April 30th - Your Carriage, My Lady

One of the most amusing things about living in New England is that the natives use different words for things that I've always known as something else. They use frosting instead of icing on cake, eat stuffing instead of dressing at Thanksgiving, and drive around rotaries instead of circles. Perhaps the most intriguing linguistic choice is New Englanders' name for the average shopping cart: carriage. It sounds so fancy and stuffy for something you push around a grocery store. (At least the sign is polite . . .)

Wow . . . I've already made it one month with this project. Only 335 days left!

April 29th - The Hummels

This is the display on one of my bookshelves. The Hummels and Jane Austen make me happy.

April 28th - Rainy Afternoon in Natick

It rained again today. Luckily, I ventured out today and saw more than the inside of my apartment. I took this picture while I was at the stoplight in downtown Natick.

April 27th - Curled Up

Sammy loves his carrier . . . as long as he isn't riding in it on the way to the vet or the kennel.

April 26th - Room with a View

I can see this beautiful flowering tree (dogwood?) from my bedroom window. So pretty!

April 25th - Go, Spurs!

April 24th - Casey's Diner

Today was a beautiful day here. Since my haircut was pushed back until the afternoon, I drove over to Wellesley to look at some of the shops and then came back to Natick to eat at Casey's Diner, a tiny restaurant that serves hamburgers and steamed hot dogs. I tried the hot dogs for the first time and enjoyed them. It was a popular place this afternoon with several families picking up lunch after soccer games.

April 23rd - Fancy Feast

I took Sammy to the vet on Tuesday for his annual check-up and found out that he now weighs 19 pounds. (It's sounds big, but since he's a tall cat, his ideal weight is 17 pounds.). I have to start him on a new diet, which strangely enough includes Fancy Feast. According to the vet, cats really need meat in their diet because they're carnivores. Sammy's new diet will include low-carb canned food (the Atkins diet for cats, I guess.)

April 22nd - Earth Day

On Earth Day, I think it's appropriate to include a picture of Massachusetts' natural spring beauty. I took this picture while I was waiting for my clothes to finish drying in the laundry room. So pretty!

April 21st - The Tractor

I drove around today after going to Wal-Mart and Michaels and found this tractor at a farm stand a little past my apartment. During the summer, you can get ice cream and shop for fresh produce at an indoor market. The ice cream stand was open today, but I decided to pass (for obvious reasons).

April 20th - Wild Animals

I went to the Burlington Mall after taking Sammy to the vet this morning (he now weighs 19 pounds!). I ate at Chick-fil-A and then looked around some of the stores. I found these animal busts in one of the stores — I think they'd look great in Paul's apartment.

April 19th - Marathon Monday

Today was Marathon Monday — the 144th annual running of the Boston Marathon. I watched the action from Rt. 135 near my apartment. I'm always impressed by the runners and the strength they show to run 26.2 miles. That's 26.1 miles more than I will ever run!

April 18th - Contain Yourself

The container on the right is the newest edition to my scrapbook organization system. I put it together all by myself. :)

April 17th - The Painted Door

Since it was rainy and dreary outside, the most exciting thing I did today was . . . watch paint dry. My two outside doors received new coats of paint this morning.

April 16th - Norman Rockwell Museum

I took this picture on the grounds of the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA. The red building was his studio (it was closed for the season so I wasn't able to tour it). It was nice to learn about his artistic process and see some of his famous illustrations.

April 15th - The Berkshires

I took this picture after I got out from my interview. If only the trash can weren't there, it would be a really beautiful scene.

April 14th - Pretty in Pink

I got a mani/pedi today. My feet and hands feel wonderful. It was a nice break from my usual routine, and I was able to catch up on my People magazine reading.

April 13th - Rockin' Robin

I took pictures of birds while I waited in my car for my laundry. (P.S. This photo was cropped; I wasn't that close to the robin.)

April 12th - Natick Church

Whoops! I got so caught up in Dancing with the Stars and Castle last night that I forgot to upload my pictures from yesterday. I didn't even think about the pictures until I was already in bed and the computer was off. Apologies to all who were waiting with bated breath for yesterday's picture, which features Natick's First Congregational Church. I took the picture when I drove downtown to visit the library.

April 11th - Stars on Ice

This afternoon I attended Stars on Ice at the TD Garden in Boston. My seat was a little bit farther away than I usually sit, so my pictures weren't quite as good as they might have been. I still was able to do a little work with them on Photoshop when I got home and really like this picture of Rachael Flatt.

April 10th - Spring in New York

Today was my day trip to New York, so I had lots of opportunities for pictures. Just imagine the perfect spring day — mild weather, trees in bloom, tulips — and you'll have an idea of how my day was. I really got lucky this year.

April 9th - Books

It was a rainy, dreary day here in Natick. Because I couldn't take pictures outside, I decided to take a picture of some of the books I've read since the beginning of this year.

April 8th - Keefe Tech

Tonight was the last session for the Dreamweaver class I've been taking at Keefe Tech in Framingham. It was the third class I've taken at the school (I definitely enjoyed the first two more).

April 7th - Natick School Sign

Who knew that in 2010 this sign would turn so political?

April 6th - Sammy in a Box

I've promised myself that I won't take too many pictures of Sammy for this project, but this was just one of those days when I didn't feel motivated to photograph anything else. Sammy has loved this box my mom sent a few weeks ago (note the torn corner at the bottom left) — it's become his unofficial bed. He spent a lot of time there today (it doesn't hurt that the fan is nearby).

April 5th - Mellow Yellow

Whenever the yellow bushes appear around Boston, I know that spring has arrived. I'm loving the warm weather this week.

April 4th - Flower (a.k.a. Raspberry Shorts)

This adorable kitten hung around the Smileys' house the whole weekend. It had the most beautiful blue eyes. If I could have figured out how to get her in my suitcase, I would have brought her home to Massachusetts. The kids named her Flower and Raspberry Shorts.

April 3rd - West Virginia Sunset

April 2nd - Easter Eggs

I dyed Easter eggs for the first time in years. I'd forgotten how much fun it is to mix all the colors — and how pretty the pictures can be!

April 1st - Air Force One

First day of this project, and I spot Air Force One — I really don't know how I'm going to top this. I flew to West Virginia this afternoon to spend the Easter holidays with my parents and meet Esther's family. It just so happened that President Obama was landing in Boston around the same time I was leaving, so our pilot let us know that we would be able to see the plane. Pretty cool. (This is no April Fool's joke, I promise.)