Odd places

Hi everyone!


My apologies for the lack of a blog post last night.  Sadly, it wasn't because I was with Amanda.  I was sick all day, and couldn't wrap my head around a good (or even decent) blog post idea.


Amanda and I took this photo last Saturday.

We were attending the birthday party for one of Amanda's niece's friends at the Comp high school gym.  We were sitting around having snacks and talking with the other non-3-to-4 year olds, and our non-camerawoman was sitting across from us.

I commented to Amanda that we should take a photo right then and there, and we did!  I'm not happy that half of my hair is missing in the photo, but I *am* happy that Amanda is dead center, and looking cute.

Missed Opportunity

Amanda and I were out getting frozen yogurt this weekend when we took a photo outside.  We were joking with each other, and I took a photo of just Amanda standing outside.  She looked really cute, and the photo turned out great, so I returned my cell phone to my pocket.


Just then, Amanda started doing a fake interview introducing herself to our blog readers.  It was cute and funny, and I *wish* I'd had my cell recording the whole thing -- it would've been great to post on the blog.


I briefly thought about us recreating it and doing introduction videos to post, but they wouldn't have the same spontenaity, and wouldn't have been as fun.


On the plus side, we did get a few good photos this weekend, and I'll be posting them over the next few days!

The Long Way Home

So this marks the final photo Amanda and I took together last weekend in Tumbler Ridge.  We went for a lengthy walk where we wandered by exactly half of the stoplights in town, along the upper bench, and then back home again.

Less than a few minutes from home, we stopped for this photo.  At first I tried taking one while Amanda and I were still walking (just one of us together -- not kissing), but she grabbed my arm and stopped me for a kiss and a photo.

At this point, I'm really looking forward to spring.  We walked by a strand of poplar trees and because it was so sunny and warm, we both looked up to see if we could see any buds.  No luck, but we haven't given up hope -- spring should be just around the corner!

And now for something different!

A few posts ago I talked about how Amanda and I both knit.  So I thought I'd show off what I'm working on right now.  It's a basic 2x2 ribbed scarf using the leftover yarn from the scarves I made for my grandparents for Christmas.  It's only about 1/5 of the way done, and progress is kind of slow.  If I want to finish it before spring (which seems to be getting extremely close even though it's still February), I'll have to start knitting on it while I chat with Amanda in the evening.


Anyway, I like the yarn I'm using (a bulky tweed), and the colours work for me.  It's fun to work on, and I'll get it finished one of these days.
 

Now, in-between knitting and playing video games, Amanda and I went for a wander on Sunday afternoon to enjoy the weather.  We took this photo at one of the two stop lights in Tumbler Ridge.  One of these days we'll visit the other one and complete our set!

Quiet, Dark Place

Amanda and I took this photo just before 9am on Saturday.  I had to work, and Amanda decided to walk me to work before returning to my condo.  She came into the library with me to take a quick look at anything that had changed since the last time she was in, and I convinced her to take a photo with me in front of the circulation desk.

I still had the main library lights off because I was an hour away from opening time, so we took this photo in low light.  It's not a great photo, but I think it turned out interesting.  Amanda and I aren't total silhouettes, but the colours are muted and it just feels different from the majority of our photos.

The only downside is that it looks like I need to shave.  This photo was taken less than an hour after I'd done so.  Is there such a thing as 9am shadow?

Composition Troubles, or The Need for a Cameraperson

Amanda and I need a cameraperson.  I came to that conclusion while reviewing the photos we took together this weekend in one location in particular.


For a while now I've wanted to get a photo of the two of us in front of town hall in Tumbler Ridge.  The building is iconic and will never be separate from Tumbler Ridge in my mind.


So on Sunday, Amanda and I went for a brief wander and ended up going by town hall.  We stopped for a photo, and I took a few attempts at it.  The first few ended up much like this photo:

They were set up great for showing town hall and you can clearly tell where we are.  But Amanda and I aren't framed very well.  In fact, when we looked at the photos on my camera, Amanda insisted that we try again to take a photo with the two of us more centered.  So we did:

This photo is much, much better for composition on the two of us, but town hall is hidden behind my head.  We could be in any town, in front of any building.


Now, if we'd had a third person to act as photographer, we could've gotten an amazing photo.  As it stands, the components are great, but neither attempt quite captured what I had hoped for.


That said, I *did* get to stand in front of town hall kissing Amanda for minutes on end while we took these photos, so I really did get what I hoped for!  :-)

Kissing Couple at home away from home

Amanda and I took this photo on Saturday morning just before we walked to the library so I could go to work.  Amanda drove out to Tumbler Ridge after work on Friday, enjoyed a quiet, relaxing day on Saturday while I worked, and then we spent all of Sunday and a little over half of today together before she had to return home.


It was a great weekend and we took a handful of new photos which I'll be posting over the course of the week.  Stay tuned!

Knitting ourselves in Knots

So far in this blog, Amanda and I have stuck to discussing our photos and such.  But I think it'd be a good idea for everyone to have a little bit better idea of who we are!

Amanda's been knitting for years, and she taught me the basics this fall.  She's working on four or five different projects (all of which impress me), and has bestowed on me an affection for yarn stores.  I'm only working on one project -- a red/white/brown ribbed scarf that I'll wear someday.  I need two or three weeks of steady work on it and for the colder weather to return if  I want to wear it anytime before next winter.


At some point we might share a photo or two of our projects, but for now I'll leave you with a text only entry and a promise for new photos of the two of us later in the week!

Clean! Sweep! Haaaaaard!

Good evening, good blog readers!


I spent the last hour and a half or so cleaning my condo.  Amanda's coming tomorrow night to spend the weekend, and I've allowed the messes around my place to pile up the last few weeks.  So when I got home from work, I sprung into action.


Garbage?  Out!
Rugs?  Vacuumed!
Floors?  Swiffered, both wet and dry!
Bathroom?  Quickly scrubbed!


My place isn't spotless -- my computer desk is still covered with papers, and my dresser has some stuff (spare change alongside other papers) piled up, but it's looking much, much cleaner.


But when Amanda comes over tomorrow night I won't say "Please excuse the mess."  I'll proudly tell her "I came home at eight last night and spent over an hour cleaning to make the place look spiffy for your visit!"

Late Evenings

It's funny, but when Amanda and I are together, we usually call it a night earlier than when we're apart.  On weekends when I'm in Grande Prairie or she's in Tumbler Ridge, we're often in bed and asleep some time between 10 and 11.


On nights when we're both at home, that's not the case.  Neither of us can sleep in excessively on work days (6:45 for her, 7:15 for me), but that doesn't always play as important a role in our evenings as it should.  Most nights we're chatting online until at least 11.  Part of it is that we've fallen into the habit of chatting right before bed.  One day last week we chatted earlier (around 7:30 or 8ish, I believe) and finished chatting by 9, but it felt extremely weird going to bed that night without talking to Amanda immediately beforehand.


I think the other part of us chatting so late is just us not wanting to say goodbye.  While we're chatting, we're together, albeit in a very limited way.  As soon as the chat window closes though, we're back to reality where we live three hours away from each other, and shortly have to go to bed alone.


So if you are ever in the library in the morning and see me yawning, it's not from a late night movie marathon, or from me staying up until 3am playing a video game -- it's because I spent as much time as I could chatting with Amanda and being in denial, refusing to believe that I'd be sleeping alone.

Caffeinated Kisses

Amanda and I took this photo on Saturday afternoon outside of Starbucks.  We'd finished up wandering around downtown, and were a little chilly and undercaffeinated.  So we drove to Starbucks to warm up and recaffeinate.


We were successful on *both* fronts, and to top it off, they finally had vanilla scones available, which were phantom treats previously.  We knew they supposedly existed, but couldn't ever find them for sale until Saturday.  It inspired me (finding them, not eating them, though they were pretty good) so much that I'm now ready to chase after the end of a rainbow in search of a leprechaun!

Moonlit Reflections

If you've been paying attention to this blog and the photos I've been posting, you may have noticed a trend over the past two weeks.  I like shiny surfaces that show Amanda and me together.  :-)


I took this photo on Saturday night (Feb. 11) after going for our Valentine's supper early.  We had intended to wear dressier clothes, but the weather ended up being much cooler than it was earlier in the day and we decided not to.


One of these days in the future (hopefully near future, but we'll see), Amanda and I will get all spiffed up to go out, and we'll be posting a photo of a very dressy Kissing Couple of Grande Prairie out on the town.

Seeing her at the crossroads

Amanda and I took this photo yesterday on the corner of 100th and 102nd while we were waiting for the lights to change.  Because it was sunny and (seemed) warm, I suggested that we walk from her place downtown and wander around a bit there.

By the time we got outside though, we both changed our minds fairly quickly and compromised on another approach -- driving downtown, parking behind the Telus building, and then wandering around.

So we arrived downtown and while we were waiting for the light to change, Amanda and I took this photo.  On one hand the photo isn't great because I took it the exact opposite direction of good lighting.  On the other hand, it ended up making a kind of neat halo effect around Amanda.

Anyway, that's it for me from Grande Prairie -- the next time you hear from me will be from my iMac at home in Tumbler Ridge.  As a plus, Amanda is coming to Tumbler Ridge next weekend (yay!) and hopefully the weather will cooperate so we can take some photos around town.

Kind Reflections

Good evening everyone!

Amanda and I were out and about this afternoon, and we took four new photos to share.

I was particularly proud of this one, taken in a gallery downtown.  I noticed the two mirrors, and thought it would be neat to get a photo with Amanda and I each in a mirror of our own.

So I directed traffic a little (said "Amanda, move a little more to the left"), and took the photo.  It turned out great, and we're both thrilled with the result!  Because of the angle, it looks like we're in different rooms.

I suppose you could also see this photo as kind of a metaphor for Amanda and my relationship with her living in Grande Prairie and me living in Tumbler Ridge.  Even though we're in contact every day, we're not always able to be with each other.

Anyway, it was a neat photo to take, and I'm proud of it!

Kick your feet up

At this very moment, I'm typing on Amanda's Macbook, which is resting on Amanda's legs, which are in turn resting on my lap.  All of us are happy with the arrangement.  :-)

Anyway, I'm out in Grande Prairie again for the weekend.  Amanda's feeling a little under the weather, but hopefully she'll be feeling better tomorrow, and we'll be able to get a few new photos out and about this weekend.

...Now if only we could get a third-party cameraperson so we could get some photos that actually show what we're standing in front of while we're kissing...

Scheduling

Most of the time my schedule matches up fairly well with Amanda's.  Because I have Sunday-Monday off every week (as well as alternate Saturdays), it means that if I go out to Grande Prairie for the weekend, I can stay all day Sunday and leave Monday morning when Amanda goes to work.


My short weekends don't work quite as well for Amanda visiting Tumbler Ridge.  On those weekends she has to choose between being in Tumbler Ridge all day Saturday while I work (which may be a nice day free from doing anything, but can also get boring), or coming out late Saturday afternoon, and staying in town less than 24 hours.


This weekend, I'm heading out to Grande Prairie.  As part of my master plan for Valentine's Day, I had hoped that Amanda would be able to come to Tumbler Ridge this weekend.  However, fate intervened 31 years ago and caused her sister to be born.  As a result, I'll be going to Grande Prairie after work tomorrow for the weekend.


My original plan was to take Tuesday and Wednesday off from work, have Amanda come out here for the weekend, and then surprise her after work on Valentine's Day by showing up in Grande Prairie with flowers and a reservation for supper.


I know the plan had a few issues.  First off, surprising someone who lives three hours away is always risky.  Second, showing up dressed up and spiffy, carrying flowers, and ready to take her for supper might not go over quite so well when she just got off work and was wanting some downtime and a shower.


On the other hand, I think it might've been a nice surprise...


*Sigh*  Maybe next year...

Kissing over French Fries

Amanda and I took this photo together on February 5th in McDonald's.  We had just finished eating, and I decided that it was a good time to try for a photo.  Amanda agreed, and I asked our tablemate if she'd act as camerawoman.


...she declined.  I decided to take a photo with Amanda anyway, and promptly framed the photo so that the top 1/4 of my head would be cut off.


If our tablemate is reading this blog, I'm willing to bet she's laughing at me right now.

Mirror Image

I took this photo last Sunday (Feb. 5, 2012) outside of McDonalds.  Amanda and I had lunch there with Amanda's sister and niece, and I took this photo afterward.  I thought it'd be neat to try for a reflection phot, and it was!

The only problem is that the photo makes it very clear that I need to be smartening up with my eating and exercise again...


*sigh*

Medium-Sized Shoes to Fill

This is the final photo Amanda and I took together on January 29, 2012.  We were on our way into Mark's Work Wearhouse when we paused for this photo.


Amanda needed some new steel toed boots for work, and we headed in looking for some.  We both thought the pink steel toed boots for women were ridiculous.  They may be just as functional as the others, but they made us (well, me anyway) think of women who play at working in a job requiring them.  Amanda ended up with some black boots with a pink logo, which were quite a bit better.


On the way out, Amanda noticed a sale in the men's area, and we wandered over.  Neither of us liked the blue sweater I tried on, but Amanda found a variant of my favourite t-shirt for sale!  Instead of a yellow torso with medium brown sleeves, it's got a light brown/tan torso with darker brown sleeves.  It was *right* up my alley, and I bought it.


That's it for photos from the weekend of the 29th, so I'll carry on with the few photos we took this weekend later on this week.  We tried to have someone take a few photos of us so we'd have a few to post that aren't at arm's length, but the attempt sadly failed.  So stay tuned for more photos taken by my right hand!

Back again

Hi folks,

I'm finally back from my conference.  It was lots of fun, but I missed the routine of blogging nearly every night.  I tried to write a quick post from my phone, but it wouldn't cooperate for whatever reason.

At any rate, Amanda and I took a few more photos last weekend that we haven't had a chance to share yet.

We took this photo last Sunday (January 29, 2012) outside of Booster Juice.  We'd finished up our running around, and decided to stop in for smoothies before heading back to Amanda's apartment.

Hers -- a Funky Monkey, mine -- an Original (strawberry + orange = good).  Anyway, on the way out the sun had poked out from behind the clouds shortly before it set, and Amanda's hair and eyes were both shining.

We shared a quick kiss and took a photo of it, and I think the lighting for it turned out really interesting.