designed by Sol LeWitt
Currier Museum of Art, Manchester, NH
BeckyB: lines&squares
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Circles, Curves and Arches
Paths of color round the bend
designed by Sol LeWitt
Currier Museum of Art, Manchester, NH
designed by Sol LeWitt
Currier Museum of Art, Manchester, NH
our sky
Inspired by V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #67: Sky
We all live under the same sky.
Sharing the planet…the air…the water.
Handing it down one generation to the next.
The sky’s the limit…we hope to tell our children.
At least I did.
Many parents can’t share that hope.
Their children look up…confused.
They don’t understand.
I told my children anything was possible.
Work hard. Persevere. Love. Share. Support.
Be grateful for the help that comes your way.
To make it possible.
We all live under the same sky.
We need to learn how to share it.
The sky’s the limit.
Frame it
Lens-Artists Challenge #66: Filling the Frame
You can include images of buildings, people, objects, and/or elements from nature. Feel free to include shots of the same subject before you filled the frame and after you filled the frame.
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This past summer I had a butterfly experience.
In fact…a massive butterfly experience. As a photographer, I had never been this up close and personal with so many butterflies. As I was to find out, butterfly bushes are instrumental in attracting these beautiful – and elusive – quick-to-fly-away insects.
At first I was drawn to the bushes themselves.
But, after filling the frame, I got the scene I wanted.
A butterfly resting at (almost) center stage, highlighted against its signature flowers.
More recently, I found a patch of ferns in varying degrees of Autumn decay tucked behind a wire fence.
But on closer inspection…I uncovered an entirely different perspective.
A dance of textures and shades of green plus brown.
Decay?
Not so much.
Tree lines
Helping hands
Nancy Merrill’s Photo a Week Challenge: Hands
IN A NEW POST CREATED FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE A PHOTO (OR TWO OR THREE) THAT FEATURES HANDS.
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Little hands on deck helping Grampa make pancakes.
The day before Christmas 2017.
Stair lines at sea
Exploration…
Discovery…
A day at sea on an anniversary cruise.
BeckyB: #lines&squares
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Rectangles & Squares
Grandma Friendly Groceries
Inspired by Frank at Dutch goes the Photo: Groceries
If you need to buy groceries that are gluten free (GF) or, as my 3 year old grandson says, “Grandma Friendly,” there are more choices then ever before. Ten years ago, when I was first diagnosed with celiac disease, “Gluten Free” supermarket aisles didn’t exist. You either made your own version of bread/muffins/cake or ordered from a catalogue or online. Crackers, pasta and snacks were hard to find.
Gluten free used to be synonymous with cardboard – both texture and flavor-wise. Since manufacturers jumped on the GF bandwagon (for better or worse) in the last decade, the situation has improved. GF versions of staples such as bread, crackers and cereal almost taste like the gluten filled real thing. If you close your eyes…and have a short memory. Some are tastier than others.
Labeling accuracy is still sometimes iffy, but for the most part a bit of research is all that’s necessary before venturing down the grocery aisle.
Unless, of course, you want to skip some of the label reading and head to an outside aisle.
Also Grandma Friendly.
The pull of the story
Inspired by V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #66: Savour
This week, let’s consider what we savour.
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A good story. A good book. I’ve always savored those moments – from the days of a flashlight under the covers late at night…to now…when my eyes close despite the glow of the bedside lamp.
Page corners folded. Neon post-it flags stuck in places to return to. Aha! sentences marked in pencil.
My favorites? The ones with characters who mirror my hopes…fears…life challenges. Or my possibilities…the “what ifs”…
From an early age, I looked forward to stories. An alternate universe of adventure I could only dream about as a young girl. It was unheard of to strive for independence as a boy would…well, except for Nancy Drew. She had remarkable success. It was exhilarating.
Years later, my chosen books lengthened. The topics expanded.
Elizabeth Berg emerged as one of my favorite authors. I met her at several book signings when she lived in the northeast. Her stories are treasures to savor, but one in particular – The Pull of the Moon – struck a chord like no other. It is one of the few books I have read multiple times. The main character – Nan – writes letters to her husband while she’s on a solo road trip…as she explores what it means to age. Looking forward and looking back. As she turns 50. The book is a journal of sorts.
A powerful story.
All lined up
Scents mysterious
line the sill.
Oils of lemongrass,
cypress…
poised to heal.
Tools of the trade
made manifest
by her magic touch.
Miracles begin here.
BeckyB: #lines&squares
Paradise Found
Inspired by Lens-Artists Challenge #65: Pick a Place
We’d like you to capture the spirit of a place that is vivid in your memory. What was it that drew you in and why did it capture YOUR heart?
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You have to go to Coronado!
Stop at the Del for dessert since it’s cheaper than getting a meal!
My friend Barbara was adamant. My husband and I were planning a week’s vacation in San Diego (this was 1996…before the internet…back when you talked to friends and read travel books to prepare for a trip). I had always wanted to explore southern California – specifically San Diego – and Barbara insisted we include a trip to nearby Coronado.
She grew up in California, so I figured her advice was solid.
We dutifully signed up for one of those trolley tours you can take when visiting a popular tourist destination. Coronado (often referred to as an island, but as we were informed many times – it’s a peninsula – NOT an island) is just across the bridge from San Diego. Lucky for us…it was a stop on the route.
When the trolley let us off on Coronado’s Orange Avenue….we fell in love with what we saw. Palm tree lined streets, friendly locals, an amazing ice cream shop, a restaurant advertising the world’s best margarita, thriving community theater…and the best part: the Beach. Sparkly sand like I’d never seen before. Or since.
Yes, we also drank tea and enjoyed a snack at the “Del” (aka: The Hotel Del Coronado…the iconic location of the classic film Some Like It Hot). Thank you Barbara.
We discovered that Coronado Beach goes on for what seems like forever. Dotted with people of all ages, shapes and sizes. Tourists and townspeople alike. Kids building sand castles. Teenagers tossing beachballs. Runners pounding footprints into the sand. Even a section for dogs and their humans to play.
It’s also a perfect beach for walking, even at high tide. An ideal spot for stretching out on a rented chair or towel. Reading. Writing. Listening to music. Staring at the horizon. Quenching one’s thirst. Unwinding.
We returned to my favorite place a half dozen times and found something new to do every visit.
My last visit was a solo trip in 2006 for a week’s R&R.
No need to rent a car. Walking or riding a bicycle was enough.
From a walk by the pier…to the shops…to the beach.
After dinner…perhaps a concert at the bandstand.
And back to the beach for a sunset goodnight.
Just perfect.
one letter UP ~ diary 2.0 