I declare a day of rest

could she *be* any more relaxed?
Originally uploaded by wiccked.

I have just come home after my first full week at work and, frankly, I'm exhausted. I'd forgotten how much a regular routine can knock you around.

I thought I'd missed my bus this morning. Not because I'd slept in or anything. It was all owing to the distracting frolicking of a grey squirrel on a front lawn. Yes, I watched a rodent run back and forth, to and fro, up a tree and down a tree.

It wasn't until I was at Groovy Gems in London early last week that I saw my first squirrel. It looked like a cat running up the roof of the house over the road from her. And then last weekend I was at Museum Park here in Chicago and saw a whole family of squirrels playing chasey on the lawns. I know that they carry as many, if not more, diseases than the flying vermin (pigeons) in Venice, but I find them fascinating. And they have so much energy. If only they'd give me some of that - and not something deadly, like rabies.

Anyway, back to this morning. After watching my little grey friend having his morning exercise, I rounded the corner onto Lakeshore Drive (and caught sight of beautiful Lake Michigan twinkling in the early morning sunlight), and freaked out. I thought I saw my bus pull away.

Damn, and the day had started so well. Was it the 135 bus? Was it the 141? Why can't I see distances without my glasses on? Oh the trial of getting older and falling to bits.

So I sat at the bus stop for a while, wondering how I was going to report this oversight to my boss. But I needn't have worried. My bus had been caught in traffic, and was actually a little bit late.

As it turned out, I arrived Downtown in enough time to visit Starbucks, read some Bill Bryson, and have another chuckle at the myriad of outrageous coffee choices made by seemingly normal people.

Then it was on to work where the pace did not slow down until a glass of Coonawarra red was put in front of me at around 4pm. Let me tell you, wine has never tasted so good.

So this photo is very much ME for the rest of tonight. I have a date with the cable television and the leftover Milk Duds. I'm sure the squirrel is doing exactly the same thing, somewhere out there.