{forever}

i can't believe that it has been over a month since i last posted to either of my blogs!

i miss it.  actually there are lots of things i miss at the moment.  like reading.

and taking photos with my big camera.  and soaking in a hot bath.  and

cooking for pleasure, not just to feed my family.  and playing piano.

and painting.  oh, how i miss painting.  and crafting.  but lately

i just haven't had time to do any of these things.  is it the 

new puppy?  is it the busyness of two kids and 

their after school activities?  is it the lack

of space in my brain because it's so

full of everything else? i am

not sure, but i mean to

figure it out.  you

see, i'm not

one 

to just

say, oh well,

this is just how it

is ... sure, i have to say 

that for a time because some

times it is just a busy week or two, 

but i refuse to say it forever and just give

up on the things that bring such pleasure to my life.
the other day, i was driving home from somewhere and out
of the corner of my eye, as we drove past the lake, i noticed baby
black swans! i decided to jump on this opportunity!  i stopped home to
grab my camera and turned around and drove back.  i took somewhere near
100 photos of these beauties and i felt so invigorated! i intend to make time for such
things much more regularly! don't worry, i'm not going to post all the photo i took but here
are a few of my favorites ...

Focus

Two shots taken only seconds apart.

In the first, the camera focused on the cat behind the screen.

And in the second, the focus is on the screen in front of the cat.

Drops of Water

I've been trying to practice shooting with my camera in manual mode.

These water droplets were fun subjects to practice on.

I just love how delicately they hang from these twirly bits of my passion fruit vine.

And off the unopened blooms ...

A Chance Meeting

I was standing in our garden this afternoon, taking photos of our Camellia's that are blooming so beautifully. All of a sudden, this little fella is in the tree not far from the plant, or me! I quickly adjusted my settings and took a few shots. These two are my favorite !

* These are unedited.  Although, I'd like to edit that little bit of bark out of the corner of the second photo ..... maybe I will.  One day.

Soft

Soft afternoon light, fresh water droplets, a "hidden" creature, beautiful white with pink outlines...

This is what I saw and hoped to capture.

The Answer ...

Did anyone get it right ? 

It's a sting ray ... an itty bitty sting ray ...

Wild, eh ?

Under The Sea

The other day I showed you my favorite photo that I took at the local aquarium. I said that I'd show you the other four photos that I took that I was relatively happy with. Here they are ...

Ps ... none of these photos have been edited.

I like this one ... I like the coral in the background and the beautiful color of the fish.



Does anyone know what this is ?  I'll give you a hint ... it's the underside.  Guess in the comments, then come back tomorrow and I'll tell you the answer ! 



This fish moved SOOOOOOOOO fast. 
I took a gazillion photos of him.
I didn't like the other shots.
But ... I like this one. 



This otter had plenty to say ...

Hello ?

This is my favorite photo from a photo shoot I went to at our local aquarium.  You have no idea how frustrating that shoot was !  I took hundreds of photos and like FIVE of them.  BUT ... it was a great exercise.  I shot in manual the entire time ... had to change the settings often ... and learned heaps.

I may share the other four with you later in the week .... :)

The Ocean ...

 

... by the light of the moon.

Purple

Soft.

Velvety.

Purple.

Intriguing.

Unique.

Delicately designed.

The Bird of Paradise

"I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers."

  ~Claude Monet

day {i-have-no-idea} 365

well, i have no idea what day it is in my 365 project !

i find i'm having trouble keeping up with posting a photo a day !
not to mention that most of the photos i'm taking are being taken with my iPhone !
which is great, but it kind of defeats the purpose of this whole project
which was to use my camera and learn more about it

so ... for now, i'm going to put this little 365 project on hold

in other news ... i ran 8 minutes straight ... not once, but twice, yesterday !!

can you believe it ?

five weeks ago i couldn't have run across the park, let alone around it, and now multiple times !

crazy !!

tomorrow i am supposed to run 20 minutes straight

i find this a little daunting

but, i'm going to give it my best shot !!

i'll let you know how i do.

**

ps ... rory's camelia's are blooming in the backyard

the photo above is one of them

gorgeous, eh ?

**

day 121 {pCam} 365

Pink Camelia, Our Garden
The first one to bloom this season ...

day 120 {up} 365

i went out photographing with a friend on the weekend
i plan, over the next few days to share some of those shots with you

this first one is of the most interesting leaves
and the only real light in the rainforest that day
up above our heads
way up

day 115 {biblioteca} 365 & WFMW

we are frequent borrowers at our local library, the librarian teases us about it ...
if there were frequent flyer miles for library books checked out, we'd be world travelers !
we like to get on our computer at home, reserve books and then once a week we pick them up
from the library van that parks not far from the kids school ... it's wonderfully convenient !!

because we have so many borrowed books, we needed a dedicated shelf for them
this one in our living room is perfect



the bottom shelf is home to all of our library books
here's what it looks like after today's visit



i hang a bag off the side of the shelf
this is where books go when we're finished, ready to be taken back



here's alia's section of the shelf
she loves that she can read now ... and she does lots of it



and jono's
he is a voracious reader



rory's books are all audio these days
perfect for his hour long (each way!) commute to work



and mine ...
mostly cookbooks, a bit of photography and creativity
true stories and a bit of jodi picoult



and with that ... i'm off to read

**

It's been a while since I've posted a Works For Me Wednesday but I thought this might be a helpful little hint for some. I know I used to be frustrated with lost library books ... not anymore ! The books have a home, and I know where they are ! AND ... when the kids (or we) finish a book, it goes into the return bag ... easy ... I just grab the full bag on a Wednesday morning, throw it in the back of the car, all ready for that afternoon's trip to the library.

Check out other things that WORK for other people ... you might find something helpful !

day 114 {pasta} 365

'twas delicious

recipe coming soon to the beans blog

follow us on facebook to see when

day 113 {aFrog} 365

alia with yesterday's frog

day 112 {jFrog} 365

excitement in the garden this morning

jono and the frog

day 111 {hammock} 365

on a day like today ... i could happily spend it all in the hammock !

day 110 {watching} 365