Reverie
Posted: June 24, 2009 Filed under: 365 Life in the Bogs Challenge, Adventures in art, Earth, home, Photography, Quotes, Spirit, Summer, water | Tags: Gaston Bachelard, pond, reflections, rowboat, water 5 Comments
(041: Rowboat and reflections. Photo © 2009 by Robin)
Reverie is not a mind vacuum. It is rather the gift of an hour which knows the plenitude of the soul.
~ Gaston Bachelard
More weeding for me today. That will be followed by laundry, washing dishes, and other forms of housework. I live such an exciting exotic enlightened life.
😉
The Wedding
Posted: June 23, 2009 Filed under: beginnings, celebrations, Empty Nest, family, Spring 14 Comments
(Waiting at the altar. Photo © 2009 by Robin)
Well. Here it is. The wedding post. I have to warn you: It’s long. Very long. Very, very long. And I spent entirely too much time on the hair and make-up thing. It shouldn’t have been a big deal but it kinda’ was so it seemed worthy of the time. Anyway, enjoy or turn back now. (I’d turn back if I were you. If you’re interested in today’s photo and post, scroll down. It’s there. And much shorter.)
I did not take many pictures at the wedding or the reception. I wanted to enjoy the ceremony and celebrations without worries about the camera or good shots or any of that. Besides, they had a professional photographer they were paying to take care of capturing the moments. I can purchase photos from him if I so desire. The few photos I did take are not all that great, but they caught what I wanted to catch (such as my father up there, behind the groom).
To be honest, the wedding and reception are all sort of a blur. A good blur with lots of wonderful feelings, but a blur nonetheless. My recall might be better if I start at the beginning of the day when I went off to have my hair and make-up done.
What an excellent idea that turned out to be! After having my hair washed, cut, and then styled, I blurted out, “I’m so glad I did this!” My stylist or hairdresser or whatever they call themselves these days looked at me a little puzzled so I clarified it for her: It was nice to sit back, relax, and let someone else do all the work for me. I felt pampered, I did.
I loved what Dianne did with my hair. Then we went off to do make-up. Scary stuff, make-up. I don’t wear it very often, mostly because I don’t know how to apply it properly. When I do venture to put some on I feel self-conscious, as if I just slathered myself with clown make-up. Dianne started with foundation, something I practiced putting on for a few days before the wedding (precisely because I didn’t want to feel like I’d just been slathered with clown make-up). Once that was done, she started on my eyebrows. That’s where things got really frightening. As a lighthaired person, my eyebrows are almost invisible. Dianne penciled them in and made them look bigger and wider. I didn’t quite recognize myself. At some point I had her tone down the eyebrows a little (she powdered over them) because it was too much for me.
By the time Dianne finished I was pretty pleased with it all. Then I stepped outside into the sunlight and looked at myself in the car’s rearview mirror. I was afraid to go home. Even worse, I was afraid that when I got home I’d end up washing it all off.
The house
Posted: June 23, 2009 Filed under: 365 Life in the Bogs Challenge, Adventures in art, home, nature, Photography, Quotes, Summer | Tags: clouds, Gaston Bachelard, pedal boat, pond, reflections, sunset 8 Comments
(040: Saturday evening on the pond. Photo © 2009 by Robin)
If I were asked to name the chief benefit of the house, I should say: the house shelters day-dreaming, the house protects the dreamer, the house allows one to dream in peace.
~ Gaston Bachelard
I took this photo on Saturday evening while M and I were pedalling around the pond in the pedal boat at sunset. It was a lovely evening, some of which I caught in photos. My camera battery died when we got to the best part of the sunset which was just as well. It allowed me to enjoy the sunset instead of framing it through the view finder. (A little trivia: My camera has an LCD screen but I rarely use it as I find it awkward.)
As many of you know, M and I painted the back of the house in sunset colors. I like this photo because the colors we drew from as our inspiration are there in the clouds and the reflections in the water. It was on an evening such as this, while out on the pond in the pedal boat, that we decided to add that touch of whimsy to the house.
I should have the wedding day post up later today. I’ll be out in the garden, ruthlessly pulling weeds no matter how pretty the flowers happen to be, and will work on finishing up the post when I take breaks from being ruthless.
It’s worse than I thought…
Posted: June 22, 2009 Filed under: food, garden, gardening, healthy diet, Healthy Living Plan, Summer | Tags: bok choy, weeds 5 Comments
(Weeds run amok. Or, where are the vegetables in this garden? Photo © 2009 by Robin)
This part isn’t quite so bad:
(Lettuces and bok choy. Photo © 2009 by Robin)
Bok choy, for those inquiring minds that want to know, is also known as the “white cabbage.” The stalk resembles stringless celery and the top is similar to romaine lettuce in appearance. I was reading somewhere that in Hong Kong markets there are over 20 varieties of bok choy available. I’m not sure which variety I’m growing (I’ll have to find the seed packet), but it’s very tender and tasty.
I spent a couple of hours in the garden, cleaning up the asparagus bed (barely visible in the first shot as the ferny fronds are blending in nicely with all the weed-greenery). I wish I’d brought the camera along on the second trip out there (after lunch) so I could show you the progress I’ve made. It’s going to take several days to get this mess cleaned up. Anyone want to volunteer to come over and help??
I also picked enough of the lettuces and thinned out enough of the bok choy to feed a small army. M and I had salad for lunch. We’ll be having salad with dinner, along with some steamed bok choy. There’s nothing like eating vegetables you’ve earned by growing them for yourself.
8)
Morning wake-up
Posted: June 22, 2009 Filed under: 365 Life in the Bogs Challenge, Adventures in art, garden, gardening, home, life, nature, Photographers and Other Photography-related People & Websites, Quotes, Summer, weather | Tags: flowers 6 Comments
(039: Wildflowers along the Cuyahoga River. Photo © 2009 by Robin)
The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.
~ J. M. Power
I’m having a little trouble getting started this morning. “Keeping going” might be more accurate. I rolled out of bed prepared to exercise like the exercising madwoman I’ve become only to find myself spending a good 30-40 minutes cleaning up after the cats.
Don’t ask. You don’t want to know. Suffice it to say that Izzy and Bella are lucky I didn’t take them out and throw them both in the pond. Since I don’t know which cat made the mess, they should both suffer for it. Seems fair enough to me.
So.
It’s officially summer now. I saw a few fireflies lighting up in the wildflower meadow last night. (Funny visual with that — picturing fireflies with cigarettes and matches, “lighting up.”) When we lived in southern Ohio the fireflies peaked sometime around the summer solstice, millions of them flashing on and off along the riverbank. Here they peak later in the season. It takes a little longer to warm up in the Bogs. I’m not in any hurry for it (the warm-up). I’ve been enjoying the cooler-than-normal June.
The newlyweds are back from their honeymoon. We talked with M the Younger last night. They enjoyed Jamaica, but were getting a little bored towards the end. They went to one of those all-inclusive resort type places where they were pretty much walled in on resort grounds for the week where they lounged on the beach, sipped on rum drinks, and went snorkling occasionally.
Sounds good to me.
The buzzer on the washer just sounded. The first load of laundry is finished. Time for me to get it out on the line to dry and then it’s off to the garden. I’ve been afraid to look at what’s happening up there. I’m pretty sure the weeds have taken over by now and finding the vegetables will be a little like looking for needles in a haystack.
Father’s Day
Posted: June 21, 2009 Filed under: 365 Life in the Bogs Challenge, Adventures in art, celebrations, family, Summer Leave a comment
(038: Father and daughter. Photo © 2009 by Robin)
Happy Father’s Day to all you dads out there! I hope you have a wonderful, loving, and relaxing day.
Update
Posted: June 20, 2009 Filed under: 365 Life in the Bogs Challenge, Adventures in art, Domesticity, family, friends, home, Spring, weather 4 Comments
(037: Looking through the window. Photo © 2009 by Robin)
The distortion in this photo is caused by heavy sheets of rain washing over the window I was shooting through. I find the effect interesting. When I have some time I might mess with it a bit in Photoshop and see what else I can come up with.
Update on Mom: I talked with Dad yesterday afternoon. He had just brought Mom home from the hospital. After numerous tests and scans, the results are that she’s still cancer-free and no changes to her heart. Good news. She sounded tired, but good, when I talked with her.
M and I are puttering around the house this morning, doing some more after-the-festivities clean-up. It’s been raining heavily on and off through last night and this morning. Hopefully it will clear up soon. We’re thinking about going to Sarah’s Vineyard Seventh Annual Summer Solstice Wine, Art, and Blues Festival. Since we’re not having our own Solstice party (Party by the Pond) this year, we might as well enjoy somebody else’s. Whether we go or not depends on friends we’re hoping to meet up with today. They may want to do something else (M and I are game for pretty much anything).
Life in the Bogs 