Today

The Today meme is hosted by Masha! Join in over at Piękno, or leave your own sensory notes in the combox...

Rose of Sharon/Althea "Minerva"/hibiscus syriacus

Today I am...

Feeling... a little scattered; I've only just begun to reset my routines from huckleberry picking, and now I'm prepping to fly to Florida. Lou's sister is in town for the week, too. Routines will just have to wait till I get back from my grandparents'—and that'll be a good time to change them up so I can put some focus time into writing and studying.

Seeing... our rose of sharon blooming. The blossoms are short-lived, but lovely.

Smelling... laundry detergent. Tuesdays are laundry days; I almost never break that routine.

Tasting... leftover einkorn biscuit with apple jelly. The half-syrup actually jelled over time, to my amazement and relief, and apple jelly is one of my new favorite things.

Listening... to my voice grate and scratch over a couple of arias this morning. I sang too hard on Sunday, without having practiced enough during the week, and my poor damaged voice doesn't handle that well anymore. Hopefully the slow, careful practice will help.

Grateful... for family visits.

Reading... Evoking Sound: Fundamentals of Choral Conducting by James Jordan. One of my fellow choristers lent it to me. I don't read a lot of non-fiction, but I am engrossed. :)

Loving... the irresistible smile that charming baby nephews give Aunty when they want her to play peek-a-boo or walk them back and forth across the living room. Also, nieces who make purple-striped paper "tigers" dripping with Elmer's Glue, and hand them to Aunty with the instruction: "You're supposed to play with it. Do not put it on the refrigerator."

Hoping... for a safe and happy vacation, good family-and-friends time—and afterward, the time and energy to refurbish my routine, get my novels written and revised, and do some hard-core music and Spanish study.