At 4AM, I felt sorry for the cat, curled up close to me. She was prowling around like a restless soul, searching. Then she held a vigil in the open window, waiting. But Melanie never came home.

I'm really happy to read that Congress will initiate a cash for clunkers appliance program this coming Fall. Since our fridge is old, leaking, and has a weak seal, I am definitely going to use the opportunity to trade it in for a new energy efficient model. We've been talking about replacing this clunker for quite a while and now I have a real incentive to be rid of it. The August 2009 issue of Consumer Reports has "Top Kitchen Appliances" on the cover and their refrigerator ratings include categories called "energy efficiency" and "energy cost/year." Dishwashers have a category called "energy use." All very helpful!

Today was college dropoff day--times two. They've been a part of my life for so long it feels like I left a piece of me behind.

Today, my son and I explored the Environmental Protection Agencies research vessel that navigates through the waters surrounding the United States and the Caribbean. It was a really interesting boat. They scoop up mud and water samples for analysis and dive to analyze coral. The first picture is the research vessel "Bold." The second picture is a cowfish (left), shark egg case (top black thing), and a puffer fish. The third picture is a submarine that we saw off the deck of the ship. The fourth picture is the lab. The top tv screen was displaying pictures of the underwater robot used to record the pictures under the sea in the left screen. The bottom right screen displayed google earth or an on top of the water view. The bottom photograph is where the scientists sleep aboard the vessel.

I finally finished fact-checking and now this proposal is ready to go! I think there is a real need for it.

While surfing the web, one website led me to another where I just happened to luck out and find something exciting to do on Thursday. I'll post photographs later this week.

Left a good job in the city,
Workin' for myself ev'ry night and day
......Rollin', rollin', rollin' on the water

Day Miserables:
After running 4 miles, I locked the keys in the car at the gas station and had to hike 2 miles home--all uphill of course. Apparently, it is too much effort to pick up a phone at home. There were 2 people home. Then I took my niece on a hike to a waterfall. Well, little did I realize that every trail was the blue trail and mosquitoes were starving. There's not much grosser then a dead body on your arm and your own blood to go along with it. Thought I'd salvage the day and go for ice cream only to find the ice cream wasn't available for another 4 hours. This, of course, was after I'd run over the glass milk bottle in the parking lot. Agggghghhhh. Needless to say it is a zero accomplishment day for me.

I made tons of progress today. I only have a few sentences left to verify and this proposal will be done. Rain certainly makes a worker bee out of me.

I posted photographs of today's visit to the new CT Science Center in Hartford. Each floor has a view of the Connecticut River. Most of the museum contains hands-on science exhibits that are quite elaborate. I thought about the layout and wondered if it was planned that the top floor contained the climate change exhibit so that when you leave that is what lingers on your mind.

The 3D movie with new satellite images of the sun was fascinating. The space suit is a replica of the first space suit. I'm pleased that my photograph shows how successful our marble track was. I clapped when the marble completed its journey!

I was really interested in this mud core exhibit in the first photograph. The viewer slides over any spot on the mud core. I clicked on CO2 and the red line shows how much CO2 there was at that time in history.

There were a lot of sophisticated free play areas, exhibits where you could race things (sailboats, cars) and slow motion videos to record. Cool stuff. I'd definitely go again.

Sometimes. Sometimes I wonder if I'll miss it if I stop for a week. But I never stop long enough to know.

Eight pages left to verify for scientific accuracy. This does not mean I've been cranking away today. It means I did some work last night and chose the shortest pages to conquer first so psychologically, it seems like less.

I emailed two CT senators this afternoon about proposed budget cuts to library services. Honestly, I don't know what I'm going to do if they cut ILL and Request book loans. I think I'd have to truck to all different parts of the state to get the resources I need thus chewing into my time and additional energy consumption. The end result will equate to chopping off a hand, the typing hand. And which hand would that be?

I am now really satisfied with this proposal. Time to verify everything. It's a big job and I'll have to cut it into manageable pieces or I'll never get moving. 1 page down, 10 to go.

Yesterday, I revised four pages from sunrise to sunset and beyond. It was 11:30PM before I put it down. When I post a photograph I like, I hate to see it disappear below view, so this post is short.

Yesterday evening, I was up at Waterfire in Providence Rhode Island . What a great event! I've posted a few photographs. Sitting on the banks of the river reminds me of having an empty beach to myself. Despite a crowd of people, you can get absorbed in the music and the mesmerizing flames.

During the day I added a couple of paragraphs to the project I'm working on, but it's still too short. Hm. What to add?

Yesterday, I did a little more work on my current project. It was neither the quality nor the quantity of what I wrote that was noteworthy, but it was the fixing of cracks in the foundation of an outline to create a stronger structure. Now I should be able to move a little quicker and put together the remainder of the first chapter. Later in the evening, under a perfect sky, I heard the sounds of a tribute band as beach balls bounced, floating on fingertips.

I would not want my success to come from playing someone elses music.

Rudbeckia (black-eyed Susans) and Echinacea (purple coneflower)

Yesterday, at a family party, I spoke to my aunt, an English Professor and also an aspiring writer. She asked me if I still get frustrated. I said "oh yeah." I suggested she reach further into more challenging markets. This morning I wondered whether my answer to her question was discouraging for her to hear knowing how long I've been writing. I hope not.

The book finally came in after 16 days. I was pretty eager to get it, driving there in a car with a wet seat on a gas tank of fumes with company due to arrive in two hours. The article has now been reviewed by two tech editors and is now "with editor." I hope I recognize it after it gets a major crew cut because I really like this article. The next step is the scientific review. Today I'm shipping off a submission to a new place I know little about, but it sounds very literary.