symbols of love / signs of love

L - Nikon . T - iphone

A very special gift from my brother - all hand-carved from one piece of wood - a true treasure.  /  little dog bonding

celebrations of love

L - iphone / T - iphone

A special Valentine delivery for me and a surprise party for Taylor.
I'm not a girl who cares for red roses that much but he knows I like spring tulips. He's smart to remember.
Taylor turned 22 on the 12th, Sunday. But she had to work and couldn't come home. I felt kinda sad when she called me Saturday and said she was making her own birthday cupcakes and was going to take them to work for her birthday. I was glad that her co-workers helped her celebrate her special day with a surprise cake as well. / i have the best co-workers ever.
I hope you have enjoyed a day filled with sweet surprises - kisses and flowers too.

essential / fundamental

L - Nikon / T - iphone

I had a lot of work to do in the studio but what was most essential today was to get outside, exercise and soak in some sun. So I went to my favorite place - Big Trees Forest. / my dog and chick-fil-a - just about all i need.

inspired / inventive

L - Nikon / T- iphone

Inspired by a question that was posed to me yesterday I created this ring. I guess it's pretty obvious what the question was... but if you're wondering, my answer was yes. It's a very exciting thing, but also a somewhat scary change for me. I've known Keith for several years as a very close friend but not until recently did the bond become stronger and I think he sensed that I felt ready to make a more permanent life together. Letting go of my fears of change and looking at the whole instead picking at the little bits and pieces, I see that change can be good. And more importantly that love is really what matters. / i decided to be a little creative with my pizza toppings tonight. butternut squash, carmelized onions and goat cheese - strange... different... yet very good.


Will I design and create our wedding rings or go a more traditional route? I just don't know. There are no real plans just yet so I have no details to share but it's fun to think I can make my own rings if I wanted to.

snuggle bunny / crazy bunny

T- iphone / T-iphone

this is the sweetest little bunny. when it's not busy at work I just walk around with him. i'm so lucky. then i go home to a crazy kitty, named bunny, riding my bike. i love her.

pink noses/ blue eyes

T- iphone

"please! take me home with you. i will love you forever."

Taylor has a job now. Yay! for her - yay for me. She is a "pet placement counselor". It's a job that she will enjoy this last year of college - allowing her flexibility with a little spending money. I think she likes it a lot - how could she not when she gets to play with these sweet little guys.
This is the company's mission statement that she had to recite at training:
"We are dedicated to matching the right pet with the right customer and meeting the needs of both. To our customers who already have pets, we are dedicated to enhancing their knowledge and enjoyment of the human-animal bond."
I think she'll be good at her job.

then / now

old photo album photo / Nikon

To my beautiful mother who means the world to me. Happy Mother's Day. I am so lucky to have you as my mother. -a lovely, caring, strong and virtuous woman in every sense of the word.

"Mothers hold their children's hands for a short while, but their hearts forever." -Anonymous

(my mother still holds my hand sometimes - a constant guide, a comforting touch, a friend)

Happy Mother's Day to all of you. I hope it was beautiful in every way.

hearts / flowers

L - solo post, iphone

I hope your day was filled with all that you love and special people to share it with.

baby girl / all grown up

solo post - L

Happy 21st Birthday Taylor!

Here you are today, 
all grown up and so lovely too. Such a warm and gentle person, 
so special in every way. 
Your childhood sparkle and charm still shines through today. 


My wish for you, on this very special day, is that all the dreams you hold within your heart 
come true and bring you happiness from which you'll never part.

She is still every bit the light in my life as she was the minute she was born. It's hard to believe my baby girl is now an "adult".

exciting / boring

L - Nikon / T - Nikon

I received the most beautiful piece of art in the mail today. It's a Puffy Wall Heart with Birdie Love Bird and I am in love. This piece is beautifully crafted of porcelain. Now I just have to find the perfect place to hang it. Don't you just love etsy? I have to say I'm sort of addicted to shopping there. / i was pretty excited when i first got those packages from amazon. but then i remembered mom had ordered all my text books from there... not as excited anymore. but truthfully i do like my classes so far, i'm just saying this isn't exactly my idea of pleasure- reading books.

expression of love

photos by Taylor

The holidays were great and now it is back to work and school. We had fun times with my family this holiday. There were big birthdays to celebrate (my younger brother turned 50 this year and the twins turned 10). Our actual gift giving didn't take place until the 28th with stockings, and presents, and hand-painted Santas, and games, and puzzles, and hot spice tea. But it was kinda cool - when everyone else was back to the usual day-to-day, we were still celebrating and enjoying the holiday. The dogs enjoyed playing with the children and visa versa, and the kitties learned to tolerate each other, I believe, even enjoy each other. The New Year was brought in with our own fireworks display and roasting marshmallows down at my campfire, fire writing, story telling and laughs and then... everyone had to head back home.

Taylor got an extended time off but I had to get back to work. And it's been, or seemed, like one of the hardest work weeks yet. Working until 1am one night and til 10 another night really threw me off - hard after having so much relaxed time at home I guess. But... while I was away working long hours the kitties slept together, Taylor took some photos of my rings for me so I could add a new listing to my shop and even cleaned the house - isn't she sweet. Now I have made it through the first week back and hope to get back in the groove real soon. I've been a bad blogger friend for way too long now. I want you to know it certainly is not personal. I appreciate all of you who continue to visit. Please don't write me off your list just yet.

submissive / docile

L - iphone / T - Nikon

It's wonderful to be in the presence of a gentle creature - one that is well-trained and obedient to your command. It is especially important when an inexperienced rider is on a large horse, like I was. My horse tried to make his own path on occasion but a tug this way, or that, to the reins got him right back on track. Because he was well-trained it made me feel in perfect control – it put me at ease and made for a pleasant ride on a crisp autumn day. I loved it. / i am in love with this dog, that i named mason. he is the perfect companion - always at attention for my commands, always eager to please. it's hard to believe someone could have left this dog behind. he has been my joy for a week now. i don't even mind taking him out to pee on rainy days - now that's love.

fullness / complete

L - Nikon / T - Nikon

"Live what you love"... that's what my ring says.

and that's what I did this weekend. What a full weekend I had! I didn't want it to end. It was good from the start to the very end - every moment a pleasure. Started with a great mexican dinner (with enough leftovers to serve me the entire weekend) and going by the nursery for some pansies and mums on Friday night, Saturday morning I went to the local market for fresh bread and cheeses, then a walk with Evee at Big Trees. I've missed that park. The autumn weather certainly pulled me there this weekend. Evee enjoyed it too. At home I set to work photographing my rings to put in my etsy store. I was so excited to finally add them to my shop. I had such fun propping the photos and enjoyed being outside to do it. All weekend I would switch from one thing to the next depending on the sun. When the sun hit just right on the hammock I was out there reading, when it faded I was inside making rings, and at night I was busy posting to my etsy. I didn't watch t.v. at all until last night when I ended the weekend with a uplifting movie - "Letters to Juliet". I sure hope you all had a great weekend too. / i love my apartment. it's like a home instead of temporary living quarters. and to me flowers complete a home so i bought some for myself.

together / 3 of us

solo post - L, Nikon

I had my parents for dinner tonight. It's nothing out of the ordinary - it's something we do every Tuesday and they have me for dinner on Monday nights. I feel lucky that my parents are close enough that we can do this and glad that we made it a routine a long time ago. Plus I know I'll get a great meal every Monday night. : ) Living alone I don't do a lot of cooking for myself. Tomorrow night I'll probably just have a bowl of soup. : ( But Dad will call and let me know that they have extra homemade pizza on Friday if I want some. : )

a little bunny / a little bird

L- Nikon / T - Nikon

Isn't this interesting? I took this photo last night for our post today and Taylor sent me one this afternoon - no conversation about shooting similar content. I had just asked her if she wanted to participate in the sixty-four colors group and for her to send me a photo of the crayon color robin egg blue. But look what happened instead. Both of our images have a mirror reflecting into our bedroom and both images have a tiny little spring symbol - the bunny and the little bird. I love that this happened. I really like her image a lot. I like the reflection and the sunlight hitting her yellow sofa. If she had sent it yesterday instead of the daffodils I would have seen a synchronicity - yet different.

Her teacup with my tea bag, the blue in hers with the blue in the wallpaper, the bird on her cup with the bird in the wallpaper, the creams, the yellows. This one almost excites me more.

Can I just say, I love how this happens, and happens so frequently. I notice it in other diptych groups too. Isn't it interesting how you can almost always find a connection with two images. When I first started blogging it was the girls at 3191 that inspired me. I was always blown away with how their images related in some way even without conversation. I wanted to see if Taylor and I could create a similar blog.

I'm sad that our blog here has been sort of slack but when the synchronicity happens like today it excites me so much - makes me want to keep at it even if we post less often.

Which diptych do you like better?

lovely

solo post - L

I hope your day was filled with many sweet and wonderful things - all things that made you feel special and loved. You are special to me.

eagerly await

L - Nikon / T - Nikon

Presents still unwrapped at both houses - ours and my parents - awaiting the arrival of my older brother and his family from Maryland. We will spread the Christmas celebration out by opening gifts at my parents house and then another night opening more gifts at our house. In addition, there will be a birthday dinner for my younger brother's tomorrow and a belated birthday breakfast at our house for the twins who were born on Christmas Eve 9 years ago. We are so fortunate to have time off from work and school for a whole week of fun and to be able to bring in the New Year together as a family with a display of fireworks.
What will you be doing for New Years Eve?

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)

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

random / planned

L - iphone / T - Nikon

"Fiery colors begin their yearly conquest of the hills, propelled by the autumn winds. Fall is the artist." 
- Takayuki Ikkaku

This morning there was autumn magic on the lawn – the winds and rain carrying the russet, amber and tangerine-orange leaves down to blanket the ground in a mosaic of color – a work of art really. By this afternoon there will be a thick carpet of color atop the emerald grass and the soft pine straw beds. I will feel a strong desire to rake them up and jump in them – taking me back to childhood. But... I'm too old and besides, it's raining. I'll be satisfied to rustle my feet through them and kick them in the air. / this past weekend we had perfect weather - it got me in the mood for carving a pumpkin. i had the idea all in my head and even sketched it out before i started. i can't say it turned out exactly like i planned but it looks great all lit up. i'll show you that later. : )