Does this photo even need explanation?
Category: photo
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if this is you…
If you are curled up in a pajama-clad ball on your cozy purple sofa, reliving the memories of the past week as you sift through photos and unpack your suitcase. All the while feeling so so tired, having gotten home at 3:30am Boston time and then back up again at 6:30am SoCal time to get the kiddoes off to school (note: though most of what I did was just redirecting their attention to their tasks as I sat on the LR floor and just enjoyed home and chatted with Mom about the week).
If this is you then you are marveling that a week can be so short and yet so long. That your life is forever altered from having walked the streets of history and having communed with such awesome friends. But at the same time knowing that the very most important moment of it all was when you walked into the kiddoes’ room and reached out and held their warm soft hands, hardly able to wait until they would wake up in the morning so you could see their smiles once again.
This photo by John shows me in tourist-mode: the camera like a prosthetic on my hand, reaching out to document all that I saw, such as in this moment in the Granary Burying Ground. I like the way my upper arm muscles are looking all strong in this photo :)
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goin’ curly
Taking a break from the travelogue to tell you some recent news:
My hair is turning curly.
All of my life my hair has been poker straight. Like so straight that even with an 80s spiral perm it was just barely wavy. But just in the last month I’ve been noticing some slight curls at the ends of my hair. And on this trip I’ve had some soft ringlet curls around my face when I put up my ponytail (which, in fact is full of curls).
I don’t know what would cause formerly straight hair to change its mind and become curly. I haven’t added any chemicals to my hair and the effect doesn’t seem altered by changing shampoos or other hair products.
But I’m not complaining. No way. All my life I have coveted those with natural curls.
Lucky me :)
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bright
My Labor Day was chock-full of labor (and HEAT–the hottest day so far this month!).
We are oh-so-close to being fully unpacked now. Today we learned that the track shelving that was going to store so much of our stuff was not meant to be–there were no wall studs anywhere near the only place we could hang it and drywall anchors just pulled right out as soon as shelves were laid on the tracks. Ah well. We’ve found places for nearly everything anyways. :)
When I put clean sheets on the bed today I replaced our typical white matlesse spread with a spread of pale peach silk (made from some remnants given to me by a friend awhile back). I am hoping that sleeping in silk will somehow make this hotter-than-hades night bearable….
Note: this hibiscus photo is from a hike up a hill (the only place to park my car!) in Laguna Beach last weekend. LB has the loveliest cottage gardens!! :)
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halfway today
Today marks the anniversary of our marriage. It also marks the fact that we’ve been with each other for half of our lives…18 years ago in a muggy SoCal fall, John and I met and started this journey together.
John woke me up this morning with breakfast in bed: a thick slice of homemade bread (love the breadmaker with a timer so the bread is piping hot when we wake up!) slathered with fresh butter and a latte just the way I like it.
Joy!
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windows
One of the very bestest things about my new home: the windowsill above the kitchen sink. I’ve got an assortment of colorful vases in the sill, putting fresh garden flowers in them each day. The window looks out on to my back porch, which is starting to look a bit less cluttered with boxes and dead plants. It is the perfect place to sit in the evening and meditate by candelight.
Can I just say that I’ve started singing when I wash the dishes? Such joy!
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fixed
A fellow blogger, Jonathan, photoshopped one of my flower pics and sent it over so I could see what a bit of digital massage could do to brighten up my pics.
I love what he did with this picture (compare it to the original).
For me right now, however, I’m eschewing photoshop for my daily flowers. Why? Among the reasons: I don’t have a lot of time for ‘photoshopping’, I like the challenge of taking pics ‘just as they are’ (I don’t even crop them), and I’m sharing with you just what I saw (although I will admit that the colors are a bit less vibrant then they are in ‘real life.’)
When I was in SLC I met many people who enjoy my photos. Several asked me about my camera, lenses, etc. When I pulled out my teeny little Canon, more than one laughed a bit. Because it’s “not a real camera.” I even borrowed a ‘real camera’ from a friend for a few minutes to try my hand at some ‘real photography’ (thinking that someone beautiful would result). And it was so hard to use–too many bells and whistles and just too heavy to do what I do with mine.
I guess I’m trying to justify the fact that I am lowtech and lowbrow when it comes to photography. Or maybe I just like the instant gratification that comes from using a simple tool (my Canon) in my own simple way. I will probably never be a pro photographer. And I have little aspiration to become such. Because as soon as I become too preoccupied with my ‘technique,’ I lose the intimacy of my garden experience.
So for now it’s just me and my little Canon. Doing what we enjoy most as we spend time in our garden. :)
Hey, but ya’ll are always welcome to improve upon my humble efforts!
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morning glory
My big sis owns the home where my father grew up. It’s a thrill to wander around the backyard and to flashback to when grandma and grandpa lived there. The far rear of the back is especially memory-full. There is where grandpa kept his pigeon coop. And there are the remains of an old gate and a hodgepodge of fencing. I suspect it was originally a vegetable garden and was fenced to keep out the family dog. But who knows for sure?
This wee morning glories were climbing on the remnants of the old garden gate. I’m not much a fan of morning glory in my own garden, but seeing it in grandmas reminds me of sitting in the back porch late into the evening, eating watermelon with aunts & uncles & cousins, swinging on the clothesline, and playing lawn darts (always worried that one of the younger kids would get hit).
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early morning
While I was traveling in SLC, I often arose early in the morning to get to the Sunstone Symposium. I got my batteries charged by snapping photos before driving downtown. This was a pretty flower in my sister’s yard, shown here in the morning light.
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a little lechery for you…
Any moment now I will be downloading the gazillions of images off of my camera. But until then, here’s a little lechery for you [note: will be especially appreciated by those who share my hot-Asian-guy fetish].
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on my own
After a week of family togtherness (aka my family reunion), I’ll be on my own (sans John or the kiddoes) until Friday night. Not sure what sorts of adventures I will have, but I’m sure they will be good ones. [Note: I’ll be spending much of my time at the Sunstone Symposium, so it’s not like I’ll be _totally_ on my own…]
Today I ate cookies for breakfast. How’s that for a nice segue into some solotime??
