Category Archives: Photography

Snow Crazy 2017

We’re preparing for another possible bout of freezing rain to come through Portland tomorrow. It’s been a tough winter for this snow-phobic Aussie, and I find myself flipping regularly through photos of our Costa Rican vacation and longing for a little sunshine.

I’m not alone. The common refrain from fellow working parents when we see a snowflake on the weather forecast is “Noooooooo”! Thankfully the kids already have the day off tomorrow for teacher planning so we won’t have to contemplate the logistics of adding yet another day to the end of the school year.

Still, I have to admit that I enjoy the first day or two of snowfall when everything is  covered in a bright, white blanket and the sound of the neighborhood is muffled. It’s by day 3 or 4 when the blanket starts to turns different shades of brown and yellow and we all start feeling like shut ins that I find the snow unbearable.

But I have to admit that snow in the sunshine can be pretty….

 

Happy Places

Trying to not look away from all that is happening, while also maintaining my sanity, is exhausting. I’m trying to balance the insanity with a few diversions. Ironically, they all seem to have some relation to our current political situation.

Making Oprah (Podcast) – only three episodes long, but fascinating. I’m half way through episode two where they talk about the shift to intentional programming. The production team had to have an intention behind every show that they produced, with a primary goal to put something good into the world. Intention matters.

Hidden Mansions – The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune, by Bill Dedman (Book) – The story of a reclusive multi-millionairess and the properties she owned all over the country but never lived in. Money doesn’t buy happiness.

My Favorite Murder (Podcast) – Come for the murder stories but stay for the girlfriend chatter. No relation to the current political climate…;)

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (Movie) – I read the book many years ago and loved it. I’m happy to say that the pictures in my head were reflected nicely on screen. A beautiful movie about people who find strength through their peculiarity. Being different is powerful.

La La Land (Movie) – pure escapism and a wonderful throwback to old Hollywood musicals. This movie helped me find my happy place before the inauguration but I think I might need to go see it again for a refill. It’s important to find a distraction every now and again.

I’m also looking at pictures of beautiful flowers from our trip to Costa Rica late last year. It’s the little things that are getting me through…

Cousins, Old and New

I am way behind on photo editing and, in fact, haven’t even pulled out my camera in a few weeks. Life has been busy as I embark on a new job and a new adventure but I hope to get back in the swing of daily photography again soon. I’m lacking inspiration and feel the need to read more photography books and walk around with my camera just to remind myself about why I love it so much. I know I’ll look back on this photography drought when I pull together our 2015 photobook and yearn for the photos that are missing. I can’t let that happen.

I’m going way back to April for this post when a new cousin (and another, more familiar one) came to visit. While they only stayed for a few days, I managed to squeeze in a lot of baby snuggling time – even taking a nap while he lay on my chest. I know a lot of people don’t enjoy the new baby months with the feeding and the crying and the sleep deprivation. I choose to remember the cuddles and the way my babies moulded with my body in a way that rarely happens with a squirmy toddler or boy. I’m so grateful for this short time with Max during peak-snuggle time so I could experience it once more.

The boys appreciated time to bond with their new cousin and share more playtime with Charlie. While it had been four months since we’d seen them in Australia, they managed to pick up right where they left off.

I think I caught these two in the middle of some sort of mischief.

Wordless Wednesday: Eight Hours in San Francisco

I hope to be back here with more shortly. The start of a new school year, a new job (yay!) and general life craziness has usurped blog posting for the time being. For now, these Wordless Wednesday posts will provide a glimpse into the insanity.

For example, photos from a day trip to San Francisco just to renew Aussie passports… I took these on an afternoon walk through Chinatown.