Saturday, June 30, 2007

Humanity


"They may forget what you said but they will never forget how you made them feel." ~~ Carl W. Buechner

Friday, June 29, 2007

Expressive photography

I love photography. I love the old style sepia portraits. I love photography that captures action, but I really love photography that is message ridden, and require a bare minimum of words to finish off the message. These pictures slam the viewer with realities they'd rather hide from. Emmy Taylor is a master of the latter. She calls this one "Don't yell at me". Important themes are conveyed through her art photography.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

As sandalias com carinho


If you look hard enough you can see connections made in childhood still floating around in your brain. My momma said the word "sandalias" so many times that they now symbolize her. She reminded me constantly to put them on. She was beside herself in the dusty, unpaved streets of Beira.

Monday, June 25, 2007

Posting at 10 PM

How can I convey today's feeling theme? Is there a picture? Not today... But ... I always associate fish with Portugal and my mother's family. :0)

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Workplace gags

A redecorated car in a parking garage.

I've witnessed some outrageous gags, like the one where the girl working in a catholic hospital dressed like a pregnant nun. Or the one where pictures of a less than svelte boss wearing his bathing suit were pasted all over the office. What's been happening in your workplace?

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Spectrums

Caging, like not being permitted to live outside a predetermined box, is all about black or white. I so loath that. Being a traveler in spectrums is so much more enriching. Nuances and tones are significant, and the possibilities limitless. How life affirming is that..!?

Friday, June 22, 2007

Space Exploration in a day trip

The Challenger Space Center

A model of Atlantis

The ceiling of the rotunda

Wall art


A visit to the Challenger Space Center has been on a To Do list for a while. It's turns out that we were able to join some friends who like to explore their area as much as we do, and all we had to do is follow a map and drive. Once there, we joined a tour already in progress. The young ones learned about Christa McCullough, the teacher who never made it to space because Challenger blew apart soon after lift off. I remember that day still. We also learned that NASA produces a patch for every shuttle flight. Actually, I think it's every flight, period i.e. the Apollo missions and others I would know if I were a true space freak.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

5 servings a day





I don't like watermelon. But one is always looking for ways to meet the 5 a day requirement of fruits and vegetables. I'm liking the food photography thing.

Words of Wisdom


Oh bother ... ! --- Winnie the Pooh


Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Sustainability


The oh so subtle sense that one is no longer just responsible for oneself is evident during pregnancy. It's an unexpected - knocks you off your feet - realization. After birth, to paraphrase someone I know, children are like essential organs running around leaving you feeling vulnerable. Yet, like essential organs, they enrich ones soul and make all worth living for. But wait..., just when you think you got the "I'm here for you" groove down, they no longer get the sad twinkle in their eyes when you drop them off somewhere for some activity or other. One isn't needed as much, and that same sense of vulnerability is there again.
To love a child is heaven.

Monday, June 18, 2007

Paella a la Duda


I love to apply basic cooking concepts while using ingredients at hand and a little risk taking to create a treat for me and anyone else who wants to savor my creation. I made paella minus the shrimp or chicken (didn't have them). I did have clams and mussels (canned). I love it.

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Wired

by French Toast Girl

I had a Walkman when they were the IPods of the day. I spent that summer doing a lot of biking around the city on my burgundy bike. I had named her Nikita... Apparently naming one's bike is common practice.

Anyhow, I prefer natural sounds. Sound is part of any existing system, it contains vital information that enables me to"get" a full picture of that place/people/event. This is a very subtle thing for me...

Now ask me about how attached I am to my laptop... Go ahead... Well, I don't take it outside the house in daylight because of the brightness and lack of Internet connection. Otherwise, this puppy is always by my side. I'm even wondering how dangerous to my health it is to have it on my lap so frequently. Gotta research laptop radiation emissions.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Walk of Inspiration in a day trip





The Stations of the Resurrection garden at Church of the Resurrection in Tempe is a wonderful place to visit, albeit a bit hot in June. One of my favorite things to do is to look through magazines and newspapers for information on places that make for excellent day trips. Day trips last 2 to 4 hours, although this one was only 30 minutes long. They are preferably educational in nature for the two young ones, and they are a great way to get to know where you live. I wasn't exposed to Beira the way I wanted to be because I was young and not in charge. The team is coming up with a list of local places to see during summer vacation.

I have been bitten again



I recently taught a friend a few tricks about crochet. Then, my two young ones wanted to learn too. So here I am, off on my new marathon. I will be making purses, bags, and that sort of thing. I will learn how to felt too. I have classes lined up, so I can improve my skills, and hopefully, I will handing them out as Christmas gifts. One winter, I made about 22 ponchos, most of them for children at school. This is one is Piggy's carrier.

Monday, June 11, 2007

My bounty

My grape tomatoes

I can get a hand full of these once a week.

Saturday, June 09, 2007

The so familiar walkway to the back house

I see a lot of cementing was going on. Today, I heard the story of how these pictures came to be. Many thanks to the brave guy who wandered in there and produced a gift that will provide closure to many who left that all behind. The grape vines are still there.

Friday, June 08, 2007

It was lost, and now it's found...

Matacuane, Beira, Mozambique
May 2007

My childhood home. The windows on the right were the dinning room where my friend Alfredo and I looked over our stamp collections. I can see that the planting space in front of that same window was removed and the space cemented. The bars in the windows weren't there in 1975.
The clothing lines weren't in that spot. I could swear that the door is the same, but could it have lasted 30 years? The step by the door was where my mother informed that that cutting the hairs on my legs would only make them grow back thicker, and where she often stood to comb my younger sister's hair. On the left of the door sat her Singer sewing machine out of which came much of our clothing. The floor tile inside that room was light green and it was so cool on hot summer days. She was my home for 8 years.

Saturday, June 02, 2007

I am a continuum





A continuous extent, succession, or whole, no part of which can be distinguished from neighboring parts except by arbitrary division.

In my backyard...

Grape tomatoes

Vine

Lantana

White Ruelia

Jacaranda Tree

I spend many warm Saturday mornings tending to my beauties. Every year I manage to grow one tomato plant. We eat the small things as soon as they are picked. Today, they made it into the guacamole.