Did you land on your feet?

Last night I had a dream that I was standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon (or someplace that looked like it) and was looking out across the rocky land from atop a very high cliff. Beyond the edge was an empty space so deep I could not see the bottom and the other side of the canyon was a blur in the distance. Even though I was so close to the edge, it didn't bother me and I wasn't afraid of falling.

Next to me was a shopping cart full of cats. One-by-one, I picked them out and tossed them into the canyon. I watched to see if they landed on their feet, but after each one fell for a minute or so, it disappeared from sight. Once the shopping cart was empty, I stood there for a long time. There was no one around and nowhere to go. I pushed the cart over the edge and walked away.

Are we there yet?

Guess what? We're not going to the store
Look all around, have you seen this before?
Turn every map upside down
Today is the day we leave this town

Colorful lines row upon road
Lead to the places we won't go
Don't pack your bags or drag your worries along
Get in the car, it's time we're gone

It's Saturday morning or Christmas eve
Don't waste a second, I just want to leave
We'll find that place that's so hard to find
Playing music in the back of my mind

It's calling you, it's calling me
Back to the place where we used to be
We laughed and played and had some fun
Where have all those good days gone?
We'll find it again
Just come with me

In different places and yet we get through
Wrapped up in our lives, you know it's true
No money, no problems, I think we're set
Have you had enough of all this yet?

For a minute, I thought we wouldn't make it back
And for a minute, the calm that we seem to lack
It was there in the corner of my eye
In the back of my mind, it passed overhead
A shadow from the sky

It's calling you, it's calling me
Back to the place where we used to be
We laughed and played and had some fun
Where have all those good days gone?
We'll find it again
Just come with me

Even after the long road ends
And after it all comes to rest again
We'll still be there, I have no doubt
It's who we are within, without
We'll find it again
Just come with me

Photos and a geocache

Today during lunch I went out to take a few pictures.

There was a lot of moss on the trees.

As I was taking this, I kept hearing a rustling sound and half expected something to jump out and bite my face off. Nothing came out and my face is still intact.

This is a tree.

The view from atop a bluff.

It started to rain, but before I left I found something sticking up out of a hollowed out log. A piece of bark lay on top and when I removed it...

Wow! A geocache. I've never seen one before and luckily this one wasn't very well hidden or I probably never would have noticed it.

Inside there was a log that each person who found it could write down their name and the date. There wasn't a pen in it, so I couldn't log my find. It did have a random assortment of other stuff, though. There was a small stuffed animal, a bracelet and some other stuff. Not sure what that was about. Anyway, it was a cool find and sort of made my day.

Only in dreams

I stood in the middle of the room with a bucket in my hand while everyone else ran from one room to the next, covering their heads with their hands and crouching to avoid something that I couldn't see. They would point and yell, then run into the next room to escape. Each time they pointed I would look, but by then it was gone. Everyone kept pointing and shouting, "Look, look, look!" but when I looked there was nothing there.

They all ducked together to avoid the apparent swooping flight of the bat, but no matter how hard I looked or how many lights I turned on, there was nothing. I thought I could hear it squeak, but amongst all the noise it was difficult to tell. If I listened closely, I could hear the rustling of wings, or maybe I was listening too hard and imagined it.

A lamp hit the floor as they ran into the kitchen, looking back over their shoulders to the living room where I stood. It must be close. I stood up on a chair to be closer to the ceiling and then maybe I could see or hear it. I put my arms out to try to block its flight and keep it in the living room. By waving the bucket, I hoped to knock it from the air. The curtains might have moved, so I turned my attention to the window. Just then, shouts came from the kitchen and I realized it was not in the living room at all.

I put the bucket down. If I couldn't see it, I couldn't catch it. I swung open the front door and propped the screen door open. Suddenly, everyone cheered as nothing flew out the door and left us alone.

********

I also had another weird dream about trying to help our cat escape our house and gain her freedom, but I don't remember much about that one except that she kept coming back. She would, too, that cat is really dumb.

The soothing sounds of nature

Turn up your volume, sit back and enjoy.

More old photos

Cynthia, 2001. My sofa was actually louder than my guitar.

Summer of 2001 when Cynthia and I were dating.

Me, self-portrait, age 9.

Nom, nom, nom

Ever since I was a kid, I have always liked the Little Debbie "Be My Valentine" snack cakes. Even though they taste sort of like candle wax and never seem to go bad (much like Twinkies), I still like 'em. My mom bought a box of them for me and my brother one year and I have picked up a box of them every February since.

I stopped at HyVee this week to pick up a box and man, are they good. They are a strange mix of nasty and tasty at the same time, but the tasty part wins out. I've never cared about the nutritional value of these things (because obviously if you are buying snack cakes you're not concerned about frivolous things like nutrition), but for some reason I happened to look at the panel on the back of the box and wow, when it comes to making really unhealthy junk food, Little Debbie doesn't mess around.

The cakes in the box come in clear plastic packages of 2 and they are fairly small. The serving size is for both of those little cakes and the Nutrition Facts panel boasts some impressive numbers. For calories, you get 290 and for sugar, you get a generous 27g to keep your heart buzzing along. I can hardly sit still just thinking about all that sugar. Sure, you could just eat one cake and save the other for later and that would cut the scariness in half, but who would really do that? I mean, c'mon, if you open the package you're gonna eat that second one.

If you think about it (and do a little research), that's more sugar than you'll get from a whole bowl of Frosted Flakes. More than a bowl of Fruit Loops, too. Which raises the question: why would you bother with a bowl of sugary cereal when you can just eat a couple Little Debbie snack cakes? It would save time and milk AND would result in an even stronger sugar buzz. No downside there. Another important note: if you're worried that you might accidentally ingest some vitamins, just read a little farther down the panel: there's a big "0%" next to everything that matters. You're all set!