Tag, I'm It!

Goat Girl has used her mad skills to tag me with a task: to list 7 random facts about myself!

So, here goes:

1. I have a Master's Degree in Geography. I was aiming to get my doctorate and be a professor, but burned out after it took me nearly six years to get a two year degree. I got to be too fond of having a regular paycheck!

2. Reading is one my favorite hobbies and is the one with the longest standing. I have approximately 5 bookshelves stacked full of books, and some more stored at Mom's.

3. I like to keep lists: birds I've seen, books I've read, airports I've flown in/out of, etc. I also keep all the brochures that the National Park Service gives you when you enter a park in a little basket on a bookshelf.

4. All of my available brain power is shifted to the right side of my noggin. I can't do math to save my life.

5. I collect smooshed pennies (from those machines at touristy spots where you put in 51 cents and crank the wheel) and magnets, because because both are inexpensive and don't take up much space. And sometimes you find really cool designs, too.

6. I am a big fan of road trips. The thought of going to one place and staying there all week boggles my mind :)

7. Except for my first job (one summer at the local McDonald's), every job I've held has been with some level or type of government entity: two state universities, three state agencies, and one county commission.

And here's a bonus random fact: I saw the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile this weekend!

This is my picture, taken from the car as we zoomed by :)

An Onslaught of Flowers & Greenery

A breath of spring, if not tropical summer air, from Krohn Conservatory in Cincinnati, OH. I have lots of pictures I want to post - this is why you get six at once right here :)

Not sure what the poofball trees were really called.

A type of fern that hugs tree trunks.

A colorful cactus.

From the orchid house.

A view back through the desert house.

"Regular" flowers :)

It's Skyline Time

When we come to Dayton, we usually make it a point to have a meal at a Skyline Chili restaurant. The chili is seasoned with cinnamon & cocoa, among other things, and you get it on top of spaghetti. I thought I'd hate it, but its delicious!

This trip, Justin took his Mom and I to the oldest Skyline franchise that's still in business. Its in the Clifton neighborhood near the University of Cincinnati. I always get the same thing: two cheese coneys and a Greek salad ... Mmmmmm!

Next post I'll show you some photos from the other place we visited while we were in Cincinnati ...

Ice Storm: the Good, the Bad, and the Pretty

One good thing about ice storms is that this one storm got me out of two night meetings this week, and so I can do blog posts this evening instead of discussing regulations :) The bad part is that traveling by car becomes a pain at best, and dangerous at worst. The pretty part is when the ice transforms the smallest things into works of art ...


These pine needles were right outside my front door, and were absolutely encased. In fact, the weight of the ice pulled several large branches down. I did not know the pattern in the ice was there until I pulled the picture up on my computer! And of course, red berries in ice are a classic. I found these on the walk in to work this morning.

Both of these shots were taken from underneath my giant umbrella, because the rain just didn't quit, even though the temperatures thankfully rose above freezing.

She twisted my arm!

Sandy, in her latest post, has some pictures of a unique little tree we found on Wednesday. She also successfully convinced me to share my gnarly tree photo. She didn't really have to try very hard :) This is the best one of the bunch that I took:

Yesterday and today, I had some other visitors in, one of whom you all will recognize. If you pop on over to my father's blog sometime soon, he may have something of Mom's and his visit to share!

One of my favorite things to do when Sandy is around is to take pictures of her taking pictures of things. She gets into some very creative poses to capture her images. Here she is up close and personal with the gnarly tree.

She has some interesting photos of me low to the ground getting some tree pictures, so hopefully she won't take revenge on me!

Ash & Sand United!

My dear friend Sandy is moving to Colorado all too soon, so we decided to make time to do some local photo exploration before she goes. Sandy arrived about 5:00 today, and within 15 minutes we were snapping away at the Riverfront Park in Columbia, PA. Here are some fruits of our labors:

After a dingy rainy day, we lucked out with a lull in the drizzle and a break in the clouds that let the late afternoon sun peak through.

This last photo looks far more apocalyptic than it did in reality, but I thought the effect was neat. Be sure to check out Sandy's photos, too!

Marble & Memory

Several shots from Arlington National Cemetery:

The view uphill to Arlington House, the family home of Civil War General Robert E. Lee. The above photo was taken from the top portion of the memorial to women in the service, a part of which is pictured below.