Benchmark

IT'S DONE WITH..the thesis has been accepted... and now we are on our way to graduating in a month's time :) I'm so relieved that I can't seem to find words to write here today. Thanks all for rooting for us!!!! I will not think twice before dedicating my thesis to the virtual friends I have made through this blog :)

The Blues!

I am continuing to dig into archives for the moment! The Arch Rock that looks out onto Lake Huron at Mackinac Island is a favorite photo-opp site for the tourists. We too (armed with camera) decided to pay it homage when we visited the island this June. But what fascinated me the most were the Native American legends associated with it. My favorite version: the Arch was formed when a beautiful Indian maiden's tears washed away the limestone bluff as she waited in vain for her lover to return. The romantic in me can't resist the legend :P

A little walk from the rock and one gets greeted by this vista....made more precious to me by the twin lights. Though one can't see it clearly here, the farther light, Round Island Lighthouse, now restored, is a darned pretty building.

I know there's been an overload of "blues" on this space lately (pun intended) but When I need to escape from the realities of life, blue is the only color that will do it for me. So there!!! And for the ones concerned, I defend my thesis in 3 days from today!!!!

Have a great weekend, all!!! :)

"Up, Up and Away!"

Nothing unique about this pic but it so aptly depicts my current state of affairs: at the end of my tether, ready to break into a flight any minute. The countdown's begun..one week from now we defend our theses and while it's been a rough going presently.......it's now only 7 more days of misery!!!!!!

Thanks all for giving me company while I am spending my nights away in the lab. Amidst all those number crunching and typing, a new comment in my mailbox always leaves me smiling and visiting your blogs gives me that much needed break :)

"Rear Window" ;D

The Window to Key West.

What does one do when there are no new pics to share? Simple! Dig into the old collection, re-live the times well spent in past and share them here :)

This was the view from the rear window of Key West Light House that gave a glimpse, almost like a teaser, of the beauty that's gonna unfold before us as we schlep ourselves through 88 steps to reach the top. They are pretty considerate folks out there: you get to sport a badge after you have climbed the steps, to announce your achievement to the world :D

And below is one of the several spectacular views of the island from the top. I love the blue ocean merging with the sky in the backdrop. Have a great weekend!!! :)

"Wild, Free, Spontaneous"

This one's for Blue who long back had expressed her desire to see wild flowers from Florida. They are not a common sight in the hot, muggy climes of a landscaped Florida so when I recently spotted these bunch of scraggly wild flowers (White Cinquefoil???) growing in gay abandon, I had to click them.

I love wildflowers : they have, for the most part, minds of their own - springing up amidst bushes, trees, along the street or a stream, sweeping across hills and abandoned pastures, adding a touch of wild, unkempt, spontaneous beauty to the place. That even William Blake sang paeans to them does not go unnoticed!

PS: I have recently discovered this collage tool I am mighty stoked about, so please indulge moi for sometime, while I get over my latest craze for collages and get back to the regular way of posting .......:)

Rhapsody in Red :)

There's only so much of number crunching my teeny-weeny head can take. So I finally put my work aside and decided to make hay (or shall I say photos) while the sun shines gloriously in Florida.

Steve from New Orleans Daily Photo has tagged moi to list 8 Random facts about myself. Earlier Radha and Granati too tagged me for something similar. I decided to pull up my socks and finally do the tag. Here you go! :)

1. I am born allergic to UV rays...so stepping out in sun even for 5 minutes leaves me with a potential chance of getting a nasty sunburn. That explains why I love rains as much, I guess.

2. I'm a hopeless, incurable romantic.

3. Sometimes I think I was just not born with the music gene. I can't even hum a tune right : One reason why I hold musicians in such awe.

4. Day dreams are my mini getaway. Often, you'll find me dreaming with my eyes open.

5. I have wanted to be a teacher, a doctor, a tennis star, a journalist (in that order) at different stages of my life and ended up being neither of them.

6. The tennis star bit of dream (too pie-in-the-sky, I know) was partly due to Steffi Graf and partly coz I totally love those cute tennis skirts :D

7. I want to travel for a living and I want to take my husband along. But I want to be able to come back (whenever I want) to a modest, pretty place that I can call home. Guess, I want it all or I do not know what I want!!!! (Can you count the "wants" here :D)

8. I can go on and on with my "I's" ...... it's time fellow-bloggers shared a little of themselves with moi. I will love to know you better. Please take up the tag and let me know that you did.

With or without the tag, have a great Sunday, all :)

Spent

Spent.This is how I feel right now after sending the preliminary report to my advisor.But chuck that!!! I shall not mix academics with pleasure :)

In a land inhabited by Oaks, a Maple tree is such a welcome sight. I had no clue that Florida has some till very recently, on my way back home from school, I noticed this solitary leaf lying close to our stairway and I had to exclaim "Look at what the wind blew in" :) Thence began my search for the Holy Grail called Maple and surprisingly I found the source of my joy not far from my home, over the fence :) And just in case it's not Maple and you know better, I beg you not to burst my bubble!!!!

Meanwhile I was hoping to share this lovely video (on Autumn) and this post seems to be a perfect fit. It lasts less than a minute but leaves you smiling. Have a look :)

Poetry on my Shower Curtain ;)

What's on yours??? :D

I am under house/lab arrest currently. My husband and I are defending our theses in the final week of this month and there's hardly any time for anything other than research and thesis work right now. That explains the series of indoor shots here. I'm itching to step out, more so with the weather being fabulous and light glorious in late afternoons but--- if wishes were horses!!!!!

"The Lamp in a Window"

"She left a lamp lit in the window,
To shine it's beacon soft and warm,
In case a stranger might be wandering,
Cold and hungry, far from home."

For some strange reason I find this one image very reminiscent of the Dickensian world. Must be my imagination running amok!!!!

A Book Half Read

The World outside my window. As a friend given to poetry described it, "Can't you just hear the page of that day tip over?" :)