Week 8:52 of a Year in Pictures (Oct 24-30)

It is really hard for me to believe, looking back now on the month, how long this month has lasted. Perhaps it's because I've made some decisions in my personal life that I know are right but I just haven't had the courage to act on. When you know you have to do something and you keep putting it off time can really drag along, and for all of the wrong reasons. On the bright side though, there were some really beautiful things in life this week, which I'm going to share with you now!

Saturday 24th - Maybe a Zinnia

I have no idea what this flower is, but my best guess is that it's a zinnia. I just actually liked the way that ran together, the 'maybeazinnia' business, running much like my thoughts!!! :)

Sunday 25th - Beautiful Brights

What I love about this pictures, aside from the unrealy brightness of the colours, is the teeny tiny white flowers and the 'so-pretty-they-look-fake' little purple flowers, along with the faded petals of the biggest bloom... okay, so I love everything about it!

Monday 26th - Bright Eyes

When she first became part of the family this pup could not sit still for anything or anyone. Now she is quite lovely, and most of the time I really enjoy her. It is time though maybe to start looking to find her a best friend, someone to be her one and only, she would be much more gleeful (if a person could even stand that sorta thing!)... lovely dog.

Tuesday 27th - Mags and Pinky

This is Maggie, my little bundle of sunshine. She hasn't been the focus of a picture yet in my 365 (I don't think), and I really wanted to put together a collage of her playing with her favorite (that day!) toy. When you watch Mags play you can't help but smile and giggle. She fetches, she tears around thinkin' she's a big scary dog, and she is absolutely adorable.

Wednesday 28th - Lily

I really love to look at different kinds of flowers, for really different reasons. This one, the petal of the flower almost looks like a fine pink leaf, where you can see pollen dusting the edges and sunlight brightening the veins. On top of that, there’s the funky rigid centre that I really should have taken some close-ups of, because it has this beautiful perfect pattern on it. We should all be so lucky as to have a sunroom for winter’s blaher days!

Thursday 29th - Sadie n’ Bella

I love this photo, because whenever Sadie is with this puppy her eyes are happy. I mean the ‘real’ happy, the kind that shines from within, not just the happy we all manufacture because others expect to see it. On this afternoon she had decided that she wanted a big dog cuddle, and the big dog was just going to have to figure out how to contain herself! Bella’s a very patient pup when she’s with her mamma (or she’s likely to get her nose nipped, heehee) so she laid there (mostly) quietly till her mamma had had enough. 2 sets of bright eyes in this picture.

Friday 30 - Lonesome for Summer

Now this picture, for all intents and purposes, is a cheat, as I took it in August out in our flower garden. It was this beautiful perfect fiery little bloom that I just couldn’t get over. Today I was feeling a little lonely, sad for the weather and seasons changing... even though for the first time I’m actually able to appreciate the beauty of the Autumn, I’m no happier about summer going and winter coming. To make myself feel better I was looking through my photos from the summer, enjoying the pretty flowers in our garden, and this one just really cheered me up, so I thought I’d share it here... a little piece of summer on this Friday afternoon.

Week 7:52 of a Year in Pictures (Oct 17-23)

This week I honestly haven't put as much time, energy and thought into my pictures, which has been a bit of a disappointment to me. It's not as much fun, of course, when my fun little project becomes a burden, so AtTiTuDe ChAnGe TiMe!!  I am going to try to take more time for myself in this coming week, as well as make a serious attempt to do something nice for myself so I can drag myself into this hole I've been digging. Maybe there's a massage in my near future... :)

Saturday 17 - Autumn Bloom

Isn't it incredible that despite nearly all of the rest of the plant in this part of the garden dying, this beautiful bloom still sits there pretty and red? I think (gasp!) that I'm coming to appreciate some things about Autumn through this little picture project... who would have guessed?! :)

Sunday 18 - Happy Jack

The wonderful 'garden gang' at work already has pumpkins carved up for Halloween. Normally, I'm not a fan of having things up for the the holidays way far ahead of time, but it's really nice to see patients get excited and smile about something as simple and small as a little jack-o-lantern in the garden. Thanks, gang!

Monday 19 - Pine Drops

I was very grateful the day I took this photo that it was raining, instead of snowing. I love to try and take pictures of water drops, raindrops, dewdrops, alottadrops. My favorite is when I manage to catch a fantastic reflection, but I didn't get it here... I still like the drops tho!

Tuesday 20 - Angel en Guarde

This little angel hangs in the kitchen window. You know how sometimes you really need an angel hanging around, just a little extra assurance that things are going to be okay? Today, this is that angel.

Wednesday 21 - Enter in Love

This heart hangs on the front door. It looks identical to the one that used to hang on my classroom door at my last teaching job in Korea, Lovely Class, beautiful. And for Daffa, it's always a little better with a few hearts kickin' around!!  :)

Thursday 22 - Circle of Roses

Why do you supposed people keep dead flowers like this? Is it because they were so pretty when they were alive you just don't want to let go of the beauty? Is it because they're so pretty, in a different way when they're dead, and it feels a shame to throw them away? Is it an attempt to hold on to the beauty of the moment they were given or received? I really don't know...

Friday 23 - Nimma Sandwich

This lovely pup is Nimma. You've met her before if you've spent any time on my page, she is a sweet (most-of-the-time) white Maltese who came over from Korea. She loves to snuggle and cuddle in soft covers, and she loves this bed. It was pretty cute when she dug herself underneath. I cut this picture out of a video where I was talking to her... she would raise her eyes up to me and just softly wag her tail a few times without moving the rest of her body... it was adorable, haha!

Week 6:52 - This Year in Pictures (Oct 10-16)

Fall is now here in force, winter abandoned for the time being, bringing frosted early morning windshields, icy corners, leaves falling away for another year. This week my mind has been entrenched in the idea of change, the beauty of change, the futility of resisting change - it comes, no matter what you do, and life seems to be better when you figure out how to flow with change.

I have been much more focused on nature rather than arranged scenes from my days. School and working full-time were kinda at the forefront, so I feel like I put less effort into the whole gestalt of the week's photos, but I'm still happy it all got here (kinda despite myself!). Here are the latest pictures...

Saturday 10 - Somethin' to Strut About

Peacocks are lovely. If I could have one for a pet I would, and hopefully I would just 'get over' the terrible noise that they make, because the males sure are something beautiful to look at. And while they squawk and yell as they walkabout, they sure do have something beautiful to strut about.

Sunday 11 - Periwinkle Petals

We're having Thanksgiving Dinner today. A melancholy day for me as I wrestle inside with change. Today I'm thankful for purple petals that hang on beyond the first frost, the first freeze, and the first signs of winter.

Monday 12 - Fallen Apples

I'm visiting family now in another province, and here they don't have snow. There are beautiful juicy sweet red apples dropping from full branches in their yard. It's about the end of the season really, but so wonderful! Bears have been by this week, well, one bear has been by I heard, to come and stuff himself with the lovely fruit. I love the play of light and shadow on the grass as the sunlight falls over the apples... a beautiful autumn morning!

Tuesday 13 - Dandy Dandelions

I haven't seen a dandelion like this one at home, and since there was no snow in BC it actually made a pretty picture! Looking at the picture now, I wish I had made a wish and blown all the seeds away, but now I missed my chance!!

Wednesday 14 - Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall

Really what I should now be saying when I look out my window is *hello winter, goodbye fall*, but I can't bear to think about it yet! This photo was taken while I was still in BC yesterday... a short 8 hour drive away where there is no snow and the grass is still green. I loved the curl of this leaf, along with the spring green that is still along the centre vein. Goodbye summer!

Thursday 15 - Mountain Ash Berries

These ash trees were just COVERED in berry bunches, everywhere I looked. A man told me that it was only every 5 or 6 years that we got to see berries like the weighing down the branches in such a manner. He also said it means we're in for a heavy winter. I loved looking at the wrinkled little berries that have just begun to feel the change of seasons on their skins, and the contrast of the berries and leaves against the bark and the sky.

Friday 16 - Fallen Bloom

I know that this flower is about all but dead, and I know that most would say it was much prettier when it was alive. I couldn't help but take a picture of it, faded petals changing from yellow to deep brown, fuzzy stem still standing tall preserving green leaves. There is beauty in change, in transformation. Even in the end.

Week 5:52 A Year in Pictures (Oct 3 - 9)

Sorry for the multiple posting, I kept forgetting something!!

Starting to become a habit now, this posting and snapping, and it's wonderful. This past week was really wonderful, and a little bit sad, and I'm glad to have something to look back at. I hope that you are enjoying checking out my pictures as much as I am enjoying taking them. A bit of a process really, deciding what to shoot, how to shoot it, and which light is better, which shadow is too dark, which green is too washed out compared to the other colours around. This week I am going to research a new photo technique online, and I'll aim to have something to spotlight of it by the next time I post for the week!  Enjoy...

Saturday 03OCT09 – Baby Nate

This handsome (if a bit drooly!) guy is my littlest Godson, baby Nate. Now he's not so much a baby anymore... he hit his first birthday a couple of months ago and now he walks, he babbles, he coos and charms, and he screams like he means it, but he's aaaaaaaaaaall wonderful.

Sunday 05OCT09 – Feeling Fall

If you have read any of my posts in the last while you will already know that I really am a summertime girl. I like Spring (because winter's over!), I don't really like Autumn, and I hate, hate winter. One particularly cranky morning I decided to get out of the house and go for a drive-then-walk in the foggy morning air. I ended up walking a familiar path down by the river, and was greeted by this beautiful, little bit haunting, morning view. Despite its' heralding of winter, Autumn really is lovely.

Monday 06OCT09 – HeartStix

I rescued these happy heart stix from the side of the road yesterday when I was out for my crisp-aired walk in the rain. Really, I actually rescued them because I thought they would look beautiful in a photo, and it was WAY too windy for anything productive (as opposed to because they were in any kind of danger!). When they're all dry I'll take them outside so they can spread their little seed pods for spring. But for now, they adorn my window sill!

Tuesday 29SEP09 – Lit from Within

Candles.
Light.
I am looking for the light in life, to learn more about it, to understand it, to know it.
I am light.
I am lit from within.

Wednesday 30SEP09 – Peekaboo

This little guy was tucked into the grass, hiding out while I stalked him and his sister with the camera. Unlike those folks who like to hunt and kill, I just like to hunt and snap... pretty little baby.

Thursday 01OCT09 – Les Parfums

I love, love, love, love LOVE perfume. I love to wear it, and I think it's wonderful to catch a yummy scent in the air when someone walks by, I adore it. Not to mention that the bottles are often so, well, pretty... (and who doesn't like pretty)

Friday 02OCT09 – Embers

I love the fire. I love to sit next to it, curled up like a cat, warmmed from the outside in and back out again. Sometimes watching the embers are the best part of a fire, as the light sneaks around the logs in fits and starts. Just looking at it makes me feel warm inside.

An Autumn Walk

I went for a walk this morning. In a nearby city it's snowing already, ugh, barf, snow. Here it's only rainy and foggy (thank you god!), so I thought I would go for a walk and soak up some more of Autumn's soggy cool beauty before it's buried for another year...

Week 4:52 - This Week in Pictures (Sep 26 - Oct 02)

So the FOURTH week of my project is here, and I can now say I've been doing something that's just for me daily for a month! Wow, I always mean to start things, but it's kinda nice to see the progress right on my page when I actually do it!!! It's really a reward in itself at the end of the week to be able to put the photos together and look back on things, quadrupally-so at the end of the month, that was worth all the brain freezes for sure!

 This week was nice. Last weekend there was a visit at mom's place out at the lake, followed by quite a bit of time spent doing nothing at home trying to kick out a tension headache. The full moon was up last night, and I had fun trying to get a good shot of it, and then a visit with the godbaby today... all in all a nice week by the end of it...

Saturday 26SEP09 – Cattails

One of the nicest things about the summer village where Mom lives year round is the lake. In early autumn the blaring noise of 'fun' on the water has subsided for another year, and on this cooler weekend far fewer 'city folks' have made the trek out to their summer cabins. The late afternoon was peaceful and quiet, nothing to be heard except the geese that were congregating over on one side. Early in the evening I must have taken about 50 shots of cattails against the sky, it was just too pretty to pass up.

Sunday 27SEP09 – Puffballs

Mom and I took her dogs for a walk, and we came across these really neat mushrooms. Turns out when you step on them they send a yucky powder (spores maybe?) flying everywhere, but they looked really cool. Now that the end of the week has come and I’m looking back on the month, I think this is my unintentional favourite.

Monday 28SEP09 – Mags

I had the night to myself tonight, and before I knew it had spent most of it in the bathtub! This is what peeked over the edge at me almost the full time I was in there (complete with a squeaking begging and pleading for me to bring her INTO *my bath*!!!!). It was too cute to pass up, because those little sparkles you can see on the end of her nose are actually bubbles... the only dog I know who is happiest when drawn into a bubble bath!

Tuesday 29SEP09 - Simple Beginnings

It starts simply with just one. Anytime you lay on a flat surface in this house, an animal thinks “Wow, best bed ever!” and hops up to lay down on top of you. Nimma is often the leader of that venture, so she's the biggest in the picture. Not too long after, Mags decides that it's not fair that another dog is getting more attention than her (despite the fact that I'm ignoring them), so she hops up right along side, and there are 2 dogs laying on top of me thinking “wow, best bed ever!” And of course, what dogpile would be complete without a cat!! That's right, as soon as the 2 little dogs are settled, the cat starts to think it looks like a great idea too, and up she climbs... “Wow, best bed ever!” Thank god Neera isn’t allowed up on the furniture!

Wednesday 30 SEP09 – Keys

I want to learn how to play. I've been meaning to get around to it. I can pick songs up by ear, but I'm not so good at reading the notes yet. That, and I only try to play about once a month (if I'm lucky). I got the organ for Christmas last year, and I really really really wanted it, I love that I have it... I just have to actually GET to it!!

Thursday 01OCT09 – Travels

Every place I've ever travelled I've always wanted to buy little keepsake boxes. These ones came from Korea, and though they look just like many other little boxes you can buy, they're more. The bronzes and browns with the globe turned to some of my favorite places on earth with the candles to light the way... travels...

Friday 02OCT09 – Full Moon

I don't have a big fancy camera with a telephoto zoom lens or some neat-o accessory for shooting at night. So I traipsed out tonight with my 2 'little' cameras, and I was astounded when I found the actual moon on it when I got home! I enhanced the shading in the picture to make the night sky less city-affected, and this is what was there... love a full moon - a heck of a way to end the week, really.