constance | Take a picture, it'll last longer.

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	[View of my backyard from my kitchen window, in context: for coco] This is the kitchen window scene in its natural state, dishes in the drainer and everything. You can only see the treetops because the kitchen sits a story off the ground at the back of the house. (I can't give you a view of the backyard proper without standing on a ladder, since the house sits so high in back, and also because the windows themselves are so high, but let me know if you want me to do that.)
	[My desk at work: for coco] I took this the second after I walked through the door in the morning, since it doesn't take long to get messy. It's a curious and unattractive cubicle/office hybrid, in that it has floor-to-ceiling walls but is all desk and has no door. Still, it could be worse; I could be our latest project manager, who claims a six-by-six corner of someone else's office. That is an IBM Personal Wheelwriter sitting straight ahead, by the way. I am one of about six people in the USA who still boast of office typewriters. (Still use it, too.)
	[photo of the thing that gives me the most random joy on the day I'm taking pictures: for coco] I woke up this morning and walked into the kitchen to discover that the sky was on fire. This picture really doesn't do the sunrise justice; it was a lovely way to wake up. It was either that or my flannel sheets -- which also bring me great and random joy -- because it never did quite manage to snow on Saturday, which is what I was hoping for.
	[My favorite place to read: for isiscolo] Because I'm an equal opportunity cuddler, I prefer reading in bed so that both pets can sit with me if they like, and they usually do like. Leory would insist on being in the picture, and this is the only one where he agreed to submit calmly to a Down command. I have a badly-trained dog.
	[The bit I have remodeled/changed that I like best, part one: for isiscolo] I know this isn't exactly what you meant, but this is the chair I stripped down, stained, and cushioned for my niece's Christmas present. I am very proud of it. See, the thing is that I haven't done much cosmetic renovation to my house yet. In my first two years of homeownership, most of my money -- and then some, actually -- has gone into stuff that doesn't show on the surface but is actually much more important, things like plumbing and HVAC repairs and new roofs. So this is the only thing that really makes for an interesting picture, apart from the next one,
	[The bit I have remodeled/changed that I like best, part two: for isiscolo] which is my guest bathroom. It was only half finished when I moved in, and now it is a fully-functioning bathroom, where you can brush your teeth and put on makeup in addition to taking a shower. Pretty boring, no?
	[The place where you and I shall have cups of tea and chit-chat, part one: for isiscolo] If the weather's nice, we'll sit here on the porch and gossip about the neighbors.
	[The place where you and I shall have cups of tea and chit-chat, part two: for isiscolo] Otherwise we'll sit here in the comfy chairs. Do you prefer the rocking chair or the overstuffed wingback?
	[Leory's favorite sleeping place, part one: for laurelwood] The sofa is his absolute hands-down favorite place, but due to issues of fur, among other things, he's not allowed into the living room when I'm not home. So whenever I open the French doors into this room, he throws himself on the sofa in passionate abandon and rolls all over it and jumps up and down on it and takes five minutes to settle down enough to actually, like, repose. (This is not sedateness but actual physical exhaustion you are witnessing here.) By the way, in case you were wondering why every wooden surface of my house is covered with some sort of tablecloth or scarf, it is not because I am a seventy-year-old Victorian Spinster Aunt, although in my opinion that is not such a bad thing to be. No, I have one word for you: catproofing.
	[Leory's favorite sleeping place, part two: for laurelwood] Since he's not allowed into the living room as much as he'd like, I give you his second-favorite: the kneehole of my desk.
	[My favorite light fixture: for laurelwood] This was a tough one, not because my light fixtures are so terrific, but because they're so all-fired nondescript. In almost every room, I have either a basic ceiling fan with a three-light kit tacked on, or something equally lame and offensively inoffensive. This is just an ordinary pendant light, but at least it's something different!
	[Any random length of bookshelf] Behold! The Fi-Hi shelves of my adult fiction hardcover/trade paperback case! Which is actually a big old entertainment center! I do not know why I am punctuating every sentence with an exclamation point! I see that the Fs have gotten seriously out of order, which is most unlike me. I should fix that. :-?