busy bee

solo post - L

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I have no words tonight, just these photos to share. To come up with more would keep me up well past 1am and I have got to start getting to bed earlier – I have a hard time getting up these days and I have a busy week ahead. And I had so much I wanted to share and more interesting photos too, oh well. Wish the weekends were longer – 3 days would be nice wouldn't it?

delightful / lovely

L - Nikon D60 / T - Nikon D40x Sigma 30mm

“The splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not rob the little violet of it’s scent nor the daisy of its simple charm. If every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its lovliness.”

She looked so cute in her little purple knit hat and her new camera strap that matched I just had to take some photos.
Today we went to the I.C.E. (Indie Craft Experience) festival at Centennial Park. We saw so many things we would have liked to buy and the first thing we saw was camera straps made out of recycled seat belts and vintage fabrics. Taylor fell in love with one that had owls on it. We usually browse the entire show and then go back to what we want the most – we bought the camera straps (you can click on the photo to see how cute it is).
How nice to finally have a blue sky day. After the festival we went by a little location we like for photo shoots – one we had used for a photo shoot a CD cover for a good friend. There was a new colorful graffiti wall, a little plot of daisies, a bright white cement wall, a brick wall with numbers - so many textures and colors. I took a lot of photos but she asked me not to post without her permission - she wasn't pleased with the way she looked in them. oh well I liked them.
Oh and we went to an exciting new place for lunch/dinner called Flip. It was very european in style and the menu was so different than anything we had seen before. First we saw the dessert - Nutella and Burnt Marshmallow milkshake. wow we had to save room for that, so we did what we often do – split everything. We got a Flip burger, vodka battered onion rings and beets and goat cheese salad. We're definitely going back there and next time trying the sweet potato tots with blue cheese foam and red wine syrup and a smoke salmon sandwich with herb cream cheese, arugula, red onions, cucumber and everything spice. Am I making you hungry?

baked / ate

solo post - L

I came home today to a clean house and kitchen and these cupcakes sitting on the counter. Cupcakes for the boys she said. She's been baking cupcakes for boys for 4 years now – they ask for them and she decorates them with their names and special words. She went out the door taking the cupcakes with her but there were 2 left on the counter – she said they got messed up. I ate the one that said, Adam.

summer greens

L - NikonD60 / T - Nikon D40x Sigma 30mm lens

I'm so glad we did our photoshoot the other day. This nice grass field is now gone - cut to the ground – no more whispy wonderful grass. / i help my oma with a photoshoot of a little boy today. she usually takes the photos herself but since i was here i helped. i have to say we had a hard time getting him to relax – he didn't pose like a natural 6 yr old boy.

gentle / fierce

L - Nikon / T- Nikon 

No not really fierce, but she has been known to be unkind to Evee. 

Both Evee and Kodi love this chair but they would never sleep here together. I wish that they would – wish they would get along. Evee is so sweet and tries to be friends with Kodi but Kodi doesn't know how to behave – she just looks at Evee and then swats her without even being threatened. In fact, just recently Kodi got her right in the eye and made it bleed (it was really bad). I don't think Evee knows what to think about it all. Evee keeps trying to be friends – why is Kodi so mean to me, I was here first?

relaxed / uptight

L- Nikon D60 55mm, sooc / T - Nikon D40x Sigma 30mm lens, sooc

tut tut it looks like rain
We had a photo shoot yesterday and got a few keepers plus some serious ones and some silly ones. T is a good model – she knows how to pose. She's very comfortable in front of the camera as well as behind. Me, on the other hand – I'm not completely comfortable in front, or behind, the camera but I'm trying. I desperately want to learn how to be comfortable in front of the camera but I never know quite how to stand or sit or smile. I think we'll have to keep trying all summer until I get it right.
There are more attractive photos than these but I thought it was funny how similar, yet different, these two images were. It shows how relaxed T is and how stiff I am. She knows her best angles, I do not. I shoot in auto mode and she shoots in manual mode. We had brought the umbrella along in case of rain but decided to use it as a prop. We discovered it worked really well in hiding my brillo pad hair. Another thing we discovered after uploading was the drastic difference between RAW setting as opposed to jpeg fine. Her camera was set to jpeg fine and mine to RAW. It makes a difference in the saturation of the image. I have had mine set to jpeg fine and have been somewhat puzzled at the high saturation of pinks and greens in my images. Not until we compared the two did we discover this difference.
I'll post more on my flickr later.

a bright day

sneak peak - L & T

This was a delightful day in my eyes. It began with church and a meaningful sermon. Then after reading Shutter Sisters post on inspiring movies in cinematography, T and I got excited about having a movie marathon with several of the movies mentioned. Because it was starting to cloud up I thought it would be a perfect rainy day activity, so I went in search of a few movies – namely Great Expectations and How to Make an American Quilt – I couldn't find either one of them. Just as well, because by this time the sun was shining nicely. We decided to go to the abandoned lots we had been eyeing for days. There is a street closeby that all the houses been torn down in preparation for road expansion – the lots have been empty and the grasses growing high. For weeks I had been telling T about how perfect this location was. One of the first things I wanted to do when she got home for summer was to go shoot some photos in there, but the weather has been so rainy we were afraid of swamp land. Well darn if they didn't start cutting the grass Friday. But, there are still a few lots with some tall grasses so we went there today. We brought her pink chair... We had such a great time taking pictures of each other. We stayed a long time enjoying the sunshine and the peacefulness of the surroundings plus we felt completely comfortable – no worries of being caught for trespassing, etc. Hopefully we got a few shots worth posting. If not we'll be going back.
Afterwards we went out for an early mexican dinner in hopes of eating outdoors but the bottom dropped out just as we got there. No worries, we had a very charming waiter and the food was excellent – chips and salsa, fish tacos and lava cake to finish it off.
Now for the movies I did rent – both of them were horrible. Better luck tomorrow finding Great Expectations.

just a day

solo post - L

Not much happened this day but that's ok.
Actually now that I think about it I did get quite a bit accomplished today. This morning I graduated from Boot Camp's 6wk session (I'm signing up for the 6wks summer with T); then I finally planted some plants that I bought a few weeks ago and took a few photos of the ones blooming; then I scrubbed my deck. Don't you hate it when a product claims something that is not true – like "no scrub" deck cleaner, just spray and rinse – HA. I scrubbed and scrubbed and it still wasn't getting clean and then it started to rain. I was kinda of glad for the rain – I was getting tired of scrubbing. So I came inside and took some photos of kodi at the window. I also did some reading at a good photo website I found and signed up for a seminar for T and I to take together. And by tonight I was feeling the need to get something else accomplished so I cleaned out my very messy kitchen junk drawer. I won't show you a photo of that – it would be embarrassing. There's just some things that I have a hard time knowing exactly where to put so they end up in that drawer, but it was getting so full you couldn't find anything if you wanted to. I'm sure some of you have drawers like that too. right?
So I guess the day wasn't a wash after all.
T had her own agenda today, editing photos from a show last night, cleaning her car, and catching up on some tivoed shows, and now is off with friends. I think I'll go read.

zest / spice

L - Nikon Sigma 30mm / T- Nikon Sigma 30mm

Fresh Squeezed color. Aren't these petunias cheerful? They're called Lemon Zest - the description on the container says they give the garden the freshly squeezed color of lemons; says they'll grow into a 3 ft wide mound. I planted 3 along the walkway. I hope they grow well – they just may become a favorite of mine. Do you have a new variety of flowers you're planting this season? / my friend adam took this photo of me today during our visit at starbucks (the usual meeting place). he was goofing off snapping photos of the people in the drive-thru staring at that box with the voice inside. the expressions on their faces... one lady downright angry looking. i think she caught him in the act. oops.
they're are so many friends i missed during the school year. it's been fun reconnecting with them. i love my friends. i enjoy how each of my friends has something different to add to my life. aren't friends the spice of life?

sunny day / starry night

L - lens: 200mm / T - lens: Sigma 30mm

Thoughts for the day...
“Hide not your talents. They for use were made. What's a sundial in the shade?” - Benjamin Franklin / "Shoot for the moon and if you miss you will still be among the stars." - Les Brown

forage / find

L - 200mm / T - 30mm you'll have to click on the image to see the birds

I love watching the birds from my dining room window. Today the Nuthatches where really active - flying about and searching for food. They would go to the feeder and then fly off to a tree where they would crack open the seed. Did you know they get their common name from their habit of jamming large nuts and acorns into tree bark, then whacking them with their sharp bill to “hatch” out the seed from the inside. They're interesting to watch because they often turn sideways and upside down on vertical surfaces as they forage for bugs.
This past Saturday T and I went to a yard sale, but not just any yard sale. It was Elizabeth's from Gifts of the Journey. Do you know her? I have enjoyed experiencing the coast of England through her eyes – she is a talented writer and photographer. We formed a friendship through blogging back in August and when I met her for the first time in November I felt like I had know her all my life. Saturday was a messy, rainy day but we had the best time visiting while T browsed her items for sale. T is looking for things to furnish her home for next year and Elizabeth was too kind. T would be eyeing something like a pretty vase, or nice bowls and Elizabeth just said, "hey go ahead and take it." Thank you Elizabeth. It was so good to see you. Hope you have recovered from the hard work of the yard sale. / i'm so excited about this piece elizabeth had for sale at her yard sale. it's a cool bird cage on a stand. i'm going to give it a fresh coat of white paint and i'm thinking of either putting christmas lights or candles in it. actually i have a lot of ideas – what would you do with it? thank you for the fruit biscuits and chocolate mint gum, elizabeth!

out of season?

solo post - L

Don't Clementines just taste better at Christmas-time? I bought these for T because she loves to eat fruit. But these really aren't very good. I think it's a combination of things – the wrong season and product of the wrong country (these are from USA and the best are from Spain).
This is sort of how I'm feeling about my blog– it's a combination of things that is leaving me disappointed. I just don't feel like the posts, or the photos, have been good for a while. I feel like it has lost the charm (if it had any) and simplicity that we started out with back in August. I'm afraid if I take a break for a while, I may never get back to it. I have enjoyed blogging so much and have met so many ladies that feel like true friends. So more than anything I'm afraid of losing them. To all of you who are dedicated readers and leave comments, I appreciate you way more than your can imagine. Or maybe you can imagine, because I know you know how good it feels – how much inspiration and motivation it gives you – how it brightens your day. I hesitate to even say this, but I have to admit, some days more than others, I get frustrated that my comment average is probably 10 or less a day. It's like trying so hard to be someone's friend and they just keep ignoring you or turning down your invitation. Isn't that how it feels? – when you visit and leave comments day, after day, after day and they never come to visit you, ever. Can anyone else admit that they feel this way every once in while or I'm I just extra sensitive? I know mine/ours is not a polished blog – not much there to fill your minds with or leave you thinking, or inspired, no wisdom, or humor. It's just a simple blog that has possibly completed it's purpose for mother and daughter's first year of spreading wings – discovering our new lives apart. Or... maybe I just bit into a bitter seed and the next bite will be sweeter. Maybe these clementines aren't so bad after all - just different.

a transport of delight

solo post -L, iphone/Nikon

30 minutes later – from high heels and a skirt to flip flops and jeans. After being indoors all day long – not even out for lunch – I couldn't wait to get home and take a walk around the yard and then relax on the deck with my earl grey tea. The drive home was delightful – the windows open, breathing in the sweet scent of honeysuckle and feeling the cool breeze and warm sun on my skin. This week I'm enjoying the slower commute home in traffic. It gives me more time to smell the fragrance of summer. There are certain scents that transport me right back to childhood and I'm enjoying that flight – I think specifically it's the honeysuckle that does it. I remember carefully breaking the end with my finger nails and slowing pulling the end out, gathering that tiny little droplet of sweet nectar on my tongue.
I think tonight T is being transported back to childhood in a different way. She has a friend over and they're watching old Disney movies – Fox & the Hound, Dumbo, Aladdin, Jungle Book, etc. As I sit here typing it gives me pleasure to hear the gentle talk and laughter, even singing (the deep voice of his and higher voice of T – "A whole new world...") in the other room as they watch the movies together. It makes me smile.

routine / organization

L-Nikon D60 / T- Nikon D40x

Can I just say good it feels to have T home again? But I will say it's not without some adjusting on both our parts. My daily routine is not the same as it has been for the past few months and I dare say T's is a lot different. When I get home from work my computer is usually occupied - hence I haven't blogged since she's been home and I have missed it. But on the other hand I've enjoyed what has taken it's place - evenings watching a good movie - finally someone to interact with, hearing about T's adventures at college, meeting (via facebook photos) the friends she made over the year, preparing dinner together, etc. I'm sure things will get back to a normal routine but right now if there is an opportunity to just watch a tv show with her, that's what I'm choosing. So I'm sorry I've been away. I honestly don't know how consistent I will be the next few months. I'm feeling like I need to change things up a bit – I'm just not sure what I want to do with the blog. /apparently i have acquired a ridiculous amount of things over the past ten months. i would never have thought it would be harder to fit my things in my room at home than it was in my tiny dorm (which i shared with someone, i might add). i'm finally starting to get everything unpacked and organized – making trips to goodwill, filling trashbags, and storing boxes for next year. my space is feeling like home again and it's nice – it's a nice break from school. i'm catching up on all my shows and looking forward to what the summer has to offer.

celebrate mothers

solo post - L

"My mother is a poem
I'll never be able to write,
though everything I write
is a poem to my mother."
~Sharon Doubiago

Today, looking at all of the buds on my rose bushes, I'm remembering the tradition of wearing a rose to church on mother's day - a red one if she was living and a white one if she had pasted away. I can remember with fondness my dad helping us find the perfect roses from the bushes in our yard. We would walk in proudly wearing the red rose buds we had picked – they really were not always the finest of roses but to us they were perfect, just like out mom. And on those Sunday mornings the pastor would ask all of the mothers to stand, and then calling out numbers of children gradually the mother with the most children was left standing. Also the newest and oldest mother in the congregation were recognized. They don't do that any more and no one wears roses honoring their mothers, not at our church anyway. Seems so many of these older traditions have faded in time and I think it's sad.
For the last several years my mom and I have had a tradition of celebrating mother's day by going on a garden tour together. This year the one we're going to is the High Museum of Art’s Artful Garden Tour next weekend. I'm excited to see these fabulous gardens, to learn new plants and get ideas for my own yard. Do you have a special tradition for mother's day? However you choose to celebrate I hope it's beautiful in every way.

coming home

solo post - L

"Home, the spot of earth supremely blest,
A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest."
~Robert Montgomery

Tonight I freshened T's room for her home coming. The feather bed is fluffed so high I picture her jumping into it and sinking in the smell of lavender scented sheets and breathing in the comforting smell of her beloved Mutsy – ah home.

silver lining / velvet red

L - Nikon D60 / T- phone pic

I finished another project in metalsmithing and I'm pretty pleased with it. This ring came together without a lot of problems, however, not without some problems. Soldering is very tricky and there are many steps, so when I finally got it right I was very happy. It's hard to tell from this angle but the inside is a tiny concave silver dome soldered to a bigger convex copper dome - – creating an open heart. Those pieces were soldered to a flat silver disk and that is soldered to the ring band. I hammered the copper dome to give it texture in comparison to the smooth silver inside. For me there's a lot of symbolism in this design. This is a ring of optimism. / i wouldn't say this came together exactly as i had envisioned it, but it was received well in class and that always helps. the red velvet caused me some problems... coming apart at the seams. at that point i had a broken heart but i mended it. i know i could make a better one now. that's the way it happens isn't it? - we learn by our mistakes.

"All the knowledge I possess everyone can acquire, but my heart is all my own." -Goethe

shedding / spreading

L - Nikon / T - phone pic

Maya over at Springtree Road has a new member of the family - Zasha – she's a russian blue kitty and is so adorable. Maya asked to see our kitty, Kodi. She's a russian blue also. At least that's what they told us at the Humane Society. I beleive she is because of one distinct feature that russian blues have – mauve footpads instead of slate gray. Kodi has mauve. Another thing they say about them is that they don't shed as much as most cats, but that they have shedding seasons. Spring is one of those seasons. I think it's my season for shedding too. Sure seems like I'm losing a lot of hair right now. I don't know, maybe it's age. anyway I guess it's natural. / this is a portion of my last drawing project - transformation - spreading my wings. here i am putting my wings on. i've tested them... they're pretty good. strong. freshman year is drawing to a close and i'd say i've learned a lot.

greenish yellow / yellow and green

L - Nikon D60, T- Nikon D40x

I didn't have time to post last night because I had to work until almost midnight again. I can't complain however, because I feel fortunate to have a job and a job that I enjoy. We have had to work late so many nights lately. But what's tolerable about it is the fact that all of the creative team stays and works together – really together. Helping each other out, not ever saying, "that's not my job." Our boss cuts and puts together comps, just like the rest of us. If someone needs help finding a photo, or scanning an image, or designing a logo that isn't part of their assigned job there's never complaining. Of course we grumble every once in a while about being here late, putting together kits for a next day meeting, but we laugh and have fun too. No one stands around having nothing to do, they ask, "does anyone need help?". Dinner is brought in and then we keep on working. It's a really great group of people and we all get along so well. It's not all business - we talk and share personal stories and feelings, feed off each other's creativity, encourage and motivate each other in dieting, working out, relationships, etc. In the morning there's always talk of the popular shows seen the night before - mainly "American Idol" which I don't watch. And believe it our not "Housewives of..." is another popular one (I don't watch that one either). It's fun here - not stuffy or boring. So to have to work until midnight every once in a while... I'm not going to complain.  

I had taken a few photos Sunday and when T sent me this photo yesterday I knew I had to pair it with this tulip popular tree blossom that I took Sunday afternoon out on my deck. I'm so glad T had us keep this tree when we built here. I don't always notice the blossom on the tree because it is so tall, but they fall to the deck and there I can enjoy the sweet smell and unique yellowish green blooms. It makes me happy to see these two photos together. / my roommate and i love to shop the vintage stores here in athens. it's a combination of not having money and loving the vintage style as well. the other day we walked into minx because they were having a sale on boots. i love boots right now and they had some awesome cowboy boots that i was wanting. but they cost too much. however i did buy a red dress and while trying it on i took a photo of the light fixture in the dressing room. i want that lamp. in fact, i asked if it was for sale. it was not. 

unload / remove

L - Nikon, T - phone pic

Yesterday we packed my car to the brim with T's belongings - it took 4 people 3 trips, up and down 4 flights of stairs, to get it done. Today I unpacked the car to put "her" back in her room. Well at least I didn't have 4 flights of stairs to tend with. But where did all of that stuff fit before? I guess if there was room before there will be room enough still – but it sure seems like a lot more than when she left. I'll be glad to have her home next weekend. / my room is so sad looking now. even removing the polaroids and stuff from my bulletin board was sad. i left the calendars, turned to a new month, on the board for this week just so it wouldn't be completely bare. ours was a room others liked to visit... it was inviting, neat and clean... we will miss this little place so much.

Oh I remember that bunny mask fondly.

9am / 5pm

solo post - L, Nikon D60

These photos don't really represent my day but it's all I have in the way of photos.
I started out the morning with boot camp and then headed to Athens. Before I left, I noticed that my roses were starting to bloom. I'm not really a huge rose lover but I do like roses when they are still in bud form - and of course they smell wonderful.
I went up to Athens today to pack T's belongings for coming home. Freshman year is already over. It's hard for me to believe the year went by so quickly. We loaded my car up and then walked to town for an Indie craft show - Craftstravaganza. T was asked to photograph the event. The weather was crazy - one minute a downpour, the next the sun was shining. I felt sorry for the vendors. Except that when the rain would come of course we headed for tents and of course looked around - 2 of those 'run for covers' I made purchases. So maybe it didn't hurt them too bad afterall. It was a small show but some very nice work. I wished I'd had more money. The rain made it hard for T to photograph so hopefully the weather will be nicer tomorrow.
On the way up to Athens I had noticed a quaint little church with a tin roof, so I made note to stop by there on the way back home. I drove up the long gravel road leading to the church but it was pouring down rain at this point so I didn't get any good photos there. The grasses you see above where in front of the church – I took this photo from the car. Aren't these plants cool looking? To me they look like gold and pink sequins (you will have to click on image to enlarge in order to see what I'm talking about). Does anyone know the name of this plant? Is it a grass?

sweet may

solo post - L, Nikon and iphone

"Sweet May hath come to love us,
Flowers, trees, their blossoms don;
And through the blue heavens above us
The very clouds move on."
- Heinrich Heine, Book of Songs

Just a patch of weeds - but aren't they pretty little things? This lawn was quite colorful -there were purple, white and yellow weeds mixed with the green green grass. Actually kinda pretty. But I guess if it was your yard you wouldn't appreciate them so much. Sort of like graffiti?
"Weeds are nature's graffiti." -Janice Maeditere