Living in the Moment

Two nights ago it was the perfect fall evening-warm, but with a hint of autumn in the air. Blue sky-the kind of blue that you only see in autumn when turning leaves have it as their backdrop. Putting homework and dishes aside, we decided to take the dogs for a quick walk, and headed in the direction of the neighborhood park. Once we got there I was immediately struck by the scene before me-a row of trees-maples perhaps-that had already turned. A slight carpet of golden leaves lay on the ground, enough to color the grass with their beauty, and in front of two of the trees were a couple of benches painted the same brilliant blue as the sky. “Rats, I wish I’d brought the camera!” I lamented. “Oh well, I’ll just have to come back tomorrow.” And off we hurried on our walk, and then home to finish our evening.

The next day, however, the Ellensburg wind came up something fierce. By the time I made it back to the park, most of the leaves were off the trees, and to top it off there was a lively soccer game going on and the beautiful blue benches were covered with jackets and water bottles and exhausted players.

The photo op was gone, but more importantly, so too was the moment.

This is the lesson. I should have lingered that first night, and just enjoyed being there in that place and time. Sure a photo would have been nice-but as it stands I have neither a picture nor a very good memory of what I saw. Just a blur really

I think there is something to be said for “living without a camera”. Appreciating the precious moments as they are given to us and not letting them pass by because we think we’ll get another chance at some point.

Incidentally, my Mom and Dad are visiting England, Scotland and Ireland right now. This time they decided to leave their camera at home and just concentrate on seeing the sights without worrying about getting perfect pictures of everything. They plan to buy a lot of postcards. Wise decision.

Speaking of postcards, does anyone know where I can get a good one depicting some maple trees,and some blue benches perhaps…….

Hey Sailor!

This picture of my Uncle Pete was just found by my parents when they were doing some closet cleaning. It’s always so exciting to discover a long forgotten treasure like a family photograph! Not many pictures exist of Pete, so it’s nice to have this one. Thanks Dad, for sending it!

If you haven’t yet read my Uncle Pete’s story-I did a blog post about him on Tuesday January 6th, 2009.

The Girl in the Picture

I see her peering out from her frame every day-a barely coaxed smile on her lips. I bought her for the frame she came in-homemade and obviously someone's early attempt at woodworking-but that was the charm. I found that I couldn't remove her though-she belonged in that frame. The thought of casting her aside as others already had done bothered me. She must have meant a lot to someone once...long ago. And so I "adopted" her and set her among my other photographs.

I have lots of old family photographs and to me they are priceless. I would never think of getting rid of them. They are part of my history. They are a link to times and places I'll never get to visit, and a tangible reminder that I am here now because of those who came before me.

So who was she? I'll never know. How and why did she end up in a dusty corner of an antique store? That, I'll never understand.

Instant Art Work

I fell in love with this piece of sheet music from 1917, but didn't know what to really do with it. It's too old and fragile to just sit on my piano, but I didn't want to hide it away in a drawer either. I came up with the idea to frame it and put it in my studio because the colors perfectly match the barkcloth curtains I already have.

After putting it in a mat and frame I found at a framing store, I must say I was impressed with the results. It was a project that was fast, cheap and easy to do, and I'm proud to hang it on my wall!