Another Happy Day In Colorado

Well, not much has changed since I last posted, but I figured it couldn't hurt to write yet another post.  I spent most of the day studying French and math for the ACT, and so far, I have been quite productive in both areas.  I think I am going crazy, but I actually miss being in school and having something to study for.  My French class starts tomorrow, and I am so excited!
I have started a food experiment where I am seeing how long I can survive on only one trip to the store.  I am at eight meals and counting and feeling successful already.  Unfortunately, I bought oatmeal.  Yeah, this could turn out quite interesting.  I currently am trying to finish the massive amounts of stir fry that I made last night so you can guess what I had for lunch and dinner. 

Not the most interesting of photos, but this was lunch. 

The haze is pouring rain and if you listen closely you can hear the thunder.

I know I said that today I was going to try out the public transit, but it rained most of the afternoon and I didn't want to get stuck at a bus stop on the other side of town soaking wet.  I did, however, get a month long bus pass, pick up a library card for up at the college, and watch the rain from the warmth of a small coffee shop while reading The Life and Letters of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky.
Just before dinner this evening I took another barefoot stroll down the sidewalks and saw the cutest little woodpecker.  It was just a tad smaller than size of a face plate on a light switch (sorry, the only thing I can think of :) and was covered in different sized splotches of white.  I think it might have been a juvenile because it was fluffy looking, but it blended in perfectly with the wet bark of the aspen.  Not thirty seconds later I heard what sounded like an owl, so that was cool. 
Speaking of cool, it is freezing this evening!  Well, maybe around 55 which is freezing in my book, so I am going to go curl under my covers and listen to my new favorite Vivaldi piece: Cello Concerto in D minor, 406.  Love yall much

-Kate

Short note from the eldest offspring

Icecream. Dad, I am still working on that 1/2 gallon of White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle and thoroughly enjoying it. The weekend flew by and Monday was Monday. Saturday Momma visited me, and I was excited to have her company and her help in putting together my new desk. The desk is already worn in and is my semi-permanent place of being. Saturday evening Kevin came over for dinner which turned in to a "second-night-in-a-row" cooking fiasco. The product was some delicious steelhead trout fried in olive oil and seasoned with rosemary and dill, accompanied by left-over cauliflower rosemary mashed potatoes, and a lovely little salad. Sunday was spent studying, primarily math/calculus topics, and last night I made the virgin voyage to the Coin Laundry at San Gabriel and 24th. The experience was non-traumatic, and it was interesting to notice the social-equalizing effect a laundromat has. The Lexus drivers and the poor college students all have to wash their clothes at the same place.

Classes today were all enjoyable. I had all of my courses today except chemistry, and my favorite continues to be Contemporary Moral Problems. We spoke today on strong vs. weak moral judgements and the difference between saying something is immoral and that something should be illegal. This is an interesting point when speaking about gay marriage, for instance. Do conservative Christians believe we should ban (or make illegal) gay marriage just because they think it is immoral? Our topic will be abortion until late September. My TA in this class seems very competent and he came with a wealth of facts on abortion to our discussion section today. Calculus got out at five, and at six, I was showered, dinnered, and in a meeting for a pre-med honors group. I was less than impressed and plan on visiting a different pre-med group tomorrow evening.

I wish I could say I had been trying new recipes and walking the streets of Durango barefoot, but I am afraid that I have been happily throwing myself into my new world of studying like crazy, walking a lot, and eating icecream for dinner (and some turkey/cheese/mayonnaise, mom in case you were wondering). I love and miss each of you.

Evening Dining Colorado Style

Now, I don't have any flashy pictures to show you my yummy dinner, but it was still pretty good.  I cut up broccoli, carrots, water chestnuts, onion, bell pepper, zucchini, yellow squash, and ginger and mixed it all together with some soy sauce and red chili paste and spooned it over rice for a delicious dinner on the deck.  Veggie Boy from down the hall joined me and we ate and talked while watching the rain on the mountains.  I can't quite figure him out but he is nice nonetheless.  I then went for an evening stroll with Marci and we looked at the stars while discussing Linda's (lady at end of hall) odd affinity for aliens and conspiracy theories.  You would not think that this old lady would be into that kind of stuff, but apparently she has had a few encounters herself. 
I basically spent the day reading, writing out French phrases, drawing, and studying math for the ACT.  I also went for quite a long walk around the neighborhood which blessedly has very nice sidewalks on both sides of every road.  This basically means that you can meander barefoot for miles and never have to worry about cactus or cars (or the heat for that matter).  I think I will test out the public transportation tomorrow and see how possible it is to get around without a car.  Classes start on Tuesday so that is always exciting.  Well, off to bed.
Much love,
Kate

p.s. Mo, I don't know of any RC Satellite Systems.  Is that Selina's internet in Austin?

p.p.s Mo and D, your dinner still looks better than mine.  Wish I was there :)

An Evening's Dine

The easy and beautiful little meal . . .

• Slice thin some fresh eggplant and rub a bit of olive oil onto it with your hands.  Then some salt, pepper, sweet marjoram, and hot curry powder sprinkled on top of the eggplant.  Place all these on a sheet pan (sprayed first) and into a four hundred degree oven for about twenty minutes.  Finally, sprinkle some mozzarella cheese on top and continue to cook an additional several minutes.
• The ciabatta bread from the frozen section at the grocery.  Follow its directions and heat it up in the oven along with the eggplant.
• The dipping sauce.  Stir around some chopped garlic, salt, garlic powder, and basil into a pretty bowl of olive oil.
• The asparagus.  Place it into a small pot of boiling water, turn off the burner, and let the tender little things cook for just about three minutes.
• The fruit.  Mango and strawberry with a dollop of non-fat cottage cheese.
• Wine.  A Cabernet Sauvignon.

Cool Technology

I was surfing my favorite website (Craftzine) and came across this uber cool photo editing site http://tiltshiftmaker.com/.  Here are a few of my pics that came out interesting.

Downtown London

Parliament

The Acropolis

Lila in the Koi Fish Garden

Not terribly important or influential in politics, but it sure is fun to play around with!  Love yall

-Kate