• lock swing

    Close to our house there is a lake, and by the lake there is a log cabin. And next to the log cabin there is a swing that people have brought locks to put on. Most of them are couples type locks.

    I’m exploring personal and documentary type photography again, so when my husband and I went to the lock swing last Friday night, I pulled the camera out of my purse and got busy. It was a fun and stress-free way to engage with the photography I love. I’ve missed my documentary style photography.

    Below are a few more shots from that night.

    You can read more about me here.

  • these days

    I’m not sure of much anymore. 

    But, I’m sure about my marriage. I am sure I am very proud of the people my children are becoming.

    Those are the two things I am sure of. 

    I’m sure that it’s time to do more looking ahead and less looking behind. 

    I started a photo project a whlie ago: taking photos at the local Marina after I take my children to school. 

    Until Friday, I took these photos on my phone. The photo above is from Friday, May 2, 2025.

    My cameras, however, will be personal use cameras from here on. And, the dynamic range and composition is so much better on my camera than my phone. 

    It’s a season of deep introspection, and setting of boundaries. 

    And, it’s a season of remembering all I have to be grateful for. 

    With help, I rebuilt the feel of this blog. My intention is to write more. 

    I’m not sure what the future holds, and I’m long out of practice writing when it’s not emotional content.

    I’m not sure about my place in the world. 

    I took some public stands on social media a while ago that I’d make again in a heartbeat. Not sorry; it was the right thing to do. 

    And, I’m sure, too, that it’s time to seek out new social circles. 

    I’m also now sure that life is about change, at least in part. 

  • grateful december 31, 2024

    Us, January 3, 2004
    1. I am grateful for 2024.
    2. I am grateful for forgiveness.
    3. I am grateful to have a real piano in the house again.
    4. I am grateful Wicked is out for rent and purchase now.
    5. I am grateful for shifts in perspective.
    6. I am grateful for my gratitude practice.
    7. I am grateful for my meditation practice.
    8. I am grateful that my lungs work.
    9. I am grateful for working appliances.
    10. I am grateful for clean water.
    11. I am grateful to have a hot water heater.
    12. I am grateful for a reliable electric grid.
    13. I am grateful for Jared.
    14. I am grateful for my marriage to Jared.
    15. I am grateful for Porter.
    16. I am grateful for Liam.
    17. I am grateful for Oliver.
    18. I am grateful for the NICU at the University of Iowa.
    19. I am grateful for the NICU at Emory Midtown.
    20. I am grateful for modern medicine.
    21. I am grateful for Ronald McDonald House Charities.
    22. I am grateful for Habitat for Humanity.
    23. I am grateful to have been born when Jimmy Carter was President of the United States.
    24. I am grateful for love.
    25. I am grateful for compassion.
    26. I am grateful for critical thinking skills.
    27. I am grateful for my family.
    28. I am grateful for Jared’s family.
    29. I am grateful for music.
    30. I am grateful for art.
    31. I am grateful for good teachers and mentors.
    32. I am grateful for a pretty day today.
    33. I am grateful Jared got to ride his scooter on I-20, I-285, and I-85 today and came home alive. He is excited that he knows he can safely ride into Atlanta now.
    34. I am grateful HOPE and Zell Miller scholarships.
    35. I am grateful for Steve Ross yoga.
    36. I am grateful for the internet.
    37. I am grateful to know how to read.
    38. I am grateful to like to read.
    39. I am grateful my children like to read.
    40. I am grateful that I like to write.
    41. I am grateful to know how to type.
    42. i am grateful to be able to exercise.
    43. I am grateful for holidays with the boys and Jared.
    44. I am grateful that we have a roof over our heads.
    45. I am grateful for good friends.
    46. I am grateful we have enough to eat.
    47. I am grateful for musical theater.
    48. I am grateful to be refreshing my French on Duolingo.
    49. I am grateful for my memories.
    50. I am grateful for the way photography re-trains my brain to see the beauty in the world.

  • grateful — december 28, 2024

    I’ve been radio silent on this blog for a while and every time I post I think this is the start of when I might start posting on a regular basis. The truth is, I write every day, sometimes on Facebook but without fail in my journal software. I’m interested in being a blogger, but I’ve felt like I had to guard my words and thoughts for a while now and a lot of what I wanted to write about just really wasn’t appropriate to write about in public mostly because it would re-traumatize myself.

    Anyway, I’ve been doing gratitude lists daily for over a year now and they’ve included 50 things on them since February or so of this year. For much of the month of December, I posted my daily gratitude lists on Facebook for my friends to read. But likely, they are tired of that daily oversharing, and I do have this space that is all mine. So, here is today’s gratitude list. I doubt this will be a daily post. But, it makes me feel good to post it here today.

    1. I am grateful for Jared.
    2. I am grateful for my marriage to Jared.
    3. I am grateful I can get on with a routine and not worry about exactly staying awake as long as Jared does.
    4. I am grateful for my education.
    5. I am grateful for mornings.
    6. I am grateful for foggy mornings.
    7. I am grateful for AGI, brie or goat cheese, sunflower seeds, a protein bar, and decaf coffee + collagen for breakfast.
    8. I am grateful for the way photography re-trains my brain to see the beauty in the world.
    9. I am grateful my children are healthy.
    10. I am grateful for peace and quiet.
    11. I am grateful for Mow, Nancy, Bess, Abby, and Trixie.
    12. I am grateful for my family.
    13. I am grateful for Jared’s family.
    14. i am grateful for my memories.
    15. I am grateful for my education, both inside and outside the classroom.
    16. I am grateful for music.
    17. I am grateful for art.
    18. I am grateful I know how to read.
    19. I am grateful I like to read.
    20. I am grateful for healthy changes in perspective.
    21. I am grateful for forgiveness.
    22. I am grateful for time to think.
    23. I am grateful for Steve Ross yoga.
    24. I am grateful for good friends.
    25. I am grateful for my church.
    26. I am grateful for all the churches I’ve attended in my life.
    27. I am grateful for my work history.
    28. I am grateful for comfortable shoes.
    29. I am grateful a simple Christmas 2024.
    30. I am grateful for good teachers and mentors.
    31. I am grateful to know a lot of talented artists.
    32. I am grateful to know how to cut my own hair myself.
    33. I am grateful to know how to do simple trims my family’s hair when they want me to.
    34. I am grateful my family is not hungry.
    35. I am grateful to be volunteering somewhere again.
    36. I am grateful to have discovered chickpea pasta.
    37. I am grateful to be both a cat and a dog person.
    38. I am grateful to have a blog.
    39. I am grateful for the years I spent tinkering with WordPress theme designs. It meant that when I bought a theme I liked, I could tweak it to be just so like I wanted.
    40. I am grateful to know how to play the piano.
    41. I am grateful to have a real piano in the house again.
    42. I am grateful that 2024 has been a year of growth.
    43. I am grateful to be less afraid of the world these days.
    44. i am grateful I’ve finally had the patience to let my hair grow.
    45. I am grateful it doesn’t matter if my hair ever thins because I do actually like how I look bald.
    46. I am grateful for modern medicine.
    47. I am grateful for modern psychiatric medicine.
    48. I am grateful to know at least some history.
    49. I am grateful to appreciate history.
    50. I am grateful I like to learn.

      Happy Holidays, Everyone.