Day 177 - My Turn

So, at the Bowman's house yesterday we all got a little target practice in.  I did some with 2 pistols for the first time ever (boy, that took some work!) but I was much more comfortable with a .22 rifle in my hands.  That's what I grew up shooting.  :)

Pow! Pow! Pow!

I knocked the cans down.  :)

Day 176 - Croatian in VA

So, what does a Croatian veterinarian want to do when she comes to visit in VA?  Shoot guns, of course.  :)

Thanks to the kindness of my beloved friend, Dr. Bowman - our guest Tatjana got to do just that.  We went over for dinner and then shot guns and then ate ice cream cake.  We had just the best evening.  So fun.

This girl is a natural!  A natural bowler and now a natural marksman!  She shot two pistols and two rifles (a .22 and a 12-gauge shotgun.)  When given the option to shoot any of the said guns again, she went for the shotgun!

Tough gal.  :) 

Day 175 - Little Faith

Little Faith.  Gorgeous.  New editing tricks.  Win.  :)

Day 174 - Me taking a Photo

So, my friend Chris and I went on a photo outing this past Saturday and we had a ton of fun and I learned some new tricks.  :) Chris, like my friend, Bob is a long-time photographer who mastered the art many years ago using film.  He has only recently plunged into digital SLR photography and I got to play with his camera and lenses a bit.  I now want a macro lens.  :)  

This shot was taken by him with my camera while I was trying to take pictures of this lovely moth using his.  I have the back of my hand resting on the fencepost in an *effort* to minimize my crazy hand shaking.  I'm always a shaker.  Boo. 

The first thing that struck me when I saw this picture was 'my gracious I have long fingers!'  Funny how different they look in a picture.  They don't look that long when I look down at my hand.  But I guess I'm used to looking down at them a lot.  They've been attached to me a long time.  :)

Yay for good friends and lovely weather and a beautiful burgundy moth. 

Day 173 - Bowling in the USA

Matt and I currently are hosting a recently graduated veterinarian from Croatia.  Her name is Tatjana and she is awesome.  :)  She lived in Boston for 5 months a few years ago and she was in Michigan at a small animal clinic for 6 weeks before she came down to VA ten days ago on this trip.  Her English is phenomenal.

We pretty much just worked the first 5 days she was here.  Not much American fun to be had.  But on Memorial Day, we slept in and went to a cook-out at some friends of ours' house in Harrisonburg.  She likes food and so does this group of friends - so all were happy and well fed. 

I have taken her to Cracker Barrel to introduce her to 'Southern' food and we have watched some 'So You Think You Can Dance' to allow her into 'my' world.  :)

This past Friday, a friend of mine from TN came to visit.  The 4 of us had dinner here Friday night and just hung out.  Saturday, Chris and I went on a 'photo hike/outing' and then came back here and he taught me some magic tricks for editing photographs.  You will see more of those soon. 

But one of the things Tatjana wanted to do was go bowling.  That IS a very American sport, ya know?  :)  She did really, really well!  Bowled an 80 her first game!  (She is very athletic.....)  But this picture is Chris trying to help her with her timing and form.  I wouldn't say she 'got it' completely, but it did not matter.  She still did very, very well.

The 4 of us had SO much fun bowling!  It was the greatest day for me.  A day of hiking, photo editing, a trip to our favorite Mexican place (Baja Bean) and our favorite ice cream place right next door (The Split Banana) made up the day and bowling ended it perfectly.

Tonight, Tatjana and I sat at our dining room table and I taught her how to do an intradermal suture pattern on pig feet we bought at the grocery store.  How awesome is my life????  I am so thankful and so blessed.  And I'm also so tired.  Going to bed now....

:) 

Day 171 - Agate Beach

Agate Beach, CA

Day 170 - Weird Tree Blossoms

We saw this tree on our recent trip to DC.  I have no idea what it is - but it was covered in these beautiful bright pink ODD blooms. 

Any guesses?  The color is not retouched.  They were this bright pink!