rocket display -- fascinating.

If you ever get the chance to visit KSC, I highly recommend the tour. It can't be beat.

119/365 -

August 06

Boyfriend and I made the trek to Orlando and Epcot today. After a minor kerfuffle with the GPS unit (our charger broke) and about 30 minutes' detour to get a replacement charger, we were finally on our way to Orlando and the Magic Kingdom. Then we headed for a walk around the world.

Once we arrived, we headed through Canada and England to France for lunch. Boyfriend described it as tasting like "something from Air France." Morocco, Italy, Germany, the American Experience, and a few other countries along the way, we finished walking around the central lake.

We went on a couple of the rides (most notably: Spaceship Earth) and considered dinner there, before deciding to head home and eat some of the food we have to finish in the next two days.

I don't often get to visit 11 countries in one day -- especially without a passport. It was an interesting day.

118/365 -

August 05

Boyfriend and I spent a low-key vacation day today. We made $125 by sitting through one of the most entertaining and charming high-pressure sales pitches I've ever had the pleasure to sit through, then headed over to my parent's place here for dinner and games night.

I love Scrabble, and Boyfriend and I consider ourselves pretty good at it. Having a third and fourth person in the game is tremendously helpful in making the game interesting, and my mother was a willing participant.

While she claims not to be very good at the game, she won the thing, leading by 40 points a couple of times during the play and ending more than 60 points ahead of either Boyfriend or me. The board was kind of dense, and the distribution of tiles is pretty even.

It was really a lovely way to spend the evening.

217/365 -

August 04

The vacation continues apace. Boyfriend and I meandered down to the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse Museum just south of Daytona Beach this afternoon.

Unfortunately -- or fortunately, considering the muggy, humid atmosphere of Florida in August -- the lighthouse itself was closed because of a nearby lightning storm. The other buildings of the museum were open, including a really fascinating exhibit about Fresnel Lenses. The First-Class Fresnel Lens -- 12 feet tall, about 10 feet wide of about a thousand prismatic lenses -- is truly impressive. It looks like something out of Jules Verne.

I managed to get some interesting photos of the lenses and the property, including this classic view of the lighthouse itself. All in all, a great evening.

216/365 -

August 03

Boyfriend and I had my parents to dinner at our timeshare tonight. It was an opportunity for me to show off his cooking skills.

It was also a chance for us to give my mother her birthday gifts for the past two years.

Last year, we had a beautiful handmade lapel pin created especially for her by an artist friend of mine. It is quite stunning, but when we flew down for her birthday, I didn't check a bag -- and an eight-inch long straight pen would not have made it through security.

This year, Boyfriend tracked down a bottle of my mother's favorite -- and long since discontinued -- fragrance: Geminesse by Max Factor. This was quite the coup, and I knew my mother was going to be thrilled. As indeed she was.

Her birthday was last month, but I think this was well worth waiting for. :-)

215/365 -

August 02

The last person to stay in this unit before us left the alarm clock on and set for 6 am. It was quite a surprise to be awakened so soon after we'd gotten in, unpacked, showered, and finally dropped to sleep.

Turns out, it was kind of a nice surprise.

I got up and scratched myself before stumbling out into the living room. Our living room has two large sliding glass doors overlooking the Atlantic, and I was startled to see this amazing sunrise. The cumulus clouds in the distance were silhouetted perfectly by the rising sun. Not being a morning person, it's a minor miracle that I was able to get my camera and tripod, set up on the balcony, and shoot several images until I got the shot I wanted.

It was a great way to start the morning, and hopefully a good omen for the rest of the week.

214/365 -

August 01

This is a "safety shot." It's an easy-to-get photo for the blog, since I knew it was going to be a busy day of travel going on vacation. (That's also why this didn't get posted yesterday.)

The Boyfriend and I jetted off to Daytona Beach on Saturday for a week's vacation. It's only three hours by plane, but there's a world of difference between the Atlantic Coast of Florida and Boston.

Obviously, we're not practicioners of the art of packing light. In fairness, I usually use the smaller red bag, which will fit in an airliner overhead bin, and consolidate my camera bag and computer bag into the red backpack. As I had to bring gifts for my mother, who we're seeing here, I knew I would have to check a bag. (My friend Keith the jeweler custom-made her an exquisite eight-inch long lapel pin that never would have made it past security!) I also had a couple of books, which would have been too heavy to carry on, even had I wanted to.

We got a late start on everything involved with this vacation, so it was a delight to arrive here and see the wonderful timeshare condo waiting for us. Once in Florida, everything went flawlessly.

More vacation photos will be forthcoming in future entries. I'm looking forward to seeing what I get.

213/365 -

July 31

Believe it or not, I really don't mind the rain.

The city got inundated with showers and thunderstorms this afternoon. With rain coming in diagonally, though, umbrellas don't do a lot of good. The blurry figure in the foreground is my doorman Ash, who was trying valiantly to hail a taxi for the gent with the bumbershoot. I have to comment Ash for his dedication; getting a taxi in the rain in Boston is a little like finding a four-leaf clover: it can be done, but it requires a lot of effort and not a small amount of luck.

Tomorrow is my first day of vacation. Hopefully the storms won't cause too much of a commotion at the airport tomorrow.

212/365 -