rainy sundays

it was the kind of weekend where roast in crock pots and chili dogs on a sunday night feel so right. not much was accomplished but so much really was. i tried to get out and about today to shoot downtown but the rain was not very cooperative. but i thought you may enjoy a few of these.









and one sooc - just for georgia....

what feels like fall may be temporary

we've set record lows around here - the mornings are beautiful and i feel myself just wanting to sit under the tree and read. but i can't, i've been busy working on a small contract, being a carpool auntie and applying for more and more jobs (it seems some are finally opening back up *fingers crossed*.) before, i forget - a fellow "char" interviewed me for tell all tuesday. peek over there and tell me hi. (ps - check out her blog for the spectacular, gorgeous, insanely beautiful mural just completed in the bathroom. i so want one for mine!!)



i went back to the farm to try and take better pictures of the sunflowers but the wind was still blowing like crazy. but it was fun to see them lined up, greeting us and waving their pretty blonde heads. the honey bees were very happy to see them too.



cosmos were scattered around the property - looking like drunken ladies who have fallen on the way home. huge monarch butterflies along with some yellow beauties wove in and out of the flowers while bees droned from bloom to bloom. i wanted to investigate closer but my sister warned snakes have been sighted. nothing makes me scream more like a silly girl than snakes. even when they're not poisonous. silly. scream. very silly.

scattered, smothered and covered

no, not hash browns from waffle house...(though they sound rather tasty) today i listened to a lot of radio as i drove to and from birmingham. i went today to take a 'personality' test - my friends and i have been laughing saying they were going to see if i have one. (ha) but it was an interesting test - not unlike others i've taken in the past. the tests always try and validate your answers over and over so it will be interesting to see what strengths and weaknesses are displayed once my results are in.

as always, part of the test asked me to describe me as my friends see me, as i see me and as an employer sees me. always interesting yes? then i read the always lovely susannah's blog and it made me think too. our friends love us despite our flaws, often the love we feel for ourselves is conditional and sometimes spotty or discounted, and then well, few employers really love 'us' but instead love the work that we do. so, the images that came to me were varied as i struggled to answer the question.

then, susannah posed the question - would you love you if you met you? of course, i think most people would answer that question yes. right? and if yes is the answer - then i ask the question, if we like ourselves (or even love ourselves) then why sometimes do we hesitate to treat ourselves better or not forgive ourselves? and i have read your blogs so, i know okay? so, be real.

the other question i have - do you have a different work personality than you do 'home' personality? of course there are professional limitations - we can't be all crazy...but, at work i can be pretty driven and sometimes aloof when i'm crunching on a project. totally opposite of my home personality when i'm laid back and chatty. just stuff running through my brain.

but...the most fun i had to day was going to the gardens - oh how i missed them. today it was hot as hades and humid. (typical southern weather - hot, steamy and sometimes stormy) as i walked into one of favorite sections of the gardens (the reflecting pool) i absolutely gasped. i had forgotten how gorgeous the water lilies an be and this year, they are even more glorious than last year. so i went sort of crazy...snapping that is. here are a few edited so far...







and in case lilies are not your thing...

here and there

i have a few appearances slated on other blogs: melissa loves, under the sheets and french cupboard.

the first one is today, i'm the bag lady of the day at melissa loves. you know i've played that game before with my old bag...now i'm splashing around my pretty summery yellow bag there.

as it stands right now, i'm going to be on under the sheets next weekend and the guest appearance at french cupboard is tba. (it will include a giveaway!)

also, I should have mentioned already - i participated in dani's the power of two project recently. it was a great honor to be chosen to participate and i gave my two dollars (and wrote about it here) to tangobaby's project to find shelter for a mother and her children. if you have some spare change, consider that project or any of the others written about in this blog. we always think, i have nothing to give (believe me, being unemployed i'm watching every dollar) but, you will have an incrediable feeling giving to a truly wonderful cause. just think, two dollars can buy a homeless person lunch, it could contribute to a teacher's classroom, you could help save a tiger...the possibilities are endless. it's not about doing it all yourself - it's about participating in the world around us.

The QC Report

for those that don't know - the qc report is authored by quinn cummings and it's one of the funniest blogs out there. if the name sounds familiar, she is the actor that played lucy in the movie 'the good-bye girl' (one of my favorite movies - i can still watch it today).

quinn has a new book coming out (notes from the underwire) and as part of her book tour, 'all you can blab blog book tour', she is answering questions from bloggers (she even answered mine!).

check her out - the stories regarding lu-pac and cat rescues crack me up.

new projects

tomorrow i go where i haven't gone in quite a while . . . a needle project. *nervous laugh* i have friends that quilt and have fancy sewing machines. did i confess yet that my mom's best friend 'rescued' my ninth grade home ec fashion show entry so i didn't embarrass myself? yeah. she did. i'm hopeless with sewing machines. oh yes, i was the cross stitch demon back in the day - until i burned myself out. and i needle pointed a pillow while mom was sick - haven't been able to pick it back up. and when i was very young, my grandmother taught me how to embroider on pillow cases and table runners (oh to have those back).

oops - sorry, i'm giving myself a pep talk. i'm joining modern day pioneers' quilting project tomorrow. i know dani is joining in too - any other takers?

because i don't have a machine, she has suggested that i use felt to make handstitching a bit easier. i've picked brown and two shades of blue (to go in my bedroom). keep your fingers crossed for me. i promise to document my progress as i go along.

also, i joined another project - artful penpals. this project, headed by shelagh to bring back the art of letter writing. i mailed off my letter to sara (my penpal) yesterday! shelagh also has a bright and fun etsy shop if you want to check her out.

i feel all crafty today.

i'm home

and have 400+ shots, mostly of the girls (surprise, surprise). the heat index was triple digits (110 today) so, i did not spend much time out on the sand. but... i'm excited about a few shots. more to share over the weekend.

and...it looks like i have a lot of blogs to catch up with and people to see. can't wait until i see what you all have been doing.

insert smilie face here

i got errands half-way done, i think that's a good compromise. i even read cassaundra's blog and decided to do the tag where i write six things that make me happy.

photography
don't everyone get all surprised at once yo...yes, photography makes me insanely happy. it was an old friend that i dumped after the sadie hawkins dance in high school and shamelessly picked back up in 2007. i bought her a fancy case and she caved after a few rounds of i'm sorry and a plethra of flowers, trips and a few good looking guys. today was one of those days - you know if you have photography as a hobby - the kind of day where you take a shot and your heart beats a little faster in your chest and you want to race home to download the shots just to see how "that" one looks. more later about the drive along seven bridges road...but here's my favorite sneak peek.


please excuse the softness - this was fully telescoped out to 300mm on a tamron lens (which leans towards softness anyway) with winds gusting to 10-15 mph and it was handheld. i love it anyway.

my family
i'm a goof ball about my family. i'm lucky that way. i know there are people that are not and it makes me sad. really sad. my siblings and i know each other well - all of our faults, flaws, bits and bumps...as well as the wonderful things about each other. it's perfect. plus i have insanely beautiful nieces and nephews. seriously.


I don't lie.

stupid television
reality television - it's soooooo stupid and ridiculous that i love it sometimes. yes, it's rotting my brain (as dennis leary says) and no, it has no socially redeeming features (except maybe how not to act) ... but i grew to love taylor over her short sojourn on tough love and though i haven't voted on american idol, i dig the song stylings of adam lambert. mostly, it's background noise most of the time....but i can live with that (but don't call me during 'the big bang theory' or 'how i met your mom').

music
i've loved music i think since i could form words - some of my most early memories are of music and i can remember very early going to see elvis at the garrett coliseum. though at the time i was in love with paul, i could see what my mom saw in that dark and mystery hip shaker. i remember my ex-husband singing to me in the kitchen while i cooked dinner and weeping copiously to 'i can't make you love me' after the divorce. there are songs that i can't listen to without crying ('amazing grace' and 'wonderful world') and there are my anger songs (yes julie, alanis). but mostly, there is music to anchor my life. my current soundtrack includes...
:: you don't miss your water - otis redding
:: sea breeze - tyrone wells
:: sara - fleetwood mac
:: just my imagination - pete yorn cover
:: georgia on my mind - ray charles
:: push - rob thomas acoustic cover
:: shelter from the storm - bob dylan
:: moon river - patty griffin cover
:: turpentine - brandi carlile
:: solitary man - chris isaak cover
:: northern sky - nick drake
:: the galway girl - sharon shannon
:: someone like you - van morrison
:: into the mystic - van morrison
:: world spins madly on - the weepies
:: i don't know - lisa hannigan

fresh flowers
it doesn't matter if it is wild flowers, grocery store flowers or the florist. i'm crazy about having fresh flowers on my desk. there is something so hopeful about flowers and they always make me smile. well, except for that nasty instance recently with finding aphids all over my soda - they hatched from the queen anne's lace and window warmth and plotted a takeover of my studio. lesson learned about bringing wildflowers inside.


sure - they look all innocent here...but, the aliens were plentiful and fast.

candles
i love candles but it can't be perfume-y candles or crud that makes my head hurt. it has to be lightly scented and natural smelling. so, that usually means some variation of either vanilla or citrus....and occasionally coffee. living in an older house with a full basement and three animals makes candles necessary but moreover, they make me smile. they're warm and inviting. monday nights nights is my cooking night and my sister and her two boys come over to eat and watch television. after shopping for dinner and cooking, lighting the candles just seems like home. even if it's a simple meal like pizza this week.

those are my happy...anyone else feel like sharing happy?

a weekend

boy, i take one day off from reading blogs and looking at pretty pictures and you all go crazy insane. it has taken almost all day to catch up...good thing i decided to be fairly lazy today. it's been a good weekend - mostly quiet though my sister ran me ragged yesterday. we did a bit of this...



and that...



(my sister is the property manager)

and then after those, we did a bit of this...

and I got that



in lemondrop, not sour apple.

we went here and there (her store, not my taste really)

we went out and about....and all around.

after...we went to see wolverine. though it's not the best movie ever...it was exactly what i expected it to be (it is based on a comic book after all). everyone was happy.










today it was sunny



then it was rainy









it was hot (well, warm) because the air conditioner broke...but now it's cool again. life is ups and downs...hope your downs lead to soft landings and your ups are as fun and as exciting as happiest moment.

pop culture anthropology

I avidly follow photographers that I admire on their blogs. Today, Susannah at Ink on My Fingers followed the example of a fellow photographer and posted a shot of "what's in your bag." Now I know, this is not a new concept but since my cold is lingering and I haven't been out today - I thought I would play along. Besides, I needed an excuse to clean out my bag. *grin* You know you will do that too - clean out your pockets or bag before you photograph them. Otherwise you would know that I'm horrible about keeping tons of receipts on my bag and then I curse when I can't find my cell phone in the bottom of my bag (even though there are 4 pockets on the sides where it would make perfect sense to put the damn thing...but that's too easy).



So, you will find (from left top to bottom):

** Sony Cybershot & photocards (I rarely use it so it's not charged)
** Cell phone - I never put it in the side pockets so I'm always cursing when it rings.
** Change - I never put change back in my wallet so there is always loose change in the bottom of my bag. And I wonder why I can never find anything.
** Sad, sad, sad worn out wallet from Urban Outfitters. I got this bright idea that I would use this instead of my heavy fancy wallet. Not good, it doesn't hold much and the latch sprang after I ran over it with my desk chair.
** Mom's bracelet that I wore to church on Sunday. I need to put it back in the jewelry box.
** Flash drive to take to the print shop so I can get some printing done.
** Make-up - just the essentials: powder, gloss and lipstick.
** Nail polish - OPI Dulce De Leche (my favorite shade)
** Car and House keys - red leather heart that I had forever and a silver medallion that says "home" given to me at Christmas. I'll cherish that forever as it was very meaningful to me.
** Sunglasses and reading glasses
** Assorted pens - I love funky colored pens
** Lens cloth

What's in your pocket or wallet?