Delaware

Thanks to zzoot's post about exploring Delaware, I'll now post a series of pictures from my walks around Delaware.
The downtown residential area I live in is filled with beautiful old houses.Brick, stone, wooden siding...big porches with swings...colorful flowers and tall trees.
The city is littered with alleyways behind all of these houses as well. I like to explore these alleys and see what lies behind the beautiful house fronts.

Summer Season

A thousand stories to post....where to start?!

I'll start with a post about summer.

Summer is a wonderful season, though oftentimes hot, muggy, and sticky in Ohio.

It's a season to sit back and relax with friends. To take a swim in the lake, eat watermellon, cook on the grill, read books in the sunshine, catch fireflies hiding in the grass, and other such lovely things.

This summer has been a different one from most for me. I've spent much of my time working at Amato's, taking people's orders, bringing them their pizza and drinks, and the like. I've tried to pack in as many summer experiences as I can into what time I have. Overall, it's been a great success. I've gotten to go to Memphis, TN, sail around Lake Erie and go flying with Kris, visit with friends in Delaware, spend some time at the Strand, and more...all of which I hope to describe to you soon.

Posted here are some pictures from visiting with my friend Morgan. I got to know Morgan through school at OWU, and because she lives in Delaware, I've gotten to spend more time with her. It was wonderful to get to know Morgan better over the summer, for though we are friends, we've never gotten to spend alot of time together.

The grapes are from her backyard. They were delicious! I'm more of a red grape girl, but there's something very satisfying about eating grapes right off the vine.

I went wading through the Delaware Run with Morgan recently. The water felt delightfully cool on our feet. We discovered some tiny little snails clinging to the rocks as we walked through. I bet they were loving the chilly water. It was better than being in the muggy air.
I hope to spend more time with Morgan before the summer's end.

Why are the posts so few and far between?

I'm working on possibly getting internet for the apartment, but right now I can only get internet if I visit the coffee shop in town with my computer. I can also get wireless at work or at the Strand, but I tend not to drag my computer to either of these places. So, my posts will be as often as possible! Unfortunately, there are many small adventures that I have not gotten to, or might not get to, post on here.

For instance, as I was sitting here at the Mean Bean (the coffee shop), a bird somehow made it into the shop. I just watched the shop employee and a few customers try to get the bird back outside. It took some effort, but the little sparrow finally made it back out!

So, until next time, have a good summer all!

Flying

About a week and a half ago now, I went flying with my boyfriend Kris. He's been getting his flight hours for his private pilot's license. He's been in the air plenty of times now, but I'd never gotten to go up with him. Two Tuesdays ago as my lucky day...or night.



We planned for a cross country night flight, up toward the Medina airport, then to Akron-Canton, then finally back home to Delaware, but storms rolling in from the west and up north put a stop to that. Instead, we went up in the Cessna (forgive me, I forget the model number) for about an hour and a half or so, circling the Delaware area.








The lights were beautiful below, but very hard to capture on film. It took me a while to figure out which patches of light were Delaware, Lewis Center/Polaris, and Columbus in the distance. It sounds crazy, how could I get these mixed up? Once in the air however, it is surprisingly easy to get disoriented.







I couldn't work the headset microphone very well, so I was content to sit back and listen to Kris and his flight instructor and watch out the window. The flight was very smooth, there was even a time when I forgot that Kris was flying and that his pilot's license was the reason I was in the air. I was just flying in the night, and the night was beautiful.

We came down when the lightning in the distance began to increase in brightness and frequency.
Just as Kris and I got back to the apartment, the rain began to fall in huge wet drops. Once we were safe inside, the rain poured down in buckets. It perfect timing, and a wonderful night flight.

Work

Well, it's been another busy day...most days have been now a days. I spend most of my time at work in Amato's Woodfired Pizza. It's a delicious, privately owned pizza shoppe in downtown Delaware, Ohio. I love it there. Some days I work long hours, but I don't really mind. I love the people, the food, and the place.

I began this entry with the thought of writing some stories but honestly....I'm feeling a bit brain dead. However, I will do my best to post some more later.

Here's a photo I found online of the shoppe.
This was taken a few years ago, when the shoppe was a smaller mostly carry out place. Now we've expanded next door into the old Bianchi's Grill restaurant. After onths of hard work, now we are a full eat in restaurant. We still have the menu from next door, but hopefully we'll be adding more items soon. Until then, we're still the best pizza in town, all made fresh, dough tossed and toppings put on directly to order. It's delicious, and I'm not just saying that because I work there! If you're ever in Delaware, stop on by for a bite. You won't regret it!

[Photo courtesy of Waymarking.com]

Camera

So....here's the story of my lovely Lumix Panasonic DMC-FX07 camera...and the reason I have very few pictures from my Chicago trip.

For almost six months before the Chicago trip in January, my camera had been acting up...turning off and not turning on completely if too cold, more so than it should have been. It seemed to almost be shorting out. Then, the second day in Chicago, the first morning in the Windy City, it happened. I was taking a picture of the seals in the Lincoln Park Zoo when the camera turned off again. I sighed and switched the power off, then on again....and the camera would not turn on at all. Usually the screen would flash on for a minute, then show a faint green pixelated glow. This time, there was nothing. I tried it again. Nothing.
I put the camera in my pants pocket to try and warm it up. It was a very cold day, perhaps it was just too frozen. After hours, still nothing. I recharged both batteries for a day, but still, the camera was lifeless.

I was devastated. I loved my little camera. I had taken it everywhere with me, from Atwood to Edisto Island, Florida, Belize, New York, Georgia, Delaware, Akron, and more. And now, it was gone, lost to an electrical short.
I felt odd without a camera. It wasn't anything too fancy, but it was a wonderful little point and shoot camera, and now I had naught but my memory to take pictures of all I saw. I realized just how lucky I was to have that little camera of mine.

When I got home, I borrowed my brother's camera for a time. It is the exact same model as mine, so it was much like having my little friend, but I still knew that my buddy was dead at home in Akron. After much online searching, my dad was able to find a used version of my camera for sale in Craig's list. We bought it and then took the working insides of the newly bought camera and replaced the dead inner workings of mine. We switched the power, and it lived! My friend was alive once more, thanks to the generosity of another Lumix donating it's vital electrical organs. Thank you other Lumix, you gave me back my little friend, and now we can continue to explore the world through photography!

Here are the last few photos my camera took in Chicago before it went into camera coma.

The diner I had an AMAZING omelet in!

Freezing Birds in Lincoln Park

The last photo: a swimming seal. Then away my camera's life swam with it.

Photos

Here are some photos from my trip to Phipps Conservatory with the Horticulture Club.

Tulips

Orchids

Maidenhair Fern

Bamboo

Water Valve

Bromilliad

Bromilliad

Taking Photos

Water Chain

(forget the name of this one)

(or this one)

Cacti

Wishing Well

Flower Garden

Pistil and Stamen

Spotlight

Grape Hyacinths

Glass Man

Gotta give Phipps Conservatory a hand...it was a beautiful place.
If you ever are in Pittsburgh for a day, stop into Phipps and
check it out!