Earthquake!

So, I felt an earthquake today for the first time.  It was not a pleasant experience.  I heard a loud bang sound which was followed by the floor shaking.  I was at my desk at work.  Our office is located right above an empty, underground parking garage.  When it gets really windy outside, the floor already shakes under our feet.  It felt like that today only much worse.  I looked outside expecting to see the trees really bent over from the wind, but they looked the same as usual.  The woman who sits across from me then commented that this is what an earthquake feels like.  I was pretty freaked out and a bit scared too.  We didn't leave the building or even move from our seats.  We just kept working...or tried to anyway.  I'm pretty bummed that there was some significant damage to the National Cathedral.  I love that church.  It is gorgeous inside and out.  I hope that everything can be repaired.  Here are some pictures from the cathedral which I have taken. 

This was the tower that was damaged.  I hope that it can all be repaired!  This was taken during the Gargoyle Tour.

A stained glass rose window inside the cathedral.  The morning light was streaming through the windows onto the pillars.

The front of the cathedral - taken during the Gargoyle Tour as well.

TV that I love right now

   I love TV.  I'm not ashamed to admit it.  I really love it.  Not all of it, but there are some really great shows on TV right now.  I've been watching a lot of BBCAmerica programming lately.  I really wish that someone had told me sooner about Graham Norton.  No matter who sits on his couch each week, I find myself laughing.  Not chuckles and not bemused smirks, but actual laugh out loud moments.  If you get the chance, watch one of his shows and I think you'll enjoy it too.  Also on BBCAmerica, I've been enjoying the comedies The Inbetweeners, Friday Night Dinner (both featuring Simon Bird who is GREAT!), Come Fly with Me, and Outnumbered.  There are some great dramas too including White Out, Dr. Who (yes!), and a new show that I'm going to try out The Hour.
   Since it is summertime, I must mention Big Brother.  I have watched it every season since it premiered back in 2000.  The first year, the audience got to vote out houseguests.  Things have really changed since then.  Normally, I don't enjoy watching this kind of drama, scheming, backstabbing and the like, but I make an exception for Big Brother.  If I had the body, I would have auditioned years ago!  I nearly forgot to mention that I sometimes even watch Big Brother After Dark which airs with live shots direct from the house from 1-4 A.M.  Really, I just like watching it the night after the live eviction so that I can see the aftermath.
   I know that I'm not a teenager, but I enjoy some shows that are geared towards teen girls.  I guess there will always be a teenage girl within me somewhere.  The Secret Life of the American Teenager has nearly descended into camp and soap, but it's still entertaining enough to keep my interest every week.  I know it makes me terrible, but I didn't want Adrian and Ben to have that baby!  They wanted to name her Mercy. Really?  Mercy me, indeed!  Some other shows that are mildly annoying that I watch anyway are Pretty Little Liars (I just have to know who "A" is!), The Nine Lives of Chloe King (I wanna see where this goes) and The Vampire Diaries (because I want to see just how idiotic these people can be).  I LOOOOVED Greek, but it's now been cancelled.  It did have a nice long run though.  I really loved those characters.
   Another season of Breaking Bad has started and this season's episodes of True Blood are nearly over.  I loved Game of Thrones so much that I'm now reading the novels.  They are each super thick, but also super entertaining.  Larry David is back with another season of acting like an asshole on Curb Your Enthusiasm too.  There are still many more programs that I enjoy.  Thank God for TV.
 

Peach Cobbler Day

So, I bought a peck of peaches yesterday along with some peach butter and some apple butter.  It was all from Ivy Hill Farms.  I'm going to ATTEMPT to make 2 cobblers.  One will be the recipe that I used last year and one will be slightly modified from that.  If it doesn't turn into a cobbler wreck, I might post some pictures.  I was able to get a delicious piece of cobbler with the crumb topping (like last year) that I took with me to eat later.  I got some peach ice cream this year that was also pretty tasty.  I took a picture of it at my car before I drove away.  I had a lunch of a Hartle's sub, Grandma Utz chips, and the peach ice cream.  It was a delicious, locally-themed lunch. 

If you ever go to the Leitersburg Peach Festival, I suggest you drive an automatic transmission car (because you'll be inching forward for a while to get to the parking area) and some bravery to park on/among some hills.  I'm not an adventurous driver, so this kind of thing made me nervous.  You'll notice that there is a tree directly to the right of my car which I had to navigate past. I hope that I can talk someone into driving me next year!

Meteor Shower Plans FOILED!

I tried to watch some meteors last night from the Perseid Meteor Shower, but the sky grew more and more cloudy as the night wore on despite the fact that it was nice and clear all day. Since I was already out in the dark, I took a few low light pictures.  This first one is of the walnut tree in the front yard of my parent's house.  You can see some stars in the upper lefthand corner.  The second one is me in front of that tree.  I moved around a bit on purpose so that I'd be blurry.  (Both of these photos were taken between 12:45 and 1 am last night.)  I'm really just experimenting here and having fun with photos.  The last picture is the same tree, but during the day today.  Feel free to compare and contrast.

 

Why hello there.

Here is where I'll share (for those who'd like to know) things or places that I'm enjoying right now.  This might include photographs, art or artists that I like, toys, travel (I hope!), or anything else that I find of interest. 

The Leitersburg Peach Festival is this weekend.  I plan to buy some peaches and make a nice, big cobbler again this year.  I really enjoyed the one that I made last year.  The house smelled incredible while it was baking.  Perhaps I'll take my camera with me and there will be something of interest to photograph.  I'm looking forward to eating some fresh cobbler there and I plan to get some more peach butter.  It is so great on toast.  Here is a picture from last year of the Ive Hill farms booth where I bought a peck of peaches and the other picture is of the cobbler I bought...which I devoured on the spot.