Garden of Eden, my parents' back yard, same diff...
More photos, for your viewing pleasure! I've got the square shots as usual, but I also just used up the last bit of power my Nikon 35mm had left in her for 2 rolls, one of which had been sitting in the camera since, say, summertime 2 years ago? A few nice surprises. Plus some new black and white of those precious nieces 'o mine. And let's not forget the beautiful flowers and surroundings of the Garrison homestead!
Home, itself.
Micah, you can use that one for a sketch, ey?
Planter, turned semi-birdhouse.
Hidden treasures.
(this was last season's Abita Strawberry, closed up in the old cabinet)
This one's for you, Mom:
My mother is SUPER proud of these crazy bloom-type things coming out of her palm tree.
Pretty nice, I agree.
And here is some more of her prized flora...
Azaleas, with flash. The pink ones really do smell the best...
Some of Mom's yard art.
Purple flowers? I have no clue what these are.
Some sort of thornless rose. I love these.
They're yellow, which you unfortunately can't tell very well.
Double exposure of the white and red azaleas
Budding beauty.
Iris! With a fly on it!
Lovely bryophyta.
Wild azaleas! My parents actually forced my hand at this one, which is no complaint.
Although I did almost take an unintended dive into the creek for it...
My beloved Sweet Olive branch.
Sometimes I'm amazed at how cute my animals can be. Although I love Fern just as much, most of photos of her don't turn out well. Fanny's, on the other hand, are usually quite adorable:
Sleepy Fanny, finds some sun.
One of the trucks that helped clearcut our neighboring pine forest. Boo...
The girls' visit, in 35 mm:
Buddy, the hand puppet wolf, is a recurring character in these photos. Watch out, he Bites!
Shelby = totally into "Extraordinary Chickens."
Peyton = not so much.
Shelby's photography skills always impress me...
Howlin' wolf.
While Gran'ma Nielle takes Peyton back to the house on the Mule,
Shelby and I walked through the woods.
Or, may I rephrase that: I walked, Shelby ran.
That girl sho' can hustle!
Creekside walkin, with Too-big sweaters on.
And a bunch of dogs.
Oh my, at the adorable..
I think she wants to drive, Gran'ma Nielle...
At this point in the photo storybook, I get to the old stuff. First, there's the sweet random photos:
Bouquet from our neighbors at Granada Lake, many moons ago...
Crazy flower, I think this was outside of our Bay St. apartment?
Lastly, let's have a photographic Ode to Uncle Lew.
You see, short months before my Dad's only brother passed away, they worked on a little project together. They built a shed. We all helped, actually. Some of us before Lew passed, and even more of us after. And, while his death was grievous and the time was terrible, for my father and his sister especially, I like to think of the finished product as well as the simple memory of the process as a wonderful reminder of their relationship, and of the importance of spending quality time with those you love the most.
So here are some photos of the shed-building process, which have been safely nestled away in my camera, unbeknownst to me, for about 2 years now. You can see the age in the color. I like it though..
Dad and Uncle Lew, chiseling rafters together.
And here's one last picture of our sweet Lew:
He was a crazy ole' cooter...
There's definitely a Ben Franklin quote to be interjected here, but I never was good with remembering things verbatim. So, I'd say the take-home message is:
Be genuinely glad about how beautiful your world can be. Let go of your troubles (dogs and drinks help!). Love your family and friends just as much and as long as you can. And don't take yourself too damned seriously!
Another week down. Or is it another week begun? I never have understood Sundays, in the scheme of the weekly schedule.
Today I'll share some photographs.
First, an ode to daffodils -- the short-lived bloom that makes my Spring-starved heart go all a'flutter:
This is a particularly saturated spot near my house that has been the site for many a daffodil photography occasion.
Double exposure with the shed/barn in the background.
And here it is, in color. Mainly necessary because of that one bunch of white.
Old pickup truck in a field of daffodils.
Mom planted these.
Now, how about my wandering adventures on old back roads, continued:
I'm not sure what these arrows are for, but I just had to do a double exposure with the country road.
Cute little turtle guy in the middle of the road.
Don't get too entrenched with the possible metaphor of the barbed wire...
Our neighbors' horses. Doubly exposed.
Now for the visit from my favorite little girls:
Showing Peyton and Shelby around "the Park."
Some creek grass showing through...
Shelby is terrified of Dimitri (a.k.a. Goldmund), so the girls talk to him through the window.
Peyton is momentarily interested in the transparent horse I got for her big sister.
Reading about chickens
Checking out the real live chickens just outside!
Peyton waits anxiously while Shelby tries to rile up the rooster.
Azaleas, with a little bit of Peyton in there somewhere...
:)
Riley has fun on our Mule excursion.
A few random shots from around the house:
Mawmaw soaks up some rays on her new bench.
Watering can in a tub.
Brussel sprouts, straight from the garden!
I put some of those very brussel sprouts in the quinoa salad I made for Mom and myself for lunch today. Nothing like food from your front yard to put you in good spirits!
That's all I've got for now. It's time, I suppose, to start a new craft endeavor. But first, I need inspiration...
Sometimes it's almost a bad thing having really phenomenal friends, ya know? Like, when they live, say, in Portland, OR, and you never get to see them.
Well, such is the case with my dear Micah, for whom I just recently finished and sent a homemade cross-stitch piece, which was catered quite specifically to him. Wanna see both of them?!
Are those man-panties?
He's a doll, ain't he?
Among the many things we share is our adoration for Erykah. Although, I must admit, this little ditty was his find. And a pretty great one:
Nobody else can wear a big ass wig falling off their head quite like her. And yes, that t-shirt does say "I can't be overdrawn, I still have some checks." I would wear that outfit, just sayin...
And, not to toot my own horn, but those briefs in that little cross-stitch? I did that, all by myself... A design genius, I know.
So what else is going on on this fine Saturday evening?
Well, they say it's the biggest moon tonight that we'll see in some unGodly amount of years. I need to go check that out, actually... Brb.
Eh, seems that I've missed the best part: the rising. So those of you on the West Coast, check it out!
What else have I been up to lately... Well, my brother Adrian, his wife Jennifer, and my ADORABLE nieces, Shelby and Peyton, just left this morning from their visit since Wednesday night. Awfully short visit, but any little bit of those sweet baby girls (7 and 2 years old, respectively) is better than none. I'll have to show you the gazillions of pictures I took once I get them processed.
Also, I'm on the hunt for a MOBILE HOME in Starkville, MS! Hah, it's a fine thing, a mobile home. Really, it's an economic move. Pay for something that you actually own instead of renting. I'm totally into it. Going to see a few next Saturday, actually. I'm getting more and more excited about my move, especially with the increasing level of BORING that my life is these days. It's time to get started on a new chapter, for sure.
Crafty things I'm currently in love with:
"Petit Mort" - I mean, ever since that St. Vincent song, I'm a bit obsessed with the "little death" idea. And really, who isn't?! ;) I think I'll do my own version, though...
Springtime is inevitably the most beautiful time of the year. Not that I don't love every season in its own glory, but Spring can't be rivaled with. I must admit, it's mostly the smells, for me. I've previously mentioned my love of sweet olive blooms, and that love has been amplified in these last couple of weeks. I swear, if I could put the scent in a candle that didn't smell completely like lab-synthesized aldehydes, I'd be a rich woman. But it isn't just the sweet olive that made my senses tingle today... Many other scents filled my nostrils and gorgeous blooms made my eyes go wide! Props to my parents for the hard work put in on the beds and hillsides and creeksides... If only I had my digital camera, I'd give you a tour of the Garrison homestead come blooming time. Hopefully no evil Frost will tear things apart before they get good and going.
And, oh my, how I am holding my breath for the tomatoes, and peaches, and cucumbers, and peppers, and... Fresh fruits and veggies, galore! CANNOT WAIT!
You know what else makes Springtime so amazing?
Something about the strawberry makes day-drinking more acceptable. Don't you think? Although, I must say, I've always accepted it... It's been a roller-coaster ride, trying to figure out if Mississippi was going to get this stuff, but it finally came to at least a few stores last week. Yay for seasonal Abita! But mostly for Abita Strawberry!
The other thing I did today, on breaks from the outdoors and once the sun had set, was create a little ditty of embroidered Joanna on a floral print fabric. Wanna see?
I'm always trying to figure out which words I want displayed on my walls. These were a no-brainer. In a nostalgic sense, these words remind me of all of the amazing friends and family I have for which the phrase holds true. In an optimistic sense, it gives me something to look forward to with the new relationships I hope to form as the years go by. It's a comforting verse. And a beautiful song.
Well, I hope you all have had an amazing Saturday, as beautiful as its been, and will continue to have an amazing weekend!
It's been a while, I know, but I've been catching up on my boozing and doing less of my crafting lately... ;)
Seriously.
But now I'm back, what with the incessant rain that wants to ruin my plans to head to NOLA tonight for some Mardi Gras escapades... Just as well, I suppose, since I recently (as in yesterday) put a gash in my head that still smarts somethin' fierce. So I've instead reverted to my crafts, here to show you a cute little thing I made up the other day and just finished several minutes ago.
Well, maybe not completely finished... gotta figure out something to do with those fearsome teeth.
Inspired, per usual, by Buffy. I've always been hesitant about season 6 of the show, because Willow, who is definitely my favorite character, at least prior to season 5 or so, goes "all veiny and evil". But I've recently re-evaluated the phenomenon and realized it's amazing, if a little painful for me, personally, to watch. I was thinking of finding more vicious creatures to embroider and do all the different villain quotes. We shall see...
In other news, my trusty Canon Rebel XTI has a busted lens. This means no more digital pics, save the shitty ones I can take with my computer camera (as seen above). At least until I'm willing to fork out the cash to replace the lens... In the meantime, it's all manual, with my Holga and maybe even my Nikon SLR, if I feel like taking it way back.
Here are a few of my most recent Holga adventures, mostly in Texas, with my Leggy and my nieces, plus some ROBYN (!!!) and a few around the house:
Peyton in the tunnel, times 2
Everybody needs a sliding buddy...
Shelby is beside herself with all the fun! (paha..)
Peek-a-boo with Peyton!
Sweetest girls...
Peyton takes Ferny for a walk
Ma girls
Self-explanatory
Mary and Joseph sidewalk art
Bisou takes a shit
Planting fruit trees in Summerland
Hickory Hill
Miss Sippi
ROBYN!
This is probably so wack because Robyn dancing faster than my camera works...
