Where I Stand

is not about religion or politics or which side of the fence I'm on, it's about documenting the places I go, both the mundane and the unmundane. By taking these "feet" shots as my daughter calls them, I feel like I'm keeping a visual calendar of the places I've gone this summer or at least some of the things I've done. But I have to admit, sometimes the photos are taken just for fun.

I've been to my favorite place, Barnes and Noble, many times this summer. Although I prefer smaller independent bookstores like this one in Asheville...

Pool time at the beach. We prefer surf and sand, but afterwards, a quick dip into the pool leaves us feeling a bit more refreshed.

The front door mat signaled welcome home recently after our trip to the beach. And, finally, my feet are in the kitchen, something kind of rare for me during the school year, but it feels perfect during the summer months when I have time to do it right.

We've got a few more trips planned, and I can't wait to take pictures - not just of where I stand but everything else I'll be seeing.

What about you? Where are you headed this summer?

For more mosaics visit Mary at Little Red House.

And thanks, Mary, for hosting Mosaic Monday!

I think it should be called "Instafun"

or "Instafriend," or even "Instacreativity." This Instagram app on my iPhone has me thinking about photography all.the.time. Really. In fact, the other day as I was driving along the beach road, I saw purple umbrellas lined up perfectly in the sand. What did I do? I pulled over, kind of like a race car driver making a pit stop in the middle of a race. I was that fast and that smooth. On a mission for the perfect "purple" shot. I'm telling you, I find instamoments at nearly every turn.

I'm thinking it could also be called "Instafriend" because I'm having so much fun meeting new people through the app. Several of them have blogs, so I'm also getting to see more of their photographs and read their heartfelt posts. It reminds me a bit of my earlier experience with Scrapblog, where I met Annemarie, Peggy, Wendy, and Julie. It really does seem to be a community of sharing. And each photograph is like a piece of candy. Beautiful, sweet, colorful....

So of course it's all "instafun." Right?

Here's a collage I created in picmonkey of the photos I shared this week through Instagram. All but a couple were taken with my iPhone. Oh, and the excitement about finding the perfect "purple" shot....? That was because of Shutter Sister's word of the month, which for June has been "color." Each weekday was given a different color and bloggers, instagrammers, flickr folks, were encouraged to post their pictures that depicted that specific color. I just wish I'd played along all month and didn't wait this late to get started.

Anyway, here's my mosaic of memories from last week ....

Beginning top left:

have books, will travel

flip flops on the beach

girls ready for a banana boat ride

beautiful "blue" ocean (Shutter Sisters word of the day)

ahhh, sandy, white beach (#whereistand)

PB&J lunches

100 calories of bliss

Barnes and Noble at night

Canon T3 and me (when not using my iPhone)

"lavender" floats

"lavender" window trim

"purple" umbrellas

self-portrait

not a self-portrait (I never could do that!)

Hannah serving up some peace to the world

Hannah and S getting ready to capture glow time

 I needed to dive into some coursework that was due (I did)

blogging at the beach ("black")

what I'm reading

picnic on the beach

Center: chilly and windy with a storm brewing off the coast

Thanks to Mary for hosting Mosaic Monday.
Just click here and you'll magically be transported to her Little Red House!

I should be asleep but ...

a couple of Excedrin to ward off a headache took care of that. I'll probably need a few bags of peanut MandMs for the ride home - or more Excedrin if the headache tries to sneak back in.

While I'm packing and driving and eating M&Ms, you can visit and look at some of the pictures I took at the beach. I hope you don't mind the two edited photos. Just playing around. Not sure I like them, yet.

We had a beautiful week at the beach. Just a little rain at the end.

Happy Sunday!

They always make me smile...

these two. They've been friends for about eight years now, and even though they attend different schools, they are just as close now as they were when they first became reading buddies in third grade. 

Each summer when we come to the beach, we invite S to come with us.

Last year was the first year in a while that she couldn't join us.

We're glad she came back.

It gives me a chance to take even more pictures.

Like this one...

and this one...

Sometimes, I think they've become such good friends over the years

that their hair styles and color are becoming twins.

Maybe their eyes a bit, too?

You can read more about their friendship here.

Blooming...

Just saying...

Maybe it IS your time to bloom!

I just finished reading one of those books that are just perfect for the beach.

You know the kind... Not a heavy read, something a little more fun and frivolous.

But it did get me thinking.... (shouldn't all books do that?).

The book, Jude Deveraux's "The Summerhouse," features three women

who all live different lives.

And then they get to choose a time in their lives to relive

and can even change the choices they made.

Rewind and start over.

We don't get to do that of course, you and I,

and I'm guessing that even if we could, we wouldn't change things.

But maybe, just maybe, we get too caught up in what has to be done each day,

and we forget what really brings us joy.

Our passions.

For art,

writing,

photography,

cooking,

or even moving

our furniture around.

Believe me, I DO make time for a lot of the fun things in life.
But there have been times in my life when I didn't do those things.
I wasn't writing, or drawing, or taking pictures of things that make me smile.

So, words of advice gleaned from Jude Deveraux's summer read:

Don't forget who you are.
Remember to enjoy what makes you, you.
and Bloom!

 

Paper + Paint + Canvas =

Joy! The newest addition to my gallery of "girls."

My daughter and her friend, A, got into the paints the other day, so I couldn't resist.

I didn't have a plan, but after I sifted through my papers, my "vision" began to form.

The colors just came together, and I tried new techniques.

Well, mainly with her hair.

I painted her hair a yellow first, then began layering various shades of brown.

I typed the wording on the computer, which gives it a more finished look.

Then drew in the stitches and "connected" the text pieces together.

I linked up with Mary for Mosaic Monday today.
She's actually sharing some photographs from the Monet exhibit
at the New York Botanical Garden.
Hmmmm. That definitely puts me in good company!

It's Official...

My days of driving my daughter all over town are over. *sigh* Where do the days and weeks and years go? It seems like only yesterday that she was driving all over the yard in her Barbie jeep. Today, she drove herself to church, and tomorrow she will drive... somewhere. You can count on that!

It's nice in a way. I'm not having to figure out what I can do before I need to take her somewhere or pick her up from someplace. She's even gone to the grocery store for me. Now that was nice (even if I do enjoy my trips to the market). But having her in that seat beside me, whether it was the passenger seat or more lately the driver's seat, was a special time for me. For both of us, I hope. But you can't slow down time, nor should we want to. Not really.

So be careful, Peanut! Keep the music low enough to hear the world outside. Stay vigilant! And enjoy the freedom that driving brings. You've earned it!