Saturday, September 26, 2009

Appreciate.

My farmers' market bounty from this morning looked so pretty sitting on the kitchen counter, I just had to take a picture! Maple syrup from Burton Farms in Medora, clover honey from Hunter's Farm in Martinsville, Capriole Farms herbed goat cheese from Greenville, and "good corn" from Daviess County. If you are a frequent visitor to the Bloomington Farmers' Market, you quickly learn that although there are many stands selling corn, there is one and only stand that sells the "good corn." I'm not sure what makes it taste so much better, but waiting in the line is worth it. Sometimes the line will wrap all the way through the market, 50 people long. I am definitely thinking grilled veggie burgers and corn for dinner tomorrow :)
Rode my bike to the market this morning. A little over 11 miles, so a nice 22ish mile ride with a pit stop at the market. Bought my goods and relaxed for a bit with a cup of coffee and the newspaper near a local bluegrass band. The morning was a little chilly and very overcast, but great for riding. At about mile 20, just a couple miles from home, the sun finally started to push the clouds away, revealing the most beautiful blue behind all that gray. It was one of those beautiful, awe-inspiring, "I'm so happy to be alive" moments and what I would qualify as a fantastic morning, even though I am desperately missing Gearry. He has been staying at the resort all week because of a huge event this weekend he's been helping prepare for, so I haven't seen him since Tuesday. I cannot even put into words how great it will be to finally see him tonight and to spend all day tomorrow with him.
Alright, the shower calls... Despite the coolness, it was very humid this morning and I am disgusting! Heading back into town (this time via car... haha) to watch the IU vs. Michigan game at Brian's with Catherine, Emily, Brian, and the gang, then back here to devote myself to lesson-planning. I AM going to get it all done today so that I can enjoy tomorrow with Gearry!
Look for an entry coming soon about last week's Hope Ride... 50 miles of awesomeness!

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Last Weekend

Yes, I'm a full weekend behind when it comes to posting, as it is Sunday evening and thus the end of this weekend and yet I am posting about LAST weekend. But, I was sick this entire weekend, and grumpy about it, so you wouldn't want to hear about it anyway. And if I wasn't behind on posting that would just be out of character and thoroughly confusing ;)

I wanted to share a few pictures from last weekend's fun with Hillary and Chris in Ohio. After school on Friday, I headed to home to shower, pack some easy-to-eat-while-driving dinner and jumped in the car to head to Columbus for the weekend. I was excited to get to see Hillary and Chris's new place, right on High Street in the Short North (Columbus's arts district with lots of great restaurants, bars, art galleries, and shops). I was understandably exhausted Friday evening after a long week at school and a four-hour drive, so we just chilled at the apartment with some tasty snacks and a movie. We hit the sack pretty early since we had a big day planned for Saturday!


Saturday morning, I slept in (if you count 8:30 as sleeping in) while Hillary and Chris got up early and went running. They're training for the Columbus Half-Marathon on October 18th. After they returned, we walked down the street to the Columbus Farmer's Market, stopping at Starbucks on the way to get a wake-me-up cup.

I was struck by all the beautiful colors and textures at the market. There is something about this time of the season, end of summer/beginning of fall, that just makes the market look like a big, delicious rainbow. Hill and Chris bought most of their veggies for the week... I just bought some tasty looking aged gouda since Gearry was at the farmer's market in Bloomington at that exact same time buying our veggies and such.







Hill and Chris also picked out some pretty flowers, which they are drying and making into an arangement for their place. That's Hill and Chris in the foregroud, and some guy in the background taking a picture of me taking a picture. Creepy. I just noticed that.

After the market we returned to the apartment for some breakfast and showers, and then headed to campus to tailgate the OSU vs. Navy game. The scene was quite different from an IU tailgate, as OSU takes its football very, very seriously.



Though not so much a fan, I decided the safest bet was to do as the locals do (isn't it always?) and dress appropriately for the game, hence the buckeyes and OSU beads. My dear Michigan friends, do not fear... I maintain my bipartisanship. I would gladly don the maize & blue if I was visiting your school on game day :)
Later in the evening we met up with Hillary's dad at a cute Italian place for "small plates" (like Italian tapas) and wine and conversation. I don't get to see Hillary very often, so I see her parents even less and it was good to catch up. We spent the rest of the evening trolling the many art galleries on High Street during the 25th Anniversary Gallery Hop, eventually wandering into North Star (one of my favorite restaurants ever and a place I always go when I am in town) for a late dinner around 9:30. Hill and I decided we are getting old because instead of heading out to party after dinner as usual, we gallery hopped for a bit more and then decided to return to the apartment for a nightcap, some chill time, and a reasonable bedtime.
I made it back to Bloomington on Sunday afternoon, making a quick trip south to pick up the dogs from Mom and Dad. The rest of Sunday was pleasantly uneventful, and Monday (Labor Day) was spent laying by the lake with Gearry.