April 26: A walk in the gardens

Today Abe and I introduced a group of international friends to one of Madison's best: Olbrich Botanical Gardens.

No better way to spend a beautiful day than in a beautiful place (I love living in Madison!).

April 25: The Last of the Ranunculus

This spring I have fallen in love with ranunculus...but sadly a bit too late.

Ranunculus are an early-Springtime flower and are now dying out. So last night my mom lovingly gave me her last two from a flower arrangement.

So here they are, the last of the ranunculus.

April 24: Little India Decor

Today I promised a friend I would help them decorate for an Indian event. So I brought my own friend, Corrie, with me to help.

We had fun playing with the punjabis and saris :)

I'm more like my 10-year-old friend than I realize.

April 23: Homemade Marinara

What is a girl to do with a tub of tomatoes, handfulls of thyme, a heap of onions, and several cloves of garlic?

Make a gallon of marinara sauce, of course!

(this picture was only 1/4 of the batch)

April 22: Inappropriate Vegetables

I just wanted to make him into salsa verde, but this tomatillo decided to retaliate like Bart Simpson.

April 21: Chai with Andrea

Today my friend Andrea gave me a lesson in the way of authentic Chai tea.

No better way to start off a day than an omlet, Indian bread (that I can't spell), Chai tea, and a good friend.

Andrea's Chai Recipe (serves 1):

1) Boil 1/2 cup water

2) Add following ingredients

-Add thumb-tip of fresh ginger

-2 cloves

-1 cardamom pod (or 2)

-optional - nutmeg or 1/2 bay leaf

-1 teaspoon black tea

-1/2 cup milk

3) Boil 5 more minutes to steep

April 20: Happy birthday, Sistar!

I celebrated my sister's birthday with her today. To celebrate, i'm posting a picture of her cat Hailey (she would have to have her picture posted in its place).

Happy Birthday, Kris.

April 19: Bleeding Hearts

Look who's blooming now!

Bleeding hearts (Abe's flower of the day - each day i'm teaching him a new flower and today was the bleeding hearts' day).

April 18: Underneath the Magnolia Tree

Just beyond my sister's fence grows a beautiful, mature Magnolia tree.

It has tortured me for the past few years so today I decided to follow my camera and my love for flowers.

My brother-in-law and I crossed over and spent a few minutes enjoying Spring's pink blossoms.

April 17th: The Return of the Farmer's Market!

Today was the first day of Madison's famous farmer's market.

If Madisonians avoid the outdoors during winter, we all made up for it today. This was one of the fullest markets I have seen yet.

More April flowers!

Cherry blossoms are blooming in my yard!

And the daffodils are coming out with a vengeance.

If anyone is paying attention, the way to my heart is clearly by giving me flowers.

April showers bring...April flowers?

Here are two of my photos from this past week - notice a theme? I think I am excited for spring to be here.

I have enjoyed spending my mornings, afternoons, and nights in downtown Madison. And it seems that the rest of us Madisonians have the same idea!

Tulips downtown

This is a shot of the state capitol at night.

April 1 - 11: Scratch that!

These last 10 days I lost my cable to connect my camera to my computer.

When I finally found it this morning, I decided that I wasn't going to catch up with my photos anyway. I still took a photo everyday but this last week was a stressful week and the last thing I want to do is think about it again.

Sorry, but we'll start over today.

March 31: Impromptu Photographer

Today I attended a training session for my new job at Senior Helpers. During this session I learned different techniques and equipment for the safe mobility of my clients.

I noticed that one of the teachers was occasionally stepping aside to take pictures saying, "Don't mind me, we're taking some photos today for our newsletter."

So what did I do?

I volunteered my services and pulled out my big camera for some newsletter quality photos. (My camera looks a lot larger when I suddenly pull it out from a medium-sized purse.)