Words of Wisdom

Words to inspire in 2009...

2008

December was awesome! All of my adult children--ages 23,21
and 18--were home for the Holidays and a few friends came
with them. The house always seemed filled with the noise
of young people. I like it that way.

The "weather outside was frightful" as it snowed or iced most
every day from about December 14 till Christmas. But only
frightful if you had places to go. We stayed put a bunch and
just enjoyed each other, quiet time and the winter weather.
Caite and Nick actually skiied and snowboarded down the
streets of our neighborhood.





Rick reminded me that I asked for all that snow.
I guess I better watch what I wish for in 2009.

One of the things I always wait for in December is the blooming
of my Christmas Camellia, a gift from a friend shortly after
we moved to Portland. It is getting big and has become
a prolific bloomer.



I share it here with you.

My wish for you is to find both joy and some quiet in 2009.

One Year Ago

on Thanksgiving day, we loaded onto a boat and motored
to The Great Barrier Reef from our get-away "peace of
paradise", Hamilton Island. We spent the day snorkeling
and then back to a sea food dinner. Not a bit of turkey
to be found. Whatever!

It was the trip of a lifetime, not to be forgotten.

The Greenskeeper

These are not ready for a change.
Sometimes constancy is good.

A Dad and his Girl

Working photos from this year. What fun memories.
Glad I "book" them.



No one prouder than a dad with his nearly grown up girl.
And such a lovely one at that!

College Bound

Rick and I took Caite to college this weekend.
So now I am letting go.

So grown up!
How proud I am.

Lotus

I recently returned from a trip to China.
I was fascinated by the Lotus, blooming in gardens.


Begin with the blossom...simply gorgeous!


Intrigued by the seed pod.


Gathered and sold for flavor and sweetness.

Wings

Once in awhile, I capture a moment so tender that it makes my
heart light. This moment is one of these. Fiddling with my camera,
I came upon Caite in an introspective moment. It is a fitting name,
Wings, as Caite is about to dust hers off as she heads for college.

The Graduate

My youngest graduated from Jesuit High School this year.
How did I get so old?

Once when she was about 5, I told her I thought she
was growing up way to fast. She didn't miss a beat
with her reply. "Well, your mother let you grow up."
So I have tried to guide this one but in the end it is
probably she who has guided me.

In the fall, our home will be an empty nest. I am
a bit worried about the quiet.

Always On My Mind

I love scrapping our family photos from back in the day.



This is Drew in the summer of 1987. Just 21 months old,
he liked nothing better than "driving" his Grampa's tractors.
Thinking about those times today!

New Work : Honeycomb

Inspired by the book The Secret Life of Bees,
this quilt depicts a cropped view of a honeycomb.
Constructed with silks and cottons, it was then
screenprinted.

Backwash

I love this old picture of my son, Drew. He always loved
drinking from the hose. Problems was, so did the dog.
Turn the hose on and they both came running. Sometimes
Drew drank first and Tosh was on the tail end; sometimes
Tosh went first. EEEW!



But then, isn't life about give and take, she says with a smile.

Looking for Joy in Ordinary Places

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to look for something
to be joyful about, each and every day. One time it was simply
putting on pants warm from the dryer. Another was the sheer
joy of discovering that my Christmas camellia was blooming.
Another was the beautiful and unusual shape of a coffee cup
saucer. Looking for joy each day, caused me to really notice
my surroundings. Whatever brought my joy, I discovered,
was always in the present. It wasn't really the promise
of a trip to come or an event that had passed. It is always
in the here and now.



Life is good when lived in the present. Why don't you try this
with me and look for joy each and every day in ordinary places.

Chihuly, Revisited

I've been looking at the photos I took during the Chihuly Exhibit
in September, 2006 at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St Louis.
It was simply amazing to see this glass art peeking out of nooks
and crannies, sometimes boldly showing off but always lovely.

I share it with you.

Two Days Late and at Least a Grand Short

To my SIL, Delse on her birthday.



This is one together gal. She's is truly capable of doing anything.
She is totally responsible for starting me on many paths and then
watching me run. Just not running paths, LOL.

Cheers to you gal. I love you dearly.

A Tree by Any Other Name...

Another digi scrapping contest. This one required
five photos of the same subject but each from a
different perspective, a quote and about 10 other
things going on. This was my entry.



It's rather fun to select a theme and journal a bit.
Let me know what you think.

The Circle of Giving

So my friend, Virginia Spiegel, was looking for feedback
for her blogs and web. I told her I thought the header
for The Garbage Day Project should be slightly green,
slightly rusty, slightly grungy and slightly artsy.
I designed one for her and to my surprise, she is using it.
It looks like this:



It feels really good to give back to someone who has
organized artists worldwide to rally and raise funds
for cancer research.

Thank you Virginia for all you have done.

Merry Christmas Everyone

We are having a white Christmas
at least for the moment.
Hope yours is grand as well.

FA-LA-LA-LA-LA.....LA-LA-LA-LA!

To Know Your God

We just returned from a family vacation Down Under.
Our middle child, Nick, spent this last semester
at the University of Sydney. We joined him during
Thanksgiving Week spending some time in both
Sydney and at Hamilton Island in the Whitsunday
Islands. Thanksgiving Day was spent snorkeling at
the Great Barrier Reef. WOW! is about all that
comes to mind right now.

The little tiny red roofed building in the photo
was our home away from home for 5 nights.

What a view!

Finally, Some Fiber

The title of this blog is Fiber and Photographs.
Until this moment, it has only been my photos and
Photoshop work. No more, she says...



This is my 2007 Journal Quilt entry,
Land Forms #1, which is hanging at
the Houston quilt show. A description
follows.

Land Forms #1
The inspiration for this piece came while
looking out the window of an airplane. The
patterns and colors evident in farm land
across America are simply awesome. I sketched
for awhile and then later, put fabric to form.

There is an old tree on my in-laws farmland
that has been dead for many years. It stands
as though a sentinel, guarding the property
and family. I have taken many pictures and
include it here as a screen print, guarding
this farm land as well.