minimal / optimal

T- iphone/ T-iphone

It was a rough last week - as far as sleeping arrangements went.
Taylor went from sleeping in her nicely furnished apartment to having to sleep on the floor on her mattress with nothing but her computer and a small table, then because the landlord wouldn't let her stay through the end of finals, and commencement, she had to sleep in her sleeping bag in her empty apartment for two nights. A girl offered her empty house so that Taylor wouldn't have to pay for a hotel for the last week. But what Taylor didn't know was that it no furniture at all, had no cell service and the water didn't work. She stayed there one night in her sleeping bag on the floor but had to move into a hotel for the last few days until commencement so that she could sleep well and be ready for finals. All this while having to study for finals.

day 24 - an animal

L - iphone / T - iphone

Well we weren't very clever with this prompt for sure but it was a weekend of the animals - the dogs. Daisy had so much fun being outdoors all weekend long. With her new wireless collar she is free to roam around our big yard - roll in the cool green grass, romp through the ivy and forage around the firepit for the best charcoaled sticks. (does anyone know why dogs enjoy this? both daisy and evee loved picking charcoal bits out of the firepit and eating them)

home / away

L - Nikon / T -iphone

Knitting has been an obsession around our house - ever since Christmas when my 10 year old niece taught us all how to knit. She was such a great teacher she had me, my brother, Taylor, my sister-in-law, and my fiance all knitting a scarf. It was my brother who put us all to shame though. He has already completed 3 scarves and 2 hats! Taylor is knitting her second scarf. I, however, just finished my first one - and it's not so pretty. I'll keep trying. / chicago was fun but i was glad to get back home - to see miss daisy and my bunny, and to get back in the swing of things.
stay away from lonely places - ron terada exhibit at the contemporary museum in chicago.
lines from a willie nelson song
Remember that sorrow prospers
In a heart that never smiles
So stay away from lonely places for awhile

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.

a dip / a bend

L - Nikon / T - itouch

wordless Wednesday.

I'm happy with our two images of the day, but have no words to say.

a girl / her dog

solo post - L, Nikon

I know you're probably tired of seeing this dog, but it's all I have tonight. As you may know, over the weekend Taylor brought home a little dog she had been fostering so that my brother could take him to Alabama and give him a permanent home. My brother is so happy with the way Copper is adjusting. I think at first he thought, "what am I getting myself in for?" For the past 10 years he's had a nice routine with his dog Emerson who is very well behaved and settled in as just the two of them... now he's got to train a new dog, and make sure his fence is secured - you know how beagles will follow a scent no matter what. My brother said Copper is doing well, adapting to his schedule and is fun to play with, but almost too much for his older dog to handle. Taylor said that dog was a magnet for her - he really does have a cute puppy dog face with his heavy eyeliner. Maybe my brother will benefit in more ways than he anticipates... in the way of meeting a nice young lady perhaps? I'm wondering, has anyone ever had a beagle?

blue skies / red tops

solo post - L, Nikon

...a red head in a black feather top and a black feather bird on a red top

road tripping

L - iphone / T - iphone

Well it wasn't a true 'road trip' where you take the back roads, having no agenda and stopping whenever something catches your eye - we love those kind. But it was a nice and relaxing trip. We went down to Pensacola to visit Taylor's grandparents and that is like a plush holiday - eating at great restaurants and chillin by the poolside eating watermelon. The weather cooperated with us - it rained and thunderstormed each morning and in the middle of each night but was nice during the day - perfect - the sound of rain to lull us to sleep and sun in the day to play. It sure was nice to have the extra day off for Memorial Day. Hope you had an enjoyable holiday. I'll post more later.

kitty / bunny

L - Nikon / T - Nikon

Taylor wanted a new kitty to go with her to Athens in the fall so we have been looking around to adopt one. There was debate over getting a kitten or an older cat. Little kittens are SO cute and playful, but Taylor wanted to feel more confident about the personality and felt like a kitten might be unpredictable. There was a year old cat that we really liked at the Humane Society but she was really a climber and we weren't sure if that was such a good thing. We looked and looked.... then she fell in love with a sweet young cat at the Animal Shelter. I think the cat fell in love with Taylor too. / so we have a new addition to our household- her name is bunny! (i have a weird fascination with animals named after other animals, haha.) we got her because i was feeling the need for a companion for when i go to live in my lonesome one person apartment in athens and i'm confident that i have found the perfect (purrfect? [: ) partner. she and the boss, kodi, aren't getting along so well right now.. but i'm sure they'll warm up to each other. they would look so cute snuggled up to each other! i know that's a high hope, but i'm trying to make it happen.

cupcake / love

solo post - L

Have a beautiful weekend.

yellow / green

L - Nikon / T - Nikon

The color of the week is yellow green. How appropriate. There is new growth all around us. I love this time of the year when the colors of green in the horizon are so varied. But I don't love the haze of yellow green that's in the air - it hangs in the air like a thick cloud and covers everything like a yellow blanket! The pollen count in Atlanta yesterday was 5733 - 120+ is considered extremely high. What? Well, thank goodness we've had a nice rain today to wash it all away. As I look out my office window now, the clouds have lifted and the world is clean and fresh looking, the pavement is grey again instead of pale yellow and once again you can tell that I drive a white car not a yellow one. / i came home yesterday to go to a concert. i had lunch with mom and i also got a haircut, finally. i needed one badly but now it seems so short to me. p.s. there is pollen everywhere, on everything. my green yellow car is now yellow green.

imagination in Athens

solo post - L, canon

I visited Taylor in Athens today to look at an apartment for next semester. Expecting it to storm all day, I was pleasantly surprised that we had no rain - nice enough in fact to eat brunch outdoors at a colorful cafe. There were buckets of sidewalk chalk placed about for anyone who felt inspired. I have a feeling it was children that left their marks on this wall - creating a pretty nice effect of wildflowers I think... if you squint your eyes and leave your imagination open. / Taylor is wanting a bike now. I think it must be spring fever - Spring has it's way of giving people the urge to get outdoors - to be more active doesn't it? The wall on the side of the bike shop was really striking and I wanted to show you but I did a poor job of getting it all in (must be my old eyes). I cropped off her T's feet, birds beaks and wings... but you can imagine... it was pretty spectacular.

looking up / lifted up

L - Nikon / T - Nikon (taken by friend)

Hope you had a most wonderful Saturday - delightful in every way.

Today I did some work in the yard. I pruned my roses way back- long past due, and planted some bushes - another job past due. It was the first pretty day that I've had the opportunity to work in the yard. I sure was nice to be outdoors most of the day. I'd say spring is here and it's definitely time to set up the hammock. There's not much that I love more than a warm spring day in the hammock with a good book and a soft breeze across my face. I missed my chance today - tomorrow it's supposed to rain - but there will be plenty more opportunities and I look forward to those days. / I hope Taylor explains this photo. All I know is that it was part of recording a scavenger hunt in Athens today. From seeing the other photos she sent I'd say she had a fun day. This one was titled parachuting with an umbrella mary poppins style

in the oven / out of the oven

solo post - T, Nikon

listening to: Santa Baby

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.

acorns / picnics

L - Nikon 50mm / T - Polaroid

“Faith sees a beautiful blossom in a bulb, a lovely garden in a seed, and a giant oak in an acorn.”
- William Arthur Ward

What a wonderful week of renewal and illumination I had while in North Carolina – to be surrounded by so many creative people – dining and dorming with them for 5 days straight – was refreshing and inspirational. I plan to tell you more about it on my autumnsun blog – soon I hope.
I saw, and felt, hints of autumn there in NC – the leaves just barely starting to change but autumn temperatures were definitely in the air. As I walked the soft earthy scented cypress pathway each day to my metalsmithing class the leaves on the ground became an inspiration to me. I gathered leaves and took them to class, drawing from their different shapes I made a bracelet of silver and copper. This tiny oak leaf, not yet changed, and a bright yellow acorn caught my eye on the last day – I picked them up and brought them home with me. / enjoying afternoons of picnics and polaroids. i'm loving it. school is going well too.

patience / focus

L - Nikon 200mm / T - Nikon film camera

There's been a lot of rain here – a lot – but if you're patient the rain lets up and you can walk outside. Yesterday I spent some time in Chattanooga and enjoyed the art galleries during the rain and a walk along the river when the rain let up. I didn't take many photos but my patience paid off and I was able to get this shot after waiting for it to stay still long enough for me to find it through my lens and focus. (and btw, I even got a bird on a wire shot like I've always wanted.) / this is a little bit of how i'm feeling right now- i don't know where to look - where to focus. it's weird how you associate your first year of college as finding yourself and figuring out who you are. but i'm still in that stage of self-consciousness. i feel like this photo is very representative of change and alteration to oneself and one's views on things. this way and that way - there are so many things to focus on here it's hard to choose just one. there are so many things going on all at once it's hard to move through and calmly complete them without losing your head.

the calm of blue

L - iphone / T - Nikon
I stole a minute to go outside today - not getting one break until 3pm. The days have been stressful lately (too many late nights to speak of), so a few minutes with the sun on my face, and the sound of water, was what I needed to melt the stress right away. Sunshine is as good as a massage to me and it's the break I needed today. / I'm having a hard time getting much (for the blog) out of T these days. I have to admit she has a lot going on with the new home. She's been dealing with the landlord, the cable guy, the electrician, the general repair guy getting locks on doors, leaks fixed, ovens regulated, security installed, etc. I called one day and she didn't have time to talk - on the line with one service person, another one in the house asking questions. She said, "mom this is so stressful". But you know what? I am so proud of the way she is handling it all - getting everything taken care of herself. I do believe her wings have spread, and are strong - very strong. The jobs are complete now and now she has a week to relax before classes start on Monday.

here / there

L - iphone

T's little owls finally found a home today - flying 66 miles to their final resting place in this bright and cheerful room. This vintage lamp was T's first home purchase and she is so proud of it, especially since she bargained with the owner to get a better price. The yellow coverlet was her second home purchase - making this free, but drab, couch a sunny place to sit and read.
For me the move was much easier than I thought that it would. I honestly was dreading it but with the help of her dad, and another strong man, I didn't really have to break my back at all. A bonus – we didn't have to take every load up 4 flights of steps like we did last year. Even the prediction of rain was a false alarm and the weather turned out perfect.
I called her tonight and she already has her room in order; the kitchen cabinets are filled with the pretty, colorful glassware and dishes that she bought; the bathrooms are neat and tidy - she's settled in and loving it.