Rainbow Country

The weather here is so changeable. Sunshine one minute, rain the next. These conditions seem ideal for rainbow formation. I've seen more rainbows in my two and a half years in Harrogate than in my entire life. For example, yesterday I was coming upstairs with a laundry basket full of clothes. I looked up and saw a rainbow through the transom of my front door. I dropped the laundry basket at the top of the stairs, pulled my coat on, grabbed the camera and flung the door open. An icy rain was pouring down. I stood on the porch and managed to take three exposures before the rainbow was swallowed up into the sky.

♥ Happy Valentine's Day! ♥

BETTYS PETITS FOURS


BETTYS BUTTER BISCUIT HEARTS


I gave Brad some caramel hearts from Bettys. He gave me a beautiful bouquet of flowers. We'll go out to eat at Bower's Bistro tonight. I am savoring the moments he is home. He will leave early on Thursday morning and will be gone for at least four months on an overseas assignment.

Wonderful Surprise

I checked email this morning hoping to hear from Brad. He's in Maryland on business but is expected home tomorrow for a few days. I was bummed when there was no message from him. I decided to head out to check for mail at our post office and then go to the grocery store to buy ingredients for his favorite meal (spaghetti and meatballs). On the way from the post office to Waitrose my mobile phone rang. Since I was driving I couldn't get to the phone right away. When I pulled up to a stop light I checked my missed calls directory. At first I was puzzled. It said the call was from home. This meant either Ginger learned how to use the phone...or...Brad is home already!! Forget Waitrose. I headed directly home. It seemed like an eternity for me to drive those last few blocks. Oh, it's so nice to have hime home again.

Where I've Been

create your own visited countries map

This map indicates in red all the countries I've traveled to or lived in. It's 15% of the world. It's a bit deceiving because the entire continent of Australia is red but I only visited Sydney once on vacation. I generated this map from a website I discovered through one of my flickr contacts. It's just one of many web tools and sites I've found out about on flickr. No wonder it's my favorite website.

Hoar Frost!

This morning I woke up to another cold gray gloomy day. As I drove through Harrogate town center I noticed the bare tree branches against a dingy white sky. Ugh. Winter in northern England. I was headed west, just a few miles out of town, in the direction of Skipton. It came upon me gradually -- but my mood began to lift. There was something different in the air. Before I knew it I had entered another world. The sky turned from dingy gray to mother-of-pearl luminescence. Trees were covered in frost. The drystone walls were tipped with frost. Everywhere I looked there was hoar frost. Somehow it looked different than a dusting of snow. There was something magical the way the frost clung to every branch of every tree, every blade of grass in the fields, every link on every chainlink fence. I was dying to find a place to pull over and take some pictures. I drove to a place I knew where I could pull the car over and began snapping away. My arm brushed up against one of the frosted branches and I was surprised at how soft the hoar frost felt despite how jagged and icy it looks up close. I was not wearing the right clothes to go for a walk. My camera battery was low and I had forgotten to bring the replacement battery with me. Consequently I only managed a few shots. Who knows when I will ever encounter such magical conditions again. Wow! Winter in northern England.