Everyone likes a vacation, especially one that spans an entire week of office avoidance. But (everyone I know has a big… “but”), you know what people don’t like? Those emails. The massive pile of emails accumulating in your inbox waiting for your inevitable return, looming like an angry beast, like the worst version of you on a Monday morning when there is no Red Bull in the vending machine. Inbox 0? Pssht… I think not.

On Sunday night Buckingham and I were naturally despondent, laying lazily on the couch, pondering our impending returns to work. To amuse ourselves we decided to make a game out of our return – we each guess the number of emails we would have in our inboxes after being gone for seven working days, the one farthest away being the loser, loser buying the winner a tasty treat.

The email guesses: Buckingham 82, Jantzie 140.
The email results: Buckingham 26, Jantzie 150.

The treat results: Buckingham buys Jantzie a delicious treat at Spoon Me. Everyone wins.

I love garden gnomes. I have what could loosely be called a collection; if collection means a gathering of any objects that number collectively more than nine. If that definition is true, then technically I have a collection of leftover takeout in the fridge. Some might also call that a compost heap. But I digress…

Anyhoo, I do myself the gnomes. I have five outside in various plants and then the two on my main picture windowsill. Their names are Pete and Skeet. The gnome photographed above goes by the name of Skeet, from the aforementioned Pete and Skeet. Pete (not pictured for his fear of invasion of privacy) appears in a upright, mostly stoic stance, while Skeet is more laid back, lounging on his luscious shrooms. You can’t be going around with your hand in your trousers a la Ted Bundy of Married With Children with the name of Pete… that must be left to the Skeets of the world.

Getting back after my Daily Clicks project, where I take a picture a day. I found this message scratched into the concrete on the south sidewalk of 200 S., by a tree just North West of the doors leading from the Broadway Shopping Center.

My dad brought me this wooden incense burner back from Germany a few years ago. I really get a kick out of it because it glamorizes being a postman, a smoker, and best of all, a smoking postman with a hearty push broom mustache and brassy monocle. It really gives the kids something to dream of being when they grow up.

I was caught up in the first taste of spring weather (finally) and got industrious in creating this herb garden for my kitchen window. I planted wee bits of mint, rosemary, parsley, chives, and sage. The metal bar and planters were purchased from the magical land of Ikea, which fit nicely between the curtain shades of my North facing window. The herbs came as starts from Whole Foods, which I assumed would be more immediately fruitful than if I started from seeds. So instead of watching them grow slowly, it’s more of a killing them slowly.

I am not a full green thumb yet, more like a mustard thumb. Woah, that sounds gross, nevermind. In the end it was nice being away from the computer to do something tactile, but then again, I guess here I am blogging about it. It was nice while it lasted!

Buckingham took me to brunch today at the Blue Plate Diner. I had the eggs benedict with vegetarian sausage. If only all faux meat tasted so delicious! If I try “meatless may” again this year (my sad attempt to begin an eating lifestyle sans meat), I might be eating at the Blue Plate everyday.

Half raspberry, half banana sunday from Dolcetti Gelato. Dee-lish.

Something I whipped up for a creative meeting at work. I need to work on my exacto skillz.

I know this is a day old, but man, talk about weather whiplash! (see us in concert at the Energy Solutions center, May 22nd, 2024.)