Saturday, April 23, 2016

Breathtaking Beauty :: One Hundred Thirteen

Forever is composed of nows
~Emily Dickinson

Carol came with beautiful flowers and we made bright bouquets of darling faded blossoms, to enjoy now. Forever is how long I will remember the happiness I felt in sharing this day with friends.

With Infinity More Monkeys, a picture a day.

Friday, April 22, 2016

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Sculpture :: One Hundred Ten

Alex is working on a series of sculptures, the first being the wire woman. Now, this wood carved woman is finished, and she looks like one of his paintings has come off the canvas. On small and large canvases, Alex has been painting his designs for automatons and robots. This bust began as a block of wood he formed from scraps, then carved and painted. Then he assembled more wood pieces to construct her up body. Thanks to a generous donation from El Nopalito Market, Alex will have a fresh supply of scrap lumber from old pallets... he's already designed the next three installations.

With Infinity More Monkeys, a picture a day.

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Native Sage :: One Hundred Nine

Do you know the fragrance of the backcountry in Southern California? The sage? The buckwheat and ceanothus? The sun on granite boulders? Coming home with handfuls of salvia apiana, the white sage infused into my clothes, and hands. One by one, I replace suburban shrubs with either fruit trees, or native plants. Today I came home with two more sage plants, and my car smells like a day in the country, like running in the hills in Ramona, climbing over rocks, coming home. More veggies, and companion flowers for bees and butterflies, too.

With Infinity More Monkeys, a picture a day.

Monday, April 18, 2016

Sunday, April 17, 2016

One Day :: April 10

When my hard drive died, I had to breath deeply and let go. I was facing the possibility of losing 56,000 photographs, from just one of my iPhoto albums. I have four albums, dating back to 2002. We do have some things backed-up, and I will spare you the details, and drama, but it wasn't looking too good. My biggest consolation was Chickenblog. I would panic, or feel a grief pang welling up, then I would remind myself... you have Chickenblog. It cannot all be lost, because you post so much there.

We can cut to the happy ending. Between Geoff and Apple, my Mac is restored. Nothing was lost, and of course we are redoubling our efforts to save, save, save. And I was struck by something else, as much as I {over} share on this blog, and in FB, there is far, far more that I leave out. In fact, I do not publish my best photographs, my favorites, the more intimate family moments, and dear memories. Believe it, or not, I actually do exercise a modicum of respect for my children's privacy, and keep more personal occasions off the Internet. William and I were scrolling through the archives of our photographs, and were pretty relieved to find that we had not lost some special treasures. Now, I want to figure out which direction to take for the future... publish more, print more, carry on as usual?

Here's a {small} bit of a day I would not want to forget, the photographs I would be sorry to lose... It began with Scooby Do Lego play, me and Maria goofing together, visiting the Antique Gas & Steam Engine Museum, and a feed store, walking the boardwalk and pier in Oceanside, then home to work on the pumpkin patch, and into the night by torchlight.

It's not about perfect record keeping, or the things we collect, but I am so thankful for the glimpses, the captured reminders, that recall all the goodness, the days I love, being with my loved ones.























Back For Another Look :: One Hundred Seven

Max went back to University CA Irvine, for another look. This time Alex came along, and we explored all of the Physical Science, Computing, and Engineering buildings. The campus layout is thoughtful, and makes for convenient exploring. Love Aldrich Park! Of course, we didn't actually expect to meet the dean of physical science on a Saturday afternoon, but the visit, walking, asking questions at the Celebrate UCI booths, was worthwhile.

With Infinity More Monkeys, a picture a day.