Recently an assignment from school inspired me to ask my grandmother Hazel a few questions that I don’t remember asking her before, including how she met my grandfather. It’s a lovely story that maybe I’ll tell you some time — possibly in a poem? One of the details that stuck out to me was that […]
Read MoreNew tattoo: The Wreck of the Hesperus
When I was growing up, I remember my grandmother saying that she looked “like the wreck of the Hesperus” whenever she felt disheveled, as in: “Oh honey, don’t take my picture right now, I look like the wreck of the Hesperus.” It’s a phrase I have always loved, have never personally heard anyone else say, […]
Read MoreSylvan Dale Guest Ranch
We needed a night off. I just finished the last week of the semester, and I’m beat. We decided we need a small road trip, so we loaded up the van.* *I can’t believe I haven’t introduced you to the van yet! I’ll do another post about the beginning of this beautiful project, which will […]
Read MoreUtah: Bike Adventures in Moab
Besides visiting Canyonlands and Arches National Parks, Dan and I had one other goal for our Utah workcation: get the bikes dirty. Of course, that means something different for me than for him. Dan found a rental house parked right on a paved bike trail, so I had two different options for quick 7-mile spins […]
Read MoreUtah: Arches National Park
You know what they say about the best-laid plans… We had to cut our Moab trip a little short due to “an historic winter storm” rolling into Colorado. (Some snow at home is not a big deal, but driving through the mountains on the other hand…) Since this was a working trip for me, the […]
Read MoreUtah: Canyonlands National Park
Greetings from Utah! Dan and I are in Moab or a work-cation: we’ll both work our regular hours during the week but spend the weekends in the nearby National Parks. Dan will also spend some bonus time mountain biking. Though our rental is a stone’s throw from Arches, we spent Saturday driving around Canyonlands NP. […]
Read MoreNew tattoo: the lion who knocks
I have dozens of tattoo ideas that I have been weighing for years, hemming and hawing over their details and placement. However, the ideas that I end up acting on tend to come to me quickly, clearly, and completely. This new bit of ink is a great example. (Above: an awkward photo of the original […]
Read MoreTwo hikes for the new year
I won’t bore you with a post about the joy of leaving 2020 in the dust, though joy there is. I prefer to spend the holiday looking forward. Dan and I enjoyed two fun hikes in two days. On New Year’s Eve we headed to our nearby Lory State Park — we hadn’t been there […]
Read MoreChristmas lasagna 2020
Does the world need a few more pictures of Dan and my annual Christmas lasagna? Honestly no, probably not — but this tradition brings our little household so much joy, I’m sharing it anyway. The lasagna turned out beautifully. We always follow the same recipe, but over the years we’ve made enough tweaks that it […]
Read MoreSt. Vrain State Park
I took a break from my very amateur birdwatching during the fall — the weather was too perfect for bike riding, and I rarely have time for both. However, now we have a fresh batch of snow on the ground and days with highs of ~30 degrees, so my binoculars have been seeing more action. […]
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