Although yesterday went well - the cleanup around the computer, another month's backups done - the head was more than a bit fuzzy when it came to the writing. Some days it goes quickly and seems, when I read it with a clear head, coherent. Yesterday was not one of those days. It's early morning now and we're typing right along, the words seems familiar, the direction sensible (if you can call writing about breakfast and computer backups sensible) and all is well in Dingle-Dell, but sometimes, sometimes the brain gets fuzzy as the afternoon approaches. Maybe the reason I get outside for a noon hour walk. Today, with the rain, who knows, but we're watching, taking notes.

Later. Back now at two after a walk when the sun came out and the rain stopped. A pretty good storm, this morning, although they're saying the really big ones are coming tomorrow and Thursday, no respite until later in the weekend. For whatever reason, during the rain, I backed up the month of May onto a dozen DVD's, six separate backups, two copies each. That makes a hundred color images with the new CD/DVD printer and the exhaustion of one color cartridge. I was happy to see how my attitude held up during the copying, kind of fun actually, making two 17" x 23" prints of one of the images I was backing up. Haven't run off anything that large for the fun of it in a while. Good for me. The 8" x 10"'s don't count. I now live in a world where 8" x 10"'s are proofs until I get a proper paper cutter (and, you guessed it, a proper one capable of shaving a monkey's tail was found on sale last week on the web and ordered for the framing table).

I set out walking toward the Grand Lake theater noticing the palm trees in the park where they hold the farmer's market on Saturdays. I was across the street and thought the color nice, so I went down to the light, crossed over and backtracked to see if I could capture both the color and the clouds. I don't think I did, but interesting to try and then to think about how to do it better next time I'm out. I wasn't using the newest, latest, greatest camera and lens on my jaunt, but we'll see later one of these days if using the later stuff makes a difference.

A bus then downtown, the sun still holding. A walk through Old Oakland and over to the entrance to the Chinese Cultural Center taking a picture. What was I thinking? I asked myself as I was taking it. The lawyer's sign on the side of the building interesting, but without what? Drama? Interest? Why did I even ask? Desperate? Who knows?

A walk then paralleling Broadway on Webster, a picture of two sticking my head into a small stationary store that was selling all their cards and pens at 50% off. Hard to at least not look. The cards weren't edgy enough, but I bought a pen. Why I don't know, but I'll use it to write another Seagull magazine draft for Mr. D later. It's a less than healthy looking Tangerine orange and the balance is wrong, but it's a fairly reliable way to get yourself to sit down and do some writing because there's no way in hell you're not going to try it out.

So, adventure on a Tuesday? The morning went well, even with the rain, the backups and the prints, the afternoon better than many another. No rain, some sun. A picture of the same old tree getting off the bus coming home, but then you expected that. That tree schtick has worn pretty thin these last several weeks and I've not spent a second thinking why I'm doing it or how it might be, um, brought a step closer to something of more interest, a step up to boredom, a step away from a serious yawn. But I'm rambling. Got to stop.

A note added later. Three in the afternoon. Thunder, wind and lightening. Ms. Emmy is not amused. Her litter box is wet out on the balcony as the overhang won't protect it in a real storm. Pretty soon none of us are going to be amused.