TangledWings

More Shots From Seattle

 

 

 

 

 

 

Word to come soon...once I've had time to recuperate.

Seattle Up Close

 

 

 

 

 

 

a little sunday night fun

 

 

 

 

After spending some time this evening trying to build a ttv tube for my duaflex to use with my digital camera...which never happened because I didn't have the proper materials...I finally gave up but then discovered this super fun "fake ttv" tutorial.  Check it out...but be warned...it's highly adictive.

Simply put Seattle is eye candy for the soul...

Well...I'm back...  My plane flew in last night and unfortunately I had to get up early this morning and head to work even though I am completely exhausted from all the Art Fest excitement...not to mention the mounds of laundry that needs to be washed.  I have so much to write about.  I probably have a month's worth of posts wrapped up in this one week.  I guess the best place to start is at the beginning.

The day before we were to check in for Art Fest I flew to Seattle where the amazing Kim...and she truly is amazing...I knew that before I spent a week with her and now I know it for sure...picked me up at the airport then drove me all over Seattle showing me some of her favorite shops (including Pike's Market) and some of the more fascinating things about Seattle (like the Space Needle).  The entire time I kept thinking, why don't I live here?  It's full of color and energy, culture and progress, change and artistry.  It's a place that is very alive.  And I love it.  And I want to move there.  Like tomorrow.  It's a photographer's dream and the ocean is just right there...right there.  And did I mention there are recycling bins everywhere making recycling so easy and accessible?  You can recycle right then and there as opposed to saving it in your garage, loading it up in your car, and driving it to the closest facility.  I knew I liked Seattle the first time I traveled there a year and a half ago and now I am sold.  I am totally and completely in love with the place.  All I can say is when I think about Seattle I let out a long heartfelt sigh.

I stayed that first night with Kim and her family and a friend of Kim's from Canada, Christina, who would also be going to Art Fest with us.  Kim's mother, an absolutely amazing cook, stuffed me with the most incredible food ever (the best deviled eggs I've ever tasted...I swear).  That night I slept long and hard which was just what I needed before my Art Fest adventure.  Flying in the day before is the way to go because I can't imagine trying to fly in and get to Art Fest both in the same day.  Way too much stress.  Needless to say I am so grateful Kim offered her home...and her car...and her mother's cooking...and her son's bed, to me.  It was nice to have a day to see Seattle and get settled in before heading to Port Townsend for Art Fest.

I have so many photos and stories to share.  I want to tell you about how Kim is an artist in every way, shape, and form, show you pictures of her studio and tell you about what an amazing, generous heart she has.  I want to tell you about my first ferry ride.  I want to make certain I don't forget any of the details.  I want to tell you about how charming and wonderful Port Townsend is.  I want to tell you what it was like to see Liz again and meet Kelly Rae (and her mother) for the first time as well as Bluepoppy, Misty Mawn, and Ali Edwards.  I want to tell you about how amazing Susan Wooldridge is and how her workshops truly blessed me and changed my life.  I want to tell you about Word Pools and Word Tickets.  I want to tell you about the beach...the sand, the tide, the seashells, the seagulls, the fallen tree trunks that make perfect benches.  I want to tell you about the soft rain and the way it feels when the sun shines on your face after a nice rain.  I want to share with you some synchronisities and tell you about ending the trip in Tacoma bonding with Liz and her very sweet husband John.  I want to tell you so much and I know I'm going to miss something but I'm going to do the best I can.

The Pink Ones are My Favorites...

proof of a life in transition=a photo post

My Ode to the Daisy {Part One}

My ode to that soft place often overlooked where color cradles color, where the embrace of life is most evident, where petals unfurl from the green of spring...

The Weird and The Random

It's been awhile since I've written a post of completely random thoughts.  I thought that would be a good choice on this MLK holiday...

• I have taken to collecting rusty, smashed bottle caps (see mosaic above).  When I take my daily walk (well, almost daily) I look for these squashed treasures, stuff them in the pocket of my sweatshirt, take them home, and add them to the glass canister I'm using to contain them.  I find they hold a rough, yet delicate, kind of beauty.  They're like little tin flowers, one side still slightly gleaming with color, the other side squished and rippled like petals pressed between the pages of a book.  And each one unique.  My favorites are the really, really flat and rusty ones.  These have become so delicate with wear that they truly are almost as delicate as dried petals and they tend to be rare finds because it takes just the right amount of moisture (not enough and it won't rust) and just the right amount of pressure (too much and it becomes embedded into the asphalt, unable to be pried free.)
• I have also started a second jar of miscellaneous objects I find on my walks, things that are interesting but that I don't want mixed in with my bottle caps--things like smashed batteries, broken cigarette lighters, smashed glasses, and unrecognizable scraps of metal.  T doesn't understand why I keep bringing these things home and depositing them into this large canister but I told him it's like this collage I'm creating in a jar, one that can easily shift and change simply by adding new objects or stirring up the objects I already have so that a new pattern, a new perspective, is created.
• I saw Atonement this weekend.  It left me with a hollow ache inside.
• At least once a day I check the world time feature on my cell phone because I like knowing at any given time exactly what time it is in Paris.
• As I type this it is 2:48 am in Paris.
• Bright and early tomorrow morning this year's Oscar nominations will be announced.  Oh the excitement!
• Speaking of possible Oscar nominees...have you seen the January 24th issue of Rolling Stone magazine.  Yeah...I think my exact words when I say it was 'holy god'...
• Today was a really good day, one of those days you hold in your hand and feel a peaceful sense of satisfaction.  I got a much needed haircut.  I made a new journal (it's not quite finished yet) and then I took myself to lunch at my favorite sandwich shop.  I spent most of my day at the sandwich shop where, after eating, I wrote for three straight hours...well maybe it was closer to 2 1/2 once you take time out for eating.  And I would have stayed longer except 1) I realized it was time to pick the B-Dog up from school and 2) the sandwich shop closes at 3:00.

Some of the latest...

Monday Mosaic and How I Spent My Weekend...which isn't all that interesting but oh well

• watched Arthur and the Invisibles at least 4 times with a sick child in my lap
• cleaned 3 nose bleeds...because that happens when he's sick
• washed 5 loads of laundry
• had a little helper assist me with sorting and matching socks, we were even able to find the missing half of many stragglers
• actually created in my art journal...a first in months
• pulled out the paint for the B-Dog...and then cleaned it all up...well, most of it...it's all still sitting on the kitchen table
• took a walk both Saturday and Sunday observing how beautiful the trees are and discovering if you stand under the yellowing leaves as the sun is setting it's like standing under a sky of gold
• a picnic at the park as a reward for good behavior at school
• chased a 4 year old around the playground only to discover he is much quicker than I...not to mention he has tons more energy...all this while he's supposed to be sick
• watched the movie Hoax with T...it was okay...interesting...not fabulous
• managed to dress myself Saturday but I don't think I ever managed to brush my hair
• took a nice Saturday afternoon nap
• spent hours cleaning and organizing the spare bedroom...and boy did it need it
• ignored the fact the bathroom is in desperate need of cleaning in favor of reading several chapters of Eat, Pray, Love which I've decided to read a second time after seeing Elizabeth Gilbert on Oprah
• purchased groceries to last until November 1 on under $9 because I'm that broke
• listened to the Foo Fighter's Skin and Bones...hmmm....at least once per day
• watched T clean most of the house...and felt guilty for only cleaning the spare bedroom...but it did need it...desperately
• enjoyed T's fabulous pasta...because I don't really cook much
• sat in my car at the park in the dark and journaled...yes, it's hard to see but I kind of like that about it
• finished editing the photos from this years family reunion...which was Labor Day weekend
• made several new banners for my blog until I finally had one that was okay...not completely happy with the size but I'm letting that go
• burned 2 dvd's full of images off my computer because my disk space was getting low
• realized there were about a dozen other things I needed to get done over the weekend that I just didn't get around to
• decided to let that go too...