What matters

The volume of work has been very high for the last few weeks, yet, paradoxically, the money trickles only very slowly in. And on top of it all, this stretch of days with the thermometer steadfastly below freezing (meaning that the dishwasher is out of action) is an extra challenge which brings me up short every time I have to trek out to the van to pick up this tool or that, or to lug all my heavy temperature-sensitive materials into the house at the end of the day. So, it's hard to keep on scintillating as much as one would like.

Angry shapes at war,
originally uploaded by milkfish.

Now and then, however, one finds some random bit of beauty or grace clear out of nowhere, and it's good to pause with one's worrying and slogging through the petty annoyances for a moment.