Back in the Garage

Like the post a couple of days ago, this photo was taken in the open doorway of my garage. The light was stronger on this day, so the catchlights in Joshua's eyes are so sparkly!

I always have a hard time getting Joshua to smile naturally. He tends to keep his lips together, show a little upper gum and wrinkle his chin. That's why you may see a lot of photos of him not smiling at all. I'd rather he just stare menacingly at the camera than look like.

Because while he's still adorable in that picture, it's not Joshua. Joshua is a guffaw-er. He's a smiler. He's a funny, happy kid, and that second picture doesn't show that.

So, while he was very patiently posing for me, giving me his fake smile, I started singing.

"Twinkle, twinkle, little...goat,

How I wonder if you...float."

And that's when I found his smile. His real, honest-to-goodness, happy Joshua smile.

Ahhhh. That's better.

Do you have a reluctant smiler in front of the camera? Try singing a silly song. Maybe you'll break through his mask!

Gardening Style

I wonder if my homeowner's association would let me plant an old, broken-down truck in my yard and use the bed of it as a flower bed?

I'm guessing they won't.

Oh, well. I think this looks amazing anyway. I spotted it at the University of Tennessee Gardens yesterday while I waited for the boys to be finished with their standardized testing. It's one of those places that I have intended to go for a very long time, but somehow it has escaped me. I'm so glad I finally made it there. It's a lovely, peaceful oasis in the middle of a very busy city.

There were lovely pathways that wound through shadowed areas. This one led to a labyrinth surrounded by irises.

And there were bright, sunny spots to soak up the springtime light. I particularly liked this planting wall - full of succulents and annuals. I really think I need one of these in my yard - I think it will go over better than the broken down truck. I also loved the lavender stain on the wall, fences and planters in this section of the garden. It was a perfect background to all those shades of green and yellow.

You Light Up My Life

This was taken with the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 lens I rented for a couple of weeks. It's a lens I really (really really) want to purchase, but it's pricey and I thought I should play with it for a while and see if it is practical.

I took this photo of Derek in our garage. He's facing the open doorway with all the soft afternoon indirect light coming in, and the rest of the garage just kind of disappears into the background. I used the lens with the aperture wide open at 2.8, and the focal length set to 70mm, which made that soft, dreamy background like buttah.

Speaking of buttah...

I took this one with the lens wide open as well, but used the 200mm focal length, so the trees in the background just became the perfect foil to Derek's green eyes. Compare this one to the one below, and you can see what the combination of a large aperture and a long focal length have on the background.

I used f 2.8 in this photo, as well, but the lens was zoomed out to 70mm. That's a nicely blurred background, but it doesn't even compare to the 200mm.

I'll definitely have to set Derek up in the garage again, with the lens at 200mm. That just makes a gorgeous portrait! Maybe I can convince Joshua to model for me, too!

When the Lights Come On

Everything is a little sparkly and more special at dusk. Even the city of Birmingham, Alabama, looks beautiful when she puts on her jewels.

Wave as They Pass By

41 second exposure

Do you see that faint streak of light up there in the center of the photo? That's the International Space Station, hurtling through space at a speed of about 17,000 mph. It is 230 miles above the earth and is the brightest man-made object in space.

Last night, when I took this photo, we all stood outside and watched it pass. As we craned our necks up at the sky, feet firmly planted on the ground, I wondered what it must be like to be up there, looking down. How surreal to see your planet zooming past like a giant schoolroom globe - day and night and day and night -15 orbits in a 24 hour period.

Do they get used to it? Does it grow to feel commonplace?

I'd like to think that I would spend my six months in space gasping in awe each time I passed a window, but somehow we humans grow easily bored of awesome.

We drive into our garages and enter our homes completely oblivious to the wonder that exists around us. We catch a glimpse of the vastness of space and forget to be amazed. We see a sunrise and rub our eyes and wish we were still in bed asleep.

My mother taught me to name the constellations and marvel at meteor showers. I hope I can manage the same with my children. I certainly intend to try.


122 minute exposure - ISS and star movement

P.S. There are some excellent resources available if you are interested in tracking the ISS or finding what's going on in your part of the night sky - here are a few...

Find out when the ISS will be visible in your part of the world here.

Check out the constellations in real time on your iPhone here. (There are Android apps available, as well, but I don't have an Android phone, so I can't really recommend them.)

Plan your next meteor shower viewing here.

Keep looking up, people.

Eighty-eight Days

Source

I spend a great portion of my days looking at power lines. I find them oddly beautiful, with their soaring towers and sweeping connective curves. I remember going on long car trips with my family and staring out the window at them as we passed by, my eyes swooping down the length of wire and back up again to the next post.

I loved the back country power poles with their weathered wood and classic insulators. I loved watching them change from small to large as we approached the Mississippi River - huge sentinels of power crossing the wide expanse of water.

I'm not sure what that says about me, exactly.

Eyes on the Prize

I love the intensity and focus in his eyes -- there's just no doubt he's going to make perfect contact with the ball.

I find tennis to be the ultimate metaphor for life...

• Work hard with focus and determination, but be still and reflect when you have the opportunity.
• Competitive spirit shouldn't trump fair play. 
• Be polite, even especially to your opponents. 
• Breathe through your anger and disappointments.
• Don't be so hard on yourself. Perfection is unattainable. Mistakes are just growth opportunities.
• When things aren't going your way, fix your mistakes instead of blaming your opponent.
• Sometimes the other guy just gets lucky. Sometimes you do.
• Solve problems as you face them. 
• There's no substitute for excellent preparation. Play hard. Practice harder.
• Find a coach that believes in you and can help you reach your goals.
• At the end of the day, shake hands with your opponent, and wish them luck - even if you lost this one.
• There's nothing wrong with going somewhere private to cry it out. Passion often ends in tears. 

Hang in there, people. Play it out. Never, ever give up.

Canopy

When I was a young girl, I wanted a canopy bed so I could sleep under the magical forest that lived in my head.

I also spent a lot of time in my closet with my dad's flashlight, exploring the depths of uncharted caves, so I probably shouldn't be taken very seriously.

Edges

When he was really little, I had a hard time getting a focused photo of him. He was all soft and round and perfectly smooth. There were no defined edges for the autofocus to use.

Not any more. He's all angles and edges and sharply defined lines. He's deep black eyelashes and strong eyebrows. He's intense focus and pale eyes and gorgeous freckles.

On the one hand, it means my photos of him are much better.

On the other hand, it means my baby is growing up way too fast.

Sunfall

It was a day of sunshine and waterfalls, wildflowers and bird songs, mountain streams and tumbled boulders.

Snowbird

Another winter birdie from Target. Another happy scene with Martini's bar in the background.

Perhaps we'll go for the mulled wine this afternoon...

Who's Counting?

I am!

Nine days till Christmas, seven days till Derek turns 14, five days till school break.

Friday!

It's Friday, everyone!

Who wants to head down to Martini's for a little flaming rum punch?

(I do.)

Twelve Days - Twelve Things

1. All my Christmas decorating is done. Now I need to clean my house from all the Christmas decorating. That just seems unfair. Seems to me that the elves should have to do something.
2. Most of my Christmas shopping is done. Except for the main gifts for the boys. I have stocking stuffers and cute little things and pajamas. I have no idea what they will be getting other than that. Perhaps brooms and dusters, and I shall rename them "elves."
3. There are only eight days until school is out. I'm extraordinarily excited about it. Two whole weeks of me NOT constantly badgering my children to get their school work done. What other Christmas present do I need?
4. I made these cookies for the boys' robotics team competition last weekend. Do yourself a favor and make them for yourself. Just be sure to share, because otherwise you will eat all of them by yourself and then you won't be able to zip up your favorite holiday pants and you'll blame me, and I don't need that kind of stress.
5. I made this cake for a Christmas dinner party last weekend, too. It didn't look as pretty as the Southern Living variety, but it was very moist and flavorful. Go. Make. Share.
6. AND - I have big plans to make this cake for Derek's 14th birthday, which is in 11 days. If it comes out at all like the photo, I'll be certain to post my own photo for you all to admire. Chances are, it won't because that's just the way I roll.
7. I got that little yarn wrapped birdie in the photo at Target, and he just makes me smile. I have two more and I'm fairly certain they aren't going to get packed away with the Christmas decorations this year. They're just too adorable to hide.
8. My dogs need presents. Do my dogs need presents?
9. In two days, the love of my life comes home to me. Who needs Christmas presents?
10. On Christmas Eve, we always have a "feast" and watch "It's a Wonderful Life." I'm always on the lookout for "feast" food. I don't know why we call it a "feast." It's just appetizers as supper and we spread it out on the coffee table and sit around reaching over each other for everything and quoting all the best George Bailey lines. I love Christmas Eve.
11. Can't wait to see this...and to hear my boyfriend, Mr. Cumberbatch, woo us all with his dulcet tones - even if he is a dragon.
12. I have been seeing the idea on Pinterest to make monogram wreaths for the front door. I keep thinking it's a great idea, and then I remember that my last name starts with an "O" and that means that every ordinary Christmas wreath is a monogram wreath for me. I pretty much win Christmas.

Wordless Wednesday

Throwback Thursday

Christmas 2004...
When open brotherly affection was still the gift of choice.

Throwback Thursday

Fall Break 2007

This Stuff(y) is Legend

These guys. 

They've been around a while.

That's Benn on the left. It's not Ben. It's Benn. Get it right.

In clockwise fashion, there's Steve and Dexter.

Then Baby, in the middle. Or maybe Little Bear. I can't tell them apart. The boys can, though.

These guys have backstories. They have histories. It's one of the great regrets of my life that I haven't had Derek and Joshua write them down for me. 

Benn is actually King Benn. King of the Stuffies. Steve and Dexter are brothers. Or cousins. I can't remember. Their dad is upstairs somewhere. Or maybe it's their uncle. 

Why don't I have it written down?

They come from their own countries, these stuffies. They have waged wars and fought battles. They've rescued each other from certain doom. The imagination that has gone into the care and feeding of these guys is extensive. And these are only four of the dozens of equally back-storied stuffed creatures upstairs.

Every. Single. One. has a name and a story and they all fit in the grand design of two boys who have developed a magical land with its own language and customs and myths (at least one of the stuffies was birthed from the belch of another. I can't remember which.)

Why don't I have it written down?

What a grand tale it is. What a grand undertaking it will be for me to delve deep into the heart of it.  I do believe I've just discovered a project that needs doing - now - before they get so old they forget.

I will have it written down.

Throwback Thursday - Brother Edition

This is me with my brother, Brian, shortly after we'd moved to Guam in 1972. I was 3. He was 6. We were adorable. Derek and Joshua were looking at the picture, and remarking at how big my smile was, and how Brian's looks a little off.

I told them that Papa had probably done something silly, and I was laughing about it, and Brian was talking through it. 

Brian was always talking.

I miss that.

I never thought I would. Some days, his talking drove me absolutely bonkers. He woke up talking and he went to bed talking and then there was all the talking in between. 

Joshua has picked up where Brian left off, though. I'm sure Brian is up in heaven, laughing at the fact that after so many years of quiet, my baby boy is picking up the mantle and running with it. But the joke is on him.

Because I love it. Yes, there are days when I think all the words are going to cause my head to explode. So. Many. Words. But when I hear the constant prattle and unceasing monologue that Joshua provides to my days, it reminds me of Brian and reminds me that there are never enough words. My 21 years of listening to him were just not enough. Each word becomes precious - like a flake of gold or a perfect gem. They can't be replaced and they can't be replicated.

Love you, BJ. Miss you every day.