Miscellaneous Moments

A couple months ago, I meant to make a blog entry showing off our Christmas gifts getting use, but I got sidetracked and haven't consistently remembered to take photos. However, some of the things and events we've been occupied with don't warrant a full entry on their own, so I decided to build off of the idea and do another "miscellaneous" sort of posting.

Our tea ball broke so we requested a new infuser for Christmas. Evander went crazy and bought us three different types to experiment with! This one is so cute, I just had to share.

My father bought us each a nerf gun. After getting shot at several times, I told Patrick he needed to find something else to have target practice with. One night I walked out of the bedroom to see why he wasn't getting ready for bed, and our front room's lamp looked like this. We still have no idea how he got the one stuck on the rim at the top. In the process of giving it a try, I got hooked on shooting darts at the ceiling light as well and it's provided a great source of entertainment for several months afterward, particularly for guests during a house party we hosted.

Speaking of the house party, here were our host & hostess outfits. We held a "Goodwill Prom" (I got the idea from a friend on Facebook who attended one), which is basically just the normal party/get-together but you dress up with clothes from thrift shops. Our friends had some awesome ensembles but stupid-us didn't take any photos that evening to share. Patrick & I look kinda like a Vegas/Gangster Bonnie & Clyde that looks pretty good, but what you can't tell from this photo is that all of Patrick's clothes are about 5 sizes too large for him and I'm wearing a bathroom robe with the most horrific pants.

Cue the pants I just referenced. Skin tight (I totally had muffin top on my hips hidden by the dress) and fake-snakeskin in texture, they were covered in a metallic gold spray-paint pattern broken up by zippered ankles. Absolutely horrid but perfect for that sort of an evening!

Patrick's mom sent us a cheese-making  kit for St. Nicholas Day, so we've attempted a few batches of mozzarella. The first batch lost its shape in our fridge since it was about the consistency of thick slime, but our next two batches graced rather delicious homemade pizzas.

Our garden kept us tied up nearly every weekend during Spring. Prior to this year's bed-prepping, Patrick pruned the trees and decided to give our decorative grasses an inaugural trim (he's only got about half the plant snipped to ground level at this point in the photo). The bushes are huge havens for snails so he got gooed more than once. Yuck.

A couple in our small group had a recommitment ceremony in their home on their 10th wedding anniversary. It was a fairly small affair so we felt pretty honored to be invited. Tony & Rosa worked hard leading up to the event to have their backyard ready for the special occasion, and the weather had been perfect all week. Naturally it poured all day then. Everything was drenched and soggy so they moved things indoors, but the sky cleared to reveal the largest and most complete rainbow I had ever seen as we drove to their home.

Now that we've got a little more disposable income built up, we've been able to dabble in brewing a bit more lately. We made an awesome oatmeal stout over the winter, and a pale ale made with citra hops this spring. Patrick would like to get into all-grain brewing eventually so he bought a grinder, and in the meantime we were able to use it for our ginger pale ale, of which I reused the spent grain to make chocolate chip cookies that were delish! We just cracked open a few bottles this week that are rather refreshing in the 90/100 degree weather, and this weekend we will be bottling a Zythos IPA. I think we'll need to take a short break now to rebuild that disposable income I mentioned though!

 

 Downtown Merced  had an event called Cap & Town during an early weekend in May to celebrate the graduation commencements. We had a really great evening together browsing craft booths, grabbing a local brew at the nearby pub, browsing (and buying) art at the nearby gallery while chatting with the owners & artist, thrift shopping, eating brick oven pizza & homemade ice cream from food vendors, and taking in some of the live entertainment. The hula group was of particular interest to me, and this performance from their star pupil was certainly eye-catching. You'll see what I mean when you click on the above video.

Since the Cap & Town event was right outside my work building, I showed Patrick the little bakery down the street where I got our anniversary cupcakes. I've since been back a few times, and we picked up some lemon-blueberry cupcakes to devour the next day. I think my sister Courtney will appreciate my dorky posing.

Around 6:30 on May 20, a solar eclipse was viewable in our part of the country/world, and with full sun in our backyard at that time, we didn't have to travel far to participate, conveniently enough.

Shadows of the crescent make for a happy cyclops shadow monster.

So, those are a few odds and ends on display from our life these last few months. But tune in soon for some reporting on our latest out-of-town excursions!

Hite Cove

Two weekends ago, Patrick and I decided it was high time we get out on a hike! We had been told by the locals that the foothills look painted in the springtime with wildflowers, and having not experienced that last year, we thought that would be a good direction to take. As we drove the route, we began to doubt the people who had tipped us off, but it turns out we just weren't thinking of the right spot. Once we got closer to the Yosemite National Park gate, the sun hit the poppies and created neon orange streaks across the slopes. It was quite the living watercolor.

We didn't pull over to get a picture since we were focused on arriving at the Hite Cove Trailhead and figured we could get a snapshot on the return trip. Unfortunately, we got rained out after a couple miles in and left early, so the poppies were closed on our driveby. Determined to complete the hike and celebrate Easter in a unique way, we went back the following weekend (this past Sunday) and made sure to find a nice shoulder for a photo opportunity!

A little zoomed in.

This picture isn't at the trailhead, but it provides an idea of the general nature of the Hite's Cove hike. It followed the river (bottom left corner) along the side of a hillside, with periodic ups & downs along the path.

The hike starts with a shaded steep incline, so you tend to lean forward and look down, oblivious to what is ahead. At the top of the ascent, you round a corner and suddenly find yourself utterly surrounded by poppies. It is extremely dazzling and reminiscent of a fairytale.

My point is made!

The poppies definitely take the lead in the show, but plenty of supporting flora accent the landscape in a most flattering way with beauty of their own.

Closeup of a poppy.

Lupine

The poppies made friends with different flowers in different spots. This particular hillside was mostly filled in with small yellow blooms. I told Patrick I wouldn't mind if Heaven's "streets of gold" were paved like this.

And likewise, this section had equal parts white and orange flowers, with purple thrown in here and there, for a different dynamic.

Most of the flower-laden hillsides were in the first 1 to 1.5 miles of the hike, but we continued to see smaller patches of different species throughout our entire expedition.

Just beyond the thickest patches of wildflowers was a great spot near the river to eat our picnic lunch and read the Easter story on Patrick's phone. Thank you, Jesus, for offering eternal life, and in the meantime, a pretty Earth to bide my time. :)

On our return to the trailhead the first weekend, the rain brought this guy out of hiding. All of the gecko/salamander things I've encountered out here so far have been extremely quick, skiddish, and small. But this guy slowly walked across the path- I'm glad I didn't step on him! - and didn't try too hard to escape my grasp. It's not as apparent here but he was somewhere between a bright red and a rusty red.

On our return trip the second weekend, Patrick was conversely leading the way and abruptly halted on the trail. When I peaked around him, I saw a decent sized snake body draped across the path a couple yards in front of us (at least 3 feet long and about the thickness of a toilet paper cardboard spool). Patrick tossed a rock at it and it didn't move (although I thought I might have seen a muscle twitch) so he thought it might be dead. "Are you sure?" I said, not wanting him to approach just yet. A second later we see a head turn around out of a bush and double back on the body. Before I could snap a picture, it dove off  the edge of the hillside! After a 12-15 foot plunge, it landed on a large flat rock surface. I think it may have manipulated its landing, but Patrick thinks it may have successfully executed suicide (probably just his wishful thinking since he's less keen on snakes than me).

As we approached the 4 mile mark, we began to see various parts of machinery and metal scraps, signaling the remnants of the mining settlement at the end of the trail were near. Unfortunately it took us a while to find our intended destination since the various different detours previous hikers took made it difficult to determine the correct way to go. After bushwhacking through poison oak and brambles for a little bit, we decided to turn around since we weren't even sure we were on the right track. Good thing too, because on the way back we found it.

The shack was in pretty good shape for being an abandoned lodging pushing 100 years in age or so. A few shelves on the wall made for simple bunk beds.

"Union Iron Works Builders S.F. Cal."- presumably San Francisco, California.

I'm totally not jealous of the work the miners had to do to get their equipment and materials out this far. We assume they assembled a lot of the machinery on site, but that doesn't change the fact it would have been heavy toil to lug regardless. I picked up a relatively small metal scrap about a square foot in size that was fairly weighty, and yet it paled in comparison to the sections we saw seamed together to form the littered equipment.

The 4 mile hike back to the car was not nearly as pleasant as the first half of the walk. Usually I pack plenty of water and it ends up being extra weight and not drank. So I scaled back this time.....a bit too much. (Especially for a very sunny day.) Very dry-mouthed and lethargic, we uncomfortably trudged back the entire way on a few mouthfuls. Patrick joked that we paid an homage to Jesus Christs' suffering! lol :) Luckily I had a little H2O waiting in the car, but by that point we weren't feeling too awesome. We took some respite by the river to recover before the drive, nibbling on Angel Food Cake and sipping on some white wine we had intended for the picnic. Our collapsible plastic champagne flutes from Mark & Daisy FINALLY made their debut. Originally we had been waiting to use them until we could make a trek worth an indulgent reward. Turns out we really did work for it after all!

One last glance at Cheetoh-stained landscape as we departed for home! Vibrant enough to burn itself into our memories until we can return next Spring!

Channeling Europe on our 2nd Anniversary

Well, it wasn't as exciting as last year's trip to London, Kylerhea and Paris, but we reminisced with a few European touches and thanked the Lord and each other for another great year together!

Instead of the flower market....

A lady at work was selling daffodils for an American Cancer Society fundraiser. They were scheduled to be delivered March 20 so I thought it was fate saying I should bring a bouquet home to my partner. :) What's funny is she handed me a bunch of stems (they hadn't bloomed yet) so it kinda backfired on me, but I teased that it was a more "masculine" version of a bouquet anyway. My coworker told me the next day that his daughter asked him why he was putting asparagus in a vase, but after 12-24 hours, everyone's did open and looked lovely!


Starting the meal with a glass of red certainly wouldn't be looked down upon in the city of love & lights....

Shout out to Kat Barnard! We saved a bottle of much better wine than we're used to from our trip to the winery she works at in Portland, OR to make the night a little more special and celebratory.

It was our first time having a candlelit dinner as you'd picture in the movies with candlesticks and crystal holders.


It wasn't from a boulangerie, but we picked up a fresh French loaf......

-complemented with a couple fancier cheeses, tomato/garlic bruschetta, fruit and veggies for a Grecian-god worthy platter.


Macaroons from a local patisserie....

...although you don't see them here because we were so excited to eat them that we forgot to get a picture of the rather lovely treats. A cute bakery specializing in cupcakes just opened up a block from my work building downtown, so I made plans to check the place out by picking up a few indulgences for anniversary dessert. Black forest and coconut cupcakes are pictured, and in addition to the coconut macaroons we shared a chocolate peanut butter cupcake. I may have to make up the need for another special occasion soon so I can go back and select a few cookies to try next. :)

We finished out the evening by watching the new Three Musketeers movie. When we visited Versailles, we witnessed a film being shot on the premise and when we saw a preview for the Three Musketeers, it made us wonder if that could be the one. Turns out no, but there were plenty of scenes in London and at Versaille that made it fun to point out and say "hey isn't that-?!" and "we were there!"

We're hoping to perhaps spend a future anniversary overseas again one day, but in the meantime the simple ones at home can be fun too!

Weekend in Santa Cruz

Last Friday night (the 24th) we headed West to Santa Cruz to visit Patrick's coworker, Sarah (and her fiance- Justin), who has been inviting us to come see the city for quite a while now! I am very pleased we did because we had a great time exploring!

We started the weekend off with a pleasant walk downtown to stroll among the shops and have a local brew over a delicious diner dinner, and followed it up the next morning by checking out a couple coffee shops and visiting the wharf.

Justin dropped us off at the wharf, where a pier with shops and restaurants extends over the ocean. On the opposite side of where you see Patrick, there's a large boardwalk with a carnival along the shore (it reminds me of Monopoly!).

The weather was perfect, and the sun made the ocean look like a blanket of blue sequins.

Sea lions liked to lay on the rafters underneath us. A few railed openings allowed us to observe them and hear their barks echo.

Leaning over the edge of the end rail, we saw a large group of the sea lions swimming and showing off for the onlookers.

Some of the seagulls were perched very close. It's amazing how hundreds of feathers can lay so smooth and flawless-looking.

On our way back, I noticed a sign for a wine tasting room on the second story of a shop. The price was reasonable and the view and atmosphere were pleasant, so we ordered a flight to share with the "purple cow" appetizer (a red wine-soaked cheese with crackers). It was the perfect impromptu stop!

We left the wharf to embark upon a somewhat long, but lovely, walk along the coast toward our destination of tidal pools.

Ice plant, a succulent, coats the steep hills to help prevent erosion, and it looks pretty to boot!

This plant striked me as rather odd and intriguing in appearance.

It was fun to watch surfers ride the large waves that came in. It's funny how that's a common hobby around here when it seems like an activity for the movies to a girl from the Midwest. Sarah told us how there's a whole unwritten set of rules/protocol to the culture- if you hog the good waves and don't take turns, that can be grounds for a beat down! (Click on the picture for a short video.)

The tide was already coming in when we made it, but we still had plenty of intriguing and beautiful surroundings to keep us engaged at the tidal pools.


These weird rock structures were dotted all around, but this was one of the larger ones. Patrick thought they might be concretions. I thought they looked like drinking fountains. :)


Doesn't that outline look like a goldfish cracker?!


Upon our first glances in the puddles, we didn't see much, but after a more patient and careful observation, Patrick noticed the subtle movements of many tiny hermit crabs.


If you touch the "petals" of the anemone, they cling to you- it was so weird feeling! This one is a fun color.


This one looked so perfect, almost like a flower.


We'll have to bring our kayaks here sometime, but for this trip it was enjoyable to watch others from a comfy ledge with a good view.


I had hoped to see starfish, but we didn't get down to any of the deeper pools since the algae made the rocks quite slippery. Luckily, Justin joined up with us to give us a ride, and he's a seasoned and passionate tidal pool adventurer. Within minutes he handed us a few to look at, to my extreme delight!


A deep purple one. It's almost hard to tell in this photo, but the underside below reveals more of it's plum hue on camera.


This one just has muck on it, but the orange one has an iron grip on a mussel, if you were to flip it over.


So cool and pretty!I feel like miniature ones would make lovely brooches were there not the issue of them being alive and needing water, and whatnot.

The ocean's intrigues kept us so occupied that we skipped lunch, but we fulfilled our hunger with a popular downtown ice cream place that makes all its ingredients from scratch and carries some unusual flavors. After a brief respite at our hosts' house, we spent Saturday evening picnicking outside at a local brewery with a gourmet pizza we picked up on the way. For dessert, Justin sneaked off to the bakery around the corner for a large pan of scrumptious apple crisp. The next day we walked a bit of it off during a short hike through a park just outside of town.

We've seen the Sequoias in Mariposa Grove about a year and a half ago, but it's still astounding to take in the girth of the Redwoods! You may be able to make out Patrick's face peering out from the hollow in the trunk.


Even the forest has unusual new creatures for us to see. The banana slugs are rightly named! If you click on the picture, you can see its lined belly better.

After our hike, we hit up a bakery of recommendation from Sarah, where we went a bit overboard on the sweets (we bought a bag full of goodies to take home!), and browsed/shopped among the downtown strip. Sarah told us the population of Santa Cruz is smaller than Merced, but by its unique and many offerings, you wouldn't think so!

You know, I never used to think of myself as a big beach town person, but I've gotta say my exposure to the ocean is starting to prove me wrong. Santa Cruz was an awesome new place to explore, and I look forward to seeing more of it soon!