walkin' in the rain

I don't know how the weekends always slip away so quickly. One moment it's Friday, and the next it's Sunday? Sigh.

I tried to stretch out my Sunday afternoon by continuing my Seattle coffee tour at Herkimer Coffee in the Green Lake neighborhood. It was a pleasant enough place to spend an afternoon with book & coffee in hand, but I ended up enjoying my walk to and from the shop more than the shop itself. In typical Seattle fashion, it was snowing when I walked in but sunny and clear by the time I headed out. Go figure. The remnants of the snow/rain mixture, however, left raindrops hanging everywhere like tiny jewels.

Seeing golden clouds in the sky, I made up my mind to drive to nearby Green Lake Park to see if I could get in a good sunset view before heading home. Lucky for me, it was one of those golden and rosy hued sunsets that I love so much (yes, I am a sunset junkie). And as I was going through my photos, I couldn't help noticing that the pink on a Ford I saw parked on the street was almost exactly matched by the pink in the sunset.

If only it were warmer! My fingers were about to fall off by the time the sun had gone down. I've made a mental note to return in the summer - I can already picture myself picnicking by the lake and then diving in for a swim. Only...oh 5 more months til the summer. It's not too early to start counting down, is it?

    

getting back into the groove

It feels like an eternity since the holidays rolled around - I know I've had more than my share of days off in December! So there is something comforting about getting back into the daily rhythm of the workday, although it does leave less time for exploration. I haven't shot much lately - I didn't take a single picture while I was in Vegas, which I do regret a bit. The bright lights of the strip and the surrounding desert would have made for some good subject matter. So instead, here are a couple shots that I took while I was showing my family around Fremont. Seeing a bit of color really brightens up my day when it's so consistently dreary!

10 for 2010

2010 was a tumultuous year for me, with lots of lows and highs. If you had asked me in January 2010 where I would be in January 2011, I'm certain I wouldn't have guessed that I would be in Seattle. But here I am!

I found myself in many places in 2010 - NYC, San Francisco, LA, South Dakota, Italy, Las Vegas, Seattle - and going through my pictures, I was struck by all the beautiful moments that I've soaked in this year. In many ways, I've been very lucky in 2010, although I've learned some tough lessons as well. I'm hoping that in 2011, I will have the wisdom to learn from my past mistakes and the courage to keep trying new things.

Here are 10 favorites from 2010. Happy new year.

From left to right, by row:
1. Sunset at sculpture park, Seattle
2. Brooklyn Bridge, NY
3. Roman ruins, Rome, Italy
4. Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, NY
5. Venice Beach, LA
6. Bremerton lake house, Washington
7. Custer State Park, South Dakota
8. Waiting for sunrise on the Spanish Steps, Rome
9. Walking along the canal (Fremont, Seattle)
10. View from the Duomo, Florence, Italy