Cherry Blossom

The Cherry Blossom Tree in my front yard is in bloom this week. I admire her for daring to reincarnate with such inconsistent weather. I think this courage is important to remember when cleaning up the storm of petals that is soon to come.

This tree and I are entering our sixteenth spring together. It may not look it with all its frill and trim but this tree has held her ground. Did you know to take these photos I had to climb? Imagine that, sixteen years and the tree can still hold my weight.

I love this tree for a few reasons:
1. John loves this tree (sorry to blow your outwardly manly persona)
2. My younger sister beat my roommate with a lacrosse stick after propelling herself from it
3. There is a great branch for doing monkey hangs and backward flips
4. It is cleverly disguised as an ordinary tree with ordinary leaves the majority of the year
5. It makes snow in spring possible

Earth Day

Although, the focus of my yesterday was this lovely lady, I would like to commend the earth for shamelessly tooting its own horn.

As the semester winds down I find myself scrambling to find time for myself between school, work, visiting my family and spending time with friends. And of course, yesterday was no different. I was running on a very tight schedule that required me to wake up at the ass-crack of dawn only to trek to URI before classes even began. Upon arrival I needed to access an article, read the article, start a paper on the article, go to class, finish the paper, go to class, go to the doctor's, drive to Providence, go to class, and hand in the paper.  To be honest, Earth Day was dead last on my list of "Things to Remember."

So, at about 2 in the afternoon with still five hours of the schedule from hell left to complete my day took a turn for the worse. Literally. You see, I had exactly half an hour between class and my appointment and as I turned the corner to leave URI I heard a horrible dragging sound coming from the car. The damn Saturn had foiled me again. This time, the muffler had detached itself from the car and was trailing crookedly underneath. Furious, I called AAA, then the doctor's to cancel, then my mother to cry, and finally Pep Boys to solve the problem. Talk about a monkey wrench.

With no means of transportation to drive to providence, to go to class, to hand it my paper, I was forced to slow down and enjoy the rest of the day. And what a day it was! The few hours I spent outside showcased some of Earth's finest stuff.

 My mom and I were really digging that rainbow outside of Pep Boys. I found it to be terribly appropriate that the Earth share this lovely rarity with us on a day dedicated to appreciating its beauty.

Side note: In addition to everything else, the girls and I have been house hunting (yikes) for next year. Thankfully we settled on a cute little fiveish bedroom house in Bonnet Shores. Although, we are trying to be open minded about the house's location you readers should understand that the right side of Bonnet is the Brooklyn of New York. Its affordability and desirable distance from the beach does not necessarily matter when you started in Manhattan. We will miss "to the left of the fork, and pass the community center" very much. (More on this later.)

Boomer

What's not to love?

Air Show

Upon leaving my Love and Loss class last week I was greeted by this truly beautiful sky. Uncharacteristic of myself the camera was in the car, and fully charged. Score! I paused near the Plains Lot Field to snap a few shots and headed to Maywood. Afraid to waste any time I scooped up the roommates and sped to Narragansett. Totally worth the impromptu drive. The sky had so many colors, clouds, lights, and tones to choose from. I couldn't capture them all if I tried.

This year I have a brand new appreciation for Spring and all the beauty it holds. Suddenly these colors I haven't seen since last summer are coming out of the woodwork. I can't do much else but observe and hope they stick around.

Thanks for revealing your tricks big blue sky, it was quite a show!

Happy Belated Greekster

In the spirit of awkward family photos and unusual holidays I want to wish everyone a very happy Greekster.  Greekster originated three or four years ago; it is a term coined by the Mihopoulos clan, we think. It is generally celebrated within a few weeks of every other Easter but is for Orthodox families only and revolves around passover. This past Greekster was celebrated on Easter and resulted in disaster. My parents and sister were forced to eat ham and hunt Easter eggs while Seth and I feasted on lamb and pork. We followed up our feast with dessert, lounging, "guitar playing," and more dessert. This division caused an inevitable rift in my sister and I's delicate relationship. She was furious when she uncovered our sly maneuver to ditch the Lavoie's.

In addition to this minor family feud, our Greekster was dispersed throughout the United States. One Greek in Texas, another in Colorado, and finally one in Chicago. Our once loud, crowded table too small to not bump elbows became a spacious, polite and dare I say it.. QUIET one. The question of where to seat everyone was not even asked! I suppose this is how the other half lives, or how the rest of Christianity celebrates Easter. I also suppose it was enjoyable despite our dwindling numbers.

How about you? Was your Easter filled with noise, food, and family? 

We Are Always the Same Age on the Inside.

                                                  
My dear friend Anna turned ninety on Monday. She received one of those fancy edible creations that was "much too much" for her to eat alone. Naturally, Amy and I signed up to help. We spent the evening munching on chocolate covered bananas and listening to Anna's absolutely hilarious complaints about the other residents.

This spunky old broad has become one of my closest friends in the last year. Her spark for life and ability to find comedic relief in even the most hopeless situations inspires me every day. Even her trash mouth is admirable. I love her very much.

Happy Birthday Anna!

What's your mailbox say about you?

Seth and I took a walk around Bonnet today to see what kinds of mailboxes were around. We came across some interesting finds. The ones posted above all feature hand painted designs. More specifically they display some Bonnet scenery: light houses, boats, hydrangeas, and fish. All were very appropriate for a beach community.

                                                       

Even the displays were unique. There are clusters of mailboxes, mailboxes on pipes, mailboxes on fences, and even wooden structures designed specifically for mailboxes. However the strangest mailbox we came across stood alone. There was nothing ordinary about it, nor did it have to compete with its neighbors. Check it out!

                                                      

Finally we found some character caused by damage:

                                                   
I find this one to be the most beautiful, it's rusted door and peeling sides tell a story. It's trusty. This mailbox has been doing its job for years.

                                                                     
However, the mailbox with the most personality award definitely belongs to 19 Maywood. Our box has seen it all. Earlier this year someone threw a pumpkin at it, not long after its back was blown out by another vandal. Now it stands sideways, duct taped shut, and entirely out of wack. Unbelievably enough our mailman still delivers to this worn out fella. Deep down we're hoping the landlord doesn't buy a new one for next year.

What's your mailbox look like?