Some beach favorites.

Shot with my Pentax K1000 + expired Kodak Porta 400VC film.



We stayed at the house in the middle. It's tiny compared to the houses on either side! And those are tiny compared to some of the mansions on Ocean Boulevard. Crazy.



The clouds! Oh the clouds. Isle of Palms always has the most amazing clouds. They revival the beautiful clouds that we get here in Santa Fe.



This shot is one of my most favorite from the trip.



Again with the clouds.

I'm really pleased with the photos I took with my Pentax K1000. The photo lab even made images of the ones that I screwed up by shooting 400 ISO film with the camera set on 1600. Ooops. They're super grainy, but I was so pleased that they came out.

If you follow me on Flickr, you are probably getting tired of all the beach pictures! I am getting tired of posting them. But I am almost to the end and I am excited about the photos from Pittsburgh! At least the instant ones. I haven't gotten the 35mm film processed yet.

I know most of my beach photos are very similar. It's in part because when I take more than one camera, I always end up taking the same shots with all the cameras! And it's also in part because when we're at the beach, it's all about the ocean, the view and the palm trees! So that's what I shoot. Over and over and over again! I find the differences between cameras and films interesting, but I know for others, it probably gets tiresome. "Oh look, it's the view from the bedroom! AGAIN."

Lately I've realized that I really miss taking pictures of people. It's something that I used to do a lot when we lived in Pittsburgh, but since we moved here, it's all been cats and flowers and mountains. I need to figure out a way to remedy that and work on shooting some portraits.

Now I'm off to get on with this Saturday. I'm going to be sewing together flower hair clips with the television going in the background. Of course.

Cheers!

Snow covered zinnias.

Or more accurately, snow dusted zinnias.

First snow of the season in town. It was barely anything at all and was gone by mid-morning, but I still count it as the first snow.

I'm grateful for any moisture we get here, but I'm still not ready for winter. Our house is already filled with the cold that won't leave until sometime next spring. Such is life in old houses with no installation. I guess it could be worse.

It all could be worse, right? That's what I keep telling myself as I deal with some difficult things. Trying to convince myself to feel grateful instead of tortured. It works, sometimes.

Here's hoping for a good weekend for all of us!

Golden (and a bit of rambling).

Check out the latest Words To Shoot By for more "golden" photos.

Last week I managed to pull myself away from my obsession with The Vampire Diaries long enough to drive up to Aspen Vista and check out the last of the golden aspen. It was nice to get some fresh air and appreciate the golden leaves and sunshine.

Admittedly, I also let my imagination get a little carried away and felt a bit scared about daylight vampires kidnapping me. Or compelling me. Or maybe just ripping my throat out. There was a long moment when there was no one else around and I felt completely isolated. It was so quiet, it was a little eerie. And enjoyable too, but after watching various scenes of vampires in the woods, I couldn't help but wonder what might be wandering around our forests. Usually I just worry about mountain lions, but hey, you never know, there could be vampires out there. Or werewolves.

I know, it's silly. But that stuff gets in my head when I have been watching a show, day in and day out. And getting so invested in the characters and story lines, man, it gets emotionally draining after awhile. And that feeling of wanting to know what happens next but at the same time, never wanting it to end. I feel that way about some books as well. I can't put them down, but then when I get to the end, it feels a bit like losing a friendship. Or something like that. A bit of despair at it all being over. And that feeling of what am I supposed to do now?

(Of course that is the Big Question all around right now, but that is another story.)

So.

Hope you are enjoying autumn wherever you are. And if you have time, watch The Vampire Diaries. It's a good one.

Things are quiet around here.

Birds.

I love watching birds at the beach. In Isle of Palms, there are always seagulls, of course, the little sand pipers that scurry along the sand, never standing still long enough for me to capture a close up, and my favorite, the pelicans.

This year, we hardly saw any pelicans which seemed rather strange to me as usually there are lots of them, swooping down into the ocean to catch fish. So every time I did see one, I got super excited. Pelicans!

One of the most exciting bird sightings though, was not a marine bird, but a red tailed hawk that settled in on the roof of the house next door.



There were actually two of them, soaring high in the sky and then sitting perched on the roof, looking out toward the ocean.



We stood on the second floor balcony for a long time, just watching them. Hawks are such majestic creatures.

Wish you were here.

And I wish that I was still there!

This was our view from the second floor balcony which was so conveniently located right outside of our bedroom! I could have sat up there forever, just looking at the ocean. And in fact, I did spend quite a bit of time stepping out on the balcony, breathing in the ocean air and watching the waves.

The moon was full while we were there so at night, we had some incredible views of the moonlight reflecting off the water. It was magical. Really.

Sigh.

I miss the ocean.

[A total aside here, but one night, Will and I took a walk on the beach. He asked me if I would get in the water. I said no, of course, because I have seen Jaws a million times and it has totally instilled the fear of sharks in me. I used to get scared of the drains in the deep ends of swimming pools. Seriously. So getting in the water at night? Under the moonlight? And maybe making out? That's just asking for a shark attack.]

****

One of my favorite instant shots from this past summer.

The afternoons are still quite warm here, but mornings and evenings feel like autumn and it's a lovely combination. I'd be happy if the weather stayed like this forever.

I seem to dread winter more and more with each passing year. I think it's mostly because our house is so cold during the wintertime. If it was warm and cozy inside, I would perhaps be able to appreciate the cold beauty of winter.

We just got back from a long road trip vacation out east. First we hit the beach in Isle of Palms, SC and spent some time with Will's family. Then we made a quick stop in Winston-Salem where we got to see many of our friends, have drinks at Single Brothers (the best bar ever!) and see some amazing music. Our last stop was Pittsburgh where we spent a week running around, catching up with friends, eating lots of good food and squeezing in a few hours of relaxation here and there. It was a blast and while I am happy to be home, I am already missing all of our good friends.

I hope to write a bit more about the trip soon and start getting some photos posted. Right now I am still in the middle of catching up at home and figuring out what comes next for me.

More soon. xo

Meesh is the best.

But shhhh, don't tell my cats I said that!

And now I am 41.

Turning 40 last year didn't bother me at all, but for some reason, in my silly head, turning 41 means pushing 50. Which is kind of scary.

And I'll reiterate that I know it's silly, yes, because obviously at 41, I am not even halfway to 50!

It's just a numbers thing.

I usually wax nostalgic on my birthday...but not today. This past year has been difficult but not unbearable and all is well today. So I'll leave it at that for now.

Today I ended up spending a good part of the afternoon messing up self-portrait shots and feeling vaguely stressed about "wasting" so much of my instant film. My not-so-very-cheap instant film. But oh well, it just happens sometimes and I am lucky enough to have lots more film waiting to be used.

Now I am just waiting, I guess, and looking forward to a lovely evening on the patio at the Terra Bar. I shall report back about food this weekend!

Hope all of you lovelies have a splendid weekend! xo

Nasturtium.

Okay, so I went a little crazy taking photos of the nasturtium. I just can't resist that deep green and the intricate veins on the leaves. I love the flowers too, but it's the leaves that really intrigue me.

My obsession with the leaves turned into a nice little project of taking shots with a couple different instant films. I think all of the films capture the colors nicely, but if I had to pick a favorite, it would probably the PX70 shot.


[Polaroid SX-70 with expired 600 film]


[Polaroid SX-70 Alpha with TZ Edge Cut film]


[Polaroid SX-70 Alpha with PX70 film]

This shot was my first with the latest PX70 and I had no idea what to expect. As the image developed, I was stunned by the intense green that it captured. This film totally rocks.


[Polaroid SLR 680 SE with PX680 First Flush film]

Which one is your favorite?

Cerrillos, New Mexico

I keep telling myself that I am going to post here on a regular basis again, because it is something that I really enjoy doing. And while I am not a great writer by any means, at least when I write here, it makes me think about my words a little more and I think that's good for me. But then weeks go by and there just isn't the time.

Anywhere, here I am now and I am going to share some iPhone pictures that I took two weeks ago when I went on a little day trip to some parts outside of Santa Fe. I had hoped to stop and take lots of pictures along the way, but sometimes things don't work out quite the way we planned.

My original thought was to drive out to Madrid and hang out there. I headed out on Highway 14, also know as the Turquoise Trail. Once I reached Madrid and drove through the tiny town, I realized it wasn't really where I wanted to be. A nifty place for sure, but I wasn't feeling it. So I turned around and went to Cerrillos instead. I was rather enjoying just driving around so I wasn't sure what I really wanted to do. Then I saw signs for a turquoise mine museum/petting zoo/trading post. How could I possibly resist that attraction? I followed all the arrows and ended up at the Casa Grande Trading Post, Cerrillos Turquoise Mining Museum & Petting Zoo.

It's a crazy, lovely place filled with tons and tons and tons of stuff. Every kind of rock and crystal that you can imagine. Cheap turquoise trinkets. Windows lined with old bottles and insulators. A completely random selection of postcards. Dream catchers. Just everything. And that's just the Trading Post.







Beyond the second room of the trading post, there is the museum which costs two dollars to enter. It is filled with an incredible amount of someone's beloved collections and totally random junk. And by junk, I mean lovely junk, but still junk. And a lot of crazy, old antiques and more old bottles and insulators and mannequins and then more rocks and crystals. Oh and skulls and cardboard cut-outs and a ship in a bottle. It was mind-boggling and amazing. I was delighted to have stumbled upon this place.



A tribute to John Wayne and Kiefer Sutherland. (Young Guns was filmed out there, something that I don't think I knew back in the day when I *loved* that movie.)









Smokey AND a surf board. Go figure.





There was a helicopter flying overhead the whole time I was out there and as I was buying a couple of postcards, one of the owners started telling me how this time of year, there are always low flying helicopters flying around, looking for weed crops. He said, "yeah, that's how everyone makes a living out here, growing weed."

I had no idea.

On my way back to Santa Fe, I decided to drive through Galisteo just because I was enjoying driving around. There was a storm coming and the lightning was pretty awesome to see in the distance. It's so beautiful here in New Mexico and I really don't take the time to get out of Santa Fe often enough.

In Galisteo, I came to a "T" intersection and decided to go right since there was no signage to tell me which way I should go to get back to Santa Fe. Of course, almost immediately upon turning, I realized I was going the wrong way and in fact, I had no idea where I was going if I were to keep going that way. (I would have ended up hitting I-40 near Moriarty.) All I had to do was turn around, but it was a two-lane highway and there were absolutely no pull-outs for miles and miles. So I just kept driving and driving in the wrong direction. I was vaguely distressed, but not really, and it was so incredibly green out that way. I could hardly believe it. I took a lot of pictures in my head while I was driving and that was good enough for me.

I was finally able to turn around and made it back to Santa Fe without a hitch. All in all it was a pretty awesome day and I really need to do things like that more often.

Zinnias.

I love it when the zinnias are in bloom. It is so nice to be able to step out into the backyard and cut fresh flowers to keep under the skylight in the kitchen. I never get tired of zinnias, they come in so many different colors, shapes and sizes. And I probably write this same thing every year!

But they really do make me happy.

And sometimes they bring hummingbirds to our backyard. Yesterday evening I spotted one while we were outside grilling and I got so excited! Hummingbirds don't visit us all that often. Or maybe I just don't sit outside enough!

Earlier in the summer.

I had to try so many different pills for my insomnia and anxiety, I started to feel like I was caught in my own valley of the dolls. It prompted me to reread my collection of Jacqueline Susann novels.

Taking pills is really not my thing, so I am happy to report that, for the most part, I am doing quite well sans any "dolls".

Arts & Crafts Show at the Santa Fe Plaza.

After a few moments of panic in the week before the craft show, every thing ended up going smoothly and we were quite pleased with our booth set up. Participating in this show was A LOT of work, and I could not have managed all the display related stuff without my wonderful husband, Will. In addition to lugging around everything in his truck and then on his hand truck, he made lovely wooden pedestals to showcase some of the bowl and coaster sets. We didn't use too much else for display purposes since my work is colorful and eye-catching enough on its own.



Both days were super hot without much cloud coverage. We were directly situated in the afternoon sun, of course, but we survived, drinking lots of water and keeping both ends of the tent open to keep a bit of a cross breeze going. I think it was close to 90 each day, not ideal for standing around in a tent! Even all the people walking around were fatigued by the hot weather. And I suspect it did not help with sales as many people couldn't bear to think about wool!



This is actually the back entrance to the tent; the front entrance faced another row of booths directly on the Plaza. It was pretty busy downtown both days and most of the time we had a pretty good flow of lookers. A lot of nice compliments about my work. (And a lot of comments about going home and making their own felted bags. It's nice to know I inspire people, but I always think it's a little odd to tell someone you are going to go home and make what they've spent some much time working on. That's a comment best left to oneself.) All in all it was a good learning experience and I am very glad that I participated in the show.

I actually have quite a bit of stock left though so please feel free to browse the Mad Orange Shop. Some things still need to be photographed so there will be more to come in the weeks ahead. I have loads of different colors of purses, bowls and coasters, so if you don't see what you need, please email me!

Handsome fellow.

Rocky is currently on my shit list because he has taken to spraying the front door at night, but nonetheless, he sure looks handsome on this film!

This makes me happy.

Clouds.

Chupadero, NM

Instant.

Don't miss the latest Words To Shoot By! It's like an extra special celebration of last week's 'Roid Week!

'Roid Week, Day Five

'Roid Week was amazing and inspiring and I'm always sad to see it come to an end. Of course, lucky for me, most of my Flickr contacts use instant films on a regular basis so at least I'll still be getting a daily dose of instant inspiration.

The group pool is here with a final tally of 3,755 submission. Incredible!

One of my submission was featured on The Impossible Blog during the week which was quite an honor for me. I was also quite surprised and delighted to win this lovely t-shirt from Caustic Threads. And then, to top it all off, yesterday one of my photos was featured on Paul Giambarba's blog, The Branding of Polaroid, as part of his "Instant Talent" series. Definitely a stellar week.



1. Untitled, 2. Untitled, 3. Untitled, 4. Droids on Parade, 5. thursday*, 6. pinhole-ins 123, ocean, 7. Untitled, 8. Sometimes the beach creeps up onto the promenade and the tiny pebbles turn into golden sand, 9. Folklore. , 10. Untitled, 11. Final, 12. Roo-dee-cat, 13. bed head, 14. Untitled, 15. 'Roid Week 2011, day five: sproutling diptych, 16. And breathe..., 17. lounging, 18. Untitled, 19. my♥crew, 20. 'Roid Week 2011 - Day 5, 21. tranquillo, 22. C'mon, I know this makes you smile!, 23. Untitled, 24. Untitled, 25. Untitled, 26. good vibrations, 27. Cat on Refrigerator, 28. the tent | june 25. 2011, 29. PX70 Flower, 30. Tejas, 31. Cascades 2, 32. Spy, 33. Untitled, 34. shuttlecocks., 35. Untitled, 36. Untitled



1. dusk, 2. two favorites, 3. way too much, 4. polaroid week day 5, 5. Easter Bunny, 6. The Fed, 7. Yes, yes., 8. Trees & Sky - Untitled-9_72dpi, 9. stevie, 10. Cat Tails, 11. Untitled, 12. Goodbye Selfie, 13. It felt like a dream..., 14. evening at horsebarn hill, 15. Sea of Sorrow, 16. solitude, 17. the fog returns, 18. roid week day 5, 19. view of red cliffs, 20. Corolla OBX, NC, 21. Tres Jolie!, 22. 036, 23. 'Roid Week - Last Day! - We Made It!, 24. Untitled, 25. Hello George

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'Roid Week, Day Four

Group pool is here.



1. legs on river, 2. 41.52 / Peony, 3. planes, 4. Submerged with Ike, 5. saturday morning | june 25. 2011, 6. Untitled, 7. 'Roid Week 2011 - Day 4, 8. leads me back, 9. Sunny side up, 10. Untitled, 11. Flames, 12. dandelions, 13. PX680ff Sunflower, 14. Palm Trees #2, 15. Untitled, 16. hand effects, 17. Untitled, 18. Untitled, 19. Untitled, 20. momma's backyard, 21. Cherry on Top, 22. GW bridge, 23. waterbirds, 24. trouble, 25. Untitled



'Roid Week, Day 4

1. Have Hope, 2. Untitled, 3. px600ss007, 4. Untitled, 5. Untitled, 6. Royal Typewriter - Untitled-1_72dpi, 7. fishing, 8. Polaroid Arc de Triomphe, 9. ...3, 10. Untitled, 11. Liquor - Untitled-3_72dpi, 12. Lunch Room, Kelso Depot, 13. space divides us, 14. catch a falling star, 15. Untitled, 16. Untitled, 17. And all the people of the lulled and dumbfound town are sleeping now..., 18. Untitled, 19. sun setting on the water, 20. 110210_Australia11x, 21. Apple Tree, 22. beachcomber's collection, 23. Untitled, 24. ...., 25. Untitled



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