Sunday Thoughts Part II

You know those children's books with all the detailed drawings of cities and towns? They've always fascinated me. Whenever I sketched or painted, I was never very interested in creating large portraits or scenes.  I'd pencil out minuscule buildings and hand draw every single brick. (If I was feeling lazy I'd just draw plank siding- so much quicker.) My cities were always neat, orderly places with lush trees, charming window displays, and of course- plenty of bricks. Occasionally a pile of garbage would make an appearance, but I don't ever recall drawing ugly buildings, angry drivers, or aggressive transients. Not that I was terrible opposed to "normal" city life- I just didn't bother to include all the chaotic trappings.

Because I love little details, I greatly enjoy street photography.  I'm not afraid to shoot strangers, provided they are a good distance away.

This might sound disturbing, but as far as I know, no one really cares.

Don't ask me why I like this. Certainly isn't the, er- message on the sign. I think it's funny because the guy obviously didn't notice me. Come to think of it, he didn't seem to notice anything.  And I think he just might be whistling. 

But you know what? There is one thing I really wished I would have included in those old drawings- buskers. That's right, the folks who position themselves on busy street corners and sing or play musical instruments. They are absolutely fascinating to me.

I saw the three men depicted above when I was in Seattle for a day this summer. I think they were singing gospel music- or something of the sort. I wasn't the only one enchanted, as you can see:

Every time I look at these I notice something new. New faces pop out of the crowd, mysteriously hinting that there is more to the story. There is more to the story, but pictures are only pictures- and I'm satisfied with collecting mere snapshots depicting ordinary things.

Back to the gospel singers.

Their feet tap the ground outside a busy Starbucks that is quite possible one of the very first. They have pleasant voices that blend together in a lovely way. 

Moving down the street I see these street musicians. The banjo player has a scruffy white beard and is wearing a Hawaiian shirt and tattered overalls.
His band is less polished than the black gospel trio- but enjoyable nonetheless.

P.S. Thanks to my sweet blogging friend Sarah from Sarah Elizabeth Photography who awarded me recently! I'll be filling out her tag in the next few days. Yes, I know I'm rather tardy- you know how it goes..... I'm figuring cramming more into this particular post would be sheer madness;)

End of Fall

Hello friends. Today I bring you pictures.

But not just pictures. I always like reading every one's Wordless Wednesday Posts, but I can never post a picture without a few words. (Actually more than just a few words, but I digress...)

I've probably said this before- but I just love fall. This year I was especially sad to see all the beautiful leaves drop from the trees and get shoveled into heaps by loud backhoe-type machines that terrorize the neighborhoods every November.
Actually I should rephrase that- I was glad those machines paid me a visit yesterday. Begone slimy, rotting leaves!

But they are pretty.....

Winter is somewhat dull where I live. We don't get copious amounts of snow or debilitating ice storms. This is not to say I live in the tropics. Living in a valley, we get tons of rain. I like rain. Not when it interferes with my plans, of course.

Though I love rain, I also love those November mornings when you go outside and the sun is shining and the air is crisp and clean. I certainly don't like getting up in the morning, but once I'm up I'm generally happy.

I raked leaves outside this morning before my brother and I left for classes. It was a glorious morning. These pictures were taken a few days ago but I think they capture the feeling of these last few days of fall. 

Concerning other things.....

I wish I could really and truly participate in this. But seeing how certain people read this blog, I can't reveal too much about my projects;) 

That said, I will probably have more pictures in the next few days concerning homemade Christmas items. I've spent the last few days baking and packaging dipping cookies for a Christmas bazaar benefiting a local pro-life resource center. Thanks to my mom, we also have plates and boxes full of cookies and other treats that will be dropped of tomorrow morning with my biscotti. I hope to get some shots of our projects and post them on here for your enjoyment.

I also want to do a few posts on wrapping paper substitutes- stay tuned! (Now for some good natural light!)

Sunday Thoughts-Part II

[My new rubber boots, which have absolutely nothing to do with this post.]

I love Sundays. Every third Sunday my church has a potluck. I might have said "communal meal," but some might mistake me for a Spartan, a communist- or both. 

    There are some excellent bakers at our church, and this particular Sunday, someone had made a beautiful apple pie. It tasted excellent, and as soon as I tried it I made an offhand remark to my friends that it seemed to contain alcohol. Nobody believed me. I said it was probably vodka. They still didn't believe me.

   We asked the maker of the pie. Sure enough- it contained a small amount of vodka. VINDICATED. Now I would like to make a few things clear to those who gave me funny looks:

• Yes, I have tasted vodka by itself before. It was vanilla flavored.
  
• Yes, I have Lithuanian ancestors. And we all know that Lithuania, for all practical purposes- is RUSSIAN. Just like Canada is really North Montana. At least Lithuania not as obscure as Kyrgyzstan.
  
• No, I am not a closet drunk.
  
• Also, am not any sort of alcoholic whatsoever. 
  

The only alcohol I can really tolerate by itself is wine. (Which, being underage- I do not drink. Communion and an occasional sip at home are not the same as as a full glass.)

I probably don't need to say this, but my family is not opposed to alcohol. (Although we are most definitely not in the habit of drinking vodka and whiskey.) Medio tutissimus ibis. Or, in plain English- moderation in everything.

Back to Russia:

I was somewhat alarmed upon learning that the word "vodka" is a diminutive of the Russian word for water- "voda."

That explains a lot. "

Recently rumors came out that Russian leaders are not adverse to having vodka toasts in the morning.  But we already knew that, right?

Drink your orange juice, please. If you do you will earn the eternal thanks of your Lithuanian friend who likes poking fun at Russians. (I will not apologize to the Russians, but I do beg pardon of Canadians everywhere. I have grossly insulted you tonight and trust I am sufficiently 

penitent.)

On another note (quite literally)- I saw a musical version of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn this last Friday. It was thoroughly charming and delightful. (I am in awe of good actors and good music.) My mom, two brothers and I went with Andre's English class. It was a long show, but so much fun to watch. I love theater.

I think that's all for tonight.....hope you all have a productive week!

Sunday Thoughts-Part I

Note: I must admit I'm somewhat copying the delightful Miss J.B., who posts a weekly "Saturday Stream Of Consciousness." Hope you enjoy my version.

   Right now I'm lying on my bed, enjoying this peaceful Sunday evening. Well, mostly peaceful. My two-year-old brother Jerome  (depicted above) decided a short while ago that it would be a good idea to join my little sister in the bathtub while wearing polar fleece footed pajamas. A few minutes later, he was a wet, angry, boy standing on the floor mat in a soaked garment. Life can be so disappointing.

  On another note- I've been driving with my dad. I got my permit a few weeks ago, and have been trying to accumulate hours so I can get my license next summer.

   I hate the DMV. I was willing to "bring proof of school attendance" to get the permit as the handbook instructed- which for me was a signed document from the county Homeschool/Truancy Department stating that I'm in compliance with state testing laws. But no- it was not enough. We were forced to LEAVE THE DMV office and drive to another bureaucratic institution to pick up a special little slip of paper the handbook never said I had to bring.

   The other thing I hate about the DMV is sheer inefficiency of the whole thing. My local DMV office is full of tired looking moms, teenagers, and immigrant types all needing important things. But the desks are staffed by irritable people who move very slowly and plan coffee breaks while everyone else in the room just sits.....and waits.

  So, thanks to bureaucracy- I spent three hours in Dante's circle of Hell. (The fact that people seem to think homeschoolers and truants are related further irks me.) No, I do not stay in my pajamas and watch Hannah Montana all day.

But you know what? I was being a sort of truant that day. I could have been home working on an essay on Virgil- but no, instead my mom and I had to sit and listen to elevator music (am I the only one who calls it that?) and a DMV employee telling a perfectly normal looking middle-aged woman next to me that she can't have her license because of issues with the "Department of Homeland Security."

  I appreciate institutions like the DMV- but what kind of service can you expect from the government?

  When I learned that under the new federal heath care plan (which passed in the House yesterday) health insurance will soon be available at DMV- I was ticked.

  Speaking of the bill- we watched c-span coverage last night. My mom remarked to my brother that it was somewhat of a historical time. She told him someday he'll be able to remember what he was doing the night the government officially plunged the country into unfathomable debt. I am not ashamed to say at the time I was stuffing myself with licorice and drinking peppermint tea. I probably won't remember that, but then again- I'm pretty sure what kind of oatmeal I had the morning of 9/11.

I think I'll go to bed. But I might possibly have nightmares about this kind of situation......

The Saturday Post

In honor of the fact that it's Saturday, and now November- I though I'd post some "vintagy" edits.

On Wednesday my cousins came down to visit. They are really fun to be around, although some of them were a bit ornery when we went to the park to take pictures;) During the twenty-four hours they were here, no less than 100 pancakes were consumed, the neighbor's bamboo bush was made slightly smaller, and I heard rumors about a 9:45 trip to Wal-Mart.

They definitely need to come down more often. My family is going up to their house for Thanksgiving this year- can't wait!

Mercy is so sweet. She loves to help, and is willing to stand for long periods of time while I take pictures. Must be a girl thing.

I made her wear my flower headband. I love that thing.

You are all so cute!

The boys were clearly interested in something else- namely my brothers goofing off a few feet away.

 Taken a few weeks ago on a Sunday drive to an orchard. Lookin' east!

 I like red barns.

And, as if I couldn't get any more random- thistles!

Here's one I snapped of our house yesterday. See that walnut tree? I have more to say on that big sucker later:)

Happy Saturday everyone! 

I hope you have a lovely weekend full of beautiful things.....(cookies?)

Photo Shoot With Jessica

Thursday I my friend Jessica and I got together to take pictures. Here are some of my results.....

Her mom has this really fun chair upstairs. We brought it outside for the shoot.

I want to make a dress out of this chair.

The only thing I like better than chairs is a nice big tree with yellow leaves

And I want to wear these shoes with the chair-dress when I'm done. Brilliant plan. (Just don't tell anyone....)

I like this one....pretty!

And lastly, a silly one for you. (Don't worry, I won't post the really embarassing ones.....)

Variousness (which is a word)

It's fall. And for me, it's also somewhat of a break week. (For math and choir at least.) Sigh.

[This photo has absolutely nothing to do with the post. Texture by Groundfloor. He's got fabulous stuff, by the way- check it out.]

That means I can spend all day studying to get my driver's permit, or reading Roman history.

(Or just, well you know- hanging around on Twitter.) *blush*

But wait! I don't have a Twitter account any more. I deleted it today. Chances are you didn't notice. It's not exactly the most sensational news- "girl spontaneously decides to delete account on social networking site!"

That said, I am a big fan of Twitter, and it does indeed feel funny not to have one anymore. (All you non-Twitter uses have my permission to stop reading now.)

Anyway, it was just a time waster for me. I'll be honest. I think it made me get ADD. (Just kidding. Sort of.)

I'll be honest- I'm keeping my Facebook because I would hate to loose touch with people. Bad excuse, maybe- but if I cut everything off at once things might go downhill.

Moderation in everything, friends!

But back to the break! I needed this break. Not because I was physically or mentally unfit to continue- simply because I needed to focus on a few particular things.

1. My essay on the Aeneid. Superb book. You must read it immediately.
2. My driving permit. Which involves reading the entire DMV handbook in one week and going downtown to take a test where I will possibly contract swine flu while standing in line.

Essays and people like Virgil are superb things. Driving permits are somewhat superb, but DMV centers and swine flu pandemics are not. But you already knew that, right?

As far as recipes go- I have been making things. My mom and I made an excellent banana cream tart for a church potluck a few weeks ago, but my pictures are really, really crummy. Oh well. It tasted wonderful, despite the fact that I was summoned to the desert table to hack it into pieces. I am ashamed of all of you who could not take on a banana cream tart crust! Wimps!

I am excessively happy because one of my photos made it onto the Pioneer Woman Photography site! I don't have time to explain the details, but here's a link to the post if you haven't seen it already. It was pretty weird waking up that Monday morning and seeing a portrait of my sister up there!

I'm thinking about doing a video blog post. Not exactly sure why.....maybe I should just interview my brothers. What do you think?

Also- what do you think of this video? I was amazed. I'm figuring he really did read it- but I'm not exactly sure. (And don't say I'm just jealous because I could read through the entire Western canon if I had his skills. Savor the words, please!)

Have a lovely week!

Natalie