Things I'm learning about myself

We are in the process of moving. We sold our house about a month ago, and decided on the house we're building a week ago. So, we're going to be staying with friends (hopefully they'll continue to call us that when this is all said and done) for 3 months - thank you Chad and Linda for opening your home!

Anyway, we had to pack up a bunch of stuff and "depersonalize our home" before we listed it. That meant clearing out all pictures of family and Jesus and the likes, so when someone came to see the house, they would imagine their family pictures on the wall, not get caught up in, "what an absolutely amazingly gorgeous family!!!" and the likes. So, I went about changing out all personal decor, and everything I replaced it with had something to do with nature. It wasn't really intentional either. I put up a bunch of pictures I'd taken of things that I found to be beautiful. I placed more flowers around. As I looked around the new version of our decor, I realized that finding beauty in this world has always been very important to me. I have lots of pictures of things outside that I think are amazing. I would love to take a photography course and learn how to truly make the pictures as beautiful as what I see. So I'm going to dig up some of my favorite pictures and post them. Some are ones I've taken, others are ones I've found that I think are amazing. (It'll be pretty easy to tell which is which.)

But it just drew my attention to the fact that I think this world is full of so much beauty. I have always LOVED sunsets. I would probably enjoy sunrises as well, but that part of the day never seems quite as lovely to me unless I'm tucked in bed and still dreaming. Some of my favorite places are snow-covered Timpanogos, esp early evening when the sun is beginning to set and it casts a pink glow on the snow. I love driving through winding roads in the middle of the fall. My two favorite places to drive are the Alpine Loop in Utah, and on I-77 up to Blacksburg, VA. There is this one section of the drive up to VA where you're basically driving on the side of the mountain, and to your right, it opens to the most glorious panoramic vistas you'll ever want to see. And in fall... oh my goodness. Frank's always driven on that stretch of the trip, so I've been able to just allow myself to be mesmerized. I would definitely be a road hazard if I were to drive it. It just about takes my breath away. I'll find a picture of that too. Oh yeah, after some searching, I remembered it's called Fancy Gap. It sure is fancy.

Actually, none of the pictures I like that I've taken are on my computer - and the ones I do have can't hold a candle to these, so I'll post more once I've had a photography class or two... Just kidding. It's all about the process.

I think retirement bliss for me will include traveling around with an expensive camera all over the world, off the beaten path, trying to capture the beautiful things around me. And hanging out with Frank along the way - what could be better?