the weekend in photographs

 ok, the first two are not from the weekend but from wednesday.  but i was so disappointed in my shots last night that i threw them into the mix.  obviously i'm not a night photographer or have much more to learn.

 

saturday

sunday

catching up....

bits and pieces of the past few weeks as i haven't had time to play with these much.  hope you're having a great weekend.

southern salon

thank you all for the warm thoughts and wishes.  you know, you complain about life from time to time and then something shows you that moments are perfect.  last night was one of those.  i've had a rough week, nothing bad, but i felt worn around the edges.  and then, last night on a whim i called a friend for dinner.  turns out she had a rough week too.  so we had a great little dinner and a drink and then wandered over for coffee.  then my sister called and i was invited with her to another friend's home for a st. patrick's day meal.

though i had eaten, davina makes you welcome with generous platters of food and beer, and loads of interesting company.  i sat on the porch with the ambient traffic sounds in the background.  people filling plates and eating corned brisket, cabbage and carrots.  beautiful scents wafted from candles and incense being burned and the temperature was perfect.  and the conversation was....well perfect.  and for those moments in time - life was rather, well again, perfect.  what didn't matter was work, or worries, or even that my back has been killing me.  i sat talking to two law clerks - one from new york and one from nigeria by the way of california.  we talked about what they had seen of the south and we talked about what needs to be seen to truly experience the south.  it makes me wish for a southern salon (not the hair kind) where people gather, talk, share, and laugh. 

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today on my ipod - please come to boston (dave loggins), i'm like a bird (nellie furtado), romeo and juliet (dire straits), tupelo honey (van morrison), fallin' and flyin' (jeff bridges), stuck in a moment (u2), i wonder (chris isaak), tiny dancer (elton john), world spins madly on (the weepies), ode to billy joe (bobbie gentry)

obsessions -  rosemary mint shampoo, my ipod, writing, reading books by sarah addison allen, dogwood blossoms

quote of the day - "most of the shadows of this life are caused by our standing in our own sunshine" - ralph waldo emerson

today at lunch i read a story in oprah's magazine that moved me to tears.  i ate macaroni and cheese that was orange and buttery as the tears slipped silently down my cheeks and i wanted to reach through the veil of words to heal the author has i've healed my wounds over the years.  guilt is a terrible beast that nashes with sharp, stone-lined teeth and scars with steel bladed talons...and until we irrigate the poison out of our system, it lingers. 

i've been melancholy as i'm sure a lot of you have - watching helplessly a the tragedy in japan. sure we can send money and prayers and good wishes, but wanting to do so much more pulls at me.  along with the rain, the gray skies, the runaway menopause (i'm too young to feel this damn old), the time change, the...the...the...it seems too much you know?  just too much. 

and i know others are there too.  so, anyway - the people that responded to my pay it forward giveaway so far - i've lost track of who was in the top five and all that..so, you know what - you're all winners.  it may take me a while, but...i will send you something from my list.  if you want to do a pay it forward, then so be it - have fun with it.

there were also some that want to do a spring swap but i see that se'lah is doing one currently and i don't want to take away from hers.  so....let's not do that right now.  i will brainstorm and maybe we can do a early summer swap instead. 

i've been obsessed with pinterest lately.  i think it's a great marketing tool that you have to apply and they put you on the waiting list - it gives it that extra boost of desire or something.  so many pretty things and so little time.  look me up if you are on there so i can see what you love too.

today on my ipod - just the way you are (bruno mars), three more days (ray lamontagne), north dakota (lyle lovett), only the young (journey), will you love me tomorrow (carole king), life in the storm (edwin mccain), wonderwall (oasis), rainy day blues (willie nelson & jonny lang), love train (the o'jays), a thing called love (bonnie raitt)

wisdom

there is a kind of symmetry to life - the cyclical ups and downs that we all have - tied to time, tides, hormones or the whatever.  and as i pondered this weekend - what to write about - what inspired me creatively, or what caught my eye (besides my obsession with pinterest) i found myself backing away from the computer.  things i did find myself doing were reading - nay devouring - a new author's books (sarah addison allen), cooking and thinking about things to make a home.  that nesting syndrome that i seem to have in the spring - much like the birds i saw this weekend with twigs in their beaks. 

there was much acceptance work this weekend - some from unexpected places and some in finding out how a friend feels their feelings.  there is that acceptance of each other.  and in that i found this quote - well, almost tripped on it this morning ... "love and kindness are never wasted.  they always make a difference.  they bless the one who receives them and they bless you, the giver."  - barbara de angelis 

i added four new quotes to my quotes journal this week - all of them speak to me.  i've kept one of these for quite a while now.  when i'm restless or trying to make a decision, i turn to this journal to seek advice and think about what to do next.  there are so many wise people out there....but you know what, there also people just like me who are just trying to figure it all out...they too have wisdom to share.