This past Sunday I threw an ultra mini-picnic in my back yard as one last “Hurrah!” to summer.

I made a quick and easy pasta dish for everyone to eat. On the side of my bowl are a few slices of rosemary bread, which Emily baked!

Dorian supplied the beverages.

And Charissa baked beautiful breadsticks that looked like dinosaur feet.

Besides a little bit of wind, the weather was glorious and we couldn’t've picked a better day to say goodbye to summer with. Now that school is back in session, who knows when we’ll have time to get together again! Thanks for coming, guys :)

Two nerd posts in one night? I know, it’s a bit much, but I just had to share these photos from Steve Schofield. Oddly enough, I just read the syllabus for my color photo class this semester and for the final review we also have to give a presentation on a contemporary color photographer. David Hilliard’s going to have to battle it out with this contender.

These select photos are from a series called “Land of the Free,” which explores “the fascination that the British public has with American popular culture and the sub-cultural world of fandom.” More amazing photography at his website: steveschofield.co.uk

If someone had told me when I was younger that by the time I was 23 years old I’d be morphed into a full fledged science fiction loving geek, I would’ve thought they’d lost their marbles. But, truth be told, I just can’t get enough! Last night I finally finished Speaker for the Dead, which definitely ranks among my favorite reads ever. It was incredible! I started to dive into Xenocide, but got discouraged when I noticed its length (592 pages!) as well as the introduction of Japanese language (as if Portuguese wasn’t enough!). I opted to go to sleep, instead.

The retro Battlestar Galactica novels are from the original series and printed in the 70’s. I found them at a used bookstore on two separate occasions, squealed with glee and thanked whoever didn’t think they were worth keeping for trading them in. I never watched the original series, but they should be a fun (and fast!) read.

Despite my growing obsession with a few Sci-Fi niches, I could definitely use some suggestions to point me in the right direction. Books, movies, or whatever!

I was tagged by Andrea Gutierrez to create a list of ten things I love that start with the letter K! How appropriate– I’ll have to resist the urge to put myself at #1 ;)

(Photos not taken by me link back to their respective owners.)

10. Knock Rummy - When I say I’m a gamer, I mean that in all dimensions of gaming! I enjoy a bout of Dr. Mario as much as a long battle of Scrabble. The first home Chris and I lived in together, we played a lot of Knock Rummy. I also have a fascination with the different designs and styles of card decks.

9. Kandinsky - Despite moving towards a more figural approach to art, my mother’s roots have always been in the abstract. For a long time she was watercoloring like mad, and I always saw the greatest influences from Kandinsky in her work– minus the bright colors, of course. My mother is a muted and muddy kinda lady :)

8. Kites - When I was young my dad lived in the Bay Area*. I have fond memories of going to a “kite park” and watching them fly around in the crazy, unpredictable coastal wind. The visits to the park came to a halt when one of my brothers almost got impaled by a rogue kite. Yikes!

7. Kettles - Tea = Life! Okay, I’m exaggerating a bit, but I do love a good cup of tea from time to time. Nothing beats the sound of the whistle on a chilly afternoon.

6. Kickshaws - Much like Andrea’s entry for violet, I think I might love the way this word sounds more than its actual meaning. It’s the kind of word I rarely use– and only in writing. The word itself is to be savored as ritually as the things it defines. Also, if I were to photographically list all of my favorite kickshaws we’d be here for days! I chose this one because I’ve been loving some hard pear cider lately.

5. Knick Knacks - As I get older the accumulation of stuff starts to become more of a burden than a joy, but when I was younger I lived for knick knacks, due-dah, brick-a-brack… I wanted it all! Ban and I used to wake up every weekend during summers in Red Bluff to go yard sailing, looking for delicious deals to cover our bookshelves with.

4. Knuckle Tattoos - The first tattoo I got was of Mog, a character from the Final Fantasy video games. It was given to me by a man I semi-knew, who wore with pride knuckle tattoos that read “Game Over.” Unfortunately, a long time ago I made Chris the promise that any future tattoos I get will be as easy to conceal as the ones I already have (there goes my Dark Mark… !), so despite my admiration of the aesthetic, it wasn’t meant for me.

3. Keys - It’s true that having lots of them on my keyring makes me feel important, but I was thinking more in terms of ivory keys! Last winter I took up the piano in an effort to better my tone-deaf ears as well as learn the compositions of Nobuo Uematsu. I sat at the piano for hours learning his tunes, as well as some American classics (Home on the Range being my utter favorite to perform!). And, for the record, B Flat is my favorite chord.

2. Kids - I love children for many reasons; they are much brighter and more insightful than adults often give them credit for. I’m excited for the day when I have kids of my own to photograph ruthlessly. This is a photo of Alyssa and Tommy, enjoying a hammock for the first time!

1. Kittens! Nothing in the world of k’s can compare to the fuzzy warmth of a bumbling kitten whose limbs are still all out of proportion. It’s amazing to me that our panther of a cat was ever that small. This is a photo I took of some feral kittens that were born in my mother-in-law’s yard two summers ago.

* Edited to satisfy the geography hounds :)

No one thought it was possible given the tiny bells dangling from his collar, but I always knew there was a hunter spirit inside Felix, just waiting to be unleashed! In all seriousness, this case of hunter vs. prey was a bit sad because, being his first time catching something bigger than a bumblebee (Yes, I’ve found my cat bouncing around the garden with a bumblebee in his mouth!), he didn’t exactly finish the job.

After realizing the bird was still alive, I put on my room mate’s gardening gloves to pull it out of the grass and walked all over the property, dumbfounded as to where exactly you put a hurt bird that won’t leave it susceptible to some other wild animal’s bloodthirst!

Katie made some calls and found a local woman who provides care for injured birds. She came to pick it up and didn’t seem too concerned about the bird’s condition– I think it’ll be just fine :)