Fall in NC: a preview

Can't do a very long post,

but I need a short break from

studying so I wanted to

share a few photos

from my time in NC so far.

I already have LOTS more

that I can't wait to post,

and I know there will be plenty

of other pictures taken this week.

I also appreciate

your blog

suggestions both on here

and on Facebook.

When I get back to CA

I will work on making them happen.

Until then,

here's a random grouping

from the last few days.

One evening we fired up the chiminea

& sat around visiting.

My parents' yard is evidently

cultivating monster mushrooms.

Just liked the way the sun was hitting this.

Lily cat hiding out in the old chiminea.

More of the same?

So I realized that

I've been posting a lot
of pictures of flowers
and our backyard.

I suppose this is mostly
because I am at home
almost all the time
so that is what I see when
I have my camera handy.

I am going to try to
take some photos of
other subject matter
and welcome suggestions
and/or
requests from all of you.

In the meantime,

Here is a view of our living room
with some flowers Z brought me last week.

A couple of shots from one of our
three rose bushes.

Roses are nice enough to look at
(although certainly not my favorite flower)
but, being in charge of trimming them,
I must say that I have a certain
amount of disdain
for rose bushes
and their rather painful thorns.

And, of course,
our Mr. Wilson,
who, when we let him outside
to 'do his business',
finds a sunny spot and sleeps, instead.

(but notice he is currently cone-free!)

On another note,
at the end of the week
I will be heading back East
to take the comprehensive exam
for my graduate program.

I am excited to see family & friends
(and take some good photos along the way)
but also pretty stressed/anxious about the test.
So please keep me in your thoughts
& send me some good vibes on October 29.

Finally, please leave photo suggestions/requests
in the comments! Do you want to see more of
our house, food, random machinery?
Let me know...I think it will be fun
for me to work with a theme in mind!

Every little drop

A little rain goes a long way here.

Back in the game

Last week Z and I

went down to LA

for the Galaxy vs. Chivas USA match.

This was kind of a big deal,

first because we love the MLS,

and second because these two teams

share a 'home' stadium, pretty much

making them arch-enemies.

We opted to sit in one of the Galaxy's

supporter sections, but no worries,

I remain forever

Fire Til I Die!

Yep, there's that beautiful Chicago Fire flag.

A kind of creepy inflatable Chivas guy.

Landon Donovan & Becks

It's not Section 8,

but you can't match the

palpable excitement &

absolute sense of community

found in a supporter section.

Happy Z, content Z

Tifo fun

Z waving that blue Galaxy flag...

& his reaction when I called him out

for (being a traitor) cheering on another team.

...

Oh, I don't really blame Z.

He gets really excited sometimes,

especially where Landon Donovan is concerned,

so I know he just couldn't help himself.

me? I had an awesome time, too,

reveling in all the excitement,

but I couldn't bring myself to

specifically cheer for either team.

Familiarity's part of the beauty of the MLS.

Supporter sections use chants & songs

during each match,

but many of the tunes and rhythms

are similar, with words adapted

for each team.

So I just sang along using the Fire lyrics instead.

After the match

we drove just down the street

to Ikea

where we picked up

a few things

to make our house

a little more like home.

All in all,

a beautiful day.

Sneak Peek

Today is a busy day,
so I'm just giving you a little
taste of the
L.A. Galaxy vs. Chivas USA
experience from this weekend.


Plenty more will be up soon!

This post is also included in
Outdoor Wednesday.

Lost and Found

Saturday started out sunny,
so we planned to do
yard work
that afternoon.

The day before we had opened the
back door to find a fruit fatality:
one of our orange tree's limbs
had a burden too heavy
and it was barely hanging on.

So we finished the job
and set to work removing all
of the nascent oranges
since they are not allowed in the
yard waste bin.

A waste, indeed.

As we were toiling away,
we heard the distantly
familiar sound of thunder
as our skin remembered
the feel of humidity.


Wonder of wonders,
it began to rain.
Not much, but plenty
to rejuvenate the soul.

From our front porch...

you can see this.

The Padre Hotel

200th post: A night at the Kern County Fair

I don't know if you all
know this about me,
but I
L-O-V-E
a good fair.

I grew up going to
the Cleveland County Fair
but I hadn't been to a fair
in years.

So I was probably a little
over-excited when ads
for the Kern County Fair
(Best in the West!)
started popping up
right after we moved here.

I'll admit,
I had a slight fear
that going to the fair would
be one of those things
that wouldn't taste so sweet
as an adult
as it did in my childhood,
but I shouldn't have worried...

the animals...

the food...

the rides...

(ok so it was a little strange that some of the
rides were actually from MJ's Neverland Ranch)

the games, the lights,
the extraordinary people-watching...

I love it all!