Focus on Life Week 46- Reflections

Oh my, it's been a long time since I've posted a photo. New place, new life, new work to be done- it all adds up. I wanted to be sure and tell y'all about a book I just read: Eight Girls Taking Pictures by Whitney Otto. I don't usually recommend books, but this one was wonderful and very inspirational- it's historical fiction with an emphasis on the lives of women throughout the 20th century.
On to this week's prompt- I love to look at things in mirrors. I'm having a hard time choosing from the photos I took last night- the three part mirror in my bathroom is so much fun to play with! I've always been intrigued by the idea of multiple mirror reflections. Here's a little something that explains a bit about it and shows some cool examples.

 I also like to put some of my beads on mirrors- like these marching hedgehogs. I know, I'm supposed to be reflecting on my life- instead I'm reflecting on mirrors! Check out the blog links at the bottom of the page to see what others are reflecting on.

Focus on Life- Week 35- Growth and Change

The Chicken

Part of the Wall

Well, I have been focusing on change so much lately that I haven't even written anything or shown any new pics for weeks! It feels like I've been moving, moving, and moving some more- to cabins, sublets, tents and, finally to the seasonal place I'll be care taking for the winter- a big house and carriage hose that can have up to 25 guests! Wish me luck (I just may need it...)

As far as photos- well, hmmm... I had cause to go back to a campground I stayed in a bit over a month ago- I'd built a few rock sculptures, with the intention of having them go all around a wall. Lo and behold, most of my sculptures had fallen (we've had a few pretty good storms), but there are now rock sculptures standing all around the building- so many different styles-and I just had to add a few more! Community art at work.
Sorry these photos are all a jumble- I can never seem to make them appear where i want them to.
To see what everyone else has been up to, start at Sally's Blog.

Perched Bird

Samurai!

This little guy was there to greet us

Focus on Life Week 32, From Where I Stand

This week the prompt from Sally at focus on life was 'from where I stand' so, as you can imagine, Fats Domino singing 'I'm Walkin' was one of my theme songs. Had to just take this literally and show you some of the places my feet took me this week.

 OH, and I found some new shoes- cheap! And the question is- socks or no socks? I was informed that they looked wrong with the socks. Just old fashioned, I guess!

I'm sending you to Islandgirl's Insights to see where others are standing this week!

Hues of Blue- Focus on Life week 31

On the way to the post office (and the beer store)

Well, I have to admit, this was a bit last minute for me. I knew where I wanted to go and take photos, but totally forgot about it til just a little while ago. I've been roaming about a bit these last few weeks, and find myself in an apartment complex for the month- very close to some wonderful scenery. So I thought I'd treat you to a bit of a Hogwartian campus with a lot of cloudy blue sky. Wish I could show you all of the hues at once. And in the tradition of showing off my post office adventures, I'm including a photo of the scary suspension bridge I now have to walk across when I go to the P.O.

What the camera saw

I couldn't resist photoshopping a couple of these photos to accentuate the blue. When you're at the top of the town, the sky is very big, and everything seems quite vivid!

What I saw!

  See more wonderful blue hues while you listen to BB King sing the blues at Sally's Blog!

A bit of extra blue for you

Had to add this Nigella (Love in a Mist) as I know we all love our flowers!

Catch the Sun- Focus on Life Week 30

Roiling water by the ford- you want us to drive through that???

The swimming hole after the storm.

Oh my, I've missed a few weeks- though Sally's prompts always influence what I'm paying attention to on any given week! I've been moving halfway across the country (again) and have landed in upstate New York (again). Anyway, this week I've been humming  'I'll Follow the Sun' for days on end. Sometimes I feel like that's what I'm doing. I was staying in a cabin in a state park and, because I am addicted to white noise, was quite surprised when I woke in the morning to see that there had been a deluge of some kind. One bridge was covered with water and pieces of the other had been taken out and floated down the stream. Though I was looking to get some nice photos of sun glinting off of all of the water action, I just mostly took a lot of photos of whatever I saw- lovely scenery! To see what everyone else has been up to, start at Sally's Blog!

No Diving! (No Kidding...)

Some Indian Pipe flowers reaching for the sun

A spot of sunlight!

Focus on life week 26 ?????

 Well, this being week 26, we're just about to embark on the second half of the Focus on Life Challenge. Most every week, Sally's blog sends me out and about on a walk to see what I can find- that's one thing I love about this project - getting out of the house, thinking about something I wouldn't normally be thinking about on my weekly 'Sally Walk', camera in hand.

A couple of weeks ago I started noticing some of the little plants that grow up between the cracks in the sidewalk. Ever since I saw the book Wild Green Things in the City, I've been enchanted with these little wonders. Kind of make me think of my own life, forever pushing my way past this and that obstacle and (hopefully) coming out on top. 

When I went on my walk today, the first thing I saw was this lovely feather out on the sidewalk. Thought I'd photoshop it up a bit- I loved the week we all altered our photos- what fun that was. Something I really want to continue investigating.

Thanks Sally, for all the great ideas, and for getting me a little ways further outside my box. Looking forward to the next 26 weeks! Come see what everyone else is thinking about this week at Sally's blog!

You Are... Focus on Life week 25

Well, in my mind I changed this from 'you are' to 'I am' So that's what I'm going with!
One thing I am this week is late! I've been forgetful about blogging lately.
This week, I am a bead researcher. I have a lot of ideas about making focal beads- what looks good and what doesn't. But the question is- am I right or wrong? So- I'm asking y'all, among others, for a bead assessment. Here are four beads- all very similar in color, but different in shape and other design details. So the question is- do you have a favorite? One (or more) you don't like? can you explain why??
When I make beads there are always a lot of different thoughts and ideas knocking around my brain- about what I want to do with that bead, what I want to do next, and what others might find interesting about how this all works. One burning question I keep coming back to is what makes a good focal bead!!??!!
Let me know what you think! To see more of what we are, check out Sally's Blog!

Typography, Focus on Life Week 24

Well, Sally's done it again- gotten me looking around and thinking about things I don't usually think a lot about.
To quote Liza Dolittle- 'Words! Words! Words! I'm so sick of words, I get words all day through; first from him, now from you! Is that all you blighters can do?'
We are surrounded by words and images. The first thing I though of was the 'graffiti wall' near my house. It gets whitewashed regularly and graffitied twice as often! The junk food junkie is a regular contributor to the wall. I have to admit that I can't read half of what's written there, but it can be pretty interesting nevertheless. Seems every contributor to the wall has his own style. Then I saw a train going by and started thinking about the graffiti that is on the side of many of the cars- kind of a traveling ad, I suppose.

On my walk I saw building names carved in stone, business names imprinted into sidewalks and manhole covers, and company logos. Words and images together can deliver a powerful message- there are some we are so familiar with that we don't even need to read the words to know what the sign is for!
To see what some other folks are tapping and typing, check out Sally's blog!

Foodie- Focus on Life Week 22

“In France, cooking is a serious art form and a national sport.”
― Julia Child


Well, I don't have a lot to say about the Focus on Life prompt this week- foodie. I started this journey with the blackberries in my back yard, made my favorite tahini- oat cookies, took a little unplanned walk by a food pantry, found a foodie mural and even had a bit of pizza and pepperoncini.Want to see more fun food? Start at Sally's blog!

I don't have a real recipe for those cookies, but here's the list of ingredients. These cookies really remind me of halva. We used to make something very similar when I worked at a natural foods bakery. I always made these and ruggelah. You could tell who the baker of the day was by looking to see what was available! None of this- tahini-oat cookies on Mondays business, it was pretty well catch as catch can!  One day I will try these with 1/2 tahini and 1/2 almond butter. I can practically taste them already!

 Here's the list of ingredients for about 12-15 cookies: 

1/3 cup tahini 

1/2 cup honey, 

1 t. salt, 

1/2 cup finely chopped nuts or sunflower seeds

1 1/3 cups oats

Mix up the wet stuff, add the dry stuff.

Add an extra T. or so of tahini if it seems too dry.

Put on greased baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees (or a little less) until the bottom gets a little bit brown 

( I didn't pay attention to how long- 12-18 minutes????)

Let cool. Put in the freezer for 5 minutes if they're stuck to the pan and they should come right off. Eat!

Reminisce- Focus on Life Week 21

Myself, my daughter's bowl,  my mother's eggs

 This week's prompt was a bit of a challenge for me- reminisce. This is something I don't do an awful lot, though I do think wistfully of other place I have lives and people I have known.

"Poetry should.... strike the reader as a wording of his own highest thoughts, and appear almost a remembrance."
~John Keats 

Prayer beads and wheel, my daughter's work

I am going to use some photos I actually took a few years ago. All of these pictures are of things that are imbued with memories- lots of little things my daughter made over the years, including a very large acorn that she painted and gave to my mother for her egg collection.
Right now, most of my old interesting stuff is in storage, and I couldn't think of anything to photograph that really made me think back. I have moved way too many times, and have gotten rid of a lot of things with memories attached to them. But there are a few that I just can't seem to shake! A couple of old beat up dolls are among those. They are in a box right now, wondering if they are going to stay with me or go off on a journey elsewhere.

Things from my mother, aunt and daughter

I've kissed them goodbye time and
again, and still they manage to hang on. So I did take one picture of them, lying on the top of the box which, now that I think about it, they will never actually end up in.

Want to see what others are reminiscing about? Start at Sally's Blog !

Looking Up! Focus on Life Week 20

My backyard

Well it's time to look skyward! I really wanted to see a hot air balloon, or get a shot of one of the multitudes of helicopters that fly over my house, or maybe just some of those mammatus clouds we saw a couple of weeks ago. And then I thought perhaps there would be some animal shaped clouds flying over. I did see a lot of birds, for sure! We spend a lot of time looking down and around. Looking up was a bit of fun!

“Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.”
― Leonardo da Vinci

Ghost plane

A very vocal starling

A gingko tree- so lovely!

See what everyone else was looking up at here!