Hi. My name is Kate and I'm a bucoholic

Yes, I know that's not a real word, but perhaps it should be. If the definition of bucolic is of or characteristics to shepherds or flocks, pastoral, then I'm addicted to it. The pastoral thing. I don't think bucoholism runs in my family or anything, and maybe there are others out there such as myself. I think we need to admit our addictions and face them. I've had one of those days, you see. And I swore I'd never post about things that trouble me and I still won't. But when I have one of those days, I'll tell you how I cope. What I do when I get like this is: I walk in the pastoral setting in which I live. It's probably why I've always chosen places like this to live. Today, however, I can't really walk, nor can I gaze out my windows because there's a thunderstorm brewing out there right now. So I go through my pictures and maybe work on some of them in Photoshop. And suddenly, I'm feeling better. I don't mind having this addiction. And furthermore, I'm not ashamed of it. I could be addicted to far worse, you know. So many of you have written comments and e-mails asking how my recovery is going with the knee. I'll tell you that I'm walking much better and I can bend it really well now. I took my last pain pill on Monday evening and although I really miss the recreational drug use, I found I could live without them. Besides, I don't think these pain pills are good for me. I still use my EB Ice machine in the evenings for a couple hours. Today, though, I almost forgot I had a bum knee. I was doing way too much, not putting it up, trying to accomplish everything at work (as we've been so busy all week) and about 2 pm it all hit me. I had to hobble down to the health suite and get a motrin from the school nurse. I wanted to cry because it's not just the knee, it's all this other stuff in my life. I told someone I know it's like a big 'ol bag of crap. Not very ladylike, and you know I'm always very demure. (Now that's a big 'ol bag of crap!) And this is when my bucoholism comes into play. Now I'm no doctor, nor do I play one on TV. But I know how to deal with my own stress. And it's in these pictures. Thanks to everyone who stopped by Kacey's blog and voted for their favorite Photo of the Month. It's not too late to vote and please don't vote for mine. Unless you really like it. There's a lot of good entries this month. And to all you budding photographers out there, take pictures this month. And enter the next contest when Kacey posts it. It's fun!