2011 59/365 Six Spires

Six Spires

Flickr Project 365/ Creative Every Day 2011
See them?

I took this from the top level of a parking garage in New Haven.

Paul's in there...Hi, Paul!

2011 58/365 Arches

Arches

Flickr Project 365/ Creative Every Day 2011

2011 57/365 Mountains meeting a shore

Mountains meeting a shore

Flickr Project 365/ Creative Every Day 2011
I was challenged by another photographer to take a photo of something
 "typically thought of as ugly and make it beautiful" and this has been on my mind 
lately as I've been looking for shots.
Today's photo is of dirty melting snow, not sure if I've made it beautiful, but I like this shot.  To me, it looks like mountains meeting a shore.

2011 56/365 Discovery's Last

Discovery's Last

Flickr Project 365/ Creative Every Day 2011
We watched the last launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery 
on NASA TV yesterday afternoon.  
The photo above is a shot taken from out the Discovery's window.
As Paul said, "US is spending $450mill to send object worth more than $1.5 bill, 
300 miles into space at a speed of 17,500mph-are you watching?"

It truly is an amazing thing.

2011 55/365 Hey, Cutie! How was your day?

Hey, Cutie!  How was your day?

Flickr Project 365/ Creative Every Day 2011
There's Emma, in the rear view mirror.
I took this photo while waiting for her after play practice.
Love to see her smiling face!

2011 54/365 Oh Deer

Oh Deer

Flickr Project 365/ Creative Every Day 2011

Yesterday I decided to take a side road home from work in the hopes of taking some pictures.  I wasn't alone.  I came upon a car on the side of the road and could see the occupants were checking out a large flock of wild turkeys.  I had cars behind me and decided to drive up, turn around, and then go back.  

When I got to the spot, the turkeys were gone, and then the forest started moving and I began to realize I was surrounded by twenty or so deer.

They were all around me, on both sides of the road, just going about their business.  I rolled down my windows and began to take photos only to discover my memory card was home in the computer!

Oh Deer!
I was very limited in the number of shots I could take on my camera's internal drive.
I'll have to go back!
(I told Paul that I can see myself 20 years from now,
 still driving on that stretch of road each day searching for the herd of deer, saying
"No, really, it was right here!")
I was actually thinking this is an interesting lesson in impermanence 
and being in the moment.  
And, thanks to a lovely reader I know the symbolism of the deer totem and I've been thinking about that as well.

2011 53/365 Date Day

Date Day

Flickr Project 365/ Creative Every Day 2011
Paul is a teacher in a neighboring town.  
For the past few years one of his school vacations has fallen on a different week than our daughters'.  We've started a tradition of having a "date day" 
on one of the days I'm off during his vacation.  
We send the girls off to school and off we go.  
We head down to the "nice" movie theater in New Haven, Bow Tie Cinemas 
and head to Thai Taste afterward.  It's so dreamy to steal a few hours away together.  Today's photo is taken in the hallway of the theater. 
 (We saw "The King's Speech" which was excellent!).  
I thought the caption in the painting was apropos of our outing.

2011 52/365 American Girls

American Girls

Flickr Project 365/ Creative Every Day 2011
My sister-in-law and I took our daughters to the American Girl Doll Place in New York City this past weekend.  It was one of their Christmas presents.  We had a wonderful, albeit windy, visit.  I love NYC!  In today's photo you see them gazing out at Grand Central Terminal, dolls peeking out of their backpacks.  

Annie, in particular, was struck by Grand Central and snapped some photos.  At the restaurant, the dolls are given seats and dishes.  Our dessert was served in a flower pot!  The whole place is pretty nuts, there is a doll hair salon where my niece's doll had her ears pierced!  When we left there was a limousine waiting outside and it was fun to pretend for a moment that it was ours.  

We also enjoyed Rockefeller Center and the Lego Store.

We walked past some wild store windows on our way to FAO Schwarz, 
Times Square, and the M and M store.  
The biggest surprise of the day was bumping into Annie's teacher!

2011 51/365 Window at St. Patrick's Cathedral

Window at St. Patrick's Cathedral

Flickr Project 365/ Creative Every Day 2011

Yesterday, the girls and I visited New York City with my sister-in-law and niece.

One of our stops was St. Patrick's Cathedral.
I hadn't been inside the cathedral ages and it reminded me so much of touring Europe and visiting the ancient cathedrals in the cities I visited.  

My daughters had never seen anything like this 
and it was wonderful to see it through their eyes.

2011 50/365 Sunset at Blackhorse Equestrian Center

Sunset at Blackhorse Equestrian Center

Flickr Project 365/ Creative Every Day 2011

We caught the sunset at riding lessons yesterday.

This is the view from the barn to outside.
Annie loved riding at sunset!

Bonus: we were treated  by the moon rise on the way home.

2011 49/365 Impermanence

Impermanence

Flickr Project 365/ Creative Every Day 2011
The girls and I had the honor of visiting the Westover School yesterday 
to see Tibetan Monks creating a sand mandala.

The monks, from the Drepung Gomang monastery in India,  
have been working on this mandala for 4 days.  

The sound was beautiful!

Friday, at a closing ceremony, they will sweep up the sands and deposit them in a nearby river so they flow into the world.

The making and destroying of sand mandalas is a way of practicing the Buddhist doctrine of the transitory nature of material things, impermanence.

It was humbling to interact with the monks.

We were even able to have our prayer flags blessed.
It was also very cool to just be inside the Westover School.  

The girls were very impressed with the dining hall!

Emma had to snap a photo.
This trip is one we'll remember for a long, long time!

2011 48/365 Polished

Polished

Flickr Project 365/ Creative Every Day 2011
The girls had a fun time being pampered with manicures and pedicures.
We used up gift certificates they had received for Christmas.

FUN!
Emma has purple toes with jewels and green fingers with palm trees.
Annie has hot pink toes with flowers and a combination of 
green and pink "every other finger" style.  
CUTE!
And then, sad to say, the polish quickly chipped away as they 
played at an indoor water park.
Would plan that differently next time!
Poor punkins!

2011 47/365 Skating

Skating

Flickr Project 365/ Creative Every Day 2011
Yesterday was "Bethany Day" at Long Beach Skateland.
We enjoyed ourselves immensely!
And, we got a glimpse of the beach as we left.
It was far too cold and windy to get out and explore at all, 
but just seeing the beach brought joy to us!

The girls and I are savoring having this week off from school and work!

2011 46/365 Valentine's Sky

Valentine's Sky

Flickr Project 365/ Creative Every Day 2011
The afternoon sky yesterday was impressive!
It began glowing orange and then transitioned into a pretty pink.

The blue sky and the moon added to the overall heady effect.


Lovely!

2011 45/365 Peace, Love, and Skiing

Peace, Love, and Skiing

Flickr Project 365/ Creative Every Day 2011
Annie, my mom, and I painted pottery yesterday at Pottery Piazza.  

Annie painted a peace sign trinket box and a donkey.  
I painted a "birthday plate" which I have always wanted.
We have to wait a week to see how they came out.


While we were enjoying our artistic endeavor, my brother took Emma skiing for her second time ever.  (We aren't counting the time several years ago when she spent more time making snow angels than skiing.)

I was able to stop by the hill to see them in action.

Eric snapped this great photo of Emma and I.
We topped off this very enjoyable day sharing tacos back at my parents' house.
Perfect!

2011 44/365 Feathered

Feathered

Flickr Project 365/ Creative Every Day 2011

A feather from Annie's fabulous Valentine's collection box (edited in picasa).

2011 43/365 Sweet

Sweet

Flickr Project 365/ Creative Every Day 2011

2011 42/365 Soon

Soon

Flickr Project 365/ Creative Every Day 2011
I really like this kooky photo.


I, both,  long for Spring, and am finding the beauty around me now.
Soon there'll be a blossoming.
Soon.
Now, behind the scenes preparations are taking place.
Underground.
In the branches.
Always the place of now and the pull of soon.
It can be pleasant with an acceptance of what is and hopeful non-attachment 
for what may be.


This week I have been rather frustrated.
I realized that for each task and project I set out to do,  I had a picture in my mind of how it would go.  Very little has unfolded the way I had pictured.  And, I have been frustrated.   Late in the afternoon on Wednesday at work, after what was "supposed to be" a quick call for service and then involved a time with me on my hands and knees in the firehouse apparatus bay searching for serial numbers, I felt a renewed surge of frustration.  Then, in a flash I saw what was happening and thought instead of having no notion of how the call should go.  Rather, thinking about me searching for the number with an, "huh, that's interesting."  
Much less frustration-provoking than a whiny, "what the $%#*."
A possibility of peace exists with an approach more open and allowing of the unfolding of events, rather than the mental orchestrating and controlling of things out of my control which elicits a mental stomping of feet and gnashing of teeth when things go differently.


Of course, I forgot this flash of wisdom the next day, when I dropped a large stack of numerically ordered cards moments before it was time to leave.
Oh, yeah, and then I forgot it again when I reached home yesterday only to be reminded of an errand I had promised to do and had to go right back out again.
That time, a beautiful deer presented herself in the road on the trip 
and helped snap me out of it.
So, while I,  very humanly, often forget the lessons in the moment, my snap back to awareness occurs much more quickly now.
Thankful for the deer, rather than swearing at her.
Thank goodness.  Frustration blows.


Soon.
Now.
Hopeful.
And, not attached.
Pretty branches against a pink sky.
What they are and what they may be.

2011 41/365 Tangled

Tangled

Flickr Project 365/ Creative Every Day 2011
A shift has taken place in the air.
It may be 9 degrees, but I've heard birdsong in the morning for a week now.
I love the change of seasons and I can feel it taking place all around me.

2011 40/365 Chilly Sunset and a Viennese Staircase

Chilly Sunset and a Viennese Staircase

Flickr Project 365/ Creative Every Day 2011
I shot this photo of River's Edge Farm from my car on the way home the other day.
I currently have one of the prettiest commutes I've ever had.
And, I've had a lot of different commutes!
I currently travel along scenic Route 69 in Bethany and Woodbridge.
And, if I veer off a bit onto the side roads, I travel past beautiful reservoirs.  
I'll try to get some photos of that as well.
Possibly the only commute that rivals my current one in sheer beauty was getting 
from my host home to classes when I studied abroad in Vienna, Austria in the early '90s.
It snows a lot in Austria, too!  

This commute was done mostly on foot and with public transportation.

And, involved these stairs to the house, twice a day, every day!