Sometimes...

working on a Saturday is quite lovely.

Apple Picking

This is what happens when you go with some friends to New Hampshire for the weekend.. and it takes you a long time to get there so you are really tired and everything seems really funny the next day...

We went to an orchard to go apple picking, and we came across this ladder laying down. I am not really sure who suggested it first, but I do recall the statement being made. "Hey that looks like something that would happen to Gaby apple picking. Gaby go act like you fell with that ladder."



And for some reason this was really logical to me.. and so I did it.. lol There are so many gems about this video. It is kind of hard to hear at the begging of the video but I realize how ridiculous I am and start laughing and then realize people are coming and I should be embarrassed.. so I say "No. We're done." Also notice how I hurt my foot getting up from the fake fall... Weeks later this still just brightens my day :)

Happy Halloween

ode to Amelie!

October in Wisconsin

I have been neglecting my blog as of late. I have been in WI on press working on the holiday catalog for work. This trip usually takes about a week.... but this time I was gone much longer. I spent a total of 15 days there. As much as I hated being away from my life for that long, there were a few upsides. One of which is Devils Lake. I know I have written and even posted pictures from here before, but I can not help myself. It was beautiful and I had some lovely moments of inspiration and just thoroughly living in the moment. My favorite was a run through a field on an overcast morning that halfway through it started raining. It was nice to have some time in the Midwest for the fall.

I think this might be a record for me on how many pictures I am posting... but I just could not narrow it down! Enjoy :)

I am having a moment

the superhero in me is tired

Rosie Hardy

What a week it has been...

Thanks Rosie for this amazing image (and all the others on your site). I could not help but laugh and sigh as I related to so many of them.

Labor Day Run

This year for Labor day I went on a nice long run. (after I had done a cardio, boxing, core workout video) I would give myself two thumbs up... if I could lift up my thumbs ;)

Here are just some nice snaps from along the Hudson... really a pretty day out!

p.s. since the storm last week the water has looked pretty dirty.. and it kind of shows in the second shot.

dreaming in shades of grey

and for those of you who said you only dream in b&w...

dreaming in color

Sometimes I dream in color, and I don't mean the images are color vs b&w. I mean sometimes my dreams are entirely fields of color. This was a dream I had last week that I have been trying to create on my computer.

I remember the feeling of the dream was that feeling that happens as summer turns to fall. And I remember these orbs of color just kind of floating up/falling down and blending into each other... I think I am finally at a place where I like how it is working together. I still may play around with it all a little more though.

When you dream, what do you see?

summer to fall ombre

Gaby Germaine 2011

Weathered the storm

It looks like the worst is over. There is still potential for more raining and gust of winds today, and the mayor has asked us all to stay inside (so of course I will). But it is much quieter here.

We did not get too many gusts of wind up where I live. Some of the loudest were in the late night early morning hours.. and thankfully from what I can see looks like it did not amount to much damage in my neighborhood. A few tree branches are down, but not sure what the rest of the park outside of my view suffered.

My apartment faired well. Some water damage in the Bathroom (the window in my shower had some leaks, but best place for a water leak I suppose ;) And my roommates ceiling has some water damage too. All and all I am glad we were prepared for the worst case, and it turned out to be not necessary.

I am a little bit tired. I stayed up to keep my eye on the tornado watch we were in (every seasoned midwestern girl knows its better to stay awake and find out if that changes to a warning, than call it a night) It is funny because when this all started I kept thinking... "man I wish this were a tornado. I know how to handle that..." never did I consider the thought that hurricanes produce tornados also... but it makes sense when you think about it...

I am off to take a nap, and enjoy a day of staying in and working on some projects. I am not sure what will happen with me going to work tomorrow yet... It is all kind of dependent on the subways being up and running. (I live 17 miles from work) But either way it will work out, I might just work from home.

Hope this found you all safe and sound also!

Gaby

Flashlights

I don't think there is a single flashlight or D battery left in this city. I finished getting a bunch of my have to prepare items done this morning and decided that I would walk to the target in the bronx (it is about a mile walk) to A. get some exercise before being in for a day or so, and B. to get a book for the storm. It was wild to see so many isles like this.

I am home now with no intentions of going out again. It is starting to sprinkle...

Water...

(empty shelves where water once lived at my grocery store)

Hey All,

So just because there is so much to do to get ready and there is no way to be able to contact you all and give you all updates... I am hoping this blog can serve that purpose for the time being. I am preparing for Hurricane Irene to hit the city I love, my home, New York.

Thankfully, in general, I am a person who is happy to prepare or plan ahead, and have felt relatively ready for it even before the warnings. I have of course been stocking up on extras though... just to be triple safe. And am gearing up for tomorrow to be a day of battening down the hatches (or taping windows up as it were). But I want all of you to know that I am in as good a spot in the city as I can be. My home is well above the flood zones. So much so that I am not even listed in a zone evacuation area on the map. My building is filled with wonderful caring and loving people who I have deep friendships with and know we will all be looking out for each other.

I have to say as I have been preparing for the worst I am hoping and praying for the best. Subways are shutting down at noon tomorrow and will soon be followed by the bridges being shut down. I have been back and forth how I feel about this, being here on the island. Yes, I feel prepared and ready for it, but I do like the idea of land around me.. it is that midwesterner in me I guess. I am ready also if I decide tomorrow morning I should evacuate, but for now the plan is to stay and ride the storm out.

I could not help but chuckle as on the news tonight the said the worst of the storm should be from 2:00 Am sunday to 2:00 pm sunday... lol, only 12 hours.. sigh. I am just assuming we will not have power. But if we do I will try and post updates here for everyone.

To all of my dear friends and family who have been calling and e-mailing me, Thank you so much! Your thoughts are so kind and much appreciated. I wish that I could just call you all up and have a nice long chat after the storm to tell you I am A-Okay. But I will have to play that by ear based on electricity and cell charge-ability.

I will keep you all posted to the best of my ability,

Much Love,

Gaby

mmmmmmm........

Oh goodness me I want one of these so badly right now! Those of you who are Bajio fans know exactly what yumminess is hidden under that lettuce.... mmmmmm....

The Legend...

You know you work in a great office when this is on the bulletin board in the break room.

(and yes, I took a sword)

atmospheric electrostatic discharge

Some Friday nights I am glad I just stayed home... This is the view into the courtyard behind my building. This storm was relentless!

Also This is what happens to your camera when there is just too much light in the sky before it can adjust its settings... These kind of make me want to watch Poltergeist.

Some days I somehow even manage to amaze myself....

The best way to explain that statement is to share a g-chat conversation that I had with my roommate on my lunch break today.

me: So I look like Quasimodo...

Brook: have you been crying?

me: no I have one eye that is swollen and puffy and red

and I am too embarrassed to tell anyone why

Brook: mosquito bite?

rubbed lemon juice from your salad in your eye?

me: I have just been saying I woke up with it swollen shut (which is not a lie)

Brook: on man

me: I fell asleep reading face first into the corner of my book...

basically I poked myself in the eye for 5 hours

Brook: I'm biting my lip

my eyes are watering

ummm

me: I'd tear up too but... well that would be a mess

I would much rather have (insert co-workers name here) think I have some rare eye disease

than know what a dork I am

...I need an eye patch

Brook: HAHAHAA

ok

it burst out

oh laughter

Make and Do

Yesterday I woke up with a burst of energy, and after cleaning the house top to bottom all I could think about was my dream the last few nights. I have been dreaming about making a quilt. Which is sort of funny since I have never made one, and do not really hang around people who make them. But it has been a consuming thought... and well, after a lot of internet research, I pulled out my box of scrap fabrics. I was able to get all my squares cut... I think... Having never made one I am pretty sure I am missing some important step... but I kind of like to learn by trying, so I do not have massive hopes for this one (a nice picnic blanket or lap blanket will be enough for me to be happy). I will keep you posted on this one!



And then, because I had no desire to even think about any of the work I had brought home for the weekend.... I went on to work on a scarf. The thing that I am kind of excited about is that I rarely, if ever, knit for myself. I am always knitting year round, but most of the times it is for a gift for someone else. I learned to knit pretty much the same way I am trying to teach myself to quilt.


And again, because the creative energy kept coming, I started working on this cross stitch. I know it does not look like I got very far, but you see I made the pattern for this one before I started stitching. Also I can not show any further because it is a gift for someone who reads this blog sometimes. Once compleated and gifted I will post the finished design. I am quite pleased with it!


Such a great creative day! My friend Ty said it best when I was telling him that I felt like I got a bit obsessed yesterday with all these projects. He said it is just that I needed to create something that I was not getting paid for and no one else was telling me how to do. So so true.

I feel a bit rejuvenated... and wishing I had more time today to work on all of these projects (and the 40 more that are floating in my head at any given time :)

4th with the Family

It was so great to spend the 4th of july with the family in Iowa. We really packed every minute with activities. Farmer's Market, swimming pool, water park, ice cream shop, making home made ices cream, homemade root beer, reading in the yard, grilling, bonfire, fire works and music at the capital, and so much more!

I'm so glad When Daddy Comes Home!

Happy Father's Day! For obvious reasons I am thinking about my dad today. The spirit of a giant, put in a little guy :) (sorry dad but it is true) In fact the memory that kept coming to mind today is about just that!

It was years ago, I was probably a senior or so in High School, and my dad was in the bishopric of our ward at church. The primary kids had just finished their annual sacrament meeting program, and my dad was conducting. Up he went to the stand and started to adjust the pulpit for himself. He raised it up, and up some more, and up some more.... the congregation started to have some nervous chuckles, and in the Germaine pew..... we just looked confused at one another. He had raised the pulpit as high as it would go, and I knew he would not even be able to peer over the top of it. Then up he walked to the pulpit head held high, at the last second he reached down and grabbed the step-stool that the primary kids had been using to reach the microphone. He stood on the top step and looked down, well over the pulpit, at the congregation and said, "Well, had I had known we had this step-stool all these years..."

True confession: I was so proud of my dad that day. I went to sunday school and all my classmates were talking about how funny my dad was. And I just kept thinking, "you don't even know the half of it." We Germaine's like a good laugh and when we get all together the volume in the room can get kind of loud! And honestly my dad is usually the instigator.

Dad,

I love your smile and your laugh and your ability to take a hard situation

and make it lighter. I love that even though all the boys I grew up with could tower over you... they were still terrified of you... perhaps though, it is time to ease up on them just a bit ;)

I love all the things I take with me because of you, my love of movies, willingness to work and to work hard, sometimes my stubborn personality (... but mom does get a bit of credit for that one too;), A love of the Book of Mormon, cravings for beans on toast or strawberry daiquiris (non-alcoholic of course), general car, electric, plumbing, and building knowledge. And a hope and excitement for the future!

I love that when I went to the temple for the first time, you were the first person I saw there at the end, waiting for me with a big grin on your face. (Also that I could hear your voice, no matter what room I was in) Thank you for being there, then and always.

I hope all of you remember to tell your dads how much you love them this fathers day (and every day after)

Sundays are lovely sometimes

Be still, my soul: The Lord is on thy side;

With patience bear thy cross of grief or pain.

Leave to thy God to order and provide;

In ev'ry change he faithful will remain.

Be still, my soul: Thy best, thy heav'nly Friend

Thru thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: Thy God doth undertake

To guide the future as he has the past.

Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;

All now mysterious shall be bright at last.

Be still, my soul: The waves and winds still know

His voice who ruled them while he dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: The hour is hast'ning on

When we shall be forever with the Lord,

When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,

Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.

Be still, my soul: When change and tears are past,

All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

- Katharina von Schlegel

Some Days....

Do you ever feel like your life has somehow turned in to a terrible episode of the Twilight Zone? Or some awful 3rd graders Game of Opposite Day?

Argh! that is to you (and you know who you are!)

Happiness is...

...climbing under a pile of towels fresh from the dryer. I could not help myself today... they were just calling to me, all warm, toasty, and fluffy. A pure moment of childlike joy!

In other news; I went running for the first time in weeks. It felt like there were sandbags tied to the tops of my shoes. I am pretty sure the same snail passed me twice! I did take a moment to rest in the grass by the banks of the Hudson and enjoy the view.