I cleaned the bathroom!

Hey, this is a boring blog. What can I say? Although if you knew what the bathroom looked like before I cleaned it, you might be more impressed. Fortunately, no photos exist.

I've started cleaning the kitchen. I can hear the news being twittered everywhere.

Mostly I've been sleeping a lot. I think that weeks and weeks of long hours have resulted in a cumulative exhaustion thingie. I'm not depressed! Doesn't feel like that at all. I'm just really tired, in a physical way.

Or maybe I'm hibernating? After a protracted, balmy fall, winter's set in. The other day, it was drizzling ice -- the ice pellets weren't large enough to be truly hail, and it wasn't wet enough to be sleet. Need a new word. Could use a little sun, too. It's been scarce. Five weeks before the days start getting longer again; five months before the first bulbs come up. Minnesota gardens tend to be a crazy hodgepodge of as many flowers as can possibly fit. That's because by the time spring gets here, we're crazy for color.

Well, if I make enough money the next few months, maybe we can spend a week in Santa Fe like we did a few years ago. That was really nice.

Why do cats insist on being in the way? I swear they have a gift for detecting just what you need to look at and placing themselves there.

Fun:

• The Arbor Day Foundation has this cool map that shows how U.S. hardiness zones have changed from 1990 to 2006. Of particular interest to me is the finger of Zone 5 that has crept up the Mississippi River Valley as far as Minneapolis/St. Paul.
• Have I posted this link before? The FreeRice site started as vocabulary SAT prep and is now available to anyone who wants to test and expand their vocabulary and donate rice to the U.N. World Food Program at the same time. For a word geek like me, it's a bit addictive! I see they've added a bunch of other subjects since I last visited -- must check them out!
• Finally, want to put in a plug for my friend Harry LeBlanc's expressive arts therapy practice in Minneapolis: Arts of Passage. Harry has a master's degree in expressive arts therapy and is getting his doctorate. This form of therapy is a great approach for people who want to explore feelings and thoughts that may be blocking their fulfillment but don't want to "talk about their feelings" or have tried traditional talk therapy and found it unsatisfying. Harry's got a bunch of great resources up at his site -- I think it's worth reading his thoughts about the human condition even if you have no interest in seeking therapy at this time.