Slip 'n slide

I am that girl who when playing the "If I lived here" game at peoples' homes always first scopes out where the slip 'n slide would go. I'm lucky to have sweet childhood memories of our slip 'n slide out on the front lawn of the 24th avenue house with my sister and I going hogwild over it. And I know it's atypical in Florida but I want some kind of high-to-low elevation change on our future pie-in-the-sky property...just to help pick up speed as one is careening down the slide. It will be like slip 'n slide on steroids.

Speaking of beefed-up slip 'n slides, look at how far they've come since I grew up in the 80's. Thanks to ohdeedoh for reminding me.

Baby steps

I finally did it. I got tough and moved past the fact that my new camera is heavy to the point that I feel I don't need to go to 'power pump' at the gym on Thursdays anymore because of the workout just holding the freaking thing gives me, and got over the nagging rationale that I don't know what the hell I'm doing, and just started taking pictures. My sister gave me that advice, so these are for you, Lamb. Some of the first photos ever with our Markie. Now don't be expecting anything grand; showing these pictures are just for posterity's sake. In a few months I hope to have come a long(ish) way.

p.s. as you can see this all went down in a little third floor hospital room. Welcome back home Steve!



Steve hates this one because, "I look like I'm dying." Honestly, I see where he's coming from although when I shot this I was doing it for the wedding ring aspect. Anyhow. I'm posting it because it illustrates one of my favorite photography techniques in the whole wide world, bokeh.

More bokeh, although the carnation at the forefront isn't as sharp as I would like.
I know these next ones are blurred, but I quite like them anyways. Little bits of my heart are saved for blurry shots.

homecoming

guess who's back home?

finally! (as she does cartwheels and somersaults sending cats fleeing in every direction)

happy weekend of lounging around, getting rest, and getting better.

The Throne Room

(because I'm no tease.)

It took a long-ish hike from the river to Deer Creek, then a nice little stairclimb under the finest caliber of Arizona desert heat to get there...but seriously, no brainer here...completely worth it.

& just what are this king & queen looking at?




and look, a mini chair. whoever made this one is my imagination soul mate.

Grand Canyon

For the past two years July was the month for rafting down the Colorado River. We were guided by Canyon Explorations/Expeditions which I would recommend a hundred times a day, 365 days a year.

A few weeks ago I asked Steve what he thinks are the most beautiful places we've traveled to and in a heartbeat he said, 1) kayaking in Alaska, and 2) the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

Here you have this river flowing through layers upon layers of time, basically--since each layer of rock represents different geologic periods. As the days on a river trip pass you see the canyon walls become higher and higher, more and more layered. And beyond the walls are hidden little magical places--maybe a side canyon, maybe a hike to a lookout, maybe a series of cascading pools of water, maybe a spring, maybe a place called The Throne Room (p.s. these next two pictures are not The Throne Room, but they're nirvana nonetheless).



And then the pure fun you have, the camradarie you share--moments spent alternating between the adrenaline rush of a rapid, to playing that's what she said or would you rather in the calmer water. Watergun fights against other rafts. Shrieking with joy while sliding down the turquoise Little Colorado River's smooth rocks. Pushing each other out of the raft and into the frigid water that will leave you gasping for breath. Playing rodeo girl; that's when you stand at the helm of the raft and your buds paddle in circles until, drunk with dizziness, you fall into the water. Drinking too much of my boxed wine at the end of every beautiful day. Needing liquid courage to get into the river and bathe yourself because damn, I'm starting to stink.




Seeing these pictures is a little bittersweet. Sweet because I already know those were some of the best moments of my life. When my life is coming to an end and I start having the quick-time flashbacks of wonderful moments like you see in the movies, I know the summer of 2007 and 2008 will be there. Bitter because these pictures depict a very different July than the one we're presently having, spent in room 3106, watching my love not be able to so much as cough without having excruciating head pain. But I know this too shall pass. One day we'll be back on the Colorado, showing our little childrensies the awesomeness of sleeping tent-less (you'll see the stars, plus it's way too hot) and watching them get wide-eyed the first time they scout Hance Rapid. I won't even mention Lava Falls, they'll have to find out for themselves.

How to pass the time.

Or, what I'm doing when I'm not trying to put a smile on husband's face as he fights off demon nausea and Satan headache (for this I resort to dancing Irish jigs).

-Finished another baby hat, Waltzer, in a soft mauve cotton yarn (from this awesome pdf file)
-Made a lavender fabric dahlia, tute in this month's MS Weddings (link here). Besides the hairpin idea I think these would be way purdy for gift wrapping, pinned to shoes, dress straps...I think I'll make a dark purple one today. Scary how girly my 30's are starting out to be.
-reading the manual on my new camera (this one usually puts me to sleep)
-working on a little somethin' somethin' for my better half, to be revealed on his birthday
-watch SATC reruns on TNT
-movies on the laptop (Coraline is released on Tuesday!)



Photo from Martha Stewart.



And family I love you but no, Steve does not have malaria.

back at square one.

The best thing that ever happened to me is back in the hospital. So far, so (relatively) good: all the scary stuff is once again coming back negative.

Babe, I wish I could take the pain away from you and put it in me. I would, in a heartbeat.