Wednesday, March 11, 2009

The Sun Also Rises

Due to the onset of Daylight Savings Time this past weekend, I got an hour's less sleep this morning and fell into the grip of grumpdom.
(Darkest dawn, Taj Mahal)

However, after allaying it with copious cups of coffee, my soul suddenly became filled with hope and optimism.
(Heavenly morning, Yorkshire, England)

This lasted until The Divine Italian informed me, as he headed off to work, that the cats had peed in Luca's bed last night.
(Approaching rainstorm, Lake District, England)

Then I felt alone, abandoned, lost. 
(Impenetrable smog, Delhi)

But then I realized today is Wednesday, which means the cleaning lady is coming.
(Optimism in flight, Jaipur, India)

Irma would help me.
(Two pairs of tracks, Telfs, Austria)

But then guilt and a nagging sense of responsibility set in.
(Proustian sunset, Paris)

I was no coward.  I was a man's woman and I would do the job myself, goddammit. 
(Hemingwayesque mountains, Kilimanjaro)

Plus, maybe the cats only peed a little bit.
(Hope floating, Michigan)

Everything would be all right.  
(Double sunset, Kauai)

(All photos taken with my trusty Nikon D40)

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ooooooohhhhhh Finally!! Breathtaking pictures and I think it's my first time I read you cursing...oh my!!
My cleaning lady will be here Friday and SOMETIMES I even clean before she arrives..foolish me..I know, waist of money :-((

Meg said...

I had a rough day too yesterday, damn daylight savings! Gorgeous photos....they are beautiful!

Bart Boehlert said...

Wow beautiful photos -- what great trips you have had!
BB

Susan's Snippets said...

Lisa -

I truly understand the beauty and grace of a cat...but, for the record, I will say my dog has never peed on a bed.

outside it would be led

Laura said...

Seriously, this whole week so far has been off for me, I think because of that one tiny hour! And the grey weather. Glad to hear that someone else is feeling it as well (and looks forward to the cleaning lady with as much glee as I do).

Tavarua said...

You are to funny - Absolutely gorgeous photos...a lot of travel around the globe...

Melinda Browning said...

This is almost identical to my day!! Just add one more child with the stomach flu, change the cats to dogs, the housekeepers name to Dora,and you pretty much have it.

ArchitectDesign™ said...

Oh the joys of pet ownership, *sigh*. That doesn't sound TOO bad though at least!

Michelle Parks McCourt said...

Wow, very cool. Like a little story.

Lee said...

Ah, cat pee... a surefire path to grumpdom! I hope the rest of your day is so good that it makes up for it! Beautiful photos too.

pve design said...

Your words, those photos made me completely forget all about the cat urine.
As my friends son says - "We give them a good home, food, warm sleeping quarters and in return they throw-up"
Such "catitude"
pve

jezebel said...

Is it wrong that copious amounts of coffee change one's life outlook so dramatically? I have spent an early, early Saturday morning in the laundromat after the pup mistook the man's bed for her pad. And yet, I love her so and couldn't get over how sweet she looked curled up in the laundry cart, as I furiously drank my first cup of the day.

Anzu said...

Hilarious! And beautiful photos too. Can I ask where the Yorkshire one is? It reminds me so much of home, and a bit of moorland near us called the Strines, so my Mum and I would love to know where it was taken.

kelly jo said...

a little off topic, but from your previous post...

regarding children drawing on couches, have you seen this?

http://likeitlikeitlikeit.blogspot.com/2009/03/live-little.html

Jill said...

Very cute post...the joy of pet ownership!

Lisa Borgnes Giramonti said...

Anzu: We rented a house in Kettlewell, and I took the photo just outside the village up on the moors...sheep everywhere. Pure heaven!

Lisa Borgnes Giramonti said...

Kelly Jo: Thank you so much for that link...that couch is amazing! The idea is definitely in the air...

Amy said...

Such a lovely post! I am looking into investing in my first DSLR camera this summer, before I go to Venice for an Art History summer course. Would you recommend the Nikon D40 as a hospitable introduction to the world of DSLR? And how would you compare it to your average, run-of-the-mill digital camera? Thanks for your advice!

Lisa Borgnes Giramonti said...

My Special Stash: I would TOTALLY recommend the D40 as a perfect intro to a DSLR camera. It was my first major nice camera and it changed my life. In my opinion, you can't even compare it to a regular digital camera -- the photos are so crisp, the colors are amazing and the depth of field is great. Plus, if you just set it on 'automatic', it's no harder to use than your basic digital camera. However, I would get a good lens. My D40 came with a 18-55 lens and I upgraded it to a 18-200 lens by Tamron, which I never take off.

Check out Ken Rockwell's wonderful Nikon DSLR tutorials on www.kenrockwell.com. My brother who is a huge Nikon buff, told me about the website and now I tell everyone. Rockwell takes you step-by-step through every setting on a Nikon camera and explains which ones will work best for you and why.

Hope this helps... Good luck!

Mr. Peacock said...

Oh, swooning over your lovely photographs and drifting off...
the Jaipur photo, with the birds, is extra dreamy!

Anonymous said...

Your blog is just the BEST! Ever! ;)

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin