Morning Glory Studio

this day was made for walkin'...

 

       This morning we awoke to a cool  68 degrees. Today's forecast : sunny skies, most of  the day. I decided that this was going to  be my morning to walk to Zeke's  for a caramel latté and a sit out on the Avenue. I hadn't been in over a week and I was feelin' the need. Armed with my journal, a pen, iPhone, a book  AND money, I headed out for the not quite a mile walk going (tho' it's over a mile returning, depending on the way I go...). I had a delightful walk and sit out, including meeting a delightful young woman and her two young sons; she's  starting a blog - but that's a story for another post.

Going and coming, I took 56 photos; a few of my favorites  included:

• a day care taking its young charges out for a ride...
• photos of art made by disabled artists of all ages and abilites, on display in a window ...
• my caramel latté, mais oui...
• #blueskyblooms  -crepe myrtle trees -abundant in bloom and color, especially against the dazzling blue sky...
• a yellow door ( I secretly covet one for my house) ...
• a monarch butterfly perched atop a flower...
• US and DC flags, flappin' in the wind (the DC flag needs replacing - it's a tad tattered)...
• children playing on the jungle gyms, monkey bars, swings

I neither read or journaled, but that's just fine for the moments spent are indelibly inscribed in my mind. I hope your day was filled with many colorful and memorable #tinytinymoments, too.

Cheers~

 

"Live Like the Mountain is Out"...

 

     In the Seattle/Tacoma area, there is a saying: "Live like the Mountain - as in Mt Rainier - is out. "  The mountain in the photo is sort of in the center and it looks like a whisp of cloud across the middle.

Yesterday, on our way home after our visit to Pike Place Market, we stopped at Lake Seward. Fortunately, the clouds were dissipating and I was able to get a fairly good photo of this majestic mountain. Today was a much brighter, less cloudy day and the few glimpses I got I didn't have an opportunity to capture via camera. But, that's OK; I think the vision/memory of the mountain is seared in my mind ...and

I recently read an article discussing the pros and cons of taking a photo in order to remember a scene or place or event. It may or may not be better...  Perhaps that is so. I know that I'll always  conjure up the memory of Mt. Rainier from this personal experience ... and focus on living positively. Definitely a better path to take. It is so easy to allow ourselves to get down and we have to hang tough! 

Tomorrow, I wend my way home. 

Peace ~

watercolor wednesday | paint chips & hibiscus ...

 

         I am particpating in a 30 days online photo adventure: Collecting Color.  M-F, we have a prompt to shoot color in our everyday lives. Last Friday's prompt was to visit a paint store and select paint chips that resonated.  Sunday was my monthly FriendStitchin' day and the lovely Hibiscus greeted us at our hostess's home. I was struck this morning by the color palette of both...totally unplanned. 

What bits of color do you see as you look around?

Cheers~

silver branches...

On my walk today, I spied some  branches that had been painted silver  - for the holidays, I suspect -and  placed  outside for trash collection. I decided that the branches were too nice to throw away so I rescued them . They're in the garage until I decide how and if I really want to keep and use.  The photo isn't quite what I had in mind when I took it...but, it'll do. I do like all that 'white' space for a title or caption.  I'll keep thinkin'...

Cheers~

this one's for you, AJ...

 

Years ago, my friend Adele gave me these Christmas mugs - I have this thing for Scotty dogs...

Katrina Kennedy's December 17th Capture your 365 prompt featured two candy canes arranged to make a heart. I just happened to have some candy canes... 

Adele's birthday is February 14 and she has a wonderful collection of hearts, acquired over many years... 

When I saw Katrina's prompt...well, as they say, the rest is history... 

Cheers~  

PS. Have a cup o' chocolate and fix yourself a candy cane heart, too.

september's full harvest moon...

For about the first 4-5 months this year, I've made it my business to try to capture the full moon with a camera. My success rate has been pretty mediocre, if not downright dismal. Over the summer, I just gave up trying. I probably need a real camera  to succeed.

Last Saturday evening, I looked out the window and was surprised to see a pretty full moon shining brightly from the east...all summer, the moon's been beaming from the south and of course, much later in the evening. I grabbed my iPhone and headed outside to see what I could capture. Now, I know the iPhone camera wasn't designed to take photos of the moon and other celestial bodies, so, I wasn't expecting much more than a circle in the night sky. This is what I got:

Whatever, it's a pretty interesting photo...looks like it'd make a neat background for an art journal page or possibly a scrapbook layout. Might have to try both...

Cheers~

september surprise...

Last night on the 11 PM news, the meterologist reported that between 9 PM and 11 PM, we received 1.64 inches of rain - the most rain we've had on a single day all year! Did I hear the word drought? And yes, I know we've been having wacky weather all of 2012. A  gloriously early, extended and truly wonderful spring preceeded a long and blistering summer. September - and the promise of cooler weather and lovely fall foliage and flowers - is here. Yay!

Imagine my surprise yesterday when I saw this:

Yes! That is a bloom and a bud on an azalea bush! Typically a spring flowering bush... This may not be an anomaly but it is the first time that I recall seeing a blossom in the 26 years I've lived here. More wacky weather??? Whatever, a surprise.

Cheers~

PS. I took and edited the photo with the iPhone app: Camera+. Still learning...

hello summer...

Honore here: Well, I *am* here.  As I reviewed my calendar since my last post, I see that I've been occupied nearly every day with all sorts of things, ranging from the mundane (and often necessary, such as shopping for groceries, paying quarterly estimated taxes, weeding the garden - for which I promptly got a bee sting) to fun and different if not especially fascinating or exotic. 

My piece de resistance this month is a new iPhone!

I'm enjoying learning about it and especially taking photos. Nice -  and a photographer I am, not. Unfortunately, I lost the first batch of photos I took as I was uploading them to iPhoto. Not sure what happened but they are nowhere to be seen. Bummer! Occasionally I think of a photo I'd taken and then realize, it's gone. Oh well, it's just a photo...or so I tell myself.

One activity that has commandeered a lot of my time over the past two weeks is the "Whisper Project." Do you remember the game "whisper" where someone whispers something in your ear and you pass it on to the next person? And by the end, the last person on the chain shares, outloud, what was whispered in her ear ...absolutely nothing like the original whisper. Five quilting friends from my Sister's  trip and I  decided we'd make small quilts and pass them among ourselves, following along the idea of the whisper game. Each of us makes a small quilt and sends it to the person next in the queue who, inspired by something in the quilt: color, theme, design, etc, creates a quilt and sends it onto the next person who, upon receipt of the newly inspired quilt makes a new one and sends it on to the person following her. At the end, each of us will wind up with six quilts, including our original.

Our first challenge deadline is June 23. Monday, I  finished and sent my first quilt. Last week, I received my "inspiration " for my second whisper quilt...which is due in August. ..and I think I've decided on how I will proceed, now that I've been inspired. Unfortunately, I can't share any of the finished projects until the end... But here is a stack of fabric that I played with when I first started my little quilt...

In the evenings, I wound down with knitting...this is another block of my diamonds are amazing afghan...we're now doing two blocks a month... 

...the champagne adds  a touch of ...

Looking at the calendar and the summer days ahead,  we don't have any major plans; perhaps a trip or two to Ocean City or down to the Smithsonian Mall. I have a long list of projects in various stages of progress that will keep my days filled and me out of mischief. It will be a busy summer filled with knitting, the Whisper Project and other quilting , online classes, Project Life, and art journaling - I'm taking three live classes , one taught by Tim Holtz in August - and possibly, having my studio and the bedroom repainted . And I fully intend to resume blogging on a regular basis.  If I don't do it, who will?

Cheers~ 

photo freedom...

Honoré here: In 2006, Stacy Julian, founder of Big Picture Classes (then it was Big Picture Scrapbooking), offered a 10-12 week online course on  organizing one's photo collection. I (along with  my friend Kathy), was one of those who took the class and have signed on as an alum in every class offered, since. I am doing so again this year. 

When I first took the class, I lamented (as Kathy, I'm sure can attest) that I just didn't have any photos to organize: neither the old-fashioned kind or digital. That's not exactly true - I did have a smattering of each but certainly not enough, or so I thought. Nevertheless, I was determined (perhaps hopeful is a better word) to organize the photos I did have and set up a system I could trust, using Stacy's course as my North Star. I did not set up said system (she  whispers).

Fast forward to today: 17 June 2011. Oh by gosh by golly, according to my Photoshop Elements 8 Organizer I now have 6579 items, dated Feb 2006 -June 2011. And most of those photos have been acquired since I retired the end of January 2010. Many have appeared on this blog or my other, OurTrivista, that Kathy, Laura and I share, and I've also had many printed. But I still have a lot of photos to review, purge, and organize. You think?

I've spent the better part of this afternoon trying to get my head wrapped around this daunting yet exciting task...and making sure I understand the ins and outs of Photoshop Elements 8. This project/activity falls under the goal number 5 I wrote about here several days ago: "create and implement a plan for tackling long-term projects." Obviously, if I am to accomplish the goal of attaining Photo Freedom (the name of Stacy's course this year), I'll need to tackle this project slowly and deliberately. And obviously I can't rely on the excuse that I don't have any photos.Not anymore.

This is a photo I took of me in May 2009... along with 17 other versions. There are a lot of these kinds of photos: snap, snap snap of the same subject. Obviously, I won't need all  - if any -versions...

(I think it's interesting that I got the  t-shirt I'm wearing from the Creating Keepsakes scrapbook magazine booth at a scrapping expo I attended in 2007.)

I best get back to my project but before I do, I think I'll take a walk. I think it'll help.

Cheers~

PS. And I'm leaving all cameras at home.

mystery fleur...

Honoré here: I've signed up for Capture your 365 photo project and this month's theme is birthdays...since I've already highlighted our birthday girl in a previous post, thought I'd share this photo of a lovely purple flower, its name I know not. Any ideas?

Whatever, I do love the color and the fact that it is a vine. I saw it at the same place where I go for knitting class; next time I'll need to ask someone.

Looks like we're on tap for another great, if not rare, June day; a tad warmer and more humid, but that's OK. Let's see, today is the 6th...so far, we've racked up 5 days. Not bad. Not bad at all.

On this June day, I wish you the best. Enjoy.

Cheers~