Typical Monday.

Need I say more?

Gardening.

Henry has grown a lovely garden. We enjoy spending time here.

Happy Friday.

At the end of a long day, at the end of a long week:

H: How are you?
P: I'm happy.
H: Really. About what?
P: Just, you know. Generally.

Dazzled.

It was a dazzling day. All four bosses simultaneously approached my desk around three o'clock today. All four of them. At once. The blood rushed to my ears and I could hear my own heart pounding in slow motion. Don't worry, lovies. It turned out quite nicely - they were there to present to me, to us, a wedding gift: two Napa Valley Wine Train gift certificates for Lunch or Brunch in the Vista Dome Car. I was so utterly overwhelmed, people, I could hardly speak. I thanked them again and again. I will forever treasure their card, the blessings they wrote. What a lovely group of fine, fine people. I recognize my good fortune in our co-affiliation. Our working fellowship. Here's to you all, friends, family, loved ones. We salute you, your kind generosity, your loving and spiritual support. We are most certainly going to be close to Heaven, floating there above the lush, misty green California vineyards in comfortable relaxation. We shall go at Harvest.

A Smaller World.

It is truly a smaller world than one might believe. Today contained conversations I never dreamed I'd have. With people whom I never thought I'd reach. I asked someone to set a precedent. I was heard. It was a meaningful conversation with intelligent persons of knowledge and importance in the world. I said something impactful in a very important forum. On behalf of a lot of people. Women, men, everyone. Ironically, everyone I know is somehow connected to someone else I know and it is a little bit frightening.

Volunteering pumps my self-esteem up, makes me feel like I'm doing something positive in this crazy world. Good causes I love and connect with. RFB&D. Stanford Blood Clinic (whole blood and platelets). Rebuilding Together Peninsula. The place I work is incredible. It's the best company on Earth. If you all were so fortunate to work where I do. My company is proof that I have Guardian Angels watching over me. I am lucky to have the best bosses around and to work with the best in the nation.

Yes, I am lucky. Love is everywhere. I very much dig the iPod my employers gave me for secretaries' day. It is awesome. Life. Is. Good.

Peace on Earth, and Lots of Mozart.
Pam

Yosemite: A Spiritual Experience.

There is nothing like standing atop Glacier Point at sunrise, all alone, just you, the wind, the birds, lizards and butterflies, and a hundred and eighty-nine trillion gallons of water. The sound they make, even from several miles away, is a low, rhythmic hum: "Gushaaaaw-guff fuff-f-f fuff. Gushaaaaaaawww." Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, Vernal and Nevada, all visible from a certain quadrangle of the overlook there. (It's been beautifully redone after the avalanche of 1996.) Over in the southernmost corner is little Illillouette Falls, where you cross over from Glacier Point to Vernal on the Panarama Trail. What gorgeous scenery. We had a steep two-mile descent and got close enough to really get a good look at it all. We hung around for a while and decided to go back up the way we came, having parked at Glacier Point. A steep two-mile ascent. On rugged terrain. By that time it was almost noon and dozens of other hikers had arrived and were coming down. It was a magnificent challenge, well worth every moment. The wildflowers, the hum of bees, chipmunks scampering, waterfalls and rivulets sparkling in the roads, the robins and ravens, the felled timber, the stumps and granite rocks and puffy clouds and cold blasts from pockets of snow-chilled air, all thrilled us as we walked on and on, with Half Dome looming sleepily in the sun the distance before us.

New Find: Little Steven's Underground Garage!!!

Check it out - an exciting website. Renegade Nation takes you to a fun place. I only got to play with it for a minute before Henry got annoyed, but if you've got four minutes, play to the end, then give it a bogus email (unless you want to give it your "real" email address). You then get taken to Little Steven's Underground Garage. (You could "skip the intro" in theory, but the "intro" is great fun, I think. Vintage clips and bytes.)

Cool stuff for y'all. Ta-ta.
pH