A close encounter of the frog kind

You've probably heard: "You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find a prince." That may be true, but I've already met my prince, so I'm not interested in kissing frogs. That's why it came as quite a shock the other night when I walked out of my front door and a frog landed on my face.

After performing several notes of operatic quality and volume, I realized that the cold, slithery, and yet sticky thing on my face was one of our resident Cuban treefrogs. Since I had been carrying newspaper to the recycling bin, the frog ended up on the newspaper.

We looked at each other, said a fond farewell, and I deposited the frog in the ferns by the door. The frog and I were none the worse for the encounter, but I'm not sure if my husband and the cats have yet recovered . . .

Color-coordinated book-marks

When I go to a store that has a paint department, I frequently select several of the paint sample cards. I enjoy picking out the colors and dreaming about what the walls will look like when I repaint. As a result, I often have a handful of the cards sitting with me on the sofa.

One day when I was in the midst of reading a book, I realized I needed to check on something. I absentmindedly grabbed a piece of paper to mark my place and went on my way.

When I returned to my book, I was delighted to see that I had picked a paint sample card that complemented the book cover. Now I make a habit of recycling the paint sample cards by using them as book-marks.