A Year In Pictures

“There are three hundred and sixty-four days when you might get un-birthday presents … and only one for birthday presents, you know. – Lewis Carroll”

I was sixteen twenty-four going on seventeen twenty-five this past week*, and while last Friday the fifteenth marked the actual day of birthday-celebrating, let’s be honest, we never really feel older until weeks, months, or possibly even a full year after said day. Not really. Not for awhile.

I was only just becoming accustomed to twenty-four, after all. Was only just starting to appreciate the age where I was lackadaisically teetering on the precipice of rental car privileges and lower car insurance rates, still routinely not being taken seriously when, contrary to popular belief, I assert that I do in fact know what I’m doing, most of the time, and yes, I would still like a 1/2 pound of the sun-dried tomato turkey breast, but thank you for your wise and esteemed turkey opinion, Complete and Total Turkey Stranger.

In other recent (and far more intriguing) birthdayish news: Happy! Day of Cake to wordsmith Joyce Carol Oates (on June 16th). And! also (on June 16th!) to the (43rd) annual Sandcastle Building Contest held on Cannon Beach.

Lest you think I am contriving such awesomeness as an annual Sandcastle Building Contest (I probably wouldn’t have believed it either, if babycarrot sister hadn’t gifted me with a lovely poster of said event), I can totally prove it. Money where your mouth is, as it were. Or, perhaps, money where your sand is.

Moving right along then, I bring you, A Glimpse Into My 24th Year, Photographically Speaking, Of Course:

* A very large, extremely grateful thank-you! to the voice-mail serenaders, the happy-hour sharers, the sneaky flower deliverers, and to everyone for the calls, texts, emails, e-cards, real, live, mailed! cards, free! coffee, and other such wonderfully unexpected gifts. To my lovely aunts and even lovelier still grandmother: You are the best lunch dates a girl could want.

Do A Big Sister A Favor?

Today is babycarrot sister’s 26th! Day of Cake. Being that my sister happens to be (awesome, yes! and) one of my favorite people on the planet, I think instead of being here, you should go here, and read all about what made her day great. (Seeing as how we’re all very visual learners around these parts, I will tell you that there are most definitely pictures. Of cake, even!)

You could even wish her a happy! birthday. You know, if you → Read more...

My Heart Is A Nautical-Themed Pashmina Afghan

We interrupt copious amounts of Asia recapping this broadcast for a maritime digression of sorts.

You see, I’ve been a lover of the ocean, and of all things aquatic and nautical-inspired, ever since I can remember.

My love for sea-faring-everything might very well have been fostered during the myriad spring breaks spent exploring quaint coastal communities in and around Port Ludlow, Washington. Some of my fondest childhood memories spring forth from days spent poking my curious face into every trinket shop in → Read more...

Paint By Numbers

Or, My Asian Adventure, Numerically Speaking.

1: Raw Ginseng root eaten after being offered by a kindly man with wrinkles showcasing his eyes at the Yangyang market. Also the number of photos I was asked to be in with total strangers (at the Forbidden City in Beijing).

6: Times I was asked to take pictures for total strangers.

2: Cups of mineral water I drank directly from a spring in the ground (in Osaek).

3: Flights (out of 5) wherein I had two (or → Read more...

Eggers-How We Are Hungry

I knew the Red Pyramid had just been reopened, or was about to be reopened, though I didn’t know why they called it Red. I wanted to ride on a horse through the desert. I wanted to see if this man–slight, with brown teeth, wide-set eyes, a cop mustache–would try to kill me. There were plenty of Egyptians who would love to kill me, I was sure, and I was ready to engage in any way with someone who wanted → Read more...