where i live - stillwater, ok, usa

mission: MUSE - "where i live"

by guest muse kristine

I love to travel or hear about people’s stories of their travels. I like how their stories seem to bring me to places that I’ve never been. I always end up having good memories from the chats, learn some traveling to do’s and don’ts, and realize things to be grateful for. Today, I am so thrilled to be taking you around places that I like in Stillwater, my small friendly town in Oklahoma. Our first stop is at our local Farmer’s Market. They sell lots of fresh fruits, vegetables, and spices that are grown by these happy farmers. You can also get fresh and affordable meat here. Oh, I need to pickup some eggplants to make some grilled eggplant omelet later.

How about we get a quick bite to eat before continuing on our little tour? Let’s go to Eskimo Joe’s, Stillwater's Jumpin' Little Juke Joint. They are known to have the world’s famous cheese fries. I have to say these Canadian Bacon Cheese Fries are really so tasty.

Just a block away is this 100 year-old university, OSU - Oklahoma State University. I like to people watch here or read a good book on Library Lawn. I love how the university is so green and colorful this time of year with all these flowers blooming. The buildings are of Georgian architecture, they have a lot of character in them.

Let me take you Downtown real quick since it’s just less than five minutes away. I love the creative bicycle racks on every block. And the cool flower shops, craft stores, the chocolate shop with their big cute bear, some restaurants, the wine bar, and some clothing stores. I love to shop for clothes and I’m going to have a new favorite store soon that’s opening on October 2nd - Manila Sunset World Fashion Imports. I already took a peek the other day on what they have in store - cute tops and cardigans for the fall and a gift shop with items brought from all over the world. How cool!

Let’s make a stop at Boomer Lake. Scott and I jog around this lake on the weekends sometimes. A lot of people fish here too or even go sailing. Or you could just sit and relax, or take sunset photos like I always do. Actually, Kicker, the company I work for is located just by the lake. As you can imagine, the view from our glass wall is pretty amazing!

Last stop is at my favorite local coffee shop – Aspen Coffee Company. This is where I hang out almost every day. Matt, the owner, makes the best oatmeal cranberry cookies and lattés in town. I’ve mentioned them previously in my blog. I’m big into supporting my local everything. =) 

Well, I hope you liked my mini-tour for today. There are more places to see so I hope you can come visit soon. Drop by my blog to learn more about my musing in Stillwater – blue elephant photography.

_________

We would love to see where you live. If you would like to join in, send an email to mortalmuses [at] yahoo.com.

where i live - london, england, uk

mission: MUSE - "where i live"

by muse kirstin

I grew up in Blackheath, a "village" within London, south of the Thames. Things were simple in those days; I knew I wanted to be a doctor and an archaeologist and on Sundays my now deceased father would take me and my sister on long walks in Greenwich Park, adjacent to Blackheath. He used to take us in all weathers, to kick leaves in the autumn, to bask in the sun in the summer and sled whenever there was snow. A keen historian, my father told us stories of the park over the centuries as we walked the paths. The park has such an important history which is demonstrated by its contents; an excavated Roman temple, Anglo-Saxon burial mounds, a Georgian bath, an observatory (famed as the start of Greenwich Mean Time), a palace for Queen Anne, and the shadows of allotments in the second world war. Having briefly studied in North London, I have returned to live and work in Blackheath, moving into my childhood home a few years ago. Our children go to school in Blackheath, travelling across the heath on a daily basis in cars, bicycles, or by foot. They too enjoy spending time in the park, and we are forging new memories with them of sledding, cycle rides, sun-drenched evenings and long walks. I was fortunate to spend two exciting days earlier this month with my best friend, volunteering at an archaeological dig in the park.


Originally thought to be Victorian, the bricks we dug up were subsequently dated to the Stuart period (from the 1600s), although the purpose of the building is yet to be determined. Most exciting of all, I found a Victorian coin buried above those bricks. I conjured up stories of a boy who might have lost that coin a century ago in the dell where we were digging. Maybe he was the same age as my son. I will never know, but I loved feeling so completely connected with the history and setting at that wonderful moment in time. And I know my father would have loved to have shared that moment with me too, as my daughter beamed at me with pride when I told her of my discovery.



Thank you for visiting where I live. Please feel free to visit my blog to learn more about my life in London.

Until next time! Kirstin of Fleeting Moments.

____________

We would love to see where you live. If you would like to join in, send an email to mortalmuses [at] yahoo.com.

mission: MUSE - "where i live"

At Mortal Muses, we are focusing on building a community and making the world a bit smaller. Organizing regional photowalks and adding the little black book are just a few of our ideas to help bring the Mortal Muses photographers together. With the completion of the "what's in your bag" series, we presented 30 global photographers (or guest muses) from our flickr group with the first assignment of mission: MUSE.

The guest muses for mission: MUSE - "where i live" were asked to capture the essence of their corner of the world in photos and words. It may be a wide-sweeping view of their city, a close-up view of someplace that is special to them, or a combination of the two. 

Later this week, we will be visiting with two guest muses. We look forward to seeing their submissions and hope that you come back tomorrow as we start exploring the world one muse at a time, starting with Muse Kirstin in London, UK.

If you are interested in participating in the "where i live" assignment, please send us an email to mortalmuses [at] yahoo [dot] com.  The new More Musing page has it's own url, blog feed, and follower widget.  Make sure to add this page to your blog reader so you will stay up-to-date with each *muse flash* and for future mission: MUSE assignments.

* muse flash *

Join Muse Kat for a photowalk in Portland, Oregon when she visits the US in October!

The photowalk is planned for 10am, Sunday October 10.  The location is not yet set, please email Kat at kat [at] kateyeview.com to get on the email list for the details once they are confirmed.

Rain or shine, come along and take some pictures and make some connections with people in your local area.