{beauty}

beauty

full

patty (dew drop) and i will be flying away from our team-up photography project for awhile

but we'll flutter back soon

because beauty is even more beautiful...

when shared

{faceless portrait}

patty's ballerina up top

my wide receiver on bottom

*

mothers don't need their child's face to know what's going on

for we become body language masters

as soon as we feel that first kick from within the womb

what a beautiful gift we mothers have been given...

the ability to see 

our 

child's 

heart

{depth of field}

my gumballs, patty's crayons

COLOR!

each week patty and i decide on a team-up theme for this photography project

then i upload my photo onto flikr and patty does her magic by adding her photo

it's always fun to see how each of us interprets the theme with our cameras

{or if lighting is wrong or we're crazy busy, we pull old photos that fit}

today's pair totally rocks...such ViBrAnT cOloRs!


i think patty and i hit it off right away because we're both grab-life-by-the-horns-try-to-leave-the-world-a-better-place-go!-go!-go!-kinda girls


when patty and i meet face-to-face someday, i think COLORS will surround us...sunny yellow warmth, pink excitement, rich brown word tapestries


color girls


we are

{black & white}

simple

beautiful

cut-out-the-chaos...

notice the details

black & white

patty's on bottom, mine on top

{numbers}

numbers are everywhere (until you want to take a picture of them)

ever notice that we see numbers differently depending on what vantage point we have?

numbers on a clock like patty's can fly by. . .

or they can seem...to....stand.......still

some numbers on the radio (lovin' this old one of mine!)

can bring beautiful music through the speakers. . .

but land on the wrong dial number and vulgar lyrics snake their way out of those same speakers

doorjam numbers are so exciting when written...but then kind of sad when giggling children {"stand up straight, now"} have grown up

and numbers on a gravestone can either make us sigh

"so short..." or sing "such   a   l o n g    life!"

numbers really do have a life of their own, don't they?

it's 7:57 am right now

numbers signifying a fresh new day

and a friday, to boot!

{happy 3 day weekend!}

{close up}

teaming up this week...my coffee and patty's water on leaf

funny how we both shot liquid!

morning is my favorite time of day

{never so until i had children}

expectant and refreshing at the same time

i wonder if patty took her shot in the morning

when everything is watered for the day

readied to meet a new one...

just like me and my coffee

{organization}

this week's team up theme is {organization}

i guess organization resonates with patty and me 'cuz we're back in the school-year saddle 

i'm still saddling my horse, patty's already left the barn

{her neatly folded clothes on the left, my pretty jar of brown sugar on the right}

for me, an organized home is a basic essential for me being 

clear-headed and joyful

as long as i can remember, i've been an organizer

and i couldn't be happier that the whole world has hopped on the organizing bandwagon

Target combined organizing AND numbers...my favorites!

even the garage got organized the other day...with old fruit crates i snapped up from my neighbor's trash

pretties always pack a punch when they're organized

my sister asked once if we lived in our van because it was so messy...

but generally?

organizing and keeping house

simply

make

my

heart

sing!

{negative space}

that patty knows how to help me grow!

{like her gorgeous flower up there}

lucky for me, mr. google helped me learn about negative space

{because when patty suggested "negative space" as our theme this week, i thought to myself how am i going to get a picture of a jail cell?}

when i went googling, i discovered that negative space is everything that surrounds the main focal point in a photo...

the negative space often makes a photo better...

{look how proud & full of love my in-laws are in that photo!}

packs a punch...

tells a richer story

see...here's a photo of my father-in-law cooking a turkey

had i cropped all the basement appliances and supplies out of this photo

you would have started snoring...

"whoop-de-doo" you'd sigh...a man cooking a turkey

but having included all that negative space the photo tells a great story...or at least makes you pause and ask 

"why is that man cooking a turkey on a dryer?"

for me, i love the photo because it illustrates how resourceful and industrious my brilliant (truly) father-in-law is...how down-to-earth and helpful he is...how growing up on a farm in nebraska taught him that it doesn't really matter how something looks (most of the time)

it's about getting a job done well

who would have thought negative space could be so wonderful?

hanging with patty shore do make me smarter!

{and i'm so relieved i didn't have to visit a prison for this week's team-up}

{backyard}

i've missed teaming up with Patty each Thursday!

{have i ever told you Patty does all the work?!}

my backyard photo is from alaska...

lots of dogs in our new village!

i wonder if this little guy ever gets jealous of the macho sled dogs next door?

i think it's interesting that patty and i both chose backyards with water

and animals, too!

i grew up with a river in my backyard

and so i think rivers, like scents, pull me back in time and place

playing tom sawyer and huck finn with my country neighbor, peggy

ice skating

exploring

wading

hearing my mom's big brass bell calling me home for dinner

a river runs...

right through my heart!

{freedom}

Patty's flag reminds me of the gift of freedom we have in our country


freedom i often take for granted...like wearing a shirt of my choosing


or gifting 300 of these tees to kids in Alaska


but in 52 countries, wearing this shirt is illegal


whenever i need a reality check...a reminder of my freedom


i visit this website


and i am humbled


and i instantly envision American soldiers fighting for me (some before i was even born!)


so that i can wear this simple t-shirt


without fear of a fine, arrest, imprisonment or death


we are not without problems in our country


but


we


are


FREE

{America}

this thursday's diptych goes together like peas and carrots!


i actually gasped when I headed over to flikr and saw Patty's photo.


mine (top) speaks of taming the wilderness...working hard to settle a new land.  boots the color of American soil


soil which Patty so beautifully captured in her baseball diamond...


so much land in this new country, why of course baseball would be invented!


i love the browns in both our shots -- and the cream colored hay under my boots and the faded grass of the field.


the organic simplicity of our shots and the colors we chose to capture


show America without her red, white, and blue petticoat


the real deal


oh, how i love AMERICA

{water}

one of the amazing things about water is how it can transform itself instantly


one minute "all is calm" and the next white caps and waves dominate


the water often changes on its own, but sometimes is changed by man


{kind of like life}


on the left is our son's hand is filled with sea glass treasures


{sea glass: glass found on beaches along oceans, bays, rivers or large lakes that has been tumbled and smoothed by the waves, water and sand, creating smooth, frosted shards of glass.}

our son could look for sea glass all day...last week he found illusive colors like purple and cobalt blue...


we like to imagine some of his pieces came from shipwrecks lying on the bottom of the lake (a likely scenario in this lake actually)


sea glass hunting is calm and peaceful


on the other hand, Patty's photo illustrates the lively aspect of water


kids making waves and splashes


funny to think that the water in both our pictures is probably connected somehow...


that on one shore a young man with head bowed patiently and quietly looks for something on water's edge


while a little ways out from another shore, young men (and sisters?) spin water with motors to create crashing waves


calm and wild...both fun in their own unique ways


connected but separate


water...magic

{vertical}

it's team-up time again with patty!


my hosta are on the left, patty's green leaves & empty cacoon (i think) are on the right


i love how the camera picks up life's details...


i never noticed the teeny holes in my hosta leaves


and look at that little spider web in stick's gentle circle


and the beautiful wooden tendril, like a lock of blonde curly hair!


i love them-up thursdays with patty {even though thursdays come around way too fast!}...


one theme + two interpretations = delightful


To me, photography is an art of observation. It's about finding something interesting in an ordinary place... I've found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.
-elliott erwitt

{breeze}

i snapped my photo (left) before we had to seek shelter in our basement last night


tornado warning!


{breezes can be strong}


i am on the prowl for an antique (looking) screen door which will pair beautifully with our wind-blown porch curtains


sigh.  i really need a farm house...and a big pond...and a barn...and some chicks and hens!


but for now, my breezy curtains satisfy


as for patty's bird?


look at her...just floating magically on the breeze!


the breeze is such a blessing to birds...


as if God sees their little (or big) wings flapping hard and wants to give them a much needed REST...and so He turns His head their way and exhales!


{the breath of God always provides rest}


soft breezes cause beauty... no matter how the wind blows

worn

speechless


when i saw patty's photo this week for our WORN theme 


utterly speechless


the wood grain...the vivid blue...the CHICKEN.WIRE!


teamed up with my photo of my worn red wagon


in front of my worn green metal wheelbarrow


the colors together...


the patinas


the rust


simple. organic. beautiful.


and i am so thankful to my team-up buddy for helping me train my eye


the see the beauty everywhere

{looking up}

so cool

once again!

patty and me

team-up thursday!

love this one so much...

blues....

you know those Amish men on the roof are wearing boots, too!

browns...

creativity...

all kinds of unexpected beauty can be found

just by

LOOKING UP!

team up thursday (SiGnS)

it's team-up thursday again {already!}


i love patty's sign and all that surrounds it!


and i love how my little sign seems to nestle right under her big building


black in her sign blends with the black in mine...gold on the building, gold on my candle...green paint...green bushes in my background


2 bloggers + a sign theme = beauty

self

patty and me...meant to be!


it should be no surprise that, without planning, we both made faces...


and we both are sporting aqua colors


patty's so tech smart, she "teamed us up" again this week


and gave our photos a copyright thing-a-ma-jig!


ok--so self portrait followed by a little Q & A...here goes


{wonder if patty and i will have similar answers!}


When meeting new people, they are surprised...I am so funny.  I can be very"qwitty" (quick and witty all at once!).  Men are especially surprised (ball game Dads, etc) that my "funny" is actually intelligent.  Go figure! 


If I could meet an historical figure who would it be?  I would definitely want to meet Harriet Tubman (bravery)...Mark Twain (funny)...Socrates (I would ask him questions...get it?)...a pioneer woman (perseverance)...Ella Fitzgerald (raw talent, and I think we'd laugh a lot)...and a relative from long ago (i love family ties). {as for someone living, i want to meet Patty someday!}


Least favorite chore: cleaning the shower stall.


My favorite thing to do on a free day: shopping...specifically for antiques and home decor.  I love window shopping high-end to get ideas and then finding something even better that's less moo-la.  Lunch would be part of my day...somewhere with amazing sweet tea and creme brulee.


The most adventuresome thing I've done: lived in the Alaskan bush with my husband and children (ages 6, 9, and 12) for 6 weeks in 2005.


now...run, don't walk...on over to Patty's little corner of the world...


she's out finding serendipity, but her door is always open!

fresh

my good buddy, Patty (we met over our bloggy back fences) and I are teaming up with a weekly photography project called "team up thursday".  


each week we get/choose a theme and separately take pictures reflecting that theme.  can you guess this week's theme? 


{i love Patty's hanging bananas in front of the colorful signs!} 


i snapped my picture after i made a fruit salad for the kids


{apparently i don't make fruit salad enough}


they ate it up with gusto!


mrs. dunbar taught me to add a little honey, cinnamon and walnuts to fresh fruit


so that's what i did to this little bowl of goodness


and then i snapped some pictures


and then i stood at my kitchen counter and ate my subject matter


F R U I T!