Colors of the Night

Had a semi-late-night climbing session with the bros, and afterwards I came across this:

This church has the loveliest noontime bells.

Ships and Shoes

I love ink so very, very much.  I love all the things you can do with ink, and all the tools you can use to wield it.  Recently a dear friend of mine gave me some excellent new dip pen nibs, and I sat down this evening to see how they handled.

...and sealing wax...

She also gave me a lovely stick of bronze-y sealing wax, and a pair of seals, and it's taking quite a bit of will power not to use up the entire thing right now.

I do so love loveliness.

The Taste of Love

It has not been the best of times in the O household, lately.  Nathan's been suffering from a variety of afflictions and I... I have been dealing with my old frenemy, Depression, and all it's accompanying quirks.  The result of this particular melange of unhappiness has been a certain amount of Unhealthy Eating for everyone.  Because not caring about anything includes not caring about taking proper care of your body.

Fortunately for the both of us, things started to turn around for me last night, which led to me actually talking to my husband, which in turn led to things turning even more towards Better.  Nathan is very very good at giving me what I need, if I can only bring myself to let him know that I need it.  Or not even "it" in specific- most times it's enough just for him to know that I need help- he can generally figure the rest out on his own.

So tonight, when I got home from the gym, I was determined to make us a dinner that would nourish our bodies instead of just filling our bellies.  And my husband, who was determined that I not feel alone in the world, stepped into the kitchen to help.  Between the two of us, we turned out a fragrant dish of apples, shallots, and pork chops in less than half a hour.

Sweet and Savory

Cooking all of your meals from (healthy) scratch is an enormous pain in the ass.  Unless, of course, you're doing it together, in which case it's a fun bonding activity.  For me, anyway.  I feel very loved and cared for when Nathan chops and I cook (or I chop and he cooks).  We're a team, doing something for us.  The fact that we get to eat a delicious meal at the end of it is almost a bonus...

Rings and Things

Requiring A Reasonable Sum

(not that Diana Villiers would be caught dead with such common hair pins...)

Dissection of Memory

I got a text this morning from my friend Crystal, asking if I'd be willing to help her move a bookcase (she's a perfectly competent woman who just so happens to be pregnant and therefore taking appropriate precautions re: moving heavy objects).  I said "Of course!" and that is how I ended up at her house as heavy afternoon light slanted across this unintentionally beautiful little tableau:

There are always lovely things at Crystal's house

Tintinnabulation

Tonight we celebrate Janurismas, so I've adorned myself in black and silver with pops of red for festive flair.

Ring it in.