Day 28,,, The continuing story of things I love.

I love to read. I love books. They make me happy. They make me sad. They make me think. They turn off my brain. My mother told me that I basically came out of the womb with a book in my hands (Hey wait! How did that get up there?!) I can't remember a time when I didn't read in the evening before bed. When I was a little girl I used to lay on the floor next to the door so I could read by the light coming through the crack. I love some exceptional books. I love some mediocre books. I even love some really terrible books (I have a deep unapologetic passion for the Thorn Birds)  Anyway tonight was our book club night although we had a very very low turn out I did get to talk to some ladies I love about some books I adore so I call it a success and I also call it inspiration for today's picture.

Getting a head start on the next book. I have read it 3 times already.

Day 27.... stuff I love from the man I love!

Next week Gil and I will be celebrating our 4th wedding anniversary. My forward thinking husband made arrangements in advance for some beautiful flowers... however the florist made a boo boo and delivered them today. They are the most beautiful things I have ever seen, I don't even care they are 8 days early.

1453 Days of Wedded Bliss!

26 of 365 ... more things I love.

Early September brings me another one of my favorite things... new school supplies. I really love a new box of Crayons. The smell is so lovely. They are all sharp, unbroken, the paper is untorn. It makes me want to hunker down on the floor and colour my fool head off.

Sniff the rainbow!

25 of 365 ... Things I love

I was thinking that every so often I might work on a theme. It would give me something to focus on so i am not just wandering around snapping at everything. Today I am starting a week of THINGS I LOVE. This is a pretty broad category but it is pretty dang easy to find things I love around my house. Starting with...

NAIL POLISH!!

I am truly a nail polish junkie which you would never know because my nails always look so awful. This is just a very small selection of my vast collection but they are a few of my favorite. You should come over and paint your toes with me.

24/365

 

Gil and I had this mask made for Aimee last year when we were in Las Vegas. It was thank you gift for looking after the cats for two weeks of total mayhem. We looked and looked for a gift but everything was too cheesy or tacky (hello Vegas!) but then the day before we were leaving I found this booth in The Venetian and I KNEW that was the thing. Anyway, I have a major headache and that is my story. Nighty night.

Day 23

I had a really long day in the kitchen and not much time to take pictures (up to my elbows in fall baking!) but first thing in the morning I was sitting in the living room having a cup of tea and I looked over at Lulu and this is what I saw.

To give the picture context she is sleeping using a stuffed toy as a pillow and likely had no clue her tongue is doing anything out of the ordinary. I love my dog. She is special. I mean that in the un-PC kind of way.

22 of 365....

Okay I confess I am a narcissist. I take gobs of pictures of myself. Mostly it is just out of convenience because I am a willing subject and I don't get annoyed if I have to take a shot 10 or 12 times to get it right. But also because I can control what I look like, what part of me you see and don't see... etc.

A Portrait of the Artist as a (Young?) Woman....

Day 21 of 365

Do you remember the beautiful orange gerbera daisy from day 10? I have had them on a vase on my desk for a while now and ... well they are pretty much dead and today I was getting ready to throw them out when I realized that in their state they still had a distinct beauty about them. So hear they are for round two.

Strange Beauty

20!!

I can't believe I have done ANYTHING other then breathe for 20 days in a row. Tonight has been a bit busy because after 3 days of cold and flu season it looks like a nuke went off in here. I couldn't even find a clean spot to take a picture until I was standing in the doorway of my husbands computer room. It is funny all the things around your house that you never see until you are looking for SOMETHING. I was standing there talking to Gil and realized I was staring at a word I put on his door well over a year ago and have barely glanced at since so I guess it is doing its job.

'Suddenly I saw Hagbard's eyes burning into me and heard his voice: ``Your heart will remain calm. Your adrenalin gland will remain calm. Calm, all-over calm. You will not panic. you will look at the fnord and see it. You will not evade it or black it out. you will stay calm and face it. And further back, way back: my first-grade teacher writing FNORD on the blackboard, while a wheel with a spiral design turned and turned on his desk, turned and turned, and his voice droned on, IF YOU DON'T SEE THE FNORD IT CAN'T EAT YOU, DON'T SEE THE FNORD, DON'T SEE THE FNORD . . .'
excerpt from The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea.

19/365 .... still sick.

Today I have moved from the bed to the sofa and that is it. Well that's untrue, I also took my dogs out for a pee and fell down some stairs. Big day for me. Whoop dee do. I pretty much felt too groady to do anything, least of all try and find something interesting to take a picture of. I grabbed my camera and took this picture of the book shelf above my chair. It is  "Book Shelf" that my husband made which I think is pretty cool. If you like it and want to make your own check out the instructions here. Anyway it is not really a special picture but it is a picture nonetheless.

One of these things is not like the others...

Day 18 ... and nothing witty to add.

I am home in bed sick and I wasn't really keen to be about and about taking pictures. I grabbed for something on my dresser with in easy reach and ended up with my jewelery box. I didn't get any really great shots but I am sick and tired so you get what you get. :)

 

The two rings in the middle belonged to my Mother. They were her engagement and wedding rings from her third husband, my step-father.  I thought for a long time about wearing them when I got married or having them melted down to make a new ring because I thought it would be nice to have my mother that close to me and a part of my marriage. Then I remembered the kind of marriage that my Mother and Step-Father had and realized I didn't want that kind of bad juju infecting MY marriage. But I do like to keep them there, close so I can try and remember what they looked like on her hands. What can I say? I am sick in bed and even at 35 I miss my mama.

Day 17 of 365

I have been trying to take a picture a day but today I am posting a picture taken last night after I did my update. I went to a great party last night at the home of two friends who are very artistic and their home reflects their artistic natures. I had so much fun taking pictures but this one really just leapt out at me. I love the colour if I do say so myself.

In Case of Emergency....

Day 16

Today was  a FUN day. I actually took a few pictures I really liked but I narrowed it down to this one. 

Pepper Pots!

Last week I left the house one day WITHOUT my camera and we ended up at Kent. I was in the greenhouse so I could visit the turtles when I found these. I fell in love. Oh the colours just kill me. Anyway of course I was totally bummed I didn't have my camera and have been thinking about the pictures that might have been ever since. So this morning when my husband asked me if there was anywhere special I wanted to go I grabbed my camera, jumped in the car and hollered "Jeeves! To Kent!" Well okay I made that last part up. He said he needed to go to Kent to get a new wheelbarrow and I did a little dance of hope and joy. I am so glad they were still on display. I thought about buying one or ten for my kitchen but then I remember my evil cat would just kill it so I will have to be content to revel in the pictures... and I am.

Day 15 of 365 ....

Today was a miserable, cold rainy day. It poured all day, it was dark all day, I was in a mood all day. My husband got the blunt end of that mood which is why I was in the car waiting while he was ordering dinner at KOD. But then I noticed, through my grim mood, that the neon sign looked cool through the window so out came the camera. I liked the picture but a decided I would like it a little more if.... so I played with it a little bit.

It was a dark and rainy night...

14 of 365..... deeply uninspired.

I didn't have much time for picture taking today buy at work and busy evening visiting with my sister. When I got home I was tired and really just wanted to have some snuggle time with my hubby and my puppies. However I feel awesomely compelled to actually follow through so as I was getting ready to jump in the shower I grabbed my camera. No, no shower pictures that would be just wrong on SO many levels, not the least of which is the damage it would cause my poor sweet camera. No this is just a weird shot of my stuff in the bathroom. Yeah I know, totally uninspired. I promise to try harder tomorrow.

Lip gloss anyone?

13 of 365 ..... I let my husband pick the picture.

Tonight was a pretty weird night. We had a crazy down pour of rain while the sun was still shining. We had rainbows. We had a beautiful sunset. And I had a photo shoot with a bunch of Smarties (the candy not the nerdy smart kids). The result was a LOT of pictures to pick from. I had a few choices so I thought I would have my husband take a look and let him help me choose today's photo. I can't be held accountable for his taste. :)

Lulu modeling the latest fall fashions.

 

 

 

 

 

In between Smarties and rain drops I was goofing around with the dog and Gil just really loved this picture so it is the winner. It might not be the prettiest but is sure does bring a smile to the face.

DAY 12! More therapy at work.

I am getting better at taking my camera with me whenever I leave the house. Today I was very glad to have it because I was REALLY REALLY stressed at work and I used my 15 min. break as a mini therapy session; just me and my camera sitting on the side of the parking lot. (Yes I sat in the parking lot in my work clothes, it was just that kind of day) anyway the result was 15 minutes of pure joy and this....

I am working on some creative themes for the next few weeks so that I feel inspired to keep up the pace. I have to admit I am pleased and surprised that I have stuck it out for almost two weeks. It really has become a part of my nightly routine. I know two weeks is not a lot in the course of a whole year but honestly I have rarely stuck with a project even this long I am feel like I can pat my self on the back a little.

11/365

Back to Monday and a busy one at that! Decided tonight that I was going to shoot the first thing around the house that grabbed my attention and it happened to be this group of pens. I love pens. I love writing. When I was younger I wrote letter after letter. Now I email and IM and text. This picture makes me want to sit down and write someone I love. Maybe it will be you.

Kleptomania!

10/365

Today was not a picture taking kind of day. I had a screaming headache and I mostly just wanted to sleep, turn off the sun and blow the Air Show out of the sky. However I made a commitment and ten days in is too soon to start breaking my promises so I had a little photo shoot in my kitchen. Aimee bought me these incredibly beautiful orange gerbera  daisies which looked even more beautiful in the late afternoon sun. Thank you Aimee, you have exquisite taste.

I just love orange so much!

9/365

BALLS!

8/365

I had today off as a vacation day so that my head won't explode at work, that would be very bad. 

Anyway a day to myself meant LOTS of of time for picture taking. I had so much fun and the weather was very co-operative between sun showers and thunder heads and rainbows.

This picture was taken right after a brief shower

Chives!!!

Day 7!

Wow. I did something for a whole week. That is almost unheard of! Took the camera back to work today and decided to spend some time wandering the parking lot. I found so  many interesting things. As an aside I found that taking a break to go out and snap some pics also significantly reduced the stress I was feeling at work today. I don't need a therapist, I just need to take more pictures. 

So much prettier when they are dead.

Day 6!

Today I brought my camera to work with me. I am TRYING to get in the habit of taking it everywhere I do no matter how mundane. SO today on my lunch break rather then reread a People Magazine from 2006 for the 76th time I decided to stalk around the office with my camera. As it turns out there were lots of fun things to take pictures of so I will likely bring my camera back another day. Here was my favorite.

Aren't they cheery?

Day Five...

 I didn't really feel into taking pictures today 'cause I was tired and cranky. I just wanted to hang with Aimee and flake but I brought my camera just in case I got inspired and lo and behold...

Day Four...

Waiting for breakfast at Smitty's it was still pretty as they seems to be feeding every Nova Scotia Power employee in the province. Instead of whining about the wait I decided to take the opportunity to snap a few pictures and was just mesmerized by this open sign. Something about this just speaks to me. Does that sound pretentious?

Day three...

This morning while I was having my cup of tea and enjoying the view from living room window I was suddenly struck by a monumental thought. This house is 55 years old! Before it was my safe and happy home it was someone else's. How many people had stood in this very room holding a cup of tea and taking in the beautiful view? I shared my remarkable thought with my facebook universe and had several lovely responses including one from a  fellow greyhound owner who grew up on this street and actually had a friend who lived in our house and spent time here! Another was a message from a my friend Juliet who requested a picture of the view I was soaking in.
Juliet I am sorry that this is an evening shot and not the morning but I am sure you can still see why I love it so much.

Mango enjoys the view too!

Day two...

First of all anyone who guess lamp shade yesterday wins!! Sadly you only win bragging rights but that is still lots of fun.
Now for today's picture. I know that you are probably expecting a picture from Earl but I sort of thought that lots of people would be doing that so I am going in another direction. We didn't actually lose power today (for which I am VERY grateful) but I did miss the by candle light romance that comes with power outages so when it got dark tonight I lit all kinds of candles, which of course meant out came the camera.

Something about these little elephants always bring a smile to my face. They are so cute I keep them on my bedside table. I confess, I did dust before I took these pictures.

Project 365 - One photo a day for a year. The Kick Off!

Okay folks, this is a project I have been thinking about doing for a while but I have been more inspired then ever by my friend Mary who is a poet/spoken word artist who has been doing amazing writing project. I am going to TRY and take a new picture everyday. If for some reason I haven't taken a picture that day I will draw from my vast pool of old pictures. I really want to follow through on this project because I am notorious at starting things and not finishing them. I hope you like what you see and feel free to share any thoughts.
So with out further ado..... DAY ONE.

What am I?