observations while waiting for the rain to begin

ahh. a lazy saturday afternoon. a cup of steaming finnish coffee from the french press. the cleaning girls busily working away, making the house sparkling clean and fresh. and because it's grey and heavy and threatening rain outside, there's nothing better to do than sit down to blog and read all of the blogs i've been woefully neglecting this summer. plus, i've been so focused on my 30 secrets that i haven't been getting my usual observations out of my system. and i can feel that they're starting to back up.

observation 1: don't you find that things come along to exactly at the moment you need them? i needed to laugh and found this blog.

observation 2: when you're thinking of something/post about something, you find out that other people were thinking about it and posting about it too. just as an example, if you want to read more about doors opening, go here. or if you're worried about your kids growing up too fast and not catching all the good stuff, check this and this.

observation 3: you never know what mood someone will be in when they receive your comment/email/tweet. and what you may have been lighthearted and buoyant about just might hit them like a ton of bricks. when that happens, it's best to just apologize and move out of the way of the bricks.  it's also best to know that it happens and it will undoubtedly happen again. mostly because you don't get any smarter.

observation 4: once you start looking, you find that street art is everywhere. and lots of it is funny. look for more here in the next week.

dublin street

observation 5: when you finally remember to go to flickr, you find out that some very cool people have featured your pictures on their very cool blog. thanks daisy loves! also for the nice note, letting me know. it's cool when people give credit (as i've been reading lately, sometimes people don't). 

observation 6: a guinness and a jauntily literary hat in a pub in dublin will leave you feeling a bit joycean...even if you didn't bother to finish ulysses.

observation 7: a day when the skies are grey and heavy and the air is still and just seems like it's waiting to unleash a deluge worthy of building an ark will give you a dull headache that you just can't shake.

observation 8: i am astonished at how quickly the lemon cucumber seeds have become seedlings. they must like it in the greenhouse.

observation 9: you can feel genuine sorrow for the passing of a person you never met. and you find that you can't stop thinking about all of the feelings your friend, who you've also never met in person but only through her very real and honest blog, must be going through and your heart genuinely aches for her. thinking of you and your family, mari. 

observation 10: sometimes you will not be able to get to all of the geocaches you'd like because there are too many muggles around. sadly that was true here and here.

well, it seems the rain has begun. and i think i'll go out in my beautiful blue room, open all of the doors, settle into a comfy chair with a book and enjoy it. 

geocaching and muggles

because we are the parents of the hippest, coolest 8-year-old on the planet (or at least in denmark), we learned this week about geocaching (from her, of course). and today, we found (through the aid of my beloved iPhone, which husband refers to as the clever phone) our very first treasure. right here in our own neighborhood.

sabin led the way...

clever phone in hand

you use the GPS in your phone 

and a super cool app
(ours is the one made by groundspeak, the geocaching people themselves)
with all the info and clues

 to help you find your way

to the treasure.

the treasure is a container of some sort.

you bring something with you so you can trade

leaving a treasure behind and taking one.

super cool concept.

we left a stone from the black hills

and took a stone.

tho' there were other items.

we also brought a pen so we could write in the logbook.

then we filed a field note.

so other treasure hunters could benefit from our search.

it's a super concept.

i'll bet there's a treasure near you

what are you waiting for?

just don't let the muggles see you looking.

then everyone will want to play.