There and Back Again

Sorry I've been so absent of late. I took my familiar but draining trek back to the homeland with my children, arriving on the east coast in time for the end of the monsoons. Tried to fix problems that could not be fixed, drank too much, stayed up too late, worked too hard, drove too much, left too soon, or not soon enough I suppose, met the husband for a mini family vacation tour of UM and UD college campuses (gulp!), followed by a whirlwind tour of our nation's capital during the ridiculously overcrowded cherry blossom festival.

Arrived home in the midwest in time to witness extreme thunderstorms, lose my best oak tree to lightning strike and retrieve my poor pitiful puppy from kennel hell, complete with pneumonia. Sick as a dog - now I get it. Those people have not heard the last of me, and I'll tell everyone I know with a dog to never ever use them.

Anyway, home now, problems back at the homeland are not solved, but are no worse. So it goes. My problems here are manageable, the tree will become firewood, the dog will heal and the laundry piles will get smaller. Until then, here are a few photos of lovely things I saw this week. It's good to be back. I missed my internet friends and my online life.










I saw a fabulous orchid exhibit at the National Observatory and the most amazing bonsai at the National Arboretum. The tree in the last picture has been in training since the 1850's. I think I just found a new hobby....