Monday, March 31, 2014

90/365-2 Garden


"Garden?"

Confession time.  At this very moment my garden is non-existent.  I have dreams. I have plans.  I have seeds.  I have raised beds.  I have had no time.  I would love to have a bountiful garden this year.  It makes me happy to grow my own vegetables, but right now I just don't have the time to nurture a garden.  The flip side of a garden making me happy is that if it fails, it makes me incredibly unhappy.  I would rather not plant it than feel like a failure if I can't keep it going.

All that said, I was at a lost for garden pictures today.  I ended up wandering around the yard looking for something, anything that would pass for a garden photo.  The best I could do was a blooming "weed" in the grass.  This bright yellow flower was standing out in the middle of the grass all by itself.  It looked so happy, so cheerful, so proud.  And, it really is pretty.

If the irises had been blooming or the vegetables growing or even the trees budding, I probably would not have noticed this little yellow flower.  How often do we miss beauty in the small things because we have our intentions set on the big picture, on what we are "supposed" to see, or only on what we want to see.  Most of us don't want to see weeds in our lawns, but I am OK with this little bit of sunshine on the ground.

Sunday, March 30, 2014

89/365-2 Tight



'USNA Class of 1959"

This weekend my dad gave me his Naval Academy class ring.  He says it is too big and heavy for him to wear now.

Weekend Update



Here are some random thoughts on my weekend.

I much prefer going to bed a 2am to getting up at 2am.

Dallas traffic is a breeze at 3am - even LBJ and the construction around the airport.

Our flights were not conducive to nourishment.  Our first flight departed at 5:15 am.  None of the vendors in the airport were open yet.  We connected through Charlotte, a 2.5 hour flight.  Food is only available (for purchase) on flights that are three hours and longer.  We had a 35 minute connection in Charlotte and the two gates were literally as far apart as they could be; no time to stop for food.  The flight from Charlotte to Salisbury was also too short for food.  Needless to say, we arrived in Salisbury hungry.

Even if you disagree with her suggested route, Siri never gives up!

When you are really hungry, Burger King tastes pretty good.

I like Lewes better at this time of year than I do in the summer.

I'm glad we made the trip to see my dad.  He didn't feel well on Thursday but perked up during the rest of the weekend.

I loved having some different scenery to photograph.

I love rain!
I spent a fair amount of time with dad taking care of business.

I did not make any friends with a pushy realtor who stopped by the house.  OK, she couldn't get my name right.  She was snobby, only thinking about business, not the fact that there are human beings involved in the process.  My assessment: insensitive and self-serving, two things that don't fly with me at all.  She accused me of being a woman of few words, which was actually to her benefit.   My response to her comment was, "I am perhaps a woman of few words but one of many thoughts."

Sarcasm is one of my more developed talents.

I love my iPad Air but I don't like the Blogger app.  I'm not sure if I don't fully understand its workings or if I expect too much of it.  We need to work on our relationship.

After being a hold-out for many years, I have become a fan of Facebook.  I was able to meet a fellow photographer from CY365 this weekend because Weber checked in while we were at a restaurant.  She was in the area and stopped by for a few minutes.  This was way cool!  I was also able to keep up with what was going on at home with family and friends vis Facebook.

I got a couple new shirts even though I had no extra room in my bag.  I'm not sure how I fit them in.  Do dirty clothes take up less room in a bag than clean clothes?

TSA said nothing about the cactus in my carry on bag.

Weber is not a fun travel companion when traveling by air.  He does not like dealing with airports at all.  I wonder how long it takes to get from Dallas to Delaware on the train?

Our flights back to Dallas were both delayed, the first one because of weather and the second one because we were waiting on "catering."  The irony of the latter is that as I am writing this, the flight attendants have not been allowed to serve anything because the flight is too rough.

As we were standing in line to return the rental car, we fell into conversation with the couple in front of us.  As they were leaving, the woman handed us a book that her husband had written, The God Diagnosis.  I have read the first couple chapters; it is kind of interesting.  He is a doctor who didn't discover the importance of a relationship with God until well into his adult life.  On the second flight we are seated by a woman who is a chef and owns a restaurant in Dallas.  As it turns out, her manager lives literally around the corner from us.  It is nice when people actually talk to one another!

6am is going to come way too early tomorrow morning.

Despite our late arrival home tonight, I am so glad we made this trip!

88/365-2 Lucky

I am not doing well posting from my iPad while away from home.  For whatever reason, the photos are not sized correctly for tha app I am using, though they are the exact same size that I usually post from my desktop.   Also, there seems to be no way to format in my usual manner.  Oh well, I have more important things to worry about so for now it is what it is.

This photo only minimally has anything to do with the day's prompt of lucky, but it was my favorite shot of the day so I'm going with it.  Perhaps I was luck that it was gray and rainy thus making this image possible:-)

"Peering at a Pier"

Friday, March 28, 2014

Thursday, March 27, 2014

86/365-2 Where I Stand - March

"Where I Stand 3/27/2014"

85/365-2 Arched

"Psaltery, No Harp"

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Monday, March 24, 2014

83/365-2 A Lineup


"Memory"

Weber got me a new iPad...with more memory!  I am so spoiled!  I know it and I appreciated it!

Sunday, March 23, 2014

82/365-2 Phone Art


"Flowers and a Picture!"

Brooke is not supporting my effort to get at least one good picture of her each month.  So, this may have to do for her March photo.  That is indeed her hand holding the flowers.  Since todays prompt was phone art, I didn't feel bad about the over-the-top editing.  That made the whole idea a little more palatable for Brooke too.  The more I look at it, the more this image kind of grows on me.

Saturday, March 22, 2014

81/365-2 On Their Terms


"Old" Faithful

Today's prompt is one of the monthly repeating inspirations - a portrait.  Erin is always a willing subject.  Weber got the day off from being in front of the camera.  

I don't know that this shot was taken on Erin's terms, but she did help choose which shot would be my POTD.

80/365-2 Spring


"Only Bloomer"

I forgot to post this yesterdayt.  I took the photo in the thirty minutes I was home after school and before I left to play for a prayer service last night.  Several of us went out for dinner afterwards and it was late when I got home.

It doesn't look much like spring in our yard.  Though there are many iris bulbs, none had any buds.  This morning, as we were pulling out of the driveway and heading to school, Weber noticed this one. At first it looked like a tissue had blown into the flower bed, but no, it is indeed a flower!  The wind was blowing and this is not the prettiest flower anyway.  It looks so sad out there all by itself.

Looking back through my 2013 photos, I took the photo of the first blooming iris on March 1st.  It was a gorgeous purple one.  The flowers are more than three weeks behind last year, with no promise of anymore blooms anytime soon.

Thursday, March 20, 2014

79/365-2 Diptych


"Like Mother, Like Daughter"

I had zero creative juices flowing today as far as photography went.  I did have a couple of fledgling ideas for this prompt but I just couldn't bring them to fruition.  I finally called Erin and begged for help.  Because she loves her mommy, she obliged.  I asked her to send me a photo of what she  was doing.  She sent me one right away.  

Though she and I often like the same books and share them back and forth, I don't think we'll be swapping either of these.  She is probably not interested in the newest biography of Beethoven and I may be the only one on the planet who is not a Dan Brown fan.  Jodi Picoult we can agree on!

So there is our exciting Thursday night!

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

78/365-2 365


"When In Rome..."

Today was a crazy weird day at school for both of us.  By the time we got home, we both were a little worn out.  Though I did give today's photo some thought throughout the day, nothing interesting or creative really came to mind.  

I did discover that the highest setting on my metronome i 300, that Hymn 365 in the Episcopal hymnal is "Come thou almighty king" and page 365 of the theory textbook covers diatonic versus applied sequences.  Though each of these was an interesting discovery, none made for an equally interesting photo.

With little time to accomplish the task because of choir rehearsal tonight, I decided to go with holding up fingers showing "365."  Having only two hands of my own, I had to engage a willing accomplice.  As it turned out, making the numbers was easier said than done.  First we had to make sure they were facing the right direction when photographed.  Then there was getting our fingers at the right angle, etc., etc.  After several failed attempts, we started goofing around.  Peace signs and a few unacceptable finger gestures crossed my mind.  Then Weber suggested that we use Roman numerals.  That was just the bit of quirkiness I needed to get behind this whole idea.  I'm not sure anyone else will see the 365 in this image; that's OK.  This photo makes me laugh and today that is good enough for me!

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

77/365-2 Duplicate



"Double Dose"

Yesterday when I got home from school Adidas was not his normal bouncy self.  He seemed to have trouble walking and would not go outside. As the night progressed, he whined every time that he tried to move, though he did get up for his dinner.  We gave him a doggie ibuprofen and that seemed to help him sleep comfortably.  This morning, however, he again would not get up and whined and cried when he tried.  He also would not eat his breakfast.  Adidas not eating is a bad sign.

We decided that we would just take him to the vet at 7:30 when they opened and leave him during the day while we were at school.  When Weber got out the leash and asked Adidas if he wanted to go for a ride, he had a miraculous healing.  Suddenly he was able to walk and climbed into the car himself.

We got him to the vet and they kindly took him though we had no appointment.  He had bunches of blood work run.  All perfect.  He had a "fat lump" aspirated and examined.  Nothing but a fat lump.  As it turns out, he has arthritis in almost all of his leg joints and he was having a "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day."

The vet gave him another dose of anti-inflammatory medication and then they did laser therapy on five of his joints.  When we picked him up this afternoon, he was a new dog.  The dog that would not get up and walk this morning, even for breakfast, was jumping up on me, standing only on his back legs.  Adidas was happy to eat his dinner tonight and has whined just a tiny bit, though I'm not sure if that is due to pain or not getting the attention he has gotten for the past 24 hours.

He will go back for five more laser therapy treatments over the next three weeks.  Hopefully that will ease his symptoms enough that he will not have to stay on medication, which can be hard on his liver.

We wee happy to have him home with nothing too seriously wrong; he and Harley celebrated with "duplicate" milk-bones.

76/365-2 Shamrock


'Shamrock Boxers No. 2"

St. Patrick's Day barely gets a blip on our radar thus we have nothing in the way of decor adorned with shamrocks.  Last year when this prompt came up, I remember it being late in the evening and struggling to find something to photograph for the day's prompt.  I dared Weber to let me photograph him in his shamrock boxers.  To my surprise, he accepted the dare and   this was my POTD.  Throughout the year, many jokes have been made about the shamrock boxers photo.  

When the prompt came around this year, I knew that the boxers would again have to appear.  It is kind of difficult to shoot "G" rated boxer pictures, but here you go.  I am lucky that Weber is such a good sport!

Sunday, March 16, 2014

75/365-2 Cheers


"Cheers to Caffeine!"

Spring break has come and gone way too quickly!  We didn't have any 'set in stone" plans for the week.  As it turns out, that made for a really enjoyable week off.  We got some things done around the house, a few "in town" chores taken care of and had a lot of time to spend with friends; that was the best part.

We ate out way more than usual during our time off, but in each case is was to enjoy food and fellowship with friends before or after having attended an event together - many of which were some kind of church or prayer service.  We did also see a theater production.  We are blessed to have a wonderful group of people with whom to share friendship and faith. With this group, I know that I am accepted and loved exactly as I am.  There is no better feeling in the world!

As our week off was coming to a close, I mused to Weber that if this is what retirement will be like, I am ready for it!


Saturday, March 15, 2014

Friday, March 14, 2014

Thursday, March 13, 2014

72/365-2 Irish


"It Ain't Easy Being Green"

What is it about St. Patrick/s Day that makes people think that unnaturally colored food is a good idea?    There is nothing particularly Irish about these bagels other than their greenness;  I just kind of feel sorry for them and thought they needed to be photographed to boost their self confidence.  This is just such a bad dye job!  I am all for green food, but I prefer that the green come from Chlorophyll!

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

71/365-2 Arranged


"Laundry Day...Hold That Thought"

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Monday, March 10, 2014

69/365-2 Asymmetrical


"The Other Side"

I took this at the park this evening.  I'm not exactly sure what it has to do with asymmetrical, but I like it so it is the POYD.

68/365-2 Emerging


"Budding Artist"

Yesterday was a good kind of busy, but it kept me from taking my POTD until very late last might and then I forgot to post it before I went to bed.

We went to church yesterday morning with some friends to hear a guest preacher give the sermon.  The whole church experience was pretty awesome!  The friends with whom we went are some of our closest, the service was one of the most God-filled that I have attended in a long time, which a rather sad statement since I go to church at least once and week and often more than that, and the sermon
 was challenging, enlightening, and entertaining.  When I come away from a church service feeling both challenged and energized it is a good experience!

After the service our fellowship continued with lunch.  Unfortunately, it was a quick lunch because several of us had a rehearsal before we met again at church for Evensong and a Q&A with Bishop John Shelby Spong, this morning's guest preacher.  Again, another fabulous experience.  And afterwards, again we all shared food and fellowship.  The tasty Italian food did not help my daily calorie count, but it was worth it to finish out a great day with people who are the best of friends in every way.

Though the time has changed and theoretically I had an extra hour of daylight with which to accomplish the day's photo, it was late and dark when I got home, not conducive to photographing "emerging, budding or rising".  The intent was to capture the early signs of spring.  Being that this time last week  had a day off from school because of ice and extremely cold temperatures, not much is budding yet and what had started prior to the last cold snap has not survived.

So what to do...

On considered stopping by the grocery store and buying some buds.  I hated resorting to that but I would hate more to miss a day's photo.  Then Weber suggested that Brooke has been practicing making gum paste flowers and that there have been bits and pieces of all kinds of flowers all over the kitchen for the past few days.  Good idea!  

Brooke was OK with letting me photograph her flowers as long as she didn't have to be in any of the pictures.  Deal!  The problem was that the flowers were still drying and could not be touched or moved too much.  I had to maneuver around to try and find a decent angle of something that was more or less a completed flower.  I took several shots.  This is the one that Brooke liked best.  Since it is her artistry that I am showing, I figure the least that I could do was to let her choose her favorite photo.

Though I have not yet taken today's photo (Monday) yet.  I'm going to do better about paying attention to the light!

Saturday, March 8, 2014

67/365-2 Drive


"Driver's Seat"

For most this photo represents the everyday, probably even something that is taken for granted. For me, however, because of my vision, sitting in the driver's seat is something I have never done.  When I went outside to take today's photo I had planned to shoot from my place in the proverbial passenger's seat; but my plans changed.  When I got out to the car, thanks to spending the entire day with the CY365 Birthday Bash, I opted for a new perspective and thus slid into the driver's seat instead  When I looked at the image on the computer, the most poignant detail to me is the speedometer on "0".

Friday, March 7, 2014

66/365-2 Frustrated


"O NO NOT A KNOT"

As of now I am officially on spring break so today has been a good day, nothing particularly frustrating at all. I almost feel guilty posting this picture as really the most frustrating event of the day was knots in my yarn. The truth is that I am quite patient with many mundane and tedious things, but untangling yarn is not one of them. This is a bad thing for someone who is an avid knitter! However, as is often the case with things that we don't like, there is a lesson to be learned. When I figure out exactly what these d&@* knots are meant to teach me, I'll pass it on:-)

Thursday, March 6, 2014

65/365 A Muse


"A Few Notes On My Muse"

I am terrible at answering those questions like, Who is your favorite author?, If you could sit down with one famous person, who would it be?, etc.  My family will tell you that I have a hard time making decisions, and that is true, but I don't think that is what makes these questions difficult for me.  I find the world fascinating.  I learn things from every person I meet, every experience I have (both good and bad), every place I go, every task I undertake.  I am often surprised by the profound experiences that I have in what would seem to be mundane places and circumstances.  So to name just one of anything just seems impossible and, well,  unnecessary.  All that to say that I could not name A muse.

This task was further complicated when I received today's CY365 email about the prompt.  It asked us to make a shout out to the one in the community who most inspires us most.  Wow!  That is kind of like naming your favorite child.  Every day I share my life with this group and they share theirs with me.  The photos and their accompanying stories are not always happy.  Through such sharing, a bond grows.  Though most of us have never met one another, I feel like some of these people are old friends.  As I said to one of them tonight, that seems both cool and strange at the same time.

Everyone who shares in the CY365 gallery has inspired me in some way at one time or another.  I can't name just one person.  

As I thought about my photo for the day, the prompt screamed "abstract photo" to me.  

I began with music because that has always been such a constant in my life.  It is not important only because that is what I do, but because with it came the teaching of so many life lessons:  the importance of discipline, the skills necessary to work in a group, the value of community, how to accept disappointment, what it feels like to make yourself vulnerable to the world...and the list goes on.  I also felt like I needed to include light and dark for life revolves around both.  The blips and bubbles both magnify and obscure details of my world. I think there are also many things yet unseen in this image.  Knowing that mystery abounds is what keeps creativity and inspiration alive.

All that said, I still don't think that I have identified my muse.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

64/365 A Story In Three




"Me In Three"

Many ideas went through my head during the day for what to do for today's prompt.  I had lots of time to think because I left the house at 7:30 this morning and did not get home until 9:30.  needless to say, it was a very long day with not much time at its end for photography.

There are many things that I could have photographed that would have told a part of more story.  Many of them would probably have been better photos than these, but the longer I thought, the clearer it became that everything I do is guided by these three things.  They are who I am at my core.

Here are these three photos stitched together in a triptych.


As today is Ash Wednesday, blessings to all as we begin our Lenten journey.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

63/365 Party


"Happy Birthday CY365!"

Today marks the third anniversary of the launching of the Capture Your 365 website.  This community has become such a big part of my life over the past year and a half.  We had no sweet treats with which to celebrate so my cupcake became a fruit cup.

Today is also Shrove Tuesday or Fat Tuesday, another day of celebration in preparation for the forty days of Lent that begin tomorrow.  We had pancakes at church, an annual tradition on this day.  

I think someone's fruit was a little more fermented than mine was:-)  How can you not love this face??

Monday, March 3, 2014

62/365 Choose A Favorite (Macro Monday)


"Blue Monday"

Today was just a weird day all the way around.  Last night, because of ice and bitter cold temperatures, it was announced that Weber had no school today.  I had a delayed start - 11am.  This late start was nice, but it made no sense.  Our classes are on a schedule where they begin at either 10:30 or 12.  So with an 11 o'clock start time do we come for a 10:30 class?  My students all decided "No!"

Because we got this notification last night, rather than early this morning, I stayed up way too late watching a photography class online.  Ironically, it was on nighttime photography.  Having not gone to bed until almost 3am, we slept in until about 8:30 and had a leisurely breakfast before I headed to school.

Even by noon, the halls at school were empty.  Weber and I had lunch together and I did a little grading.  Many people seemingly opted to take the entire day off, including my 1:00 composition student.  Fortunately my 2:00 was early so we had our lesson and I was done by 2:30.  That was a much appreciated gift.

By the time we went to school at 11 there was virtually no moisture of any kind on the roads in our area.  Since travel was fine, this evening we kept a dinner engagement with a friend.  All in all this has been a good day, just an odd one.

Photographically speaking, it was "Macro Monday" with the suggestion being to photograph our favorite color of crayon.  It should come as no surprise that my photo contains a blue crayon.  I had a hard time trying to think of something interesting to do.  I finally decided that I would just embrace the weirdness of today and call it a happy Monday.

Sunday, March 2, 2014

61/365 The Cat in the Hat


"My Hero"

Today is the birthday of two influential people in my life - Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel) and my grandfather.  Both men were born on March 2, 1904.

Dr. Seuss has been a part of children's lives for many years since the introduction of the Cat in the Hat and his antics in 1957.    My first book club membership, when I was three or so, was for Dr. Seuss books.  To this day, they are still some of my favorite reads.  "Sam I Am" is the first books that I read to Brooke when she was just a couple of months old.  She would just giggle and laugh.  I must say that Dr. Seuss is a far cry from what she reads now, but at least she reads.

The Cat in the Hat sits on the shelf in my office.  Every day he makes me smile, think, wish, dream, create and reach for the impossible.  Together we have written many words and measures of music.  We have laughed and cried; experienced joy and frustration.  Most importantly, though, we have lived.   The wit and wisdom of Dr. Seuss have served me well in my lifetime.  

So have the wit and wisdom of my grandfather.

Though I didn't see as much of him growing up as I wish I had,  my grandfather and I were very close.  Being that my mother was an only child as am I, I was my grandfather's only grandchild.  That pretty much guaranteed that I was spoiled!

He served in WWII as an Army medic and then returned to his home in Delaware where he practiced medicine well into his eighties.  He was an ophthalmologist.  How fortunate was that for me, the grandkid born legally blind:-)

Though, like I said, we didn't see much of each other because I never lived in Delaware (except for six weeks while my dad was in training before we moved to Hawaii), we did a lot of stuff together during our annual visits.  These are the memories that I now carry with me.

I remember "playing" with all of the instruments and tools in his office.

I remember trying on every pair of glasses.  He always told my mother, and any other parent, that they should let their children get any glasses frames that they wanted no matter how "unattractive" the parent may believe them to be.  He said that that was the only way to keep the glasses on a young child, which was the goal.

I remember sleeping with him one night when I was about four and falling out of bed and breaking my nose.  Oh, he was also certified as an ENT.  Another plus for me!

He was an artist.  He attempted to teach me how to paint with watercolors.  Have I mentioned that he was an incredibly patient man?  He was willing to change his own artistic vision to accommodate mine.  In one painting he added a cardinal to a tree because I wanted it there.  We have a painting of his hanging above our bed now.

He used to let me drive his boat in and out of the canal starting as young as about seven.  Remember, I said he was an ophthalmologist; he knew what I could see, and perhaps more importantly, what I couldn't.  I am proud to say that I never ran us aground or hit a bridge piling.

We ate grapefruit together.

We read stories and we made up stories.  

Not only did he love his family, he also loved the state of Delaware.  He was integral in creating the the Lewes Historical Society as well as writing several books about sailing rams built in Delaware.  I am honored that one of them, written in the year I was born, he dedicated to me.

A remarkable man all the way around...my grandfather is quoted as having said, "There are people who make excuses not to do things.  There are people who make excuses to do things.  I like to think of myself as one of the latter."

So, today we remember the lives and achievements of two great men.  With both, I have turned many moments into memories.

Happy birthday Papa and Dr. Seuss.

Saturday, March 1, 2014

60/365 Step Outside


"Me in March"

Here is the day's runner-up.  My first two selfies of the year were both black and whites.  Today I had to decide whether to be "consistent" or to break out of my two month pattern.  I opted for the color photo because it shows the outdoor aspect of today's prompt a little better.