As different as day and night...

Hello again,

For those of you who know how terrified I am of mountain roads, you may find it a bit surprising that I went to the mountains last night. A new friend from the photography class offered to driv and I was happy to join her. (If you're reading this Sharon, thank you again!)

Here are a few of the images I captured.

I consider these to be baseline photographs, something to measure my progress against.

The two areas near the top of the picture that look like smoke or clouds are actually lakes!

I liked the different shades of green and blue in this picture, and the way the sun hit parts of the mountain, like a spotlight.

Just as the sun was setting the batteries in my camera decided they had had enough. I was scrambling to get them changed. I'm glad I finished in time to get this shot.

Love the golden glow of sunset. In the forefront of this picture there are two trees. Many of the trees in the Smokies were damaged by beetles and as a result look skeletal.

With only a 20 minute wait from sunset to moonrise, the power photographers (you know the ones who sport the telescopic lenses that are approximately the size of a rocket launcher) lined their tripods up on the far eastern edge of the overlook. I'm glad because it left me farther back. Through the viewfinder I couldn't really see the trees so I was very pleasantly surprised when processing this image.

I hope you enjoyed looking at the pictures. I certainly enjoyed taking them.

I see you and you and you and....

Hello everyone. I'm very happy that autumn is here. The temps haven't received notice but at least I know we're moving towards those beautiful crisp fall days.

In the meantime, I enjoyed some quality time outside tonight with one of my best friends - my camera. I recently purchase a tripod and it was very nice to be able to use it tonight to catch shots of the gorgeous full moon.

When I was a little girl there was a show on television (maybe Romper Room?) where this lady would hold up a looking glass and say "I see" and would say names. I'm sure every child with that name thought as I did..."she can see ME" :)

Tonight as I stood looking at the moon I imagined her (the moon surely must be a goddess, yes?) saying... I can see Elizabeth, I can see Barb, I can see Journey, I can see Bonnie, I can see Mindy, I can see Lorin, I can see.... and naming all of the people I know who are probably looking up at the Goddess Moon and admiring her beauty.

It's a very unifying feeling. I hope wherever you are tonight, the Goddess is smiling down on you and that you can feel all of the people around you sharing that same "ahhhhh" moment as they gaze upwards!

"Crossing the Miles" (as the Greeting Cards say)

Hello Again...

As you all know I'm celebrating a very special person's birthday today. Since I couldn't actually be with Journey on her birthday, I wanted to do something else.

So...here's my version of a Flat Stanley Birthday Party....

I hope you enjoy it, Journey (and other readers too)

Krispy Kreme donuts are one of the things I missed when I lived away. This chocolate-iced custard filled donut is one of the BEST of the Best. I didn't sing (people have a hard enough time facing morning without me adding torture to their lives) but I did make a wish when I blew out the candle. Journey, I wish for you a year of knowing how very special you are and hope that each day you'll feel loved and cherished!

I wish for you a year filled with peace and tranquility...
and I wish for you
a year

of fun...

My manager, Cory, staffed the table full of sweets to celebrate Journey's birthday! (It was one of the bake sales raising money for The American Heart Association).

Just like on Facebook, sometimes it's nice to get Birthday Wishes from people we don't know. This is my friend Adrienne. We went through training together and she's one of those people that is so outgoing you feel like you've known her forever!

Zack was also in my initial training class. Because we work the same shift, we've had a chance to get to know one another well and have become good friends. Good enough friends that I recruited him to create the birthday sign - a real gift since I recruited him at 8 a.m. and he's definitely NOT a morning person! LOL. Thanks for being a good sport, Zack.

Sometimes the things that we can do for one another aren't fun. For example, I feel like giving blood is one of the most important things I can do. Since they were having a blood drive at work today it seemed a good way to honor Journey too!

It didn't go as well as I would have liked - for the first time ever I had a negative reaction to giving blood. My BP dropped and I spent an hour in the clinic. I'm really tired now.
Even so, I'm really glad I did it!

And besides...even little party animals crash sometimes!Dandy & Daisy (along with Toby and Dolly) wanted to wish their "Aunt" Journey
a
Happy Birthday before heading off to bed!

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you've enjoyed the Journey celebration.

And a very Happy Birthday to you - Old Same.

Souveniers

Hello again. It's very early morning here and I'm preparing to get ready for work but wanted to post a quick thought...

How many of us have traveled to far-away places and brought home a trinket to remind us of the trip? I know I always do that.

But several years ago I took a trip to attend a Simple Abundance workshop in Sedona, AZ. The Red Rocks of the area are spectacular and the energy of the vortex is powerful. I wanted to remember the trip always so I purchased some jewelry pieces and a few other things. What I couldn't have known at the time was that I also came home with a friendship that would be one of my greatest ever. Today I celebrate that friend, Journey's, birthday.

Journey, thank you for the inspiration, support, encouragement and kindness you offer to everyone around you. I'm grateful to know you, Old Same.

Please check back later for more....

Sharing...

I just wanted to post a link to my friend Lorin's blog: http://theveganasana.com/. You may recall that I wrote a bit about Lorin during Women's History Month because she's one of the women I admire so much.

If you are interested in yoga, meditation, vegan eating, animals or just life in general...you will surely enjoy Lorin's blog.

I'll be back with pictures and ramblings tomorrow.

Remembering

In 1998 Randy & I were living in Florida. We went to New Jersey for Thanksgiving and I begged (and nagged) to go to New York, because I had never been. On Friday morning (Black Friday, mind you) we drove to Jersey City and took a water taxi across to Manhattan. We arrived at a dock and I looked upwards to see two of the tallest and most amazing buildings I'd ever seen.

After a day spent fighting the crowds, we took the water taxi back. From Jersey City, I took this picture of the buildings where we had entered the city.

I fell in love with Manhattan that day - a love that has never faded or waivered! After moving there, I went as often as possible. On Friday, September 7, 2001 my friend Mavis and I went up for the day. I've often thought of two tourists we met from Atlanta. Two young women who were excited about all of their plans to see all of the landmarks over the next few days. I wonder where they were on 9/11. I hope they were safe.