Starting a Monday Morning

This is the way to start a rainy Monday morning in the autumn:

Yep, this is the "Ompi" cup. My grandfather, Sir Rafa, used to have a cute little story about a "pet" spider named Ompi (he didn't really have a pet spider . . . he just made up a really good story about one). A few years ago when Liv and I saw a spider in the garage, I told her it was Sir Rafa's spider, Ompi, so she wouldn't be afraid of it (being a "daddy-long-legs," it was nothing to be afraid of).

Of course that now means that when I pull out my Halloween mug every autumn, Liv refers to it as "the Ompi cup" because of the spider on the inside.

She wondered if Ompi likes coffee. I told her that because Sir Rafa liked coffee, his pet spider, Ompi, likes it, so that's why Ompi shares mine with me.

Abuelita's Surprise Visit

Yesterday, Abuelita made a surprise visit, coming out to see us (Livie, in particular) for the day. We had great adventures! Check out the photo tour of our day:

First, we stopped at Liv's school to show Abuelita where Liv gets picked up every afternoon.

Then we showed her the playground.

We then went to a local farm where they offer pony rides. Liv chose to ride Princess.

Here's Liv on Princess. She LOVES Princess. So cute!

How was the ride? She gives it a "thumbs up"!

Now it's time to pose with the ghosties and pumpkins.

Should we get one of these pretty pumpkins?

We're going out to the field to find the right one!

Liv and Daddy look around.

We even get Abuelita to "rough it" out in the field, and I used my camera to capture the moment!

Time for a photo op on the straw bales.

And another photo op with the fall decorations.

A corn field, as most corn fields look early in the autumn.

Next, we went to the local high school to enjoy a marching band competition.

Liv's in the stadium.

Daddy, Abuelita, and Liv are having fun!

Liv and Abuelita enjoyed spending the day together.

Liv's a Scientist

I know it's been a while since I last posted something, but midterms and papers kept me pretty busy these past couple weeks.

Anyway, this past weekend, we took Livie to a science fair at the University of Iowa's research park. Liv had a blast! She had fun, even though it was raining! At one point, she even said, "I want to be a scientist when I grow up!"

The science fair had a ton of hands-on activities for kids in K-12. She got to gather data, record data, see some microscopic medical photos (what germs look like magnified hundreds of times, what the heart looks like, seeing a plastic skeletal replica of the foot's bones, and other stuff like this), as well as learning some physics basics with blocks and marbles going down little ramps.

Just before I took this first photo, she had picked out a "little parachute guy" (one of those plastic "army" guys with a parachute attached to it). One scientist stood on a step-stool and dropped it, while another one timed its descent with a stop watch. Then, Livie got to help measure how far away it had landed from its intended target.

 After having the time/distance data recorded in the computer, she got to put her yellow dot on the chart. 

She was excited that this kind of "fun stuff" was actually science! I told her that there are so many kinds of science that are just as fun as this! Even looking at the moon and other planets through a telescope is science! She was very impressed with that bit of information.

She even got to make a bracelet based on a butterfly's DNA, which she made out of two strands of color-coded beads.

All in all, it was a fun way of getting her interested and excited about science.

A Study Break and a New Mexico Daydream

I'm taking a study break, and thinking about New Mexico. Here are a couple photos from one of my favorite places:

The big lobby window overlooking the lake, Inn of the Mountain Gods, south central New Mexico, near Ruidoso.

Another view of the lake from our room window at Inn of the Mountain Gods.

Yes, these were taken on one of those rare, cloudy New Mexican days. Actually, a thunderstorm blew through and dissipated by the time we got back to our home in Alamogordo later that day.

My Beautiful America

I know I've posted this song before, but I think it's fitting to share it again today.

This is Charlie Daniels' "My Beautiful America."

The Summer Shot

Okay, I realized this morning that I have photos from winter and spring from a particular spot on the University of Iowa campus. I figured that since summer will be officially over as of September 23rd, I'd better go back and get "the summer shot" from this spot, while I still have the chance. 

Since I arrived with about 15 minutes to spare before class started this morning, today was the day. 

Here's the summer shot:

And to see a bunch of spring shots (including the one from this spot), click here (you'll have to scroll down a little bit). The winter one's in there, too, but to read the specific winter post, click here. 

Stay tuned for "the fall shot," when the time comes. Maybe when the leaves are "on fire" . . . or maybe when they've all fallen; maybe a photo of each. We'll see.

Study Breaks and Chile

Here's what happens when a study break and chile photos "collide":

Here's the original photo - Hatch chile just put out on a screaming hot grill.

Here's one edited with Picnik's "Duo Tone" effect, using green and black, obviously.

And here's the other, also with the "Duo Tone" effect, but this time, obviously, with black and red.

I couldn't decide which one I liked best, so I saved one version each of the green/black and the red/black. Kinda fun and crazy colors, aren't they?

I guess if I were back in New Mexico, today would be a "Christmas" kind of day, with my not being able to choose between green or red - deciding, rather, on both.

The Reward for Getting Up Early

Aside from coffee with hazelnut flavoring, there IS another reward for getting up early:

I actually ran outside in my pajamas, barefoot, pre-coffee, just so I could capture this view yesterday morning. 

I absolutely love the stunning colors.

Once back inside with a fresh cup of coffee, I said a quiet "Thanks" to my grandfather for passing on his "early bird" genes to me.