To bed before ten, up just before the alarm, so a decent night's sleep. To breakfast and back on a clear sunny Sunday. Talking about doing things that accomplished something will jinx any hope of continuing with same today, but we're thinking about it. A nice day for pictures, anyway, even if the light isn't quite right.

As in too bright and contrasty?

Yeah, but just that. We can survive.

Later. A very short walk along the lake bringing a long lens on a camera as the excuse to get outside. For whatever reason the excuse didn't have legs so the walk was short, very short, and I returned to take a nap. A bit like a wind up mechanical toy where its movements are programmed: out door, walk, back, nap. All well before noon.

Coming up from the nap I looked at the phone and found a message that had arrived late yesterday afternoon suggesting I get together with Mr. S and Mr. E at the Oakland Grill this morning at ten for breakfast, it being nine-fifty when I noticed the call. OK. It's a Sunday, early enough to find parking, the grill itself will be packed, but the trip will be easy enough. A ten minute drive, a parking space, an English muffin and a Mimosa as a second breakfast. Crappy muffin and Mimosa, but the mouth was foul and dry from the earlier first dose from that allergy inhaler. I'm not sure the cure is worth the cure.

Anyway, Mr. S had brought along the latest Pladdohg CD where they'd used two of my photographs of the band, printed on the back and behind the cover, so a good second way to start the day as I hadn't known they were going to use them. They've booked quite a few gigs in the coming two weeks (a Celtic band with St. Patrick's Day on the horizon after all) so Mr. E and I arranged to travel to one or two of the closer gigs.

It occurs to me my foul dry inhaler mouth comment isn't the first time I've made this connection and this will not be the first time I've stopped taking the crap for that very reason. It is indeed getting harder to tell the difference between the disease and the cure.

Later still. Another walk (after a nap) over to the morning café for lunch, the foul dry mouth much less in evidence. Not sure I was really hungry, but (of course) I needed to get out of the apartment and the weather is really nice. Lots of people out by the lake sun bathing, taking it easy, making do with what expanses of grass they could find. Probably a good move on my part those many years back when I moved here.

So onward. Finished changing out the now charged AA batteries in the small strobes. For whatever reason I ordered thirty-two additional Sanyo eneloop rechargeable batteries to replace the various other brands and earlier editions I've accumulated over the years. They've proven they don't lose their charge if you let them sit for too long and I, as you may have noticed, will let them sit too long. A totally wasted expense from any rational standpoint, but then that can be said about most things in the camera business (if not in life).

Again, a wonderful day, feeling better as the afternoon evolves. Ugly (or close to ugly, let's not overstate it) mornings followed by good afternoons and often excellent evenings. Could easily be worse, we'll not tempt the fates. Overly much.