Festival of Colors

Three years ago we went with my friend Jenny to the Festival of Colors at the Hari Krishna Temple. That was the first year it had caught on as a sudo spring break for Utah college students. It went from a fun event, to a crazy event. Because of that we stayed away the last two years.

I really wanted to go again and instead of two times for the throwing of the colors, they were doing it every two hours. I figured that would spread out the crowds a lot and felt it was worth trying to go again. They also have several places you can take shuttle buses so you don't have to worry about the nightmare of trying to just get there.

So Maiken, Lucia, Will and I went for it. We got to the shuttle parking lot just as a bus was getting ready to leave. There was only one seat left, so we said we would wait, figuring there would be another bus soon. We should have taken the one seat. It ended up that there was only one bus making rounds on that stop. It took about 30 minutes round trip. Its less than two miles away.

It wouldn't have been so bad other than it was cold. And windy. And the kids were anxious. We finally got to the temple grounds and made our way up to the hill. Because of the multiple color throwings and people that don't care about waiting for the designated times, most of the people were already covered. The wind helped spread everything around too.

They were scheduled to throw again at 5 and we were there about ten minutes before, good timing. I had read online that they would countdown before each throw, and they were asking people to please wait until those times. Well right at 5 people started throwing. I told our little group to wait, because it wasn't the real time yet. We got a little color on us, but not a ton.

And then we waited, and waited and they weren't throwing. So I said the hell with it and we threw our colors and made our way back to wait for the return bus. While waiting in line for the bus they had the real throw, at 5:35 I'm glad we didn't wait. It was just too cold. And Will didn't want to be there in the first place.

So we wait for the bus. There was a bus right when we got to the line, but we were about 20 people back from making it on. So we waited in the cold wind with shivering kids. Well Will was, Lucia was content just running around. So after another 30 minutes the next bus comes, yet it doesn't stop at the front of the line. It stops just behind us. In situations like that I think you see peoples true colors. It didn't matter to the majority of the people behind us that we had obviously been waiting longer than they had, you know it being a line and all. And we were all cold. We all wanted to leave. But they didn't care.

The crowd started rushing the bus even before it was clear. I went way out of my comfort level and yelled out, "hey do you think maybe we could follow the line that has been waiting for 30 minutes?!" Several other people in front of us muttered, yeah, thanks, exactly etc., but it didn't really stop any of the people behind us from pushing towards the bus. Finally some guy yelled out to let the little shivering boy on and so people actually waited for Will and I to get on. Will totally came through for us!

It will probably take a few more years for me to get up the desire to go again. But it is an interesting experience. I just wish it would go back to more of the fun hippy crowd, and less of the obnoxious college crowd.

You'll probably have to click on the picture to see anything, but in the middle you can see what the color throwing looks like from 9 miles away at my parents house. Look for the pink cloud

At the temple

Best picture ever

Looking down to the mosh pit, no way I would have gone down there

Aftermath. Guess which of these children enjoyed themselves

Trying to keep Will warm waiting for the bus back

The color throw cloud while waiting for the bus

My hair ended up being the only part that really got any color

Foto Friday

The Utah spring got me again. I saw the violets in the lawn

We took walks to the park

The rabbits had put on their roller skates. That's the sign that spring was surely here.

And then we had this today. And there is supposed to be more tomorrow

So we stayed inside. Except to take Will to the dr and get the last of his kindergarten shots. Which of course meant I was the meanest mom in the world. Its amazing how a new set of Legos helped change that though.

Foto Friday

Most weeks I'll be honest, my Foto Friday project ends up being, crap its Friday what can I go take pictures of. Instead of what its intended purpose was, to get me to take pictures during the week. So this week I gave myself a goal. I was going to take a picture of the sunset from the same spot (as much as possible) at the same time, and hopefully come up with some good shots.

Well, I got some ok ones, but what I really got was a lot of frustration. For one thing, it took me till the third day to realize that if I had waited about 15 minutes, I would get more of the colors I was hoping to achieve. And so wouldn't you know it, after I figured that I didn't have one more night that led to a good shot.

I guess that is part of the learning process especially when taking pictures outdoors. For one you can never rely on the weather. And when it comes to lighting you usually have such a limited amount of time, its kind of about luck. And I guess practice just so you can learn from your mistakes.

Sunday


Monday

Tuesday


Wednesday it rained for several hours. I loved the rain, but it meant the sky was just dark, no sunset.

While walking out to my car Thursday after work, there was the weirdest cloud with an almost perfect straight line across the sky. It was just odd.


Thursdays I go pick up Will so I wouldn't be able to take a shot in the same spot. On the drive back I started thinking of where I could pull off and take a shot at the same time. It was getting near the time and I wasn't in a great place, but I knew I couldn't wait so I got off the freeway. I debated about which way to go, then changed my mind went the other way and there only ended up being about 5 mins of color and they happened when I was stuck at a stop light. I so badly wanted to just jump out of my car in the middle of the road, but I wasn't feeling quite that desperate. By the time I found a spot that wasn't blocked by buildings, the beautiful colors were gone. At least there were some unusual clouds so it wasn't a complete waste.

I was hoping that tonight I could end with something dramatic, but it was overcast all day and it just got dark, no sun. I guess a fitting end to my experiment. I definitely will try it again, and hopefully get a little bit more of what I was looking for. Not a complete waste though.

Storm

I love rain storms. I wish we had a lot more of them. But maybe they are so special because they aren't that common. Besides the frequency, the one thing I don't like is how short they are. If you're in a rain storm in Utah, just wait a few minutes, it will pass. I was at my parents house tonight and at least got to enjoy it for a little while.

We can see the storm coming from the north, lighting and thunder the best kind of storms.

It was odd but after the storm reached us it actually lightened up the sky. I got just a bit of a rainbow.

I wasn't able to capture it well from the porch, but a down pour was going on right after this shot. And yet just turning around, this was the sky. Another thing about storms here, they can leave a whole part of town completely untouched.

And a few minutes later, blue skies replaced the gray.


And there sure are a lot of power lines surrounding my parents house!

Foto Friday

Today it felt like spring. My second favorite season. The signs are starting to show.

The snow has melted and Zen is helping clean up the yard.

The trees are starting to bud

The christmas tree sits waiting on the porch for the first run to the dump

Flowers begin to gather awaiting planting

And because of immense popularity at christmas, an early preview of the fruits of my mom's labors which usually appear in the fall.

I eagerly await the continuation of the season

Soup

This is the most expensive bowl of soup I've ever had, it was well worth it. For one thing it was beef stew by Marvelous Catering so it was wonderful, but more importantly it was for a good cause. Last night I took Will to the Food & Care Coalition's Bowls for Humanity. The annual fundraiser has local artists and students donate pottery bowls. For the purchase of a bowl you get a free bowl of soup.

I've wanted to go every year and always forget about it, but luckily saw a reminder this week. The event started at 6:00, we got there around 7:30 and there were only about 10 bowls left. Luckily there was one that I really liked so I still got to participate and walk away with a beautiful bowl.

On the way there I was trying to explain to Will what we were doing and how we were going to a place that is there to help people that don't have any food to eat. After discussing it for awhile Will very somberly asked me if we would ever not have food to eat. I feel very blessed that I was able to tell him no, I don't think that is something we will ever have to worry about.

We are surrounded by family and friends that would step in and help us. Even if it was just a couch or floor to stay on, I don't ever have that fear of not having a warm place to sleep and a good meal. And I actually get more than that every week in an amazing meal at my parents.

I want to just express my thankfulness for what I have and the ability to give a little bit back to others.

Foto Friday

Now that its March I might want to consider taking down my Christmas angel

I was walking around outside trying to see if there was something I could take photos of. There is a field sort of area behind our building and I decided to investigate. Part of my tree thing is that I also have a thing for everything wood. A random collection of wood found behind our building.

I can't wait till spring to be able to go on adventures a little further away than my backyard.