The Life and Times of Skoticus

Banana Cake Balls

2012-01-18T08:36:00.000-07:00

I've posted about making banana cake balls on Marinade before, but I made a ton more for Laura and Andrew's open house here in Provo. Here's some pictures.

Basically, they are cake balls (cake mixed with frosting), dipped in chocolate, then decorated. For the decorations, I had gold sprinkles, crushed almonds, coconut, ginger, and cocoa. (For the ginger and cocoa decorations, I mixed ginger and cocoa with powdered sugar to take down the strength of those flavors, though I have done ginger straight before, just lightly.)

Also, notice how cool our blue and white mismatched dishes look together!

San Francisco, part 2

2012-01-16T08:29:00.000-07:00

This is the part with frescoes and Filipino food!

SQUIRREL!!

SQUIRREL!!

San Francisco, part 1

2012-01-13T08:25:00.000-07:00

While we were in the Bay Area for Thanksgiving, Kirsten, her uncles and their son, and her mom, and I went into downtown San Francisco for a day. We explored Golden Gate Park, saw some of the sights, and then got Filipino Food at a great little place downtown somewhere. Gusto ko lumpia!

This is the first part of the trip, just through Golden Gate Park.

SQUIRREL!

SQUIRREL!

SQUIRREL!

SQUIRREL!

Thanksgiving Dinner with the Tolands

2012-01-12T08:15:00.000-07:00

Kirsten and I went to the Bay area for Thanksgiving to spend time with her mom's family. Here's some pictures

Cooking adventures.

2012-01-11T08:11:00.000-07:00

Marinade, my cooking blog, is back up and running. Head over there for ice cream recipes, lemonade inspirations, and yummy dinners.

Here's some things I decided not to put on the cooking blog, so I'll put here:

Sweet potato hash: sweeten up your breakfast by adding some sweet potato to your hashbrowns. Adds an extra kick of flavor, and a splash of color.

Heavenly Omlettes, sweet and fluffy, eaten with jam.

This one is a little more complicated, but essentially, you whip the egg whites with some sugar to make a meringue, then fold in the yolks, then grill then bake. It gets really light and fluffy and sweet, and we ate them with homemade jams and it was delicious.

Also, I just want to say that although I love my current apartment, I really miss my old kitchen, with it's large white counters and big windows. My food photography just hasn't been the same since then.

Cookies

2012-01-10T08:11:00.000-07:00

I like em big, I like em chunky.

For big, chunky cookies, bake them in muffin tins, add lots of chocolate, then add oats, nuts, and coconut, or whatever else suits your fancy.

November Gallery Stroll

2012-01-09T08:07:00.000-07:00

This was one gallery along the stroll, an exhibit we liked so much that we even bought some of the art. (One of the benefits of telling you this two months late is that the purchasing of art was a secret, and the piece that Kirsten really really like, that she talked about to everyone for two months, that she kept telling me we should contact the artist to buy from, I had already purchased. It's not pictured here, but if you'd like to see if, feel free to stop by the apartment.)

Halloween with Kirsten's Fam

2012-01-05T08:59:00.000-07:00

Kirsten dressed as Caesar, with the knife in the back. I was Brutus.

Our First Anniversary

2012-01-04T09:14:00.000-07:00

Well, sort of.

Kirsten and I's first date was to the Bean Museum, specifically to a lecture and exhibit they were having about bees.

Exactly a year later, Kirsten and I returned to the Bean Museum and participated in a live Clue game. It was great. We even dressed up. And, we almost won, but when a girl in our group was telling the moderator our accusation, she said the wrong word (Ballroom instead of Billiard Room), and we lost. It was great fun, anyhow. At our table for dinner, and in our group, were two delightful freshman, both were Third Culture kids who grew up in Hong Kong. The guy was awkward and funny, the girl was clever and coy. They were fun dinner companions.

England Abroad Reunion

2012-01-03T09:03:00.000-07:00

Pictures taken from my England Study Abroad reunion, at the Maddens' house.

What to Expect

2012-01-01T21:02:00.000-07:00

Hello all, happy 2012.

I don't even know who reads this anymore, but my stats counter assures me that people actually visit my blog, even daily, though whether that's the same people checking it all the time or just random people getting directed here because they were looking for squirrels (the is, and always has been, the number one reason random people find my blog, generally searching for "cartoon squirrel.")

Anyhow, those of you who actually care, know that I haven't really posted anything since before the wedding, except for a few pictures of the wedding itself. I mean to remedy that a little bit.

Not a lot. I don't know that I will ever get back to the level I had when I was a carefree bachelor, but I still want to blog. And I even have pictures to share, though I've been taking my camera less and less places, knowing that every picture taken is another one to edit, etc. And I have people who are paying me to edit pictures that I haven't finished yet, so I feel a little anxiety working on personal ones. But, I broke out of that anxiety today--largely in part to Kirsten and I both staying home sick today, and editing personal pictures seems a lot like journaling, which is a great Sunday activity, but editing professional pictures is work, so not an option. So, for those of you who care, expect pictures on the blog again, coming soon. I edited all of the pictures (not nearly as many as previous years) from October to mid-December for personal things. It was now or never, since I have two major projects to finish this month, and so will be devoting all my work time to those. Though, after that, I hope that have more time for such artsy things as photography and blogging.

(But, for those of you waiting for your pictures, I am working on those, too. Maddens, yours are done. Andersen's, I'm about 40%. Thomas's, I expect I can get them all or mostly done this week.)

Until the next post, here's some pictures, from a drive Kirsten and I took up Provo Canyon and through the Heber Valley a week after we were married. All but the last few were taken from inside the car. The fall colors were beautiful. The air warm, the drive delightful, the company grand.

Wedding Day Part 4: The Send Off

2011-11-21T14:58:00.001-07:00

These are my favorites of all the pictures, so they get the last and final wedding post. Thanks to Carolyn and Laura for taking such awesome pics.

Wedding Day Part 3: The People

2011-11-19T22:00:00.001-07:00

Again, much thanks to Carolyn Carter and Laura Fox for taking the pictures! We're lucky to have friends with an artistic eyes.

Wedding Day Part 2: Reception Details

2011-11-13T10:05:00.001-07:00

Once again, thanks to Laura Fox and Carolyn Carter for taking the photographs. And thanks to all the amazing people that helped with the decorations! It is at the home of Dan and Lisa Thomas, who have such a wonderful, amazing house.

Wedding Photos Part 1: Brunch/Temple

2011-11-08T15:57:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Laura Fox and Carolyn Carter for taking these photos. (well...I took a couple at the brunch. I couldn't resist a little food photography. Also I did all the photo editing.) Much thanks to friends who are skilled with cameras!

Brunch was at Communal
Ceremony at Provo Utah Temple
Dress made by Shauna Pitcher Andersen
Flowers by Anna Fulton

The Nightlight

2011-10-29T09:29:00.000-06:00

My brother on his bed and me on mine. The nightlight by the window is all that keeps us connected, if the power to were to go off, or if the fuse were to burn out, or if the wind coming through the open window blew the curtains over the light, we'd be separated again, the vast darkness would be a sea between us, an inchartable universe complete with glow-in-the-dark stars above, for neither of us would touch foot on the cold carpet to comfort each other, which neither of us will admit we wanted. Even with the light on we shivered under the covers, but at least we could look at each other shivering under the covers and know that if we succumbed, if the tentacled beast that lived under the bed, or the great ape in the closet, or the three headed wolf behind the curtain were to finally emerge and take their prize, there would be a witness, someone to scream a warning or a eulogy.

Happy Halloween.

Grad School Opening Social

2011-10-14T17:53:00.001-06:00

A few weeks ago, the English grads got together to eat and play games, etc.

Couchsurfing

2011-10-14T17:46:00.002-06:00

I write on my couch, mostly, since mydesk is always so cluttered with crap that I can hardly sit at it.Besides, the desk always ends up getting placed where there is nointeraction with others, and I think that I like the ins and outs ofpeople, the idea of distraction.

My couch used to be in the living roomI shared with my brother, and I'd sit there half writing, halfchecking my email, half going where wikipedia would take me, halfchatting with Kirsten, half hoping my brother and his girlfriendwould come in the door so I'd have someone to talk to, or that maybethe mailman would come, or that I'd think of something good to makefor dinner, anything so that I could get up from the couch and go onsome other errand, for when I am trying to write, it always seemsthat there are other things going on which are more appealing.

James Richardson said “All work isthe avoidance of harder work.”

--I know it's Richardson because I justlooked up the quote, which I thought had actually come from AbrahamLincoln, because he and Ghandi have said almost everything profound.I don't know who Richardson is, so I'm looking him up now: A poet.This quote comes from Vectors, He calls them “ten-secondessays.” Actually, now that I think about it, I think I have readsome of his stuff before.--

You would think that all these otherthings would mean that writing from the couch would never happen,because I would always be so distracted. But the appeal of writing,of course, happens when those big things are happening. When I shouldbe writing my thesis prospectus, I can write an essay instead. When Ishould be writing a seminar paper, I can write a poem or something.Writing there on the couch—in the midst of facebook and email—Ican waste time productively.

The first essay I ever read, though I didn't know it at the time

2011-09-21T10:35:00.000-06:00

I read Anne Morrow Lindbergh's "Sayonara" as a freshman in high school. The textbook and class discussion labeled it short story, of course, but even at the time I knew it was no short story. It has no plot I remember thinking, not as a criticism, but as a sort of revelation. It may have led me to try my own short stories with no plots, which were immense failures (though my high school self was rather fond of them). Why were my attempts failures but "Sayonara" a success? Because it isn't a short story, it is an essay. It meanders not on a sequence of events (though we do have some sequence), but on a word. Yes, there is an occasion for her thoughts--she is leaving the Orient--but her train ride through Japan only serves to get her into her train of thought. I don't remember what it is we talked about in Freshman English when we read this story--I mean essay--but it has stuck with me ever since, and I have thought about it every time I've heard the word sayonara, and even used the word as my own way of saying goodbye for a time right after reading it.

I wish someone had told me it was an essay. I am sure it is not the only essay I read that someone called it a short story, or a personal narrative, a term I don't much care for because it is bland, as are (usually) the thing it describes.

If I had known, all those years ago, that there was this other genre, this ability to think on paper, what wonders I might have discovered so much sooner. The following line has stuck with me all these years, and only now do I recognize it for what it is. It is the beginning of essay:

For sayonara, literally translated, "Since it must be so," of all good-bys I have heard is the most beautiful"

But, then again, Lindbergh herself didn't seem to know what she was writing. I have just taken a quick survey of the rest of the book, everywhere I turn there is the meandering thoughts and the pension for contemplation rather than story. She is clearly essaying, but in her preface (a great essay itself, about the importance of writing) she says:

The anomalous collection of chapters before me, purporting to be an accounting of an air voyage, evades classification, will not fit the conventional standards and measurements, but stands, nameless, awkward and shy, asking to be introduced.

But it's not nameless. It's an essay. That was the word you were looking for, Anne, that was the thing I was looking for, unaware, and only found a few years ago, though I had encountered it, nameless, awkward, and shy, some years previously.

Go read it for yourself, The link to the essay is above, and here is a link to the book, Anne Morrow Lindbergh's North to the Orient.

Celebration of Friendship / 1

2011-09-20T15:08:00.002-06:00

Inthe suburbs of Havana, they call a friend myland or myblood.

InCaracas, a friend is mybread or mykey, bread asin baking, the source of wholesome bread for the hunger of the soul,and key for...

Keyfor key -Mario Benedetti tells me.

AndI realized that when I lived in Buenos Aires, in the times of terror, hehad five strange keys on his key chain; five keys to the five houses offive friends; the keys of salvation.

(Translated from The Book of Embraces, by Eduardo Galeano. I did the translation myself...with the help of Google Translator. Also, I took a few grammatical liberties. Also, I only kind of speak Spanish.)

Writing Retreat, Part 2

2011-09-19T14:00:00.000-06:00

More pictures from the writing retreat. See part one on the {other post}

The hike on the second day was only supposed to be about 3 miles. We decided to see where the canyon went, and it was a little over 9 miles. An awesome hike, though.

It was lots of fun. I love retreating.

Writing Retreat, Part 1

2011-09-19T13:48:00.002-06:00

Two weekends ago, I went on a writing retreat with the MFA program. Lots of good food, lots of good hiking, lots of great scenery, lots of great friends. Some examples of the writing I did there will come eventually (it's not genius, but it was fun.)

See more pictures on the {other post}

Radio Silence

2011-09-13T13:59:00.000-06:00

I've moved into the new apartment.

They're no internet there, not yet.
I can't find my phone charger, so the phone is dead.

If you need to contact me, good luck.

Karma

2011-09-08T14:54:00.001-06:00

I found my sunglasses.

See, I told you they'd show up.

Why I'm not blogging

2011-09-06T19:42:00.002-06:00

I know I haven't blogged in a while, and I don't really apologize for that. But, to remedy the situation (and to explain why blogging has more or less come to a standstill) let me give you a brief update.

1. I am teaching this semester. That isn't really anything new, since I've been teaching for the last year (except for while I was in England). This semester is getting off to a rocky start and I think my students think I am a bit scattered brained. Well, let's be honest, I am a bit scatter brained.

2. I am in the slow process of moving. I can move into my new apartment--the one Kirsten and I will be living in together after we get married--this week, but the person who took my spot in my current house moved in a while ago, so I've been half packed and living in Little Brother's room for these last weeks. But I haven't really had the energy to pack. So my clothes are half packed. My bookshelf is slightly more than half packed. My kitchen stuff is at least piled together, and my office just has all the stuff I haven't wanted to pack yet piled haphazardly inside of it.

3. I haven't been taking my camera with me anywhere. I have customers' stuff I still need to get to, and so I feel both too guilty and too overwhelmed to even consider adding personal photo projects to the mix. The exception being that I am doing a photo story in conjunction with one of my classes. I took the photos last week. I have looked through them on my camera once, but I haven't done anything else with them. Those will be on the blog once I get to them, which will, undoubtedly, be the night before the project is due. [Thanks to all those who helped!]

4. I can't find my sunglasses. Haven't seen them in at least a week. The truth is this isn't unusual, and I trust in the good karma of sunglasses that I will find them somewhere while I am moving. I have a feeling that they are under my pile of unpacked laundry.

5. The word laundry just reminded me of the laundry I used in the Lake District, where a nice old English grandmother showed me how to use the machines and even gave me a pound to finish my load when my clothes weren't quite dry and I didn't have any more change on me. That was nice of her.

6. I am also the assistant for the Reading Series. This means that I have been in communication with various authors who are going to be visiting campus; I've been getting rides for them, arranging for meals, making sure there are refreshments during their book signings. It's been a good experience, but an exercise in organization that is straining my not-too-great abilities anyhow. I'm getting the hang of it, and I have a feeling that next semester I'd handle it almost seamlessly. The good news is that BYU's travel agency didn't even flinch when I called them back to let them know that I'd booked an author's flight for the entirely wrong weekend. Also, the agent seemed genuinely pleased (with me, maybe?) when I informed her that the author would be staying with relatives, so he didn't need a hotel room.

7. I got a Graduate Fellowship. Which means I've been given a lot of money to work on my thesis. Like, a lot of money. I am genuinely pleased about this, and have been trying not to be too smug. Especially because I was going to work on my thesis anyway, right, so it's like I'm getting rewarded ridiculously well to do what I was already doing because I just love doing it. I have a feeling that I am going to make way more money writing essays as a student than I even will writing them professionally.

8. I'm really excited for a research project I am going to be doing (and getting paid a little for, too, speaking of money) that will involve Boy Scouts, essays, and writing conferences. Basically, I am designing an essaying merit badge. Won't that be fun? The good news is that since we're not actually doing it through the Boy Scouts you'll be able to get the merit badge even if you've over 18. (I don't say even if you're a girl, because it is technically possible for a girl to be in the Boy Scouts and thus get merit badges. She could even get her Eagle. Once a girl is 16 she could join an Explorer Scout Troup, which isn't (theoretically) sex biased, and if she worked really hard, could get her Eagle before her 18 birthday, which is the cut off.) And you know what would be better than merit badges? Merit badgers.

9. I'm engaged to be married. Which means planning and planning, and talking, and arranging schedules, and discussing minor details, and then planning again. Sometimes it's hard to remember that most of these plans are only for a two-hour party, and I start to wonder why we really care that much about table lengths and cake tiers and the color of ribbons. But sometimes I catch the whole vision, and really, truly, Kirsten and I are going to have a BEAUTIFUL and fun reception, and the wedding day is going to be perfect, and I am so excited for the temple and for that awesome two-hour party that follows, because I know that even though that two-hour party will be what most people will be going to, but what we're all celebrating is union, a union made eternal in the temple. And I am really, really, really thankful for the people who are helping, the people who sometimes overload us with details, because even though we try to trick ourselves into not caring, we do care and we're so pleased that it's going to be awesome.

10. I'm taking two classes. An essay workshop and a fiction workshop. They're awesome, I am already stretching my abilities a bit, but the classes come with their own workload, and it's a lot, but not more than I can handle.

And that's why I haven't been blogging.

Dreamland

2011-08-24T08:30:00.001-06:00

Last night, in my dream, I forgot that my mom was dead.

A friend--an unnamed, anonymous friend even in the dream--and I were sitting on a lawn in front of some town houses and people kept coming out of the doors, disturbing our conversation. Eventually, my mom came out of one of the doors, dressed in a white nightgown and robe. She didn't really say anything to me, just sort of smiled and waved, letting me know she saw me before going back inside. My friend then asked what it had been like when my parents separated, the assumption in today's world being that they are divorced. But I couldn't remember. There hadn't been any fighting, no arguments, no disagreements at all that I could tell. My parents were incredibly happy, and then one day my mom just left. But I couldn't remember why, or what it had been like. I spent several dream minutes trying to remember why she was gone.

It wasn't until I woke up that I remembered the details of real life, remembered the last time I spoke with my mom, remembered her in the hospital, remembered the funeral, remembered that I had visited her grave not more than two weeks ago. Remembered that she and my dad are not separated, but bound by eternal power.

And I started to wonder if deep down, maybe in our eternal parts, we don't really believe anyone is dead. How can we? How can we truly fathom death when there is a part of us that will never die? In waking mortality, death seems all too real, and the danger of an end is always imminent. But really, those who have left are just behind a different door, a door we've yet to enter, but surely will.

A Study in Cantaloupe

2011-08-21T07:56:00.000-06:00

Kirsten and I have been getting the Bountiful Baskets, where you get a huge basket of fruits and veggies once a week. People have told me that it is too much to each, which is true if you are feeding yourself, but with two people who eat mostly fresh fruit and veggies it is quite nice, though still bountiful.

The thing I like the most about it is that it gets me ingredients I like but don't like well enough to actually buy, like egg plant or cantaloupe. Well, I loved the baba ganoush I made with the eggplant and the cantaloupe was so sweet and juicy.

I also took like 100 pictures of it.

Picnic

2011-08-18T08:05:00.000-06:00

The Lopez Brother reunion.

I am contractually obligated to get a picture of Logan eating. Usually it's a hamburger, but that wasn't an option this time.

Top 100 Sci-Fi Fantasy

2011-08-16T19:38:00.002-06:00

Apparently, the cool thing to do is post this list of NPR's top 100 science fiction and fantasy books, then post which ones I've read. So, here goes.

BOLD- I've read the whole book/series
ITALICS- I read at least one book in the series, but not all of them.

1. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
2. The Hitchhiker's Guide the the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
3. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
4. The Dune Chronicles by Frank Herbert
5. A Song of Ice and Fire Series by George R.R. Martin
6. 1984 by George Orwell
7. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
8. The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov
9. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
10. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
11. The Princess Bride by William Goldman
12. The Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan
13. Animal Farm by George Orwell
14. Neuromancer by William Gibson
15. Watchmen by Alan Moore
16. I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
17. Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein
18. The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss
19. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
20. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
22. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
23. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
24. The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King
25. 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
26. The Stand by Stephen King
27. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
28. The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
29. Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
30. The Sandman Series by Neil Gaiman
31. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
32. Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein
32. Watership Down by Richard Adams
33. Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey
34. The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein
35. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
36. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
37. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
38. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keys
39. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
40. The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny
41. The Belgariad by David Eddings
42. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
43. The Mistborn Series by Brandon Sanderson
44. Ringworld by Larry Niven
45. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin
46. The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien
47. The Once and Future King by T.H. White
48. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
49. Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke
50. Contact by Carl Sagan
51. The Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons
52. Stardust by Neil Gaiman
53. Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
54. World War Z by Max Brooks
55. The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
56. The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
57. Small Gods by Terry Pratchett
58. The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever by Stephen R. Donaldson
59. The Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold
60. Going Postal by Terry Pratchett
61. The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
62. The Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind
63. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
64. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
65. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
66. The Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist
67. The Shannara Trilogy by Terry Brooks
68. The Conan the Barbarian Series by R.E. Howard
69. The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb
70. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
71. The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
72. A Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
73. The Legend of Drizzt Series by R.A. Salvatore
74. Old Man's War by John Scalzi
75. The Diamond Age by Neil Stephenson
76. Rendezvous With Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
77. The Kushiel's Legacy Series by Jacqueline Carey
78. The Dispossessed by Ursula K. LeGuin
79. Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
80. Wicked by Gregory Maguire
81. The Malazan Book of the Fallen Series by Steven Erikson
82. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
83. The Culture Series by Iain M. Banks
84. The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart
85. Anathem by Neal Stephenson
86. The Codex Alera Series by Jim Butcher
87. The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe
88. The Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn
89. The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldan
90. The Elric Saga by Michael Moorcock
91. The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury
92. Sunshine by Robin McKinley
93. A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
94. The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov
95. The Mars Trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson
96. Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
97. Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
98. Perdido Street Station by China Mieville
99. The Xanth Series by Piers Anthony
100. The Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis

So...not that many. But, looking at the list, I see lots of books that I really enjoyed, in fact, some of my very favorite books ever. I used to read science fiction and fantasy all the time. I used to write it all the time. As I've been looking at the slim pickings for essay PhDs, and as I've realized how unlucrative essay writing is, I am thinking I could get back into writing some SF&F. I already have one complete manuscript just sitting on my computer, wasting away now that I have heard back with rejections from all the publishers I sent it to. I have several other good starts of stories on the computer, too, and I've got lots of good ideas. I could write novels. I've read some that were worse than the ones I've written. I could do this.

What I don't have is the time. But I think I could make the time, if I really wanted to. Do I really want to?

Also, I really love essays. They make me a better person for writing them. And right now my writing time is for essays, and I don't really feel sad about that, just...just that there's always so much that could be done, and so little time to do it all.

Wide Angle Improv

2011-08-16T16:05:00.000-06:00

I put two lenses together and got a wide angle. Here's some silly photos that resulted.

Miscellaneous

2011-08-16T04:07:00.000-06:00

Just something to fill the time.

Squirrel of the Week

2011-08-10T13:13:00.000-06:00

If your power has gone out recently, you might want to see if you have squirrels in your area.

And why do they love chewing on power cables so much? Turns out that cables are greased with peanut oil.

Get the scoop {here}

Getting Ideas

2011-08-05T08:31:00.001-06:00

Planning a wedding is both fun and tiring.

But one thing I know: Our reception is going to be awesome.

I feel a little bad for photographing other people's photographs and posting it here...but I think this confession should count foe something, right? Just know that none of the magazine photos are mine. We're just using them to plan the wedding, which is their intent, right?

Downtown Denver

2011-08-04T08:28:00.000-06:00

Just a little walk down 16th Street.

Making Dinner

2011-08-03T08:25:00.000-06:00

Joetta and Brandon made us a delicious pasta dish. I made the wedge salad, recipe will be on Marinade.

Squirrel of the Week

2011-08-02T19:42:00.002-06:00

I love this band, and I love this song.

Thanks to Tana for the suggestion.

The Storm/Model Home

2011-08-02T08:22:00.002-06:00

Kirsten's step-dad is a builder. So we stopped by one of his model homes to see what he's been up to. There was a pretty awesome storm going on at the time, as well.

Family Pictures and Lunch

2011-08-01T08:13:00.000-06:00

Lunch the next day:

Littleton Museum

2011-07-31T08:14:00.002-06:00

I'm rather fond of museums.

And then lunch afterwards.

Road Trip

2011-07-30T08:10:00.000-06:00

Kirsten and I went to Colorado. Here's a recap of the drive, or rather, a recap of the one stop we made along the way. The rest of the time we were discussing wedding plans in our large, black book of wedding secrets.

It's going to be awesome.

Random

2011-07-29T20:10:00.000-06:00

Three of my favorite people and I. (Laura's in the reflection).

Registered

2011-07-29T08:09:00.000-06:00

The happy couple is registered at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

Let's be honest. Registering was a lot more fun than I thought it would be. So many kitchen gadgets that I can play with! I mean, that WE can play with!

Letterboxing Adventures

2011-07-27T22:22:00.000-06:00

Letterboxing is like geocaching, but more low-tech, more artsy, and more of a scavenger hunt. It is a hobby I started a few years ago, took a few years off, and then Logan and I planned an activity for the ladies. We found four letterboxes in the Provo Canyon area. If you would like to find out more about letterboxing, check out letterboxing.org

We made our own stamps:

Things I Like:

2011-07-26T19:54:00.001-06:00

(in no particular order)

Cinnamon roll centers
Pedestrian bridges

Taking pictures of textures

Old books with interesting covers

Wading in rivers

Leftovers
Queen-sized beds

Angry Birds
My future in-laws
Vegetarian pizzas
Cookbooks with lots of pictures
Kirsten

Ice Cream and Second Ice Cream

2011-07-22T08:52:00.000-06:00

One of the traditions our group started in England was "Second Ice Cream," which, like Second Breakfast, is the second ice cream meal. Well, of course, if you're going to have Second Ice Cream, you have to have First Ice Cream, the favorite being Ice Cream for Breakfast.

Well, for our first study abroad reunion, we had a Second Ice Cream Party, which meant that before going you had to have some ice cream first. While the coconut ice cream we'd made for the party was chillen in the ice cream maker, Kirsten and I made ginger beer floats:

And then we went to the party and had second ice cream and hung out with my England peeps:

Thrift Stores and Carnival Rides

2011-07-21T08:45:00.000-06:00

Two Saturdays ago, Kirsten and I went to antique stores to look for random stuffs. I found this old goat, which I've named Joe (and in, navaJo). We're fast friends.

I also got some old books, one of which I love.

After exploring those, we went to a carnival in American Fork. The goal was to ride the Ferris Wheel, since Kirsten had never been on a one before.

But, we thought that since we were there, we should go an another ride. So we went of this thing:

It is just a loop...you go backwards and forwards, then round and round, then the other way round and round then back and forth. Well...I got so sick I had to sit down for a half hour before I could walk, and even the sight of the Ferris wheel made me nauseous. I didn't throw up, but I would have if I had eaten anything recently. So we pawned off our extra tickets and went home, and I had a migraine for several days after and Kirsten still hasn't been on a Ferris wheel.

Mazza

2011-07-20T08:41:00.000-06:00

Kirsten and I went to Mazza in Salt Lake. It is an amazingly delicious Middle Eastern food. She got a chicken schwarma, and I got a labneh sandwich, perfect for summer because it had light veggies and fresh mint inside. We also got a side of baba ganooj. Also, I got what I think was probably the BEST limeade I have ever had: lime juice, seltzer water, and orange blossom water. A little tangy, not too sweet.

We ate out on the porch, and it was perfect.

Happy Birthday Laura

2011-07-18T08:34:00.000-06:00

My good friend Laura had a birthday party a few weeks back. It was rocking because she is awesome and the bestest hostess ever.

Summer is here.

2011-07-17T10:34:00.000-06:00

I'd forgotten how much I love summer light.

Pledge, Squirrel of the Week

2011-07-15T07:27:00.000-06:00

I was just looking through some of the old files on my blog and had two thoughts:

1) Wow! My pictures have improved. It's almost embarrassing to look at what I used to think were great pictures well edited. Oh well, at least things are better now.

2) More so, I miss the squirrel of the week posts. So, in the spirit of rejuvenation and getting back to your roots, I vow to keep up the squirrel of the week things again. So, send me your cute pictures, your acorn laden rodents, your cartoon warriors. Whatever. We're starting up again, starting right now.

Here's a video that I got sent MORE THAN ONCE! last week. You people are all so nice to send me stuff I hardly even get anything once. It is great.

But, better than that video is this crazy's commentary on the video.

Second-Hand Mercy

2011-07-10T07:53:00.002-06:00

The new Deseret Industry campaign slogan is "Give stuff a second chance." Kirsten and I were talking about the slogan the other day, how we thought it especially appropriate since they are selling second-hand stuff, but also because DI frequently hires people who need second chances. I think we're (Kirsten and I) just the type of people that those sort of campaigns speak to, though, because we're both fans of old stuff, and Kirsten (though I'm trying harder these days, and learning from her) also is the type to look towards other people, and see in them the goodness passed their faults.

Yesterday Kirsten and I made a day of visiting antique shops and yard sales, in the age old practice of giving stuff a second chance. Antique stores, of course, focus on giving beautiful tings another chance, but sometime you see a really beat up old chair or couch or window, or whatever, but still, there is old stuff everywhere. Stuff that is scratched, bent, crooked, ripped, torn, folded, rolled, dusty, dusty, dusty, but with a certain eye you can see how with some polish, or with some time, or even if just carefully placed in a different setting, the thing becomes beautiful.

The point of this little essay is mercy, and I am using old "stuff"--stuff that is passive, stuff that needs our intervention--as the metaphor, despite the fact that the people who need our mercy most aren't always passive and aren't necessarily waiting for our intervention, because I have realized over the last few days that our extending of mercy is an active thing, something that we actively bestow upon those around us. True, we will have the most opportunities to be merciful when there are people asking for it, but still it is our active effort that gives it.

King Benjamin said rightly when he accused me of thinking "The man has brought upon himself his misery, therefore I will stay my hand," and when I read those passages earlier this week I was struck to the heart with guilt. I remember once having gotten the 10 Taco/Burrito deal at Taco Bell with my dad. We had a long drive home from LA, and those were to be our lunch on the drive. Just before we got on the freeway, I saw a man with a sign asking for food. I didn't give him any of our tacos, though I really felt like I should have. I rationalized that we were a big family, and that we were going to share whatever was left with my siblings. A few days later, when the extra burritos had gone soft and moldy in the fridge, I felt a sense of guilt that has not left me since. And recently I have been searching, too, for some mercy, and am beginning to realize that though God will offer me mercy, there are other hands which must do so as well, mortals here who's goodwill and love I would have but who must also have mercy.

One of the books I got at the antique store in Salt Lake is I Shall Mingle: Essays and Poems, by Charles Doss, who wrote the book while he was on death row. I haven't been able to find out why he was there, but I assume it must have been for murder or rape, or some other hideously grotesque crime, but words of Love and compassion have stuck me as profoundly true. I have no idea what his crime was, only that he was found wanting by his peers, and I have no idea what his reward is after this life and I thank God that I do not have to judge such things.

One of the poems in Doss's book that struck me the most, that hooked me and kept me reading his entire book until late in the night, is thus:

Upon the one hand
There is ghastly, ghastly death
Where I shall taste ignominy
And make an end to earth.

But that is upon one hand.

Upon the other hand
There is a sweet and burbling rivulet
That washes all my fears away
And cools my seething heart.

O God! my gentle, caring God!
I beg of Thee Thy other hand.

Surprisingly, for a man on death row, this poem stands out in its fear; most of his essays and poems are filled with reassurance though they are all pleas for Love (I capitalize it because Doss does). Doss needed most the mercy of the Lord, of course, but I think he also wanted the mercy of his peers, not that he expected to be let free (his death sentence eventually became life in prison), but he didn't want to be hated. King Benjamin's address comes to mind again: "Are we not all beggars?" Yes, we all see the hands of justice and mercy before us.

And so, as I have been thinking about mercy, about how I can attain such mercy as I need to "cool my seething heart," I have realized that the way to attain it is to be the other hand. That while Christ has offered his hand of mercy to all who will repent, we can offer a second hand of mercy free of judgement. And that as we are the second hand, we become one with the first, which is what Christ meant when he said "if you have done it unto the least of these, my brethren, you have done it unto me."

So that's what I'll be working on.

My other favorite poem in the book, title "A Wish":

I wish the fall would not arrive
Just yet -
I need a bit more time to pay
My debt.
I wish the meadows would not turn
To flame -
I wish encroaching snowfalls would
Not come -
Nor birds forsake the glen
Nor icy winds begin
For I'm without a scarf to wrap my heart.

Badminton in the Park

2011-07-09T08:27:00.000-06:00

And that's that.

The Parade

2011-07-08T08:03:00.000-06:00

As I said yesterday, Kirsten's house was on the parade route, so we had some great seats. I've never actually gone to the Parade before because I always thought that I thought it would be boring. Well, it wasn't high art or anything, but I had fun in spite of myself. I am something of a people watcher, and the Parade is just an exercise in corporate-sponsored people watching, where we place some of the extraordinary people in our community on brightly decorated pedestals. I entertained myself during the parade by taking pictures and also cheering really loudly for local politicians that I'd never heard of or knew nothing about. Either way, I'm not a registered Utah voter, so my cheers for them didn't really matter, but it was still great to watch their reactions. They would always turn really quickly and smile at us. Got to please the masses. Actually, the cheers for the Mayor of Provo was real. I don't really know a ton about him, but I always see him at community events and I like that he goes to them.

People camp out the night before to get a good spot in the parade. It's like there are a hundred block parties going on. People have some pretty sweet set-ups, and there are people cooking breakfast everywhere, and people playing in the street, and fireworks going off all night. It is a cool tradition.

Kirsten's cousin John is in this band. He's the tenor drummer.

Freedom Festival

2011-07-07T07:56:00.000-06:00

The Freedom Festival was right across the street from Kirsten's place, which meant it was a nice walk there, we had great seats for the parade, and it was difficult to find parking near her place for a while. Fun times, though.

We got a Navajo Taco. I think the people serving it were even Navajos, which was great. Pretty good, though very hard to cut with tiny knife and forks.

We listened to this band set up for fifteen minutes. Then, during their first song the generator gave out, so we never got more than a few strains of "Tequila" out of them.

She's pretty.

We had GREAT seats for the fireworks. We were right by the Marriott Center, on the hill by the baseball field. Serious, it was like being right under the fireworks. Also, there were some nice people there who shared their sweets with us.

The only problem with out location were that there were some poles in the way. But serious, one of the best places to watch the fireworks ever.

Rooftop Concert

2011-07-06T07:53:00.000-06:00

The first Friday of every month is the gallery stroll, but also the Provo Rooftop Concert series. This last weekend they had all the best local artists, or representatives from favorite local bands, sing through all of the Abbey Road album. It was quite the fun times. Honestly, I was singing along the whole time, and it was all so well done. Plus, I was sitting with some lovely ladies the whole time.

The Last Day

2011-07-03T08:33:00.000-06:00

On the last day in London I met up with some old friends. First I had lunch with Kimber, who now lives in London. We had a great chat and some good food. Then, I found Aaron and Elena. Aaron being one of the Lopez Brothers, my freshman roommate, and one of my best friends in this wide world. He and Elena were on their way back from South Africa, where'd they'd been living for the last year and a half.

And that's the end of my study abroad pictures.

Greenwich

2011-07-02T20:28:00.000-06:00

Where the world begins.

Noon at Greenwich! I guess I'm a nerd, but I found that exciting.

A false balance is an abomination to the Lord
But a just weight is his delight

Everyone was totally copying me on the foot thing...

Camden Market

2011-07-02T12:24:00.000-06:00

This place was a maze of t-shirts, nick-knacks, and random junk.

Tower of London

2011-07-02T08:21:00.000-06:00

In the morning, Tower of London, that night: Wicked.

Steps of St. Paul

2011-07-01T20:12:00.000-06:00

Feed the birds, tuppence a bag.

"Share ice cream?!"

I snuck that one picture above of the inside...but we were allowed to take pictures from the roof! So fun.

London Center

2011-07-01T12:02:00.000-06:00

The London Center is the home of BYU's other study abroad. They live in posh luxury...and they were nice enough to let us use their kitchen a few times.

I didn't actually take most of these pictures, as Amy and others got a hold of my camera and played with it for the evening. I did however act as editor for them, in both senses of the word.

I took the first few, though honestly I don't remember where my pictures end and their's begin.

Portobello Road and House of Parlament

2011-07-01T08:51:00.003-06:00

Street where the riches of ages are stowed, where everything and anything a chap can unload is sold on the boroughs of Portobello Road.

Hampton Court, Misc London

2011-06-30T20:44:00.000-06:00

Hampton Court was Henry VIII's palace on the outskirts of London. Very pretty, as one would expect of the man who stripped all the churches of their gold and jewels.

Here's just a bunch on London stuff...since lots of places didn't allow pictures inside and obviously I wouldn't take pictures during a play...here is some misc. stuff.

Mango Coconut Rice Adventure

2011-06-30T08:41:00.000-06:00

Cooking at our hostel was something of a challenge, as their kitchen was limited to say the least. But, we still managed a bit. Thanks to the ingenuity of Tana, Amy, and Pato, the four of us enjoyed a delicious treat.

Jubilee Market, Shakespeare's Globe

2011-06-29T20:34:00.000-06:00

On one day we did a "Shakespeare Walk" seeing places where he had done stuff. We ended up near the Globe Theatre, where we saw "Much Ado About Nothing". We also explored the Jubilee Market, where we got some delicious lunch and brownies.

These were, perhaps, the best brownies I have ever had in my life. SO. GOOD.

Inner Temple

2011-06-29T08:30:00.001-06:00

This is where all the lawyers were, where Shakespeare once performed for Queen Elizabeth, and--most importantly--where Charles Lamb lived and wrote.

Charles Lamb's place of residence...though this is where the building used to be, as the original was destroyed by enemy action in the war.

VonTrap BBQ

2011-06-28T14:36:00.000-06:00

I interrupt the steady flow of England pictures to bring you...my real life.

Here are some pictures from the Von Trap family BBQ, which was held especially in honor of those who are leaving for grand adventures outside of Utah. It's coming to the end of most of our Utah days...and so we bid adieu. But seriously, I have the best group of friends in the whole world. And the most good looking ones, too.

London, Day 1

2011-06-28T08:44:00.000-06:00

Most of the places in London don't really let you take pictures inside, so the first day of London, when Jon-Michael, Bentley, and I just wandered around has the most pictures. Also, one of the most memorable days. Lots of fun.

We didn't feel like going inside the Guard Museum, so we just went to the gift shop, which was a super sweet miniature museum of its own.

We ended up at the Imperial War Museum. Pretty great exhibits, some of them completely heart wrenching. I took the early exit on the Holocaust exhibit.

A Day In Bath

2011-06-28T08:36:00.000-06:00

Basically, we just ate the whole time: Sally Lunn Buns, Ice Cream, Second Ice Cream. That's right...second ice cream. It was a tradition we started.

Bentley got very pooped on by a bird. It must have been holding it in for a while...

Romans Baths, Bath

2011-06-27T20:32:00.000-06:00

Tintern Abbey

2011-06-27T08:24:00.001-06:00

Famous before, but certainly noteworthy now, for Wordsworths poem about the place. Also famous because I've been there.

Leaving Wales

2011-06-26T20:22:00.000-06:00

...was quite the adventure. We went several miles BACKWARDS on the bus, because the roads were so narrow we couldn't turn around after discovering we were too large to go through a gate. We made one car driver pretty upset, a lot of bikers rather jovial, and we also were slowed down by a duck. Several bridges were down that day, and we drove an extra hour at least to get to where we were going.

Hiking in Wales

2011-06-26T08:15:00.000-06:00

A small group of us decided to hike up in the mountains. We got thoroughly lost. Or rather, we knew exactly where we were and where we needed to get to, but the trails shown on our map were not the same as the trails on the ground. We bushwacked through a VERY dense forest at the end of this hike...got some good scrapes and some good laughs. Eventually we made it home, though, just in time for tinfoil dinners and s'mores!

Waterfalls, Wales

2011-06-25T20:10:00.000-06:00

We spent two nights in Wales, which gave us a full day to explore a Welsh national forest. These waterfalls were amazing, also poetry inspiring, as some famousish poet lived in the area and wrote about them.

Glastonbury Abbey

2011-06-25T08:01:00.000-06:00

Possibly the burial site of Arthur and Guinevere. Maybe. Cool either way.

The first few are taken with my funky plastic lens. Love that thing, especially for what it did to the lavender below.

Boscastle

2011-06-24T20:54:00.000-06:00

I didn't take many pictures at Boscatle, and even these ones were an afterthought, taken the morning we were leaving. Boscastle was, however, one of the most memorable nights of the trip. Since there wasn't enough room in the small hostel there, a few of us stayed at a hotel down the street. Every Wednesday a group of local folk singers gather at the pub connected to the hotel and sing. It's not even open mike, because there is no mike, people just sit at their table and when one song ends someone else just starts singing. People brought instruments and would join in. During one song someone was singing, someone else suddenly ran into the kitchen and grabbed some spoons and started playing them perfectly to go along with the song. When the song finished the singer turned to the spooner and said thanks, and the spoon guy said "It just needed spoons." Stuff like that happened all night. People joined in singing at the chorus, especially, of every song. It was so fun. There are no pictures of that event for two reasons: 1) I didn't want to miss anything by going back to the room to get the camera, and 2) taking pictures would have made it a tourist attraction, and I really just wanted it to be real life, because it was for so many people. They have been singing there every Wednesday for at least ten years. They even met in the parking lot everyweek when I major flood closed down a lot of the town a few years back. Fantastic.

I have no idea what everyone was looking and pointing at.

Pasties and Hike to Boscastle

2011-06-24T08:47:00.000-06:00

In Tintagel we got some Cornsish pasties. Delicious. They pack so much into those little pastries. SO delicious, too. We make these at home all the time, and watching them I realized that I certainly have a lot to learn.

Then we hiked/walked along the coast to a small town called Boscastle. Just so people could see how BEAUTIFUL this hike was, I did ABSOLUTELY NO color adjustments on the landscape pictures below. This is just the color it was. (The portrait pictures are obviously changed)

Merlin's Cave

2011-06-23T20:34:00.002-06:00

This cave, supposedly, was where Merlin lived for a while. Pretty cool. The cave went under the cliffs on which Tintagel stood. The cave was open on both ends, which made for some really dramatic lighting. Pretty neat. Luckily it was low tide when we went through, otherwise we'd have been swimming.

Tintagel

2011-06-23T08:34:00.000-06:00

Legendary birthplace of King Arthur. West Coast of England, in Cornwall.

Aw...funny faces!

Thomas Hardy's House and Ninja Destruction

2011-06-18T08:46:00.000-06:00

This is where Thomas Hardy grew up. We walked around the cottage for a bit, and then played Ninja Destruction in the lawn for over an hour.

Jon also taught us a super-silly game called "Bunny Bunny" which several of the locals literally shook their heads at.

Thomas Hardy's Church

2011-06-17T16:00:00.000-06:00

Well, not his. But his heart is buried there. Yeah, just his heart.

Jurassic Coast

2011-06-17T09:40:00.000-06:00

Hiked from Lulworth Cove to Weymouth. Great hike.

The Cavalier was carved into the cliff in the 1600s during the Civil War. Pretty neat.

This was the only picture I took in Weymouth. The city itself didn't leave much of an impression, though I got some good fish n chips there. This is us leaving the city...

Lulworth Cove

2011-06-16T15:34:00.002-06:00

This place was awesome. Also, pirates used to hang out there.

I took some pictures through Emily's sunglasses.

Country Walk

2011-06-16T09:16:00.000-06:00

One of the crazy things about this trip is that sometimes, we had no idea where we were. I mean, the directors did, but the rest of us didn't. We just got off the bus where we were told to, and got on it again when we were told to. This is one of those days. I have no idea where we hiked, but we hiked it for ten miles. The bus dropped us off on one end, and picked us up at the other. It was my favorite hike of the trip and I don't even know where it was.

One of my favorite things about England is the system of public footpaths. We walk through hills, fields, farms, small towns, old ruins. I love it so much.

Like I said, I don't know where we were...but we ended up here. It was pretty cool. The place is called Milton's Abbey, and there is a small church on the hill near it named St Catherine's.

Stourhead Gardens

2011-06-15T15:05:00.000-06:00

If you recognize this place, you've been watching Jane Austin movies. Or you're clairvoyant. Or you've been there. I guess there's a couple of reasons why you might recognize it.

Stonehenge

2011-06-15T09:32:00.000-06:00

First a note: I'm a little behind on these posts...we actually went to Stonehenge at the end of May. In order to catch up, especially since the program is essentially over at this point, I might be posting two or more a day. Otherwise, this blog will continue to be a travel blog long after I have gotten home.

Okay, now back to our regularly scheduled program. I am pretty sure Stonehenge needs no other introduction other than to say that it isn't anything like it is in the postcards: the road is right there, there a loads of tourists even when you are the first ones in line at 9 in the AM and it is raining, and there are ropes which mean you can't even get up to the thing.

I believe this first picture sums up the experience:

It has been a life goal of mine for sometime to get a feet-pic at Stonehenge, so this was a monumental moment. I also had to put my feet way under the barrier, so I had to bend the rules a bit, too. So mischievous, I am.

Be sure to check out my Skoticus Photography blog for more "traditional" Stonehenge pictures.

Salisbury Cathedral

2011-06-14T12:24:00.001-06:00

We've visited quite a few Cathedrals, but this one was the coolest because it has the tallest spire in England, and we got to go up into that spire! Pretty sweet.

In order to raise money for the Cathedral repairs, they sold some glass. You can't see the etchings from below, of course, but when you are in the tower right up close you can see them pretty well.

You probably can't see too well, but those are members of our group up on the roof.

Old Sarum

2011-06-14T08:20:00.000-06:00

This site was lived on as early as 3000BC, and people occupied the place until 1300AD, when they moved the city a few miles away to New Sarum (Salisbury). Now it is a museum, ruin, and a place to play capture the flag, all of which we took advantage of.

We also discovered that if you got enough people to lay over the sun roofs you can darken the bathrooms below...

The view of Salisbury (New Sarum) from the top of Old Sarum.

I don't even remember...

2011-06-13T09:17:00.000-06:00

...the name of this castle. It is, however, the place where Shakespeare lived while the plague ravished London, and where he wrote all or most of his sonnets.

I also remember that we played Sardines there, and Jessica hid up a chimney, which took us all twenty minutes to find. There aren't a lot of pictures because I was playing Sardines the whole time...and, well, sometimes you just need to live life.

Carisbrooke Castle, Isle of Wight

2011-06-12T05:58:00.002-06:00

At the Castle we performed The Lady of Shallot. It was quite the drama.

On the Lookout for Red Squirrels!

2011-06-11T05:51:00.001-06:00

So, I found out the the Isle of Wight is one of the last strongholds of the red squirrel in Southern England, and as I had yet to see one, I got permission from my director to leave the group and go find a red squirrel.

Some locals told me about Parkhurst Forest, where there was a squirrel walk. So Bentley, Pato, and I went looking there. We walked around a bit, then settled at the "squirrel hide" and waited...

After an hour or so, we still hadn't seen anything. Bentley and Pato got a bit bored, so they went back to the car and read while I walked around some more.

Then, after another two hour's searching, I had to go, since we had to meet the group. I still hadn't seen anything. So I said a little prayer and headed back towards the car. Just before getting to the car park, I saw a shadow move in the woods, and following it, found the squirrel.

It was literally a miracle, and I am glad to have finally seen one.

Portmouth to Isle of Wight, Tennyson Downs at Sunset

2011-06-10T05:48:00.000-06:00

I'm on a boat, again.

Winchester Cathedral

2011-06-09T05:45:00.000-06:00

This place was rockin. But not literarlly.

Crawford House, Jane Austin

2011-06-08T05:41:00.000-06:00

This is where Jane Austin lived and wrote her novels. Cheerful place, lovely garden,

History of Science Museum, Oxford

2011-06-07T04:39:00.001-06:00

I love free museums, especially when they claim to have the largest collection of something: like astrolabes. For a very small museum, they packed a ton of astrolabes into a small space, and then had a bunch of random other stuff, like Einstein's chalkboard, the theory of relativity or something still intact as he wrote it.

Nostradamus's astrolabe, Einstein's chalkboard. The wonders never end in Oxford.

Oxford

2011-06-06T04:36:00.000-06:00

Shakespeare Properties, Part 2

2011-06-05T04:33:00.000-06:00

Shakespeare's garden (via the Victorians) and his grave.

Shakespeare Properties, Part 1

2011-06-04T04:24:00.001-06:00

While in Stratford we saw three plays: The Merchant of Venice, featuring Patrick Stewart as Shylock, and set in contemporary Las Vegas, it was rock awesome; The City Madam, a play written at the same time as Shakespeare, but not by him, it was okay; and Cardenio, which some scholars claim was Shakespeare's lost play, or one he was working on when he died and which some others finished and then refinished, needless to say, it has a complex history, it was really good and very funny. We couldn't take pictures of the plays, of course, but here are pictures from Shakespeare's birthplace, his mother's farm, his wife's farm and the remains of the house he lived in after his fame grew.