Friday, August 10, 2012

5 MORE FUN FACTS ON FRIDAY



It's time again (already?) to share 5 fun facts--or facts that may or may not be fun. You be the judge.



1.  If there is a bench around, I probably will take at least one photo of it. Don't ask me why, I may not like the answer.

  2. I love the artist Andy Goldsworthy. Inspirational, endlessly playful and creative, uses only natural materials.  



3. A walk in the woods is full of wonder and peace.



4. This orginal peace that I created earlier this year is over my computer screen. It reminds me of what is important in life to me. 





 5. I like to get away from the obvious. This shot, taken from the window of my 1st studio, was taken because I noticed all the "reds."  Also appreciated the fire escape cutting across the shot.


5 freaky funny facts for Friday! Any facts you want to share?






Thursday, August 9, 2012

UNPLANNED ROUTINES

My imagination tells me to rise at 5:30 every morning for a little yoga, journaling, inspirational reading and prayer before I walk, hike or go to the gym.  Coffee or tea isn't necessary, mostly I'm a water drinker, but I would have to get up at 4:30 am to get all that done!

When I think of "routine," my initial reaction is "boring."  But experience tells me "soothing" is a more appropriate description.  Like the steps in this photo, routine is something planned and expected. The steps are a measured distance apart. Your brain begins to know how high to lift your foot so you don't stumble.  

Sometimes I think I'm more like the graffiti--controlled yet unexpected, spontaneous with the potential to be messy.

So my routines aren't usually at the same times every day, but they are woven through my life to help me focus.



Here are some things I do regularly that a younger person would probably call "routine AND boring."

* Schedule gym time 3 days a week.

* Stretch some part of my body every day. I also am having "a thing" with my foam roller which I recommend to everyone who has an ache.

* Pray in some way as much as possible. More some days than others.

* Attempt an attitude of gratitude.

* I've got to include check email in there someplace. It's never a planned time, but I'm thinking I check it too often.

* Call my mother daily, listen, try not to give advice,  and always say "I love you."

* Check my calendar in the evening to see what preparation I need to make for the following day.

* Apply lip balm before I go to bed. I know--weird.


What's your routine?













Wednesday, August 8, 2012

TOUCHED BY TEXTURE

Love, love, love--did I say "love" texture! I leave my fingerprints in every store I enter because I'm a tactile kind of gal who needs to touch with my eyes and my hands.

So when thinking about texture today as a word prompt from Shutter Sisters, my mind buzzed all over the place. I was tempted to add a texture layer (or two) to a photo, but refrained. As much as I like to do that repeatedly, I decided to take one photo and consider the textures.

And as I studied this shot, I was taken back to the "feel" of the day--the cooperative clumpy clouds, the wet sand, the water coming into my boots and changing the texture inside them! There's more--the texture of the poles, the barnacles on the poles, even the water in this photo has differing textures due to the slower shutter speed.

This exercise helped me to think about texture in a different way--normally texture is something I can both see and feel.  In this case, it was all eyes and the memory of the experience.

Do you love texture too?  

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

SEEING THE MUSIC

It isn't a far stretch for me to imagine movement when I think of music.   A favorite song has the ability to make us dance in front of others, to drum our fingers against the steering wheel--we even bob our heads to the beat.

We hear it, we feel it, we have our personal tastes and understanding of what music is and what it means to us.

I thought of architecture (surprise!) when I considered the transformational power of music. Just like this incredible walking bridge, our emotions can start at one place in the song and end at another.



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And of course there is rhythm. The beat of the drums and the bass guitar are the very reasons we are prone to head bobbing.









Music is mysterious. We don't always understand why we like a particular song, but that music can churn up specific memories decades later when we can remember what we were wearing, the time of day and of course, the person we were with.

This same mystery can be applied to the beauty of chants echoing through the stone walls of this cathedral destroyed during the reign of King Henry VIII. 

Music is a powerful media--filled with love, longing, power and emotion.

I can't say I have favorites, but I do love the big bands, the 50's, 60's and 70's. Keep it country for today's music mixed in with some spiritual music.  And I can't forget the old hymns that take me back to my grandmother's country church.  

Do you have favorites or music memories to share?












Monday, August 6, 2012

SEEING RED

Do you see red? Or perhaps I should ask, how do you see red?

Seeing RED typically means anger or the image of a bull charging at a red cape despite the danger he incurs every time he faces it. Thankfully, today's Shutter Sisters challenge was to see red in our lives and elevate it.

With the Olympic fever still in full swing, I again thought of England with the red double-decker buses and the red telephone booths. But following a less obvious path, I found red mixed with the graphics or patterns I so dearly love.



This was taken at Oxford University. I love the windows and the texture on the bricks. Imagine the view looking out of those windows.

 In this case the red isn't shouting "look at me". Taking the photo, it wasn't as much about the color as the pattern of this gorgeous ceiling at Oxford.
I was thinking it would make a great PhotoShop brush which I haven't bothered to create yet.

After I chose the photos for this post, I realized both included flowers--well sort of.

This was an interesting exercise for me because my response to the challenge changed by the second. First, seeing red was about tomatoes in the garden, or some red-flowered vines in our backyard, then a bus and a phone booth and finally to a muted red in a patterned ceiling. I'm glad I waited for my mind to slow down and just let it discover.

When you think red, where does your mind go?




Friday, August 3, 2012

5 Fact Friday
























In the interest of fun and sharing, I'm participating in a 5 Fact Friday hook-up at Reflections of You. Today is double inspriration day because at Shutter Sisters the one word prompt was "cameras."

Hence the photo! The Spartus was a clean out the foot locker moment with my in-laws years ago. The Canon AE-1 was my first SLR that was purchased in  Oklahoma where my husband was stationed. And the other camera---don't have a clue where I got that one. I have others--a couple I should try to sell. They aren't valuable, I just appreciate what they represent.


FUN FACTS

1. Surprise! I like old cameras! I'm not a collector, I just love thinking of the memories they hold.

2. There always is a stack of books next to the bed and on my Kindle. Just started: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society; also A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson. There's more, but I don't want to bore you.

3. Going to lunch with my bestfriend on Friday is a favorite thing. We try new restaurants, we talk, we laugh.

4.  I'm seriously considering an "organize my life" month.

5. It would not bother me if I never tasted beer again. But don't take my wine glass until I'm finished! Where's the chocolate?










Thursday, August 2, 2012

A FAVORITE SPACE

 

My backyard is a place of comfort, connection and meditation for me. Most of the area is shade so we relish our sunny spots to encourage herbs and flowers to grow at this time of year. The shade is reserved for hostas we try to protect from the deer, ferns, a lovely hammock made for lazy Sunday afternoons plus a meditation spiral (my little Stonehenge) created amongst the brown leaves.



This space gives me peace even when I'm not physically in it. Just looking at it from the kitchen window reminds to slow down and enjoy the gift.

"A Favorite Space" was today's prompt offered by Shutter Sisters. Do you have a favorite space you would like to share?

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Dying Light


This evening I received yet another lesson in looking for the light and how fast that light can fade.

Walking into the bathroom, I saw a glow in the shower stall I had never seen and thought, "Wow, I should use that for a photo." This light was coming between the trees in the backyard as the sun was setting, through our bedroom window, into the bathroom to reflect off the mirror and onto the shower door which in turn created a glow on the floor. No wonder I had never seen it! How often does that happen? Unfortunately, by the time I grabbed the flowers (which I kept because I wanted to capture the wilted look) and my camera, the light was gone. The sun had moved and the magic moment had disappeared with it. 

It seemed like a "circle of life" moment--dying light, dying flowers, my disappointment. But I rallied a bit--afterall, I had the flowers and the camera. So before I sent them to the trash, I captured their last moments of sharing their yellow light with me and said a "thank you" for their gift of beauty in my life.