How did it get to be spring already?

Plum Blossoms III
Originally uploaded by jessajune

But it has. E's street is filled with ornamental plum trees, and they are all in bloom. Every time you step out the door, there is a sweetness to the air.

But it is that time - we're starting to talk about what to do with the garden. (Mom says if it's all left to Dad and I, the entire yard will be planted with hot peppers and squash. This may be true.) I planted some cilantro just yesterday, and it felt good to have my hands in the soil again. There is some serious weeding to be done, as well, both in the vegetable planters and around my front door. It's supposed to rain this weekend, so I should get out there and work on it.

On the knitting front, things are moving quickly as well... I've joined a Ravelry group where we're put into teams and given assignments and earn points - it sounds silly, but I have finished many more projects since I joined. I've never had problem starting things, but finishing is another story, so this has been a great development for me.

Since finishing the Spain socks a few posts below, I made yet another black hat for E (I am done for a while - that's 3 black hats in the course of a year. Black yarn is BORING, y'all.), a red hat for me, some yoga socks (no heels or toes) and a pair of red/pink/orange socks for Mom's birthday. I told you I'd been busy!

And the photography has been progressing along, as promised. I'm pretty sure that I'll turn this photo-a-day thing into a yearlong project. I'm having too much fun to stop!

Behind the Cypress Tree

Behind the Cypress Tree
Originally uploaded by jessajune

Picture per day photos are behind schedule - I'm mostly taking them, but I wanted to get all my vacation photos up on Flickr before uploading any subsequent pictures. I finally have finished that - and made a set for the Spain pictures. The ones from London are currently on the front page. I'll be filling in past IPPD photos soon.

This particular picture was taken from the top of La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, on the Nativity side of the church. That cypress tree you see there is at the top of the front facade on that side of the church. I do not particularly like heights (note: this may be a huge understatement) but it was absolutely worth it for the gorgeous views, and the close up look at the higher portions of the structure.

Happy New Year

Hello hello! I hope you all had a good holiday, and that you are not so buried in January's return-to-business that you've forgotten all about it already. I spent my New Year in Spain this year - I have to say, I am not generally a big fan of New Year's Eve festivities, but I had a great time out of the country. Even if I DID have some trouble with the Spanish tradition of eating a grape on each stroke of midnight. (I am a small person, with a small mouth, and those grapes had SEEDS.)

If you want to hear more about our vacation shenanigans, E and I created a joint travel blog over at bbtwo.wordpress.com, so feel free to check it out.

On a photograph front, I am working on getting all my many many many photographs up on Flickr, and I will post a link to the set when I do. I think I'm also going to put together a short version set for those who just want the highlights version.

And yes, I'm still taking daily photographs - I think I'm going to extend that project at least through the end of March, and I may make a full year out of it. The new camera I got for Christmas is so much more fun and responsive than my old camera, I feel like there is new ground still to cover.

Today's photo, however, came from my webcam - yes, that is both cats sitting in my lap (my legs are crossed, which is how Freya is seeming to float in midair - she's perched on my knee). We are keeping each other warm. And yes, I did take that picture by holding my laptop over my head. I couldn't very well get up to fetch my real camera without disrupting the cat pile.

Anyway, so I am back and not dead, and things are going well. I hope to resume posting about some knitting stuff soon - I am very close to finishing my first pair of knit socks for myself, and they have been a bit of a revelation. Which is almost a pity. Socks are pretty tedious to knit but I will undoubtedly be making a lot more of them because they are so comfortable. But more on that another day!

Winter Weather

Winter? Lemon tree doesn't care.
Originally uploaded by jessajune

The clouds are getting darker as the afternoon goes on. I checked the weather and rain isn't forecast until tomorrow, but apparently we have a freeze warning for tonight.

Don't tell the lemon tree. Took this photo just last week - as you can see, it's actually blossoming.

I'm wondering if I should try to cover the citrus trees. May go find some blankets and do that. Good thing I am under the weather and haven't planted my seedling kale yet.

Fall in Grafton, IL

View @ Lookout Point 1PPD 10/16/09
Originally uploaded by jessajune

Last week, I went to Grafton, IL to see some friends get married. It rained for the early part of our stay, but by the end the weather was chilly but gorgeous. We don't get too much of the fall colors out here in California - it was a bit early for them in Grafton, but things were quite lovely. I've posted a bunch of pictures to my Flickr.

We spent a lot of time in Pere Marquette State Park, which is small but quite lovely - and the location that this picture was taken.

Rain

Rain 1PPD 10/13/09
Originally uploaded by jessajune

We had our first storm of the season this week! It was exciting. The chimney grate blew off my parents' roof and Dad and I climbed up in the rain and wind to put it back.

That may have been a large part of the excitement.

But I love fall and winter - looking forward to more storms of this sort. But for now I'm glad they've stopped, as I'm getting on a plane tomorrow.

More Pictures

Flame 1PPD 9/23/09
Originally uploaded by jessajune

This one is from my garden. The reason for the strange coloration is the setting sun, which was hitting just the flowers, causing them to glow. (They are usually a bright but otherwise unremarkable red.)

I missed my first 1PPD last week (9/25) - it took me a month, but it did eventually happen. My schedule got shaken up, and it was a really busy day, most of it away from home. I thought about swapping in a picture and calling it 9/25, but decided that wasn't the point of the exercise. I'll do my best to snap something every day, but if I don't make it, I'll just try to pick up where I left off and keep going.

Shadow 1PPD 9/14/09

Shadow 1PPD 9/14/09
Originally uploaded by jessajune

This project really is making me look at things differently - who would have thought I would have fun taking pictures in a parking lot? And yet I snapped photos there 2 days in a row.

As always, feel free to check out the photo set for the whole project.

Opal

Moody Blue
Originally uploaded by jessajune

My parents gave my sister and I each a piece of jewelry to celebrate finishing grad school. Alicia knew pretty much exactly what she wanted, and got hers almost right away. I waffled for a long time... it didn't take me long to decide I wanted an opal, but it took me forever to find a piece that spoke to me. This was made by Artisan Impact, who I found via Etsy (of course). Sometime when I am less caffeinated and excited I will try to take some better close-up shots so you can see the lovely detail. Today, I can only really operate on the level of excitement! blue! sparkle!

It all really happened. I have my degree, and I'll think of that every time I wear this lovely piece.

(Yes, the stone is manufactured. No, I don't care. It is fiery and blue and large and perfect and I have wanted one ever since I was a little girl.)

Tomatoes

Ripening Tomatoes 1PPD 9/5/09
Originally uploaded by jessajune

You might imagine from the number of 1PPD photos I've taken of tomatoes that I loved to eat them. But the truth is, while I do have a fondness for sungold cherry tomatoes right off the vine, for the most part, I'd prefer to leave the raw tomatoes - at least until they've been turned into sauce.

The reason I have taken so many pictures of them is that they're gorgeous - full of texture and color. And like many things in the garden, they're ephemeral... in a few weeks, they'll be gone until next year.

1PPD August 26

U Shaped Cucumber
Originally uploaded by jessajune

From the front garden - an unusually shaped cucumber. I am sure it will be plenty delicious, however.

As I mentioned, I won't be blogging every day's picture... I'm trying to make a manageable-sized commitment that I can stick to. But I'll upload them to Flickr (sometimes multiple days at once), and you can always take a look at my 1PPD Flickr set to see the latest.

Pacific Madrone 1PPD, Aug 23

Pacific Madrone
Originally uploaded by jessajune

We went hiking at Big Basin Redwood State Park today. The woods there are filled with redwood, oak, pine, and madrone. It is where I always went camping as a kid, and this environment is what I think of when I think of camping or the Santa Cruz Mountains.

There are some more pictures of the day over in my Flickr account.

Aug 22 1PPD

Early Girls @ Dirty Girl
Originally uploaded by jessajune

Today's picture is dry farmed Early Girl tomatoes at Dirty Girl produce at the Embarcadero farmer's market in SF.

One thing I think I'm going to find is that carrying my camera around for my "one" picture of the day is going to lead me to take a lot more photographs in general. There are a few other pictures to be found at Flickr.

One Photo Per Day Project

1PPD 8/21/09
Originally uploaded by jessajune

I've been thinking I wanted to improve my photography for a long time without actually doing anything about it, even though we all know the best way to get better at something is to practice. So I've decided I'm going to take at least one photo every day until January 2010. It may be with my camera, or webcam, phone, or heck, even someone else's camera. I will avoid photographing the same object in the same way twice. (Obviously, for things like knitting projects and the garden I will continue to take iterative pictures. But these repeat shots will not count towards my One Photo Per Day.)

I am unlikely to get them all posted to the blog, but I will do my utmost to get every one loaded up onto my Flickr account. In both places, I shall use the tag 1ppd (one photo per day).