This Moment: She Sells Sea Shells

Joining SouleMama and others in a Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your moment in the comments for all to find and see.

Stitching Bliss

Evenings are for remembering to think and breathe, for rhythmic pursuits that leave the imagination free to roam.  

Lately, I've been filling my evenings with short and long stitch in three shades of creamy yellow.  It's the precision of this work that appeals to me, as well as the freedom.  There are no patterns or counted stitches, just an outline -- a suggestion of shape -- and floss to paint with one tiny stitch at a time.

My mind wonders back through the day to sift and interpret, to remember and smile.  I have conversations with people I saw today and characters from books I'm currently reading.  I think of my mother-in-law who gave me this set of linen place mats from her stash because she doesn't like embroidery.  I wonder if I'll ever finish them and realize that I don't really care.  On the way up to bed, I notice my cup of tea, still half full and cold.

What do you do to unwind at end of day?

A Personal Photo Challenge: Words and Letters

Linking to A Personal Photo Challenge.

This month's photo challenge has been the most fun yet.  I love words, and there were so many possible directions to take this challenge:  Signs, books, a photographic alphabet -- all beckon to me.  As you'll see momentarily, I have focused on signs -- words found and photographed in the wild -- but I may well do a little extracurricular shooting around this theme.  My inner English teacher demands it.

I like the puny potential here.  Can cracked souls be fixed like Birkenstocks?

Inspired by the slightly artsy feel of this image, I had fun playing with the different filters in Picasa.  I'm amazed at how much the mood of an image can be manipulated.

A shortcut through China Town.  I zoomed out from the neon Fantan Cafe sign for a little context and captured exactly the sort of scene that I'd been after for last month's challenge on street photography.  Maybe I just had to get warmed up.

Finally, a little graffiti scratched onto the sea wall.  Who is Kurtis?  Was he here to kiss the girl who wrote this or was he obliviously living his own life somewhere else?

This picture benefited from my Picasa play.  Here I increased the colour saturation a little and brought up the shadows in order to emphasize the depth of colour and texture in the cement wall.

I'm wondering, how much post-processing do you typically do on your photos?  What program do you use?  Do you tweak all, most or just a select handful of your photos?

Thanks again to Donna at A Personal Photo Challenge for another stimulating camera assignment.

Into the Garden

After days and days of downpour it was finally time to get outside.  Rain or no rain, here I come.  Imagine my surprise when, emerging from the house, I didn't get wet.  In fact, my walk to the grocery store got brighter and brighter.  "Sunny?" questions Miss S.  "Yes" I tell her, "look, there's a patch of blue sky."  She was tickled pink.  Blue sky.  What a funny thing.

Here she sits, enjoying that fleeting patch of sky and munching an apple while I inspect the garden and officially start spring clean up.

A Slow Start and Seagulls

I'm enjoying a slow start to this Monday morning -- reading blogs, reading the latest from Ukraine.  I'm drinking coffee and looking out at the drizzle while Miss S brings me pieces from her puzzles.  It was one of those weekends that need to be recovered from.  Instead of lounging at home with a tummy full of pancakes and a tall stack of story books, I was up bright and early on Saturday morning to volunteer at the high school Provincial Debate Tournament.  The weekend also included a late night chatting with out of town friends and our regular Sunday morning commitments at church.  It was all enjoyable, even exhilarating, reminiscent of a different life stage and some joys and sorrows past.

Life is a little simpler now and a lot slower, centred on family and home.  It's also a season, one that will be gone before I know it, so I'm enjoying the opportunity to start my Monday slowly.  

Switching topics, these pictures were taken late last week when very spring-like weather beckoned us to the beach.  We walked along the rocky shore, watching seabirds circle and swoop.  Miss S coined a sound effect for the slight splash and bob when a seagull lands on the water -- Boing!  We waded in to the tops of our gum boots and ignored the evil eye cast by parents of less suitably clad children who did the same.  Spring was here for a full afternoon.  

This Moment

One fish, two fish, red fish blue fish.  And pink and black and orange and yellow.  Miss S meticulously matches green fish tail to green fish head -- no designer fish allowed -- then gleefully dumps the works upside down and begins again with equal concentration.

Joining SouleMama and others in "a Friday ritual. A single photo . . . capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see."

Surprised by Spring

 I've been longing impatiently for spring.  I've been scrutinizing the tell-tale signs:  a minute more daylight in the evening, a slightly more golden quality to that light.  Yet somehow I was surprised today to find that my garden has gotten on with the business of spring without me.  The snowdrops are looking tired while the crocuses beam -- sunshine with dewdrops.  Bluebells and tulips in sheltered places shoot three or four inches out of the ground and the grass needs mowing.  When did all that happen?

Linking to Sunlit Sunday.

Editorial Retraction:  These sunny little shoots endured a skiff of snow this morning.  Perhaps I spoke too soon.