Speedy at Two!

It was fun and challenging photographing this little guy!

Two-year-olds can certainly move fast.

Throw changing sunlight and shadow patterns 

into the mix and manual camera mode was discarded in a jiffy.

The first and last images are my favs,

 but I took some conventionally cute images for his mom, also.

Looks like when you're two,

 you gotta smash your face against the screen...

because you can!

Hope your summer is rolling along with great times and 

interesting challenges.

Comments are off.

Summer Greetings!

Life has been busy -

a good kind of captivating busy.

The fact that I just edited these Mother's Day flower images pretty much confirms this!

I've mentioned that our daughter was going to be graduating from college.

Well, the day came and included a special honor for her,

as K was included in an additional "Evening of Distinction" ceremony.

What an amazing group of young adults! 

 I believe they are going to change the world, or at least make a stab at it.

Next came moving K into her first apartment, with the help of her friends.

Picture a charming old building with deep mahogany colored wood floors,

cream plaster walls, and beautiful light.

Gone are the days of college dorms and slum lord rental homes 

shared with friends.

A couple more trips for family get-togethers, my niece's HS graduation party, 

kayaking on the lake, biking, a studio bead project, photography in the garden, 

and watching thunderheads from the dock - 

that's how time has been rolling along.

I hope this finds you enjoying the good times of summer.

Take care and as always, happy creating!

Comments are off while I soak up more summertime fun :)

Books!

I've mentioned before that I love books.

My earliest booky memory is of the floor to ceiling bookcases 

that lined a living room wall in the Dutch Colonial house that I grew up in.

These built-ins were white painted wood and flanked a window that faced the back yard.

The expanse of jumbled colored spines read as a modern art painting 

with your eye seeking pattern within the chaotic exuberance.

Shelves were arranged like a chronology of life,

with little kid picture books on the bottom,

then story books, fiction, biographies, and art tomes,

all the way up to the ceiling where the most valuable,

 or least read, pieces languished.

Furniture sat in front of this wall of books, 

while the space behind the furniture became a kid's "book fort" of sorts,

 a place to secret off to and read.

Such pleasant memories!

Although I read some ebooks, there is nothing like a printed book -

the weight in your hand, the touch of paper, 

and the turning of pages.

Hopefully, future generations will enjoy the pleasures of printed books, too.

How about you... are you an ebook reader, library user, or book collector?

Or maybe, you embrace books in any form :)

Happy reading to you!

Seeing Double

Experimenting with double exposures.

Such fun!

Wishing you joy in your creative work.

Farm Fresh

Farm fresh eggs in wondrous shades of creamy tan to mellow rust

plus buttery light and a 50mm lens...

a combination that made me happy!

Wishing you a blessed Easter.

Comments are off.

Asparagus

Snowbanks are slowly receding,

winds are gusting,

birds are noisily chattering...

it looks and sounds a bit like

spring.

Could it finally be here?

I do believe the answer is yes!

Enjoying asparagus on a spring day :)

Hoping spring is in full swing at your house!

Comments are off.

Seeing Beyond

An expanse of green, sparkling bokeh, and a lone droplet conjures up thoughts of vastness,

 wilderness, aloneness, loneliness, singular strength, light, enlightenment...

Maybe I think too much,

maybe you see freshly rinsed kale and selective focus on a single droplet.

Hope you have a great week full of wonder!

Oh, the Light!

We continue to get snow. 

 I shake my head.

Craziness!

On the plus side, the weather has caused some crazy good light.

The snow-falling days have produced a giant soft box outside my window -

quiet, low lighting that reminds me of Dutch still life paintings and Rembrandt's work.

 So, I'll take advantage of that for now...

while I dream of spring.

Wishing you a week filled with amazing light!

City Heights

I'm off to the big city for business and fun,

or maybe just the business of fun.

Either way, I'm looking forward to good food without cooking, 

museum visits, and catching up with my favorite peeps!

Have a great week!

Comments are off.

30 Spring Photo Prompts

I wish I could say our woods are touched with hints of green,

 bursting buds, and spring flowers...

but, truth be told,

 my world looks very white, while the dream of spring lies buried 

under mini-mountains of snow and cold. 

Hopefully, spring is no stranger at your house and you will enjoy my 

30 Spring Photo Prompts!

As for me, I guess I'll just have to continue

 dreaming of spring...

Sanctuary

Time travel today, back to the month of July and a city trip.

It was hot.

The kind of hot that negates the freshly-showered and clean clothes

 feeling in a matter of minutes.

A hot that lingered in shadowed alcoves.

The sun glared, cars honked, and pedestrians bustled.

I crossed the street and entered a sanctuary.

Inside it was dark with jewel-toned tinted light, and cool.

A refreshing cool that made me sigh in relief.

And, it was peaceful.

A peace born of 150 years of prayer within its walls.

I made pictures.

I marveled.

Wishing you a bit of peaceful sanctuary today and all the year through.

Wishes

Happy Valentine's Day!

Wishing you a day filled with love and sweet treats.

Winter Rose

The delicate beauty of a rose is the perfect contrast

 to the harsh temps outside.

Hope you're keeping warm!

Bead Frenzy

There is a whole lot of beading going on in my studio

 as I'm working on an elaborate project for a show.

Since I want you to think I'm very neat and tidy,

there will be no studio photos today.

Instead, I'll tell you about what you'd see ~

a large Chinese Writing Stone Cabochon

from Gary B. Wilson Lapidary Design - it's a looker,

Swarovski crystals - the ultimate in bling,

Pyrite stone beads with an AB finish - subtle shimmer and texture,

seed beads - bags upon bags of them in a rainbow of colors,

drawings, tracing paper mock-ups, Ultra Suede,

 and the usual beading tools -

long beading needles, Nymo thread (size D), plus scissors.

If you're wondering what this amazing peacock street art mural

 has in common with my project....

well, they're both colorful,

both large (my necklace only in relative terms, of course),

and

both stop you in your tracks!

(hoping this necklace will when it's done - we'll see).

Wishing you a colorful, creative week!

Winter Dreamscapes

Reality = 20 below zero most mornings.

Sound appealing?

How about a dreamy winter wonderland instead?

That's my vote!

I hope you've got some marvelous plans and dreams for 2014,

and they all come true!

Enjoy this creative life -

it's the best!

Stillness

Outside the snow is gently falling,

cloaking the landscape in serene stillness and 

a monochromatic mantle.

Indoors, our home smells of freshly cut pine and 

sparkles with the colorful bokeh of holiday lights and ornaments.

It's looking like time to enjoy family, friends, fine food,

and the blessings of the season.

Wishing you joy and happiness

during the holidays!

I'm taking a holiday break.

See you back in the New Year.

Comments are off while I help Santa wrap  presents :)

Sightseeing

It's a mountaintop forest?  Maybe.

It's a miniature forest?  You're closer.

It's a miniature frost forest?  You're much closer.

It's a miniature frost forest on top of a Subaru?  You've got it!

I kinda love my macro lens

because it opens up a whole tiny, tiny visual world 

for me to explore.

Feeling a bit like Gulliver, today.

Hope your world is filled with wonders,

both big and small!

Thankful

Wishing you happiness and blessings

 on Thanksgiving Day!

Comments are off while I enjoy time with my family

 and lots of delicious food :)

This is a Test!

Last Saturday, I was grocery shopping.

With a full cart, and this banal chore almost done, I zipped into the checkout line

 expecting to be back home in no time.  It was then that I noticed the woman in front of me.

She was moving reeeaallly, reeeaallly slooooowly as she placed her groceries on the counter.

I looked for an escape route behind me, but two women already stood in line

(why is it most of the grocery shoppers are women?  Don't men eat?).

Trapped, I turned to watch the sloooow woman.

As I watched, my frustration turned into fascination.

Under her hand, all like-height cans stood together.

 These cans were also sorted by diameter size, with all labels facing one way.

Similar shape fresh veggies and fruit were grouped together, etc. 

Then came the bread... 4 loaves of cheap, gooey white bread

(ok, I admit I'm a bit of a bread snob since I like to make healthy bread in my bread machine).

Oh my God, one bread end was facing the wrong way!

Luckily, this was quickly rectified and all the butt-ends were matched up.

I bet you get the picture - 

this woman had a serious case of OCD!

So, here's the test - How are your OCD qualities looking these days?

1) Can you match or top this woman when you go grocery shopping?

(not me!)

2) Do you compulsively keep all your pencils sharpened to the same length?

(true story - a guy at my husband's old office)

3) Do you only drink coffee at pre-set times of the day

 and only from a freshly brewed pot?

(another former co-worker)

4) Is your clothes closet arranged by color family groupings?

(I confess, that's me.  After years of messy closets,

 I decided mine could at least look like an attractive rainbow)

5) How about your spools of thread, beads, or any other item you collect - 

obsessively arranged by color, size, or some other quantifiable  characteristic?

(bet you can guess my answer when it involves color!)

6) Do you sit in the same seat on the bus each day?  Pew at church? 

Chair at the business meeting table?

(hmmmm...)

7) Is your work or studio desk/table perfectly organized and 

continually kept that way?

(guess that's not me...my beading table currently looks like a bomb hit)

8) Do you always park in the same lot at the mall,

 preferably in the same relative spot?

(pass on this one, no malls in my world)

9) Finally, here's a fill in the blank question.

What's your favorite OCD activity?

(tell us please... we won't think you're nuts -  

apparently mine is picking out colors for the word OCD) 

Life's crazy, so why not channel a little OCD-ness today!!!

Happy, crazy day to you :)

November Dawn

It was early, and crisp.

Mist was swirling across the lake as golden 

light cut through the haze.

A magical bit of lighting,

there one moment and gone the next.

Wishing you great light,

if only for a moment!