Cityscape

The light on the city was fantastic as we drove towards a friend's house yesterday evening!

Idyllic Rural

A thatched roof cottage in Avebury, England.

Good for what ails you...

A German apothecary museum painted with the alchemical symbols for the four humors. I'm glad medicine has advanced slightly since the Middle Ages!

Floral

More flowers from the Dallas Arboretum.

Wanderlust

(Germany)

It's spring, and the wanderlust is striking. I'd happily pack a backpack at this point and wander around somewhere in Europe! This year we'll just have to have exciting adventures in Dallas and maybe go on a more exotic adventure next summer.

Waterfalls

...are beautiful.

Alive

(Duomo, Florence)

Matthew 28:6

He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay...

Sheep

(Cappadocia, Turkey)

Poppies

(Poppies at the Dallas Arboretum)

I love poppies. There is just something about their translucent petals, uncomplicated structure, and vibrant colors that makes me happy whenever I see them.

Cotswolds

I always loved visiting the Cotswold cottage at Greenfield Village (thanks in part to my mom's enthusiasm). Imaging how amazing it was to visit the Cotswolds and find entire villages of such cottages!

Signs of humor

When I visited the Dallas Arboretum a few weekends ago, this sign made me laugh... I don't know who is supposed to be quoted on this sign, but they sure have a lot of repetitive rules!

Story time

(The intrepid Honors Program explorers, 2005)

Although not an amazing picture in its own right, this photograph makes me smile every time I see it as it reminds me the Honors Program trip to Turkey in 2005. I took this picture the very first day of the trip in Istanbul. At the time, it felt like we were wandering the backstreets and byways of the city to find such an obscure restaurant. When Benjamin and I stopped back in Istanbul in 2007 on our way back from Italy, we found this same restaurant again. Having lived in the Middle East for a while, we realized that it was actually on a main street in the middle of the touristy section of town. Hah! So much for our back street, obscure restaurant.

(The same restaurant when we rediscovered it in 2007)

Best

...and happiest of birthdays to the most wonderful husband in the world!

(Benjamin at the Cairo Museum, Egypt, 2007)

Fallen

(Greek ruins in Turkey)

II Samuel 1:27

How the mighty have fallen! The weapons of war have perished!

"Just because" flowers

I came home to a vase of cheerful, "just because" flowers my wonderful husband brought me the other day! Not only have I enjoyed seeing them every day, today I got to have fun photographing them as well.

N.B. Taking pictures was even more fun thanks to listening to songs by Montana Skies, a great guitar and cello duo I just discovered. I highly recommend their (free) music!

Meadow

(Lake District, England)

The last few days I've been working for a friend of my aunt, helping her unpack from a move. After helping to sort and organize box after box, I think I'm ready to go look at some wide-open landscapes. So here is a picture of one of my favorite landscapes from one of my favorite places in England. I could spend weeks hiking around the Lake District!

Daydreaming

There's nothing like daydreaming while watching the clouds go by.

(This message brought to you by the person too busy to take any interesting pictures the last few days. Your regularly scheduled programming will return shortly.)

Good times

A few summers ago, Rebecca and I decided to adventure to Lake Michigan. After an arduous hike up and down the dune stairs, we clearly needed cold, sugary refreshment. Fortunately, there was a Whippi-Dip near the park. Since we are such serious folks, a silly ice-cream-eating face contest immediately ensued. (It's a specialized skill.) Photographic evidence suggests that my very talented sister won.

Refreshing

The Dallas Arboretum was very hot indeed. I had fun playing in the water to cool off.

Arboreal

The weather is heating up here in Dallas, so along with half the city's population, my sister-in-law, Tiffany, and I visited the Dallas Arboretum this weekend.

Although the trees were all very nice, we enjoyed it more as a floweretum. There were masses of flower plantings everywhere.

Seas

(Florence, Oregon)

Psalm 69:34
(NIV)

Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and all that move in them...

Shadow

Dinner outside makes for a delightful evening indeed.

Pink

The roses are blooming!

Blue and green

I went for a walk with Benjamin today, and it was glorious! The leaves are coming out, the sun was shining, and there was a slight breeze. What a perfect April day!

Good sport

Benjamin was trapped in the car with me and a camera a few days ago as we waited to head to dinner for the evening. He took it remarkably well.

Scenes from the hunt

A scene on the job-hunting trail. This is my newly-staked"office" in Starbucks. Benjamin and I are both much more productive when we're not both home together all the time.

Sylvan

Jackson Hole, Wyoming)

Birches are among my very favorite trees. Sadly, there aren't very many of them in Dallas.

Oasis

(Al Khamis, Bahrain)

Isaiah 43:19

See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.

Shades of blue

(Germany)

Wisteria III: Return of the Foliage

The wisteria blossoms are fading, but the leaves are starting to come out to replace them, so I think it's probably a fair trade.