Making New Friends...

...at the Farmer's Market.

A Visit to Kennewick

Number 100!

While spending my spring break with my parents and old friends, I discovered that I had smileys on 93 geocaches. So close!!

So my folks humored my request to get to a round 100. We drove down to Old Highway 95 to search for the Caitlyn's Cache "Putnams Challenge" series.

There were 10 geocaches in the series, plus a couple extras nearby, which means...

WOO HOO! 

Here's to another 100 adventures!

Gettin' Some Dirt Under My Nails

Sometimes I get frustrated that my course requirements do not permit me to spend all my time learning about media.

Then there are days like today which make me grateful that I am given the opportunity to explore different perspectives.

I'm in a sustainability course that synthesizes geology with social sciences. We're required to do some kind of service project during the term.

I went out to the Organic Growers Club farm, a 2-acre lot just outside of the Corvallis city limits.

There were about 15 of us helping out today.

We spent 4 hours turning up soil and digging up roots.

That's about 60 man hours.

There was a little friendly competition for who could dig up the longest quackgrass root.

My new friend Jess found a lot of REALLY long ones.

There were also TONS of earthworms. As I came across them, I named them after presidents.

Meet Taft.

We also came across a bunch of these little grubs. The manager of the grounds said that they're safe to eat, so a few of us tried some.

Challenge accepted.

I was promised that they would taste a little nutty, like almonds, but really it just tasted like bug.

What a great day to get my hands dirty!

Bonus: Dobie the Doberman.

Salty Stone and The Greatest Henge In All The Land

Hey, friends. I made a video of today's BIG ADVENTURE!

Sorry for laptop potato. My DSLR is still in the shop getting repaired. I'll try to narrate videos from my phone camera, since that seems to be better. Learning!   :)

Another huge thanks to Christelle for making my day!

Pretty Cool

I've seen some great things while in London... but to me, they all seem like little nibbles out of one big cake. So I present to you: the cake.

Apologies for the potato. I hope to get my camera repaired soon. Until then: cell phone to the rescue.

Camden

I visited Camden and made a song about it.

A Guide

Yesterday, I joined several friends in celebrating Independence Day from overseas -- and in doing so, made this handy dandy guide.

Being an American...

... in a foreign country gets me a lot of attention.

At a club, walking through a crowd to get fresh air:
Me: Excuse me.
Guy: Oh, you're an American!
Me: How could you tell?
Guy: You have an accent.
Me, with sass: No, you have an accent.

In Primark:
Me: Where can I go to try on these pants?
Clerk: You mean trousers?

At a Pret:
Me: I'd like some of those chips please.
Cashier: We don't have any chips.
Me, picking up a bag of potato chips: No, these chips.
Cashier: Oh, right, crisps.

How does this make me feel?

Machiavelli Kitchen

A few of the ladies and I were kind of peckish, so we set off on the town in search of drinks and dessert.

We landed at Machiavelli Kitchen & Dining Room, a sleek restaurant that was starting to close. They served us anyway. We giggled with a Swiss man who shared the table with us. Then, floating on the evening, took the tube home.

Exploring

Museums, old pubs, underground, oh my!

Here's Episode 3 of my vlog: Exploring.

Do you have anything in particular you'd like me to do a London adventure video about? Please let me know. :)

The Longest Day Ever

Boy oh boy. It feels like I've been awake for ages. In reality it has been a short amount of time, but the experiences I've had are prolonging the hours.

Here's Episode 2 of my vlog: The Longest Day Ever.

Here are the photos I showed in the video:

Waiting for the Plane

Peeking

Flood

Sun Chaser

Now, wish me a good rest. More adventures to follow!

Pilot (Passenger)

I'm off to adventure!

I am taking the opportunity I have as a student to study abroad -- in London. Part of this learning experience will come from a long multimedia project where I'll blog videos and photos about my trip.

Busy Beaver is about to see a LOT more action.

Here's my first vlog. Episode 1: Pilot (Passenger).

J & L Adventure 8: Breaking out the sewing machine!

I've had a lovely new sewing machine for several months, but up until just a few days ago, I had barely touched it!

But I know that sometimes, all it takes is a buddy to get you through a block. So when Lindsey wanted to do a shirt refashion, I knew I could gain the confidence to use my machine!

We found a tutorial that described how to turn old t-shirts into little aprons.

from Ruffles And Stuff

Here's how ours turned out!

Before...

After!

Feels great to know how to use my machine now!

J&L Adventure 3-2: Jackson-Frazier Wetland, Fall Edition

Last August, Lindsey and I went to visit the Jackson-Frazier Wetland. While were there, we decided that we should visit every season to see how it changes throughout the year.

So we went back for another jaunt on the boardwalk on a rainy November day. Here's what we found:

My favorite part was how old decay and new growth visibly coexisted happily!

Gettin' Jolly: J & L Adventure 7!

Lindsey and I weren't feeling merry enough, so we made merriness together!

We started off by doing a little crafting. While she finished her Plarn Bag, I worked on making some festive snowflakes for my window. She made a few, too, which I personally think are the prettiest.

(my neighbors wreath reflected in my window makes this scene especially festive!)

Then we got to work making some holiday candy.

We had several things we wanted to try, but we settled on fudge and peppermint bark.

We had tons of fun breaking up the peppermint candies with a hammer!

I think half of the reason our candy tastes so good was because it looks so good. Mmmmm!

We hope to meet again soon to keep egging the holiday spirit on!

G. Pinks Finds: In The Heart

I found Christmas Love while on a Geocaching spree with Mom in Post Falls and have been waiting to find the perfect spot to place him in Corvallis. When G. Pinks I found an adequately-sized cache called In The Heart, I knew that we had found Christmas Love the perfect home!

G. Pinks wished Christmas Love happy travels. We look forward to tracking where he goes next!

Do you like treasure hunts and adventuring? Try Geocaching!

J & L Adventure 6: Plastic tote bag!

Lindsey showed me this fun recycling project on Etsy, and we knew we had to try making it.

We each used around 16 plastic bags. This is what I came up with!

Here's the rundown:

• I used a bigger hook - they used a K and I used a Q - so the stitches were much bigger (and the project certainly much faster). I also did single crochet rather than half double crochet.
• Different color plarn leads to a different color bag. I like the look of mine!
• Their handles come up off the bag, whereas mine are kind of built into the bag. I was worried that any kind of heavy object might cause the thin handles to stretch and warp, so I wanted it to be a little sturdier. To achieve this, about three rows from the top I skipped a few stitches and did a few chains in their place, then continued stitching. It effectively made a hole that is a good, sturdy handle.
• My bag is a little smaller than theirs. I think they probably used 20-25 bags while I used around 16.

I don't know how I'll end up using this bag, but it sure is cute! I'm open to suggestions ;)

A Weekend With RAS

I was so incredibly lucky to be able to spend this weekend with my close childhood friend and bandmate Ricky!

He came over from Moscow to visit me in Corvallis, and with him he brought his super fancy camera that he uses to take pictures for UI's newspaper The Argonaut.

He snapped photos as I showed him around the area.

He had never seen Oregon State before, and we were happily able to visit on a quiet day without many people around.

He recognized the iconic Memorial Union building right away...

...but wasn't as familiar with the equally beautiful Weatherford Hall. He said over and over, "I can't believe this is a dorm!"

One of my favorite parts of being at OSU is DJing on the school's radio station, KBVR.

I took Ricky in the booth and we chatted on air and played a bunch of random, unfamiliar, yet all very fun music.

This one was taken with his iPhone, yet still witness its awesomeness!

After our OSU tour we headed downtown for a burrito at Laughing Planet Cafe.

Stuffed with burrito deliciousness, we decided to head to the waterfront to watch the river flow.

But we weren't satisfied with the river - we had to see the whole ocean! So we headed over to beautiful Newport just an hour away to enjoy the sand, sun, and kites.

Ricky so very kindly took some pictures of me while we were there!

I had the best time catching up and hanging out with him!

It means so much to have such wonderful friendships, and I'm honored to have such a friendship with this great guy.