When I was first entering primary school, I hated how long my name was. I’m not sure if it was because I wasn’t good at writing yet or because I idolized my older sister, but I would even write my sister’s name (only five letters long) on my paper in kindergarten, instead of my own. Later, we read in class a book called “Chrysanthemum,” which is about a cute mouse of the same name.

I loved it so much because her name is 13 letters, even longer than mine! It made me feel better about my given name, and to this day, chrysanthemums are my favorite flower :)

Younger son was not feeling well all day, but made it through school and dinner fine. I’m dancing around in the kitchen getting dessert and hear:

“Stop dancing! Today’s been hard enough!”

🤣💃🤷🏻‍♀️

I got pet budgies recently and now the birds that live in the hedge by my house sit on the windowsill and they chirp at eachother constantly. the budgies have learnt to wake me up at five thirty in the morning by copying the ones outdoors.

Every 20 minutes, the LED display flashes twice and resets to 12:00. A loose cable hangs behind it, but no one has reported it.

At 10:15 AM, employees stop by for coffee:

Some press buttons at random.

Others ignore the clock and look at their phones.

The logistics manager left a note that said “Not working” in perfect cursive.

The adjacent microwave buzzes at exactly 12:30 PM every day. Its chime coincides with the flashing of the clock.

Today, the “Not working” note is peeling off at the left corner. Beneath it, the wall surface is spotless, with no dust marks.

During the school year, our buses run extra trips around the start/dismissal times of the schools to handle all the extra passengers. They cut those trips [and even one entire route] during Summer.

On the 31st we're back to more trips, which is great for me to get around town quicker!

I'm sitting in the parking lot of my local grocery with the windows down (because it's hot) waiting for my gf. I heard a kid go "yippee" and saw a like 10 year old kid wearing a sports uniform swinging a bouquet of flowers probably with their dad. They were happy and carefree with their pink flowers. I wonder if the flowers were for them or for someone else?

it made me smile. I always appreciate joy and whimsy.

Every dusk and dawn, they're gathering in hundreds, great swarms of them. It's been a good year for swallow chicks. They sit up on the electric wires and circle the empty farmhouse in great whirling clouds. They're getting ready, they're getting ready -

UPDATE: Today I purchased another bag of six donuts. Once home, inspection revealed two of the donuts were remarkably undersized, each about the size of half a donut. The Universe has balanced the scales.

I got a bag of six donuts. When I opened the bag to snack while I watch TV, there were 7 donuts. Delicious.

Blue Tie with White Stars Guy: Remember when we drank water out of flimsy paper cones for years?

Solid Pine Green Tie Guy: Kind of.

Blue Tie with White Stars Guy: There’d be a pointy stack attached to the water cooler.

Solid Pine Green Tie Guy: Yeah. Those things always leaked out the bottom.

Blue Tie with White Stars Guy: It was like a water ice cream, those cones.

Its 9pm

Im outside with my bro joseph, the sky is a nice gray overcast. The sounds of the tiniest sprinkle of rain patter over the awning while someone in a backyard adjacent to ours starts playing piano.

I love having these nice and peaceful moments with my bro. Just sitting on the backyard chairs smoking weed and chilling

I was doing my makeup in my room with the window open (outside is a long grass path where people often walk their dogs). I hear a guy go, “Wow! That was a nice one dude!!” while I had just enough time to see him picking up his tiny dog’s gargantuan poop. I can only wish to live a life of whimsy like that dude and his dog🫶

We roasted potatoes that we grew in our garden and sang songs and looked at the stars. I saw the Big Dipper. It was so peaceful.

one of my teachers in college delivered part of the course content through voice recordings in our class third semester. i listened to them, obviously, but at the time really just for content. it was a busy semester for me, i was pretty stressed and didn't really have the time for nuance. in class i was always on him for attention and every now and then he'd throw me a bone like what percentage of oxygen is in room air (21%) which i'm sure he asked because he knew i knew. sometimes, though, it was a total tease. like, asking what the name of the elbow is and then, before i could even shout out 'olecranon' he'd answer it himself and i'd be like 'fuck!'

anyway, i still listen to them sometimes because i'm sentimental about it and oh. my. god. his voice. his tone. i'm imagining him recording these lessons when he just wanted someone to talk to and that someone was me. we in the business call that a 'delusion of reference' but a girl can dream. i feel like his voice in these recordings tells me absolutely everything i need to know about him and who wouldn't be smitten?

I live in an area of the country that doesn’t get much rain. We’ve had quite a bit of it over the last few days. Tonight I took my dog on a long walk in the neighborhood and enjoyed all the wet things. The smells were so much deeper, it was cooler and comfortable, I slipped in mud and we rescued a snail from the sidewalk. It was lovely.

I was working on the cash register today at my supermarket job. A man bought some dog kibble. I asked him what kind of dog he had and he started absolutely beaming with joy and was all misty eyes and smiles, and then he says… “my dog just gave birth to four puppies this afternoon!”. He had his phone out before he finished and was showing me videos. He was so proud. I am happy for you, random man!

It finally cooled down enough in Missouri to go outdoors, so I went for a walk around sunset. I wasn't the only one with this idea. I've never seen so many other people on my usual route. I also saw a family of deer, a cicada just walking down the sidewalk, and the first red leaves of the year. The sunsets here are gorgeous, every day. I moved from Washington and while I do occasionally miss the mountains, I can't get enough of this sky. You have to go to the ocean (or climb one of said mountains) to get the view I have just driving to the store. I know, it's not fall yet, I'm not getting tricked (again), but I'm enjoying it while I can.

I started a new job where I have to drive into work earlier. I really love the way the sunlight shines through the clouds most mornings.

+Skana. Derived from a First Nations word for orca.

+Kismet.

+Chattacoochee.

+Our Way.

+Blueprint. As a Balatro player, this amused me more than it should've. No, the boat to her right did not look the same :(

+Kinami.

+Miss Stress.

+Heron Blue.

Every couple weeks or so, when I wake up early enough, I order a bacon corn muffin and a chocolate croissant from my favorite bakery. I order an iced coffee they make with chicory and condensed milk. The bakery is immaculately decorated and welcoming, and I linger by the pickup window taking it all in, and people watching. If I sleep in too late all the treats are sold out!

When I make a strange sound with my mouth, my cat will look at me and run over. I do this every time, and then give a snack reward. Now they already know that there will be snacks every time at this time.

I'm in my 40s and after a lifetime of hating my body and myself, I am finally in a good place.

Finding a style that works for me and reflects who I am has played a huge part in helping me feel better in my skin.

This has led to an increased appreciation for other people's styles. I live in the metro area of a city in which people tend to wear a lot of color and take risks that I never would have as a younger person.

And I love thinking about how they woke up that morning and put together a look that made them feel good.

Figuring out my own look has really made me like other people (and even crowds!) a lot more.

I hope this makes sense.

It's raining today. I live in a desert, so this is rare. I walked to the mailbox barefoot and splashed in the puddles. They were warm. The air smells clean and my jacket is wet.

At work, I like to "vandalize" the metrics white board. I did it today in fact.

I put the flag on all of the sevens when no one is looking. The flag being a small horizontal line halfway down the seven. I also put them on my Z's. I don't change any of the numbers, just add that little line.

It makes my supervisors wonder who is doing it because none of them write their sevens that way. A little harmless fun for me :)

I recently was added to a group chat where there was this person who just started renting a new paddock for her two horses, it was so wonderful when she was asking for help in getting it functional that a number of us were more than ready to help out, We managed to clear some old fencing from a field and make it ready to use in a single afternoon. It was just so nice to have all these people willing to make time and space to help someone in our community!

There's something quietly nice about this small thing that happened today. I've been shopping at the same store for three months now, always declining bags because I bring my own. Today he smiled and said "the usual - no bags, right?" It's such a tiny interaction, but it made me feel seen in a gentle way. We don't know each other's life stories, but there's this small thread of human connection over something as simple as remembering a grocery preference.