groundings: June 2007

Okay, 'tis time for a much-needed update. I have been neglecting this for too long and it's time to finally translate my thoughts of "I should really post about that" to actually doing it!

So, what have I been up to for the past month? Well, other than the continuous wedding planning and course work, I've actually had some time for fun. Back on the last Saturday of May, Mark and I went hiking with one of our good friends Mel. She's the one who organized the event, otherwise it never would have happened, so thanks Mel! We hiked up to Lindeman Lake out Chilliwack-way, for you locals who may care, and it was absolutely gorgeous. I'll post a few shots from the day, but others can be found by viewing the "Hiking Adventures!" photo album.

First off, a shot of the lake itself, and a few of the surroundings:

The greens of the leaves was such a vibrant green, as they were just coming out - I couldn't stop gushing about the colour, so I can't help but post a few shots of what we saw:

While we relaxed at the lake, Mel taught us how to play Cribbage. Nothing like sitting by the water after hiking for a few hours and just relaxing, without a care in the world.

It was a much-needed break for both Mark and I, as our lives are a bit chaotic right now - oh how we're looking forward to August and the chance relax together away from civilization for a few weeks before returning and attempting to settle into regular routines again.

The week after this hike, Mark was off to Tennessee for a business trip and I spent 4 days living on TWU's Crow's Nest Ecological Research Area, (which I help manage as part of my job) helping with a few construction projects and working with the 3 students we currently have doing research there. It was a busy week with a few long days, but the evenings were spent relaxing by the ocean (and playing with my camera and mini-tripod!) and we also had the opportunity to explore some of the Garry Oak meadows there. Here's a few shots, including some flowers we saw, the view in one the meadows, and one of the sunsets I managed to capture:

And, one last picture for your viewing pleasure. This is a rag quilt I'm in the process of making. I've already made two of these quilts, but gave both away as wedding gifts and I decided it was high time I had my own. So, when I need a break from all the regular TWU & A Rocha work, Visual Basic programming, and wedding planning, this is what I pull out. I'm trying to get it done before the wedding so that my mom is still around to advise me if I need it. I'm halfway through sewing the squares into rows - then it's just a matter of sewing all the rows together, putting on a binding (which needs to be hand-stitched), clipping all the edges so that they fray, and then washing it a few times...whew...here's to hoping it get's finished! At the very least I'm hoping to have the binding on before the wedding. After that I know what I'm doing.

My parents and I went out to the Matsqui dyke to see the flooding this past week. I hope to post about that soon. In the meantime, keep your eyes on the Photo Album links on the right sidebar as I'll be adding new albums soon so you can see more pictures.