Yes, tonight after work I stumbled around outside in the dark, oohing and aahing over the increased height of all my bulbs, and there it was: a pink tulip. Well, probably it's pink. It looked pinkish in the dim light of the back porch light. I tried taking a photo of it but due to it being night and so forth, the flash blasted all subtlety out of the photograph. I'll try again tomorrow morning before work. Wait, what am I saying?

This hasn't been a good week for sleeping. I can barely get out of bed in the morning, and I don't feel tired at my usual bedtime. I have actually cut back on caffeine in an attempt to deal with my inability to fall asleep before 1am, but it doesn't seem to have had any effect. I can only conclude that several weeks of tense, difficult working conditions have taken their toll. It's annoying as hell. I won't call it insomnia, since once I'm asleep I stay asleep, but it's not usual. I haven't been up before eight this entire week, giving me twenty whole minutes to perform my morning rituals and leave the house with the bare minimum of clothing. You don't want to know what ingenious color combinations I came up with. Let's just say my claim that everything in my closet can be mixed and matched was strongly tested.

Remember my quest to find the mysterious book where the animals accidentally wander into the afterlife? Thanks to helpful reader Desiree, I spent last night and tonight looking through a list of queries about children's books people can't quite remember. It's called Stump the Bookseller, and it has dozens of vaguely recalled memories of books read in childhood. I was thrilled to find I remembered reading some of the books they mentioned, particularly the beavers of Shining Pond, and the colorful doll made of discs of fabric strung on thread to form arms and legs, although I still haven't a clue what these books might be titled. There is also a Solved Mysteries section, and a Most Requested Books section that delighted me. An example of the ways memory plays tricks on us is the difference between two people recalling the names of the eponymous Four Kittens. One thought it was Muff, Fluff, Puff, and Algernon. The other swore it was Buzz, Fuzz, Suzz, and Agamemnon!

Oh, lord, it's almost midnight. I really must try to sleep, even if it means lying in bed staring at the ceiling while John snores gently and the cats hiss and bat at each other from either side of my legs. Thank god tomorrow's Friday.

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