Clouds and random thoughts

(021:  All dressed up for sunset.  Photo © 2009 by Robin)

After the rain cleared out yesterday we had a gorgeous sunset.  It was nice to be able to sit, relax, and just enjoy the show of changing colors in the sky.  There was a light fog drifting over the pond and a great blue heron came to visit, walking quickly across the grass at the front of the pond (nearest the house).  I don’t think he had a chance to catch anything.  I frightened him away when I opened the patio door to try to take a photo.

We had friends stop by for a brief visit yesterday.  They were on their way home to Detroit from Hershey, Pennsylvania and we’re just a little way off the highway.  I made chicken enchiladas and a salad for dinner.  It was nice seeing them and meeting their 4-month-old son.  He’s a cutie.

Today is my mother’s birthday.  Happy Birthday, Mom!

I’ve been Tweeting on Twitter every now and again for a few months, just to try it out.  Last week I decided to declare Thursdays Twitterless (or Twitterfree).  Or Twitterless Thursday.  I ought to see if I can start a trend by putting it out there with a hashtag.  I’m debating whether or not I should even continue with Twitter.  Sometimes it’s interesting or fun.  Mostly it’s starting to feel a little spamlike, especially in things like #followfriday where the idea is supposed to be that you list people you think are interesting enough that other people should follow them.  However, it looks to me to be mostly an excuse for people to list all of the people they are following (probably for fear of offending someone if they don’t list them).  If you’re going to hang out on Twitter, skip Fridays.  It’s just lists and lists of people other people are following.

Reminds me a little of that terrible trend in elementary, middle, and high school when my youngest son was growing up.  The trend wherein everybody was special.  Making everybody special pretty much makes nobody special.  A good example:  A couple of years ago my daughter-in-law, who teaches in a high school, was working on Senior Awards Night.  Traditionally it was an awards ceremony for the high school seniors who had done outstanding work or won scholarships, etc.  However, this particular year she was working on coming up with an award for all of the seniors in that year’s class because someone higher up had decided that everyone should get an award of some kind.  She was trying to come up with things such as “best hair” or “best smile” because in some instances, that was about all the teachers could come up with since not every student had excelled in academics, civics, or sports.

In my (probably not as humble as it should be) opinion, by giving everyone an award, the meaning of award and of the awards ceremony was diluted.  Those who had worked hard to achieve good grades or to win scholarships were put on the same level as those who managed to comb their hair in the morning before coming to school.

Getting off of that soapbox now…

Have you checked out GoodGuide yet?  If you’re interested in how safe, healthy, and green the products you’re using/consuming are, you should pay them a visit.  I had a look at the sunscreens and was pleased to see that the No-Ad we use has pretty decent rankings.  It’s nice to know that the stuff I put on my skin has no neurotoxicants or endocrine disruptors.  It is not, however, the best.  We could do better.

I’m taking a rest day of sorts today.  I’ve been working hard around the house and need a bit of a break before I get back to it.  I think I’ll go spend some time in the garden this afternoon.  After two days of rain, I’m sure the weeds will be making a big comeback.  I also need to get the swiss chard seeds in the ground.  It’s too bad I didn’t get them in over the weekend as all the rain would have had them sprouting by now.