Storms pass over the Bay Bridge...

and the urban wilds of San Francisco...

But it's the excitement brewing at the Marina that we've come

to partake in...

Grumpy and the condiment arrive to take the Polar Plunge for Special Olympics, which has lost

all of its funding for winter sports.

Plungers gather...

And they're off!

A crazy cold day is had by all, in a most hilarious way.

gone with the wind

Harsh, unforgiving midday sun did not detere us today. Instead, we worked with what we had available and made do.  When working out of doors, one must adjust to the elements and adapt accordingly. As the rest of the week calls for rain, we jumped at the opportunity to shoot on this day, in between crazy schedules, while the flowers briefly revealed themselves. Miss W played her part perfectly as Scarlet O'Hara in her homespun gown, among flittering plum blossoms and birds. Donna, you'll find your proofs here...http://fuloflyfe.zenfolio.com/. :)

self portrait

Recent class assignment called for a self-portrait. Not my favorite of tasks, let me tell you. Here is the end result, with the defining elements including the minimization of me in relationship to this lovely, historic room in the preserved Victorian Peralta House. The oversized scrapbook gives an odd, Alice in Wonderland quality that I was after, with the pages opened to one of several of my mother in law in the 1960's as part of the women's auxilary group that supports and cares for the property. She is still a very active member.

Old homes, filled with memories and history are my place. They remind me of childhood in Alameda, in the little Queen Anne from which I began. As required for the assignment, it is SOOC (straight off the camera), all manual settings, which is generally how I shoot anyway. A parlour shot with Miss S follows as well.

For Lana

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Including a few more goodies from Lana's collection...fun little memories of time and quiet space enjoyed. It is such validation that she is delighted with her images. Rule #1: do not compromise - work with those who appreciate you.

An aside...when your clients show you the tea and chocolate stash and leave you to work alone, at will, you know for certain, life is full of kindness.

Just maybe, the angel resting on the patio table is my personal favorite. Don't you just want to stretch out with a down pillow?

As for the rest, you'll have to go here: http://zenfolio.com/fuloflyfe

Sweet Valentine

Loving thoughts to you, my friends, on this Valentine's Day.

     Today to complete the image capturing of the Kloch studio. Lana is a wonderfully generous and gracious host. I feel so lucky to have the invitation to create vignettes of her collections. To have creative license, lucky me. A coffee table book perhaps? One room almost completed, most of the house still to do.

Today I made time to play my instrument. Oh the fingers are out of shape! But it is good to play

again, and continue I will.

What did you do for your own self today?  

Winter affords a hibernation of creativity that begs to be expressed. But like the mind, the world seems grey here. The moist cold keeps me constantly adding layers for an added warmth that never actually reaches my fingertips or toes. The flowers and leaf buds wait, the fruit is long from emerging. But the birds. The birds are still present, ever talkative and plan-making, keeping each other going through the cold months. They keep me going too in their chitty chatty, planning, nest feathering, traveling, working, preparing, arranging, coordinating, calling, ever moving forward. Like my friends. I love them so.

Foggy morning walks bring on a new perspective of the world around, an enshrowding of the known into something unknown, enigmatic, potential.

The ladies had their portraits taken today. Their loving guardian, my farmgirl friend Sarah wanted something in the print to catch the viewer's eye. Eleanor, Nancy, Daisy and Martha make their debut here. They were really quite nice subjects to photograph. I dare say, our shenanigans never even ruffled their feathers. We will now call her oldest son the Chicken Whisperer. Aren't they stunning? 

I am so lucky. Do you know why? Because while I convalesced through a bad cold, my lovely daughter took it upon herself to don the orange rubber washing gloves and clean the dishes. Generally my young ones put all the dishes away, among other household chores. Washing food yuck is probably her least favorite task. This was her selfless act in an attempt to help me. And it did. 
Thank you Miss S for your kind deed. :)

Sometimes inspiration comes from the inside, literally.

Even after a brisk hour-long walk through vineyards yesterday, the fog and damp left a chill that permeated through every layer of clothing, negating any desire to seek out imagery. Eager to find something beautiful, it forced me to look closely, right at home. It was point and shoot time yesterday, using the wee little Nikon Coolpix Santa brought our family, a challenge self-imposed. It's been a long time since using a P&S. Although tempermental, the macro optics have a lot of potential, and although I know this, but must be reminded occasionally....it is not what you have, but what you purpose to do with it.  

Here are a few images of peace and solace, thanks to the tool that was available.  The pitcher is actually a creamer. The little dainties are each no bigger than a quarter.

Wants and wishes are good, and can propel us forward, 

but don't we usally already have enough?

So many projects in mind, but first, completion of those already begun. At least that is the intention. And that intention deliberately slows me, focuses my attention on that which already awaits. It is so very easy to become distracted. In fact, another project beckons me from the other room, so I will speak no more of it until its time. That Miss Teapot has me wanting to make a knitted cozy for a family room lampshade...focus...focus...

A cold chill has seeped in. Hot tea aside, I am fully aware of the cold engulfing parts of the nation, and the gift of fresh local organic produce in the middle of winter.  Every Friday the box arrives at my front door. I somehow miss the delivery driver, so the discovery is a weekly "oh!", a treat to the senses.

And I am grafeful.