327/365-2 Thanks for Unfamiliar Places

"Road to..."

We are back in Delaware for the week.  It will be strange not to be at home for Thanksgiving, but we needed to make a trip back east and this worked out to be the best time.

I took a walk down the road in the late afternoon.  I have been walking on this road almost all my life yet it is beginning to feel a bit unfamiliar.  On "our' end of the road, the houses date from the late 1800's.  Now there is all kinds of new construction going on further down.  Needless to say it is a little shocking to move from the colonial period to the 21st century in just a few steps.  I don't know why this seems so strange to me when I saw this very thing all over Europe - Gothic Cathedrals next to modern buildings.  Maybe my uneasiness is because this was at one time a very familiar place and now it is not so much.

326/365-2 Give Thanks for a Dramatic Sky

"Amaryllis"

There were no dramatic skies in Texas on Saturday.  It was gray, rainy, and just plain yucky.  The only dramatic anything in our world this day was the blooming amaryllis.

325/365-2 Give Thanks for the Unpredictable

"Disco Leaf"

Nothing says unpredictable like the combination of me and a Lensbaby.

And, thank you Jim for sending the photo of the Virgin America plane that reminded us all of those disco days.  Just the mention of "You Should Be Dancing"  sent me right back to the seventies:-)  I'm not sure that's a good thing:-)

324/365-2 Give Thanks for Companionship

"Purrfect Pals"

There is no shortage of furry companions around our house.  There was, however, a shortage of those furry companions willing to be photographed today.  I managed this candid shot of Brooke and Frankie.  The cat loves it in the evening when everyone settles down and she can find a cozy spot next to someone where there is the real possibility of a little attention...but not too much.  Frankie did not want to sit on Brooke's lap, or even share the chair with her.  The feline preference was for her own chair, but her own chair that was in reach of her sissy's hand so that continuous head rubbing could happen.  This worked for Brooke as well in that she had a quiet companion while she read.  A win-win situation...the best kind!

323/365-2 The Number 4

"Just Four Fun"

322/365-2 Give Thanks for Final Stages

"Endings and Beginnings"

I struggled with today's photo.  I have admitted recently that I am in a creative rut, but it was more than that.  I sat for awhile trying to think about something that I could photograph.  Coming up with nothing, I thought a little more about final stages, about the end.  I realized that the source of my difficulties is that I don't really believe in absolute endings, but rather changes that spark new beginnings.  Endings and beginnings, in my way of thinking are not at opposite ends of a continuum,; rather, they are points side by side on the circle of life.

You would think that having experienced the loss of my dad this fall, my perception of final stages and the end would be quite different than it is.  Don't get me wrong, there were final stages, but those final stages led to new beginnings rather than absolute endings.

This time of year is confusing as well with regard to beginnings and endings.  The secular world sees the year as coming to an end.  Healthcare choices for 2015 need to be made.  Taxable donations need to be doled out.  New calendars need to be bought.  All before December 31st, the end of the year.  Yet as this world has its sights set on the coming end, the liturgical world is preparing to celebrate a new year with the beginning of Advent and a new church year.  Beginnings and endings side by side.

We won't even talk about the academic year, which has a whole other schedule of beginnings and endings.

I know this all sounds a lot like that cliche saying, "When one door closes, another door opens."  I really don't like that particular saying.  It sounds like we are playing "Let's Make A Deal."  And who says that when a door closes it is an end?  Perhaps doors close to give us time to think, to pray, to be still and know.  Perhaps it is that same door that will re-open but at that point we are in a different place.  Is that a beginning or an end?  Perhaps it's both.  And if it's both, which is more significant?  Can one exist without the other?  Or do either of them really exist?

So you see,  my mind is awash with many questions and few answers thus the source of my frustration and difficulty with today's prompt.

So now I will end my day by beginning to sleep so to awake in the morning at the end of the night to begin a new day...

321/365-2 Give Thanks for Comfort Food

"Comfort Food"

The suggestion with today's prompt was to photograph a can of soup.  Nothing says comfort like chicken noodle or tomato soup, right?  But, after photographing oatmeal yesterday as my lame response to home cooking, there was no way that I was going to photograph a can of soup today.  

Chicken and sausage jambalaya was on the menu tonight...from scratch!  It was warm and hearty and comforting.  Since the intention of today's prompt was to challenge ourselves to find an interesting perspective on the can of soup, I decided to at least focus on the vessel in which the jambalaya was served.  The gorgeous tureen was made for us by a wonderful friend.  

As we ate, we were comforted in body by a warm, healthy home cooked meal and comforted in spirit 

in knowing that we are blessed by such caring friends.