sisters

oh my...such smiles.  my heart is so full of their love.  the little one randomly looks at me and says 'i like you'....  (cue the melting heart)  of course she also is the one that stood in the middle of the kitchen and poured out a can of sprite with the excuse 'i just do it'  *sigh*  the older one is a bit bossy and sassy but, those eyes can make you hear angels singing in their innocence. 

pictures like this make my uterus ache.  they do.  of course mopping the sprite, settling arguments over whose bear it is, and endless sessions of icarly are a decent cure for that.  (most days anyway)

fall appears to have come to montgomery and though it's not quite to the crispy point that i associate with it, i'm so grateful for the cooler weather that i will do a happy dance.

i'm also happy that the oven is now fixed - my cooking has been rather limited based on what could be cooked either on stovetop, in crockpot or by george foreman.  i've also used a toaster oven but that is such an energy vampire that i hesitate to use it regularly.

i have this "thing" for trees - especially barren trees - stripped of their leaves or trees laden with lacey, flowy, gorgeous spanish moss...or oak trees.  and as i typed this, i checked the spelling for dryad and found they were particularly the nymph for oak trees (but have come to mean tree nymphs for all types of trees)  rather synchronistic i think.

as i think of trees - i think of all the things that have happened and why they have "witnessed".  the oak tree in our front year appears to be several decades old and is quite beautiful and strong.  i wonder if others sat under it and wondered.  i love its weathered bark and long branches and it's so tall that when i stand under it, i cannot see the top.  it is exactly the tree i would want to be...i think.  until i see a gingko in the fall - the gorgeous and bold yellow leaves.  trees....i wonder what jung or freud would say about that attachment of mine?

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today on my ipod -  jesters dreamers & thieves (edwin mccain), let him fly (patty griffin), your body is a wonderland (john mayer), band of gold (freda payne), suddenly i see (k. t. tunstall), doctor my eyes (jackson browne), knockin' on heaven's door (eric clapton), allison road (the gin blossoms), arms of a woman (amos lee)

botanical

i was convinced there wouldn't be much color left - the drought has taken its toll on the flowers and grass this summer.  but as always, the gardens are a haven of beauty.  as beautiful today as they were years ago and will still be in years to come.  i tried to imagine how they looked years ago through the eyes of film... in our digital age.

i found myself with an hour to spare friday on my way home after a speaking engagement.  me and my trusty 50mm....and the gardens.  i was hot and sticky...but an oasis of beauty.  i wish i had taken a photograph of the couple that stopped and asked me to take their picture - they were young and in love..... and taking pictures in the gardens while all dressed up.  i wondered if they had just eloped and were sending home photos to their families..... 

happy birthday sis

xo

slip sliding away

i meant to write on world peace day - but time slipped away from me.  but i wished you peace and love and understanding.  i wished away disparities and instead wished for togetherness and harmony. 

then i meant to write about the first day of fall and i got into my jeep.  the temperature read 123 degrees and i was afraid that even my thoughts about sweaters, pumpkins, and mums would melt and leak out the car door onto the pavement.  and then that puddle may seep down through the cracks and disappear.  so i tucked them in a corner to come later...later...later when sister sol perhaps takes a few steps back and allows sister northern wind to play amongst the branches.

then i wanted to write about the bright yellow moon i saw last night who was wearing jupiter as a shiny diamond pendant hanging from her brilliant halo.  i wanted to write about all of that...but time slipped away from me.  i'm not sure why really - it seemed that one minute it was 5:00 and suddenly it was hours later and i couldn't hold my poor eyes open.  and i shuffled off to dreamland. 

so happy world peace day - even if it's two days late. 

happy autumn - i pray that relief comes soon from the heat and the drought.  .

and happy full moon - full of wonder and beauty and mystery.   

and happy today - i hope we all find something new to celebrate.  like another day of living and another opportunity to do something good with (good lord i sound like a bad genesis song don't i?) well, you know how that all goes.  and if you're into such - hooters is having a pirate night tonight - you can meet my brother there to celebrate...well, the female anatomy (if you're so inclined). 

calloway gardens

opinions matter

this weekend i joined a new camera club in the area and went on my first outing with them.  we had a good time at calloway gardens (near columbus, georgia.  the butterflies were bountiful (1,500+) but the temperature was soaring at almost 100 degrees.  as i wandered through parts of the garden, the leaves are changing fast - not from a drop in temperature but the heat coupled with little or no rain is going to make it a rapid fall. 

the remaining weekend was spent doing such glamourous things as washing clothes, washing dishes, and the whatnot of household doings. 

being a member of the new club, i can display some black and white photography at a local gallery.  i'm thinking of this shot and maybe the shot of the approaching thunderstorm.  think this one is good enough for display?  it's one of my favorites.

it's friday and i love a list

favorite singers:

1. lyle lovett - say what you will about his looks, the man can sing.  i heart him.
2.  patty griffin - i adore her
3.  bono - best voice ever...no, but his phrasing and tone tug at my heart.
4. angie aparo - not everyone's cup of tea...but the man can wail.
5.  etta james - 'nuff said.
6.  edwin mccain - so what that he hasn't wrote a decent song in a while.  his voice has power and conviction.  (though i was rather swoony about him at one time)
7.  rob thomas - not so much his later stuff....but if you listen to matchbox's early stuff - whoa.
8.  billy joe armstrong - though i tend to wonder about guys that wear more eyeliner than me...
9.  daris rucker - again, not the best voice in the business but, there is something about his voice that i love.
10.  shirley manson - yes...i miss her voice around the radio these days

imagination

i admit it...i would rather snack instead of sitting for the biggest most decadent meal.  give me small plates and i'm in heaven.

tonight i was alone in the house. a bit of brie, a baguette, a pear, and some yummy raspberry walnut topping and i was in heaven.  maybe if i squinted just a bit i could imagine a lovely little bistro someplace historic, mysterious away from the daily grind.

today i would wear big glasses and a fedora as i nibble on my feast.  watching the world go by at my table tucked away in the corner.  or perhaps i could feed my lov-ah slivers of pear whist he was working on some corporate merger on his laptop ....or while he closed his laptop to focus solely on me.

oh the imagination that i have as i sit and nibble...watching the golden light fade to pink and lavender.

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today on my ipod - i don't know (lisa hannigan), rise up (diane birch), it's probably me (sting), broken (peter searcy), what i am (edie brickell), romeo & juliet (mark knofler), i am (train)

i would love to have exciting news of my weekend...but here is the very sad truth.  i spent most of it sleeping on the sofa with two handsome boys and one beautiful girl.  too bad they were of the fur children variety or my weekend might have been a bit more... say... stimulating?  hmmmm
i babysat for three adorable dogs - a jack russell (jake), a corgi (lil' man), and an 8-month-old german shepherd (hera).  all were adorable and sweet.

most of the weekend was spent catching up with sleep as i've been in some intense mouth pain over the two weeks - due to the root canal and another issue that has popped up due to my (previously unnoticed) clenching of my jaw while i sleep.  it seems it's been causing headaches and intense pressure on my back molars that have developed into pain!  anyway - it seems to be better now and we are looking at what has to be done to correct that.  ugh.  have i mentioned i have an intense fear of the dentist?  i do - it stems from childhood and a very bad dentist that didn't use numbing swabs...(think steve martin in 'little shop of horrors)

i have some catching up to do...

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today on my ipod - mrs. potters lullaby (the counting crows), the way you move (lucinda williams), drive (the cars), cigarettes and chocolate milk (rufus wainwright), interstate love song (stone temple pilots), three more days (ray lamontagne), bruce springsteen (brilliant disguise), ice cream (sarah mclachlan)

the wayback machine

kudos to anyone that knows where the title of this entry originated....alternate title:  my dad was a dude.

this is my dad and his youngest brother, circa late 1960's to early 1970's.  if anyone remembers me telling about his skiing up the slope of the slew, this is the swimsuit he was wearing that day.  he's holding scott (a cousin) who apparently was unhappy about the tightness of the trunks.  please note my dad is wearing shoes - now i know where my baby brother's always wearing shoes thing comes from.  the yellow lifevest is being rocked by bruce (another cousin) and i'm not sure who is standing beside bruce - it's not me...but there is not enough face to tell who it is.

yesterday was my dad's birthday - it's hard to realize how very young he is in this photograph.  isn't that weird to realize about our parents when we see them frozen in time?  look how much fashion has changed - short trunks/tight trunks, his hair, the lifevests...even his loafers.

so many good times on the shores of this lake - so many good times.

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today on my ipod (daddy special) - the house of the rising sun (the animals), we will rock you (queen), walk, don't run (the ventures), jambalaya (hank williams sr.), delta dawn (tanya tucker), 

liberation

some of you may read ann marie... some may not.  she's one of my daily reads but her post today hit me right between the eyes.  you know of my love of lists.  one of the tasks she completed this weekend in organizing her life was a "liberating list."  this list consisted of things she decided that she did not need to clutter her life.  KER-POW!!  bulleye right?

what could you release right now - what has weighed you down with false guilt, false pressure and other myriad (have you noticed that is a favorite word for me?) things that we put upon ourselves.  let's do it right now - hit me with it.  what will you give up that will "liberate" you today? 

me? you will notice that most of mine deal with larger things rather that small...but it's a good start.

• the presure that i've put on myself about my photography - seriously - i think that is part of why i haven't shot a lot lately is because i have put serious parameters on myself about not repeating the same old themes, copying other ideas, or coming up with completely new ideas.
• false guilt about so many things that were beyond my control.  for example - still, after all of these years i've carried the guilt of living away while my parents were sick.  i know i've talked about it before - and intellectually i know that both parents understood my job and the whatevers ... but .... but... (and i know there is nothing that would have changed anything if i did live here during that time.)
• the pressure to be crafty-er ... and all the things that i want to do ... i just don't always have the time to do.  i will no longer buy craft projects that remain half-done and resolve to finish projects, no matter how long they take, i will not buy new craft stuff.  this applies to the stockings i didn't finish last year and the new journals i want to make.  (this one will be hard)
• i will remind myself that i am human and that i make mistakes.  not to use this as an excuse but to use this as a reminder when i put too much pressure - so much pressure that i become paralyzed into wrong decisions, no decisions or sloppy decisions. 

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today on my ipod - sleeping to dream (jason mraz), hideaway (the weepies), sweet caroline (neil diamond), hard to handle (the black crows), only the young (journey), you get what you give (the new radicals), lie to me (jonny lang), blue car (greg brown), through the floor (edwin mccain), fire and rain (james taylor)

holiday...celebrate...if we took a ....

 it was one of those perfect kind of weekends - perfect weather, perfect company, perfect relaxation.  if only i had not spilled that can of pringles....oh wait.

i house sat for a good friend of mine - she has this darling little house with a small little pool - just the right size for one.  but, before getting there - i shopped with my girls, we ate wonderful food (italian + southern = yum) and tried to go to a new dessert place (they were closing as we got there).  but alas the holiday worked against us on the dessert but i got my fill of my favorite babycakes. i got the most wonderful painting that i can't wait to hang.

sunday was spent entirely by the pool where i lounged reading and not even breaking a sweat.  because yes....yes, indeed - the heat wave broke - giving us highs in the 80s and lows in the high 50s.  perfection.  warm enough still to swim but knowing the promise of autumn is coming. 

i drove around a bit - getting back in touch with my old town.  missing some places that closed - like my favorite jewelry store and finding new places.

ps - who can't fall in love with these wee little hens and chicks?

today on my ipod - i don't want to be (gavin degraw), blurry (puddle of mudd), falling in love at a coffee shop (landon pigg), everyday (dave matthews band), heaven (los lonely boys), everyday i write the book (elvis costello), scarlet begonias (the grateful dead), the way it is (bruce hornsby)

and...who doesn't love bonus butterflies?

it's friday and i love a list

ok - so by now i thought i would have a plan for our book together.  i was inspired by a design i saw and this is what i think - i want to find a recipe card like jpg that everyone can edit with either their favorite recipe, tip, quote or whatever and then everyone can build their page around that card.  what do you all think?  then what we can do then is i will receive all the jpgs and then group them into some type of order and make an index/table of contents and then "covers".  we could then publish it as a series jpgs or pdfs (i don't know which will work best for everyone yet).

i think it will be artistic, fun and a wonderful experience for all comers.  we could work together with a thought to having it done around the holiday season in december.  a gift for us?  *smile*

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now....for a list:  happy thoughts

• as i approach labor day, i am grateful for a job and a job that challenges me and makes me proud of the work that we're doing.  being without a job the previous year reminds me that it all can slip away very quickly, so i'm deeply grateful.
• tomorrow i will see the boys to school for my sister while she handles a work issue - though they will be a bit grumpy, i will be happy to see them.
• i miss my girls...but they've been at disney world and i can't wait to hear how much fun they had while seeing cinderella.
• grilled cheese for lunch
• listening to my ipod while working
• a long weekend by the pool
• shopping with girlfriends
• pretty nails
• new recipes to try
• ruby red grapefruit juice
• jeans on a friday
• rice crispy treats

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today on my ipod - all i want is you (u2), which way does that old pony run? (lyle lovett), crazy love (van morrison), champagne high (sister hazel), walking in memphis (marc cohn), if you could only see (tonic), lovers cross (jim croce), come monday (jimmy buffet), say you love me (fleetwood mac), you found me (the fray), day is done (nick drake), your song (elton john)