Picture This.

There is one type of homework assignment that causes me to grit my teeth: a project that requires printed photographs.  Usually when the kids have been given a photo-based assignment, I never even know we need photos until I'm well into preparing dinner or I've settled on the couch with Geoff and a glass of wine.  My usual response is, "Are you kidding me?"  When will the kids learn that we don't print photos anymore?  We haven't printed a photo in 10 years (this does not make us proud).  If they need photos, we need time.  And the night before the project is due does not qualify as time.  Not only must we find the images on the computer and transfer them to a flash drive, but we consistently have to deal with the inevitable Walgreen's Photo Kiosk log jam.

I have been to Walgreens for photo developing at all hours of the day (and night) so I know for a fact there isn't a good time to try to get photos developed.  Usually I arrive there, flash drive in hand, needing just a few photographs developed.  I race in foolishly thinking it will just take a minute and immediately I can see that the two kiosks are already occupied.  One is usually held by either a person with a suspicious cough or a crying toddler.  The other kiosk is occupied by a dedicated photo crafter.  She is running through photos from the last three years of her life and taking up valuable time picking just the right border to accent the image of her dog in a wagon.

I stand there needing only two pictures developed and wondering why in the world they don't have an express lane for student photo needs.  My frustration is amplified because I know that the person working the photo station at Walgreens has the ability to print the photos on my flash drive from their master computer behind the counter and send me on my way without waiting for the cougher or the crafter.  Once, a very nice photo assistant did that for me and now I'm ruined for future visits - of course, I haven't seen her since.  Instead, I just stand there working my "patient but pained" expression to no avail.  It does however, give me time to peruse the "As Seen On TV" section of the store which always provides great entertainment.  Who doesn't love reading the operating instructions for WaxVac, the Gentle and Effective Ear Cleaner?

On another note, I'm wearing this today:

I love the addition of a blazer to most any outfit.  It feels really Frenchy and cool to me because one of my other style icons, Ines de la Fressange, wears blazers all the time.  And she is Frenchy and cool.  Voila.

While Emmanuelle Alt is my peer icon, Ines is like my older sister icon.  She provides a nice European contrast to American mid-life fashion options like Chicos and Talbots which, at the age of 45, tease me mercilessly with their sassy ads and snazzy catalogs.

gratitude:  everything bagels, fog, hardwood floors, open windows (both literal and figurative)

thanks and love.