Birds flying high you know how I feel/Sun in the sky you know how I feel

St. Louis is actually having a full-fledged spring this year. Gorgeous sunny and warm days, so clear, crisp and blue they seem impossibly beautiful. And the best part has been the deliciously cool nights, so unlike actual summer here with our stiflingly hot nights. It will be short-lived, there is no doubt, but in the meantime I am enjoying every moment spent outside. I don't even care that I have to be double medicated on Claritin and Benedryl at all times. It's just that nice.

Of course, this kind of weather ushers in grilling season and I have been cooking outside for weeks now (and have been rather negligent in reporting the results). Tonight was a rather good result: chicken thighs, grilled and then coated with a terikayi glaze I stirred up, satay noodles (thanks, Trader Joe's!) and an experiment that turned out well - Asian Caesar salad. It seems unlikely, but spinach, crispy onions, bean sprouts, mandarin oranges and homemade dressing actually worked. Really well, in fact.




Before I even took the chicken off the grill, I was calling it Candy Chicken; the glaze was caramelizing on the grill grates, stringing out like spun sugar. I hate that I love sweet savory food because I know it's wrong. But if loving it is wrong, well, I don't want to be right.

I still love my job (though I do have an interview for a more permanent position that I really want - fingers crossed!) and the fact that I'm getting a super tan is just icing on the cake. While I complain when the department is disordered I have to admit that I do really enjoy putting it back into shape. It is satisfying to see everything pretty and orderly again. Today it was so gorgeous that I was compelled to take some photos at work. While watering these lilies, I was struck by the contrast between the orange petals and the blue, blue sky.


The foxgloves were standing high and proud so I stuck my little mobile camera in the midst to get a shot.


This lantana actually looks prettier in the photo than in real life. The pots of it seem kind of straggly, though I'm sure they will fill out eventually.


Elegans is one of my favorite hosta varieties with its powdery blue-green leaves.


On Friday I came home from work, went outside to sit on the deck and didn't come back inside for over eight hours. I'm working on (in my head) a blog entry about being able to sit and do just about nothing for long periods of time; someday soon. Olive insisted on coming out, so I harnessed her up and let her join me. Here she is enjoying the old shower curtains waiting to be discarded.


Even though I find it amusing to refer to Olive as the cat who is most likely to be plotting my death, we have a pretty good relationship. She is also the one cat who seems to understand proper posing for photographs. A couple choice shots from the day:




As Steve says, Olive has more facial expressions than any cat he has known. It's true!