conspicuous consumption.

after this weekend, and a lot of bad news, i need to take a break. be mindless. so i looked back at what went on in this space last week. and it seems that last week was all (or somewhat all) about what i have my eye on. maybe i'm just eye shopping. right now. not really buying. but it sure is fun to look at and have a list. (well. you know. just in case.)

so this week. in light of being mindless, i thought i'd try to capture on film. everything that i buy. it's a photo challenge for me. to use my camera daily (even though i do my noticing project, somedays it's a challenge), and i'm curious. to see. to see. where my money goes.

play along if you want. just let me know. so we can compare.

sadness.

“One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it's worth watching."

words.

so we got an assignment at my creative group meeting the other day.

we drew a word. that we have to interpret.

they were handed out in an orderly fashion. but that made me nervous. i don't like a lot of controlled. order. so i had to go. and mess them up. because i couldn't decide which tag to pick.

and then. i picked. and look what i chose...


yes. that's right. it says goth. not me. at. all.

kim knew. she said. she. just. knew. that. that would be the word that i would pick.

so now. i'm stuck. trying to figure out how to interpret it. oh. mind you. i've got some ideas. i just have to figure out how to get my ideas to work.

i'll share pictures when i finish my assignment. i've got a week to wrap it up. a week. only a week. ugh. wish. me. luck.

dresses.

i guess i'm in the mood for a dress. and anthropologie has some cuties. if only the weather would cooperate, too.

oh. i love the pattern of tree branches and buds on this one. and the blue. to die for.


and this one. well the ruffle on the side. how cool is that?


and well. i like color. with some cute sandals. perfect for just running around...

sunshine.

we woke this morning to sunshine. bright. sunny. sunshine.

and it seemed appropriate. after all the gloom and black clouds that have been lingering around us this year.

sunshine. felt good. even though it was a bitterly cold am. and not much more than 33 degrees this afternoon. the sun felt good. and right. and maybe that things are moving in the right direction.

sunshine has a way. of just making everything seem better.

looking forward to a thrifting/adventuring outing and dinner with friends this weekend.

how about a little john denver to celebrate? everyone could use some good old john sometimes. (i know. what you're thinking. call me what you may, but i'm a fan. always have been. and anyway. this is a classic. a classic.)

relief.

webster's defines relief as: removal or lightening of something oppressive, painful, or distressing. and i have to agree...

and whew.

that's really all i've got to say today.

we've been under an incredible amount of stress around here. i don't like to talk about it. whine about it. let on. but we have been. and i am so grateful for our friends that have called. asked. prayed. chanted. meditated. inquired. your love and support has been a great blessing to us.

and today finally. we got some good news. some really, good news for a change.

and i am. we are relieved.

thanks.

i so love these.

today. and probably tomorrow. i'll still be loving these...a little random whimsy for monday.

gumdrop pillow poofs from amy butler. how cute are these? i'll have to make one. and a poofy gumdrop is better than a sugary gumdrop. right?


a love bird from anthropologie...


a happy spring skirt in light pewter - i prefer to call it robin's egg - from jcrew.


a sign for my laundry room. from feather your nest. where i seem to spend most of my time these days.


and. i think my kitchen is screaming. screaming. for a touch of yellow. from willie. s.

words.

i met with my group of creatives. yesterday. so talented. hmmm. so talented. writers. designers. thinkers. imaginers.

what am i. i thought?

good conversation. ideas. thoughts. inspiration. words. assignments. (more to come on that later.)

as i sat in my comfy chair in starbucks. i looked out the window. and i wished i had my camera.

because. cutting across the sky. underneath big curli-q-ish clouds was a flock of geese. flying. in perfect v-formation. perfect. flying east. i wondered. where they were going. if they knew? if they knew who should be in charge? who should be the leader? if they knew what to expect when they got to where ever it was they were going? just if they knew.


(photo courtesy of richard seaman)

and i thought. how nice it would be. and how it was a sign of our place in this world. and my place here. and with my group. and it reminded me of a poem. that i carry with me. to remember. sorry to wax a bit poetic. but i thought it was. a bit poetic. right then. it was just one of those moments.

it was a good day.

Wild Geese
by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting —
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

a sweet sound.

ahh. today daylight savings time ends. the days are getting longer. and warmer. and here at least. windier.

little one was all about wearing short sleeves today. as soon as she got up she insisted upon short sleeves.

and now. just now. i heard a sweet sound. no. it wasn't the birds chirping outside my window this morning. though that was sweet. too.

it was the sound of a lawn mower starting up. i know. it could be called a nuisance. but to me. it's the sound of summer. and warm days. and working outside. and the site of green after all these brown and tan winter days.

it's a sign i say. a sign.


and a little green inspiration. for green week.

green ones. are. the. best ones.


sometimes. i feel like we're leprechauns.


better.


good. toast.


i know. they're not real. but i like them.


in. the. grass.

adventuring.

little two and i went adventuring today while little one was at school. i needed to get away. i knew it was going to be interesting today. especially after she decided to take a bottle opener that plays a fight song for share day. a bottle opener. to a church preschool. i can only imagine what they must think.

anyway. little two.
he seems to be catching the '"benturing" bug. because he asked if we could go.

no great finds. but some wonderful old children's books


and a mug that just made me laugh a bit today.


it really was too lovely a day to be indoors adventuring. but we heard the call and had to go....

salad.

since it's green week. this seems appropriate.

i overheard a conversation yesterday. a man was talking to his wife. "it's a good day for a lettuce salad. a "lettuce salad" he said. "i can make you a lettuce salad." what? a lettuce salad?

please. tell me. what is the difference between a salad and a "lettuce salad"? i. thought they. were. the. same thing.

forget me not.

if you're looking for a new book to read. i've just finished one that really quite literally. left me kind of speechless. i found it at the library. i was drawn to its cover. and delighted to find out it was set in the west. montana. colorado. wyoming. i felt as though there were the whole six degrees of separation thing going on throughout the book. with people i know. and places i've been.



perhaps because it's set in places i've been and love. perhaps it's because it's so beautifully written. but really perhaps it is because it's a lovely. sweet. story.
of love and loss. and coming back.

it's the story of mountaineer alex lowe and his wife, jenni. he was one of the world's greatest mountain climbers who tragically lost his life in an avalanche. the memoir tells the tale of his life and loves. and magically intertwines the beauty of the mountains and the places he loves with the people he loves. amazingly his wife falls in love with his best friend as they both grieve.

it truly moved me. i'm still thinking about it. if you've got the time. i'd read it.

march.

happy march everyone.

i think we should see. who would be interested. my fellow photographers. in a green week? since it's march. and everything (should be) turning green. and well. you know. there's a holiday coming up that's all about green. so. let's celebrate.

let's celebrate green.

so i'm declaring it green week on my blog. and i can do that. i've seen others do this. it's amazing what pictures they come up with. so inspiring. so. my friends. i want us to do one, too.

join in the fun. take pictures this week of things in your life or that you notice that are green. it will be fun. trust me. you'll be amazed at what you see.

post them to your site. let me know. maybe i'll start a flickr group just for us. where we can all share. and inspire.

for today. i'm going back through pictures. tomorrow. i'll post new ones. but the day. has gotten away. so. everyday this week. take some pictures of green....

a little nostalgia...as we're ready for some lawn mowing...


don't forget to eat dinner...


a miniature green zombie finger...


and another oldie. but please come back summer. please.

happy birthday, dr. seuss.

we'll have green eggs (no ham, you see). but green eggs for dinner tonight in your honor, dr. seuss... green eggs. a little toad in the hole with a drop of green food coloring will do the trick. the littles will love it. and maybe we'll read the book, too...happy birthday, dr. seuss.

You do not like them.
So you say.
Try them! Try them!
And you may.
Try them and you may, I say.

Sam!
If you will let me be,
I will try them.
You will see.

Say!
I like green eggs and ham!
I do! I like them, Sam-I-am!
And I would eat them in a boat.
And I would eat them with a goat...

And I will eat them in the rain.
And in the dark. And on a train.
And in a car. And in a tree.
They are so good, so good, you see!

So I will eat them in a box.
And I will eat them with a fox.
And I will eat them in a house.
And I will eat them with a mouse.
And I will eat them here and there.
Say! I will eat them ANYWHERE!

I do so like
green eggs and ham!
Thank you!
Thank you,
Sam-I-am!

snow day.

so. even though the snow came yesterday. the first real snow of the season, have you. i'm saying that march came in with a big. fat. roar.

because it lasted until today. and it was cold. mind you. cold.

the littles even tired of playing in the snow quickly. because they were frosty. i'm sure my tulips are chilly under all this white stuff....


since it came in like a lion. surely it will leave like a lamb. and hopefully that lamb will show up soon. really soon.

happy march everyone. happy march. spring is almost here...