Lunch With a Loved One

Liv, Pink and Addie at recess

Today was Lunch With a Loved One at Olivia's school. I was so flattered to learn that she considered me to be a loved one.

It was a beautiful day, uncharacteristically warm for mid-March.

We had lunch with Olivia and a few of her friends, then we went out for recess. This was so fun! I loved getting to see Olivia in her school. I always wonder what my people do when they're away from me and today I got a little glimpse. I loved seeing her classroom and joining her for lunch in the cafeteria. I especially enjoyed recess. I'm told this is not uncommon.

School looks like an awesome way to pass a day.

The Wearin' O' The Green

As today was St. Patrick's Day, I donned my sparkly green hat and headed out for an afternoon (yes, I said afternoon) of green beer and all things Irish. I don't believe I have any Irish in my bloodline, but I'm told everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day, and that's good enough for me!

I drank a couple green beers.

Acquired some nifty new bling.

And made some new friends.

It was an extremely fun afternoon and I'm hoping there will be more like it. People paid a lot of attention to me, as they tend to do when I go out, and I have to admit: I really like the attention.

I was paying attention to what people were wearing. There were folks of all ages who went all out - like my friends pictured above. There was every shade of green imaginable. Some folks just wore a little, some folks wore it head to toe. There were folks stopping in on their lunch hour wearing subtle pistachio dress shirts or a tie with a single green strip running through it sitting next to folks who'd dyed their hair green and were wearing 2 foot tall beer mug hats. But they were all drinking beer at noon!

What a day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Signs of Spring

I love watching how people react to those first signs of spring. The first warm day or two, the first robin sighting, spring bulbs coming through the newly warmed earth's surface... all of these things happen every year. We know they're coming, they're not a surprise. And yet they are a gift and we have a tendency to receive them as such.

People in general are just happier to see the sun shining and to see winter coming to a close. Ironically, people have the same reaction in the fall when the air starts to smell different and the leaves start to change color and they start to need a sweater to handle the new crispness in the air.

Yep, spring and fall are certainly the most celebrated and anticipated seasons. Winter is long and cold. Summer is long and hot. Spring and fall are short, and sweet, and beautiful with their promise of change.

Spring is particularly beautiful with its promises of renewal. Every major religion celebrates some sort of rite of spring. Pagans celebrate rites of spring. It is really quite universal - this need to acknowledge this season of hope and rebirth; based more, it seems, on our very humanness than on the faith into which we were or weren't raised.

So welcome, spring! I look forward to warmer, sweeter days with people who are feeling warmer, kinder and sweeter.

Bring it on!

Mardi Gras (No I Will Not Show You My Feathers)

I love a nice excuse for decadence as much as the next guy, and Mardi Gras - Fat Tuesday - certainly does provide a nice excuse. With all the traveling I've been doing this year, I was sort of half hoping I'd fall asleep on my perch and wake up in my box en route to New Orleans. That didn't happen. But you can't blame an owl for dreaming.

So no Bourbon Street for me. I didn't even start the day with paczki. Or donuts. That's okay, really, because the whole idea behind Fat Tuesday is to indulge in all the treats you'll be missing out on during Lent. Since I won't be actively sacrificing during the Lenten season, I suppose it would just be excessive of me to overidulge today. Still - there is something to that mass mentality. If today is a day of decadence, by Zeus I want to be decadent, too!

The day is not over - indeed, it's just begun. Perhaps an opportunity to let my feathers down may yet present itself. Now throw me some beads, mister!

Another Day, Another Beach

Okay, I gotta tell you. I like this placement a lot. I have been in this house less than two months and I have been to the beach twice. I really like the beach.

This time we went to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

I told you about my beach romance. But there was more.

I hung out with some frogs.

I saw the Statue of Liberty. (I always thought she'd be bigger. And in New York.)

I went to the Ripley's (Believe it or Not) Aquarium. (With Shelby and Olivia)

And the KISS Coffeehouse.

And hung out with a pirate. AARRRRR!

I found some hieroglyphics that looked like they might have been based on distant relatives.

And I ate a lot of Salt Water Taffy.

I got my feet wet watching the sun rise over the ocean. It was cold, but still pretty awesome.

I had a great time in Myrtle Beach and I can't wait to see what future adventures await me! I am having the time of my life! Whoot!

Met a Gnome, Cute as Could Be

I spent Valentine's Day in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where I made the acquaintance of the handsome gnome you see pictured above. Isn't he dreamy? Now before you bother to tell me, "Pink, don't get carried away, it was just a beach romance", let me remind you that I have been around the block more than a couple few times and I think I know how to keep my heart under control.

Let me tell you, also, a little something about beach romances. Grease? Based entirely on a beach romance. Summer of '42? Beach romance. Also one of the first cougars represented on film. Just sayin'. A Summer Place? Please. I'm using these examples (and with a little thought I'm sure I could come up with many more) to illustrate the fact that "just" has no place in front of "a beach romance".

Do you recall a beach romance of your own? If you do, I'd bet dollars to donuts you're smiling right now just thinking about it.

Pink's Excellent Island Adventure

When they started wrapping me up in my box, I'll admit, I was a little confused. Generally I only go in the box when it's time for me to be traded to my next family. Now I know sometimes the passage of time is difficult to judge, but I was pretty close to sure an entire year hadn't gone by already. Imagine my surprise when the box was opened and I felt warm island breezes blowing through my feathers! I had been taken on vacation!

I found myself on Goodland Island, a small island next to Marco Island on the Gulf Coast of Florida.

Here are some photos of me on my most excellent adventure. I hope they warm you up a little bit, if it's cold where you are!

Putting on sunscreen before the boat ride to the beach. If this is my natural color, can you imagine what I'd look like with a sunburn?


Heading out of the canal and into the Gulf

Soaking up the rays


Buried in the sand


Minding my conch farm.


The full effect of the farm


Riding a golf cart around the island. Like the sign behind me says: You can't make this S$%# up.

I really like margaritaville...


Headed for home.

What an exciting adventure indeed!