Rebecca continues to inspire me (in more ways than I could ever say, but for the present post I’m specifically referring to photography). After dinner tonight we spent a good while (not long enough) playing with camera settings (and hoo boy do I have a lot to learn!). Part of my problem is that I don’t even know what I don’t know. But as we talked about aperture and light metering and white balance, I started to get really excited. So I think I might be on the verge of a genuine kick (imagine that 133 days into my photo project and almost 2 years into having a really nice camera that I know NOTHING about).

Peppermint ice cream for Rebecca’s birthday (better late than never?).

I’ve always found it funny when someone hides a random object in a funny place it doesn’t belong, and for whatever reason, I have a number of friends who like to do just that. I can’t even remember who started it, but when I lived with Trish we took turns hiding a marshmallow (the big kind). I would find it in the cereal box or a shoe; she would find it in her tennis racket or her night cream. That marshmallow was pretty stale and grody since the game went on for months. When I lived with Brook and Lou, we passed around an old dried-out corsage (again, can’t remember how it got started or how we knew to pass it on when it ended up in a sock drawer or the egg carton). Whenever Kate comes to visit, I find at least one of the wooden feathers from the bird that sits on the stairway on my pillow or in the bathtub or somewhere equally random. I had almost forgotten how much I like this particular kind of silliness until this morning when I found this little guy peeking out at me from the top shelf in the bathroom. I suspect it to be Neil’s doing since they visited yesterday on their way back to Colorado.

Read all about it.

I posted the recipe to Needs More Butter.

Simon and Livia have a great time together. He absolutely lights up whenever she is around, and she calls him “my little brother who lives next door.” Truly delightful.

Some friends of ours had a Christmas get together this weekend, and when they told their three-year-old, Micah, who would be coming to the party, he decided that he wanted to make a card for Simon (or, in his words, for “whoever Simon is"). When we arrived, we introduced Simon, and Micah eagerly presented his card. With some prompting from his mom, he explained to us that the lines coming from the side of the tree are Happy Lines—a feature his Sunday school teacher taught him to use. But the lines coming out of the bottom of the tree were his own invention: Stinky Toots. Of course.

This morning, desperate for an outing, I made a phone call to Rebecca to see what she and Liv had planned for the day. They were headed for the Pioneers Park Nature Center, so Simon and I happily tagged along. In the new building, the Prairie Building, they have a kids’ play area, where Simon found plenty of questionable things to put in his mouth, including shed snake skin (is there a special name for that?) and the bottommost part of a deer leg (I think it must have been real). Ew.

One of the guys that works at the center took out a bull snake and let us all pet it—this Simon found fascinating, as he loves new textures (he was almost equally impressed with the fraying carpet under Jake the Snake’s cage). As we were thanking Dude (Ted) and getting ready to leave, Rebecca mentioned that they had a nice gift shop there. I mentioned that I would like to look for one of the toys that Simon had been playing with, a wooden snakelike toy with wheels that folded over itself. Dude (Ted) said that he had made the toy. “Oh, how cool,” I said, “Do you sell them in the gift shop?” No they don’t. “Oh,” I said, “You should make some for the gift shop; I bet they’d be a hit.” (I really don’t know why I was so obsessed with the gift shop.) Anyway, Dude (Ted) said that he could make me one (and for a very reasonable price, I might add), so he’ll give me a call in about a week or so when it’s done. Very cool.

I love pictures where what’s going on in the background is at least as interesting as what’s going on in the foreground (whether on purpose or a happy accident). Neither of these photos were taken by me (but I’ll claim them for my blog since they were taken with our camera).

Charity got this shot of the Tredways kicking back after dinner on Monday.

And Rebecca caught my guys being tricksy last night at the Blue Orchid.

We are enjoying a visit from our dear friends Charity and Andy. Jason pulled this image off the camera and labeled it “livsimoncharityandy.” That pretty much sums it up.

I saw this on a friend’s Facebook page and thought it looked like fun. The way it’s supposed to go is that you post your name and I’ll do all these things for each of you, but when I first read it, I misunderstood the rules: I thought that for the first commenter I would do the first thing, for the second commenter I would do the second thing and so on. So on my blog we’re going to play it my way because that sounds easier to me. Of course, I may not have nine readers, so in that case maybe I’ll play by the original rules—ah the possibilities!

Post your name and I will do each of the following:

1. I’ll respond with something random about you.
2. I’ll tell you which song or movie you reminds me of you.
3. I’ll pick a color I feel suits you.
4. I’ll say something that only makes sense to you and me (if possible. If not, I’ll say something that only makes sense to me.)
5. I’ll tell you my first memory of you.
6. I’ll tell you what animal you remind me of.
7. I’ll ask you something I’ve always wondered about you.
8. I’ll tell you my favorite thing about you.
9. I’ll tell you my least favorite thing about you.
No need to fear #9.

Rebecca called me earlier today wondering if I had any good pictures of her. I do, of course. This is one of my favorites:

I also love the original blog entry.

I have a new favorite place in Lincoln: I try to get to Indigo Bridge as often as I can.

They are having their grand opening event this weekend. On Friday, November 7, there will be free coffee and live music for the First Friday Artwalk. And on Saturday, there will be free drip coffee 8 am to 10 am, storytime at 10 am, kids music (Jim King at 11 am, Mike Mennard at 2 pm), piano music in the evening, and giveaways all day. The best part, though, is that all profits from the entire day will support the folks from Zion and Redeemer who are headed to Peru in December.