Chilled Out

So many little blog entries for me today, mainly because I am just lying around waiting to see if I am getting a cold or not. I'm sitting around, feeling mainly gross, trying to tell myself it's all in my head. The problem is, it is literally in my head; I have kinda sore throat and back of my nose and my eyes are burning.

I am feeling helpless to do anything and worry that even if I try to do something productive that I will just mess it up. I try talking to people I love and just seem to say the wrong things or get angry. I want to connect but my mind isn't stringing words together in thoughtful ways. Support becomes interference, a chat talk on the phone becomes a gripe session, and just trying to catching up is a chore that is more exhausting than it should be.

Sitting around inside as opposed to getting out for a while feels awkward but it is terribly cold. Wind chills have been in the negative digits so even walking outside in the breeze is painful. I have been getting my runs in just fine but today I can't find it in myself to do anything except sit like a bump.

What has given me a real smile this morning is The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Please don't tell me that is woman is really some type of mean snob. I really enjoy her humor, her compassion for others seems genuine and she is a vegan. I find myself smiling even just watching people dance on her show. I like the rapport she has with her DJ and the rest of her on air staff. Her guests seem thrilled to be there and she looks like she is having the time of her life. I don't like sitting around but am glad to watch Ellen's show when I have to.

I have also been reading a bunch of other folk's blogs. My eyes are tired and I have a bit of a headache but it's nice catching up and getting acquainted with what is going on with some other people with whom I share interests.

The meteorological winter has set in and because I have been out in it too much or picked up a little something while trapped indoors with so many people, today is a chill day for me.

Thanks Bug!

For the flowers and sitting with me to watch hours of cooking shows and cooking for me and getting me cold meds and watching me fall asleep to PBS's Pride and Prejudice again.

I'm Still Standin'

I have been busy and ill and involved and distracted and working and creating and not blogging about it. I am fine, still standing and reveling in various life's aspects, dedicated to challenging the Earth's collective imagination. If you haven't figured it out, I am still in pursuit of true indigo.

January and February were great months filled with a lot of fun. Ravenboy came home for a week in between winter storms on the direct bus from Chinatown to home. It was crazy just to pick him up across town and drop him off at the same location. It made for quite a wonderful and mellow week before he had to get back to work.

Another real highlight for me was that Ravenboy used a real live tax preparer this year. I was so relieved not to have to figure out how to deal with all of this extra paperwork (royalties from PBS, workman's comp, self-employment tax, etc).

RGBisMe and I have been chompin' at the bit waiting for the snow to melt for long enough to check out some of Archaeobirder's new letterboxes. We did sneak in finding his Don't Squeeze the Charmin - very cute carve!

Inspired by Ravenboy's latest body art acquisition, I have been refining the design I intend to get as a tattoo. He worked for over 4 years making sure it was something he wanted. I am close to putting the final touches on a design based on a piece of artwork that is almost 300 years old. Terribly exciting for me.

We have been cooking a lot out of a great cookbook, Veganomicon. It has recipes that have been tasted and tested so that they are at a point where you don't feel you have to change a thing about them. It has an amazing chili verde that I can not get enough of! NAVS annual Vegetarian Summerfest is quite local this year for those of you who might be interested in such things.

We started reconnecting with a friendly local group of hikers, bikers and geocachers. It was so nice to not have a lot of expectations when getting together with these people. They have been so excited to have us join them. It's a relief to have contacts who regularly like to hike and bike locally.

I had the flu and survived.

I have been tweaking how I approach the whole letterboxing hobby so that it suits my needs and conflicts minimally with others'. I finally got my premium membership confusion on Atlas Quest taken care of. I have transferred many of our letterboxing clues to a new website. I have been fixing clues that were in error. I have been retiring letterboxes that will not be replaced. I have been creating a new letterboxes, one that is stocked with smaller related boxes for finders to take away with them (if they so choose) to plant.

I invested my birthday money in a guerilla art project to transform Bratz dolls into people I know and photograph their stories. To answer a question that I know one person will certainly ask me, no the dolls are not images of any letterboxers.

This weekend I am planning to join a group of adventurers in exploring the abandoned PA Turnpike tunnels. The exciting part is we are being included in this hunt to mark some of the geocachers' milestone finds. Some will be finding their 400th some their 600th. It got me curious to how many things we had found and I added them all up. It turned out that we had just hit a milestone too so we will be popping a champaign cork with even more enthusiasm this weekend. Cheers!

Spritz!

The weekend was looking like a bummer. True Indigo's nasty cold nixed any chance of making a surprise appearance at any of the local CITO's in the chilly and blustery weather. They were stuck inside, no geocaching, no letterboxing, no fun.

If they could, they typically would try to get far out of town during any of the big Penn State football events. This morning found them in the heart of Happy Valley with the excitement of the Blue & White game buzzing all around them and clogging the roadways. To top off the grumpy morning, they were out of milk for their morning tea and that would require braving the bustling tail-gaters doing last minute shopping.

RGBisMe opened the front door to brave the elements and masses as Spritz smiled up at him, "Wha...?" True indigo heard RGBisMe exclaim along with what she assumed was the sound of rain splattering into their flower garden. Spritz shook off a last few drops and asked, "Well, are you going to invite me in?"

"Where did you come from feller?" asked RGBisMe as he helped Sprtiz into the house, "Are you wearing True Indigo's bandana? Did she drop it on the trail last week?"

"No, mine is still in my backpack, his looks just like it. Isn't that strange!" exclaimed True Indigo. "Where are you from and what are you doing in our area?"

"Oh, just pissin' around," remarked Spritz as he refueled with water from the turtle tank. "I am hoping to make my mark in Happy Valley. Could you give me a lift to the Nittany Lion Shrine?"

The day wasn't nearly as glum for them anymore. Grabbing a box of Kleenex, a camera, and Spritz, the posse battled the pig-skin obsessed crowds across campus. They introduced Spritz to the Nittany Lion and hooked a little souvenir of the day onto his collar.

"Where would you like to go next buddy?" asked RGBisMe.