View of pink blossoms reaching towards the sky. About a month ago, there was one or two little puffs on this tree, and now it’s in full bloom.
Flower of the Day: May 6, 2019
City Sonnet’s Photo a Day Challenge: May 5, 2019. Birds: Peacock, Owl pellets (a squeamish experiment)
Peacocks make trilling sounds. When I first heard it from afar I thought it was an angry cat meowing. But it turned out to be this colorful bird.
On a whim, my kids and I decided to dissect an owl pellet. I found a foil-shaped egg for $3.50 by the cash register of a school supply store. The lady told me that young kids enjoy this fun science activity, especially if they like digging for dinosaur bones or treasures.
That sounded like something my kids would like, so I ended up bringing the pellets home. Once we opened it and saw the brown lump of dirt, my kids screamed and refused to go near it. Our babysitter came to look at what we were doing and almost threw up.
I am not kidding: it was that gross. But I wanted to show them the importance of persevering through challenges and finishing what you start (even if it makes you squeamish). So I dissected it myself (with plastic gloves and lots of cleaning solution and lots of regret). I later glued the bone pieces onto a paper in a CD case (so we could identify which animal it ate).
It’s safe to say I will never do this experiment again; once is enough. We still get grossed out thinking about it and the CD case is duct taped and put away in a brown lunch bag. After all the work I invested into it, I don’t have the heart to throw it out, just yet.
Thinking out loud this Saturday evening: spring allergies, Costco, Target, Bridge to Terabithia, etc.
This is my second year having spring allergies. Its symptoms are long and annoying: sneezing, itchy & puffy eyes, runny nose that drips like a leaky faucet, headache, and itchy throat that tickles my ear canals too.
This morning I woke up congested and immediately worried it was a cold. I felt panic setting in and pulled the covers over my shoulders. ‘Not this again.’ ‘If I’m sick, then everyone (in the Suh clan) will catch it and that’ll land us right back into hermetic and emergency mode.’ Aaahhhhhhhh!
Once I pitied myself for a few minutes I got out of bed. It’s my way of telling myself that it’s ok to feel bad, as long as it doesn’t continue for the whole day (that’s another story). When something gets hard concerning health issues, I imagine throwing up my hands in exasperation thinking, ‘what else am I supposed to do?’ It’s a rhetorical question that validates my worries. But God is so faithful to remind me that He journeys with me. A voice whispers in my allergy-hurting ears, ‘Just move. You think can’t but I can.’
I recall countless times God gave me strength and resolve that I did not have to make it through some tough days. Funny how sometimes you need to tell yourself that it’s ok to feel bad before you start feeling better. Sitting on the couch with a box of tissues for my nose, I got a chance to revisit an old book Bridge to Terabithia. I haven’t read since junior high school. It’s a better reading experience when you aren’t chastised by your 7th grade teacher for not “getting the book.”
Today is my first day of taking Kirkland’s allergy medicine and I am surprised at how quickly it works! I no longer feel like a walking zombie. Love Costco, but it’s a dangerous place: you walk in to get a few things and you walk out with a cart full of things you just can’t live without. Same goes for Target. Dangerous places…
When Ellis goes in for a blood test or a hospital visit that is out of the ordinary, she tells me, “I’m having a bad day. Can we go to Target?” Sometimes she’ll say it’s “the worst day ever” depending on how much she wants to check out Target’s toy aisle. But I understand. Sometimes just meandering around helps to take the mind off unpleasant things/ experiences.
If you’ve come this far to this post, thank you for reading my rambling thoughts! Have a wonderful weekend.
Stanford University campus, April 2019
Flower of the Day: May 3, 2019. Billy Balls Yellow Flower
On an afternoon walk yesterday, Ellis and I had to stop and inspect these whimsical yellow balls. They were perfectly round flowers, so perfectly intact that it almost looked artificial.
The owner of the house must’ve seen us looking at them, because she came out to tell us more about them. This type of flower is called Craspedia (Billy Ball Yellow Flowers). They are easy to care for, hardy, and grows prolifically: criteria met for a black thumb like me.
The lady was nice enough to give Ellis 3 stems to take home. I’m tempted to plant them in one of our containers: wonder if they will propagate. But I know my limits.
I can’t juggle plants/ flowers and keep alive 3 Neon Tetra fish, 1 Betta fish, and 5 snails (imperative to keep them alive after the loss of 3 fish and 2 frogs earlier this year). So the yellow ping pong balls are housed next to our faux green stems for now.
Flower of the Day: April 26, 2019/ A cozy nook
I love anything cozy. If I could, I’d pull up a chair and nestle into that little nook on the right below. So much shade, breeze, and bounty of spring fragrance all around.
Photo taken on a Lily Pond trail walk at Golden Gate Park, SF.
“Spring won’t let me stay in this house any longer! I must get out and breathe the air deeply again.”
– Gustave Mahler
