Walkabout

My assignment for today was to go on a photography walk and use different perspectives. So I journeyed out in the 92 degree heat to find a spot that was different than the ones that I usually take photos at. I live in a very, very, small town and there is not a lot of photogenic items. I know that a good photographer can find shots anywhere, but it does help to have some interesting things to photograph.
So I looked down..hmmm..sandals, not very interesting. I looked up. Boring.
Nice tree. But well, not that great a shot.

This was a nice perspective but totally boring and static.
  WAIT, WHAT IS THIS?
This could be interesting.

It’s animals waiting for riders.
 
If only, wait a minute.














Now there is an interesting shot!

1962 OWLS

Putting yourself out there

Is there anyone who doesn’t look at their own photo and say, “Is that what I really look like?” It’s hard (unless you have extreme confidence and self esteem and look like a movie star) to see yourself without being critical. The course that I’m taking encourages us to be ourselves including putting yourself out there on the web for all to see. I blog therefore the inner workings of my mind are on display, but few actual photos of just me. So today I take the brave step of putting a little gif (small moving photos) in my blog. It’s about time I made peace with the way I look and accept that this me with all my flaws. That’s what makes me unique.

Are you hot, hot, hot?

The temperature is pushing 90 and everyone in Bradford is laying low and staying as cool as possible. In our little town very few houses have air conditioning so we are lucky to have a room air conditioner which cools off our sunroom as well as one for the back bedroom too. Today was spent watching movies since it was really too hot to be outside working. I watched New Year’s Eve, an ensemble cast of well known actors telling the best sappy story ever of New Year’s Eve in NYC.
Don is watching Red Tails, the story of the Tuskegee Airmen with Cuba Gooding, Jr.

It’s a great day to be forced into to do absolutely nothing.

A New Sun

“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future.  The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure.  The joy of life comes form our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun”. 

Into the Wild

Do you have an adventurous spirit? Or are you one who just loves the status quo? I think I lean to be the former but not to the extreme. I like new experiences, going somewhere you’ve never been before, seeing new things, trying out different ideas. I think that’s why I love to travel so much. It opens the eyes. But after being away for a week I long to be back in my comfort zone, content and secure. That’s what vacations are for. What was your favorite vacation? Why do you think you enjoyed so much?

The Office

The office has to be the fastest project that has ever gotten done around here. Just three weeks from start to finish.
I was lucky to find the exact desk/hutch that I wanted at HQ Home in Erie. I liked it so much that I bought the companion bookcase and file table.

The dresser that I had painted goes so nicely with the newer furniture.
I hope you noticed the custom made slipcover for my office chair. My sister Linda made it for me when she was here.


The only thing new besides the furniture is the Amaryllis poster and the silver desk lamp.
 
Now it’s ready for my tea and my blogging.

What fun!

We always have great fun when my son and grandsons come to visit!




Yesterday we took the boat out on the waters of the Kinzua Dam. Dan and Sadie went tubing.










Then Scott, Dan, and Sadie went for a little swim. We took a picnic lunch and ate on the shore. Food always tastes better when eaten by the water.








It was a great time.

A CELEBRATION OF FLOWERS

An Unusual Souvenir

Out in blogland some bloggers do Storytelling Sunday where they relate stories. They also suggest topics and today’s was “an unusual souvenir” That brought a story to mind.
   A while ago I had a chance to go to Provence, France with my friend Yrsa. Her cousin and boyfriend met us there and drove us all around from Nice to Monaco and all around  Provence. It was a wonderful experience and driving like that enabled us to see many sights that regular tourists would never know. We went out in the country and saw small villages and also visited larger cities. The pace was slow and we could take our time to really enjoy ourselves and immerse ourselves in the culture.
   One day we were in a small town shopping. Yrsa’s cousin and her boyfriend took a blanket and headed for the nearest park to relax while Yrsa and I explored the little shops. When we walked back to the park I noticed the plane trees that lined a large walkway in the park. On the ground was a leaf. Just a simple leaf. But to me it signified all that was right with people in European countries. They know how to stop and enjoy the moment. There is no hustle and bustle and hurry up the way it is here. Every moment is lived in the present. I got to participate in that for the week that I was there. I enjoyed it so much that when I got back to the states I didn’t want to come down from that peaceful high I’d been experiencing. I couldn’t turn on the tv or even listen to music on the radio. I had had silence. Blissful silence for a whole week and my mind was rested. For a solid week I avoided loudness. But eventually the world intruded as it always does and I was back to what we call normal here.
  But I brought home that leaf. And some other souvenirs like menus and papers in French. I glued them on paper and then added them to the bottom of a glass tray which is hanging in my bedroom. It is a reminder of a quieter time. And when I see that leaf I think of a way to enjoy life by appreciating the small things.
 

Squirrel with a Genius IQ

Sadie is a hunter. She can’t help herself for that is what she was bred for. Her favorite thing to do is sit on the back of the couch looking out into the back yard to see chipmunks and squirrels. When she spies one she leaps down and runs outside if the door is open. If it isn’t she begs us to open it for her and off she goes hoping that she can catch a critter inside the fence.


But today she met her match.
Mr. Squirrel knew Sadie’s limits and hovered just outside the fence calmly eating seeds and frustrating Sadie.



Then up the tree he went only to scamper back down and tease Sadie unmercifully.

And who says animals aren’t smart?
 

AMAZING EVENT IN POZNAN (POLAND) night lanterns noc lampionów

Once in awhile you come across something so beautiful on the web that you just have to share it on your blog. This solstice celebration in Poland with night lanterns is amazing. Please enjoy.

Instant Pictures

I really know I am getting old now. Technology is zooming right by me with its Ipads and digital devices. I remember when Polaroid came out with it’s very first instamatic camera. It was the latest thing. You could take a picture and it immediately developed and popped out in you hand. What a delight to see your picture right away instead of sending the film off when the roll was full and then waiting a week for it to be developed. How I laugh at that now.
    This week my Beyond Layers class taught me how to simulate a Polaroid snapshot. Here are two of my pictures.

Pictures from Tennessee

  

Ryan sent me this picture of Sara and Sean today.