Eye Of The Bazolder

Brittnie and Glen Engagement

2010-11-11T23:14:00.003-07:00

I took these pictures at Cheesman Park in Denver. The colorful leaves and lovely couple made this shoot wonderful!

Stacey and David, Ft. Collins, CO

2010-09-30T01:32:00.004-07:00

Took pictures of these dolls in Ft. Collins. Their wedding is June 2011!

Amy and John around Denver

2010-09-10T22:00:00.004-07:00

Linda and Jacque, July 3rd, 2010

2010-07-23T21:05:00.007-07:00

A wedding in City Park

Lyndsey and Casey June 5th, 2010

2010-07-23T20:49:00.005-07:00

A few shots from the wedding!

Linda and Jacque

2010-05-24T19:44:00.005-07:00

www.claraimages.com

Bob Mould at the BlueBird

2010-05-03T01:23:00.003-07:00

Hobbs NM at the BlueBird

2010-05-03T01:18:00.001-07:00

Harry Potter Quiz for Geeks Who Drink

2010-04-27T23:45:00.006-07:00

Bear Creek

2010-04-22T02:29:00.002-07:00

The Blow at the Ogden

2010-03-21T00:22:00.003-07:00

Vampire Weekend at the Ogden

2010-03-20T22:56:00.007-07:00

Geek Bowl 2010

2010-02-28T23:44:00.004-07:00

Seinfeld Quiz

2010-02-24T01:18:00.005-07:00

The Quiz Nazi

I graded all these sheets!

Hmmm...

Thinking.

I'm Right!

Mary Krizan at Red Rocks

2010-01-19T00:30:00.016-07:00

Batumi, Georgia

2009-12-09T05:27:00.003-07:00

Batumi is located on the westernmost coastline of Georgia, along the Black Sea and just a few miles away from Turkey in the south.

It is a resort town in the summer months, and can be filled with vaciontioners (mostly Georgians, Turks and Russians) on holiday. I was there in November, so the shores and bars were pretty vacant.

Medea, from the old myth of Jason and the Argonauts, is the woman who brought Georgia closer to Europe. A huge statue of her, bearing the golden fleece, can be seen in the town square.

Medea, holding the golden fleece, in front of the dancing fountains of Evropas Moedani.

Batumi alley.

Batumi alley.

The beautiful streets along Evropas Moedani.

Walking towards the shores of the Black Sea.

A grand entanceway to the Black Sea coast.

The shores of the Black Sea.

Gonio, Georgia

2009-12-09T04:57:00.005-07:00

Located just a few miles south of Batumi, Georgia, Gonio is a wonderful and remarkable place to visit for just an hour or two. I took a marshrutka (mini van) from Batumi to Gonio and it cost 1 lari (about .60 cents US). The fortress here was built starting from 1 AD to about 6 AD and is amazingly intact, and one of the best examples of Roman-Byzantium military architecture in the world.

The center is overgrown with citrus fruit bearing trees (which made for a nice snack!). We arrived on an overcast Novemeber day, and we were the only visitors there. There were no security guards, railings, or sign posts warning us to keep off. Since I hold a MA degree in Classical Latin, this was a dream come true for me, and nothing held me back! I took my chances and climbed up walls and walked along narrow paths overlooking the crenellations that Roman archers once aimed through.

This is also the grave site of St. Mathew, the apostle (also known as Levi).

It is located between Batumi and Sarpi (just a few miles away) on the border between Georgia and Turkey.

When I boarded the marshrutka, I was confused because the whole van was filled with local women and girls. Why do all the ladies have such a fascination with Roman ruins? As it turns out - they don't. Across the street from the ruins is a small bazaar, a great place to find some good deals on clothing!

Tombstone of Matthew (Levi) the Apostle.

Money!

2009-12-09T04:40:00.002-07:00

Georgian bills are so colorful and pretty!

Iranian $5 note featuring the scary Ayatollah Khomeini. I met a couple of very nice Iranians during lunch one afternoon. One guy showed me this bill, noticed my interest, and gave it to me (after picking up my lunch tab).

Down the streets of Tbilisi

2009-12-09T03:44:00.007-07:00

Don't be surprised about how many people this small shrine can hold. Though it hangs over a river, supported by decaying wood and stone, it can still pack in a crowd when the occasion calls for it!

A lovely church in Old Town Tbilisi.

The new part of Old Town. The ritzy tourist district. Prices are high but everything is nice and fancy.

Old Town Tbilisi. Hills, churches, decaying buildings, and a fortress overlooking it all.

The night time view of a city street in Tbilisi. That is not a Christmas tree, it is the ever glowing radio tower.

Georgian script.

A pretty alley way in Old Town Tbilisi.

The fancy, tourist district of Old Town.

View of church from hotel in Old Town. These churches are bustling with religious locals during the day.

A huge Cathedral in Tbilisi.

Old Town Tbilisi, near the bathouses of Abanutubani.

The tops of the Abanutubani bathhouses (underground baths built in the 17th century).

Typical Tbilisi alley. Old Town Tbilisi consists of a network of winding alleys with beautiful, yet delapitated architecture.

Having a rest and a beer on a hotel porch.

Old Town Tbilisi hillside.

Narikala Fortress overlooking Tbilisi.

Ontop Narikala Fortress. A short, yet steep walk from Old Town Tbilisi.

A pic from Narikala Fortress top.

Some Georgian graffiti.

Narikala Fortress.

View from Narikala Fortress overlooking Tbilisi.

Giant statue of lady holding a sword in one hand and a bowl of wine in the other. Contrasting ideas of strength, force and hospitality that is ever present in Georgian custom. However, we experienced only hospitality! This statue can be seen from almost anywhere in Tbilisi.

Old Tbilisi alley.

In the courtyard outside of the restaurant Tabulaura (a lovely restaurant not featured in the guide books).

In the courtyard outside of the restaurant Tabulaura (a lovely restaurant not featured in the guidebooks).

Khachapuri!

2009-11-25T03:16:00.004-07:00

Khachapuri is the most common Georgian snack or meal. It is essentially a cheese pie, made in many different ways. You can buy these cheese pies for less than a dollor from street vendors, or can get them for 4-6 US dollars in a restaurant.

Georgian cuisine, including Khachapuri, is made with Sulgani cheese. It is a cheese you cannot find in the states. It is a unique, pickled cheese, and a staple of Georgian cuisine. Very salty and served in wedges for breakfast and fried in many dinner dishes. It is part of every continental hotel breakfast as well.

Hotel Continental breakfast: Assorted cheeses featuring varieties of Sulgani. Assorted meats and sausages. Breads. Hard boiled eggs, or (perhaps) some other variety of eggs. Jams made with fresh fruits, sour cream, some other cottage cheese-like cheese or ricotta-like cheese - excellent. Yogurt. OJ. Occasionally some water. Sometimes, bottles of vodka available at breakfast - whoa! Too early for me, but at no extra cost. Fresh vegetables - cucumbers and tomatoes, usually with a vinegrette on top. Fruits - Kiwi, citrus, apples, parsimmons.

If you don't know your khachapuris before you venture to Georgia, it's not a big deal. Any one that you order will be yummy. If you are ordering from a street vendor, you can just point to one, and surprise! You'll love it.

The following pics are all from the web, since I did not, to my regret, have any Khachapuri pics.

Khachapuri Acharuli. This is a large boat shaped bread dish filled with cheese and butter, then baked. After baking, an egg is cracked on top, and then the raw egg is covered with cool slices of butter. The butter topping is supposed to cover the egg and cook the egg (a tiny bit). If you would like to have a heart attack, eat these every day. Delicious, but very rich. I found it hard to eat 1/3 of a serving!

Khachapuri Megruli. Looks like a pizza, but has cheese on the inside too! The cheese is saltier than cheese you would find on an american pizza.

Khachapuri Penovani. This is my favorite. It is a flaky, croissant like dough with cheese in the middle. Yumm! Get these from street vendors, it will cost you about .60 cents for a large portion.

Another Khachapuri Penovani. Yum!

Khachapuri Lobiani. Same thing, but with beans inside. I never got around to trying one of these, but I'm sure they are yummy.

Many more Khachapuris are available. Try as many as possible if you are visiting Georgia.

Georgian Food

2009-11-25T02:15:00.010-07:00

Restaurants in Georgia will often have an English (transliteration) name underneath the Georgian script, but often there is no description. It is wise to know your Georgian dishes before dining, so you don't accidentally order cold river fish, fried brains, or cold cattle tongue by accident. Many restaurnts have a semi-english menu, if you ask for it.

Be prepared for a feast when you go out for dinner. Order a bottle of wine (not common to order by the glass), pick a couple of Cold Dishes, and one hot dish to share for two. If you are with a larger group you may want to choose two or three hot dishes.

Georgian wine is lovely and very common. We met people with their own vinyards who shared unlabled bottles with us. Semi-sweet, many are a kind of pinkish hue. I don't know a lot about wine, but Georgia is known for it, and it was wonderful.

Chicken BBQ (Shashlik). BBQ is a common dish in Georia. The meat is on skewer over a flame. It is very tender and delicious. No sauces, like we are used to here in the states, but no way does it need anything else. It tastes great all on its own.

Bread Stuffed with cheese over an open flame. YUM! Georgian cuisine is big on bread and cheese.

Tomatoes stuffed with cheese and garlic. This dish was absolutely fabulous at ALALI restaurant. This restaurant is a little hard to find. It is in Tblisi, just outside of Abano Tubani (where the bathhouses are). As we were walking from Abano Tubani towards Tblisi Old Town, we stumbled across a building that had a sign in English: Restaurant. So we went in. It looked vacant from the outside, but we went in, spiraled down some dark stairway, and ended up in a huge, traditional Georgian restaurant. They had excellent food for very cheap prices, and the stuffed tomatoes there were the best I had had in Georgia.

Ojakhuri. Meat with potatoes, onion and garlic. Topped with herbs and pomegranate seeds. Wonderful! I cannot describe the difference between fried potoes here in the states, and the ones in Georgia. It is obvious, from the taste, that oil is not used. We tried some "fried potatoes" at Tsiskvili and they were the best I've ever had in my life. They looked like french fries, but tasted so much better. I was very surprised! No need at all for ketchup, they tasted wonderful on their own. You can get ketchup at some restaurants, but you have to request it, and it might cost a little bit extra. You'll also be immediately spotted as a tourist if you ask for it.

Khinkali. Large dumplings stuffed with item of your choice: meats, potatoes, cheese, etc. Similar to potstickers, only much bigger and not crunchy. Tip: You don't eat the knots at the top. Very yummy. If you want to explore good Khinkali, there is a whole khinkali district in town, where every restaurant has tons of khinkali options. This district is called Khinkali World and you can find it in Lonley Planet Guidebook. It is just off of Gorgasalis Moedani (St. George Square).

Assorted pickles (Mzhavi). This is on every Georgian "Cold Dish" menu. A yummy assortment of pickled cabbage, garlic, peppers, cucumber, tomatoes, and something else that I could not place.

You will get a large basket of bread with every meal. The bread is made (much like Indian Naan), dough is spread in a clay, circular pit, over an open fire, and peeled off when ready to serve.

Stuffed eggplant with walnuts (Badrijani). Topped with pomegranate seeds. On every menu and very tasty.

Mushrooms with cheese and butter (Ojaxuri). Very yummy, made in a shallow clay pot, which many dishes are made it.

Assorted meats and sausages. Not sure what they all are called, but very tasty.

Borjomi is a sparkling water made in the city of Borjomi in Georgia. It is a little bit salty, so it takes some getting used to, but you will find it anywhere and everywhere.

Yumm

2009-11-08T00:38:00.001-07:00

Amy's sparkly tomato

2009-11-06T21:46:00.000-07:00

Baseball Fury

2009-11-06T21:13:00.000-07:00

A Bike Messenger

2009-11-04T00:42:00.000-07:00

Creepy

2009-11-02T03:11:00.000-07:00

Warning:

2009-10-31T01:23:00.000-07:00

Yimmy's Yayo

In The Garden

2009-10-28T01:56:00.003-07:00

I have to make use of my trial version of Lightroom while it lasts! 2 days left!

FuFu

2009-10-28T01:37:00.007-07:00

Cooper

2009-10-28T00:54:00.000-07:00

Hanna

2009-10-27T19:46:00.011-07:00

Some further edits.

The Back Room @ 3Kings

2009-10-24T21:42:00.001-07:00

People I Don't Know

2009-10-22T00:02:00.003-07:00

Haney VonHooten

2009-10-18T03:51:00.000-07:00

More Portraits

2009-10-05T23:07:00.001-07:00

Portraits... A few extras

2009-10-04T21:04:00.005-07:00

Portraits

2009-10-04T20:33:00.002-07:00

Crystal's Flowers

2009-10-01T01:00:00.000-07:00

Garden Fairy

2009-09-26T03:17:00.000-07:00

Cute Hats!

2009-09-25T00:12:00.000-07:00

Amy and John

The After party

2009-09-24T12:20:00.003-07:00

Me and Haney (taken by Amber)

Amy, Me, Amber (taken by Haney)

The Dancing Queen

2009-09-22T00:59:00.001-07:00

Dirty Dancing (It's actually the only Swayze movie I've ever seen)

2009-09-21T22:36:00.002-07:00

To celebrate the death of Patrick Swayze, the Kallas couple got some moves down.

LiteBright Bubble Purse

2009-09-21T22:28:00.000-07:00

Love Is Real

2009-09-20T16:04:00.004-07:00

3am 711

2009-09-20T03:33:00.004-07:00

Just Two Members of The Limbs.

2009-09-19T00:43:00.002-07:00

Josh Is Amzing In 100000 Ways. Here's One.

2009-09-18T16:52:00.006-07:00

Some advice.

2009-09-12T04:13:00.000-07:00

Polka Dot Dress

2009-09-04T03:24:00.000-07:00

Through A Glass Darkly

2009-09-03T01:42:00.001-07:00

Butterfly

2009-09-02T01:36:00.000-07:00

Wink, Wink

2009-08-27T22:53:00.000-07:00

The PS Lounge

2009-08-26T01:53:00.004-07:00

Chuck Taylors

2009-08-24T01:19:00.001-07:00

Flowers

2009-08-23T20:22:00.000-07:00

I stopped to smell the flowers while riding my bike today!

Your Future

2009-08-21T03:19:00.002-07:00

I lost my memory card all week and have now refound it. So no new pictures, except these from yimmysyayo. Now that I have my memory card again, more to come!

Get a life, Swan!

2009-08-20T23:03:00.000-07:00

YimmysYayo

Birthday Cake

2009-08-09T23:38:00.001-07:00

New Self Portrait

2009-08-08T00:50:00.000-07:00

Pete's Kitchen

2009-08-07T23:35:00.000-07:00

A great place for a 4am breakfast.

Denver Cruisers

2009-08-06T01:51:00.001-07:00

Creepy Crawler

2009-08-04T03:00:00.000-07:00

Found in Josh and Amber's House

There Will Be Blood

2009-08-03T00:46:00.002-07:00

Day Shift

2009-08-02T23:58:00.001-07:00

Old Books

2009-07-30T01:07:00.000-07:00

My New Hair Cut

2009-07-29T22:46:00.001-07:00

Amy's Birthday

2009-07-28T01:31:00.003-07:00

That's Josh

A mosaic was involved

Bugs make the best birthday present

John sporting a classy fedora

Haunted.

2009-07-26T01:29:00.004-07:00

My crazy neighbors proceed to tell me about how my house is haunted.

They all agree.

The plants become evil on the first week of August.

In The Neighborhood

2009-07-26T01:02:00.003-07:00

Purple Leaves

2009-07-25T05:10:00.001-07:00

The Site

2009-07-20T23:39:00.007-07:00

Eric's believes that the only way to flip a burger is with a rusty knife. He found it on the grounds. It had some dried blood on it, but we didn't mind.

That's Gail and her drink of choice for the night.

The People

2009-07-20T23:11:00.008-07:00

Skippin Stones

Notice the form.

The Fire

2009-07-20T16:05:00.004-07:00

Blue Bathroom

2009-07-15T18:28:00.001-07:00

From YimmysYayo

At The Gothic

2009-07-14T02:17:00.000-07:00

That's Me.

2009-07-12T03:13:00.001-07:00

Taken by Jenny and edited by muah.

Clock Corner

2009-07-11T18:21:00.002-07:00

Fearless

2009-07-09T00:22:00.000-07:00

Yimmys yayo

2009-07-08T00:52:00.001-07:00

From http://yimmyayo.tumblr.com/

Out Front

2009-07-08T00:16:00.001-07:00

Heather

2009-07-07T23:29:00.001-07:00

Bumble Chick

2009-07-03T23:15:00.003-07:00

I'm not sure why, but this critter just makes my heart melt!

Catalina AZ

2009-07-01T01:28:00.001-07:00

Circus Of Death

2009-06-27T00:34:00.002-07:00

Taken By Kent

Toga Toga Toga!

2009-06-26T19:25:00.003-07:00

Sea Goddess

2009-06-25T21:18:00.002-07:00

Through The Looking Glass

2009-06-22T22:51:00.002-07:00

Self Portrait

2009-06-21T02:12:00.000-07:00

An almond, allergy pill, and gummy vitamin.

2009-06-19T20:21:00.001-07:00

Guy In A Bear Suit

2009-06-18T00:56:00.002-07:00

It's actually a real bear, and taken by Kim, my sister!

The Exorcist

2009-06-15T21:23:00.002-07:00

Lobla Bean

2009-06-14T18:44:00.004-07:00

My pet rat, total sweetheart. You are missed, Lobla! Thanks to Alicia for naming her!
Taken by Jenny.

Costa Rica

2009-06-13T19:33:00.000-07:00

Midnight Candle

2009-06-12T00:13:00.000-07:00

The Snazzy Gang

2009-06-11T23:38:00.001-07:00

Taken by Jenny

Yuk!

2009-06-11T22:43:00.001-07:00

Sweet Caroline

2009-06-10T01:47:00.002-07:00

Reaching out, touching hands

Strange Mantle

2009-06-08T13:45:00.001-07:00

At Josh and Amber's cool pad.

Bug Wings Are Beautiful

2009-06-07T20:19:00.001-07:00