It Rained Last Night...

 

 ... so look at what I saw when I was doing the cobra pose this morning.  Grass greening!  Greening grass!  In my yard.  

And then in front these tiny white-with-purple stripes bells called squills are starting to bloom.  Yay!  I know that they're hard to see, but trust me, those little white blotches are flowers.





This afternoon I drove down to Madison.  The weather couldn't have been better, sunny and warmish.  I was glad that I charged the battery of my Tomtom because I never would have found the hotel without it.  I know, I know, I can use my phone for directions but the Tomtom has a mount that sticks it to the windshield so I just have to glance at the rearview mirror to see it; my phone lays on the seat and talks to me.  One of these days I'll pick up a phone mount that hooks into the vent but I like my Tomtom so I'm using it.  I got into town around 5 o'clock so there was traffic to contend with and naturally my route took me on a road that construction had squeezed from three lanes to one lane.  Talk about a pinch point, but I was patient and polite (but not too polite), then I turned the second to the last corner and look at what I saw.  The state capitol building.  It's literally a block from the hotel.

My room is on the 9th floor and it looks to the west away from the capitol but I'm high up enough that I can see a sliver of a lake (I don't know which one) and the sunset.  Once I got unpacked I put on workout clothes and went down to the fitness center, did a few minutes on an elliptical, then moved to a treadmill.  I don't have much endurance (yet) but I figure that I'll get some if I keep working at it.



I went down to the lobby restaurant to see what was on the menu.  I wasn't terribly hungry but I wanted something.  So I had a half-order of pumpkin ravioli.  Oh. My.  That was very delicious.  The raviolis were stuffed with Gouda, they were in a cream sauce, and had pumpkin puree on top.  Yum.  I'll figure out another place for meals, maybe something a bit less expensive, but I do think I could easily work my way through the "starters" on the menu as supper the next three nights and not break the bank.

3 April--Tropical Obsession. 

Maria was out of patience. She had spent the last ten days, since Diego arrived at the villa with his American girlfriend, keeping to the shadows, out of his way. But enough was enough. He had managed to not show up downtown when they were supposed to meet. She had then been determined to confront him at the villa, on his own turf, but she had gotten to know Sharon, seen how the woman had tried so hard to be liked by Diego's mama and sisters. Maria had a hard time staying angry enough at Diego to make a scene and hurt Sharon. Today, though, she was determined to move forward. She brought Emilia to the villa with her, all dressed so cute and with instructions to be on her best behavior. Sharon had been enchanted with the pretty toddler. Diego had not said a word. After only one cup of coffee he had left the villa nearly at a run and hadn't been back since. Maria was at a loss for her next move. All she wanted was for Diego to acknowledge his daughter--and maybe send a little check once in a while.

When I opened the door to my room I understood the price.  It's very nice.  Very nice indeed.  Staying here won't be a hardship and all of the conference sessions are here in the hotel so I can just zoom up to my room if I need a break.  There's a reason people stay where a conference is--convenience.  Time to think about hitting the hay.  Tomorrow is a busy day.
--Barbara