65/365 Full Speed Ahead

"Making Butter"

One of the things that we treat ourselves to is homemade butter.  Unlike many foods made at home, it is not cheaper to make butter than to buy it, but it sure tastes better.  Making the butter is one of Weber's self delegated chores.  So tonight he made butter and I took pictures.  

The mixer has to be on "full speed ahead" for the process of cream becoming butter to work.  I took lots of pictures of the whisk actually moving, but I did not really like the images.  Two things bothered me about them.  First of all, because we made the butter at ten o'clock at night, there was no natural light in the kitchen.  That made the exposure difficult.  Secondly, though the process of making butter is amazing to watch, the pictures do not do it justice.  It kind of looked like we were whisking already scrambled eggs.  Therefore, today's picture was taken only seconds after the whisk had been moving full speed ahead.

On a related note, we had a tornado drill at school this afternoon.  As we were heading to our "safe spot" (I say that with a great deal of sarcasm.) I passed our division secretary and said, "I'll see you in Oz."  She said, "Do you think that you could bring some homemade butter to Oz?  I don't mind going as long as I have some of your butter."

We are not in Oz, but I do have butter to take to her tomorrow.

64/365 Lucky

"Elephants and Family"

I am always amazed at the things I learn about myself when I am considering the daily photo prompts.  Today I realized that I don't ever think about luck or being lucky.  I don't have any tokens or trinkets that I think bring me luck.  I am not particularly superstitious.  I am not a risk taker.  All this made me realize that I was at a loss as to what to photograph today.  It also made me seriously think about luck and what being lucky means.

I finally decided that I don't really believe in luck.  I believe in synchronicity, which may be perceived as luck but really isn't.  And, I believe in being blessed.  The good fortune that I enjoy in my life comes by way of blessings, not luck.  These thoughts are not formed well enough to be coherent right now.  They may appear in a later post.

All that said, I still needed a photo.

These two elephants sit on a shelf above my desk.  Elephants, like rainbows and four leaf clover, are symbols of luck or good fortune.  I believe there is some debate about how lucky they are depending on whether their trunk is up or down.  Elephants are also a symbol of family.  My two elephants happen to be note or picture holders.  With a picture of the girls on one and our family Christmas picture on the other, I am reminded of how blessed I really am.

63/365 Two

"My Two Favorite Colors"

There is not much explanation or elaboration needed here.  Anyone who knows me or has visited our home knows that blue and orange rock my world.

I have been working on another photo project around the theme of "two."  The assignment was to create a diptych.  Various ideas have been bouncing around in my head for the past three weeks.  I finally set out this past weekend to do something about making the ideas into a reality.  I took the pictures for three possible diptychs, but I think I knew all along which one would be "the one."

On a beautiful Saturday afternoon, Weber and I were walking through a nearby park.  The park was filled with wrought iron benches - all of which were empty.  In fact, there were virtually no other people around.  It was kind of strange feeling.  Where were all of the people?  Why weren't they outside enjoying the spectacular day?

I started wondering if people fear being out in public.  Do they feel too vulnerable?  We all know too well how quickly lives can change and can end in an instant because of the actions of one person.  It is from these thoughts that I created the following.

"The Power of One"

I recognize that this is a little creepy or spooky, as one person described it.  I guess it is supposed to be. It is meant to illustrate how a single action of one person can leave a school, a park, a heart lifeless.

62/365 Upside Down

"0937 Upside Down"

There are some things that the iPhone just doesn't do as well as the good old red display TI calculators from the 70's!

61/365 Whimsical

"Words By Which To Live And Learn"

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

60/365 Sweet Rest

"Sweet Rest"

No resting was happening at our house today.  Late this afternoon, with no idea was I was going to photograph for today's prompt, I took a stroll outside.  Looking at the closed buds on the irises, I decided that they were resting; there was my picture.

"Awake!"

As I made my way back around the house, a glimpse of purple caught my attention.  Amidst all of the green stems and tightly closed buds was one early bloomer.  On this first day of March, spring is in the air . . .or at least in the flower bud.  I suspect that this bloom will not be alone for long.

59/365 Up Close and Personal

"Icing on the Cake"

During the month of February it seems like everyone except me photographed a cupcake in response to one prompt or another.  I finally succumbed to peer pressure.  Here is my icing on the cake as we bid farewell to this month of sweets and treats.