Hello to all the ships at sea...

I woke with a hangover this morning which is relevant only in that I did not have anything alcoholic to drink yesterday. I feel cruddy.

Today Charlie's school is celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday and they got to dress up as a character from a book - this is what we came up with at the last minute. It was a group effort, Justin drove all over the two county area trying to find blue hairspray after work. And then, while I was working on the costume last night, Charlie fell off the couch and conked his head on the ceramic tiles by the fireplace. Justin was very afraid he broke his nose so took him into the ER where he was checked out and pronounced "just fine." But the late night may have something to do with my hangover like symptoms. Maybe.

So I blew off all responsibility again this morning after dropping Gracie at school and drove up into the mountains to poke around. It's still brown and gray but spring was showing herself in the massive snowmelt and run-off resulting in whitewater conditions on the normally docile Loyalhanna stream. Even in the midst of late-winter muck and the dull colors of not quite yet spring, I think the area around Linn Run and the Rolling Rock Hunt Club has to count as one of the most beautiful places on earth. I don't have the photographic skills to ever capture it or do it justice but there is a reason the Mellons built their retreats in these mountains; 15 miles as the crow flies and you will come upon Fallingwater and discover that there is a reason Frank Lloyd Wright was so inspired by the beauty of this area that his masterpiece was born and created here. If I ever make my fortune, I will have a home here too, a little cottage tucked in the woods. Not anywhere near where Dick Cheney comes to hunt though.