My mother's oven has superpowers.

I was looking through some old pictures this evening, and I rediscovered this picture of the buttons on my mother's new oven. She's always been a really good baker, but apparently her new oven has a power that humanity has been dreaming of for millennia. Look closely.

If only I knew the perfect time to call up and ask her to press the button! Although some days at work I feel like someone has certainly been using it. Might come in handy to meet the clients' requests sometimes.

The phone number at the Abeel house is available to members of the inner sanctum.

It's been a very soggy couple of weeks.

Kris, Kevin, and I went for a walk at Great Falls this weekend to see how they look after all of the rain we've been having. The water is translucent brown and moves like it has somewhere to go. We also saw a Park Police helicopter flying super-low through the gorge downstream from the falls, tiny waterfalls cascading everywhere, and many knobby-kneed sharp-eyed herons hoping to grab something from nature's snack bar.

I went to Denver ...

and all I got were a couple of pictures and coordinates for about 80 dealerships of various brands. And one of them is of a Chrysler store as seen from afar in the pouring rain, because the parking lot was chained off and I couldn't get any closer. This is a brand-new store, with nothing in the showroom or on the lot yet. After driving around Denver, Fort Collins, and Colorado Springs for 48 hours, it was time to fuel up the rental car, turn it in, and fly home (or what passes for home for now). This is the view I had from the gas station of last resort -- click on the image for a larger view. Someday I'll come back when I have more time to explore.

She takes her work very seriously.

Any cat person knows that cats love suitcases, and mine are more than happy to fit the stereotype. I got this one out this morning and Giselle has been guarding it all day. Every time I went in my room with the intention of packing, there she was, either snoozing or sitting on it. And I'm one of those people who can't dsiturb a sleeping cat unless absolutely necessary.

I know, I've been a bad blogger lately. I've been alternating between being swamped at work and being tired out from being swamped. And maybe this place isn't new or exciting enough anymore to take many pictures. It's been almost a year already! But summer is here, so that should yield plenty of opportunities to photograph subjects other than Zellie and Pumpkin. Sorry, sweet fuzzballs.

Why is the suitcase out? I'm flying to Denver tomorrow morning for work for a market visit. I'll be back late on Wednesday if spring thunderstorms don't get in my way. Then I'll be back at work for a day, and on Friday I'm driving to Michigan. Yaaaaay, Michigan!

One more gratuitous cat picture...