Lunar Eclipse, Jan 2018

Jan 30th night. It was cloudy. We didn't think we'd be able to watch the moon disappear

Early this morning was a lunar eclipse, and we got to see it from our apartment. Well, we got to see the moon disappearing. As soon as it was completely in Earth's umbra, poof! it was out of view for us. We never got to see the red tinge. We did see the shadowed part of it as red hot iron after 75% coverage. But that's all the colour we saw. 

With our alarm set at 3ish in the morning, and the umbral phase beginning around 3:48AM, we woke up to silver light pouring in through our bedroom window. The moon was visible from our apartment! Which means we didn't need to brave the cold and go up to the rooftop. It was hard to stop looking at the moon in all its magnificence. It was big and so beautifully bright! 

We started to notice a shadow on the moon. After gazing at it for a few minutes, we got out of bed, put on our warmest jackets and socks, opened the french window in the living room. set up our cameras, and settled it. 

We watched, as the moon started to disappear. The living room started to get cold, and the little blanket on our couch was not really helping. Saurabh got our comforter from the bed. I made us some tea, and we settled back down, warm and snug, under the awe of the moon. 

We were glad that despite the clouds, we still got the view we did. So beautiful. So lucky. In less than 6 months, we got to watch a total solar eclipse, and theoretically a total lunar eclipse. 

Setting Up

See how little the moon has gotten in comparison to the previous photo!

I was so delighted!

A tiny scallop of the moon is gone.

Going...

going...

going...

GONE!

"Tickets"

I went to buy tickets for the NG Live event at the Hult Center for Feb 1st. Bob Poole is speaks and on my way in, I saw this on the pavement tile leading to the Hult Center entrance from 6th Avenue. :)

Double Decker Car!

After the Oregon Wild board meeting, I was walking to meet Saurabh with Jared, when I saw this double decker car! Hah! :) So random!

City Walk

Here in Eugene, there aren't many opportunities to walk in the city. Yes, the city...or downtown is very walkable. But, there aren't too many places to just walk to, or interesting routes to take to the places we go. 

In DC , we'd walk all the time, to home, to dinner, to shows, from work. And it was almost always interesting and fun. See. See. See. So much to see, observe, appreciate, and be fascinated by. We have started to miss that deeply in the last few weeks and really crave the stimulus and diversity that older, bigger cities have. 

In the midst of our complaining and comparing, I needed to go to Portland for an Oregon Wild board meeting. I took the Amtrak Thruway bus to Union Station in Portland, and then it was a 2.1 mile walk to where they board meeting was to be held. While, Portland isn't even half as fascinating as DC, there was still fun things to see and observe and photograph and appreciate. And, it was wonderful to walk again to get somewhere. 

Portland was filled with the muted sounds of the morning hours. A fluffy grey blanket folded over the city's structures.  I came upon the walled Lan Su Chinese Garden. Having already been inside before, I just peered in from the outside. Its walls, permeated by beautiful leak windows, revealed secret views of the garden. The peace and tranquility of the garden seeps out and into your senses. With that calm, I approached the Burnside Bridge. Standing on it, I looked upon a cobbled road below, carved with tram tracks. Deserted on a Saturday morning, the tracks, the sole car, the departing tram, and the solitary person strolling were the picture of serenity. I continued on, looking across at the Steel Bridge. A vivid contrast of newer construction against cobbled roads and walled gardens. Soon, on the other side of the river, I found a new neighbourhood to explore...

Through the Leak Windows, into Lan Su Garden

Cobbled Street with Tram Tracks

Steel Bridge

Exploring a new neighbourhood

Exploring a new neighbourhood

Christmas Dinner

Saurabh made a delicious meal of buttered scallops and peas risotto for Christmas. The shopping expedition a couple of days ago yielded delicious scallops. The meal capped a lovely Christmas day. :)

Christmas Eve Hot Chocolate

A perfect cup of hot chocolate brewed by Saurabh for a snug Christmas eve at home. 

Christmas Eve Dinner

After a wet and cold day at the coast, where we hiked around the dunes of Baker Beach, we found ourselves at trusty old High Street McMenamins. We were still wet from the hike, but a toasty fireplace and a delicious burger, made everything better. 

 

We love how snug their bar is. 

Baker Beach Exploring

It has been a LONG time since we have hiked. We finally got our act together and headed out today. We drove to the coast, and on the way decided to go to Baker Beach. We got there, and it was raining pretty heavily. We still decided to go to the beach/dunes and hike. It was beautiful. And with the grey skies, grey waters, and undulating dunes, it almost felt otherworldly. We got really wet while we hiked, but we returned to our car happy and satisfied with our outing. 

The short trail from the parking lot to the dunes that looked over the beach and ocean. 

When we turned around to look from where we had walked up. 

Our first view of the ocean. 

We continued on, hiking on the dunes. The sand was sometime so firm, it was like walking on concrete. Other times, our feet would sink in anywhere between 1-4 inches. Despite the cold and rainy weather, the vistas were beautiful. We found ourselves completely alone on the beach and dunes, and reveled in it. This is how Oregon spoils us. We get to see such beauty, and not get disturbed by people and conversations that would bore us. 

Footprints in the sand

2017 Ornaments

 

I have really tried to limit the ornaments I buy now, and I am proud of myself for just buying one this year. However, gifts! So I still add a total of 5 new ornaments to my collection this year. 

This one is from Sohini, from her trip to Alaska this summer.

This one we got from the Mushroom Festival this year. I got a matching one for Sohini. The artist is local to Eugene and does a bunch of work with wood. 

This is from Smita, when she visited us in October. :) An NYC ornament. 

I got these two from Kristina. They are from her trip to Japan. The fan, is technically a bookmark, but I will be using it as an ornament.

I love the jingling bell. Kristina has a matching one.

Technically a bookmark

And these are some of the ornaments I gifted.

To Sohini:

Mushroom/Acorn Bird House (Eugene, OR)

The Wood-Metal Tree (Edinburgh, Scotland)

To Kristina:

Wooden Lighthouse (Eugene, OR)

The "Naila Section" of Kristina's Tree

Shopping for Christmas Dinner

Saurabh will cook his famous Buttered Scallops and Peas Risotto. We picked up the scallops at Newman's Fish Market on Willamette. We heard they are really good, and apparently better than Fisherman's Market that we usually go to. However, Fisherman's Market seems to have more local fish, and at Newman's more seemed from further away and less local. We didn't pick up shrimp from Newman's for precisely that reason, it was from Mexico. 

Anyway, this post is mostly because I loved the little scene that was set up at Newman's and took photo, and needed a place to post it. :)