186/365-2 July Selfie - A Favorite

"Linen Love"

I am not very good about naming "favorites" of anything.  Not food, or books, or movies, or restaurants...nothing.  It all depends on the day.  Today's photo is supposed to reflect something that is a favorite piece of clothing, or jewelry, or shoes...something that is worn, I guess.

I do have some favorite jewelry, by it is bracelets and rings and right now my arms and hands look awful because of having had some pre-skin cancer spots removed so those were a definite no-go.  I decided that during this time of year, my "favorite" is linen.  Because much of the time I have to wear long sleeves and pants despite the summer temperatures, I am a big fan of linen clothing.  It is cool and comfortable.  And, much of the time, styles that are made from linen are oversized, another big plus in my book!  This goes back to my serious claustrophobia; it is not only sunglasses and hats that make me feel closed in, but also clothing that fits even the least bit closely.  I may have been the one teenaged girl who got in trouble with her mother for wearing "sloppy" (translation: not form fitting) clothing rather than things that were too tight.  The only thing about my "style" that has changed in nearly fifty years is that my mother is not around anymore to yell at me for the way I dress.

Because we have plans this evening, this photo was taken outside with terrible light conditions.  Sometimes you just have to take what you can get.

185/365-2 Bursting

"Fireworks"

Today was bursting with friends, food, fun, and fireworks.  

In all of those "f" words, there was also favorite fail.  I don't even know what happened with this foto photo, but there is something kind of funky about it that my weird sense of aesthetics kind of likes.

Some of my favorite shots of the evening were surprises.  I think it is their simplicity that appeals to me.

The next one reminds me of a sunflower.

I loved all of the different colors in tonight's fireworks.

I hope everyone had a fabulous fourth!

184/365-2 American

'Freedom"

183/365-2 Essentials

'Groggy Doggie"

This morning, our boy had surgery to remove an abscessed tooth.  He didn't seem to be in any pain beforehand, but his face was swollen.  The essentials for him over the next few days are antibiotics, doggie ibuprofen, and canned food.  Needless to say, he is much more thrilled with the canned food than the pills.

He was not a happy camper when we picked him up at the vet.  we paid his bill and then they put us in a room to meet with the vet for his discharge instructions.  I discovered that parents are parents whether it is to kids or dogs.  While in the exam room, I could hear a dog whining; I knew it was Adidas.  I waited a few minutes.  They didn't bring him to us and the whining didn't stop.  I recognized the sound as his "I need to go out."  Finally I couldn't take it anymore.  I opened the door to the secret back area of the vet.  There happened to be a tech standing there.  I asked politely of that was Adidas crying.  She answered , "yes."  I told her that he needed to go out.  she said, "OK." End of conversation, but not the end of my poor boy's whining.  

A less than personable tech finally brought him in to us.  I told her that he was whining because he needed to go out.  Somewhat snappily she said, 'We took him out."  I told her that I was going to take him out at that point.  The poor guy peed buckets!

Adidas settled down a little bit on the way home though he did still whine some.  As it turned out, he was very hungry and thirsty.  He hadn't eaten for nearly 24 hours.  That is definitely a scenario that he is not used to!  I think his legs are also a little stiff from being in a kennel all day.

Our vet's office has four doctors.  Two of them are fabulous, one of them we have never met and then there is the one we saw today.  I think she is probably a good veterinarian, but she has no bedside manner.  Combine that with the rude vet tech and I was not a happy mama.  We missed our normal personnel on this trip.  Live and learn.

 Right now Adidas is mad because he can't have any rawhide for two weeks.  I think he sees his bone as a pacifier.  I am thinking positive thoughts about a good night's sleep for all of us!

182/365-2 Refreshing

"Morning Words"

Our mornings usually begin with coffee and the newspaper.  Sometimes the news is a little too overwhelming and depressing and I'd rather read poetry (not that that it can't also be depressing).  This poem, however, by Anne Sexton, reminds us that there is joy to be found in all of the simple things of our every day.  This is indeed a refreshing thought in a world that so often seems unhappy.

181/365 Graffiti Wall

"Legacy of Love"

I am posting yesterday's photo late because of some minor computer issues last night.  What I thought to be an inconvenience yesterday may have actually been divine intervention, a sign that allowed me more time to think carefully about the photo I was choosing as my POTD.

The is the "Legacy of Love" monument in Dallas.  It celebrates diversity in our city.  On Sunday, vandals spray painted, in red, the numbers "666" on the base of the monument as well as on other locations around the city,  acts that are now being investigated as hate crimes.  I photographed and originally intended to post this hurtful evidence of this hate that is still so prevalent in our society; however, by not being able to post last night, I had time to reconsider.  I decided not to give the vandals any more attention, but to focus on the beauty and the true meaning of the Legacy of Love monument.

Love will conquer the hate of the red paint.

180/365-2 Clean Up

"Sunset"

As I have said repeatedly, I am terrible with phone photography and am fairly ignorant with regard to phone photo processing and editing apps.  Today's prompt had both a technical and compositional component.  The subject was intended to be something related to "clean up" and the photo was supposed to be taken and edited on your phone.  As is often the case when I am faced with something with which I am woefully incompetent, I waited until nearly sunset to attempt my photo of the day.

Weber and I were sitting out on the patio surrounded by citronella candles and incense and I was smothered in insect repellent.  I sat comfortably in my chair looking for something interesting to photograph.  Though the surroundings were perfect for the part of me that wanted to relax, my creative self was becoming a little frantic.  I was running out of light; I had to come up with a subject for today's photo.

I looked down at one of the citronella candles burring in a metal can.  The colors were kind of pretty.  But really...who wants to look at a photo of a candle burning in a rusted metal pail sitting on a concrete slab?  I'm all about photographing my everyday, but I don't want to look back and be depressed by my uninteresting existence.  Surely there must be something around that is more beautiful than a citronella candle.  I was desperate.

With my phone, I snapped the photo of the burning candle.  I discovered that the concrete created kind of an fascinating texture to the background of overall image.   I hunted around on my phone for a photo processing app.  I have a couple, but I don't use them very often.  When I do, I tend to go for the seriously over processed look just to make it absolutely clear that the picture is an iPhonography image.

I am a huge fan of abstract art.  I like that abstract images make me imagine and think.  They force me to look beyond what I can easily see to what I need to see.  I like that they are always new and fresh because each day, when I look at a work of art with fresh eyes,  I am bringing something new and different to the work of art and it, in turn,  gives me something new and different in return.  As I looked at my photo of the burning bucket of citronella infused wax, the same process that I engage when looking at masterpieces of abstract art kicked in.  Suddenly this tin container of wax looked like so much more.  

I uploaded the photo into a processing app.

As I began what really ended up being minimal processing, the image emerged clearly as a sunset.  Perhaps this is because the sun was indeed setting overhead.  Perhaps it was because the many sunsets that I saw while we were in Delaware are still so vivid in my mind.  Whatever the case, I saw a sunset.  

Or is it a sunrise?  Tomorrow it may be. Today it is a sunset.