Just Another Flower Photo

Here's a little something to brighten my life on another dark and soaking wet day.

Hard to believe I took this photo just a month ago ... where it was warm and sunny outside in California.

It's All in the Details

Gilt mirror frame

California Waterway

Autumn glory on the Sacramento River

[click for larger image]

Another in my series of Passenger Seat Photography at 70mph.

Thar Be Dragons!

Wildlife photography of fantastical beasts along America's highways.

[click for larger image ... it's worth it!]

Another in my series of Passenger Seat Photography at 70mph.

Self Portrait Week 40: The Microscope

I got a new toy for my birthday. A microscope. With it I received an attachment so that my smartphone can be used with the eyepiece to take photos of the fun objects I'm studying.

Jeanne and I were trying to figure out how to attach the phone to the eyepiece, and this photo was taken by accident. I love facial expressions full of focused concentration! (And there's nothing quite like an "up the nose" shot!)

We did eventually figure it out. I don't have any slides yet, so we put a piece of tissue paper (with a small hole in it) under the lens and captured this image:

This is going to take my love of macro photography to a whole new level!

Now ... how do I capture a snowflake?

---

Photo Tips I Learned:

• Don't be afraid to try out new equipment or a new technique. If you feel intimidated, have your scientific kid help you out.
• When using your camera with your microscope, remember to take if off "selfie mode."
• Beware of those who have a knack for photobombs!

In the Shadow of Shasta

Dale and I drove by Mt. Shasta in northern California last month as Autumn made herself known.

[click for a larger image]

This is another in my series of Passenger Seat Photography at 70mph.

Rock Pidgeon

This one likes Mexican food. It was perched on the roof of El Torito, overlooking Monterey Bay.

 

Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay

Sittin' in the morning sun
I'll be sittin' when the evening comes
Watching the ships roll in
Then I watch them roll away again, yeah

I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay
Watchin' the tide roll away, ooh
I'm just sittin' on the dock of the bay
Wastin' time

~ Otis Redding

Monterey Bay, California

[Click for larger image]

Benediction on the Bay

Monterey, California

Lone Tree, Eastern Oregon

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 30

I'm grateful that I sometimes have the courage to be vulnerable.

You'd think that for someone like me -- who wears her heart on her sleeve -- opening myself up to other people is an easy thing.

It's not.

When I wear my heart on my sleeve, it exposes me to the possibility of getting punched in the arm. A few sad souls do it just for the fun of garnering my reaction.

I wear my heart on my sleeve anyway.

Over this last birthday weekend, I received over 100 wishes for happiness. A few in person. Some on the phone or by email. Most were via Facebook. My daughters noted it first, "Mom! Your timeline is EXPLODING!"

My birthday was on Saturday, but I waited until yesterday -- after the last family member backed his car out of our driveway -- to start reading and responding to my birthday greetings. What strikes me most is that, with each post, I picture that friend's face at the time that I met them or, more significantly, at the moment we became friends because we dared to open ourselves up to one another.

Even a little.

The memory snapshots flip through my mind. I recall the conversations and re-feel the tingles each person evokes in me. I've deeply loved many - and have been deeply in love with a special few. With tenuous ribbons of words, bits and bytes and images, we remain connected. The nature of the relationships alters over time. We grow. Or sink. Some of these reconnections solidified after years apart. Some of the friendships exist solely online as we share common interests.

With each, there's been at least one moment of vulnerability, one moment of intimate connection. We've immersed ourselves into a conversation, daring to ask a personal question or share an opinion or a memory or a dream or a story or some poetry or a bit of humor. We dared to bond.

So on this last day of my month of gratitude, I'm grateful that I dare to initiate or respond to these invitations. I'm grateful that I crack my safe shell, and break into vulnerability.

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 29

I'm grateful for a superb family weekend.

(and re-learning how to use a selfie stick)

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 28

This lovely young woman came into my life 31 years ago. She's the best birthday present I ever worked for!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JEANNE!

I'm grateful for you.

Bonus: my red wig looks really good on you.

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 27

We call the day after Thanksgiving "Gingerbread Friday."

It's the day my daughters and I begin our annual gingerbread project. In 2013 we made a gingerbread house. Last year, a gingerbread village. This year? A railroad yard!

We also planned next year's art projects for AuralArtists. So today I'm grateful my girls caught the crafting bug from me.

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 26

On this bustling day, I'm grateful for moments of stillness.

Happy Thanksgiving!

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 25

I'm grateful that my very favorite weekend of the year begins tonight.

I'm also grateful for my sister Janet who celebrates her 60th birthday today.

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 24

Today, I'm grateful that I have enough.

Enough love.
Enough food.
Enough money.
Enough shelter.
Enough friends.
Enough children.
Enough.

And a happy marriage to boot!

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 23

I'm having an "iffy" day today. Sort of stuck in neutral. Not a lot of energy. Hard to move things forward.

On days like today, I'm grateful for the little things ... like a working garbage disposal in the kitchen sink. All the electricity on that one circuit was out for a week or two. We called in a very nice professional electrician (who also happens to be our neighbor). He fixed it in a flash. Now it works.

I'm grateful to have it in order before the Thanksgiving cooking begins.

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 22

I'm grateful for those professionals who help me through dark times.

Today, I'm having a great day. The aromas of Thanksgiving are beginning to waft through the house. Chex Mix (a family holiday staple) and home made soup.

On my good mental health days, it's hard to call to mind how small situations can trigger difficult mental health days. I've learned a lot of tools to help me cope and come out of those low times in large part from our family counselor. She's been working with us on and off for almost 15 years now. She's a great coach. I feel blessed that she has cared for me and my family with strength, and gentleness, and kindness.

My heart bleeds a little when I see folks who are obviously under mental stress, but have not yet found a professional to help them through the hard times. I have no joy in watching someone spin into harm's way, hurting others in their path because they aren't aware of how their words and actions are affecting those around them.

It's no fun observing the pain from a distance, knowing help cannot be had until the person is ready to accept help, ready to take responsibility for themselves, ready to transform from a victim attitude, ready to accept life and learn to navigate through it with grace.

So today, I'm grateful that I had that help and that my daughters know how to seek it when they need it. I celebrate how much all of us have grown with the help of compassionate professionals.

I'm wholeheartedly grateful for today's wonderful mood.

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 21

Today I'm grateful for Crafternoons.

My eldest, Jeanne, spent the day with me today. First we worked. She helped prep the house for our Thanksgiving guests. Everything looks so nice now. We scrubbed, and dusted, and vacuumed, and swept, and wiped, and, well, you get the picture. It went so fast because she's a great hand, now that she's no longer "kid help." It zoomed by because we laugh a lot while we work.

After lunch, we spent the rest of the day in my Studio for a crafternoon. Jodie Skyped in and we all worked on some Thanksgiving decorations together. We're only a little tipsy from huffing the paint fumes.

In less than a week, we'll all be together. Baking. Laughing. Cooking. Laughing. Eating. Laughing. Playing games. Laughing. Crafting. Laughing. And did I say laughing? We'll have a bit of a slumber party on Thursday. On Friday we begin this year's gingerbread project.

There is no such thing as too many crafternoons with my girls.