amongst friends #44

Beverage~

Well, this was a fairly easy theme, don't you think. I pretty much expected everyone would photograph their favorite beverage. I know I did. I am most often seen with a coffee in my hands. In Alaska, we have to do things a little different than many places so taking a espresso to the beach to watch the sunset, completely normal in these parts!

Kelly's picture makes me long for a boba tea. No one makes them here although I wish they did. If you've never tried one, you should!

Joanne says, this is her favorite drink, especially after a crummy day. I'd have to agree. I enjoy a cold one myself every now and then.

Jocelyn's picture made Cali do a double take as she passed by my computer. We used to find these years ago but we've never seen a Strawberry Shortcake belly washer so we are very jealous.

Sandy says, "Horlicks is a malted milky drink which a lot of people like to have late
in
the evening as it has no caffeine." It looks yummy, but since I'm certain my blood is in-part coffee, I'm afraid I NEED the caffeine. :)

Jerri's picture is 2 different kinds of moonshine she got from her family on a recent visit to Tennessee. Have you ever tasted it? I'm not sure I'd be brave enough.

Karen showed us the ingredients of a jagermeirter bomb. I've never had one of these either. Red Bull and me might equal some seriously hyper craziness I'm not sure the world could handle. Have you ever had one?

Jenny bottle photo is beautiful. I wonder what it's from?

I've not posted the upcoming themes; I kind of forgot. :) Will you be joining us soon. The themes look like fun and I'm sure they will be challenging. Join us. It'll be fun!

Next week the theme is ANTIQUE.
Then comes HOUR, STAINED GLASS, and WATER.

The Other Two-Thirds of My Children

Lest you all think I don't care about the other two. I wanted to tell you they too have started back to school. And while it isn't their first year leaving me after the summer vacation, I miss them just as much as I did the first time I had to leave them behind at school for the whole day.

Cassi is in her last year at her school. It is the only year Cali will have a sibling at school with her. I am so grateful she's had the comfort of knowing Cassi is there with her. Cassi has been so sweet about looking out for her.

She is just that kind of kid. She is a sweet, kind, loving but yet she is demanding, self-motivated, proficient, an achiever through and through.

She had a lot of fun school shopping this year. She loves to put together outfits and often helps her sisters come up with ideas.

Don't you just love this twin-thing going on for the third day of school? They were both super excited about this!

Cori started Middle School this year. I certainly don't expect to coast through the year with no drama but I think Cori is a pretty cool kid with a great head on her shoulders. She too is kind, super friendly to everyone, quite social and an excellent student.

Her school now starts earlier than we've ever been used to; it's quite a shock to the system. There was little fan-fare this year as she left for school. I had to plead with her to take a first-day of school photo for me. And thankfully she did it. Otherwise I may have had to embarass her and make her take some pictures after school. Oh wait, I did that too!

Her friends were good sports about it thankfully. I love that about them. My daughter loves me just enough to put up with my quirkiness and since she is good to them, I guess her friends oblige me too! :)

Today, I think we all figured out just how exhausting going back to school can be. Cassi hung near the house getting all her homework done early so she would be ahead come next week. Cori summoned up a second wind following a full school day, the first day of soccer try-outs, then a birthday party and onto a sleep-over.
Cali was asleep by 7:00 and never even ate dinner.

Here's hoping that we stay on this trail to a happy school year and that my heart callouses a little 'cause right now, it's a little tender missing my girls.

If I could turn back time...

if I could find a way...
I'd have been prepared for this day!

Who knew it would come so fast. I'd been warned but ...well I'd hoped it would be different for me.
It isn't. I'm sad. I miss my baby.

Every year, this day comes and I long for summer to linger. I've never been one of those mom's who looked forward to sending their kids back to school. I like being with them. I like hearing their voices. I savor every moment they decide to create something new or pretend to be store owners, veterinarians, or teachers. My heart swells when I hear their screams and giggles from the trampoline just outside the kitchen window.

And now, it's just quiet. My life is and will forever be different. The baby is a baby no more.

Cali is a Kindergartner! Our first day started out a little shaky. Although I half-expected it. About two days ago, Cali said "Hey Mom, I think I've decided that you should just stay with me at Kindergarten." Uh-Oh! Not a good sign.

And sure enough, by the big day, she was clinging to my leg determined that I was going to stay with her!. It was brutal people. I thank God above I have good friends and swift feet. My friend Misty had already mentioned she'd be working at the school for a bit that day and if I needed her to help with Cali in anyway to let her know. She stopped by the class before the bell rang and saw Cali was a bit upset. I was trying my best to hold it together and convince her she'd be jsut fine. The truth was, it was killing me and all I wanted to do was snatch my kid up and head to the beach, our beloved beach! Instead, Misty asked if I wanted her help and I said "yes!" Then I kissed my child, told her I loved her and walked as fast as I could through the halls of the school, ignoring all the Hi's and How you Holding up's, until I got to the front door and escaped!

Then I burst into tears, and crumpled in the seat of my car. Even now as I write this for you, (and me- it is my journal after all) I feel the tears welling up. I wonder how long the empty feeling will stick around?

I have been fortunate to have busy-work at the school, helping Cali's teacher from the confines of the parent room.  I don't go in her class yet. I need to give her space for a few days to get her footing. And I need the separation to sink in. As much as I hate it.

Today is her second day, and all is well. She still wanted me to walk her into school. She said she wanted to show me a few things in her room.  I told her if she raised a ruckus, I'd have to leave right away. Before we got to the classroom she saw a friend.  She ran to her,  turned back to me, and said "Mom, Can I show you that stuff later?" then she ran for the playground with out a look back! Exactly as I'd hoped she would someday.

Forever changed, that's my life. Sigh.

amongst friends #43

~Nature


So, if you heard about my week, then you understand why this is late. Regardless, here it is. I didn't enjoy this as much as I thought I might. I expected something different I think. I enjoyed my time photographing mushrooms preparing for this theme but I'm wondering what others thought about it.

There were many photography struggles this week.  We got most of them worked out but Joanne's photo of a  Momma cat nursing couldn't be fixed. I'm bummed because I liked the direction it took for nature.

Jenny's photo on the other hand looked directly at the other side of nature.  However this time, life prevailed. The sweet bird was taken to rescue and turns out, it can expect a full recovery.

Kelly told me what her flower was but I can't remember. I will update it here when I figure it out. I found it interesting both of our colorful subjects were in the middle of a green border.

Jerri's anemone photo is very interesting. It resides in her fish tank, how amazing is that?

Karen tells me she plans on retiring to that place she photographed. It looks like a perfect spot however I'd rather she consider Alaska. :)

Sandy sent in a photo of holly leaves. They are always so pretty and shiny. They make me think of Christmas which all of a sudden doesn't seem too far away.
Cali photographed our ever changing picnic table where she dries out her beach finds. It's apiece of art in its own right. I love passing it each day.

Jocelyn found her little creature on a walk with her daughter. What natural wonders there are to show toddlers!

I hope you all will join us next week, the theme is BEVERAGE. I want to see some creative submissions. I'm expecting some neat photos!

She said WHAT????

Today Cori was sitting outside looking at all the things we've brought home from the beach lately. She asked Cali if she'd like to make some fairy houses with her. As she spoke about the project she picked up this little clam shell and questioned what it might be used for.

All about the same time, Cori said "A couch." I said "a bed." And Cali called out, "I know! A COFFIN!"

Hmmm. have you ever heard of a fairy coffin??

Wordless Wednesday 08-18

"Cause I am rarely wordless-
Here in Alaska, at least on the peninsula we have had 32 consecutive days of rain. Today, we finally saw some sunshine! I asked Cali to go out to our picnic table and sort some of the items we've gathered at the beach lately so they could dry out. I came out to check on her and found her in my beaver ear muffs. It was a beautiful 65 degrees, and the sunniest day we've had in 32 days!! She was worried her ears would get chilled. ;)

I am proud of this one

Not too long ago I went to a party. While there, I was popping off a bottle cop and decided I like the look of it and stashed it in my pocket. The friend saw me and laughed. We chatted a little about it and I told her I wasn't sure what I'd do with it but if she saved them for me, I was sure I'd come up with something. So far I haven't done anything with those, mostly because I think I need more, but I'll get around to it!

Before I left the party, I also managed to salvage a glass bottle from the trash. Again, the teasing began and again, I wasn't really sure what I'd do with it but I knew I'd think of something.

This friend has had a bit of a rough year, losing her husband to leukemia. Her second child is leaving for college and she turned 50. (That's not a bad thing but big news just the same.)

When I left with the bottle I decided I would make her something and leave it for her on the porch and see if she recognized it in it's new state. I finally finished it last night and here it is.

This started as a bottle of Chambord. The cap is a heavy metal cap in the shape of a crown. Amongst my friends, when a woman turns 50, she's becomes the queen! So I imagined that crown as the queen's crown.

I decided to drill a small hole in it and use it as a charm.

I debated last night as to what kind of flower to put in the vase. In the end, I gather twigs and sticks from the beach. And made my own, quilled flowers that I attached with hot-glue.

I love it's simplicity. I adore the fact that I made something lovely, in my own opinion I suppose, from the trash and kept one thing from the landfill. And I feel as though I truly expressed the philosophy I live by.


~for every person, every moment, every thing, there is a purpose~

*Edit-
Look... how lucky am I?

Yep, 1st place and Division champion. :)

Pretty Cool I'd say. What I love most is what the judge had to say.
"This is a very visually strong piece. The asymmetry relationship between bottle and branch is beautiful!"
Awww, isn't that sweet! :) Course I may have been the only person in my division for all I know but the ribbon is pretty. HA!

She said WHAT????

Today while I was taking a shower Cali rambled in asking me about shots. She knew she had to get one and was a little concerned. I said, " Don't worry about it. We'll go there, 'bing, bing', you'll be done!"
Obviously very frustrated, she said, "MOM, I'M ONLY SUPPOSED TO GET 1 SHOT!"

I wanted to finish my shower and really didn't want her stressing over it. I said,  "Right Cali, 1 shot! Now let me finish my shower!"

She said, "But you said, BING, BING!"

Evidently, two bings, two shots!  :)

amongst friends #42

Purple

~Remember to click on the photo twice to make it as large as it can be to get a better look~

Isn't it funny how a lot of the pictures this week are a compilation of all things purple? Very fun! I took several pictures this week for purple but in the end decided I loved the simplicity of this photo best.  Unlike some other colors we've done, I think some people struggled with purple more. Who knew such a royal color would pose problems.

I have been busy working on more themes for the upcoming weeks. If you have any ideas I'd love the hear them. These themes should be more vague as we want to see how you connect to it rather than asking for something specific.

Be sure to head back to past pictures if you are interested in what the pictures entail or how the photographer was connecting to the theme.  I often find the stories interesting.

Next week the theme is Nature. It should be easy enough for anyone to try. I hope you will. Until then...

amongst friends #41

Square~

*Edit-

Christie- The Blue angels

Sandy- I think this is a tool used for sewing/ quilting. I wish I knew more because i I did, I'd likely know how to sew. :)

Karen- A square knot. I really loved this picture. It was one of my favorite this week.

Kelly- a square, a tool. I think there were women involved in our challenge who didn't know what this was. And I think Kelly uses hers often! Go Kelly!

Jocelyn- Love the hopscotch idea. Very creative!

Cassi- She took this looking into her cheeze-it box. Also one of my favorites this week. And it was completely her own idea!

Joanne- A post-it note. Again, very creative and unique!

Jenny- A poster with lots of squares and extra points for the Ireland connection. :) I am Irish you know!

There are some great contributions this week. Everyone is thinking outside the box and the creative juices are flowing. My children often participate and I was pretty impressed with Cassi's photo this week. Can you tell what it is? Original, don't you think? I've personally shared a lot of photos recently of the Blue Angels but I saved this picture because I was amazed when I took it just how perfectly square they were aligned all while going so very fast.

Next week the theme is 'purple'. Consider joining in and start looking for something to take a picture of. Do you have any ideas? Also coming up is 'beverage' and 'nature'. Start thinkin!  :)

amongst friends #40

You Pick~

~Be sure to click on the picture above twice 

in order to see it in it's largest view.~

*I am having a few issues with collaging the photos as we add more and more players. I will be playing with the layout until I can get it right. For now, this is what worked best. Sorry for any edges being cut off. :(

*Edit-
Christie- I just loved this picture of Cori. She is a quirky girl and here I captured it. It was a bonus that she happened to 'pick' something which went along with the theme.

Frank- I think this is a snapshot into his daily life. God bless him and everyone that does what he does!

Kelly- This is an upside down mailbox she happened upon. Not sure if it was a prank against the family or a quirky trick on the postman.

Jenny- Playing footsies, with her man.

Karen- Awesome photo taken in her backyard. How lucky to have a manatee in your own backyard!

Joanne- She wanted to tell you:

"Our beloved Ms. Carolyn is 101!


If you ever have the opportunity to befriend someone as gracious as Ms. Carolyn you will know you have been blessed.


Ms. Carolyn is from Ft. Mitchell, AL where she has resided for almost 80 years.


She lives by herself and remains independent as ever.


She is active in the community and church, and loves to bake and cook for others.


She has many friends who check on her and assist her to get to her appointments, buy groceries and to get her hair done!


We all love her and admire her determination to never give up."

Jocelyn- I LOVE this photo. It reminds me old school Brooklyn, NY. It could have been a clip from an old movie.

Sandy- a beautiful shot of a swan. Love it!
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The theme this week was open for your own choosing. I just realized however that my picture goes with the theme literally. :)

After seeing the photos, I kind of found it interesting that the pictures very much represented the person contributing and the direction their photos often go.

I wondered if you would see it too so I left the credits off each individual photo and thought I'd ask if you can tell who took each photo. Some will be obvious but it's the others I'm curious about. So try it, who do you think took each photo?

The next 4 themes are:
square
purple
nature
beverage

Get your cameras out and start thinking about your contribution. We'd love to have you join in.