Pictures

My Story Up 'Til Now / My Cats / Arizona Trips / Back to Home

My story up 'til now (more coming soon)

This is me, 1 or 2 years old. Since there were dozens of aunts and cousins at my Mom's baby shower and my gender was to be a "surprise," I ended up wearing yellow or green just about every day for the first two years of my life!

My brother and me, ca. 1981. My sister-in-law enlarged and enhanced the original photo, and gave it to me as a Christmas present a few years ago. This is my favorite picture of Tony and me.

My husband and I on our first date, Mt. Vernon, VA, June 2000. There's a LONG story behind how we met, and how we EVENTUALLY got to Mt. Vernon. You know your date is a decent guy when he takes you to a place like this, instead of a sports bar! Mt. Vernon was the home of our first president, George Washington. It has beautiful gardens and many historical displays. This picture means so much to me that I've hand-carried it whenever we've moved into a new home.

My husband and I on our wedding day. We got married in a historic, non-denominational chapel in my hometown. It was the inspiration for the "Whaleman's Chapel" in Herman Melville's novel, Moby Dick. On the inside, the pulpit is shaped like the bow of a ship and there are marble tablets (memorials) dedicated to people who died at sea. Neither of us wanted a large wedding, so we just invited our closest family and friends. In all, 13 people were there, including the bride and groom!

My cats:

Gabrielle Nikita Lear, ca. 2001. Gabby is a long-haired calico, and yes, she was named after a character on Xena: Warrior Princess. My husband got her as a kitten from a then-girlfriend. Gabby is very much a "daddy's girl." As this picture suggests, she is always in your face.

Gabby sitting in the sink at our old apartment and in our closet, ca. 2005. She always manages to squeeze herself into boxes, baskets, and cupboard drawers that seem too small for her.

PJ, ca. 2003. When PJ came into our lives, we were living on the third floor of an apartment building in the Baltimore area. One Saturday morning I gathered up some laundry to take down to the basement. When I opened our apartment door, PJ was sitting on the "welcome" mat! My husband planned to take her to "the pound" on Monday, but I said "we'll see about that." From what we heard from the neighbors, PJ had been abandoned by her family because she has thyroid and other health problems. But I fell in love with her anyway, and decided to keep her.

Another photo of PJ, either 2003 or 2004. She was NOT happy that I woke her up to take her picture. This photo reflects her serious personality very well.

Arizona trips

Mt. Lemmon, near Tucson, AZ. My brother and his wife live in Arizona, so we have a great excuse to go out there. We've been there several times, and hope to go back soon. If you like the outdoors, Arizona is a wonderful place for vacations. The terrain is so different from the East Coast: the mountains are much higher, the air is a lot thinner, there is much less humidity, and the heat is incredible. There are so many plants and animals that you would never encounter back East, including many different kinds of butterflies. Driving to the top of Mt. Lemmon is a wonderful educational experience, showing the effects of altitude and temperature on flora and fauna. At about 5000 feet, the tall Saguaro cacti disappear, and you see mostly scrub-oak and yucca plants. Go up several thousand more feet, and you're in a pine forest where BEARS might cross your path!

My husband at Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Farm, along route I-10, near Phoenix, AZ. These birds look cute from a distance, but they strike really hard and fast at feeding cups. I was so intimidated by them that I went to play with baby deer on the opposite side of the farm!

Montezuma's Castle National Monument, off I-17, between Phoenix and Flagstaff, AZ. This is only one of hundreds of archaeological sites you can encounter in Arizona. This cliff-dwelling was a secure home for Native Americans (I think the Sinagua group) about 600 years ago. The arid environment often helps preserve such buildings, though we weren't allowed to walk inside many of them. During our trips, we have also visited the Case Grande Ruins, Saguaro National Park, Sunset Crater Volcano, and Wupatki National Monument.

My husband along the Rim Trail, Grand Canyon National Park, AZ. It's goofy to say, but I had wanted to go to the Grand Canyon ever since I saw that episode of The Brady Bunch while I was a kid. Getting there in June 2006 was a dream come true for me. Despite all the pictures available in calendars and on the Internet, you can't get a feel for the place until you actually GO there. We weren't able to do any hiking (you have to be in prime physical condition and pack thoughtfully to survive). But we did walk most of the "Rim Trail," a 3-mile walk near the entrance to the South Rim.

Another shot of the Grand Canyon along the Rim Trail. It's a LOOONG way down! I'm usually the type of person who wants to see new things, rather than going back to places I've already visited. But I will DEFINITELY go back to the Grand Canyon someday. You can never see the entire Canyon (it's hundreds of miles around, and much of it is inaccessible by car). Also, each time you go, you experience it during a different season or time of day. So it's like a new place every time.