Giving ~ Day 7

Falling

Fluttering

Dangling

Carried on the wind

Caught

Cradled

I love finding the leaves and pine needles and bitty branches

all mixing it up

and changing partners

in the woodsy dance

that is autumn.

From this morning's journal;

Give Away: Routine resistance. I'm not a lover of routine. The good discipline and habits that come from routine can elude me because I resist the repetitive. Today I give away all notions of procrastination. If I've decided to do it, I will do it. No 'not now' or 'tomorrow' or 'later' ... just gonna do it.

Give Access: The to-do's. Monday-list-day! I have information gathering to do - learning and deciding and deciphering. Mind open, pen and paper ready. Today I give access to the lists!

Give Thanks: Light. I am thankful for the day light - the blue skies and lingering, colorful leaves that are aglow. I give thanks for this sunshine-filled day!

Joining Tamar and Lisa

Ah, Weekends

Friday and Saturday were, in a word, BLUSTERY!
Stormy, gray and very windy.
Leaves are falling and swirling about
and we are enjoying the show up here in New England!

I got to puppy-sit this weekend.

So I had to get the big girl camera out on Sunday

and get a few fall shots of this guy.

This one's my favorite!

We lit our FIRST official FIRE since moving to the new place!

Fireplace was on that "must have" list when we were looking for a house....

Sitting in front of the roaring fire

and enjoying the Pats game with my daughter and son-in-law,

I felt like a kid on Christmas morning who got

EVERYTHING

she asked for!!

Joining Tamar

Honesty

oh

what a tangled

web

we weave

when first we practice to

deceive

{Sir Walter Scott}

of all the many things i'm learning

as i watch my parents age

and brave the last years of their lives

the most vital is this:

face it

face stuff daily

pay the bills

don't buy what you can't afford

tell the truth

especially about those pesky elephants that hang out in the middle of the room

just face it

cause

sooner or later

{especially if you have a much later}

whatever it is that you didn't face

is gonna come and find you

so,

one day at a time...

one hurdle at a time...

just face it

honestly

soberly

and

thoroughly

Linking up with Tamar

Telling Stories

Do you want to know my favorite things about visiting museums?

Well, it's not all the old, historical stuff.

Though these signs and water-can back packs are pretty cool.

My favorite part is meeting the story tellers.

Listening and learning from those that have gone before,

and those who have learned from those who have gone before.

The passion they hold for the stories they tell,

and the touching details they share never fail to move me.

This was the old Salem fire house decked out for Salem Fest, and the chief told us wonderful stories that day.

Linking up with

The Good. The Random. The Fun.

Wednesday's Around the World

and

Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop

one of my new favorite things...

I love snail mail.

Don't you?!

This summer I discovered an app that I absolutely ADORE!!

It's called "Ink Cards"

and to test it out I sent a few to myself!

Paper quality? OUTSTANDING!

Photo quality? EXCELLENT!

Embossed envelope? SO FUN!

These can be sent as a postcard, or you can "upgrade" to an envelope.

Total for card, envelope and mailing you ask? 

$4.98

Again - let me just say - OUTSTANDING quality!

In this shot you can see the texture of the card stock used.

And there's lots of space for you to compose a personal message.

Hope you enjoy this app ~ I know I sure have!!

{this is NOT a sponsored post...just me, sharing my discovery with you!}

Joining Tamar and Kat

After the Rain

after the rain

i wandered, barefoot, through the wet grass

enjoyed the sweet aroma of the chilly air

and focused for a few moments on these pink beauties

Joining Tamar

it's that season again....

This is for all those mamas out there who are letting someone fly ...

Whether they're flying off for a half day of pre-K or to another state for college or half way around the world for work, our hearts break a tiny bit with each farewell, don't they?

So, for all of us mamas who are letting them fly ... I share these dragonfly wings. When I look at them, they seem so incredibly fragile. Gorgeous, and full of possibility and light...but oh, so fragile! Just like our kids, right?!? Yet these fascinating creatures, as you probably know, have survived millions of years! Engineers dream of making robots that fly as well as the 'delicate' dragonfly! Point is, friends...they're stronger than they look! And just like this dragonfly, our 'babies' will flit off, flutter around and come back to land in the same spot over and over. We've either given them strong roots, or we're working on it... So now it's "trust" time....

....yes, it's the season of letting go...

Joining Tamar

ZBB

Last night was one of those perfect summer nights.

Just warm enough.

Ever so slightly breezy.

And I found myself on Yawkee way, standing in front of the ticket office,

basking in the glow of one of my favorite Boston landmarks.

I was at Fenway!

The big news is, however, that I was NOT there for a Red Sox Game...

Nope.

I was there to see the Zac Brown Band!

This is a pretty big deal for me.

If you add up all the concerts I've seen in my life,

including last night's,

the total would be less than ten.

For real.

You see, 

I really really really really really really

don't like crowds.

In a "breathing-gets-shallow-nauseous-loose-my-knees" kinda way.

So I have to really really really really want to be somewhere for me to brave a crowd.

Like at a Sox game.

Or, as it turns out, at a Zac Brown concert!

Just my luck,

the place was at capacity.

Set a record, in fact!

Largest crowd in the history of Fenway!

Oh my!

It's a good thing the concert was amazing,

cause the 20  minutes it took to exit the park were not.

Good news is,

I lived to tell the story!

Incredible sky.

Spectacular light show!

A fiddler I could listen to forever.

Iconic park.

Thousands of little lights.

This guy.

Such a voice.

So much guitar!

And turns out, he's a mush! Full of feeling!

The silhouette.

With the hat.

I think this is my favorite shot - the crowd illuminated, the stage, the silhouette.

Gotta love iPhones.

No big girl cameras allowed!

And,

for the encore,

out he came in a Sox cap.

Stellar.

This was one AMAZING night!

Joining Tamar today

Mid-Air

Taking a photograph of a flying insect doesn't often work for me.

My camera and I have a very

trial-and-error

relationship.

The good thing is,

I enjoy trying.

It's possible that I enjoy the process of trying to get a certain photo
even more than seeing the actual outcome.
Until...

Until that magical moment when
the light catches the wing...
and the camera
catches the light
that catches the wing.

Then, for just a wee second, I believe I can fly.



Joining Tamar

Wide Open Spaces

junipers & wind blown grass

rim rocks & puffy clouds

a sunset & a thunder storm

farm land & a mountain range

painted hills & high desert

painted hills & farm land

painted hills & sage brush

{of note: the "paint" on the hills matches the sage brush}

crystal clear mountain lake & a crystal blue sky

mountain lake & ponderosa pines

foot hills & a sunrise

the scenic route

{oh, and mount hood, of course!}

Folks, these are some of my vacation iPhone pics.

Haven't even begun to wade through what's on the big girl camera yet.

Most of these were taken out a car window.

It's pretty hard to take a bad photo 'round these parts.

Each and every Oregon visit reminds me

that our Creator is, indeed, extremely creative....

that truly my life consists of blessing heaped upon blessing...

and 

that most anything is possible.

Joining Tamar