The winds of the past week have died down and beautiful spring weather has arrived to bless the Mojave Desert.

A pair of Chickadees are nest building above Bob’s office window and enjoying the food he has placed out for them. They are such perky little birds and appear to be working together in the skillful design of their new home.

In the afternoon, Sammi and I took a walk across our nearest open desert space and she sniffed out old rabbit trails and lizard paths. There is something good about walking old dogs; they have nothing to prove and they enjoy rambling and taking their time. I am sure there is a lesson in this for all of us.

Last night, Bob got out the old grill and grilled salmon fillets for our dinner. Delicious doesn’t even come close to describing the flavor. Then after dinner, we sat out front on our bench and watched the sun set.

All of this makes me appreciate the simple things in life. Indeed, yesterday was a day dedicated to living in the moment and a realization that simplicity is not only relaxing to the body, but oh so good for the soul.

Our good friend, Ray, sent us this in an e-mail. Just felt a need to share it with all my blogger friends and family.

NEW YORK –
A public school teacher was arrested today at John F. Kennedy International Airport as he attempted to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a set square, a slide rule and a calculator.

At a morning press conference, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said he believes the man is a member of the notorious Al-gebra movement. He did not identify the man, who has been charged by the FBI with carrying weapons of math instruction.
“Al-gebra is a problem for us,” Gonzales said. “They desire solutions by
means and extremes, and sometimes go off on tangents in search of absolute values. They use secret code names like ‘x’ and ‘y’ and refer to themselves as ‘unknowns’, but we have determined they belong to a common denominator of the axis of medieval with coordinates in every country.

As the Greek philanderer Isosceles used to say, ‘There are 3 sides to every
triangle’.”

When asked to comment on the arrest, President Bush said, “If God had wanted us to have better weapons of math instruction, He would have given us more fingers and toes.”

White House aides told reporters they could not recall a more intelligent or profound statement by the president.

I have been busy working on Memory Book pages which means I have neglected my site and ignored the wonderful blogs that I usually visit. Ah sweet guilt!

One of the pages that I worked on I called Oh, Oh, Trouble. It is of Danica ,who like all babies at 5 months of age, is soooo expressive. Since both of her Mommies are Police Officers with the Los Angeles Police Department, I hope they enjoy my sense of humor and playfulness.

Ssomewhere along the line, Bob said the page would make a great post and I agreed. I had to change the format from one page to six photos and titles. I like the outcome and I hope my blogger friends enjoy it, too.

I officially dub April, “ The Month of the Cups”. I have named it this because I mailed two cups off to friends last week at Momma’s Corner and I love the idea that they might be sitting on their deck, looking out at beautiful spring weather, trees and flowers budding; all the while sipping hot coffee from their new mugs.

It is also “The Month of the Cups” because a short while back, I received a comment on my post “Thoughts on a China Cup” from a new person named Lorrie. She collects Dunoon cups and believed she had the one that I was looking for. I e-mailed her immediately and indeed, she did have the same cup design and in her beautiful and gracious manner offered to send it to me as a gift.

The mug arrived yesterday and it was like welcoming home an old friend. I am certain Lorrie will never realize how deeply her generosity touched my heart or how much I truly appreciate her thoughtfulness.

So rise to the challenge. Find that special mug and give it to someone. It can be someone in the family like my first Dunoon was. It can be warm and wonderful blogger friends, or maybe as Lorrie, a perfect stranger, who shares a similar joy. Then sit back with your favorite cup, sip your coffee, and smile.