Success!

Zach admitted that he likes me being a shutterbug!

Ever since a hiking trip a year ago, I noticed that he gets the same posture now as he did growing up - this impatient "OK, I'm standing here, so take the picture, Crazy Lady with the Camera; we've got places to go and things to do!!" sort of stance. It's in a lot of his teenage pictures at his mom's house. And I started noticing it in the pictures I was taking that hiking trip. And started pointing it out to him too :)

He's definitely the personality that wants to get going, do stuff. "We're hiking, we're not at the top yet, so no need to stop and take pictures" kind of mindset. Like I mentioned back in the Mojave trip posting, mountains call to him - "Stand on me!" So he gets impatient if I do silly things like stop and take pictures as we're making our way to the top. Not rude, but like I said - you see it in his stance.

So, the success? Zach was looking through pictures the other night and admitted that he likes me taking all of them. We've had some interesting trips this summer, and some very pretty shots have come out of it. He said that he likes looking back at the pictures, and is glad I take them all. He still teases me about being the Crazy Lady with the Camera, but at least he knows there's a point to it. Now if only I could get him to smile in pictures more.... :)

Silly things you learn when you live with someone

So, actually living with Zach now that we're married, I'm learning all these silly little things about him that I didn't know before. Lots of little quirks, one of which is actually rubbing off on me:

He doesn't use even numbers on the microwave - no times end in 0 or 5.

32 seconds, fine. 46 seconds, fine. 1:02, just ducky. 1:00, nooooo.

It started as a running joke with two roommates in college. Something about commie spiders, and they'll come and get you if you use round numbers on the microwave. I don't know how it began - honestly, haven't really quite totally understood the story and the commie spiders' origins - they remain shrouded in mystery, as far as I'm concerned. At any rate, it grew and grew, and now here he is, out of college for several years, and still punches in 32 seconds on the microwave.

At any rate, I'm finding myself punching in unusual numbers on the microwave now. The silly things that rub off on one when you actually live with them.... (sigh)

Is this what it's like in a small town?

So, I live on a small post. I'm sure all of you lovely readers realize this by now :)

I'm still getting used to it. Most notably, at the commissary (grocery store on post). I grew up in a big city (well, massively sprawling suburbia), and even where I lived in SC wasn't a big city by any stretch of the imagination, but it was significantly bigger than here. I have yet to get used to going to the grocery store and running into people I know. Every time. I don't think I've had a commissary run yet where I haven't run into someone I know, even if it's only a nodding acquaintanceship.

Last week was a fun commissary run, honestly. Zach and I went last week for a grocery run, and ran into about 15 people I recognized. Seemed like every aisle we walked up, there was someone else we recognized! Several people from both our work places, and a couple coworkers of mine.

As if running into the entirety of the people on post I know wasn't enough, what really made it absolutely ridiculous was the makeover I received from one coworker's 4 yr old. She had just come back from a weekend at her grandmother's, and was well supplied with Kid's Makeup. I commented on her purple nails, and that opened the floodgate :) I ended up having my nails done there in the produce aisle, along with a generous amount of glitter gel spread on my forehead. I luckily escaped the bright pink lipstick, though! It was a very silly interlude in my shopping trip, and if nothing else, let my coworker have a few minutes of supervised 4-yr-old time, to finish her conversation and grab the cucumbers she wanted :) I would've taken a picture of my marvelous manicure, but it was the kid's stuff that peels right off. It had all flaked off by the time I went to bed that night. Oh, well...

One nice thing in the desert

We really realized this when we were camping in the Mojave, and sorting through the pictures recently reminded me of it:

The desert has some absolutely beautiful moments - sunrise and sunset. The rest of the day might be pretty miserable, but sunrise and sunset can be absolutely breathtaking. Here are some pictures to prove it :)

Sunrises:

Sunsets:

And even some closer to home! (These are along the road leading into post; the ones above are from Mojave NP)

Yeah, this is a photo-heavy post, but I really like these pictures. :)

U is for...

Underground!

As in caving! Spelunking! Playin' in da mud in da dark!

(Side note: I can't seem to find the color version of this picture anymore! It always cracks me up though, since I'd taken off my gloves to take a picture, and then they took a picture of me too - as a result, you see my nail polish reflecting in the flash. "Here I am, in a tiny crawl, all muddy, but look at my shiny nails!" Hehehee!)

There's a bunch of cavers in my family. My sister (in the picture above) started in a GS caving program back in middle school, and I soon followed her while I was in high school. And we were hooked. Kept with the program while we were in college, graduating from being girls in the program to being junior staff, all the way up to being full-fledged adults! Leading groups and everything! :) Mom later noticed how much fun we were having in the program, and asked us if she could join too (didn't want to steal our 'weekends away from Mom' if we didn't want her too!). We said we'd share the fun, so she's been coming regularly too.

In college, we helped start up a Grotto near campus. There were grottoes in Richmond and in Virginia Beach (well, Tidewater) but our school was at least an hour's drive from either of them, and making a meeting on a Thursday night with 2+ hours driving was hard for a college kid. So we got with some friends in the Williamsburg/Gloucester area and started up one of our own!

The cavin' fun hasn't died out now that I'm married, either ('course it helps that I married a caver!). Actually met my husband at a regional NSS caving event (a Spring VAR). Started talking then, and 3 1/2 years later, still together :)

Truth be told, there's just something about being underground that gets into your blood. It's just so much fun! There's a great physical challenge aspect to it - "can I climb that rock? can I fit my body through that tiny hole?" It's really a rush, sometimes, realizing what you can push your body to do!

But there's so much beauty underground too. Water moving minerals around underground can create some absolutely beautiful sculptures! Speleotherms (cave formations) are so much more that stalagtites and stalagmites - there are soda straws that are so delicate you can see through them, or look as delicate as spun sugar. Modern art's got nothing on Mother Nature! And the passages themselves can have such variety - tunnels so tiny you can't turn your head, or ones where you're shining your light and can't even see the ceiling it's so high up.

And finally, cavers are some of the best, craziest, most fun people you'll meet! It's a real bonding experience, like good hiking trips or rock climbing. I guess it comes from trusting your safety to these people. This is a group of them at my wedding (see? we DO clean up!) What can I say - they're family!

WIP Wednesday! (well, Thursday, then...)

Long time no WIPS (well, at least not posted!) but here you are!

A couple dishcloths are done, so technically are FOs and no longer WIPs. The dishcloth KAL however, is still a WIP. I'm still not close to catching up, but I'm getting there. I'm determined to at least finish the year on time!! I like Summer Breeze (the one on the right) much better than Lacy Waterfalls (the one on the left). It knit up much more quickly, and took less pattern-following (better TV-watching knitting!) I actually finished it (Summer Breeze) in a single movie - and I'm not the world's fastest knitter, or even anywhere close! Can't see why it's called Summer Breeze however. Maybe because it's a breeze to knit up?

I've been slogging along on the baby blanket. I should have doubled the yarn, I think, but I think it still would have been many many tiny stitches to make a blanket. Since it's a nice gift, I wanted it to be really nice, so I'm just toughing it out, so to speak. It'll probably be a baby's-first-Christmas gift, since I didn't get as much knitting done this summer as I expected (crazy work schedule). Still, the little one will only be a few months old, so will still have plenty of time to enjoy it :)

Finally, I don't think I ever posted this project: my Liesel scarf. This was one of my Ravelympics projects. I finished it in time (my Ravelympics 'medal' is here too!) I then decided to rework the ends of the scarf, to add in some beading so that it would better match Odessa. So, I've new pictures as I re-block it. :) See all the little beads at the end?

PS - I did both Odessa and Liesel in TLC's Cara Mia, which I really like, actually. It's an angora/polyester/rayon blend. Surprisingly nice to work with! I'm very picky about my acrylic blends, and this one was one I wouldn't mind working with again :)

T is for...

Tea!

I was going to do Teddy Bear (as I still have my favorite stuffed animal from childhood sitting on my bedside table) but Zach pointed out that, for me, T is Tea! While debating this idea, we had a cold snap (all the way down to highs in the 60s!) and I was actually able to drink tea again without overheating. And I realized that he was right. Shh - don't tell him :)

I do love my tea. I didn't like hot tea much growing up, but it has grown on me. Especially after discovering so many yummy mint and fruit teas. A good alternative to coffee. My favorite "regular" flavor (not mint varieties, which are my all time favorites) is one I discovered during my summer abroad in Cambridge. Yorkshire Tea (it's the one that provided the two tea tins in the picture up above). I actually picked it up in Cambridge because of that tin - the small green one is covered with pictures of the Peaks in northern England (Yorkshire/Derbyshire area). I'd just spent several weeks in the Peaks, before heading down to Cambridge, so picked up that tea because I liked the tin. Turns out, I like the tea too :) Hard to find in the States, though. Count on me to fall in love with a tea almost impossible to find 'round here! I used to get it from the Cheese Shop in Williamsburg, near W&M. Lots of specialty wines and cheeses and teas there, including my Yorkshire Tea. Still, only small boxes there. So, during our most recent trip to England (2005), my favorite souvenirs were from the grocery store - Penguin Bars and a large box of Yorkshire Tea! :)

My first Christmas gift from Zach was an electric tea kettle. It's still in regular use on my counter - see it in the picture? It's also very good for hot water for chai and coco too!