Thursday, June 13, 2013

A Hike, A Word, A Photo

My week has been lovely--just what I love in the summer--a little busyness, a little work, a little relaxation.  I'm linking to Susanne's Friday Fave Fives.

1.  I took a hike. Up a mountain.  To the top.  Among the burned up cinders of the recent wildfire.  Across a meadow.   Eight miles.  Then back down another trail to the Pacific Ocean.


Acres and acres of charred trees and grasses.


But there was evidence of new trail construction.
(We were hiking from the trail beyond the bridge and only saw the DANGER sign after we had crossed the bridge.  Fortunately, it was sufficiently stable for foot traffic.)


And new growth!


There was ONE yucca plant blooming already!


2.  The Professor read a NEW WORD this week.  Neither of us had ever heard or seen this word before:

IRREFRAGABLE

So, yeah, we are a bit nerdy about language.  It's not often The Professor finds a word with which he is completely unfamiliar.  In context, he understood its meaning, but it was a new word.

3.  I am making progress on the mammoth scanning of photos project.  I wrote a blog post about it and if you are interested, I'd appreciate your reading it and contributing any wisdom and experience you might have.

4.  A friend and a dinner.  We drove to Santa Barbara to have dinner with a lady and her grandson who is a close friend of Son #2.  It was a delightful dinner, and we thoroughly enjoyed their company and conversation.

5.  A clean closet.  I spent an hour or two one day this week decluttering my closet.  I love my clean and decluttered closet!

A new fave quote.

"In my experience, the people who survive are the ones who are willing to travel light."

19 comments:

Caroline said...

Sad to see all of the fire damage, but reassuring to see that nature is already regenerating itself.

I haven't knit toe-up socks yet. I'm a little intimidated by them, which I know is silly. I'm kind of in the sock mode this summer, so maybe I'll take the plunge and give it a try.

Tracy said...

Hi, Willow! LOVE to the photo of lovely you! Some sweet moments this week... And I do love that quote! And the clean closet. Still going for the minimal here, too. ;o) Happy Summer Days ((HUGS)) P.S. Thanks for the crochet love at my place. I'm using a cotton yarn for the ripple blanket. The yarn is from a Norwegian producer, and I'm having trouble finding a link for it(hence no mention so far of it in a post. I actually buy the stuff at a dollar store-type of place! It's great yarn and good to crochet with.

Paula said...

Wow! An 8 mile hike; I'm impressed!

I'm a bit of a word nerd, but I have to admit I'm not familiar with that one. I'm off to look it up now. :)

aspiritofsimplicity said...

I cleaned my dresser drawers and closet this week too!! But I would rather have been hiking.

Hollace said...

I am looking forward to reading your blog post about organizing/systemitizing (bad word, I know) photos. I want to do that myself so that I can pull up photos by category, but it seems overwhelming. I want to store our photos in a secure way but I'm not sure what is best.
I will read with interest.

Laura@OutnumberedMom said...

Love that quote! I love that you found evidence of new life so soon after the fire. So affirming.

You made me look up irrefragable! It's new to me, too.

I'd love to hear the outcome of your survey on scanning. That's a project I should undertake and haven't... Have a great week ahead.

Bethany said...

I agree with Caroline! I was going to be sad about all the fire damage, but nature does have a way of coming back every time-- isn't it almost necessary in places for this to occur? (I think I read that once. I wish I could've joined you on your hike! I've been cleaning out closets here too. It always feels good to make donations (my kids grow A LOT!) and I am looking for ways now to simplify (thanks to you!). Traveling light is a good thing. Have a great trip!

Bethany said...

p.s. It is irrefragable that you are a beautiful woman! ;) Great photo of you!

ellen b. said...

Oh my that really gives me a good perspective of where the fire was and the damage. Yikes. I'm sorry I have no good tips for you and the photos. I'm avoiding that job completely around here. WE did mention several times that we wished Rex and Verna's people would have put notes on the back of photos because we have no idea who the people are in many of the photos. You are looking fit and trim Willow!!

Barbara H. said...

I love a balance between work and relaxation, too.

So neat to see the new growth there where the fires had been!

I'm a word nerd as well. Before I started using an online dictionary, I used to get distracted looking words up by all the other cool words I'd come across.

I love getting closets and shelves and cabinets organized and cleaned out.

I'll have to peek at your photo project. That's something I need to do.

Sara at Come Away With Me said...

Eight miles! That is quite a hike and you are in great shape. I totally agree with you about decluttering closets; still working on mine! And now, I must google that new word and find out what it means. Enjoy your weekend.

Sara at Come Away With Me said...

So...I just looked up irrefragable and then had to find the reason, and learned a new Latin word: refragari. Now it all makes sense. Word nerdiness is alive and well!

Jerralea said...

Great photo of you, Willow! I'm impressed with your word nerdiness, your clean and de-cluttered closet, and your eight mile hike. You've inspired me!

"Sunshine" said...

How nice of you to leave a comment on my new blog, Willow. I definitely remember you and so glad to see you're still blogging.
Have a wonderful day.
'Ragna

Gracie Saylor said...

We were sad to note some burned areas along I-5 while we were down your way last weekend, but it is nice seeing your hike and plants growing...life going on :-)
Gracie

susan said...

Of course I had to look up the Professor's new word: IRREFRAGABLE. I guessed it meant a computer couldn't be defragged. Boy, was I wrong. ;)

Isn't it something how a shared meal with folks can leave such a happy memory. I live alone and eat a lot of meals alone so those times with others sure are bright spots in a week.

Hurray for organizing your closet and making headway on your photos.

Have a great weekend, Willow.



Susanne said...

8 miles one way? Wow, my hats off to you! So sad to see all the charred countryside but how exciting to already see the new growth. Even in devastation God brings forth hope and beauty!

I need to pare down my closet once again. I'm getting tough with myself. I'm better than I used to be.

Quite a word! And now I'll have to go look it up.

snoopydogknits said...

Sounds pretty perfect. Happy Holidays Willow! Ros

nikkipolani said...

You look pretty triumphant in that photo, Willow :-) Sad to see so much destruction and yet new growth and even a bloom. Amazing.

I've been eying my own closet and dresser. It's time. I want it as a fave as you have!