Today, I...

Went kayaking in the fjords


Took a hike


That had a great view


Saw beauty on the way to dinner


Turned 30!

Success

There has been knitting lately, albeit at a much slower pace than I would like. This has been a very busy week for me. Mr. Tall and I both managed to get sick, with different bugs. While he has apparently been resistant to whatever I brought home, I can't say the same for myself :( This is also my last week at OldJob, which has proved to be very draining, especially given that I don't quite feel 100%.

But the main cause of stress this week has been my UK driving test. Thankfully, this morning I won that battle.

I passed!

I was really worried that I was going to fail this test the first time around. This is largely due to:

1. The higher percentage of people who fail this test the first time.


2. The differences in UK and US driving requirements


3. That I've developed bad driving habits over the (almost) 14 years since I have taken a driving test


4. That my driving instructor, while well-meaning, made me MORE nervous and MORE paranoid than any human should be.

Still, this morning I was relieved the moment I saw my examiner. He was one of those people you look at and immediately know that everything is going to be o.k. - a proper older English gentleman, complete with tweed cap and jolly disposition. In the end, I survived having only incurred 3 out of the allowed 15 minor faults.

I feel much better now that I can legally drive in the UK again, and am looking forward to a quiet weekend of R&R and knitting before I start NewJob on Monday!

Two Years

Today is our second wedding anniversary :)

The day started out great and sunny - not what we were expecting for a November Seattle wedding. But then, it started to rain, which left us this gorgeous treat to enjoy during our reception.

As china is the "modern" anniversary gift and we are so not china people, we instead went to a Chinese restaurant for dinner. We laughed over the waitress who couldn't understand a request for "tap water" and brought us "white wine". My fortune cookie said something about me having silly dreams (I think the point was that perhaps I should be more serious about the things I dream of doing but think are silly...)

There is knitting going on here - I'm hoping to have a couple FO's within the next week or so :)

Not knitting, but beautiful all the same.

Last July, Mr. Tall and I visited Paris for a long weekend. We had been living in the UK for a month and couldn't wait to get out and explore "the continent" a bit more. It was in Paris that we really developed an appreciation for art museums.

While we liked The Louvre, we preferred Musee d'Orsay. Perhaps it was the much more manageable size, or perhaps it was just the style - d'Orsay exhibits a lot of impressionist art. At the time, there was a special exhibit on the works of J. F. Willumsen. Willumsen (1863-1958) was a Danish painter, sculptor, ceramist, architect, and photographer.

One work in particular caught my eye.


Willumsen - A Mountain Climber, 1904

There are so many things I love about this work of art. I love the sense of strength and confidence emanating from the woman while she is resting. I imagine that she is looking down into a valley, reflecting on the beauty of the area instead of congratulating herself for reaching that point (as I would likely be doing). I love that my reaction to this artwork is to feel a sense of peaceful empowerment. The colors and technique astound me - especially in person.

Ever since stumbling across Willumsen at d'Orsay, I've changed my museum-visiting strategy. I used to go into a museum with the intention of seeing the popular highlights. Now, my goal is to find other unknown-to-me artists, much like Willumsen, whose work strikes me.

Happy Birthday!

Today, I'm kicking off NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) with birthday wishes for my dear husband.

At a luau on Kauai during our honeymoon

Happy birthday, and thanks for giving me a great reason to bake some carrot cake! I really hope it makes up for the horrendous eggs I tried cooking you this morning ;)

MLAR always :)