Wednesday, February 24, 2010

3 Months Already

It's hard to believe, but Patrick turned 3 months old last Sunday. Here are some pictures I took on Friday while I was babysitting. He's getting to be fun. He coos and "talks" and smiles and laughs. He has found his hands, but can't quite make them do everything he wants. He's very good at getting them in his mouth, though. He is already fighting sleep. When he starts to nod off, he gets really mad and starts crying extraordinarily loud. It won't be later, but right now it is quite funny.














Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Yesterday

For my first time ever, I went snow-shoeing yesterday. I have been trying to do this for several weeks, but something always happened to prevent it. I finally made it yesterday and it was so much fun. Hard, and tiring, but fun.

I went with a couple of friends, Jesse and Julie Hall. When we left town it was so foggy we could hardly see. As we started climbing the mountain we left the fog behind. The weather was ideal for snow-shoeing. The sun was shining and it was about 58 degrees. The sky was azure blue with hardly a cloud. After we started the climb, I soon shed my jacket.

We were climbing in Kings Canyon National Park, going to Panoramic Point. The climb was 1,000 feet in 2.5 miles with a round trip of 5 miles. It was steep and I had to stop to rest quite often but I was determined to finish. We started climbing about 10:15 am, and made it to the top about 12:30 pm. As I was climbing, an old song that we used to sing when I was in youth choir came to mind. "Climbing up the mountain, trying to reach the top.....almost finished my battle, gone half way and I just can't stop. At the end of the mountain there is faith and trust, I can see Jesus waiting there to meet us. I thank God, I've almost reached the top." That was what I was thinking as I was climbing. Sometimes, (but not always)living for God can seem to be all uphill, but it will be worth it when we reach the top!

And it was!! It was so beautiful looking at that panoramic scene. We could see Hume Lake and all the surrounding mountains in the distance. We spread out our mats, took off our snow shoes and sat down and ate lunch. We stayed up there for a couple of hours taking pictures, and resting before we headed back down. As I was trying to put my snow shoes back on, I thought I would lean up against a tree for support. Ha! NOT! Near the tree the snow was so soft, that I sank up to my knees and Julie had to help me out. Of course, she had to take pictures of me before she would help. It was so funny! Going down was much easier (but still not easy) and didn't take as long.

As we were driving to the mountains we passed an old fireplace in the middle of a meadow. I told Jesse that I wanted to stop on the way back and get pictures of it. I don't know the history of it, but it appears that a house either burned down, or was knocked down and left the steps and fireplace standing. It is just the kind of thing that I like to photograph. We did stop on the way home and I got several pictures of it. I also got a few shots of the beautiful sunset that we saw on the way home.

Here is a slide show of a FEW of the pictures I took. Enjoy...


Sunday, February 14, 2010

The Language of the Fan



One of the courtship rituals during Victorian times was the language of the fan. Here is some of that language.

I desire your acquaintance.....Carry fan in left hand in front of face
I wish to speak to you.........Close fan
Follow me......................Carry fan in right hand in front of face
Wait for me....................Open fan wide
You are too willing............Carry fan in right hand
Kiss me........................Hold handle to lips
We are watched.................Twirl fan in left hand
Yes............................Rest fan on right cheek
No.............................Rest fan on left cheek
I love you.....................Draw fan across the cheek
Do you love me?................Present the fan closed
I love another.................Twirl fan in right hand
You have changed...............Draw fan across forehand
I wish to get rid of you.......Place fan on left ear
I hate you.....................Draw fan through the hand
I am sorry.....................Draw fan across the eyes
You are cruel..................Open fan across the eyes
I am engaged...................Fan very quickly
I am married...................Fan very slowly
We will be friends.............Drop the fan

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day