reflections

the countdown is over

Samantha left for Australia yesterday (Sunday) morning. Among the items she packed were 15 Larabars and 10 bikinis. She's been counting down the days for about 2 months now. It took her 6 hours to fly to LA where she had a layover of 12 hours. While she was there she saw 2 celebrities at LAX, Paris Hilton and Natalie Portman, within 15 minutes of each other, while waiting outside the airport for her 3 friends to pick her up. Paris strutted in wearing uncomfortable-looking high heels and Natalie was leaving with a little dog and an airport escort who did his best to chase away the 2 paparazzi who were hounding her and her hound. It will take Samantha 16 hours to fly to Australia and once she arrives she will have lost 13 hours since Australia is 13 hours ahead of Boston. So far 180 people have died in the fires in Australia, with one suspect arrested so far (WHY would anyone do this?).

happy v-day

This year my homemade card for my husband, Larry, features this photograph, which I mounted with a glue stick on card stock. Using photographs for cards feels a little like cheating compared to when I've made my collage notecards. The challenge with the photos has been figuring out how to hook up the photo printer and now that I've conquered that hurdle I'm turning into a photo printing maniac. Within minutes there's a polished, finished product and voila, I have a card that's as good as the one I saw in the Mount Auburn hospital gift shop selling for $4.00 last week (which, by the way, is a very nice gift shop).

My main objection with all these holidays is the commercial aspect which can lead to a potentially impersonal aspect as well. Valentine's Day is the one holiday where you can really get away with giving a homemade card. So if you didn't get around to buying a card for your sweetie yet, not to worry. Just pull out a pen (or camera) and some decent paper and get to work. Oh, and happy v-day everyone!

why blog?

So far this blog has mostly consisted of photos and more broadly a look at different neighborhoods, particularly my own in the Strawberry Hill section of Cambridge, MA. In an interview yesterday I was asked for a writing sample. This has inspired me to use this blog to expand my view beyond the visual and share my own point of view through writing.

I initially started my blog as a visual diary. I was inspired by the blog at 36shea. A mother in my class at Graham and Parks started her blog as a way to develop a community of fellow artists and crafters, many who connected through the online websites Etsy and poppytalkhandmade. This was an eye opener for me. To be able to connect with like-minded people on an international level and have the pleasure of something new and potentially aesthetic to look at everyday and develop my own artistic sensibilities (the hope is/was that I would eventually paint or draw my photographs) was appealing to me.

Facebook was my introduction to online communities, mostly through my own teenagers’ facebook pages. But while a large volume of photos can be posted there it also can be risky unless a discriminating eye is used when posting.

I think everyone should consider having their own blog. I'm reminded of what Lady Borton, a writer who has spent many years in Vietnam, once told me about the Vietnamese. She said that in Vietnam everyone would carry a book with them to write in. Writing wasn't only reserved for greatness but was a daily practice and an intricate part of the culture. It was the act itself that was important, not just public approval of a finished work. I've always treasured this bit of wisdom and think it applies to any creative endeavor, such as drawing or making music. Blogging has made this daily writing easy and we don't have to wait for a book contract to be published, which in the past has probably inhibited a lot of folks from putting their thoughts down on paper.

So I will continue with my photos, but with thoughts and perspectives and no lewd photos attached.

ode to red

Original valentine's day poems my daughter received today:

Roses are red, so is your head,
For saying that, you might just wish I was dead
But wait! My dear friend, violets are also blue!
Which mean what I really like is inside you! (Haile)

Your hair that I see
Is red and boingy,
Pretty and springy
I wish that your hair
was on me! (Klara)

Photo was taken a free years ago; she's a big girl now!

from Kitty's yard

in Miami, Florida, circa 2008. Love the turquoise, the rocks, the water.

thaw

The ice is starting to thaw the teeniest bit. It's supposed to be 20 degrees warmer tomorrow; can't wait!