Man alive!

Week 13 of the Wednesday lists.
Amid the hustle and bustle, the to do lists, the dailiness of living, life sometimes gives us the sweetest gifts. I'm talking about those times when you are more than just alive. More than simply awake and aware. I mean those times when you are MAN ALIVE! When you are in the middle of an unforgettable moment. And you know it. You know it right then, as you live it. Not later in memory. Right then. Man alive!

MAN ALIVE! Moments

* my first ferry ride with Jeffrey *
* skydiving with 360 barrel rolls *
* riding a felluca down the Nile at sunset *
* swimming, cavorting really, with 5 sea lions *
* the first time I heard Ode to Joy performed live *
* the first time I heard Sloane sing along in church *
* watching a meteor shower in Cave Junction, Oregon *
* Jeffrey's face when I stepped into the chapel on our wedding day *
* my first day teaching, when I led my class in The Pledge of Allegiance *
* piled on the floor of my best friend's room; laughing till I snorted and she peed *
* The moment the doctor put Sloane in my arms. She looked right at me and I whispered, "I know you. I've loved you my whole life." *
* When we walked down the aisle after Dad pronounced us man and wife, Jeffrey scooped me up and spun me around and around. *
* singing praises with my new friends; they sang in Egyptian; I sang in English. *
* the look on my Dad's face when I came down the stairs on prom night *
* watching Sloane's face her first time riding Pirates of the Caribbean *
* my first glimpse of the Giza pyramids, from the back of a stallion *
* star gazing in the middle of the forest at Picket State Park *
* holding a lion cub while he gnawed my finger *
* the time I was attacked by a hungry yak *
* my first glimpse of Crater Lake *
* watching Sloane be baptized *
* our first kiss *

I'm guest posting today over at JoLyn's house. Won't you come and visit?

A Passion for Photography

Spud, otherwise known as Judith Green, is a blogger and photographer extraordinaire. I first met her when she began her blog with an outrageous series of secrets and self-portraits. She currently hosts a question and answer series on her blog that will be an incredible help to new photographers. Those Camera Club posts are here. Spud is actually the one who gave me the final push I needed to commit to a 365 project of my own. Judith lives in England where she is busy raising two Megaboys, grudging Mr. Spud, and taking lots and lots of pictures.

Saving my sanity...one click at a time


Oooh look! I'm hanging out at Relyn's place...let's chuck another log on her fire and have a natter, shall we? I'll make the tea, you get the cake but make haste because I'm peckish and I need an urgentissimo sugar fix...

It wasn't hard for me to pick a 'passion' to blog about as, unlike most of you clever multi-talented folk, I'm very much a one trick pony. I will confess to a quickly developing crush on crochet but, right now, photography is my first love. I'm still relatively new to photography, we're past the first date stage but I'm probably still in the honeymoon period. I do hope that I'll be left with an enduring, life-long love once the first flames of passion have died away. I would hate to think that this is just a fad and, I'm fairly certain that the combined forces of MrAmericanExpress and MrSpud, might be a bit peeved if it turns out that me and photography destined to be just a holiday romance. Time will tell.


So, 18 months ago I was a happy snapper with beaten up point & shoot which I could barely use. I had no interest in photography, MrSpud was the nominated family photographer and I endured his snappy habits with ill-disguised irritation. "Come ON!", I'd yell as we were, yet again, delayed by him hanging back on a walk to photography some leaf or other item of seemingly no interest. In my book, the only photos worth taking were of people. Ideally my children, since there are no more beautiful people on the planet that my two lovely boys. But how times change! Now it's me dragging my feet taking photos of everything and nothing, and it's MrSpud chivvying me along. Oh, sweet irony.


My conversion from the 'dark side' was sudden and dramatic. My best friend, a wonderful photographer, suggested I join in with a group she was part of on Flickr...a Photo365 project which, as the name implies, involves taking a photo every day. I don't really know why I joined in, a bit of peer pressure, wanting to be part of the group (all people I knew). Certainly, at that stage, it had very little to do with wanting to learn photography. Basically I'm a bit of a sheep, I don't lead, I follow. I'm OK with that.

I bumbled along for a few days, snapping pictures of this and that. Then, one morning, the tree in front of our house looked so beautiful in the early morning mist and sunshine. It was like a light switch going on..I absolutely HAD to take capture it...not just snap it, but really capture it. The Point & Shoot wasn't around, I grabbed MrSpud's DSLR and took the photo that set me down the path to an expensive photography kit habit ;-)


I have such a fondness for this tree, not least because it dominates my field of vision every day as I look out on it from my kitchen, dining room, living room and playroom. But, mostly, I love it for the role it played in giving me the gift of a hobby. Thank you tree of loveliness xxx Here it is, almost a year to the day after I took my 'life changing shot' of it. I love this photo, is it wrong to say that? Too late! I said it...


Soon I wasn't happy sticking the Big Girl's Camera, as the DSLR became known, on auto and hoping for the best. Books were bought and read, photography magazines consumed by the bucketload, online groups terrorized with endless questions. And, through a long process of trial and error, I finally got the hang of shooting manually (ie. twizzling the nobs myself rather than letting the camera do it for me). My camera became my constant companion and no moment of our lives was left undocumented in my obsessive quest for 'the shot of the day' that the Photo365 project inspired in me. Pretty soon my children got a bit fed up of my constant snapping and made their feelings remarkably clear... ...but it was nothing that a little bribery could overcome and these days they are surprisingly compliant models.


I have so, so many photos of my boys...I can't seem to help myself, it's a sickness. But, then, can you ever really have TOO many photos of your babies? I don't think so.



Although, on a related note, you can definitely have too many photos, period. Digital photography is a scourge and a blessing all in one...it's wonderful to snap away with no thought of the cost of film/processing, and it allows you to really experiment without fear of bankruptcy. The downside is, if you're like me and don't like deleting photos, you're quickly overwhelmed by thousands of photos and a groaning hard-drive. I learnt this lesson fairly early on, and spent a painful few months deleting many thousands of photos, and cataloging the 'keepers' properly so I can find them again. Plus I have a double back up system because, you know, I've sweated blood and tears to take those shots and I really, really don't want to lose them. They're like my other babies, all 20,000 of them....awwww.


Somewhere along the line I got bitten by the processing bug, ouch, and thus another time thief entered my life in the shape of Lightroom/Photoshop. These days I'm a fairly quick processor but in the early days it was painful, really painful. But isn't that always the way with any new skill, alas and alack. I enjoy a bit of a 'fiddle' with my photos, but I definitely enjoy shooting more than I do processing.

But what I really, really love about photography...what makes it my passion rather than just a way to pass the time is that it makes me look at the world in a completely new way. I realize how sappy that sounds but it's true, I see things that was hidden to me before, I see beauty all around, I see contrasts and humour and elegance and rawness....often all at the same time, and generally in my every day environment. I pretty much never go somewhere specifically to take a photo, I take photos as the moment arises. And those moments come around so often that I frequently take more than 200 photos a day. That's a real joy about photography, it's a 'right here, right now...any time, any place, anywhere' kind of hobby and that suits me and my lifestyle really well. I fit photography in to my life, I don't fit my life around photography.


My life is pretty hectic, well whose isn't let's face it? I have two small children who are aged 4 and 3. When I first started snapping they were aged 2 and 1 and it was all a bit of a struggle. I never had a second for myself and everything felt like such a slog. But, suddenly, out of nowhere I had photography and it was ALL MINE and it was something I could do, easily, while the children were around. Just a few minutes a day, just for me, no one else...just me. Are you getting it? It's all...about...me! And that's why I called this post 'saving my sanity' because, in the midst of those dark early days of parenting someone threw me a lifeline...an absorbing hobby that fitted perfectly in to our chaotic lives which gave me back just a little bit of myself, one click at a time.
I'll always be grateful for that.


I'll sign off with a few of my favourite snaps, no commentary needed because a picture speaks a thousands words, right? Enough of my wittering, pass the cake would you? Thanks for listening and thanks to Relyn for inviting me round. It's been a pleasure xx ~ Spud

Sunday Morning Poetry

Richmond Leake, 53
Newstand Dealer

Teachers did not listen
When I was young
They had things to tell
Lessons to teach and
Papers to grade
So I just shut up

I married young but
She was too busy to
Hear me, what with
Her planning for a
Better life, for the future
And things she had to get done

The white man I
Worked for had all
He could do to make money and
Making sure I wasn't
Stealing
Sometimes, though he
Nodded
On his way out the door
And I nodded back

I prayed a lot, for
A raise, for the rent when I needed it,
But nothing every came
Without a kick
And I thought God
Must have been listening
To folks in India

Now I talk to myself a
Lot and people worry
That I'm not in touch
But they are wrong because
What moves me is when I
Talk I listen
And when I ask a question
I answer
Ain't nothing wrong with that
~ Walter Dean Meyers

For more about Richmond Leake, click here. For more about Walter Dean Meyers, click here. This poem and many more stunning works can be found in the book Here in Harlem: Poems in Many Voices, by Walter Dean Meyers.

being a part of something bigger

What is it about this video that has you crying?, you might ask.
Who on Earth would cry at this?, the sane among you are probably wondering.
Well.

That would be me.
Me.
I'm crying at this video.

Not sure why, except to say that I always tear up when something moves me.
I always get misty eyes and a lump in my throat anytime something touches me.
Every time something touches me.

So? Why this?
Well, first, it is completely cool. Completely.
Just like Oprah said, "That is the coolest thing EVER."

But, I think I really get choked up because it's about cooperation.
And fun and playfulness.
And about being a part of something bigger than yourself.

And, really. Wouldn't the world be better, so much better
if we were all willing to take a little time to be a part of something
bigger than ourselves?

Like a flash mob, being a part of something bigger
might simply create a good memory for the participants.
But, it might also do something more.

Something like
providing clean water to people who've never had it.
Or, bringing hope and cheer to strangers.

Wherever your passions take you...
Whatever your tears, your excitement, your interests compel...
Be a part of something bigger today.

Karey's Passion

Today's guest will make you laugh till milk comes out your nose. The very next day she'll make you cry till you can't see the computer screen. Karey Mackin has incredible taste, a major way with words, a heart overflowing with love, and three of the funniest, most beautiful girlies you ever did encounter. Karey is a Kirtsy editor and blogger. She writes about sparkly things, great eye candy, true love, and whatever else strikes her fancy. She is a busy woman living a full and passionate life. Most of all, Karey's busy raising her girlies three. When we're lucky, she writes about them, too.

passion? i'm full of passion. overflowing, even. it's practically my middle name. well. it's actually marie, but if you say it with an azerbaijani accent...

anyway. i'm so vehemently enamored with everything and anything, i was once asked by a dubious friend who had just about had it with my effusiveness, "really? you're in love with a mechanical pencil? really?"

don't judge. it was turquoise. with continuous lead. on sale.


so when relyn asked me to chime in on her month of passion, i was convinced it would be simple. and perhaps even a little racy. it was neither. and to make a long and agonizing story as short as possible? i'm in love with too much.

there are words and mary ruffle's photos and all things shiny and anything remotely connected to kate lanphear, which may or may not include a wristful of enviably chunky bangles not to mention shimmery rings on many fingers. plus sequins in the sunshine. flat-out passionate about that one. but all of this is nonsense, isn't it? of course it is. so i tried to think harder.

making things. i'm passionate about making things. not like dinner or chunky knit scarves, but i love coming up with dreams and then making them come true. like t.ruffle girls.

but i'm not sure t.ruffles really counts. because mary does most of the making. i've got to think harder, i thought.


{sigh}

wait. i've got it. do you know what i really really really love? cool women. good women. most excellent women. i like finding them and promoting them on kirtsy and just watching the good they throw 'round their worlds. for example...she's pure joy and makes me smile. every single time. she breaks my heart. more often than that. she floors me with her generosity. and she's all of the above.

but i still wasn't sure even that really counts. and so i thought harder. and still? nothing. or, rather, still too much.

so i stopped and listened to all the air around me and tried to collect my thoughts. any thoughts, really. all i could hear was my girlies three. lillie's little bird voice trilling she's like the swallow in anticipation of her choir concert. grae-rose singing the hip-hop version with accompanying dance moves just crazy enough to make lillie giggle and lose her place. esmé strolling about begging someone to take a bath with her. and lillie saying yes. it all sounded like music to my ears.


and i got it. what i love most, that about which i'm most passionate? making most excellent women. three of them, in fact. three most excellent women who will grow to love the world so much that they'll want the best for everyone in it.

if i could only dream one dream and have it come true? that would be it.

thank you, relyn, for asking me to play over here. i feel like i should apologize for the mess of words i've spilled all over this post, but i'm pretty sure you'll somehow only find the good in it, yes? xoxo. karey m.

A Passion for Sharing

Week 12 of the Wednesday Lists
I have a passion for sharing good things I've discovered. I wish I had coined the term, but I'll have to steal it from Martha. I just love to discover something wonderful and pass along the news. It's like introducing two friends you know will hit it off or telling your Mom about a great new cleaning product you discovered. I get such a little thrill from this kind of sharing. That's one of the things I love about blogging; pointing other people to all the beauty I discover.

a little sunshine to brighten your day
because I love a "good thing"

• a post with some of my most favorite linky love ever
• the most perfect video I've ever seen - Watch this. Please!
  
• a few inspiration lists
• a must read book list
  
• wonderful, unusual photography
• a perfectly haunting song
• a new blog crush
  

That was just a little of the goodness I've found recently in this little webworld we've created. I hope you enjoy them today.

A Passion for Creating

Today I'm excited because you get to meet my good friend Patti. It's always so much fun when you introduce one friend to another, isn't it? Patti is the kind of blogging friend you wish you lived near, because if she were, you just know the two of you would share all kinds of bookish and creative adventures together. Among the many hats she wears Patti is a loving wife and mother, a passionately committed teacher, a fellow bookworm, a crafter in many mediums, a poet, a blogger, and a thoughtful, generous friend.

When Relyn asked me to be a guest blogger on her site, I was very honored, but I have to say a little nervous as well because to me, this was a Big Deal; I mean it's Relyn! When the dust had settled and I re-looked at her request to write about one of my passions, I knew I was in trouble. I am one of those people who don't have one passion they do really well, but rather many passions done at a so-so level, but highly valued and enjoyed nonetheless. I had a hard time trying to narrow down which passion to pursue; reading, writing, poetry, crafting,blogging, teaching, photography? I finally settled on writing about my passion to create.

"Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun." ~ Mary Lou Cook

I have always had a passion for creating. Whether it was creating Barbie and Little Kiddle houses and surroundings and clothes, to cookie baking and decorating to book making, papercrafting, jewelry making, cross stitching, I have always felt the need to create. I believe this was my Dad's legacy to me. He always had some sort of crafting project going; and usually more than one at a time. He taught me that I would never be bored if I had my imagination. He also always said to do what I love and follow my creativity. And he was right. Through watching him, his downtime was always spent creating and that is what I strive to do in my own life.


I believe that for many of us, on a daily basis, our imagination lies hidden, untapped, undiscovered, uncoveted. We get caught up in our daily routines and can often forget about nourishing this imagination and our need to create. I know how, on a personal level, I can feel the difference in myself and my spirit if I go a few days without flexing my creativity. It's almost like exercise for some people- they start to miss it after they don't do it for awhile. Creating something, anything, helps to keep me grounded and focused. I love to see what arises out of the chaos of my many thoughts and ideas; how they develop and what shape they start to take. For me it's more about the process of creating rather than the end result. I am often surprised with the end result- with the poem that seemingly wrote itself, the photograph that had that extra quality to it, the lesson that the kids loved, or the papercrafts that end up being created and enjoyed by others; the fruits of my muses and my imagination.

Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things. ~ Denis Diderot

As we go through our days, the people we encounter and interact with, movies, books, nature, all have the potential to spark our imagination and creativity. We need to just relax and be open to the possibilities, friendships, whimsies, and joys that these encounters can bring. My life is fuller and more abundant from giving into and pursuing my passions; through the friends I have made, and the things I have done, to the opportunities and experiences that have occurred as a result. Whatever the spark, whatever the notion, use it as a starting point on your quest for creating and enjoying the passions in your own lives; and enjoy the journey it takes you on. You will always be surprised at the outcome!



Like many of us, Patti is an amateur photographer. You can find more of her images here. Patti's father made the book of poetry. And I bet he's the one who gifted Patti with her passion for poetry. He also made the clock. Like her father. Patti is passing along her passion for creativity to her daughter and her students. And now, to us. Aren't we lucky?