The world is full of surprises...especially if you're awake to see them

 The world is full of beautiful things

Butterfly wings, fairy tale kings

And each new day undoubtedly brings

Still more beautiful things

- Bobby Darin, Beautiful Things -

I woke up early this morning. Why? Because Frog decided to puke up the strings he ate from one of his toys. I had to get up to clean the carpet. He was out because sometimes I leave their crate open at night as my back up alarm clock. They get up when my alarm rings so it forces me to get up instead of hitting snooze. Anyway, I had to get up to clean. As I walked to the laundry room to get the carpet cleaner I saw light from one of the bedrooms. 'Wait. What time is it? (check clock) 4 AM?!?' Well, if I had to be up this early for something so unpleasant, I guess it was only fair that something beautiful rewarded me for my efforts. :o)  It's really interesting how early the sunrise is here. Wasn't it beautiful this morning?

I took this picture from my bedroom window... at 4:30 AM.

Moving on. You may have noticed that my blog has undergone a little redecorating. This is for my friend, Lorissa. Every time we talk, she complains that the text color (former) is so hard to read on a black background. This is for you, Lo. :o)

Next: I forgot until tonight about another funny difference between the USA and the UK. In the States, it's pretty common to get "to-go" boxes at a restaurant. Here it doesn't seem to be common at all. The few times I've asked to take the food I didn't finish home with me, I've gotten some very interesting packing. Tonight I had risotto with a creamy sauce at an Italian restaurant. I asked to take the rest of it home expecting a plastic (or even Styrofoam) container. I had to giggle. This is what I got:

They just poured it from the bowl into some aluminum foil and folded it up a lot so that it wouldn't leak! hehe. I love it.