Finding Inspiration in Coffee

An artist friend of mine (we go all the way back to high school) hosts an art journaling blog.

Now, I am not an art journalist. Yes, I do keep a journal, and have off and on for years, but its pretty much about writing, and not art. So when my friend asked if I would be a guest host for this year, I was completely confused and unsure what I could possibly contribute.

I think perhaps I've started to "get" it, though, and am thankful that she has made allowances for those of us that prefer to let our cameras capture the art in life.

Twice monthly, she asks for us to either journal or photograph in response to a specific theme, the year's overall theme being in collaboration with Monday Mugshots, so the posts also need to incorporate mugs or coffee in some way.

In response to the theme "What if..." this is what I posted:

 What if... about a year into my tenure at Boyd Coffee Company...

What if... I had taken that job offer in Colorado...

Would he have hunted me down as he says?

Would my last name start with a "T"?

Would my interest in antiques, papercutting, stitching have been encouraged?

Would those two Littles (see their silhouettes on the mantle) be mine?

Would I be ever grateful to a coffee company for playing matchmaker?

What if...

Out of the Way

Not ones to get out and about that often, we nevertheless jumped at an opportunity to spend Mother's Day weekend in one of the high desert areas of Eastern Oregon.

Just a few hours' drive from our home, yet it felt like we were on an entirely different planet. All rolling hills of dry grasses and tumbleweed, with trees few and far between. This part of our state holds a beauty that is at once stark and sumptuous.

As we traveled along the mostly deserted roads, I kept expecting to see John Wayne or Michael Landon come riding over the next hill.

Our final destination was Treo Ranch, a family-owned estate that has converted from farming to hosting guided bird hunts.

This being a shared family weekend, the important parts were taken care of first, like a BB Gun safety course taught by the biggest gun safety stickler you may ever meet... my Farmboy.

Followed by the fun part... assisted balloon shooting for the littles.

And supervised balloon shooting for those with a little more experience.

And then the big boys got to go have a little fun while the rest of us stayed at the lodge and did our own thing.

Such as stalking an abandoned farmstead with my camera...

Yes, ladies and gents, these places do still exist in the dry landscape of Eastern Oregon. I wish I had a dollar for every abandoned old house we saw on our trip. I also wish I had the time to take pictures of each and every one of them.

If only those walls could talk.

By far the coolest discovery by the little people, was the triple-heaping mound of spent shotgun casings leftover from years of bird hunts. They don't leave that plastic out in the fields, but carefully bring it all back from their expeditions to gather in one place.

Thank you, Tim and Ericka, for inviting us to join you for a truly memorable weekend.

As we headed back home, I had to make sure to capture a Mother's Day 2013 photo with the two sweetest Pieces of my Heart.

In keeping with tradition, there was one last stop to make on our way home. Despite rain and chilly weather on our side of the Cascades, we simply couldn't resist the siren-song of gigantic ice cream cones.

Artsy-Fartsy

I can't help it. I'm in love with this picture. I don't usually love pictures of me, but this one is artsy and silly and perfect.

I had my laptop open on the kitchen counter as I was making dinner in the evening. I was reading comments and listening to music and blog-hopping and stirring soup. Then the sun came out, and there was my reflection overlapping my page.


In so many ways, this photo is the perfect glimpse of how I see myself these days. I don't get out much... I'm a total homebody. Its mostly just me and the kids and errands and housework and evenings with Daddy and... you.

I don't really know what it is about me that makes me enjoy writing this blog so much, but this online journal has become an inseperable part of how I think each and every day. You give me fuel and inspiration to keep taking pictures, to keep noticing the details that make up my life. I find myself getting excited about telling the story of my life in snapshots, for my benefit, as a record for my kids to read when they are grown and I am gone, and as a link to the outside world.

It makes me really happy that you keep coming back to see what I'm up to, what we are up to. I have a widget that tells me how many of you are stopping in on a daily basis, and I am humbled to know that you are out there living life and taking the time to visit... hopefully finding encouragement and inspiration in the photos I take and the words I write.

Chasing Pigeons from a Tidepool

that's what I'm doing today... how will you spend YOUR April 1st?

This Season

Hal Borland, outdoor editorialist for the New Yorker from 1940-1978, said that "March is a tomboy with tousled hair, a mischievous smile, mud on her shoes and a laugh in her voice."

I say that March is a fickle temptress, gently woo-ing the pale-faced winter-weary with sweet hints of color and bloom, then laughing as she tossess gusts and gales of snow, sleet and rain at their world.

Or perhaps... March is a young cage fighter, throwing punches at a weakening Winter, fighting to take his place in the turn of seasons.

Either way, whether March is fighting for our right to Spring, or teasing us and dangling the change of season like a carrot, the weather this month has been confusing, depressing, lovely, and infuriating by turns.

We had the pleasure of dining with friends on Saturday evening at their home in the heart of Portland. As we opened our car doors we were immediately greeted with a blast of sweet-smelling Spring air. I wanted to stay forever (the yummy lasagne and cake and conversation and impromptu piano recital sweetened the pot more than a little).

We didn't stay forever, only for the usual amount of time, but it seems we pulled a bit of Spring home with us. We were greeted by Swallows the next morning, and our snow has mostly melted away.

It is Spring Break for us this week, and this Mama has made all kinds of play-date plans for the kiddos. Here's hoping our month goes out like a Lamb...

Moonshadows

The moon was crazy bright last night. Did anyone else see it?

At 10:30 I was headed to bed and noticed the moon shadows in my yard.

There's me... standing on our upper deck... well Hello there!

The kennel and chicken chalet.

Oh! Ouch! My eyes!

And amazingly... a camera shadow on my face.

If I wasn't cold to the bone, I could have stayed out all night. It was simply enchanting.

Our Super Bowl Party

It was really exciting. There was water to drink and popcorn to eat. It only lasted for 2 quarters (the last half), and was mostly filled with cuddles and tickles in between commercials and trips to the kennel to check on puppies.

I made my grand entrance when there was about a minute left on the clock. Just after the Patriots let the Giants get a touchdown, in the hopes that they would then have enough time to take it to the other end for the win. That's how I like to watch games. Let all the jostling and legwork get done, then pop in at the end, when the moves they make REALLY matter.

The only way it could have been better would be if I could have spent the entire game sitting and stitching. But sometimes there are just bigger fish to fry.

Well Hello There...

Is the real world still in place?

This post is brought to you by determination, grit, and a 5000 watt generator.

Since I last posted, we went from this...

to this...

That is greenhouse you see in the background, housing our generator, with the spotlight shining from the front of the kennel. If you look closely, under the weighed down branches of our Anniversary Tree, you can see the two foot deep deep pathway trampled by a thousand treks.

Is it any wonder a giant Douglas Fir tree snapped in half and took out a whole section of power lines and poles?

We have been on around-the-clock gas-up-the-generator-every-two-hours shifts to keep the puppies warm and alive.

We have extension cords snaked all over this house, and have to take turns plugging in the electrical devices that need to be used.

It now looks like this out there...

Roads are clear, rain is quickly melting away the two feet of snow that accumulated.

The power company got an earful this morning, due to the fact that their crew made a small repair yesterday afternoon at the end of the road, then apparently went home, leaving the majority of the damage untouched. They could give us no indication as to just how much longer we will have to wait, but from our appraisal of the damage, it might be quite a while. Big sigh.

It has been nearly two days of interrupted sleep, dirty bodies, dirty dishes, and general inconvenience. We are all learning to be very grateful for the blessing of electricity.

The romance and excitement of being snowed in and having the power go out was immediately erased by the stress and concern of keeping those puppies warm and alive. We are more than ready for normalcy to return.

And I can't stop thinking about how good a hot shower is going to feel.

Taking Pictures

The camera that I have been shooting with for the last five years is a Canon EOS Rebel XT (previous to that, I used a Canon Rebel film camera). At 8 megapixels, it delivers large, clear shots and gives me plenty of opportunity to play with settings to achieve my desired outcome.

But every year, when the winter months roll in, my struggles to get well-lit photos that are sharp and clear become monumental. I often go for days without picking up my camera, because I know that I will just become frustrated.

It does have a built-in flash, but in general, I tend to avoid using it, because I don't like the harshness that is inevitably present when flash is used.

For the past year I have been saving money to get a new camera body. My ultimate wish was for a new Canon in the D series, but after a year of squirreling my pennies away, I wasn't even a third of the way toward the sticker price.

After doing more research, and reading hundreds of positive reviews online, I decided to stay loyal to the Rebel line, and bought an EOS Rebel T2i.

Just the body for now, since all of my lenses are interchangeable.

The photos you have been looking at are a representation of how much better this new camera handles low-lighting. I used the same exact settings, and only slightly different lenses to capture the same shot with each camera.

I am so pleased and excited each time I take a low-lighting photo with my new camera. It is almost effortless to capture what I have imagined in my mind, and the time spent editing my photos has dwindled down to almost nothing.

More play, less work... bringing back the joy of taking pictures... happy, happy me!