Trying to get back on the Photo Friday Challenge, been a bit of a slacker when it comes to my camera lately. I took this in the spring in my parent's backyard.
- Canon Powershot G5, Photoshop filtered.
My thoughts on whatever passes through my line of sight.
10/31/2005
Photo Friday - Delicate
10/30/2005
Autumn....
I love this time of the year. Many know I'm a winter gal - I'll settle for a blizzard over a heat wave any day. But fall really is a special time - I think because in some ways it's so short, but in others it's very long.
The Autumnal Equinox is on September 22nd and the Winter Solstice December 21st, making the "season" last for three months. But most of the time people think of fall as only until Thanksgiving, then the Christmas rush is all over the place. I'll spend another day talking about how the Christmas rush annoys me, but for now I'm sticking to fall.
I say it's short and long because it's such a transitional season. When you think of fall, often you think of 70 degrees, sunny and all the trees afire in reds, golds and umbers. But that's the short part. I like the variations in fall, the warmer days when the leaves are still green and flowers still blooming. And the later parts that are mistaken for winter when the days are cold and everything has just started to go into hibernation and the trees have become skeletal.
I think part of the reason I love fall is that to me it's a huge time for change, because the season is all about change. This year, change abounds as I am switching jobs, set our wedding date and taking the jersey girl out of jersey. Also, I feel fall really is the "start" of the year for me, partially because I'm used to school years, but also every job I've had has been on a fiscal year that starts in the fall and ends in the spring. So "new" has become synonymous with fall for me. In the past, working on a college campus, I think September really brought that home. I watched the students come back and it made me long for the days when I was excited about buying school supplies, seeing friends after summer break and pulling out sweatshirts from my closet.
Then October hits, and I start closing my windows at night, bring my slippers out from under my bed to keep my toes warm around the house. I get cravings to spend hours in the kitchen...baking muffins, simmering soups and making chili, stews and roasts while the whole house smells like garlic and onions, or cinnamon and apples. We plan camping trips, that occasionally get rained out and send us to the movies instead. I go apple picking, and pumpkin picking and go for hayrides and leaf peeping trips. As I've gotten older, Halloween means less about finding my costume, and more about seeing my niece and "nephews" dressed up. And eventually I put away my sandals, as the first frost covers the lawns, and my car.
Fall is also a great time for melancholy. Although I am a pretty happy and upbeat person, I find that nostalgia, and brooding have their place, and fall is a great time for this. Taking out old photo albums and reminiscing about friendships that have gone awry, family members that have passed away and opportunities missed, while sipping tea and snacking on cheese and breads are great ways to spend the cold rainy days of fall.
The smell of decomposing leaves is one of my favorite smells to this day, and I miss it where we currently live, as my daily outsideness consists of parking lots as opposed to front lawns. But every time I drive and see the leaves changing colors, and smell the crisp air I fall in love.
The Autumnal Equinox is on September 22nd and the Winter Solstice December 21st, making the "season" last for three months. But most of the time people think of fall as only until Thanksgiving, then the Christmas rush is all over the place. I'll spend another day talking about how the Christmas rush annoys me, but for now I'm sticking to fall.
I say it's short and long because it's such a transitional season. When you think of fall, often you think of 70 degrees, sunny and all the trees afire in reds, golds and umbers. But that's the short part. I like the variations in fall, the warmer days when the leaves are still green and flowers still blooming. And the later parts that are mistaken for winter when the days are cold and everything has just started to go into hibernation and the trees have become skeletal.
I think part of the reason I love fall is that to me it's a huge time for change, because the season is all about change. This year, change abounds as I am switching jobs, set our wedding date and taking the jersey girl out of jersey. Also, I feel fall really is the "start" of the year for me, partially because I'm used to school years, but also every job I've had has been on a fiscal year that starts in the fall and ends in the spring. So "new" has become synonymous with fall for me. In the past, working on a college campus, I think September really brought that home. I watched the students come back and it made me long for the days when I was excited about buying school supplies, seeing friends after summer break and pulling out sweatshirts from my closet.
Then October hits, and I start closing my windows at night, bring my slippers out from under my bed to keep my toes warm around the house. I get cravings to spend hours in the kitchen...baking muffins, simmering soups and making chili, stews and roasts while the whole house smells like garlic and onions, or cinnamon and apples. We plan camping trips, that occasionally get rained out and send us to the movies instead. I go apple picking, and pumpkin picking and go for hayrides and leaf peeping trips. As I've gotten older, Halloween means less about finding my costume, and more about seeing my niece and "nephews" dressed up. And eventually I put away my sandals, as the first frost covers the lawns, and my car.
Fall is also a great time for melancholy. Although I am a pretty happy and upbeat person, I find that nostalgia, and brooding have their place, and fall is a great time for this. Taking out old photo albums and reminiscing about friendships that have gone awry, family members that have passed away and opportunities missed, while sipping tea and snacking on cheese and breads are great ways to spend the cold rainy days of fall.
The smell of decomposing leaves is one of my favorite smells to this day, and I miss it where we currently live, as my daily outsideness consists of parking lots as opposed to front lawns. But every time I drive and see the leaves changing colors, and smell the crisp air I fall in love.
10/26/2005
Random thoughts about my home
J and I will be moving soon. But in the meantime, many things have come to a head in our apartment lately that are bugging me on various levels that I need to vent about, so I apologize for an extremely boring post with absolutely no fun news.
The mechanism on one of the outer doors is broken so the door does not automatically shut. We have kids who go in and out that door all the time and leave it open. That's annoying enough as it, cause who wants their "front door" wide open all day, but it really annoys me when the wind picks up and it slams the door open against the metal patio railing over, and over, and over. On Sunday I must have closed the door 4 times.
Today J checked the mail, which I guess we haven't done in a while because there was a "second notice" that our mail was being held by the post office. Since we didn't get the first one, I can only assume that we had too much mail and that was being held too. And the notice was dates Monday, so I guess it's been over a week since we checked mail. Which I'll agree is a long time. But really, what's with the whole "mini group mailbox" thing anymore anyway. Especially because at our front doors there are mailboxes that are not used.
Our heating unit broke. Luckily it hasn't been that cold, and they did give us a pretty good electric heater. But I'm worried that they are going to screw us when it comes to the security. They better not or I'll get cranky.
Luckily it's getting colder so the bee/wasp hive on our patio should be able to be gotten rid of soon. I'll be sure to post video of J attempting to remove it with a fire extinguisher, it's sure to be a blast.
Our dishwasher sucks. End of story.
The mechanism on one of the outer doors is broken so the door does not automatically shut. We have kids who go in and out that door all the time and leave it open. That's annoying enough as it, cause who wants their "front door" wide open all day, but it really annoys me when the wind picks up and it slams the door open against the metal patio railing over, and over, and over. On Sunday I must have closed the door 4 times.
Today J checked the mail, which I guess we haven't done in a while because there was a "second notice" that our mail was being held by the post office. Since we didn't get the first one, I can only assume that we had too much mail and that was being held too. And the notice was dates Monday, so I guess it's been over a week since we checked mail. Which I'll agree is a long time. But really, what's with the whole "mini group mailbox" thing anymore anyway. Especially because at our front doors there are mailboxes that are not used.
Our heating unit broke. Luckily it hasn't been that cold, and they did give us a pretty good electric heater. But I'm worried that they are going to screw us when it comes to the security. They better not or I'll get cranky.
Luckily it's getting colder so the bee/wasp hive on our patio should be able to be gotten rid of soon. I'll be sure to post video of J attempting to remove it with a fire extinguisher, it's sure to be a blast.
Our dishwasher sucks. End of story.
10/13/2005
More News....
So I've announced the new job, but another good thing that just happened. We finally picked a wedding date and location. Thanks goodness, cause if this fell through I think J and I were going to elope and stay at La Mirage (Patti, just for you).
So while it's still a long time away the winter nuptials of J&G will happen in Princeton at the Nassau Inn on January 13th 2007.
Yay - now on to the fun stuff.....like dresses and flowers and seating arrangements!
So while it's still a long time away the winter nuptials of J&G will happen in Princeton at the Nassau Inn on January 13th 2007.
Yay - now on to the fun stuff.....like dresses and flowers and seating arrangements!
10/12/2005
10/10/2005
News...
I've been wanting to post about this for a while, but for reasons most will understand I have not talked about it much.
Today I officially accepted a new job.
First, let me say - YAY! Then, for all those that are curious about the facts, let's just say that it's one of my favorite organizations, and while I'm not changing job skills, I am changing fields. I'll get to travel, have at least 1 person working for me (hoping to expand the department in the future) and, oh yeah, will be relocating to Brooklyn.
So while I am very, very excited, I am sad to leave my current job. There are some exciting things happening now and I do feel a little bit of guilt that I only gave 3 weeks notice. I know, I know, I should not feel guilty because that's what people do, and 3 weeks is longer than many people give, but I have much pride in what I have built up in the past, and the plans that we had for this year. It's a small office, so when a staff member leaves, those programs just drop...as I learned from the multiple maternity leaves. But I have to get over it and realize that the sun will continue to shine and although I'm good, I'm not completely irreplaceable.
So back to YAY. The next few weeks are going to be exciting, and I'm sure to express my rollercoaster of emotions here!
oh, and something I learned this weekend - don't try to make muffins out of a bundt cake recipe - it doesn't work.
Today I officially accepted a new job.
First, let me say - YAY! Then, for all those that are curious about the facts, let's just say that it's one of my favorite organizations, and while I'm not changing job skills, I am changing fields. I'll get to travel, have at least 1 person working for me (hoping to expand the department in the future) and, oh yeah, will be relocating to Brooklyn.
So while I am very, very excited, I am sad to leave my current job. There are some exciting things happening now and I do feel a little bit of guilt that I only gave 3 weeks notice. I know, I know, I should not feel guilty because that's what people do, and 3 weeks is longer than many people give, but I have much pride in what I have built up in the past, and the plans that we had for this year. It's a small office, so when a staff member leaves, those programs just drop...as I learned from the multiple maternity leaves. But I have to get over it and realize that the sun will continue to shine and although I'm good, I'm not completely irreplaceable.
So back to YAY. The next few weeks are going to be exciting, and I'm sure to express my rollercoaster of emotions here!
oh, and something I learned this weekend - don't try to make muffins out of a bundt cake recipe - it doesn't work.
10/04/2005
Serenity and sick days
First, let me just say I hate being sick. My nose is so stuffy right now. And my throat is all scratchy. And I keep getting too hot or too cold. And there's nothing good on tv. I hate being sick.
Ok, now that the moaning is out of the way, I am happy to say that I got my Joss Whedon fix and the opening of Serenity this weekend. Ahh, it was good to be back.
I'll be good and not give away too many surprises, (cause I know all my friends are rushing out to see it, right), but will say that overall I was happy. Good banter, sexy men, cute quips and a decent storyline (although I like the series better cause its "smaller") and for all you men, some sexy women too.
And can I just say, no-one knows how to write such kick a** women as Mr. Whedon. Love it. Makes me wanna go out and start a bar fight.
Ok, now that the moaning is out of the way, I am happy to say that I got my Joss Whedon fix and the opening of Serenity this weekend. Ahh, it was good to be back.
I'll be good and not give away too many surprises, (cause I know all my friends are rushing out to see it, right), but will say that overall I was happy. Good banter, sexy men, cute quips and a decent storyline (although I like the series better cause its "smaller") and for all you men, some sexy women too.
And can I just say, no-one knows how to write such kick a** women as Mr. Whedon. Love it. Makes me wanna go out and start a bar fight.
10/02/2005
A question
Which would you rather do - spend $100 on out of this world chocolates, wine and cheese, which will be gone in a matter of weeks or get a really great pair of shoes that will last you for years to come.
Well if our vacation proves anything, it's wine, cheese and chocolate all the way.
Jack and I got home from a few days up north which led us to a trip into Newburyport, where we were introduced to fabulous cheese shop and spent some cash in a bakery on nut squares, key lime pie and oatmeal/peanut butter cookies. Later in the week we traveled to Portsmouth, NH where we were told our trip would not be complete without a chance at Byrne and Carlson chocolates. Of course, some time at Jewel Towne vineyards was well spent, as we found some delicious wines that seemed just right for the cooler weather that was approaching.
Once home, our annual apple picking day with Christine and boys commenced at Sun High Orchard. Little Jack was a riot this year, with boundless enthusiasm and loving spending time with "Big Jack". And Carter enjoyed his first outing to an apple orchard, even at 6 months. We were spending the night at Chris & Joe's and decided to celebrate fall with some sweet potato ravioli, but the supermarket was out of wonton wrappers, so we improvised and made sweet potato stuffed shells. When little jack climbed up to the table, asked what it was, licked a shell and said "that's delicious", I knew our plan b had succeeded.
And the week off of work was completed with a few hours at Slow Food's bi-annual event, Urban Harvest, where we found some great local foods, including more cheese, some coffee, tea, foccacia and pizza rustica, and maitake mushrooms.
The only bad part of it all - I woke up with a sore throat and beginnings of a cold. I blame little jack, he must have been incubating some plague, as he's now in school. So all the yummy foods we've got will have to wait till my taste buds feel a bit better.
Well if our vacation proves anything, it's wine, cheese and chocolate all the way.
Jack and I got home from a few days up north which led us to a trip into Newburyport, where we were introduced to fabulous cheese shop and spent some cash in a bakery on nut squares, key lime pie and oatmeal/peanut butter cookies. Later in the week we traveled to Portsmouth, NH where we were told our trip would not be complete without a chance at Byrne and Carlson chocolates. Of course, some time at Jewel Towne vineyards was well spent, as we found some delicious wines that seemed just right for the cooler weather that was approaching.
Once home, our annual apple picking day with Christine and boys commenced at Sun High Orchard. Little Jack was a riot this year, with boundless enthusiasm and loving spending time with "Big Jack". And Carter enjoyed his first outing to an apple orchard, even at 6 months. We were spending the night at Chris & Joe's and decided to celebrate fall with some sweet potato ravioli, but the supermarket was out of wonton wrappers, so we improvised and made sweet potato stuffed shells. When little jack climbed up to the table, asked what it was, licked a shell and said "that's delicious", I knew our plan b had succeeded.
And the week off of work was completed with a few hours at Slow Food's bi-annual event, Urban Harvest, where we found some great local foods, including more cheese, some coffee, tea, foccacia and pizza rustica, and maitake mushrooms.
The only bad part of it all - I woke up with a sore throat and beginnings of a cold. I blame little jack, he must have been incubating some plague, as he's now in school. So all the yummy foods we've got will have to wait till my taste buds feel a bit better.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)