#AugustBreak2015

Throwback Thursday: Paradise found

I have arrived. I am home. –Thích Nhất Hạnh

It seems like just yesterday that the moving trucks rolled into our new driveway, but we’ve lived in this place for a little over a year, now! We’re slowly transforming our garden into a drought-friendly place; and little by little, we’re personalizing each room and emptying the boxes.

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Birds of Paradise

It’s easy to get swept up in the day-to-day minutiae, to the point that we forget to celebrate just how far we’ve traveled. Conversely, when we focus too much on the future, we eventually lose sight of the joys available to us in the here and now.

No doubt you’ve already guessed that by ‘we,’ I mean ‘me.’

Mindful as I am (or try to be), I still live on planet earth. No one’s immune to its gravitational pulls. But when the songbirds perform their morning serenades; when our kitties nap together in the afternoon sunshine; when ocean breezes drift into our backyard, and palm trees sway in the surrounding hillsides…well, now! Color me grateful, same as the day we first called this place home.

#AugustBreak2015 Photography Challenge, Day 13. The prompt for today is last year.

 

No Mellow Yellow, This

Miss Dahlia looked fierce when she was younger–a seductive flash of danger in a field of otherwise demure blossoms. But her frock was showing its age. The once vibrant petals were weathered: whipped by ocean breezes, and bleached by the midday sun.

So she tarted things up a bit.

Oh, the allure of bright yellow!  “Come on…come in,” she said, and the honeybees did just that.

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 #AugustBreak2015 Photography Challenge, Day 12. The word for today is yellow.

Living on the Edge

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Crescent Bay (Laguna Beach, California)

 We live at the edge of the miraculous. — Henry Miller

These cottages are nestled into Crescent Bay, at the western edge of the North American continent. When the sun sinks into the Pacific Ocean, they are bathed in its afterglow. I couldn’t quite capture that effect with my camera, but I’ll work on it. Until then, it’s a fixed image in my mind’s eye.

I love that this photography challenge is encouraging me to reach past my current limitations. and to venture into the realm of possibilities. “The edge of the miraculous,” as Henry Miller says–where magic lives, and light.

#AugustBreak2015 photography challenge, Day 11.  The word for today is edge. 

Hummingbirds as Talismans

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Anna’s Hummingbird, male

Legends say that hummingbirds float free of time, carrying our hopes for love, joy and celebration. Hummingbirds open our eyes to the wonder of the world and inspire us to open our hearts to loved ones and friends. Like a hummingbird, we aspire to hover and to savor each moment as it passes, embrace all that life has to offer and to celebrate the joy of everyday. The hummingbird’s delicate grace reminds us that life is rich, beauty is everywhere, every personal connection has meaning and that laughter is life’s sweetest creation. —Papyrus

It’s difficult to capture their shimmery wings in flight; harder, still, to frame their magical essence. But when handed the challenge word talisman, hummingbirds came instantly to mind. Take a look at the word cloud to the right of my blog entries–it’s among the most prominent topics of conversation here, by far!

I snapped this photo at a backyard BBQ, last night. It’s not my best hummingbird image to-date, but the wonderful thing about creative challenges is they encourage you to work with what you have, instead of chasing down that elusive (if not impossible) thing we call perfection. (#AugustBreak2015, Day 10)

Love your Mother, Earth

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 The Earth is not just the environment. The Earth is us. Everything depends on whether we have this insight or not. –Thich Nhat Hanh, Love Letter to the Earth

Day 9 of Susannah Conway’s #AugustBreak2015 photography challenge, and the phrase of the day is Earth. This was my most difficult project so far, because my subject kept melting! I shot this picture outdoors and used PicMonkey to add a starry background (via universe-beauty.com). Whew, it was a whole lotta work, but I sure learned a lot! For that reason alone, I’m happy with the results.

Smoother than a Fresh Jar of Skippy

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Continuing Susannah Conway’s #AugustBreak2015 photography challenge… Our final word for Week One is smooth. I was considering a classic shot (rippled Hermès scarf, anyone?), but today’s snap was inspired by the lyrics to “Uptown Funk.”

Ride to Harlem, Hollywood, Jackson, Mississippi
If we show up, we gon’ show out
Smoother than a fresh jar of Skippy.

Am I the only one who experienced a bit of of déjà vu when the video first played?

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Image via @Forbes on Twitter

“Gotta kiss myself, I’m so pretty.” — Bruno Mars

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Image via styles-oscar.blogspot.com

“I’m the greatest, I’m a bad man, and I’m pretty!” — Muhammed Ali

Much as I appreciate a smooth talker, I’m already thinking about tomorrow’s challenge. All I can say right now is, What on earth?

Five Facts about Me

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1. I never dreamed I’d live so close to the ocean, but I’ve always felt its pull.

2. If Nature is a magician, I’ve fallen under her spell.

3. I can’t explain this #NanaLove any more than I can count the stars.

4. Happy is my default setting.

5. “Your home should rise up to greet you,” says Nate Berkus, “And at the end of the day, it should ground you in a sense of peace.” I’m not an interior decorator by any means, but I think my home is comfortable and welcoming.

Day 6 of Susannah Conway’s #AugustBreak2015 photography challenge. The phrase of the day is 5 Facts about Me. Ask me again tomorrow, and I’d probably create a wholly different collage. Maybe I’d adjust the zoom lens, crop the pictures a little tighter. But this is pretty decent selfie, for a first attempt.

#TBT: My Writing Notebook (Looking Back and Moving Forward)

For who will testify, who will accurately describe our lives if we do not do it ourselves?
–Faye Moskowitz, And the Bridge is Love

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My friend Emjae created this mock book cover for me a few years back, as a loving gesture and gentle prod. “Keep writing,” she told me. “You have a story to tell, a song to sing.” I tucked one copy into an antique church bulletin display box, and slipped another into the clear front pocket of my writing notebook. I’ve spilled many tears drafts onto the page, emptied and replenished several notebooks since. Lucky me, I’m represented now by two, top-notch agents at D4EO Literary Agency, and CAN I GET A WITNESS? is under consideration by several editors. I’m so looking forward to that magical day, when the contents of my writing notebook become a published book, graced with a reinterpreted cover image!

Day 6 of Susannah Conway’s #AugustBreak2015 photography challenge. In case you haven’t yet guessed, the word of the day is notebook. In this overlaid image, my father’s revival tent serves as backdrop. I’m standing in the foreground, facing my future.

When Life Hands You Lemons…

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drink deep their zesty nectar.

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Practicing in manual mode…mmmm, sugary goodness!

Day 5 of Susannah Conway’s #AugustBreak2015 photography challenge. The word of the day is citrus, so…hippity hop, to the candy shop to buy a bag of jellies! The dessert plate–one of my favorites–is by artist Lou Rota.

 

A Sea of Numbers

Day 4 of Susannah Conway’s #AugustBreak2015 photography challenge. The word of the day is numbers.

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A sea of numbers, under the lifeguard stand

How do you translate numbers into real-life experiences? I snapped a few pictures, to help sum things up.

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Paddle boarders venture into the waves, beyond the reach of the rip currents.

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A friendly dragon with a birds-eye view.

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Family fun–not a cell phone in sight!

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A singular tribute, left untouched