Jewelry. Art. Cupcakes. Magic.
While hiking in Vedauwoo, we found two mushrooms that were approximately the size of our heads. And two frogs which posed nicely in mute terror while we snapped away. The T Rex is a sculpture outside of the Geology Museum on campus. We always take visitors to see it.
…and a taxidermied badger (dude wanted $125 for it). Suffice it to say, I am not the new owner of said badger.
Taken in Laramie, Fort Collins, and Denver.
Yeah. Long time no see. Me? Oh, I’ve been busy doing things. Flying back home to see my brother get married, visiting friends in Pittsburgh over the holidays, learning how to snowshoe, backpacking, cross-country skiing, visiting Portland and Denver…I think those are the highlights. And of course, taking tons of photos.
Truth be told, I was not as excited about Halloween this year as I have been in past years. I missed my friends, and thought about how much fun they were probably having in their far-flung locales. Me? I dressed up as a Persian cat: I wore a gold brocade dress, and cat ears that I made out of silk shantung. Black eyeliner worked well to create whiskers and a black nose. Mars was kinda freaked out when I put on the ears–suddenly, he didn’t know what to make of me.
During the morning, I passed out bookmarks and stickers to the parade of little dinosaurs and monkeys that were trick-or-treating downtown. My favorite costume was the baby dressed like a lobster, sitting in a stock pot and pushed along in a stroller by his/her parents, who were dressed like chefs. In the evening, we went out to eat–in costume–and then heard a few bands at a bar. It was alright. Nothing too amazing. Lots of Maxes from Where the Wild Things Are, so I’m glad I nixed that idea. There was an awesome bridezilla: a bride/Godzilla hybrid.
We followed the Mississippi River towards Minneapolis, and stopped at the sculpture garden outside of the Walker Art Center. My favorite work was Dan Graham’s Two-way Mirror Punched Steel Hedge Labyrinth (fourth image): depending on which side you were looking at, you could see other viewers, a reflection of yourself, or a combination of the two in varying levels of translucence. Aside from being a technical marvel, I loved what I perceived to be the commentary on surveillance and self-absorption inherent in the work. Later, I ate the most amazing portobello mushrooms with toasted goat cheese and balsamic vinegar reduction…mmm….
We continued on to Pipestone National Monument, with a lovely walk around the area where Native Americans still quarry for the stone that they use to make pipes. There are offerings of tobacco tied to trees, gorgeous prarie grass, and gorgeous pinkish-red stone walls jutting towards the sky.
For my 30th birthday, my husband took me on a fabulous week-long vacation to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. We did tons of hiking, and saw moose, elk, mule deer, a grizzly bear cub, and many bison. We dined on sushi in Jackson, stopped in to a few art galleries, and camped a few feet away from a gorgeous lake. It was an incredible trip!
We recently got a second kitten to keep our first one company. We named him Mars after both the color Mars Black (art nerds, represent!) and for the God of War. Not because we are war-loving people, but because he is a warrior: the people at the shelter told us that when he was brought there, as an abandoned feral kitten, he was so slight that they didn’t expect him to survive. Only one month later, he is healthy, happy, and completely rambunctious! The two of them play constantly. In other kitten news: Juliet is now Argento. Turns out he was a male. Oops.
First Night in a New Home
Mars likes to stay up-to-date on the news of the day.
And now, I will try to refrain from blogging incessantly about our happy little family.
