Instant Comfort

Monday, January 31, 2011

This is Darcy. I got Darcy when I was around four, I think. Since then,

Darcy has been my constant go-to stuffed animal. I have always loved her

and she always seems to comfort me or make me happy. The other day, I was

really upset, so I just grabbed Darcy. I don't really remember why I named her

Darcy, but I remember she was "Darcy the Dog."

Quote Of The Day:

"There are toys for all ages." ~ French Proverb

50 Word Story:

Lingering Happiness

A smiling young girl hugging a brand new stuffed dog, one of her teeth

missing in the front. Fast asleep, the dog cuddled in her little arms. As she

grows older, the dog is still there, though not under the covers anymore.

Passing by the worn doggy, she smiles, comforted.

Cravings...

Sunday, January 30, 2010

I apologize for the lack of quality in this picture, but this is along the lines

of what I've been craving since Tuesday. I have wanted Chinese food for almost a week now and today I finally got it. It was so good.

Quote Of The Day:

"I'm not a vegetarian because I love animals. I'm a vegetarian

because I hate plants." ~ AW Brown

50 Word Story:

Kung Pao Cravings

She'd had a craving for so long, yet it always seemed to be just out of

reach. She'd tried to get her hands on it many times, yet she always seemed

to be too late. Then the day finally came. It sat in front of her steaming,

inviting, there. Chinese food.

How Far?

Saturday, January 29, 2010

I grabbed this shot of one of my good friends this last summer. We went on a beautiful hike...it was great. I'm really looking forward to summer...right now it's just cold and wet.

Quote Of The Day:

"It's pretty far, but it doesn't seem like it." ~ Yogi Berra

50 Word Story:

Airborne

Wind whipping in his hair, the boy stands on top of the mountain he'd just hiked, taking in the glorious view. After a moment, he looks down and, picking up a smooth stone, he pulls his arm back and throws it through the air, wondering how far it will fly.

Blue Sky

Friday, January 28, 2011

I took this picture this last summer, when the sky actually looked as nice as

this. I really do miss the blue sky in the winter...I went up skiing on the ski bus

tonight...it was wet. And rainy. And wet. And cold. And wet. And bad snow. Did

I mention wet?

Quote Of The Day:

"If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of

grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the

simple things in nature have a message you understand, rejoice,

for your soul is alive." ~ Eleanora Duse

50 Word Story:

Promise of Color

Grey clouds roll over the once clear, crisp sky. The winter had drug on far too

long for most, as the beauty of blue skies hadn't been spotted in months. As the

warm spring rays finally came, a small, blue dot appeared in the clouds, slowly

and steadily growing larger.

Straw Hat

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Yes, I know there are annoying ferns behind the hat in this picture,

but I tried in vain many times to remove them...

Quote Of The Day:

"Life is like a new hat. You don't know if it suits you if you

keep trying it on in front of your own mirror." ~ Louise Green

50 Word Story:

Harvesting Hat

A worn straw hat resting on a fencepost, waiting for its owner to come out

of the field and reclaim it when the sun comes up. With wears and tears, this

hat has seen a lot of sun and many seasons. Familiar and protecting, it waits

for another sunny day.

The Grand Illusion

Wednesday, January 26, 2010

Grabbed this shot real quick when we were downtown. I liked the sign...

Quote Of The Day:

"A magician makes the visible invisible. A mime makes the

invisible visible." ~ Marcel Marceau

50 Word Story:

Tricks

A shower of sparks and the flash of a sparkling cloth and BAM! There's a

rabbit, poking his nose out of a black velvet hat, his white ears flopping over

his head. Small tricks and little deceptions that trick the mind. It's really all

a show, yet magic intrigues.

Literacy

Tuesday, January 25, 2010

Again, another delayed post. So sorry! These past weeks have been a bit

crammed. Sorry if the posts tonight are brief, I've got a math quiz tomorrow.

Wish me luck! A quick note about today's picture - it was on the wall of a

bookstore...I find it very true. :)

Quote Of The Day:

"Literacy is not a luxury, it is a right and responsibility. If our

world is to meet the challenges of the twenty first century we

must harness the energy and creativity of all our citizens."

~ President Clinton

50 Word Story:

Deciphering Freedom

A young boy sits on the floor, his face scrunched up in a mask of intense

concentration as he stares down at the words in the picture book in his lap.

Slowly, he sounds them out, piecing together the meaning of the story. Slowly

but surely, at last he reads.

Mountain Shop

Monday, January 24, 2010

This sign caught my eye as I was coming out of this shop a little while ago. I

always find an interest in mountain sport shops, as I ski and mountain bike.

They always seem to have a good vibe and they smell nice. :)

Quote Of The Day:

"Mountain sports are my great love. My love affair with the

mountains started when I was fourteen years old."

~ Author Unknown

50 Word Story:

Last Stop before the Mountains

Skiing, biking, and rock climbing posters litter the wooden walls and the

hardwood creaks underfoot. Every nook and cranny of the shop is taken up by

some sort of mountain gear or supplies. Everything from top-line apparel to

the actual skis, climbing shoes, and bikes, smelling slightly of board wax.

Belief

Sunday, January 23, 2010

Grabbed this shot just as the light was hitting the roof of the cathedral.

Whenever I see this cathedral I always think about how neat it looks compared

to the buildings around it. It's nice...just something different. I've always

admired the holy places of different religions, as I find them all to be different

and very interesting.

Quote Of The Day:

"God has no religion." ~ Mahatma Gandhi

50 Word Story:

No One's Wrong

Many gods throughout world religions, though all seem to stand as one.

Teachings and beliefs passed down through generations, still taught today.

Religion and culture, kept alive by preservation and education. Each belief

interpreted differently by individuals, reformed and understood. Islam,

Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Shinto, Taoism, all together.

Left Behind for the Curious

Saturday, January 22, 2010

I made this a while ago at the river when I saw some fun rocks and decided

they would make a good picture. Ever since my parents and I watched a

documentary on Andy Goldsworthy, I can't help seeing potential ways to make

little art installments every once in a while. If you don't know who Andy

Goldsworthy is, check out his website:

http://www.rwc.uc.edu/artcomm/web/w2005_2006/maria_Goldsworthy/TEST/index.html

Quote Of The Day:

"People also leave a presence in a place even when they are

no longer there." ~ Andy Goldsworthy

50 Word Story:

Sea Treasures and Creativity

Ordinary objects that would be looked over without a second glance rest in the sand. A creative eye picks them out individually, spinning them into something extraordinary and eye-catching. Small things taken for granted placed in a different way seem exotic. At the beach with shells and a creative mind.

One Red Heart

Friday, January 21, 2010

This is a cookie. A yummy shortbread cookie filled with jam. One of the

better cookies I've encountered. I took a picture of it because I thought it

looked very cute and I wanted it to look pretty before I consumed the cookie.

Looking at this now, I really want another one...

Quote Of The Day:

"One of the hardest things in life is having words in your

heart that you can't utter." ~ James Earl Jones

50 Word Story:

Subtle Joy

Standing on the sidelines, holding one red heart in hands, watching. Not

making a sound or a movement, just watching. The delight the bearer of the

heart feels comes from the one inside the heart, who is completely unaware.

One red heart held in gentle open hands. Just treasured silently.

Paparazzi Cows

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Many of you are now looking at the title and thinking to yourselves or

questioning out loud: "What is she thinking?" or "Paparazzi Cows?!" or "I think

she's finally cracked..." No, there is actual logic behind today's odd title...

My dad and I went for a drive around the valley to see what we could see and

I grabbed a few shots of these cows. Now, cows are very fun animals to take

pictures of. Their faces are hilarious and they can have some wonderful facial

expressions. After taking this shot, it occurred to my dad and I that these two

cows looked like they were hiding from the paparazzi...Odd logic, yes, but at

least there's some thought behind the absurd title.

Quote Of The Day: (About the paparazzi)

"I throw root vegetables at them." ~ Jude Law

50 Word Story:

Just When it Looked Safe

Eyes flick both ways down the street, checking to make sure the road is

empty. A tentative hand on he brass doorknob. The first three steps are safe -

not a soul in sight. Just as the car is in tantalizing distance, the unmistakable

clicks and flashes of multiple cameras.

Archaeological Finds

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Another one of those fun lampposts...They really were fun to look at. This

one particularly caught my eye for some reason. You can't see from this

picture, but the dinosaur was in the middle of a magnifying glass.

Quote Of The Day:

"An archaeologist is someone whose career lies in ruins."

~ Author Unknown

50 Word Story:

Meteor Strikes Twice

Many people in sandy clothes gathered around a deep hole in the cliff's wall

and floor, the red rock excavated out to the sides. To an untrained eye, it

would look like a meteor recently hit, but to the archaeologists, the meteor

and its victims were just being uncovered...

Footloose and Fancy Free

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Sorry for not posting last night...I was pretty packed with stuff to do. I'm

actually pretty packed tonight, but it's pretty much all done. I saw this graffiti

when we went out for the dumplings and thought it was really funny. Again,

this is what I love about having a camera - it makes you really look and take in

your surroundings...anyway, don't we all wish we had a day to just...eat donuts

and um...stuff?

Quote Of The Day: (Chosen just for the humor and

graffiti-related subject.)

"I think graffiti is the most passionate literature there is.

It's always like 'Bush sucks. U2 rules.' I wanna make indifferent

graffiti. 'Toy Story 2 was okay.' 'I like Gina as a friend, but I'm

not sure about taking things further.' 'This is a bridge.'"

~ Demetri Martin

50 Word Story:

No Clue? No Problem.

One large, relieving, white chunk in the middle of the day. Nothing scheduled,

no meetings, no commitments. A block of time up for anything. Perhaps going

to get lunch, or laughing with friends in the park. Or perhaps, it's a time for

eating donuts and stuff...not having any idea whatsoever.

Superman

Monday, January 17, 2010

Happy Dr. King day! :) Went into the city today to get 29 or 47 or 32

dumplings. (There's this place that has wonderful homemade dumplings, but

we can never figure out how many come on a platter. It's an odd number as

it's not divisible by three or four...26, I think.) Anyway, we wandered around

for a while and the street had these great sculptures on all the lampposts. It

was a treat to look at all the different ones.

Quote Of The Day:

"I'm not normally a praying man, but if you're up there,

please save me, Superman." ~ Dan Castellaneta

50 Word Story:

Crumbling Hopes

Black clouds hang over the crumbling city, desperate times obviously ahead.

Further destruction looms in the distance, slowly barreling closer. Many have

tried and failed to bring aid and somewhat restore civilization. The people

scattered, the buildings crumbled. Once a great city reduced to rubble. So

where is Superman?

Old Red Barn

Sunday, January 16, 2010

I've always loved the look of this barn. It sits on a five acre property with

a very small house and a midget Christmas tree farm. (It's not actually a

Christmas tree farm, but there's a ton of pine/fir trees planted off to the side

that are, at most, three feet tall.) Anyway, this barn has always seemed cute

whenever I passed by, so I grabbed a picture of it. :)

Quote Of The Day:

"Anybody can kick a barn down, but it takes a good

carpenter to build one." ~ Sam Rayburn

50 Word Story:

Intriguing Dusk

The barn doors rest on creaky hinges, squeaking in protest as they're opened.

A musty mixture of damp straw, hay, horse, cow, and other animals rests

inside the dry barn. Shadows creep across the rafters and saddles hang on the

far wall by a workbench. Definitely a place worth exploring.

Let the Rain Play the Drums

Saturday, January 15, 2010

I went on a fun photo shoot today with a friend. We went up to the Cedar

River Watershed Educational Center, where they have a garden full of rain

drums. The drums are on a timer so that water from a spigot above them is

released to fall on the drums. Each drum is on a different timer so that when

the water falls it creates a beat. It's very, very cool. Below is a clip of what it

sounds like. (Not the greatest video, but the audio is good.)

Quote Of The Day:

"A good drummer listens as much as he plays." ~ Indian Proverb

50 Word Story:

Rainwater Rhythm

Silence at first. Once might wonder why the drums sit in the forested garden.

Then the rain begins, fat drops falling onto the taught surfaces of the drums,

each at a different time. Patters and sequences turn into melodies and rhythm

as the rain falls, effortlessly playing the various drums.

The Herb Garden

Friday, January 14, 2010

Another shot I took a little while ago. I just happened to snap this real quick

when the lighting looked nice and it turned out quite well...It's over saturated,

but I thought that effect looked pretty cool with the lighting and the brick. On

a completely different note, I saw a really great movie tonight called The

King's Speech. I really enjoyed it. :)

Quote Of The Day:

"The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade

you do not expect to sit." ~ Nelson Henderson

50 Word Story:

Subtle Art, Climbing Vines

A mixture of musty smells hits when the creaky door of the nursery is opened.

Unusually warm in the late afternoon sun, plants climb up the walls, their

leaves and flowers vibrant in the dying light. Subtle art is scattered throughout

the garden. Various herbs, each unique, each carefully nurtured.

Paper Dreams

Thursday, January 13, 2010

Another picture I took on our little road trip to visit family. I thought

this sign looked neat against the bricks and the wrought iron. Oh - keep

Beaumont in your thoughts, he's having a bit of a tough time. If you don't

know who Beaumont is, click the link below.

http://ginkgobreeze.blogspot.com/2010/07/old-friend.html

Quote Of The Day:

"Dreams are illustrations.....from the book your soul is writing

about you." ~ Marsha Norman

50 Word Story:

My Words in the Ears of Strangers

Dreams settling down in layers on top of each other like paper gently drifting into a stack. Dreams of writing, dreams of newly published paper in between tired fingers. Familiar words in new binding. Scattering like scraps of parchment on the wind, blowing fantastical whispers into the ears of strangers.

Afternoon Sunlight

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

I took these shots over the break when I went to visit family. We went for

a walk in a park and I saw this person sitting and reading. I had to grab these

shots as they summed up what looked like a perfect day fading into the warm

sun of the afternoon and evening.

Quote Of The Day:

"Sunlight is painting." ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne

50 Word Story:

A Bike, a Book, and a Sun

The sun slowly dipped behind the horizon, a golden orb seeming to disappear

into the blue water. Its light casting long shadows across the windblown grass.

A bike propped against a piling and a book in hand, she read until the warmth

of the words and the rays slipped away.

Mosaic

Tuesday, January 11, 2010

I took this picture a while ago when I was visiting my family on the east coast.

We went geocaching (of course...) and ended up in a little garden in the city. It

had one wall that was all mosaic and said different things such as peace and

justice. It was very neat, especially when the sun reflected off the mirrored

and white pieces.

Quote Of The Day:

"We become not a melting pot, but a beautiful mosaic. Different

people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes,

different dreams." ~ Jimmy Carter

50 Word Story:

Compiled Color

One small stone, a pale aqua blue color on its own, sits in the gravel, barely

noticeable. It's plucked out of the grey gravel and placed in stone. Each piece

in the stone wall is inferior alone, but together they are a splash of color, a

treat for the imagination.

Neon Lights

Monday, January 10, 2010

My town has a lot of the old-style neon lights on the main street. We have a lot of it on the shops, particularly restaurants, as well as the theatre. It's quite pretty at night and when it snows. The second picture above is not from my town, but I threw it in because it was pretty.

Quote Of The Day: (In picture form, as NO quotes showed up for "quotes about neon" in Google search.)

50 Word Story:

Main Street Nights

A long street running down the center of town. It would be lit only by the lights in shop doorways and the glare of stoplights against the night, if not for the old-style neon lining the shops. Blue, red, yellow, all are vibrant and glowing in the dark.

Cookies, Cookies, Cookies

Sunday, January 9, 2010

Zorro makes yet another appearance...In this shot, he's not actually howling.

My dogs don't howl, thank goodness. However, they do bark when they really

want a "cookie" or a treat. Zorro, however sweet he is, can get a little impatient

when I try to get him to pose for a picture. Being the food motivated dog he is,

he will end up barking at me incessantly until I give him the darn cookie.

Quote Of The Day: :)

"A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand." ~ Author Unknown

50 Word Story:

This is One of My Favorite Things

Chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven, slowly cooling on a metal rack.

A small girl, too impatient to wait, grabs one. It nearly burns her hand and the

chocolate certainly burns her tongue, but gooey chips and soft dough dribble

down her chin in utter happiness. Fresh cookies.

The Real Truth

Saturday, January 8, 2010

I took this picture when we went on a short road trip to visit some family.

I've always loved the company Life is Good and I've owned many of their

t-shirts. It's just a great company and the motto sums it up: "Do what you like,

like what you do."

Quote Of The Day:

"The healthiest response to life is joy." ~ Deepak Chopra

"There's no such thing as 'Impossible.' The word itself says:

'I'm possible.'" ~ Author Unknown

50 Word Story:

My Version of Perfect

Sunshine on a sparkling blue lake. Flying down a shaded trail on a bike. Deep

in a book. Carving down a mountainside on skis. Pouring out words. Laughing

oneself silly with friends. A hug from a loved one. High in the trees, the world

laid out below. Life is good.

Illusions

Friday, January 7, 2010

This was a very cool archway I happened to grab a few pictures of. This

reminds me of the drama that I participate in. I enjoy being an actor and I

absolutely love the backstage of the theatre. There's a place downstairs that

has big "movie-star" mirrors on either side of an aisle. They have the big bulbs

and if you stand in front of one, it seems to continue forever, thus creating a

really cool optical illusion.

Quote Of The Day:

"Illusions are the mirages of hope." ~ Author Unknown

50 Word Story: (Actually an excerpt from a vignette I wrote about the theatre.)

Bittersweet Reflections (Excerpt)

In the makeup "aisle," as it's best described, the mirror is clean and polished,

not a single fingerprint obscuring the clarity and sharpness of it. When the

lights are on, looking through the mirror is like falling into a skewed, silver

wonderland where everything around is reflected. The optical illusion never

stops.

A Home for the Birds

Thursday, January 6, 2010

There's this little birdhouse that I don't think I would have ever noticed if I

hadn't been out actually looking for things to take pictures of. It hangs from

the bakery overhang and is painted bright orange. Funny that I hadn't noticed

that before. Having a camera in your hands makes you notice the smallest

details...one thing I love about photography.

Quote Of The Day:

"God finds a low branch for the bird that cannot fly." ~ Turkish

Proverb

50 Word Story:

Warm Hideouts for Winter Birds

Wind, sleet, rain, and snow. Little birds sitting in the open trees, their wings

curled up next to their bodies and their heads tucked into their feathers

against the brittle cold. Hanging from a building is a birdhouse, a small

sanctuary from the elements. Warm hideouts for the winter birds.