purple / yellow

L - iphone / T - iphone

No baby in my slice so I won't be making the next King Cake. / i'm getting the hang of the new stitch i learned this weekend. thanks mom.

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.

daydreaming / dreamy sleep

L - iphone / T - iphone

...and Autumn is officially here. My favorite time of the year. I get so anxious for the season to begin, with it's cooler temperatures and bluer skies, and to walk amongst the crunching of leaves... to wrap in blankets, to eat chili and drink hot teas... to marvel at the colors on every leaf, to roast marshmallows and warm my feet(s).

what do you look forward to in the coming of autumn?

snow day / snow day

L - Nikon / T - Nikon

Everybody likes a snow day don't they? Well how about two or three? I, for one, enjoyed staying at home – a nice fire and good book, some more time in the studio and I'm good. Others would say they had cabin fever by the second day and might just go stir crazy by tomorrow. Two snow days in Atlanta is a lot and for school children there will be a third. When the mail is not delivered you know it must be bad right? With temperatures in the teens again tonight that ice on the roads is not improving.

I do have to admit it was nice when a friend came over today and took me out to eat at a Mexican restaurant, Starbucks and for a hike in my favorite woods - The Big Trees Forest. I felt alive out there. The scent of pine was strong and the air so refreshing. It really did me good. / three days off from school! i think that's a record in the south. we're missing the first days of our new semester but you don't hear me complaining. however i do have to say it's hard to hang out with people when you can't drive. a walk in to town for pizza proved treacherous. haha. and i'm too scared to sled on sheer ice. but days off from school... that's cool.

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.

crackling / dripping

L - Nikon / T - Nikon

Much of my weekend was spent on my etsy site – opening a new one and adding photos to both. It was a very productive weekend but I was getting rather tired of looking at the computer for so long so yesterday afternoon I took to the outdoors with a book and a cup of hot spice tea, built a fire and just sat listening to the fall of leaves and the birds fighting for berries, and the fire crackling. I didn't read 2 pages of the book - just sat and poked at the fire and listened. And tried to keep Evee from stealing logs off the fire (no, she's not so smart). It was wonderful. / i've spent this whole weekend working on a mural-type piece for the dog rescue center that i've been volunteering at. since the owner knew i was interested in art, she recruited me to design the new storefront and paint it. a bigger job than she knew. but i've really enjoyed this new way to be creative. it's something that's completely not in my style so it's pretty fun to jump out of my comfort zone and do something very different from what i'm used to. today's task took place twenty feet above ground on scaffolding and i'm far more tired than i expected to be for working six hours. taylor's bed-time keeps getting earlier and earlier, haha."

recognize / discover

solo post - L, Nikon

I can't believe it's been 10 days since I last posted. It's unusual - I did not take one photo all week long and even this weekend my photo options were slim. Anyway... I hope everyone has been well and starting to enjoy a fun summer.
Taylor is now home for the summer and it sure is nice to have her here - sleeping under my roof, eating meals and watching movies with me and planning fun activities for the summer. She can be so much help around the house too. Last week I came home to a cooked meal, kitchen drawers that are now clean and organized, the refrigerator cleared out of out-dated bottles of dressing, etc and the cabinets as well. She loves doing this type of work – I don't love doing it - it makes me very happy. We joke about her OCD tendencies as a weakness but in actuality it can be a real strength. Soon I hope her 'organizational' skills and diligent work habits will be earning her good money instead of just making her mother happy – she's looking for a summer job.
I found a book on my shelf that I forgot about. I'm going to give it to Taylor to read this summer called, "Now, Discover Your Strengths". I think the sooner she recognizes her real strengths, and how best to use her weaknesses, the better off she'll be in determining what she wants to be 'when she grows up'.

"Every job is a self-portrait of the person who does it. Autograph your work with excellence." ~Author Unknown

read / re-read

L - Canon / T - film sp

I do like to read but I don't always pick out books that keep my attention. Lucky for me I have a nice library right in my office complex and can check out the latest releases and just swap them out if they don't pull me right in - some books just don't. Both of these books sounded interesting - I had just read an excerpt from them on npr.org so I checked them out today and will see if one grabs me.

I don't re-read books very often but I have a few that I enjoyed enough to re-read. Taylor on the other hand re-reads often. In fact she told me she had recently re-read "The Road" and is now re-reading "The Bell Jar". What about you? Is there a book you enjoy over and over again? / i'm re-reading the bell jar by slyvia plath.

"I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Gee, the amazing editor, and another fig was Europe and Africa and South America, and another fig was Constantin and Socrates and Attila and a pack of other lovers with queer names and offbeat professions, and another fig was an Olympic lady crew champion, and beyond and above these figs were many more figs I couldn't quite make out. I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn't make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet." – chapter seven

office / home

L - iphone / T - Nikon

I took this photo today at work as the day was passing me by. Collectively I feel like the days are passing me by. Once again, we worked well past dark. Then T sent this photo showing me how her room is much improved now that the closet door is installed. And to tell me again how much she loves her room. Visually I feel there's somewhat of a link in these two photos - the colors and the lines – but I'm not coming up with anything in the way of words. Words escape me tonight. oh well.

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.

pretty / dirty

L - Nikon / T - taken by my dad

Taylor's style has changed over the last year. Now she likes to wear dress or skirts with boots or cute little heels – she used to wear flats and very rarely wore a dress. Now she lets her hair go natural more times than not, letting the curls fall as they may – she used to straightened her hair every single day. Tonight she wore it up with a peacock feather in her hair and I thought she looked pretty sitting there with her cat waiting for me. I wished I had taken time to get a better photo but she was in a hurry. / okay, so it's just a job working for my dad. but still! i'm really excited to have a summer job that's outside and not inside some grimy restaurant. it's nice to spend time with my dad and get in shape at the same time. it's hard work, but it's way better than sitting around all day. (i'm going to be so tan by the end of summer..)

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. 

8am/6pm

both post by me

My work day was fine. The day started out sunny and ended with rain. When I got home I decided I would just relax and watch tv for a change instead of coming home and doing the blogging thing or working on my art. I just really felt like doing nothing. So I watched several episodes of "What Not To Wear". I really enjoy watching the transformation of these ladies and try to imagine what they would do with me. (I would love for them to give me $5000 to redo my wardrobe. It needs it.) Then I got wrapped up in looking for some particular photos - I had on my mind the geocaching that Taylor and I used to do - something I miss so much. (Has anyone ever done geocaching? If not you should try it.) Anyway, now it's late and I feel like I've wasted the evening away when I should have been working on my inventory for the show. Hopefully I can start fresh tomorrow morning and get a lot accomplished. / well I hope Taylor is having fun this weekend. I know she has a big art project to work on and I'm looking forward to seeing how it's coming along - she has to do a self portrait in acrylics.

day of work / day of play

Because I was home at 9am this morning I was able to enjoy this beautiful morning sun in my office. I took a vacation day - not to play, but to work. I worked over 12 hours today on my art for the festival and I finally feel like I'm getting somewhere with it. I still have a long way to go in order to be prepared but with a full weekend ahead I should make some major headway. /no school today. i didn't have the money to put together a good costume so my roommate and i just went as cowboy and indian. original right?

before work / after class

Some days it's just hard to go to work when there are so many fun things you'd rather do at home. My creative juices were really flowing this weekend and it was so invigorating to me. I came up with more ideas for my etsy site and potential craft show in November and I didn't want to stop. So when Monday came around it sort of broke my momentum. Now it's Tuesday and I'm trying to get it back. Don't you just hate it when that happens? / afternoon break. it was supposed to be picnic day, but that fell through so i enjoyed a break at the local coffee shop and got some english reading done.

just a day / day for a picnic

This was an uneventful day for me, busy at work. I felt somewhat out of whack and not sure why. Do you ever have days like that? / thursday is my short day of classes, the breeze was cool and the sun was shining - perfect day for a picnic - so we grabbed the blankets, music, the polaroids and some food and headed for the open grass.