Fall Foto Friday

Okay, you caught me. I am retroactively posting this pic as last week's Fall Foto Friday (on the following Wednesday). Does it cut me any slack that the photo depicts where I happened to be last Friday? Well, anyway, here's a pic from my time down at Taylor last week, recruiting for WV during their World Opportunities Week. Scattered around Taylor's campus were quite a few of these bright red maples--LOVED them. Here the soft morning light shines on the Memorial Prayer Chapel in the background.

Fall Foto Friday

Hello, dear readers! Thanks for sticking with me through another unpremeditated blogging drop-off. When I originally proposed Fall Foto Friday, I failed to factor in that my upcoming vacation would mean I'd be unplugged for the following two Fridays. And then after that I was simply busy/lazy. But now I am back, and I intend to make up for those missed Fridays! Because while I wasn't posting, I was taking photos. Here are a few faves that show how I've been favoring fall. (And yes, I did have fun with all of the alliteration in this paragraph.)

Taken on our vacation road trip. Autumn in Georgia means the cotton harvest!

Taken on a hike at Morton Arboretum

Also at Morton Arboretum

Highwood Pumpkin Festival

There were SO MANY jack o' lanterns. This shot captures only a fraction of the scaffolding pull of pumpkins that lined the streets of Highwood.

Fall Foto Friday

As September melts into October, and the leaves are turning in earnest, and there's a new chill in the air, and I find myself with an insatiable appetite for all things pumpkin or apple, I've decided to celebrate the season (and goad myself into using my camera more) by instituting Fall Foto Friday. Enjoy!

Disclosure: Today's photo was taken last fall on an unseasonably warm October afternoon at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Forthcoming Friday photos will be taken in the days and weeks to come.

A Vacation Alphabet - Part 3

G is for Grass

On our descent of Mt. Quandary, Travis celebrated when we reached tree line, because it signaled the end of the seemingly endless rocks. On the way down Mt. Sherman, my knees were protesting against the pressure of descending rock after rock after rock. (My feet weren't too happy about it, either.) Therefore, when we reached the grassy Iowa Gulch, I had to do a little celebrating of my own. That grass was beautiful, and it deserved a kiss.

H is for Hiking Gear 

When setting out on a substantial trek, it's important to have the right gear. When we hiked the 23 miles around Lake Geneva on Memorial Day, I learned the hard way that my boots were really too small, and it cost me a toenail. Travis learned that no matter how much cushion his socks might provide, his boots were always going to give him blisters. And so we decided that before our trip this summer we had to invest in some really good hiking boots. After trying on several styles at REI, we both decided on Keens. My new boots carried me up and down two fourteeners, and around the Maroon Bells, without a single blister. Those are some good boots.

When setting out on a day hike, it's also important to have a good pack. If I wasn't convinced before, these two mountains confirmed for me how much better it is for a woman to wear a pack designed and sized for a woman. I have the Sirrus 24 pack by Osprey; the hip belt sits at just the right place, the chest strap is appropriately positioned to not squish the girls, the size perfectly fits my torso, and all of the adjusting straps allow me to hold the load close to my body and get the weight distributed just right. I highly recommend this pack.

I is for Incredible Views

The Rocky Mountains are full of them, of course. Here are a couple of my favorites from this trip.

Mt. of the Holy Cross...can you find the cross of snow?

Amazingly turquoise blue lake down in the valley, as seen from the ridge on Mt. Sherman

The alphabet continues tomorrow!

Faces on the Fridge

In recent years photo cards have become the popular way to send holiday greetings. I, for one, couldn't be happier about this development. Why? Because of the sheer delightfulness of sifting through the mail, setting aside bills and sorting out junk mail, only to find a sturdy envelope containing a card with the smiling faces and warm wishes of people you love. Whereas I am unlikely to keep a regular Christmas card on display beyond the holiday season, I love keeping photo cards from friends and family posted on the fridge all year long. Seeing them there day in and day out reminds me how thankful I am to have them in my life, and prompts me to pray for them. Right now my fridge is a photo album of  missionary prayer cards, Christmas cards (from last year), and birth announcements...it's been a baby-full year!

This will be the first year Travis and I send out Christmas cards as a "family" (it still feels strange to refer to the two of us as a family, though that is what we are!). Last year during the holidays I was still working on getting our thank you cards sent out for the wedding (and was sufficiently overwhelmed by the task), so many of those contained our holiday greeting as well, and Christmas cards per se went unsent. But this year I am primed and ready to send our smiling faces to the mailboxes of friends and family. Hopefully, we'll even end up on a few fridges. :)

I will be aided in this task by Shutterfly, which offers HUNDREDS of photo card designs. The hardest part will be choosing just one! Second hardest part will be choosing which photo(s) to use. Will we use photos taken in the course of our year? Will we do a special photo shoot to capture the winning shot? This is yet to be determined (and discussed with the hubby). In the meantime, I am having lots of fun looking through all the options. Here are a few of my favorites at the moment:

With the right photo, this one could be perfect. Plus, you get to include another photo inside!

If we decide to use a collection of photos from throughout the year, this card would be a great way to capture a collage.

I like this one because it's class and non-holiday on the front, and so lends itself to year-round fridge display.

I like the flourish on this one, and the fact that it says the year.

Earlier this year I used Shutterfly to design a photo book with pics from our trip to Spain in June. The process was easy (and fun!) and the finished product is beautiful. Want to take a look? Check it out here.  

Like what you see? Are you a blogger too? 
Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly: http://bit.ly/sfly2010 

R-O-Y-G-B...

Now that I work out of a home office, days where I do not venture out of doors are more plentiful than I'd like to admit. It's far too easy to get comfortable...and lazy...indoors. Now that my favorite season has arrived, I want to be sure I get outside and enjoy it. Yesterday after work I gave myself an "assignment" as an incentive to get some fresh air: go for a walk with my camera, and capture shots that prominently feature each of the colors on the color wheel. Indigo and violet proved hard to find, but I found two blues for extra credit. Here are the things I noticed as I walked around my neighborhood on the lookout for color...

 

 

Autumn in Maine

At the end of last week I spent a few days in Maine for work. The leaves there were a little ahead of the Chicago area in terms of changing, but still a couple weeks away from "peak" color. Nevertheless, it was beautiful to spend a few days in a place where the land undulates and the trees WAY outnumber the people. This shot was taken on a misty morning, looking down the road from the home where we held our meetings.

Autumn at the Arboretum

While we saw lots of gorgeous fall colors on our honeymoon in New England, we weren't really able to get any good autumn color photos there, either because (a) said color was along the side of the highway, or (b) it was raining (and often, both factors came into play). Which is one of the reasons we wanted to make sure we made it to the arboretum at least once this fall - to snap a few good autumn pics, to glory in God's paintbrush, and to hear that satisfying rustle as we tromped along a forest path carpeted with color. Here are a few favorite pics from last weekend at the arboretum.