Day 11

Lawrence of Arabia

When I was little, my mom washed my hair in the sink.  She would run her fingers down a strand of my hair and it would squeak.  "Squeaky clean! All done!"  Then she or my father would put a towel turban on my head "just like Lawrence of Arabia."

Day 10

Morning Light and Shadow

Day 9

The American Way

Day 8

Foraging

Day 7

I  See You

Day 3

Setting

Running

Visiting

Day 2

Party Clean-up and Recovery

Day 1 (Belated)

So, yesterday was Day One of The August Break which just happened to coincide with the 30th Birthday Surprise Party for my husband.  By 8:30 (an hour after all had left and most of the clean-up had been done) I was just too exhausted to post.

The party was at our house.  So, in order to get my husband out so his family could come in and prepare the surprise, Pierce and I took the birthday man in to the city.

 Pierce waiting for the Subway Train

I didn't take any party photos (other people did), but here is a quick photo I snapped before we went to bed.

Exhausted Birthday Man with remnants of surprise party

Great way to begin August and The August Break!

Joyful July

It has been a Joyful July!

I finished up Unravelling: Ways of Seeing Myself with Susannah Conway.  I am still reeling from that amazingness.

I launched my new project, Relay Mail.  I have put 25 pieces of Relay Mail out into the world so far and will continue to.  If you are interested in participating, please email me at relaymailproject@gmail.com and provide your snail mail address or email address and I will make and send you a piece.

My husband will turn 30 on Saturday.  This is momentous and mind-boggling for him.  I have been planning many festivities for the upcoming weekend.  Finally, I feel like it is all coming together.  Details to follow, as he reads my blog.

To top off this Joyful July, my best friend will be a mom any day now!  She and I have been friends since we were 12.  Her husband and my husband have known each other since kindergarten.  I am so so so excited to meet the little bit baby girl and so so so over-the-moon for her parents!!!!! 

July...Joyful, isn't it?

P.S. August brings The August Break.  There is also a link/button in my sidebar.  Join us, won't you?

Gaining Confidence

I have been away for so long!!!!  I have been sucked into my new Unravelling E-Course with Susannah Conway (yippee! :-D) and I have worked every day since my last post (Ack!!!).

The e-course has me facing lots of fears and acting more boldly which is already boosting my confidence as Week Two begins.  I can only imagine where I will be by the time Week 8, our final week, concludes!  Boggling!  I highly recommend this course to EVERYONE!

Running is a real outlet for me and I have talked about it many times here.  Last week, I realized that I only go running with the dog.  I never go alone.  Why?  Well,  I was afraid.  What might happen to me if I went alone?  What if I am only able to run because the dog is a motivator, keeps me moving forward?  What if I went running and found that I gave up on myself and just started walking?  Could I really do it alone?

Turns out that I can do it alone and be motivated, strong, and safe.

Do something that scares you this week.  You might just surprise yourself.

Take it from me, the confidence boost you will give yourself will be amazing, intoxicating!

<3 xoxo <3

Warming Up

I have signed up for Susannah Conway's "Unravelling: Ways of Seeing Myself" e-course which starts on May 24th.  I am not quite sure what to expect, but I know somehow that it will be extraordinary.

The course is photography and journalling based.  My writing is stronger than my photography.  Yesterday I decided to dust off the camera in an effort to begin warming up for the course.

Instead of running my normal route, I walked it to see what normally passes in a blur.

Bleeding Hearts in the Front Yard

I often forget how closely together natural and man-made things co-exist.

Gardens and Neighbors

I run down a little path every day and don't even look at what is on either side of me.  I never noticed the garden or the skyline.

 

 Luscious Moss

 I just wanted to lay down in this soft bed of moss beneath the shady tree..

All That Glitters

I snapped this while running over a bridge.  Usually I am paying attention to my running pace, fellow pedestrians, and the traffic to my left.  This photo reminds me to look both ways when crossing the bridge.

Sway

This is a bench I always pass.  I just love the light and the curves and the lines and the niches that indicate a life well lived.

Reflections

I always notice the statue of the Madonna in this yard, but never caught the reflection in the old window.

Twisted

I wonder how this tree came to grow this way. Maybe something was wrapped tightly around the tree and the tree healed over it?  Beautiful.

Abundance

Delicate strength.  Miniature boldness.  Light support.  Abundance.  I invite all into my life.

These are just eight of the literally hundreds of images I took yesterday.  There is so much to see if your looking for it. Every day miracles.

Dear Dad

Dear Dad,
I was reading this today and thought of you.

I remembered when we lived on South Street and you used to bring out the Polaroid camera and shoot photos.

I remembered how patiently you taught six year old me to wrap my hand around the strap of the heavy camera, place my other hand on the other side, finger poised above the button, focus on what I wanted to see, wanted others to see and... CLICK!

I remembered waiting for the image to appear.  You would come down to my level, resting the whole of your weight on the balls of your feet and lean in behind me, peering over my shoulder at the picture you held in front of us both.  Sometimes you trusted me to hold the photo myself, gently between the pointer finger of each hand so as not to smudge the developing photo with my fingers or crush the photo between the weight of my fingers on either side.

We waited and those few minutes sometimes felt like an eternity.  I was not always a patient child and, even now, am not always a patient adult, but you helped me pass the time.  You told me how it worked, what was happening as we waited, you often chalked it up to "Magic!", and slowly it appeared... what I wanted to see, what I wanted others to see.

As I got older, you taught me more.  We "played" with the lenses and the light.  You showed me Polaroids you had taken long ago.  You allowed me, provided me with the tools, to tap my imagination and to create and to feel safe in sharing this with others.

I remember your delighted laughter, low and dark emerging slowly from the back of your throat, at my observations as I was framing a photo and at my amazement when my photos developed.

I miss your laugh.

I miss you.

Fast forward to almost a year ago.  When Grammy passed away, your parents' house was cleaned out and you found Grampy's camera.  If I could find film for it, you would teach me how to use it, you promised.  I would like to do that.  Would you?

Over the past year I have been transforming.  I have said the things and asked the questions that reside in my soul in an effort to show the people I love how much I love them, how much I desire to have truthful, deeper, stronger relationships with them.  Mostly, my outreach has not been reciprocated, my questions have gone unanswered, but I continue to hope and to love.  I have asked for really big things, huge leaps of faith, and I recognize that.  I wait patiently for people to develop, for life to develop, for the future to develop.  I stand firmly in the now with hope and intention and, most importantly, love.

I still believe in "Magic!"

Love,
Your Daughter