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“A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous.” - Ingrid Bergman

Funky Neato.

April 12 of 12

You know 12 of 12, of course. From Chad. You should do it.

I'm doing it late this month.

Composing a 12 of 12 post is hard on a weekday ... especially on a Monday. I always end up with a few pics of my commute to work, a few trips of my commute home (not much interesting to take pictures of while actually AT work), and a few random pictures at home in the evening.

*YAWN*

So while I have a few commute pics and after-work pics, I though I'd just post pics of some things that make me happy. A little pick-me-up is in order these days.

So, Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you April, 2010 12 of 12 from Seattle, Washington, USA.

On my way to work: I don't know why I love this old house so much. Something about this weather-beaten grey house with the overgrown trees and shrubs ... reminds me of places I'd lived in graduate school, in a way. Just comforting. Notice the lilac tree starting to bloom on the far left.

This poor guy has been walking around on this corner, dressed as the Statue of Liberty, for at least a month. He's an advertisement for a local tax-preparation agency. Not exactly sure what Lady Liberty has to do with filing your taxes. And neither does the hipster dude frantically waiting for the light to change so he can cross the street.

The usual picture on my commute: the Space Needle, Puget Sound, and the Olympic Mountains. On a cloudy grey morning. (Really ... we had a mild winter and an early spring ... why the cold grey stuff now???)

After work, a few blocks from home. The "At Last" beauty parlor and "Groovy Dancer" dance & fitness studio. I love my neighborhood ...

Scott's birthday was last week (21 at last!!!). The bouquet of flowers I had delivered to the house is gradually opening ... roses, fragrant Stargazer lilies, and snapdragons. Purty ...

One of the garden statues out back, starting to be hidden by the red-twig dogwood. It's always cool in the fall to see the statues that have been hidden by summer foliage. Now it's time to say goodbye as this one starts to get covered up again ...

Old weathered chairs behind the pond. I think I posted a picture of these last fall, thinking of them as symbols of decay and the end of life. Somehow, these are comforting to me ... not decay, but just growing old and somehow becoming more beautiful.

Inside - items in our china cabinet that Scott inherited. That carving is made from an ivory tusk. Politically incorrect, but still amazing.

Years ago on a vacation in Paris, we stayed a block away from the Baccarat store in Place de Madeleine. This set of wine glasses came back with us. I've never seen Scott sweat as hard as he did in customs back here in Seattle. The suitcase containing the crystal was the only one they didn't ask him to open.

A couple of years later, here in Seattle, Scott gave me these for Christmas. The six triangular-shaped crystal things on each side of the gravy boat. From Baccarat, again (our favorite) - knife rests. So that when you have used your knife to butter bread, or cut meat, or somehow get it dirty, you rest it on these so that you don't soil the table linens. I don't know that we've ever used them (and we aren't fancy kinda guys), but they are just a little bit of decadence that we don't have - other than in the china cabinet.

A very dear, incredible friend of ours (whom we need to get back in touch with!) spent a while in South Africa a few years ago on a scholarship. She brought us this beautiful hand-beaded bowl. I love it and use it whenever I can. Lemons look cool in it.

Lastly - I love stained glass, and Art Deco style/Frank Lloyd Wright designs. These lamps (they're a matching set in our bedroom) were birthday gifts from Scott a number of years ago. Love. Them.

That's it. Thanks for looking and reading. Y'all are great!