Tour de Manhattan

Cycling is my family sport. My dad doesn't watch football games, he watches the Tour de France.
My dad, brother, and I used to ride the local bike trails on weekends. Our favorite was the path that ran up Provo Canyon to Bridal Veil Falls. In college, I started regularly riding the Jordan River Trial, along the river all the way out the to lake. Riding next to the water, with tree hanging above, was so much better than riding on the asphalt trying to avoid car fumes on the way to campus and back.
Now that I live in NYC, I enjoy riding the bike trail along the Hudson River. It does get me closer to the water and away from the cars. I need to make time for it more often.
These photos were taken by my good friend and fellow photographer Elizabeth Leitzel last summer.

The Day the Garlic Press Died

So, I was cooking lentils today, and wanted to add some garlic and onions. I got out my garlic press, and a bulb of garlic. One clove went through fine, but when I put in the second clove to press, the press cracked! I didn't cut off the tough end, like I usually do, and I guess it was just too much for the press. I'm sad, because I got this garlic press when my oldest (though younger than me by 18 months) brother came to visit me 7 years ago--has it really been that long? I was a sophomore in college, and he was shocked to find that I didn't own a garlic press. (He cooked for me while he was there. Weeks later I found all my hot pads on top of the refrigerator. Which, since he is 6'6" is probably a reasonable place for him to keep them.) So he, my best friend/roommate, and I went out and bought a garlic press.

We didn't get a fancy one that doubled back to clean itself. We just got a basic one. And today it died. A noble death. At least no pieces ended up in the lentils. (I hope!)

I *heart* film

Got some film back from the lab recently that I shot with my holga camera. It's a toy camera that both amateurs and professionals embrace, as it can create fun effects like vignettes, light leaks, and double exposures. It's also very lightweight and easy to carry around. But to get to the point, shooting with film is fun--I love the suspense of waiting to get the picture back and see what's there. You can have happy accidents, like this,



where two different exposure overlap with a beautiful effect.

It was a lot of fun photographing J & N. K wasn't being so cooperative, but I had fun photographing her on the trampoline.









Can your digital camera do that?

The Summer of Weddings Part 2

The second wedding that I attended this summer was in Philadelphia. It's only a two hour bus trip away, but I decided to stay overnight so that I could see some of the city, as I've never been before. I found a great hostel to stay in, the apple hostel, right in the heart of old city.

I arrived around 4 pm, and was able to see a few of the sites before they closed. I went to the Betsy Ross house. I hadn't realized that few people knew that she designed the flag during her lifetime. They also have a neat program called Once Upon a Nation where they have storytellers tell stories from the city's history.

After the historical areas closed, I wandered around Chinatown. Here's a view of the downtown.



Here's a self-portrait in a window.



The next day I attended a Quaker service at one of the oldest Quaker buildings in America. Then I went to the wedding.

V and A had a very fun, relaxed wedding that fit their style. The ceremony was at a park right across from their house. Here's their front door.



V choose a vintage dress.



The reception was at a science fiction bookstore.



Specially decorated for the evening.



The cake is Alf.



The highlight of the reception was when A's grandfather broke out the harmonica.



The cake cutting.



The bouquet toss. (Taken by a friend of V & A's with a sweet vintage polaroid camera.)



Me and V

Routine

Sometimes it's nice to have routines. For instance, when I go to the beach with my friends J and R, we always stop and get basically the same picnic supplies:

8 pack of potato rolls or hamburger buns
1/2 lb swiss cheese
1/2-1 lb smoked turkey
1 lb potato salad (to eat as a side and also put some in the sandwiches)
lettuce
tomato
watermelon (from a truck in harlem)
Sun Chips and/or Doritos
Double Stuff Oreos for J and Peanut Butter Oreos for me & R (although we'll all eat some of each.)
Something to drink--usually water or Fresca

Usually we get together in the morning and go to the store together. We have to stop at MacDonalds either before or after so that J can get a large diet coke with extra ice, and R and I can get ice cream cones or fries. Then we drive an hour or so to the beach, set out our sheets, umbrella, and J's beach chair, and eat. Next we get in the water, then spend the rest of the day between the water, laying out, reading, and eating more. It's a great routine, one that we will hopefully keep up throughout the summer.

My Super Power

According to my soon-to-be sister-in-law, I have a talent that I was not previously aware of. This is not a talent that I've heard of in anyone else. It's pretty amazing. I can cause rainbows to appear. Not just any rainbow--double rainbows. It's not something that I have conscious control over, but it's happened three times now. Once when we were together in Ohio, once in Utah, and again this week when they received a package from me. (Apparently I can do this at a distance, since I was in New York and the rainbow was in Utah.)

Now the question is, will I use my powers for good, or evil?





Look carefully in the corner for the second rainbow!

Just another day on the subway

I was reading my book on the subway tonight on my way home. Since the car was full, I was standing, holding onto the pole. After several people got off at one stop, I looked around to see if there was a seat open. No such luck. Oh well. At the next stop, I noticed an elderly woman sitting at the end of the row, gesturing that there was a seat available across from her. Since I only had one more stop before transferring to another train, I smiled and thanked her, but said that I only had one more stop to go, and stayed standing.

I thought that it was quite nice of her to notice that I had wanted a seat, and to let me know when there was one open. As I got off the train to transfer, I realized that it probably had more to do with the book I was reading than with her observing me looking for a seat. The book was Your Pregnancy Week by Week, which I'm reading not because I'm expecting a baby, or planning on having one any time soon, but because I'm certifying to become a birth doula, someone that helps pregnant women leading up to and during labor. But she probably assumed that I was pregnant, and really needed that seat!