Autumnal Equinox

Happy Autumnal Equinox Everyone!

 

"The Autumnal Equinox - The word equinox comes from the Latin words for "equal night." The fall and spring equinoxes are the only days of the year in which the Sun crosses the celestial equator." (from The Old Farmer's Almanac)

I love all the seasons, but I really love fall.   I bought my first Honey Crisp apple yesterday, a sure sign of fall.   The trees are changing colors everywhere, including my patio, and I can start to feel a little crisp edge to the weather.   I love the idea of celebrating and giving thanks for a summer full of activities and bountiful harvests.   I love the anticipation of winter.   The excitement of guessing when the first snow will fall.   The comfort of knowing that one has a warm house to snuggle in to, to hibernate with your hot chocolate and cozy blankets while outside the world is muffled in white.

Plus I like my winter clothes better than my summer clothes.  

Remember my 'Summer Bucket List' and how I would report back on the Autumnal Equinox with a review of what had been successfully achieved and what had not?

Well today's the day of reckoning...

 

 

 

Go somewhere I have never been - done

 

Denmark and Sweden

17th-century Frederiksborg Castle - Denmark

Do something brave - done (kinda)

 

Can I count going to a new country by myself?  I wouldn't let myself count it, since doing that doesn't really scare me, so no bravery required.   But I don't have anything else.

 

Do something outside every day - done

I did go outside every day.   I know this may sound ridiculous, but when you work from home it is surprisingly easy to stay inside all day long.

Plant flowers - done

 

I planted red geraniums and one massive Bleeding Heart plant (thanks Mom).

 

Here are some flowers I saw on my trip, aren't they pretty?

 

Saturday Market in Apeldoorn

Take a road trip - done

 

 

 

Eat Popsicles - done

Keep heels smooth and lovely - done

Drink a lot of water - done

Hike a new trail - done

 

 

Donner nature trail.

 

 

 

And Donut Falls in Utah, but I haven't downloaded my pictures yet. You will just have to take my word for it. :)

 

Volunteer some time - fail

 

I did a few things for church, but nothing like I intended.  Frowny face for me.

Spend more time at Red Butte Garden - fail

 

I went once, and that was just to a concert.

 

Go to a concert - done

 

The Shins as Red Butte Garden

 

Keane at the Gallivan Center

Big Band Concert at Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen

 

See a play or musical - done

 

9 to 5:  The Musical

 

Wicked

Go to a sporting event - done

 

Real Salt Lake Soccer

Spend more time with friends - done

 

Go on a picnic - done

 

Swim - fail

No excuse either, since there is a pool just a building away from me.

Make a craft - fail

 

I bought the materials to make a wreath and never made it.

Save money for trips - done

 

California - June

 

Denmark and Sweden - August

 

Disneyland - October

Start Christmas shopping - done

 

About 1/2 done

Register to be an organ donor - done

 

Organ donor AND Bone Marrow donor lists

Do something educational - done

 

Traveling to different countries and touring historical buildings and museums seems to fulfill this task in my opinion.  But I also read quite a few classic pieces of literature (loving Thomas Hardy these days), watched several documentaries, attended a few guest lectures.

 

Kronborg Castle, the setting of Hamlet and a UNESCO World Heritage Site

 

Try a new restaurant - done

 

Several in Europe

 

and a few in SLC- most recently Vivace, where the food is divine.

Go to the Scottish Festival…eat some Haggis - done and fail

 

Went to the festival, they were out of Haggis.

 

 

 

Organize closets - done

 

My biggest job was organizing my pantry.   It still looks great.   The other closets probably need to be organized again.

Try a few new recipes - done

 

If you look at my Pinterest 'Food' board you will see most of the new recipes I have tried.   I think I have tried about 85 % of the recipes I have pinned.

Go to the Farmers Market more often - fail done

 

I went a total of zero times.  Wait...I am changing my answer.  I went to the outdoor market in Apeldoorn (Netherlands) twice, to the market in Copenhagen (Denmark) once, and to the market in Malmo (Sweden) once.

4 times...not bad.  

Watch a lot of the Olympics (but don't stay up all night obsessively checking every channel for coverage like I did last time) - done

 

I watched as much as I could.   I was in Europe during the entire time of the games, so I could only watch at night and then for only an hour tops.

Be a little more spontaneous...but not too much - done ?

Summer Happenings

Whew....I just got done uploading 392 pictures from my trip to Shutterfly.   Now I need to figure out which of those get shared here, but until then I thought I would do a very quick recap of my Summer up until the time I left on my trip.

These pictures are out of order also, sorry.   I wish Blogger had an easier way of managing pictures, but they don't, and I don't have enough time to monkey with them.  

I drove into California and my car registered 105 degrees.  I drove out in a torrential rain pour and my car registered 41 degrees (scroll down for pictoral proof of 41 degrees).   How's that for some extremes?   

On my way I decided to stop at Donner State Park.  It was so beatiful, that I had to take a little hike/walk around the nature trail.

Did you know that Walt Disney was the Chairman of Pageantry for the Winter Olympics held in Squaw Valley?  I didn't.   But this flag pole has taught me otherwise.   You just never know where you will find a little gem of knowledge.

This monument stands 200 feet tall (I think) and represents how high the snow was during that fateful winter.

Ahh, here it is.

I spent some time with my favorite girls.

Kylie Chillin.

Delaney dressed up. 

3 Cowgirls.  Yee haw.   I like the rakish angle that Kylie has chosen for her hat.

I finally learned the name of this sculpture in the Salt Flats.  It is not the Tree of Life as previously thought, but it is actually called - Metaphor: The Tree of Utah.  Yah I don't know either.  It is a bad metaphor if no one gets it...I am guessing.

My dear, dear friend Jenny got married.   Isn't she so pretty?

I attended my beloved Highland games.

I went to a few concerts.  

Keane

The Shins

I saw some baby ducks.

And a pretty tree.

The end!

(soon to be followed by too many pictures of Denmark and Sweden, rest up)

The Wedding and Wedding Festivities

Yes I know that I have not posted in a very long time. Believe me I would have liked to have posted earlier but I did not have the energy to do so. You see...the past month has been super busy with weddings, and visits, and trips, and working. I work a lot by the way, too much I think.

So without further ado, here are some pictures from June 12 and June 13. We started June 12 with a trip to tour the newly finished Oquirrh Temple. Afterwards we tried to take a group photo, but as you can see it is hard to get everyone looking in the correct direction.

After the Temple open house we went to Murray Park to have a Barbecue. It was actually a lot of fun, and I think it turned out great. Thanks to everyone who attended.

This picture is of my Uncle Byron hiding behind some flowers, it amuses me.


My cute Grandma who flew from Micronesia to be a part of the festivities...


Just a shot of the food

After the barbecue a few of us went to the Scottish Festival, this is a picture of my super cool Henna Tattoo. This year they even put sparklies on the Henna while it dried. Delightful!

It is hard to see, but this is the Tattoo, which is not ink on skin but rather a group of pipe and drum bands playing in unison.

Here we have several pictures of the actual wedding day.

Kate and cute JeriAnn

Sisters

Family

Kate and Justin

Sassy green shoes

I love this last one; it is like Grant Wood meets Magritte.

The last 5 pictures were taken by Rachel Rehart Photography, I like them very much, so I "borrowed" them from her site.

Happy Arbor Day (4 days late) and some tulips...

This past weekend was filled to the brim with flora. Sometime I wish I had a patch of earth to plant things in, but then I remember that I don't like to get dirty. Sigh.

Anyhoo, on Friday (Arbor Day) we went to Red Butte Gardens to look at the pretties AND we got a free tree. My tree is sitting in a glass of water on my counter, somewhat counterproductive to the goal of Arbor Day I am guessing.

Here are some pictures for your enjoyment...

Kate and Justin

On Saturday, Kate, Larcy and I went to Thanksgiving Point to attend the Tulip Festival.

It is no Kuekenhof I am sure, but I still thought it was sooooo beautiful.

This waterfall is amazing; it is supposed to be the largest man made waterfall in the Western hemisphere or something like that. It made me a teensy bit frightened to look over the edge.

Kate did not want to take this picture. I think it is cute.

We decided that the yellow flowers below were called Pineapple Tulips. We were wrong....they are Fritillaria.

Kate and her new friend.

It is Larcy's birthday on the 30th and we wanted to spend some 'Sister' time in honor of her special day, so thanks for hanging out with us Larcy and I hope your Birthday is a happy one.