Category: Photos

A relaxing week at the lake followed by a heartbreaking football loss

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We went to Kelley’s Island, Ohio on Monday with my parents for the week.  We love it there (more info here).  Here was the view from the deck of the condo we rented…ki view from deck

Kelley’s Island is a hidden gem in my opinion.  It’s only four miles across, but there are so many walking trails and even a small beach that it feels bigger when you explore.  This is the third time we’ve gone there and it won’t be the last.  Here are a few photos from around the small island…ki boatski me & jason on beach

ki sunsetSo after a peaceful week surrounded by Lake Erie we took the ferry back to the mainland and headed down to Columbus for a little football game.  I’m a Buckeye alum and I get two football tickets a year and lucked out getting these seats to the biggest game of the year, #3 at #8…osu-usc footballIt was so loud and the Bucks were leading with less than two minutes to go, but then something bad happened.  We lost.   It was a good game and I can’t believe I have any voice left.  It was great to be on campus again and I was thrilled that the crowd was as loud as they were the whole game.   We got back at 2:30 this morning. 

A great week with a not so great end.

Our Denver/Vail Trip

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Jason & I travelled to Denver last Saturday.  We stayed downtown and had a great time.  We walked the 16th Street mall, where Jason spent some time playing chess on the street with locals.  He won 5 out of 6 and had fun strategizing for an audience.  We also visited the Tattered Cover Bookstore and fell in love.  Gave me lots of great ideas for the bookstore I want to open some day.  They have 3 locations in the Denver area.denver- tattered cover

I suppose I should mention that the mile high city did give me a headache that first day, but did better prepare my body for the 8000+ feet of Vail the next day. 

 On Sunday we visited the Denver Botanical Gardens and we thought it was a wonderful way to spend a few hours.  Well worth the time and money.denver- gardens

On Sunday we drove through the mountains to Vail.  It’s about an hour & a half trip and it may be the most beautiful hour & a half road trip ever!  The mountains were gorgeous and awe inspiring. 

Jason had a conference in Vail (nothing like a mostly free vacation!) and it was our first time there.  This was the view when we walked out of our hotel in the village…

vail village

Not a great photo, but I didn’t really take many pictures in the village because I took so many of the surroundings.  Because I was still on east coast time I was up and out before many of the stores opened (this NEVER happens) and walked around where scenes like this greeted me… 

vail mountains

Jason worked business hours, but that left me with mornings of walking and reading and taking way too many pictures and afternoons in the wine bar with my book and a wonderful bartender, Melinda.  When I asked her what she liked to read she pulled a Philippa Gregory book from under the bar.  Thanks for the company, Melinda!

I had a great trip and understand why they call this part of the US God’s Country.  I had a fantastic time.  Here’s one more picture from Betty Ford Park…

vail- bf river

Where am I today?

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Denver Skyline taken at Denver City Park 10/2005

Some of you already know where I am today, but if not feel free to guess.  I’m starting out the day at the above location and ending the day at the below location.  I have decided to be off-line for our relatively short trip, but you can come back on Tuesday for my review of Finger Lickin Fifteen.  Be catching up with you later this week 🙂

Vail, CO: Summer on the mountain

Girl time and a great place to visit!

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Every summer around the time of my Grandma’s birthday the women of the family choose a place in Ohio to spend a night or two together.  My Grandma will be turning 87 any day now and us gals spent Thursday night in Cumberland.  We were missing one  of our cousins who always comes, but gained a friend, for a total of 13.  This happens when the women are so wonderful 😉

gals 2009

This is us at the cabin in the wilds that we rented for the night.  I always enjoy the girl-time and come home every year appreciating my family more.  And I think most of us granddaughters (she has 10) know that we have the best possible Grandmother and we are blessed.

Now, on to THE WILDS!  I cannot possibly recommend this place enough for any kind of family trip.   It is located in SE Ohio, but you would never know it once you drive onto the 10,000+ acres of land that was gifted to this non-profit conservation group by the power company after it had been used in surface mining.  This group has turned it into an amazing place for research and the public.  We took a 2 1/2 safari yesterday on an open air bus.  Have a look at a few of the many, many different animals we saw…wilds giraffejuly 2009 149

wilds rhino

And yes, many animals came right up to the bus.  I could add so many wonderful photos, but The Wilds is not just about the animals, it is equally about the land and living in harmony with nature and using land that is good for nothing else for something worthwhile.

There is one lodge on the premises, where we stayed that had 6 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms and a private lake with boats and a canoe.  They also have newer smaller places near the visitor center that sleep two. 

If  you are within a few hours drive (took me 2.5 from Cleveland) or are driving through on your way someplace else, you cannot go wrong with stopping here for a few hours.   I had a fabulous time on my Ohio Safari!  Visit the website here.

My Friendly trip to the DC area

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I am blessed to have so many wonderful friends in my life.  I miss the ones who move away and miss the ones I left.  I was excited to travel back to the DC area to spend time with old friends.  I got to see family…

patti june 09

I also spent time with a friend I’ve had since the 2nd grade, but hadn’t seen in ten years!

britt june 09

And then friends I made after college when I moved to Arlingon, Virginia.  We worked at B.Dalton together.

 kate june 09 - 2carrie june 09

 I was also able to spend some time with Mark, a college friend and Arlington roommate!  So, my trip was great.  I loved seeing everyone’s expanded family.  And I discovered that 3 year olds are a lot of fun.  (although the second little guy doesn’t turn 3 til next month!)  My friends make great Moms 🙂

I’m not sure it’s completely accurate to call it a DC trip since they moved out in all directions!  I went to Falls Church, Occaquan, Takoma Park, and even down south a ways to Beaverdam.  I was happy to visit Mark at work because it meant I spent some time on the Mall!  Happy I made the trip and happy to be home 🙂

NYC Trip

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We just got back from our trip to New York City a few hours ago.   I’m looking forward to catching up with everyone, but thought I’d share a few highlights.

We stayed at the Sheraton Tower at Times Square (although they say Times Square it is actually several blocks north).  Every trip we always go the the Met, but we’d never been to the roof before.  This is what we found there…

ny me on met roof

Yes, that’s me interacting with the art.  There are beautiful views of the city and Central Park from there.  We also went and saw Avenue Q on Broadway.  Loved it!

I was also able to meet up with my old friend Golda.  We met when we were both working at Barnes & Noble in Michigan.  She’s been working at WW Norton for nine years.

ny me & golda

After a very nice lunch she showed me around the offices and gave me a few books and a great bag!

ny books

Thanks, Golda!

While Jason was conferencing I was able to walk around the city, ride the subway (always an experience), and get some reading done.  I had intended to walk to the apartment that Jason ad I lived in for 5 months in Midtown, but never made it over there.  Maybe next trip  🙂

We were also able to meet up with another old friend last night, an old Navy buddy of Jason’s, but I forgot to take a picture!  Anyway, we had a fun time, but I’m glad to be home.

Book Problem, Year 2

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Last May I wrote a post on my book problem.  I gathered all of the books I’d collected over the years and had not gotten around to reading and took this photo

So, I thought it was time to assess the progress I’ve made in a year.  I recreated the photo exactly (excluding Max who decided not to cooperate), leaving out the books I’ve read and came up with this

book problem 09 1

Okay, you may not be able to tell because of the angle, but the piles were smaller!  49 books smaller to be exact (I read 43, donated 6 I will never read)  So, I took the smaller pile on the left and distributed it on the other piles and added the books I’ve acquired and not read this year and came up with this 

book problem 09 2

And guess what?  I only added 43 books this year!  So this is my TBR pile, 380 books in all.  I am trying to work my way through and I just need to concentrate on not adding more than I’ve read from my TBR pile.  I am participating in the RYOB Challenge and have 20 more to reach my goal, so that will help 🙂

What about you?  I know some of you have posted about this and if you want to leave a link I’ll add it here.

Other TBR piles

Golda

Diane at Bibliophile By the Sea

Vacation fun

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We are home from Puerto Vallarta 🙂  It was a wonderful vacation.  Friends invited us to stay in their timeshare at the Grand Mayan.  This was the view that greeted us from our deck.

mexico-view-from-room

This is only toward the beach, so it doesn’t really do it justice, but there is no photo that can do that, so you’ll have to use your imagination.  The whole area is surrounded by mountains and it was beautiful.

We spent a lot of time circling the complex on the Lazy River on innertubes.  We decided we’d like one of these around our own yard 😉  This picture is of our friend Kate (she is 5 months pregnant), Jason, and Kate’s husband, Steve.

mexico-lazy-river1

We did go into Old Town Puerto Vallarta.  I’ve seen photos of sand sculptures, but never in person.  This was the largest one.

mexico-sand-sculpture

Here’s one of Jason and me taking advantage of the sculptures.

mexico-me-jason1

Puerto Vallarta was a beautiful place, but we are also glad to be home.  We flew through Houston yesterday and they closed the airport for a bit due to weather, so we landed at another airport and sat there for awhile before flying back to Houston and then home.  We were supposed to land at 10:30 last night, but didn’t land until 2 AM this morning!  We did not get into bed until 3:30.  Maybe it’s time for a nap 😉

Thanks Steve and Kate for a wonderful vacation!

mexico-jk-sKate, Steve, & Jason

Photo Meme

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me-mom

Fleur tagged me for this photo meme

“Find your 5th photo file folder, then the 5th photo in that file folder. Then pass the meme to 5 people.”

This is me and my Mom last year on Mother’s Day before we went downtown to the Ritz for High Tea.  It was a wonderful day 🙂

I’m not going to name names, but if you have not participated already – give it a try!

What’s the best caption quiz?

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We have a split decision…

“Sadly, the snow covering Stacy did not melt until mid-March.”  (Mark)

and

“Yeah, now I remember why I moved to Cleveland.”  (Betty)

100_07122

I took this photo of Jason yesterday.  This week’s quiz—-

What is the best caption for this photo?  I’ll post your caption with the photo and a link back to your blog if you have one.  I can’t wait to see what you come up with!  I’ll pick the best one on Friday.