Old Chairs...

The challenge this week with Beyond Beyond was to take the photo that Kim Klassen provided for us and to process it in our own way..and then compare..This was quite a challenge but I loved the old chairs..we had them when we were kids so I was up for the task.  The above photo is the one from Kim...

Sometimes when I start out on editing I think I know where I'm going,  then when it is finished I wonder how I ever even went in that direction..it's like my writing...the story takes on a life of it's own and that is exactly what happened here...but I do love the end result.  I hope you enjoy viewing the difference and perhaps be inspired to process some of your own work...

Thanks Kim for the textures...I used Dusty Rose...vivid light at 13 % opacity and Magic Film from the new paper collection at soft light 70%..

The above chairs were my Mom's and they are really old..when she died my brother took them for his yard and he takes very good care of them...I remember burning my butt on these many times as a kid...they were not my favorite back then...but now...hmm,  I might steal one from my brother one day...

The Calm After the Storm

Sometimes the ocean the sand and the rocks are so beautiful...calming and peaceful...a good place to go when you feel the need for a bit of uplifting energy...a place to sit and meditate, just by staring out at the simple beauty of it all...the sound of the waves sooth your soul and quiet the mind and you feel at peace.   Other times that ocean is your worst nightmare and plays havoc with the land...It's times like that when it's best to just stay away.  We have had several weeks of the magical mystery of the seas. My prayers are with the three families at Plum Island who lost their houses to the sea this past weekend.

As the sea goes, so does life...up and downs,  beautiful moments, joy beyond what we expect and then along comes pain and anxiety to send us into a tail spin...my life feels just like the sea lately...as I continue to work out the process of my health issues...so many more good days now than bad...for which I am thankful.   Every once in awhile though the angry sea roars it's ugly face again...as a reminder that life is not always fun and games but hard work and perseverance...

So yesterday I went to the sea in the town where I grew up...Winter Island is a place many people go to just to sit in their cars in the winter and watch the tide go in and out and look beyond the light house for a bigger view, in the summer there are lovely benches to sit on. I love to go there and photograph that light house...I have been their so many times..it reminds me of my past, it was the old Coast Guard Station and since my Dad was in the Military we would shop at the PX there, and looking out, it also reminds me of my future.   I see the waves crashing and the light of the house still shinning and so I know...life will always have difficulties but we should concentrate on the "light"...because the light is what will lead us into a brighter day..

It's Monday...I wish you great light and joy this week...

Buried in Books

Come on in..I'd like to share some of my books with you...it is my "first love" of all my passions...I have always been a lover of the written word.  For as long as I can remember books were my friend.  I lived in those stories growing up and even today..books are my escape.  I wished I had thought to take a photo before the cleaning so you could have seen what a mess I had on my shelves...but you know,  I knew where every book was that I needed or wanted...All cleaned up now.  I hope I can find the "next in line" when the time comes.

I spent the entire weekend cleaning and sorting books...not just in this bookcase, I also have a big bookcase in my living room...that got done also.  I even cleaned out the kids books so they are neat and organized now.  I did forget the ones in the family room though, but those can wait...I'm done with the book cleaning, moving on to something else that really needs some TLC..

So about the books...most everybook on the shelves above are books that I have not read yet...which brings me to my next problem..I buy to many books.  I am a bibliophile: 1. A lover of books 2. A collector of books.. It's like an addition.  The problem is I'm buying way more books than I can read in a lifetime..These books do not even included all the books I buy for my photography...we won't even go there...oh but the joy they bring, not just in the reading of them but in the getting of them, the holding of them, turning the pages, some feel like silk.  Just seeing them as I go up the stairs lifts my spirits..and I swear I can smell such a lovely smell from them also.

Have you ever spent a day at a Barnes and Nobles or Borders when they were still around.  Do you remember the "good time" feeling that would come over you as you pushed the door open,  even before you laid eyes on a good book or a magazine that you just had to have...Oh my,  I would get lost for hours in those stores.  I still do..Now I take Liam so he will understand the importance of the "written word" in binder format.   I get a cup of tea...he, his chocolate milk and then we walk together gathering what we will look at while we have our treat and always, something comes home with us...Oh I could go on and on but I think you are getting the sense of me and my books...Honestly when I was really sick earlier in the year...books saved me... so for that alone they are worth whatever the cost...and Oh Amazon...you are my biggest challenge right now..please stop coming to my mailbox..

So those bags and many more are now on their way to my local library...they will be happy to have them for their next sale.   I hate to admit it but most of them are new...I never got a chance to visit with them..and I know that it will not happen now..so I'm glad to share them with someone else who is not as deranged as I am about books...but I do remember a long time ago my Aunt Florence..(such an old fashion name) telling me that as long as you have books, you will always have a friend...Now I know what she was talking about.  I also hope that many of us find peace and joy in just holding a real book..perhaps marking it up as you go along. Words  to remember or words that remind you of the past.   Words that still today resonate a feeling that you once experienced or a memory of a loved one that now is no longer here.   A book you can hold on to for however long you need it's message..to put on your shelf and know that you can return to it again and again. Those special books that have been given to me by my kids, especially my son, who writes lovely messages on the title page for me...Keepers always.. 

Words are magic...they define who we are and the choices we make.. Books are an education for those of us who were not fortuante enough to go to college...I have learned so much from books and continue to learn and for this I am grateful...O.K. so I spend a few bucks on my books but to me it is always money well spent for all that I get back...and the gift goes on as I pass the books forward.

I made another discovery while cleaning out my books and I thought I would share that today but I'm thinking it will have to wait.   Like this story, that other pile of books will take some time..and some pondering...Please come back again and share that moment with me.

As for today...it is snowing here,  the wind is howling and I'm going to be staying here in the house...here's the plan though...a nice warm shower, a fire in the living room fireplace...quilts, tea,  Gracie and perhaps today...I'll finish my currant  book  and maybe, just maybe pick "the next in line"  off my nice clean shelf... 

“How many cities have revealed themselves to me in the marches I undertook in the pursuit of books!” Walter Benjamin

“To build up a library is to create a life. It's never just a random collection of books.” Carlos Maria Dominquez

Looking Down and Up

March already...so glad to welcome you...Please be gentle.   January and February were not...so I welcome you looking down, dressing you in pink..a color of hope and gentleness.   

This weeks lesson was to shot a photo looking down.   Like all things for me the last two months, I found this to be somewhat of a challenge and know that it needs lots more work...but again it stretched me and took me out of my comfort zone.  I spent hours just thinking of a subject to shot.   Flowers always do the trick when all else fails and of course my ever loving companion..TEA.   

Up on the stool I got...didn't attempt the chair yet but next time..and really for all the photo's I took,  I only got this one that I feel is o.k. to post...I'm not disappointed in that because really you only need one of something if it works for you...but I learned a lot in this one photo...mostly I learned that there is another way of looking at my photography...I will try it again and maybe next time it will be a bit more "flowing", in the sense that the subject will come to me more quickly...I'm already thinking shoes.... and that next time I will go HIGHER.  

The rest of the process was so much fun...I love pink.   It's a gentle color and easy on the eye. Soft, feminine and in this case, a sign of spring bring with it, hope and healing.  Hyacinth has a sweet smell,  one of my favorite spring flowers and so I treated it with the respect it deserves to thank it for the joy it has brought me this past week. A level adjustment in photoshop and then I added a dusty rose texture at 56% opacity and another texture, KK0303 at 48 % opacity.  I also removed some of the texture from the cup after applying the dusty rose..lastly I added a gradient layer of soft pink coming in from the side just to soften it up a bit...so in the end,  not so bad..I'm kind of liking it...

A new month,  a new week.  I'm caught up,  well on my homework but now if I could only find a mini plow to come in and plow out my office...Well that is not going to happen so I'm going to run away from it for awhile and hit the gym...no better way to start a Monday and get your head screwed on straight, hopfully it will stayed screwed on for a few days...

Have a great week everyone...peace, love and a bit of pink....

Thanks always to kim Klassen for the textures and lessons...but mostly for the inspiration and love.

Grey Haze Days

The weather report this morning says that we are going to have at least 5 more days of grey...that was not what I was hoping for..I really could use some sunshine and warmth right now...What to do, what to do..I guess the only thing we can do is just "hang in there".

Time seems to be moving slowly for me this winter.  Normally I would be finishing up a three week trip to St. Maaten.   It would have been filled with sunshine, sand on my toes and warmth...quiet time,  just gathering all the goodness of being....and doing nothing.  A time to recharge my batteries.   A break from all the snow and haze and grey...soon.   

Soon we see the green grass again...because no matter how cold, how hazy, how long...spring always comes and with it we will feel the hope of healing...new life and warmth that will restore our souls and our hearts. I found this Eagle when I was in San Diego and he was also healing...I'm hoping today that he is once again flying...just as we will do in a few months...

So in the meantime...don't let the grey get you down.. just find yourself a bright spot...grab some light and gather up all your favorite books and projects and settle in...it really is all about attitude.   A good attitude will get you through any grey day or storm.   Even if your world is turned upside down for awhile for whatever reason...a good attitude will make the day brighter...oh and there is nothing like a great friend to help you through the season of grey...and a friend will surely make your day...

Wishing you all a sunshiny weekend and a friend to share it with...

"I write to taste life twice".  Anais Nin

"Whatever comes from the heart carries the heat and color of it's birthplace."  Oliver Wendell Holmes