In 1988, I left the first job I had after moving to the Capital District (at the NYS Office for Aging). I went to work as office manager and bookkeeper at an arts-in-education organization that was SUNY RF funded (if you don't count a summer job during undergrad as a student assistant at Oneonta's library, it was my first SUNY job). I worked there for just 18 months, when I started the MPA program.  I haven't written very much about that job, and probably won't, except for this. A doctoral student named Katy (or maybe Katie) who worked there as a GA gave me a plant that I eventually divided into two hanging baskets -- as I recall, she was moving from a big farmhouse in Stuyvesant Falls to a small apartment in Albany and had no choice but to shed "stuff."   

The plant wasn't anything to look at, a droopy and stemmy succulent in a dirty clay pot, but I've always liked plants, she said she'd had it a long time and didn't want to throw it away, and I must have agreed to take it because I had only been living in my house for a year, and had space. There are 17 windows in this tiny house -- perfect for plants. When it unexpectedly bloomed every year in the dead of winter I was thrilled! I knew it was a Kalanchoe, but until today when my niece posted on fb about making some terrariums and her picture of the blooms caused me to take the (low quality) picture, above, of mine and do a Google search on the plant, had no idea it was called "Flaming Katy." I wonder how old my little splash of color is now?

 The new coat I altered to fit Rosie. It's a maxi-coat!

Our usual Castleton weekend walk at Mountain View Cemetery. The dogs got to go three times this weekend! Very cold today, so Sam is wearing Sophie's old coat. I had adjusted it to fit her, and it turns out that it fits him perfectly.

Terrarims and maxi-coats, how '70s!