511: blue skies smiling at me

thank you all so much for leaving comments about your favorite things. i loved reading them all. so much loveliness.

tomorrow is going to be fantastic.

a visitor!

more pie!

new glasses!

and a chance to see one of my favorite singer-songwriters!

oh friday! hurry up already.

i think i'll stop at the coffee shop for a voltaire (espresso and hot chocolate) this morning and get this weekend started early.

xo

510

faves. it's so good to surround yourself with your favorite things. in this case, acorns and mary oliver's poetry. what are 2 of your very favorites right now?

no time today to chat. i'm planning on walking to work this morning. best go check the weather. :)

509

hi.

although i feel a pull toward warmer weather, i actually am lamenting the fact that i haven't walked in snow this year or even seen snow falling (i was in charleston when durham received a dusting). hmm. perhaps i should try and remedy this before winter moves on out.

well, as you can see above, i did find some beautiful ice at the eno river last week. on the same visit, a great blue heron quickly flew by us. i missed the whole spectacle because i was busy looking down and snapping photos. :) i only caught a quick glimpse out of the corner of my eye.

also, daydreaming about travel. i really want to go here because it means i can stay here for a night or two. it all probably has something to do with this and also this.


happy tuesday!
s

508

hi friends.

more eno love.




and more ku:nel love. i spent a lovely saturday afternoon with tea, dried persimmons, magazines, and my friend eunice.

currently: enjoying the dizzying smell of citrus blossoms and the work of miklos gaal; listening for the morning train.


it's monday; i'm starting slowly.
xo
s

507: last of the winter whites

thank you all for participating this week. beautiful white photos. i think i've felt calmer this week. how about you?

lately, i've been wanting to walk to work. my office job is 2.3 miles away, but Durham is not exactly known for pedestrian friendly streets or sidewalks (well, they do have sidewalks but they often disappear suddenly). yesterday, t decided he would come along for the test run. and so we walked.

it was a strange, but lovely feeling commuting on foot. our path took us past cafes and along the edge of east campus. we said hello to fellow foot traffic. we saw the white star on the front of the passenger amtrak as the morning train barreled by. we passed the italian restaurant where we could smell big bubbling pots of marinara being cooked for lunch time meals. the diesel fumes from the buses swirled in the air, and crows called down from barren tree tops. we arrived exactly on time, 40 minutes later.

i am hoping to walk at least 2 days a week, but i have a feeling i will walk as much as possible.

this afternoon, i will pick up my first 3 (small) pies from the CSP. i decided on a mix of sweet and savory this week. i'll let you know how they are!

hope you have a good one and thank you so much for joining in for winter white week!
xo

506

jen tucked this little extra in with my recent order from her etsy shop. the very same bit of nature that is featured on my notebook. makes me smile. it is now taped to my window so the sun can shine through the translucent white envelope.

tonight t and i are going to a book reading. i'm looking forward to it.

have a nice day!

505

update: i just added a few new names (that i accidentally missed) to the participants list. more beautiful white for you to peruse. unfortunately, i will not be able to update again. remember, you can still post a link to your blog in the comments. thanks for your interest.


i am loving the book snow so much that i just ordered other colors from my bookshop. any other pamuk fans out there?

also: this project is really nice.

have a great day!

504: winter white participants

hi friends!

what a lovely response. thank you. listed below you will find the names of all of the participants for winter white week. some folks may post once and others may post the entire week. there were many names to post so i hope i didn't forget anyone. if i did, please excuse the error, and send me an email to let me know.

************************************************************


mav

meg

andrea/scout

marsha

eunice

heather

sheri

anne

emily

nicole

elizabeth

leslie

di

mary jane

j

tracy

leya

eliza

peggy

anne/strandgut

pondbluebird

nikkita

magnusmog

brandy

cruststation

lucette

a friend to knit with/leslie

claire

agnieskza p.

knittingiris

caterine

dandelion

beth

abby

janet

lydia

sarbear

bugheart

mo'a

tara

sarah

lynn

alicia

molly

bee studio

kelly

heather

f. pea

janet

tonya

sarah/thistledown


thanks so much for playing along! so many new blogs to visit. :) i have a busy week ahead so i will only be posting photos and links for the rest of the week. if you find this project after the master list has been posted, you are welcome to join in and leave a link to your blog in the comments. i will not have time to go back and add your name to this list though. thanks for understanding. see you tomorrow for more winter whites.

503

good morning!

these are some of my favorite family photos. the photograph on the left is a picture of my great grandmother (i called her mom) and the photograph on the right is my grandmother (i call her granny).

seems like all of my white photos have a healthy dose of metallics too. looking forward to visiting all of your winter whites later today. be in touch if you want to be included in the participants list this evening. thanks!

502: winter whites

hi friends,

okay. just walked in the door from charleston. now, winter white week. yes. if you would like to play along, post one winter white photo or piece of artwork each day this week. photos can be taken inside or outside and do not have to be solely white. in fact, i have a feeling that many of my photos will have some silvery tones too.

leave a comment linking to your post if you want others to find you. i will only post a list of participants once (on tuesday evening) so make sure you let me know by then if you want to be included.

charleston was nice as usual. lots of great food, a long beach walk, and plenty of quality time with my family.

in durham news, i just joined a CSP. for those of you who are wondering, it's community supported PIE! how fabulous is that?

hope your monday was great, and thanks for your interest in the winter white week. can't wait to see what you post.
xo
ps: sorry for the ice repeat. i haven't had time to upload any new photos and i wanted to go ahead and post for all of you who were interested. plus, it looks pretty cool enlarged. click to see.

501

hi friends!

happy friday to you.

today, i am wearing my traveling shoes. i will be here by the end of the afternoon.

i am looking forward to seeing this and this and just being with her.

i will be listening to this



on the road trip and will have my camera to take yet another photo of this.

i hope we will eat here at least once.

i will be back soon with more photos of the beach in winter.

oh! and when i get home, i'm thinking of hosting a "winter white" photography/art week? what do you think?

happy weekend.
xox

ps: one final film recommendation, the return. my dear friend misty wrote about it on her blog and i just had to see it. it IS beautiful and haunting; the dark colors and the cinematography were amazing. thanks abby for hosting this week!

500

hi there.

well, whaddaya know? 500 posts. thank you all so much for reading and commenting. i hope you know how much it means to me...the time you take out of your day to visit my little space. i'm truly grateful.

the days have been stacking themselves one on top of the other like the pile of books waiting to be read on my bedside table. so many things left undone these days, but the sun still sets. it's a good thing that my family is keeping me stocked with citrus; honeybells arrived on my doorstep this week. thanks mom!

as my to do list grows, i've been searching for comfort in a table for two and a little candlelight. we had the most delicious thai meal last night. instead of trying a new dish, i enjoyed all of my old favorites (coconut soup, drunken noodle, and thai iced tea). good comfort food and good company.

still haven't chosen new frames yet. i'm trying to decide if i really want to wear a bit of rhinestones all year. hmm. the frames are the color and shape i like, but are embellished, which i never thought i would wear. right now i'm deciding between smaller frames, cat eye shape in brown or slightly larger frames (like the ones i currently wear) in black with tiny rhinestones. t and i are going to visit one more store today before i decide.

yes, so indecisive these days, but my selection for beautiful film week was easy.




the umbrellas of cherbourg is truly a great movie. it's a french musical and well, musicals can seem kind of goofy if you think about them too much. so don't. allow yourself to be charmed. it's such a nice film.

alright then. hope your thursday is happy!

499

i have a fascination with mongolia. it's on my list of places to visit. i'm completely charmed by the landscape, the native dress, the mongolian horses. really i find every little bit beautiful, and so i loved mongolian ping pong. i think you will too. watch the trailer here.

more beautiful films here.

in other news, i'm headed to the eye doctor today, and i'm excited to pick out some new frames. i need new lenses too. these old ones are scratched beyond belief!

still feeling tired but i'm hanging in there. just short posts this week, though, i'm afraid.

498

hi friends.

before i begin let me start by saying my "n" key is being very fickle. if my words are missing n's you will know why. okay.

back to beautiful film week.

i'm sure most of you have seen this film but if not, you are in for a real treat. the soundtrack is also fantastic. check out adrian tomine's wonderful drawing too.

i am in serious hibernation mode. i'm telling you...i just cannot get enough sleep. another busy, 10 hr. work day ahead. can i bring my pillow to work?

xo

497: beautiful film week and inspiration

good morning!

abby is hosting beautiful film week this week, and i plan on joining in for at least part of the week.




sweet land was one of my favorite movies from last year. the cinematography blew me away. beauty in every frame. watch this movie if you love beautiful landscapes especially. lots of big sky and open fields. you can visit the official movie site here to read more about the story.









i also am excited to share with you the work of photographer gary geboy. as soon as i saw these images in charleston magazine, i fell in love. i must get this book. sc is my birthplace and where all of my family resides and well, these photos just speak to me in a way that i can't convey.

more inspiration tomorrow. see you then.

i overslept this morning so i just have time to wish you a happy weekend.

see you on monday!

495

this week i started taking yoga classes again after a long time away from the mat. i had such an amazing first class, and i left the studio with an important insight.

we were working on bow pose. as soon as the words left the teacher's mouth, my body began to tense up and tighten. while i do have the flexibility to move myself into this pose, holding myself up comfortably has always been difficult. she guided me through the pose and though i did exactly as i was told, thoughts were running through my head. this is hard. i can't hold this position much longer. my stomach hurts, etc. soon, i was told to release the pose and rest.

before trying the pose again, the teacher said, "now before you even get into this pose, find a way to be comfortable, to be at ease here." instant transformation. my perspective shifted and as i practiced bow pose this time, it was, to my amazement, much easier and more comfortable. in fact, i kind of enjoyed it for the first time in my yoga practice.

how many times in life do we bring our pre-conceived notions along for the ride? we assume that we are going to have difficulty, pain and we close the door to the possibility that we can find comfort or ease in this space.

recently, i made a huge banking error. in fact, i've been working to correct this mistake since december 23. it has truly been the source of so much stress for me. after my yoga class on monday, i felt my attitude shift. yes, it was a pain to make all of the phone calls i needed to make but it was also a good challenge for me to continue to chip away at this problem. viewing my problem in this new way helped me have the patience and perseverance i needed, and yesterday, i finally made some progress.

i've decided this small lesson learned in yoga will be my mantra of sorts for 2008. when situations are difficult, i will ask myself...how can i be at ease here?

oh! and thank you all so so much for the wonderful feedback on my last post. it makes me so happy to hear that you enjoyed the nature photos.

have a great day friends.

494: cheekwood in winter

nothing makes me happier than being outdoors in nature with my camera. this is what i truly love.



see you tomorrow.

493: scenes from nashville

we did a fair bit of wandering around nashville. we like to wander. our strolls led us to coffee shops and yard sales. we stumbled upon snowflakes and lanterns and stained glass. we visited hatch show print, sampled local microbrews and ate lots of eggs and toast.

in the evenings, we'd meet up with lisa, aurora, and kathleen to eat dinner. they all had a crazy weekend. aurora's artwork was lost in transit and then somehow ended up in nashville on the day of the show just like magic.

i cannot say enough how much i enjoyed finally meeting lisa face to face. she's as amazing as she seems...and then some. it was such a great weekend.

tomorrow, i will share some nature photos. did you think i could visit a city without checking out the local flora?

492: couplets and nashville

we had a fantastic trip to nashville. meeting lisa, aurora and kathleen was such a treat; i admit that i was a bit quiet/shy, though. the art work was amazing, the company was fabulous and just look at the feast that followed at PM.

see more photos of the opening (including a few of t and joe) over here.

more soon!
s

491

i love this photo of rilke. so peaceful. say hi to maggie too.

we're off to nashville this evening. i'd love to hear about your favorite places in the city: shops, restaurants, etc.

i haven't had much to say this week, i know. still adjusting to the new year and returning to both jobs. sigh. hopefully, next week i'll be back in the swing of things. thanks for understanding.

now, one final meal of collards (matt and ted lee style) and mac and cheese and then i'm off to pack. i'll probably post a few photos to flickr so do stay tuned.


xo

490

scenes from yesterday's hike. it was such a nice day.

489

we had a nice start to the new year today. a late breakfast of homemade popovers with strawberry jam and butter followed soon after by a walk in the woods. lots of sunshine, tall pines, beautiful shadows, leaves floating down the eno. beauty surrounding us and enveloping us.

then, we came home and began to prepare a traditional southern meal: collards (for wealth), hoppin' johns (for luck) along with blue corn cornbread and my mom's mac and cheese. yum. speaking of southern cooking, have you seen the new gourmet? i'm feeling very inspired by edna lewis and hope to pick up one of her cookbooks soon.

now, we are watching a bit of football and reading while we wait for the chocolate pudding to set. we're having pudding parfaits for dessert. :)

so many things to look forward to in 2008. lisa and i will finally meet this weekend for the opening of her show, couplets. i could not be more excited, but i desperately need an art opening outfit. help!

other things i'm excited about:

-2 new collaborative projects
-hosting a soup party in a few weeks...i've wanted to throw one forever!
-the complete jane austen on masterpiece theater begins jan. 13
-3191 evenings

looks like it's gonna be a fabulous january.
back to work tomorrow.

cheers!