Leave. (184/365)

This is my doormat...it could also explain why I don't have too many visitors.

Halfway (183/365)

For my halfway point, I'm doing a mix of two pictures...one of me kissing Ralph and one of a mosaic tile on a local building.  Sorry it's not more original today, but I'm too tired to use my brain to think up a new Ralph-related picture for this evening!

Relaxing (182/365)

Wild Mushrooms (181/365)

Sneak attack (180/365)

Southern Style (179/365)

I am slowly learning how to cook.  Yay, me!  Tonight I took all those veggies I got yesterday  and cooked up some braised collards and cheesy squash casserole.  Those are my two favorite dishes at Comfort and I'm happy to say that what I made tonight is just as good and cost much less!

Pole Green Produce (178/365)

I have never seen spring onions so large!
The bulbs are the size of golf balls!
($1/bunch)

I stopped by Pole Green Produce and picked up my first batch of fresh, local veggies of the season.  I haven't been by Pole Green while, but being in Mechanicsville, I had to stop in to see what they were offering.

I quickly remembered why this local produce stand used to be a favorite summer shopping spot of mine, as well as why it has been in business for so long...I remember driving by it while riding the bus home that one year I went to Lee-Davis High School.  People will drive for miles to get their produce and, I can guarantee, I will definitely be back for more throughout the summer.  Their produce surpasses what any other Farmer's Market and/or grocery store has to offer!

Ralph can't wait for me to cook up some of the collards and squash, or make a cobbler with
these juicy, locally grown blackberries.

I only eat Hanover tomatoes, as any other type just tastes too grainy for me.  Plus, having grown up in Hanover, anything else is sacrilege!  Luckily, Pole Green had a huge selection, where none of the grocery stores I frequent have any in (yet) this year.  I picked up a few and can't wait to have the first tomato sandwich of the season. 

Council of Misfit Toys (177/365)

Ralph, holding court with the Council of Misfit Toys

***Those of you concerned about all the misfit toys that have shown up in the past few posts, never fear!  They are toys that have been overly loved by my friend's dog, Maggie.  She seems to have a penchant for unintentionally mutilating them within hours of having them gifted to her.  She just loves them too much; hence, the headless duck of yesterday and the gutted fish of the day before that.  Oh, yeah, and all of the toys in today's picture are part of her collection.  Most of them, at one point, contained squeakers.  Now not one of them has one.  She can remove a squeaker with surgical precision.  I kid you not, most of the toys have a one inch, straight incision where she's chewed (?) into the toy and removed it.  Quite remarkable, right?  I think I'll have her do my next surgery.

Duckfish (176/365)

Thunder Cat (175/365)

Ralph visiting with my friend's cat, Thunder

Birth (174/365)

Ralph obtained a picture taken at his birth...seems he caused a bit of damage to the "motherfish."

Window watchin' (173/365)

This is a series of pictures I took of Bailey and Ralph, looking out the window in my living room.  :)  Enjoy!

"Why, hello there, Ralph."

"You're smelling very nice, not fishy at all."

"You feel pretty nice too."

"Let's sit and relax a bit.  Catch up on the neighborhood gossip."

"Ahhh, Sunday."

Knitorious (172/365)

Richmond's Knitorious M.E.G. hit Byrd Park, transforming a blah bench by the pond into a colorful work of art.  Like she says on her Facebook page, go out and see it while you can, kids!  Ralph enjoyed taking a break from the morning to watch the ducks float by from his perch on the fanciest bench in the park.

Watermelon (171/365)

Bitch. (170/365)

Fish Kiss (169/365)

Wine-O (168/365)

Cowgirl up! (167/365)

Birthday (166/365)

Ralph helped himself to the first piece of cake today - ice cream cake at that!  Woohoo!  It was yummy!

Comfort. (165/365)

Guess who came to celebrate my birthday tonight?!  Yep, that's Ralph's BFF, Swiper the Fox.  They had fun playing while the adults had fun catching up.  So happy to see those of you who could make it out to my pre-birthday dinner!

Seven Years Bad Luck (164/365)

Someone broke a mirror in the alley; isn't that 7 years of bad luck?

The Village Cafe (163/365)

Purple Gloves (162/365)

Mosque (161/365)

The 1st floor of the building now houses Adams Camera

On Broad Street, near my house, I often drive by a building that appears to be an old Mosque.  I have no way of knowing whether the second level still serves this purpose, or if the building ever even served such a purpose, but I always wonder.  The minarets atop the structure and the tiling upon the face of it is what has led me to question the religious history of this building.  Anyone know anything about it?

Ralph, posing in the window

Close-up of one of the decorative tiles

Blood Pressure (160/365)

Fish pizza (159/365)

Snack Time! (158/365)

Kahu & Ralph apparently want some almonds...

Falling... (157/365)

Before

Guess who fell down in the parking lot at Panera this morning?

Guess who did so while STANDING STILL?

If you guessed, me, you'd be right.

No worries, though.  Ralph made it through intact, as did the lunch and tea I had in either hand.  I simply twisted my right ankle and scraped up my left leg.  And, yes, I took pictures!

The plus side to working in hospice care is that when I got to the office, I had a slew of nurses ready to help clean and bandage everything all up, as well as send me on my way with a "care package" of bandages and antiseptics.

After

Dumpster Diving (156/365)

I don't mind the folks who frequently peruse the alley and dig through the trash bins, dumpster diving for something of use to them.  Who's to say that one person's trash isn't another person's treasure?  And, to be sure, the trash that is produced by the residents of my building has been known to include some pretty high end "junk."

However, if you're going to dumpster dive, please be considerate enough to return the trash to the bins when you're done.  It's the considerate thing to do.  However, the dumpster divers that ransacked the bins behind the building must have missed the memo.

Look close...Ralph is pictured...look atop the trash lid.

Crazy bones (155/365)

Ralph & the mini Kahu continue on their adventures around town, this time alighting upon the bumper of a car made to appear like a dog!