Dreaming in Black and White

The full moon shot a beam to my eye
this morning in the earliest hours
through the branches and wind and
for a moment I dreamed
in black and white.

Well, that sucks. Or maybe not, but it definitely isn't the same as what was in my head when I woke up yesterday morning. I should have written it down right away. The moon was amazingly huge and full, and I had not closed the shutters. The wind was howling too. An amazing night.

Spring Feeding

Jan and I determined that it was time to feed the bees a bit. She'd made about a gallon of sugar water and we divided it between two ziplock bags. We popped the top of the first hive. Could definitely see capped honey, but not a lot of bees. I thought that was a good sign, that it meant there was still enough honey in the lower supers, but Jan seemed less optimistic. We put down a patty of pollen, then one bag of sugar water. Jan put some seepage holes in the bag, but the bag was too full for the feeder box to sit down properly. A good squish seemed to do the trick, but then, oh jeez, the syrup is flowing out the entrance. All Jan and I could do was hope nobody drowned in the great syrup flood of 2011. A little more finesse for the second hive, though there was still minor flooding.

Honestly, I kinda thought they'd be fine, but, well, I haven't taken the classes so I'm following the boss. There's been quite a bit of activity on the warmer days, so I take heart that the hives are surviving. It will be great to see pollen gathering. Won't be too long now!

Weak in the Knees

I had an amazing haircut experience this past weekend. Bright-eyed boy and I both needed a haircut, but since we hadn't planned ahead, we landed at the local Hair Cuttery. You definitely take your chances, at least at this location, but on the 2011 austerity plan, I didn't want to pay $60 for my regular stylist. Anyway, I get the requisite shampoo and conditioner, nothing special there, but once she starts combing my hair, and separating my scalp into manageable quadrants, there's something about her touch that just started to hypnotize me. I closed my eyes and I think my mouth was hanging open. She was slow and methodical, but the little tugs as she separated a bit to snip, the whisper of the scissors, then moving on to the next little piece to trim. . . it all felt so good, it made me go all weak in the joints. It felt so good I didn't want it to end, so I uncharacteristically let her blow dry. I have curly hair and I don't fuss with it much and I NEVER blow it dry. Generally I don't want it blown dry when I get it cut because I need it to look good the way *I* style it, which is wash, towel dry, comb out, a little anti-frizz product, and call it done.

Too bad it turned out to be the worst cut ever, at least with it blow dried all poufy and old-lady-ish. It's better now that I'm au naturel. The boy hated his cut too, but I think his looks good.

A Great Gift

I asked Santa for an espresso maker, and man o man did he come through. This baby is the BOMB. Steam frother, pressure gauge, cup rack on top. . . and it's this cool retro red. Almost matches my retro kitchen counter. Product details here.

What was your favorite Christmas gift?