Photo of the Week (5)

View from our basement window

Used Picnik software for sepia and vintage tones

Other Photo of the Week posts:
Breakaway
Fields of Gold

Holding on to what I've been given lately

~ a sunshiny morning yesterday and my backyard walk in the fluffiest snow ever

~ the fun, annual event of watching (the delayed video feed of) the ALA Youth Media Awards with E (yesterday afternoon)

~reading my third book this month of a new-to-me author, Beth Kephart

~a personal book recommendation from this author

~the theme song from Chariots of Fire showing up on my Ipod shuffle play as I gathered energy to prepare lunch today

~a new attempt for me to try to connect with the outside world: Facebook

~the creative ideas my son comes up with during our mealtime discussions

~an appointment, to consult with a new doctor, tomorrow noon; the result of a friend sharing some of her research from her own recent quest

Photo of the Week (4)

We lost our spring-like sunshine, so I asked my husband to go searching for some at our Safeway store. Safeway's floral department is known for getting tulips in around the end of January. Hurrah!

The fogged in week dulled our spring fever, but the tulips helped shake a bit of gloom away.

Other Photo of the Week posts:
Breakaway
Fields of Gold

Photo of the Week (3)

I can almost hear the screak of the windmill on our farm when the wind turned. I'd be up in my room with the window open, waiting for the sun to sleep after its work of heating up a summer's day. I liked windmill speak - the ancient sound kept alive by new air. I often feared a strong gale would fly off with our windmill, taking our foothold, our memorial to days past and our assurance of the new breath of hope in the morrow.

Other Photo of the Week posts:
Breakaway
Fields of Gold

Poetry Friday

THESE ARE THE DAYS WHEN BIRDS COME BACK

by: Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

HESE are the days when birds come back,

A very few, a bird or two,

To take a backward look.




These are the days when skies put on

The old, old sophistries of June,--

A blue and gold mistake.




Oh, fraud that cannot cheat the bee,

Almost thy plausibility

Induces my belief,




Till ranks of seeds their witness bear,

And softly through the altered air

Hurries a timid leaf!




Oh, sacrament of summer days,

Oh, last communion in the haze,

Permit a child to join,




Thy sacred emblems to partake,

Thy consecrated bread to break,

Taste thine immortal wine!

Emily writes this of a late Indian Summer day, but I enjoyed reading this poem today after hearing geese fly over our house at dawn with their good morning call. We've had four days of sunshine in a row. And even though temps are not veering too far from the freezing mark, the sunshine provides some continued melting. Several robins visited us yesterday. Can you guess what we have? Spring fever. "O fraud that cannot cheat the bee" we must remind ourselves it is January 16th.

There's light

We're nowhere close to a place in which we'd say, "I can live with this, I'm handicapped, but that's okay." We still fight our way through each day, hurting. So in '09, we hope and pray that we can turn a corner. Our improvements this past year were small, but hopeful. We're thankful, as we try not to be anxious. Independence is a dream world for us - oh, if that could change.

Photo of the Week (2)

I've wanted to photograph this fraternity house (Kappa Sigma) for years, but it's on old Greek row at the University of Idaho, the little road that's directly in front of the house is one way -the wrong way off the road from which I pass. I'd never taken the time to find close parking, so hadn't seen the front of the building until this week.

I needed to go out one icy night (right before our January thaw arrived). The streets were empty, since...as I mentioned, it was very icy. I'd gotten to the store, realized I'd left my wallet at home, slowly made my way home, and set out again on a different route to the store. My camera rode shotgun next to me as a reminder to look out for my next "Photo of the Week."

As I approached the spotlighted columns and snow-frosted tall evergreens that stood regal in the dark night, I could not resist my long-felt temptation to turn the wrong way on the small one-way street - no traffic, the road looked to be snowplowed..and...hey, I'm not the first to break the law to get a photo.

The Kappa Sigma Fraternity is the oldest fraternity in the state of Idaho - established in 1905. Kirkland Cutter, a well-known architect in the Northwest who also designed Spokane's Davenport Hotel and Monroe Street Bridge, designed this house built in 1916. The exterior is of classical Georgian architecture to represent the southern heritage of Kappa Sigma.

And, no, I didn't get stuck backing out of that narrow, icy one-way onto the main road, again. Thankfully.

Other Photo of the Week posts:
Breakaway
Fields of Gold

A Beautiful Day

See the world in green and blue
See China right in front of you
See the canyons broken by cloud
See the tuna fleets clearing the sea out
See the Bedouin fires at night
See the oil fields at first light
And see the bird with a leaf in her mouth
After the flood all the colors came out
(from "Beautiful Day" U2)

My little girl on her 18th birthday. Still as winsome as ever...

Happy Birthday!

Remembering to tell you...

pics: 1) Singing "He's a Most Disagreeable Man" at dress rehearsal. 2)Two of Aunt Trina's nieces.

• Erin just posted pictures of "I Remember Mama." (Check out her hats!)

• My feeds finally work on my blog, so if any of you use Bloglines, Google Reader, etc., you'll be able to subscribe.
• I'm on Goodreads now, so friend me if you're there too.
• I didn't get Christmas cards sent, but I'm hoping to get out a card and letter this month. There...I said it, now I have to make it happen.
  
• I hope everyone had a delightful Christmas. Cheers to you all in 2009!

EDIT: I just remembered to tell you that Erin posted a video of herself saying the Lord's Prayer in Norwegian - which all her sisters recited together during the play.

Photo of the Week

Brady, Traci, and I have each decided to post our favorite photo, that we've taken during the week, on each Saturday of this year. Erin has started a new blog called chromatic aberration on which she will post a photo each day. The blog is a two person effort: Erin and another senior girl, Jocelyn -who lives across the country from Erin- will each provide us with a glimpse of their day for the 365 days that make up 2009. Make sure you check out each link.

I took this photo of Traci from my kitchen window as the kids were venturing out for some sledding. Traci lives in the south now and our snow days were a big treat. It was a nice week's visit - a gift for which we're all thankful.

A few of my favorite shots 2008