moments

Great photographs depicting the range of emotions at the Olympic games. See more here.

seen on A Cup of Jo

going for the gold

J and I have been watching the Olympics. She is entranced. This is the first year she is old enough to really understand what is going on. She can watch swimming and gymnastics endlessly - everything else is "kind of boring." Yesterday we watched the woman's water polo team. J was so into it. What a combination - water and a ball! We may have a future water polo player on our hands...

Not diving, not swimming, not water polo, just J jumping from the diving board at the public pool. 

Taken last summer via iPhone.

tolerance

source unknown

found on the undocumented world of tumblr

I need to try harder to remember this. I swing between extremely tolerant of others to extremely irritated by others. I like myself much better when I'm tolerant and I'm much happier when others are tolerant of me.

foto friday

Going back to the root goal of my photography - having my photos available to those who want them, I've decided to make Fridays a sharing day. I will provide a different photo each Friday that you can download and print for your personal use. The photo is in pdf form. You will need Adobe Reader to open the file. You can download Reader for free here. I'm new to this downloading stuff and am using dropbox to facilitate the transfer. If you have any problems downloading the photo, please let me know.

Wedding Day

download 6x9 pdf here

5 senses

It's not a new idea...taking a moment and noticing what is around you and within you. Just a moment to notice what you are sensing.

sight: J's drawing of a cat hanging on the wall above my computer.
sound: blue jays squawking in the backyard.
smell: water from the sprinkler on the front lawn.
taste: the lemon and lime flavor of diet 7-up.
touch: the soft fur of Giovanni as he rubs against my hand.

a can of diet 7-up because it was easier to get a photo of than the ever moving Giovanni...

cat saturday

A little different cat Saturday...instead of posting a photo of a cat, I'd like to introduce you to a relatively new tumblr blog curated by my niece. It's called Mew Mew and it is dedicated solely to cats. My niece is incredibly artistic, creative, and has an unique outlook on the world. The tumblr is a reflection of who she is. Check it out. It's purrfect...

Cindy (my niece) with her kitty bike at Burning Man

foto friday

Going back to the root goal of my photography - having my photos available to those who want them, I've decided to make Fridays a sharing day. I will provide a different photo each Friday that you can download and print for your personal use. The photo is in pdf form. You will need Adobe Reader to open the file. You can download Reader for free here. I'm new to this downloading stuff and am using dropbox to facilitate the transfer. If you have any problems downloading the photo, please let me know.

In Front of the Lights

download 6x9 pdf here

gratefulness

Do you receive the Word for the Day from Gratefulness.org? If not, you're missing out on such beautiful words as these:

If the sight of blue skies fills you with joy,

if a blade of grass springing up

in the fields has power to move you,

if the simple things in Nature

have a message you understand,

rejoice, for your soul is alive.

Eleanora Duse

For more information about Gratefulness.org or to sign up for the Word of the Day, visit here.

here kitten kitten

Shari Elf Gallery

seen on bb-blog

barbie creativity

This afternoon J, her grandmother, and I dressed J's Barbies. Of course, that wasn't enough for me - or J. We had to photograph them as well...

beginnings

And suddenly you know:

It's time to start something new

and trust the magic of beginnings.

Meister Eckhart

I've been struggling with creativity lately. I don't feel it. My passion is lost. It's time for a jump start. Now I just have to figure out what to do to start. Maybe I should take a page from J's book and do a little bit of everything all at once...

J's hand print

cat saturday

Caged

where, oh, where...again

Where have I been? Again? Same old story...sick. First a hospital stay with pneumonia which took forever to recover from. Then just as I was beginning to feel better, I caught a cold from J which settled in my throat and moved into my ears. Two ear infections resulted. I've nearly finished my run of meds, but still can't hear. I must say, as difficult as it is to communicate with others, I am enjoying this quiet world. For now...I do want my hearing back.

While I go to the doctor when I have to, I feel there is a deeper cause for all physical ailments. Trying to figure out the causes of my many sicknesses, I've turned to my favorite book for such matters - Louise Hay's Heal Your Body. A truly wonderful little book I highly recommend. I won't bore you with the specifics of each of my health challenges, but it is very interesting to note the recurring commonalities of not feeling safe, of not feeling like I am heard, of suppressing my creativity, and of not taking care of myself. Based on my findings, and with the aid of Louise's book, I've created six simple daily affirmations to help heal my body and my soul.

I am safe.
I joyously release the past.
I love and approve of myself.
I hear and speak with love.
I express my creativity.
I create my life.

I'll let you know if the affirmations make a difference.