Tagged

I was tagged by Sarah, so here it is, the fourth picture in my fourth folder.

I tag Whitney, and Niki. (You must post the fourth picture in your fourth pictures folder. No cheating now.)

This picture is of Deb and me way back when we were wee little freshman. All bright eyed, ready to take on the world, and scared silly of this whole college thing (well I guess that was just me). We spent the night with some friends in the Outdoor Adventure Club at a cabin and had a blast sledding and snowshoeing around the next day. We have had some good times. Deb was pretty much amazing back then, and she is pretty much amazing now.

Life has Loveliness to Sell

I haven't written in a while because I have had "blogger's block." That is when I can't think of anything particular about my life at the moment that I think you all would be interested in. I go to school, work, study, sleep, try to fit three meals a day in there somewhere, and generally have an all around great time. Really life is great. Which brings me to the topic of my post today: Life has loveliness to sell. That is the first line of one of my all time favorite poems, and it has been going through my head quite frequently lately. Here it is for your reading pleasure. I hope you all see the loveliness around you.


Barter
By:Sara Teasdale

Life has loveliness to sell,
All beautiful and splendid things,
Blue waves whitened on a cliff,
Soaring fire that sways and sings,
And children's faces looking up
Holding wonder like a cup.

Life has loveliness to sell,
Music like a curve of gold,
Scent of pine trees in the rain,
Eyes that love you, arms that hold,
And for your spirit's still delight,
Holy thoughts that star the night.

Spend all you have for loveliness,
Buy it and never count the cost;
For one white singing hour of peace
Count many a year of strife well lost,
And for a breath of ecstasy
Give all you have been, or could be.

Ready

As of this week I am officially ready for fall. Yeah, I know, I am a bit behind. But before now I have been looking back at my 8 months of summer, Chaco tan lines, and afternoons at the pool, and wishing that I didn't have to leave it behind.

Then there were strings of pearly clouds around the mountains this weekend that gave me tingles. The smell of autumn captured my senses when I walked outside Monday morning. I saw a flat bed pickup full of richly orange pumpkins on the highway. I helped can apple sauce with the homey aroma of home grown apples hanging thick in the steamy kitchen.

And then today on MSN I found 10 recipes for pumpkin and I now want to raid a pumpkin patch. Pumpkin Seed Pesto, Pumpkin Shortcake with Fruit Compote (I don't even know what that really is, but I want it in my kitchen), Pumpkin Potato Gnocchi,

Pumpkin and Chicken Chowder,

Pumpkin-Sage Cream Sauce (ohhhhh),
Spiced Pumpkin Soup (doesn't that just make you want to snuggle up in a blanket with a good book?),
and Pumpkin Spiced Waffles (I might be more willing to leave the warmth of my bed in the morning if I knew this was awaiting me).
Ahhhh, yes. Fall is wonderful.
http://www.delish.com/entertaining-ideas/holidays/halloween/pumpkin-recipes?GT1=47001

To Hell Hole and Back

One of the best aspects of college is taking classes that don't feel like classes. For example: Basics of Backpacking. When my boss found out I was taking this course she put her hands on her hips and scolded: "You're a little beyond "basic" backpacking Katie." Okay, so maybe she has a point, but our three day field trip in the Uintas sure was fun!

Most of our class.
Our first view of Hell Hole Lake where we camped both nights. Don't judge it by the name; it was great.

Keith is in the class as well. This is our way of supporting each other in our academic progress.
The first morning I woke up early and spent a couple hours sitting on the side of the lake. Soul therapy right there folks. It is important to take some alone time now and again to make sure we are each still okay with ourselves.
The second day we went on the hunt for a nameless lake we saw on the map. We followed enchanting creeks, meandered through golden meadows, and snacked on tiny blueberries.
Patti, our professor, fishing in the morning.
Patti's nephew let Keith and I cast a few on his pole. The silly fish bit the middle of the line but not the fly.
Moss! It made me feel at home. :)
The nameless lake. (yep, the pictures are a bit out of order again.)
Hiking back to the cars. There were lots of jokes about getting out of this Hell Hole, but all agreed that it was better than returning to BYU and our less enlightened classes.