Black and White

One for black and white wednesday at : http://www.thelongroadtochina.com/.

Her black and whites this week are beautiful. Just look.

Cardio and Cone Flowers

Last night I was all set to head off to a Zumba class, which I love. It's cardio for sure, but it just feels like your dancing. It is so much fun, and the time flies. But, my flower beds are out of control with crab grass. I just couldn't justifying driving to go exercise when weeding is such a work out in itself.(But not nearly as fun):( My butt was killing me when I was done for the night, and I still have several hours of potential exercise out there in my very own front yard. So, since I was hanging around the yard I decided to take some photographs of the most photogenic flowers ever: Cone Flowers. It really is hard to take a bad picture of them. The center is so three dimensional it just pops. And then when a bee hops in the composition it is nearly perfect. Thanks Mr. Bee.
Enjoying Wordless Wednesday.
http://www.wordlesswednesday.com/newhome/

Honey Bee on a Wild Island Rose

As the Sun was Setting

I took these photos near sunset on our short but sweet vacation last week. I took so many photos that my editing possibilities are nearly endless. How fun! And, such a creative outlet for me. Thank you picnik.com. I am linking up with The Creative Exchange todayhttp://www.lgordonphotography.com/ . Check it out and be inspired.

Just Jump

Tiger Lilies are heavenly

Just back from a short bittersweet, but heavenly escape. I spent the past four days on an island with my family. The Tiger Lilies were in full bloom everywhere. I took these pictures as the sun was setting. My Mother was hospitalized at nearly the last minute and unable to make the retreat with us, a trip she wanted so babdly to experience. I spent the days between bliss and horror in my mind, enjoying my surroundings and children in an absolutely lovely setting. It was wonderful, but I was constantly battling to stay in the moment and cherish the present and not let my mind wonder to my Mother's inevitable outcome. Terminal cancer is mean, and steals the quality of "sweet time" that we all hope we have enough of. I walk an invisible line of sympathy, empathy and an inability to deny the inevitable. It is so tiring. I ache all over.

But, it is life and in heaven I believe. And, I think we just may have experienced a little bit of heaven this week. I can't wait to share more photos here on my blog and with Mom. :)

Sparklers!

I love this photo of my boys and friends shirtless, fresh from a swim lighting sparklers. You would think they had never lit one before in their 10-12 year old lives. Right after I clicked this photograph they ran through the green grass screaming and squealing with glee, waving their tiny blazing torches. God bless America.
http://heyharriet.blogspot.com/ shadow shot sunday

"Bees do it"

As I took these macro shots I found myself humming Cole Porter's darling love song, Let's Fall in Love. Last Friday eve, my 17 year old daughter secured home for the night with our youngest boys, we went to see the newest Woody Allen movie, Midnight in Paris. It was a very cool look back in time at what it was like for like minded artists in Paris in the earlier 1900's. You feel like you have spent a week in Paris after seeing this movie. Which was nice for us since we never made it there for our "20th" wedding anniversary this year. :( ( the cost of flights are crazy!) Last night I finished reading A Move able Feast by Hemingway, a memoir of his time in Paris. He too is featured in the Woody Allen flick. These visual and literary feasts I have been devouring lately have been very satisfying. And then, I am in my own front yard with my camera and voyeuristic tendencies, trying to get a macro photo of a flower or bee and stumble upon these two couples. Lol. Porter is right. Bees do "do it".
Linking with Pink Saturday http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/, and Flowers on Saturday.

Wordless Wednesday

http://www.wordlesswednesday.com/newhome/

I Heart Faces

I am entering this photo of friend's little girl this week for the challenge of whimsy. You can check out the hundreds of entries by clicking on their button. Enjoy.

Mellow Yellow Mosaic for Monday

Summer vacation has officially begun around here. Gabe is up and wondering what we will do today. Yesterday he asked me to take him to the track and time him running a mile. He is trying to impress his oldest brother and, he told me he needs to lose a little weight. He is ten years old and 70 lbs soaking wet; and just perfect:).
This morn I am linking up with Mary at http://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com/
and mellowyellowmonday.blogspot.com.

Flowers on Saturday

There are lots of different options around our yard for flowers to wear in your hair. Either of these would work. :)

Linking up with Flowers on Saturday today. Have a good one.

Before and After

I took this picture of Gabe in my favorite spot on the side of the house where the late afternoon sun is usually kind. Something was off and the picture came out kind of little dinghy. If you look close-up, in my manual manipulation of aperture and focus, his face is not actually in focus at all. Bummer.
With a little work in Picnik, I was able to soften the whole picture, brighten his eyes, turn it black and white and then add some warm tones in. Hopefully it looks like I intentionally was going for a soft effect. But now I love this photograph.
My ten year old baby boy. Just finishing up the fourth grade and his first season of major league baseball which he told his Dad "where the best two months of his life".
I am linking with pixel perfect blog hop today to check out all the happily ever "Before and Afters". You can too. http://www.pixelperfectblog.com/.

Movie Review of Super 8

These are just a few random photos from the road. I was the passenger in the the front when these were taken last Friday eve after a rollicking thunderstorm. We, my husband, myself and two younger boys were on our way to the movies to see Super 8. It has gotten wonderful reviews, billed as the "must see movie of the Summer". One review said that if you are ten years old it will be the best movie you have ever seen, or something to that effect. It was very good, but very intense and scary at times. I think it is safe to say that i f you are younger than 10 it will likely scare the heck out of you. Gabriel was a seat away from me sitting next to Dad, and spent a good part of the movie in his arm pit. I offered to have him come sit in my lap when I realized just how frightening it was. He paused and nearly took me up on this offer, but the " cooler" 10 year old going on 16 side of him thought better of this and he stayed put wedged in the crack between the two seats. Periodically he would crane his neck around Daddy and in a very enunciated whisper exclaim, " Mom, why did you bring me to this, it's scary!". I tried to focus on the movie but was wedged between guilt and visions of a sleepless night for all with Gabe in our bed, in Daddy or my armpit all night long. Lol. In the end he said it was " so scary" but he loved it, and we did too. When we got home he went right up to bed and slept through the night and has not brought the movie up again. It was a kind of fantastical unrealistic scary that fortunately does not linger for long, although the thrill of the scare does, which is kind of cool when you are 10 or even 40plus. We saw the digital version, but if you have the opportunity to see it in the IMAX theatre with 3D, pass. Plenty intense enough with out it.

Next on my list to view is "Crazy, Stupid, Love" with Steve Carell. Will be leaving the younger viewers home for that one.

Happy Wednesday.

http://www.wordlesswednesday.com/newhome/ and another: http://www.projectalicia.com/ :)

Let's Hear it for the Boys! I Heart Faces

Hey, I can do this challenge! I have boys!

This is my son Donovan on the right and his best buddy and next door neighbor for the past 12 years. I told them to jump so I could capture them in flight and they were happy to participate. Why their mouths opened every time they took flight, I am not sure. I took three like this and they were wide open in each.

Boys are hardly ever quiet.

Mosaic for Monday

I am joining in for Mosaic Monday with Mary athttp://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com/ . I made this mosaic in Picnik. So simple and so many templates to choose from. Check it out and the many other colorful collages linked on Mary's site. Have a good one. :)

Saturday and Sunny

Gabe invited his buddy from down the street over for a swim first thing this morning. These two get a long great and are very similar in personality and overall cuteness I must say. His friend does not attend the same public school that my son does, but a magnet school about half and hour away. Needless to say they both have many other unshared friends which is kind of nice for many reasons. Bryce is turning ten soon and was planning his party out loud as he splashed in our pool, and then draped his skinny, not yet tanned little body over a raft. He listed about eight different boys and then finally said, "Oh, and you Gabe, your invited too." But then he quickly followed it up with "Do you have anyone else you might know that you would like me to invite?" " I don't want you hanging around with me for the whole party; for a little while is okay, but I don't want to have to talk to you the whole time."
I thought it was hysterical. Only a ten year old boy could be so honest . And only another ten year old could take it with out offense. Gabe looked at me and rolled his eyes, recognizing the insult and then continued on with his fun.

Skywatch Friday

Greetings from suburbia where little league seasons are coming to an end, Summer vacation will soon begin and our calendar is filling up fast. This rainbow was hanging over our neighborhood a few eves ago as a thunderstorm passed through and put an end to a night of baseball.

Happy Friday everyone out there. Enjoy the weekend! We are going to the movies tonight to see Super 8. Can't wait.

http://skyley.blogspot.com/

On a Stump

I found this really cool effect on my Canon Powershot point and shoot camera. It is called miniature. It blurs out sections of the photo supposedly giving a "miniature" effect to what is in focus. I just like the way it kind of warps things and makes the photo look old and dream like. Very cool.
Wordless Wednesday and I'm on my count down until I have four kids home for the Summer. Let the fun begin!! I'm just hoping for civility and maybe a little kindness thrown in. We have quite a bit going on with day camp for some, college visits for others, soccer practices, family vacations and hopefully just some down time.
Enjoy the rest of your week. :)
http://www.wordlesswednesday.com/newhome/

Lone Leaf

I am linking in today with The Creative Exchange. I am very excited to join in and get inspired. You can too. Check it out:
http://www.lgordonphotography.com/

Mellow Yellow Monday

View from the sidelines

Sunless Saturday

I am posting two photos today, one for black and white weekend and one for Flowers on Saturday. It has been raining steadily all morn. Not torrential, but a nice calm methodical pitter patter. (such a silly phrase). My husband has gone back to bed after attempting an early morning then cancelled baseball practice and plunking down a dozen dunkin donuts on our cluttered kitchen island. My boys are fighting up a storm. An electrical storm, nearly. It is frustrating and annoying to witness, and nearly impossible to referee as it is never any one's fault and usually everyone is to blame. My poor middle son always seems to take the brunt of the abuse, rarely physical yet often heart wrenching as my oldest and youngest boys join forces against him. Last weekend he threatened to move out. When I called Gabe in and told him what is brother was thinking of doing his eyes filled with tears and he begged him to stay. Donovan didn't want any part of his heart felt apology at this point, but it did make me feel a little better. All was well for about half and hour and then I heard the faint sound of thunder rumbling in the distance. I am trying not to imagine a Summer filled with this drama. Maybe I'll be the one to move out. :)

Blackandwhiteweekend.blogspot.com.

Skywatch Friday

You can check it out at: http://skyley.blogspot.com. Enjoy. Gabe is a literal skywatcher, always scanning the sky or Internet weather sites for storms. Here he is waiting for his school bus and scanning the skies for signs of inclement weather. He is petrified of wacky weather and unfortunately I can no longer scoff at his fears. First thing in the morning when I turn on The Today Show I need to quickly jump for the remote and mute our little kitchen TV, depending on what tragic weather conditions there are around the country. In my early morning grogginess, which is intense, I need to make a split second decision and decide if my ten year old can handle what jolly Al Roker has to report on "our neck of the wood", and habitats far away. Tornadoes are a very rare occurrence where we live. But that is no longer a true statement. Last Summer one crashed through our town upending trees, and last week less than an hours drive away a major one crash landed on the CT/MA border. With yesterdays big electrical storm that lingered for several hours and took out our power, Gabe was begging for us all to take cover in the basement. My heart breaks for him, as he worries daily about his safety; and especially for all the little kids who have been tragically effected by this turbulent storm season.:( Wake up you Republican politicians who refuse to believe that Global Warming exists! Maybe they need to try a little skywatching.
You can do your own skywatching at: www.skyley.blogspot.com.

Texture Thursday

http://thedailywyatt.blogspot.com.

I Heart Faces Photo Challenge

The theme this week at : http://www.iheartfaces.com/ is "from a distance". I keep humming that lovely Bette Midler song written by Julie Gold from a few years back. I heart the lyrics of that song: they are brilliant in a John Lennon like way. I also adore this photo I took last Summer of my daughter and a friend on vacation in Virginia. You can head over to I Heart Faces to check out the many entries this week.

"From a distance you look like my friend" :)

Eye luv

Eye love this eye and the cute little face attached to it. He's a baseball playing, storm watching boy who worries about the weather and loves his friends and family. I need to remember to pick him up from school today, no bus ride for him, and bring him to GameStop so he can exchange a game that he pestered me for relentlessly last week. Ugghh. GameStop is not my happy place, but I need to cross this off my list for the week.
Anyways, today is macro Monday. I took this yesterday with my Canon powershot, and edited just a little in picnik. Why would a ten year old have blood shot eyes? Love the lashes though.
http://lisaschaos.com/

Black and White Train

http://blackandwhiteweekend.blogspot.com/.

Wordless Wednesday

My three year old niece admires my daughters necklace the night of the Prom and thinks about a day when she will dress up like a princess and have her photo taken endless times. Luckily she already is a little princess so when the time comes she will be ready.
Happy Wordless Wednesday.

I Heart Faces

Especially this one. My little girl almost grown on the eve of her Junior Prom.

I heart this photo and her. Made from love.

First Shell of Summer

Found at low tide on a granite slab on one of the Thimble Islands off the coast of Connecticut.
It is macro monday. Check it out at http://lisaschaos.com/.