Viva la lilies...

There is not much I need to say about this one. My overgrown, woefully untended garden just keeps surprising me this year. These perfect lilies keeping poking their heads out to see if it is safe beyond the weeds. I promise, before the 4th of July I will give my few remaining flowers their independence from the interlopers. (Man, I hate weeding!) June 25th

Oral distractions...

Mmmm… I remember going to the dentist when I was young and I don’t remember TVs on the ceiling and cool mobiles and stuffed animals and arcade games in the waiting room!!! My son likes to go to the dentist so he can see if he can beat his time on UtraMegaSuperHero Guy or whatever the game is called. (He reads these. I will need to post the actual name tomorrow or risk retribution from the video kings or something.)

I love that he loves going to the dentist and, truth be told, I am jealous. I wish my dentist let me watch videos while he was cleaning my teeth. Cavity fillings wouldn’t be nearly as bad if I was watching a romantic comedy; head phones would be mandatory. June 24th

Gumballs?...

I tagged along as my son helped celebrate the birthday of a really good friend. Five 9 year olds and large, round, manually operated projectiles, it was great fun. Well, for the ones who were winning it was fun. The ones who were losing were not so thrilled. Of course the drama shifted from player to player with each frame. There was a time or two that those of us seated in the peanut gallery felt the need to duck incase balls went flying in the wrong direction. Not because they were thrown that way but because the zeal that they were being tossed down the alley was causing a few strays to look like they were going to leave the hand on the up swing instead of the down. DUCK!

I couldn’t decide, do the balls look like large jawbreakers or very small, strange planets? Strange planets with large, deep craters located in very uniform patterns. Whichever, I liked how they looked in the viewfinder. June 23rd

Faux flowers...

A trip to the local Michael’s for craft supplies is like going to a theme park! I was looking for cone shaped cookie forms (don’t ask) and found so many other things I wanted too. All for projects I will start and probably add to the pile of ones I never have time to finish. Yes, I know, if I stopped starting new ones I could probably finish off… Hey!

I am never one to turn down a photo of flowers, even silk ones. Butterflies in any form are worth capturing with my camera too. The colors are so vibrant. Perfect for the start of summer. June 22

Other people's gardens, part 3, the organic addition...

The longest day of the year, the summer solstice, and we were invited for a play date at a friend’s house. Yes, we. While my son was playing with his friends I got to have tea with mine. It was lovely. The view was lovely too. You know how much I love gardens but as the old adage says, ‘Those who can, grow. Those who can’t, take photos.’ I’m sure it is something like that. I admit I can’t but I am so appreciative of those who can.

My friend, who designed this amazing garden, doesn’t have a green thumb she has a green hand. I think she might be green all the way up to the elbow. There is so much growing everywhere and it is all so healthy and happy. She even has a vegetable garden that generously lent its leaves to my dinner salad. It was so good. These photos are just a small part of what she has growing there, yes, all the pictures have things that she is helping to grow. I think the one with the gorgeous black hair may be one of her finest achievements. She has two of those specialty plants but the other had his roots wrapped around the wii. Trust me, she grows beautiful things. June 21st

Grande, hold the java...

The best part about meeting my clients at Starbuck’s is their tea. Yes, tea. I am not a coffee girl. The worst part is having to walk past their pastry counter to order my unsweetened tea. All the goodies looked so yummy. I knew I had to have some of them. I let my camera feast, right through the glass. I figured it would be better to expand the blog than expand my hips. June 20th

Heavenly view...

I was just about to scold my son for staring at the ceiling when he should have been focusing his attention on what was in front of him when I glanced up. I realized then why he was so fascinated. The lights shining through the green drapes against a spider web of beams, it really was something to behold. I tried to capture the feeling but don’t think I even came close to doing it justice.

Years ago, when I was missing my mom so bad, my son asked why I was crying. I told him that I wanted to hear my mom’s voice again but I knew I couldn’t. He hugged me tight and told me it would be OK. He was right. I told him my secret then: when I am sitting in the pew, missing her, I look to the rafters and try to figure out what one she is resting on watching as we pray. Ever since, he looks to the rafters and points her out to me. Today she was reclining on the greenery. June 19th

Don't Stand By, Stand Up...

Every once in a while, I get the chance to do something that lets me give back a little to the world that I love so much. My business is children and their families, capturing the joy that they share. Bullying is a violent act that takes that joy and twists it into something sour. It changes the complexion of the soul on the people it touches whether they are the recipients of the act or they are the ones perpetrating the crime. In this brave, new world of technological distance, it is even easier to target and annihilate someone for doing nothing more than breathing the same air space. And, now, you don’t even have to run the risk of seeing the pain in their eyes and just possibly feeling bad about your actions if they catch you in the act.

Some truly courageous people are tackling this issue throughout our country. In my small piece of the universe there is a young lady who I have the honor of knowing that created the ‘Don’t Stand By, Stand Up’ initiative. These are a few of the images from a rally that she held at the local Ben and Jerry’s. The people at the Ridgewood store are truly committed to helping the community and paved a place for Nina to stand. Did I mention that her name is Nina Montgomery? A quiet and charming young woman who, with her friends, is trying to change the world. I believe she can. (To see more of the rally images, head over to my Facebook page.) 

She is in the running for the Pretty Amazing Real Girl Cover contest that Seventeen Magazine is hosting. There are some pretty amazing girls in the final five but I am pulling for Nina. If she is indicative of the teenagers that this country can raise, we have hope. You can see her in action in Washington DC by clicking here. Plus, vote for her to win the cover contest by clicking here.

Nina really does fit so well on this blog, she is the image of beauty inside and out. June 18th

Stone edge...

I wish I had something clever to say, I just love rock walls. Old ones, new ones, the ones that are falling down, they all catch my attention. I love the patterns they make as the rocks nestle together in an effort to stay upright and the precarious positions they take as time and nature wear down their resistance. Not to mention the rocks themselves formed over millions of years and now they stand guard over small corners of our existence. What can I say, I like them. June 17th

Big foot...

This one is so simple. Doesn’t this look like an elephant’s foot? Seriously, look closely… it does, right? I pass this tree so many times a week and my mind conjures up the rest of the elephant and it is pretty big. Tree size, really. I know, too punny, right? June 16th

Other people's gardens, part 2...

I love this dragonfly! The fact that he flies over a garden full of lilies is just so whimsical and charming. No Off needed when this guy is buzzing around. June 15th

Other people's gardens...

Shouldn’t Snow White or Sleeping Beauty be walking out that door? Every time I pass this house I think that Disney had to have used it as a model for one of their cottages. The house predates the Disney era so it gets top billing. I love the wreath at the gate and the pod people flowers. They aren’t all from the same house, but they should be in a 2D, animated world, don’t you think? June 14

Purple passion...

Summer is bearing down on us and everything is green. The spring flowers are all but gone except for the few lone holdouts that are clinging to some color in defiance of the heat. Remember that amazing display of wisteria? I was walking past the house today and I saw this long strand of purple clinging as tightly as it could to the idea of spring. Below it, against the fence was a spring of leaves that had given up and headed towards an early fall. Thank goodness there wasn’t any snow hiding in the corner to signify winter. I like strange but that would have been too weird, even for me. June 13th

Sunset sweets...

It was hot, the sun was setting, we had just finished dinner at a not-quite-local restaurant and were heading home when my husband turned the car in the opposite direction. We ended up at Rita’s! Yum! June 12th

Malled...

We went to see a movie. A girl’s night with Stir Crazy and Midnight in Paris, accessorized with SnoCaps and way over priced and too salty popcorn. It was fun! We all liked the dinner and 2 out of 3 of us really liked the movie. I loved the idea of wandering the streets of Paris and being transported to another time. What would you give for the chance to meet Hemingway, the Fitzgeralds, Picasso and Dali?  What about having Gertrude Stein read and comment on something you wrote?! Need I say more?  As a bonus, you get to wake up again in the 21st century, safe in your own bed. And you do it all without the help of Alice B Toklas. I understood the main character's motivations and obsessions. I didn’t understand all the interpersonal dynamics in the people that populated his ‘real’ life but I suspended disbelief and went for a trip back in time.

When we came out of the theater, discussing our takes on the movie, I glanced down and saw these patterns on the floor. There were decorative screens on the lights casting the coolest shadows on the floor. The merits, or lack there of, of Woody Allen’s latest cinema attempt were forgotten and I focused on these. In a sea of people trying to get the best deal at Target or grab a bite at Cinnabon, these beautiful creations made me smile. June 11th