scooting / making room

solo post - L, iphone/Nikon

This Thanksgiving has been very relaxing – no stress, no shopping, no worries. And here it is coming to a close. Taylor has to get back to school and my brother has to go back to B'ham. But before he left he took me on a scooter ride. It was a most glorious day and we scooted all around the neighborhoods, the wind in our faces, smelling the autumn leaves and the fires burning. We went into neighborhoods that we don't bother to drive through in our cars. People were out decorating their homes, hanging the wreaths and placing the lights. We saw amazing homes - some so elegantly decorated and others more classic in their approach. Ever since I was a child I loved driving around looking at decorations. One the scooter it was even more fun - so much fun that we lost track of time and ended up being gone for over an hour. It was my first ride, and to my own surprise, I loved it.
As I'm sure is true for many of you, it is tradition for us to get the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving, and to start making room for Christmas decorations inside and outside the house. The wreaths were hung outside and candles placed in the windows, the nutcrackers come out and the garland is hung on the mantel, childhood Christmas photos are set here and there and a winter wonderland is created with the snowbabies figurines. But something we always pick out together is the tree. And this year T and I did it in record time - I mean literally seconds - the very first tree T pulled out looked about as good as we've ever had so we went with it, not even looking at any others. I was shocked. I can't believe we went with the first one.

smile / OK

L - Nikon ........ T - Nikon (sign seen today at Spruill Art Center)

This morning my tea tag read "say it straight, simple and with a smile" How appropriate for this day. A simple "thank you" and a smile can mean so much don't you think?
............
my friend from school came to spend thanksgiving with my family and me. it's nice to be someone's solace, especially on a day like today.
this thanksgiving of course i'm not struggling to come up with things that i'm thankful for. i have an abundance. from personal things to things i'm sure we all appreciate – a good friend to confide in and a beautiful autumn day. i do, however, struggle everyday with making my appreciation known to those around me and that's something that i need to work on. so many people in my life have contributed to the person i am today, and to them i owe an extreme thanks. my mom who has been there for me through everything and supported my every decision and fed my creativity, my oma and opa and my grandparents who have taught me so much and given me such wisdom and guidance to ponder, my dad who has encouraged me every step of the way. my uncles and aunts, my best friends, my favorite teachers... at times i don't feel i'm a good enough person to be able to aptly reflect the influences of those close to me. other times, i feel like i'm just putting my own spin on life - an element that is completely and utterly necessary to individuality. i hope that you used this day to make your love and gratitude for your loved ones known [:

Gratitude

solo post - L

"Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul." ~Henry Ward Beecher

On this Thanksgiving eve I will lie in my warm bed, with my eyes closed tight, a kitty at my feet, and reflect back on the year at all the many things I have to be grateful for and say a prayer of thanksgiving to my Lord. Tomorrow blessings will be said, good food and conversation will be shared as we gather at the table with friends and family to eat our feasts of thanksgiving, there will be laughter and games, and then there will be goodbye hugs. Let's remember to keep a thankful heart not only tomorrow but throughout the year and to express our gratitude to those we love at every opportunity we get.
I want to take this opportunity, tonight, to tell you that I am grateful for the friendship we share and to wish you all a delightful Thanksgiving surrounded by love and filled with happiness.
good night.

(photo taken in spring of 2009)

refreshing / dusty

L - Nikon / T - Nikon

Bear with us while we renovate a little here on our blog. There can be comfort in the old but sometimes the old gets dusty and worn out – new is usually refreshing and clean. So we're starting with a new white template, fresh new banner, and profile pic. I did a little sprucing up last night. I would love for our photos to show a little bigger but I'm having trouble with that. Can anyone offer suggestions? My original images are plenty big but when I upload, Blogger sizes it down. Is there an simple way to fix this?
UPDATE: I figured out how to keep my images large. Are they too big now?

Curious - these photos were taken on the same day – one in her bedroom at home and one in an abandoned house that she claims as her own. I was making sure her room was in order before she got home and at the same time she was shooting film in Athens at an old abandoned home that she is using for her final photo assignment. She got some really cool digital images and I imagine her film is just as good.

moving forward / waxing moon

L - iphone / T - phone (collaborative)

Today we post our 300th post. It has changed since that first naive post we made back on August 18th 2008. But in some ways I like the simpleness those first entries had - in a way they seem stronger in their simplicity. They represented more of what my original intentions were here - for each of us to share just a tiny bit of our day with each other. Things changed and that's all fine as long as it's for the best. It's changed but has it moved forward? (or should we go back to a photo and one sentence structure). I sometimes feel we struggle with it - she's not always able (or honestly "wants") to send her part and I don't always have words or photos to share either, but we have carried on and have hit almost every day since we started and that feels pretty good. We've definitely gone through ups and downs here on our blog – I'll just consider it an ebb and flow just as the moon wanes and waxes. But tonight being our 300th post, and with the crescent moon shinning down on us, it seems a good time to instill change here at Spread Your Wings - to move forward - to grow. I don't know just how it will happen but, like the moon, it will be a gradual and may recede out of view every once in a while. / tonight mom specifically asked me for a photo of the moon. at first i couldn't see it but i went outside and there it was - a tiny white sliver in the midnight blue sky. i love a crescent moon don't you?

dog / cat

solo post - L, Nikon

When you're too tired to post and have nothing much to say, a photo of a dog and/or a cat are always a safe bet aren't they? Looks like maybe Evee and Kodi are discussing – in a totally puzzled 'what is up with that' kind of way – just why I didn't come up with something better for this, one-shy-of 300th post – on my birthday of all things! I was just too tired from all the partying? No. I have no excuse.

I do want to take this 299th post to thank all of you who read and follow my/our blog. It means so much to me that you have stayed with us even though many days we stray away from our original intent. T seems too busy most days to send her words and photos but I appreciate, so much, your support and encouragement in your comments and the mere fact that you take time out of your day to visit. Thank YOU!

supple / rigid

L - Nikon / T - Nikon

The ginkgo trees have dropped all there leaves now. I collected some of them and brought them inside, put them in a vase as if a flower and placed it on the window sill so that I could appreciate them even longer. The glowing yellow supple fans changed to golden brown and curled - still beautiful to my eyes. / i was so happy to be able to spend time with my dad's side of the family this past weekend- it's something that doesn't happen very often but i'm always thankful when i does. my cousin is a new marine and we went out to California for his graduation ceremony. it seems out of luck that we've become close just in the past few years, but i'm glad it happened before we grew up (too much). it was glad o be able to attend this event. it was very powerful, and emotional for the family. the rigor and structure that went into the program seemed to be mirrored in the yellow architecture that i was very drawn too. this yellow somehow seem to make the sunny state that much sunnier.

peek / peep

solo post - L, Nikon

green eyes and blue skies

slipped

solo post - L, Nikon

There are days I slip. I love chocolate. I always have. Growing up my mom would sometimes let me have chocolate ice cream for breakfast. Imagine that? I guess she figured that would be the only way I was going to get my calcium (I didn't like milk then and I 'm still not fond of it). After all a girl's just gotta have her chocolate – no matter what form it takes. But I do agree with you all who say eat the chocolate - it's good for you. My preference is for dark and I know it's good for you - honestly good for you. So yes, I try to eat "good" chocolate along with my raisins, but some days I slip and eat milk chocolate – that Halloween candy left over in employees candy jars.

“Strength is the ability to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands - and then eat just one of those pieces” -Judith Viorst

drink / eat

solo post - L, Nikon

I took my camera to work today hoping that I would get a chance to go out at lunch and take some photos of the fall leaves before they were cleaned up by the crew with their mighty blowers. The blowers were at work before I knew it. So much for that. But I did snap a few pictures at my desk. See. I'm trying to drink more water throughout the day and, when that mid-afternoon sweet-tooth is begging for some chocolate, I'm trying to eat something healthy instead. I can tell you I don't always stay strictly to my rules.

two rooms of her own

L - Nikon, T - Nikon

solo post - L

I was getting T's room ready for her visit and I noticed the light was so soft and wonderful - of course I went and got my camera. In her bedroom at home, the morning sun shines in brightly right behind her head - maybe that's why she was always good about getting up in the mornings - I very rarely had to go to her room to wake her. She's very organized about her schedules and what has to be done. Like this morning her dad was picking her up at 7 am in order for them to catch a plane to California. At 6:15 I awoke, worried that she wasn't getting up in time and I called to her. She said, "mom, I have a system". Oh OK. Her "system" - set the alarm for 15 minutes before time needed to get up so that she has time to slowly adjust while thinking about what she will wear, etc. then she gets up and moves about quietly with no, or low, lights on and she's ready before I even know she's up.

The day I cleaned her room, or the day after, she sent me this photo. (She must have been straightening up her room - leaving it clean while she's away in California. Good girl). I'm not sure if this is morning or afternoon sunlight but I think it's morning sun. This glorious light is one of the things she loves so much about her home away from home. And bright light must help, because she has an 8am class and I don't think she's missed one yet.

morning light / evening light

L - iphone / T - Nikon

I'm loving the cool mornings and warm afternoons that we've been having here lately. Low 40s, high 60s - perfect. Looks like it's going to last into the weekend too. I'll be heading up to NC to spend some time with my cousin and his wife. We plan to take the horses right outside their home, head out the trail on a ride to the creek, and paint out in the woods - doesn't that sound delightful? / my room has become my solace- that along with the porch. i pretty much have this side of the house to myself, which is wonderful because these are the rooms with the most beautiful sunlight. as of now, my room is clean and crisp. but my body is tired today and i think it's coming through my eyes. i went to a fantastic concert last night, a group called 'brand new'. i cannot even begin to explain the feeling of being surrounded by people, impassioned by the same words that you are, swaying to the same rhythm you are, screaming the same lyrics you're screaming. i haven't been to a show that exciting in a long time.

affirm

solo post - L, Nikon

I poured the water over my tea bag, the tag said, "We are here to love each other, serve each other and uplift each other " and then I picked up that apple. Do you see it there – plain as if it was stenciled on - a heart as uniform and perfect as any I've seen – it said "love". Now if I would just put those words to practice each and every day.

"Well done is better than well said." -Benjamin Franklin

mysterious / hidden

solo post - L , Nikon

Sunday was a wonderful autumn day –the sun bright and the breeze cool – so I went out, without a plan, looking for something to photograph. I ended up in a very historical city of Roswell and explored the Founders cemetery and then went down to the old mill area and did some hiking. But I was wearing cowboy boots so I couldn't do the hiking I wanted to do – cowboy boots don't give the best traction you know. But I did make it up the steep steps to a trail that overlooked the Vickery Creek and old mill. There were sections in the trail that were scattered with these huge leaves giving the area a eerie sort of feel. I came home and looked at the photos I had captured. None so good, but I kept being drawn to these two and specifically to them together. There seemed to be a tie to them that I just couldn't put my finger on. After doing some research on the area I found that the area where each of these were taken is haunted. At the mills, several recordings have been made of hearing the sound of millworkers moans and of visitors getting the sensation that they are being pushed. At the cemetery, it has been recorded, is home to a more playful apparition: a small girl who sometimes reaches up to hold your hand or scampers behind a tree. I had no knowledge of these things when I photographed on Sunday but now I look at them and they seem mysteriously linked. I don't know what to believe about ghost. I personally have never had any encounters with them, but it apparently makes for an interesting tour of the area. I wonder, have any of you had encounters with ghosts?