sj, I'm glad you're OK. Everything else can be fixed.

I'm glad you aren't hurt, sj!

About how big a bird, Zen? Could the yellow breast have been sort of orangey?

Smaller than a crow. Bigger than a starling. Bright yellow breast, bright blue body. Gorgeous. Never saw one before. Almost ran off the road looking at it.

I've been thinking of putting in bird feeders and bird houses, up high and away from ledges so the cats can't get at them.

Eek, sj! I'm glad you're okay.

Funny to see the LUSH crazy-ass customer service experience posted as I experienced it today. They opened a LUSH in my local mall (the one we're at all the time!!!!) and I was so excited! Today was their first day (guess that was my first mistake - heading in with a new crew in a new store). I was totally accosted, even though I told the salesperson I'm a huge LUSH fanatic and was just looking to get some bath stuff for me and my kid. She proceeded to take me to a chair and get all these moisturizers and talk about it helping with my stretch marks (yes, I'm hugely pregnant, but I don't have stretch marks). It was so uncomfortable because the way she did it made me feel like I would have been downright rude to refuse. Finally I said I needed to go because my kid wouldn't last much longer. As I headed out of the store, I saw that they had DW and Shane cornered, doing a bubble bar demo! OMG! Worst ever! Next time, I'm going in with my firm face on.

I think the sole advantage to the bowling-lane-width tininess of the Lush on Powell St. in SF has got to be that there's literally no room for that stuff once you get more than maybe four customers in the shop at the same time. You file in, you get your stuff, you squee with the counterpeople at the counter, and then you file out, and that's it. I suppose a lone customer might be accosted, but with a handful or more the counterpeople are stuck right at the counter.

sj, I'm so glad you and your car are okay, and your insurance is being so good about it. But, damn, any kind of car accident sucks (though a bit less for you than for the driver behind you).

It seems so quiet tonight. Sheesh. People must have lives or something.

sj, I too am glad you were not hurt...and I hope the other driver finally sees the light and becomes safer on the road.

It was a classically beautiful spring day around here. So gorgeous.

Along with getting tapped as a precinct captain, a volunteer opportunity I thought was not possible for me has come up.

I'll be the prep assistant for a nutritionist who teaches school kids about healthy food and cooking. While I don't have much to contribute to the conversation, I can spread out and pack up with the best of 'em. I think I can also help get shy kids to participate.

After a long time being a hermitty-type crab, I'm getting out there more.

Smaller than a crow. Bigger than a starling. Bright yellow breast, bright blue body. Gorgeous. Never saw one before. Almost ran off the road looking at it.

How close are you to Mexico? The orange-breasted bunting would fit the colour description: [link]

Generally, for a colourful North American bird I'd first think tanager, jay or cardinal (inc. buntings). I don't know that there are any jays with yellow bellies in those parts, and there are only a few tanager species that get that far north. That leaves me thinking cardinal family.

bonny, I meant to say before, I'm very proud of you.

bonny, that's so cool! You can be like introverted Jamie Oliver ;)

I got a message on Etsy from a guy from OkCupid linking to his Chemistry.com profile. *headdesk* Dude, keep the dating chat to the dating site? And maybe the right one? I'm not even on chemistry.com.

Billytea, I'm nowhere near Mexico but that looks like the bird I saw today! Wow. He's a long way from home, if so.