Monday, November 29, 2010

Happy Birthday

Z turns 27 today!
I'm grateful for all the adventures
we've had together these
last 10 years.

I love you.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Yesterday


The sky grew grey &
the winds picked up
as the afternoon matured.

Like usual, I was at my laptop
attempting to complete my last
few assignments.

Z rushed in, earlier than I expected.
Are you really busy?
Well, I....
Get your camera & get in the car.

So we were off.

Z had been driving and seen the mountains
to the south were the recipients of
the most amazing light.
Sometimes you can't even tell that
mountains exist around this valley,
but yesterday they turned golden
& let everyone know about the snow
that lay at their peaks.

We headed south for awhile & then to the west,
not knowing exactly where we were going,
just racing against the fading light.
I told him to pull over.
As I knelt down to get a shot,
Z told me that the passing traffic
was slowing down,
turning to find what it was
I might be photographing.
Light...just light.

According to Z, the view of the mountains
he had hoped to share with me
was already gone by the time
we arrived, but I was still
floored by the beauty of where
light & dark meet.

As we drove home,
we were enveloped by the darkness &
the approaching rainstorm.
But turning back,
there was still a glimmer of setting sun.




This post is part of Outdoor Wednesday.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Giant Sequoias: Part 2

Continued from yesterday's post,
here are more photos of our day trip
to the mountains to hike among the
Giant sequoias.

To be in the presence of such ancient, majestic
life is awe-inspiring.
We can't wait to go back.



This post is linked to Outdoor Wednesday.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Giant Sequoias: Part 1

Right after I returned from NC,
Z was off to a conference.
So when he got back, we decided
to spend Friday (his day off)
exploring a little bit.

We headed east up through the canyon
mimicking all of the river's turns,
drove past Lake Isabella
into Kernville, where we found
a tiny Mexican restaurant.

Sufficiently nourished and armed with
a pamphlet of the area's hiking trails,
we decided on the Trail of 100 Giants
and set off in that direction.

We made a quick pit stop
at a general store for batteries.
The ranch wasn't far from the trail,
but the temperature
dropped nearly 20 degrees in
that final 15-20 minute ascent.

There was snow and ice on the ground,
the absolutely most fresh scent in the air,
and then, the giant sequoias...

I took so many photos that there will be two posts.
The pictures cannot do justice to these trees,
but I hope you enjoy them.

Tuesday, November 09, 2010

Soup

The weather has turned a bit colder here,
so I tried a new recipe from
the November issue of Cooking Light,
a creamy, spicy black bean soup.

I made a few changes, like canned beans
since I didn't have any dried,
an extra dash of cumin, some fresh-ground peppercorn,
and I swirled in a little parmesan before eating it.
I didn't use the eggs or cilantro garnish
(although I do like cilantro).
I also sopped it up with sourdough wheat bread
from Trader Joe's.

The taste is spot on, but next time I will
make it just a bit thicker.
Even so, this is a great soup for a chilly day!

Also, on my latest visit to Trader Joe's,
I was super excited to find that
Dark Chocolate-Covered
Peppermint Joe Joe's are back in stock
for the holidays....
Oh. My. Goodness. how I love those things.

Monday, November 08, 2010

Fall in NC

When I was in NC at the end of October
my study breaks
involved stretching my legs &
getting some Fall shots around my parents' house.











This post is linked to Outdoor Wednesday.

Thursday, November 04, 2010

Babies!


I love babies, but
Z & Mr. Wilson are all
I can handle right now,
so here's a post of other people's babies,
from oldest to youngest.

First off, my awesome nephew, Mason.
I will still call him a baby here, but
he will soon be 2 years old...
WHAT?!?
How is that possible?!


Next, Kerri & I have been friends since
4th grade (which doesn't seem that
long ago in my brain),
but lo and behold, she had a baby!
He is a real sweetheart, feels sooo good to hold,
and is mesmerized by ceiling fans.

What'd you say, Mama??
And finally, my beautiful
sister-in-law is due on Valentine's Day
with the first baby girl grandchild!

I love all of these babies (and their parents)...
they are my favorite kids on the east coast!

Wednesday, November 03, 2010

Dog Days

Left coast dog.


East coast dogs.





Obviously the east coast dogs are a bit more active.

Our Mr. Wilson loves going for walks, but is
perfectly happy viewing passersby from our front window
& alerting us to the arrival of the mail.
Ball is not in his vocabulary.

The east coast canines, Shelby & Abby,
belong to my folks and my brother,
respectively.
They are BFFs and salivate
at the mere mention of the word 'ball'.

Lovely, crazypants dogs.