Tuesday, September 30, 2014

273/365-2 Late


"Too Late for Lunch"

Today came and went and I barely noticed.  I was at school by 6:45 this morning and went all day long and then came home and went some more.  I missed sunrise.  I missed sunset.  I missed most of my lunch half hour.  And, if this photo had been taken any later, it would have qualified as being early.  As it is, it is very, very late!

I'm going to bed! 

Monday, September 29, 2014

272/365-2 Prominent


"A Bridge Over Calming Waters"

271/365-2 Fairyland


'An Invitation to Come In"

Saturday, September 27, 2014

270/365-2 Friendly Faces


"Margaritaville"

These two friendly faces happen to be sharing a margarita.  It makes me happy that they get along so well!





269/365-2 On the Street


"Downtown Dallas"

We had a fun evening Friday night seeing the Rocky Horror Show live on stage.  It was surely a blast from the past.  I remember seeing the movie for the first time in college, having no idea what to expect.  Fortunately, I went with veterans, fellow music majors.  As I was finally getting into the  things and becoming familiar with the whole prop routine, we turned around only to see several of the music faculty sitting two rows behind us.  This may have been my first realization that teachers are actually people.

Downtown Dallas is not much to speak of.  Though the arts district is very nice, there isn't much else to speak of, especially on nights and weekends.  I do like the varied textures in this photograph.  Some are the buildings themselves and others are reflections.  I also like the sliver of red brick and steeple of the church peeking out fro between the office buildings.

Thursday, September 25, 2014

268/365-2 Morning Light


'Early Morning Tree"

Early morning light...ha!  I wish that I could say that I am laughing about early morning light because I had the luxury of sleeping through it.  Sadly, that is not the case.  Sunrise in Dallas this morning was at 7:18.  By this time I was at school standing in front of the copy machine printing tests for my 7:30 class.  Sunrise came and went without even a notice  from me.  Walking across campus a little later to replenish my caffeine supply, I noticed this cool shadow of a tree cast on the wall by what was now not so early a morning light, but cool nonetheless.  I have no clue who this person is.  We'll just call her the photobomber.

267/365-2 The Number 1


"Movement I"

I was so focused on the "I" as the movement number that I failed to see all of the other numbers - the tempo marking, measure numbers, number of rests...I did crop this square, which removed the Op. 36, almost.

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

266/365-2 Who?


"And Her Choice Is..."

Nothing but some fun with the Legos today...

Whom will she choose?  Will it be the safe but boring businessman?  The gorgeous but somewhat stuck-up athlete?  Or, the fun loving but seriously unstable musician?

265/365-2 Good-bye Summer


"Falling Sun"

Even now, before the time change,  there is not much good natural light left when I get home from school.  I love everything about fall, except the shorter days.  I got this one right before the setting sun dipped below the horizon.

Sunday, September 21, 2014

262/365-2 Where I Stand September


"September Where We Stand"

We bought these orange and blue terra cotta boot planters on a ridiculous sale last weekend.  What we didn't buy yet is anything to plant in them.  I had hoped that we might get that done this weekend, but it didn't happen.  So, for now, the empty boot sit on the porch waiting.  So that they wouldn't feel totally neglected, I decided to use them in the September "Where I Stand" photo that was supposed to be taken with others.  

The boots really are super cute, but the photo of our feet with them was really boring.  I decided to play with some editing apps to see if I could make it a little more interesting.

Obviously I didn't find it terribly interesting since I forgot to post this on Friday:-)

264/365-2 Hold On


'The Cat and the Guy Without His Hat"

Frankie is an indoor cat.  She is OK with that except when we and the dogs are all outside and she is inside alone.  She never tries to escape to the outside, but she is always happy when someone carries her out and provides a lap from which she can enjoy the sounds, scents and sights of the great outdoors.  Today her daddy took her out and they both seemed to be fascinated by the wonders of mother nature.

I don't know what they found to look at, but I love their upward staring big blue eyes and fuzzy white chins.

263/365-2 Reflection


"A Spoonful of..."

Well, I could have, should have done a little better job of photographing a reflection, but yesterday got away from me and this is the best I could do at 10 pm.  

Thursday, September 18, 2014

261/365-2 Between


"Between Notes"

I am thankful that I have a job that I love and that allows me to make music every day, but I have to admit that by this time in the week, I am most appreciative of the pauses between the notes.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

259/365-2 The Eyes Have It


'Eyes on the Internet"

Monday, September 15, 2014

258/365-2 Changes


"Huddle"

There is not much around here that looks like the changing seasons.  I wandered around looking for something, anything that gave even the smallest hint of fall.  I stumbled upon this fallen crisp brown huddle of oak leaves.  There was something so beautiful about the way the evening sun was shining through them.  No matter how hard I tried, I could not get the camera to see the same thing that I saw.  (I know, stupid statement coming from a blind person.)  I changed camera settings and my point of view several times, but I could not make it happen.  This is not the picture that I remember.  I came to the conclusion that some images are meant to preserved only in our minds and memories.

Sunday, September 14, 2014

257/365-2 A Mess


"A Mess of Shoes"

*** No time was injured in the setting up of this shot. ***

This is about as everyday as it gets.  The shoes that we don't wear very often are neatly stacked in clear boxes in another closet.  The ones we wear daily, however, get kicked of into the closet haphazardly at the end of the day.  When I am crawling around on the closet floor barely awake at 6:30am  trying to get ready for school, I wish that I had a better grip on this mess.  By the time I get home from school and kick off my shoes,  I totally forget about that wish.

Saturday, September 13, 2014

256/365-2 Grip


"September Pole?"

In my continuing effort to make sure that a get a photo of both of the girls each month, I had to take advantage of erin's visit today for her September picture.  She agreed to "grip" the pole so that we at least gave a nod to today's prompt.

She is always so easy and a lot of fun to photograph!



I'm sure she is thinking about how much she love her mama!


Friday, September 12, 2014

255/365-2 From the Garden


"Beware"

Anything having to do with a garden at our house this year requires a vivid imagination!  

I came up way short of creativity with today's prompt.  A trip to Target, ostensibly for throat lozenges to address the fall cold that I feel coming on, yielded this cute little Lego figure...and pumpkin spice M&Ms.  This was the best I could do today.  No garden, no creativity, no energy and a sore throat all make for blah a photo.

254/365-2 Contemplate



"Remember"

It is hard for me to believe that this is the thirteenth anniversary of the horrific attacks on this country on September 11, 2001.  The sounds, images, and emotions of that day are still as vivid as if they were yesterday.  As I talked with my freshman college students yesterday, I realized that most of them were in kindergarten on this day in 2001; most of them were sheltered and protected from the intense grief and sorrow that blanketed this country as a result of the expressed hatred on that day.  What does it feel like to have only a second-hand remembrance of September 11, 2001?

Every lifetime has such a day.  For me it is the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Jr.  I now live fifteen miles, maybe a little less, from the place where this great man lost his life at the hands of a gunman; yet, it is a story to me.  I was not even two years old at the time.  I don't know what it felt like to be a citizen in a country whose leader had just been gunned down.  I don't know what it felt like to hear that news on the television and radio.  I don't know what it felt like to watch his funeral.  I don't know what that day felt like.

I do know what 9/11 felt like.  My ex-husband, the father of my then 8 and 11 year old daughters, was on a plane that morning.  Fortunately that day he was heading to Atlanta, not New York City where he had been the previous week.  I remember how relieved I was to hear that he was safely on the ground.  I remember wondering what my children were being told at school.  (As it turned out, the fourth grader knew exactly what was going on because her class had been listening to the radio all day.  The seventh grader knew nothing.  The middle schoolers were kept in the dark; their teachers decided that it was better for parents to talk about the event with their children.)  I remember a country full of people so often totally self-absorbed suddenly craving community.  I remember feeling helpless.  I remember feeling.

As intense as my feelings were and perhaps still are surrounding the events of September 11, 2001, I know that they are nothing compared to those of the people whose lives were physically touched that day.  The people on each of the downed planes, the people in the World Trade center and the Pentagon, the people on the streets of New York City, the fireman and policemen whose job it was to rush without hesitation into the midst of the devastation, the people wondering about loved ones, the people caring for the first responders, the people doing the long term clean-up, even the people responsible for building Freedom Tower - there is no way for us to ever experience the intensity of their emotions surrounding this awful day.

The fire department in the next town over from us remembered their brother and sisters of the fire department in NYC who served so bravely that day by placing a simple but powerful display on the lawn in front of the fire station.  I thought long and hard about how to photograph the emotions of 9/11 and came to the conclusion that I could not do it adequately.  I went with the concrete image.  I think it says a lot.

The men and women of our fire and police departments get up and go to work every day knowing that on any day they could be called to serve their community and their country in exactly the same way that those first responders in New York City did.  We all pray that there is never another event like 9/11, but we all know that there are no guarantees in this world.  It could happen again.  I am grateful for all of those who serve and train to protect us.  Thank you!

Here is today's photo mandala.



253/365-2 Discarded


"Friendship"

Friendship and all of its intricacies have been on my mind this week.  I don't think that I realized a few days ago when I photographed the Diet Coke can, with the phrase 'Share a Diet Coke with a friend." on it, that I had any idea where my week was going.  Now, posting this photo two days late, it is all making sense.

As one who grew up in a military family and moved a lot, I don't have any "childhood friends."  In a time where there was no email or texting, it was next to impossible as a child to keep up with people  place after place and year after year.  My current friendships go back only as far as my college years, which is now thirty five years.  Yikes!  But, even contact with these people has waxed and waned over time.  It wasn't until I finally succumbed and created a Facebook account that we have re-established and thankfully maintained the deep friendships that we had back in our younger days.  I must admit that I was reluctant to add Facebook to my life, feeling that it would be yet another distraction in my already overly busy world.  Fifteen months later, I have learned that friends are not a distraction; they are a life force.

This week I have viewed friendship from both ends of it's continuum - that where you feel the genuine love and support of your friends during tough times and that where you experience the intense hurt when someone whom you considered a close friend betrays you.  Thankfully, in the latter circumstance I was not the one who was betrayed, but I was honored to share with someone that hurt and be there with a listening ear and compassionate heart as this person shared deep feelings of pain and grief.  It was during our communications that I realized how meaningful it is to earn the trust of another person.  The trust of another human being is nothing to be taken lightly.

I also became even more aware of how blessed I am to have the circle of friends that I have.  To look at us each individually, most would probably wonder how in the world we became the close-knit group that we are.  The only answer that I have to that question is that God brought us together.  I don't mean that to be, or even sound, cliche.  I say it with great respect.  We have been brought together by a series of circumstances, events, and independent relationships that none of us could have ever foreseen.  I am not wasting the time and energy to ask "why,"  My energy is being used to say, "thank-you."  I do know that what sustains our friendship with one another is regularly breaking bread together - spiritual bread as we pray and share the Eucharist with one another on Sunday mornings and physical bread over at least one shared meal a week.  In looking at life this way, that first blessing that most of us learned as wee little humans, 

"God is great.  
God is good. 
Let us be thankful for our food.  
By God's hands we are fed.  
Thank you God for our daily bread."

becomes so much more meaningful and powerful as adults.

This week each of us in this close circle of friends was faced with making an extremely difficult individual decision, one that had to be made by oneself, but in the long run impacted each of us.  We all did that, knowing that there would be support from and for one another regardless of our personal choices.  We talked and prayed our way through this process.  And now that all is said and done, we still have each other; we still have a wonderful and beautiful and blessed friendship.  There really is nothing greater for which to want in life.

So, in case you were wondering, that is the story behind this particular photo.  

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

252/365-2 Reading


"Classwork"

The sub-prompts for today's photo included school, learning, and education.  I have been teaching at the same school for over twenty years and most of that time has been in the same classroom.  Until recently, I have had no photos to document all of that time.  I am trying to remedy that situation.  Considering where and how I spend so many of my days, today's prompt should have been a breeze.

As I stood watching my class work on a counterpoint exercise this morning, I was struck by the concentration and effort of this young man.  He is such a hard working student.  

Monday, September 8, 2014

251/365-2 Single


'Friends Don't Let Friends Drink Alone"


Sunday, September 7, 2014

250/365-2 Atmosphere


"With My Favorite Somebody"

Because my photo from Saturday was "off-prompt",  I got a little turned around with the daily prompts.  This photo is actually yesterday's self portrait that was supposed to be taken with someone else in the frame with me.  I am committed to the monthly self portraits so I decided to forego today's prompt of atmosphere or ambiance.  Or maybe this works for both prompts and I can kill two birds with one stone.  Whichever, I have taken a photo a day and that is good enough for me!

249/365-2 Off Prompt


"I've Got Friends...and Mail!"

Today's prompt was supposed to be September's self portrait.  Because of our schedule, that wasn't going to happen.  We had a fantastic day at the theater and then going out for dinner to celebrate a friend's birthday.  When we got home, we discovered that Blueper B had received a package from a friend.  

You can read all about Blueper B's exciting day on his blog:

He also has a Facebook page if you'd like to keep up with the adventures of a furry blue and orange monster.  


248/365-2 From Scratch


"Scads of Scones from Scratch"

Brooke spent all day , and night, Friday making cones and teacakes for 120 people for an event being held at the library.  This look has more to do with me shoving the camera in her face than it does having to make 240 scones.

Friday, September 5, 2014

247/365-2 Beginning


'Beginning to Become"

Thursday afternoons are my favorite time of the week.  I am done teaching for the week at 3:00.  I can leave school and don't have to be concerned about anything having to be done this evening.  It is an awesome feeling after worrying on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights about making sure that I fully prepared for the following day.  I do spend Friday's preparing for the next week, but for now, I am free!  Teaching seven different classes is a lot to keep straight!  I am finding that I have to write EVERYTHING down - what I've done in each class, what I want to do, what I need to do, what I need to write, what I need copy, etc., etc., etc.  I find myself becoming some kind of distant relative to the crazy cat lady...the crazy list lady.  Lists rule my world right now.

All that said, because Thursday affords me some truly "free" time, I had a chance to think about and experiment with today's prompt - "beginning."  As I reflected on what that meant to me in this moment, I thought about how I am beginning to get myself together and am establishing a regular rhythm for this semester.  In that moment of confidence, I also realized that though I may be getting myself together,  I am really tired and, as hard as I am working, truthfully I feel like I am only a step ahead of the game.  Dismiss those thoughts for the moment.  Don't get bogged down.  This is playtime!  What better subject for depicting "putting yourself together" than Lego mini figures.  These guys never disappoint me when i comes to using them for photographs.

I spent at least an hour outside in the driveway taking different photos.  They all made me smile.  I was having pure fun, the kind of fun a child has when they are allowed to just play - no rules, no imposed goals, just imagination.  As I was going through all of the photos later in the evening, Brooke came in and watched over my shoulder as I scrolled through them. Even she got a chuckle out of all of the mini figure antics.  With her help, I decided on this photo to represent my day just because it is so ridiculous and because the look on his face clearly says, "I am who I am!"


246/365-2 An Assignment


'Teachers Have Homework Too!

The truth is that I have stacks of assignments to be graded and assigned to my students, but I couldn't bear to photograph another stack of papers.  Been there, done that this week.  Also, Wednesdays are such a terrible day in terms of time, I needed a subject that I could photograph easily.  Enter my beloved husband...he is such a good sport.  I got a very quick, last minute of the day shot of him with a book that he is supposed to be reading as part of his school's professional development this year.  I guess he got a few pages read while I accomplished today's photo.

For all of you students, teachers have assigned homework too!

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

245/365-2 Back to Reality


"Paper Chase"

And week two of the semesters begins...Despite having the day off yesterday, the work week got off to a rough start today.  The alarm was set for 5:50.  We got up at 6:44.  Neither of us remembers the alarm going off all.  The scary thing is that if it went off at all, it went off six times.  We have never slept through the alarm once, let alone six times!  Surely Weber didn't hot the snooze button six times in his sleep!  Hopefully this is not our new reality.  Oh, and did I mention that I teach a 7:30 class?  I managed to make it to class on time including making copies on the way.  Boy am I glad that we live only a mile and half from school!

And being the second week of school, the first batch of homework assignments is coming in.  Somehow in this supposed paperless society, I am still inundated with paper - papers to grade, music for analysis, class handouts, and yes, a paper agenda.  If it weren't for binders and clips, my world would be absolute chaos.  Well, it still kind of is chaos, but there is no doubt that it could and would be a lot worse without these things!

There is no meaning to the labels on the clips, but they do make me chuckle every now and then.

As long as we are talking about paper, here is another mandala made from one of yesterday's photos of the pencils.


Monday, September 1, 2014