Hang On

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Transition of Yikes

Found at a local antique store I quite like...  Yikes.

Saturday's Juxtaposition

It was a good weekend but I must admit that I feel like I need a few days to recuperate.  Saturday started off with handing over Twila for her first overnight.  The whole family was looking forward to this so it was a nice positive start to the weekend.

In short, we went to a friends house for a Life Celebration Party.  His wife of over twenty years passed away after several years of suffering.  It was sad and I admit I really didn't know what to say.  I guess that there isn't really anything to say, you know?  But I feel like there has to be something said to let him know he isn't as alone as he must feel...   I'm not sure that's something I can do.  Although I spent little time with her it was an emotional visit.  I could only empathize and imagine what life can be like for him, what it was like for them.  I must say though that instead of a funeral, this party seemed much more appropriate for them.  It was nice to hear more about her life through the people that knew her the best and loved her the most.  I think that this party would've made Becky happy.

Then Doug and I prepared for just the opposite kind of celebration, a wedding reception.  First we had a delicious meal at a new restaurant downtown and then headed on over to the evening celebration.  On the drive over thoughts from just a few hours prior seemed to linger.  It seemed like an ironic day, one that had the ideas of love, marriage, and friendship at the forefront of our minds.  It was nice to have my husband by my side.

Our two friends threw a great party - lovely food, company, music, and a bit too much Prosecco.  I think Doug and I overcompensated {that's putting it politely} for being away from the baby and already knowing the cab was our ride home.

The next day was a {somewhat blurry} reflection of our lives together, our friends, and the cycle of knowing each other.  It was an odd juxtaposition but an important one for reminding us how very lucky we are indeed.

We finished off the weekend having a nice dinner at the house with two of our best friends, dancing, eating great food, and laughing...can't really ask for much more than that.

What do a toothbrush and a mirror have in common?

So remember, the other day, I was telling you about an abandoned house I stumbled upon?  Well, while my friend and I were walking around the house she passed by me and casually said, "There's a toothbrush in the other room."

"A wha'?!?  Awesome!"   I don't know why I get so excited to see things left in abandoned places but I really do.  It adds to the whole story, the mystery.

It brought me back to the days of house hunting when I would get excited to see what previous tenants would leave in their home.  Usually it was a mirror.  I don't know why but many of the houses we looked at had a propped up mirror in a strange place.  In fact,  when we moved into the house we finally bought the previous owner left a mirror propped over the mantle! Huh, just realized that, funny.

I think I really like the juxtaposition of settings...  A fancy adornment like a mirror is an extra, something to make sure you look beautiful.  In this setting an object like a mirror seems so ironic it begs for a photo.  Here's wishing you some fancy sights this weekend!  Oh, I am linking up with Photo Story Friday for the first time, hop on over!

If these walls could talk

The other day while on a nice walk with a friend we stumbled upon a house I have admired for a long while.  The house is located in a wildlife refuge but I always thought that people still lived in the house.  {There is a farm close by as well as a neighborhood just up the hill.}  On this day the door was open and the house was clearly vacant.

I imagine that back in the day this house would have been an ideal spot to relax on the porch while admiring a long day's work on the farm. There were plenty of rooms for a large family to live comfortably, a cross-breeze that allowed for great ventilation, views of land, land, and even more land...

Now, not so idyllic.  Although the house is clearly being worked on {new floors in many of the rooms} it is only a skeleton of what used to be.  Water-stained wallpaper hints at a cheerful dining room, an eaten up chimney implies a warm evening by the fire.  The back screen door creaked with every breeze allowing us to imagine what a quiet afternoon may sound like.  But, my imagination began to wander in the opposite direction of the grand old days.

More to come...  Sneak peek?

The letter "V" and Celebration!

I really love this week's Me & You post, "V is for View". It's funny but the last few weeks our shots seem to be meshing...I was wondering if that was going to happen and am glad it did. This image wasn't taken with my cell so click on over to see our mobile interpretations!  I have started to really look forward to seeing each Monday's post as well as the submissions in the Flickr pool. If you would like to add your own interpretation please do!

Speaking of joining in the fun, I just added my submission for the latest ACoLab, "Celebrate".   I'd love to see you over there!  

Happy week to you all!

Extension Cord

Of repetitious memories that never were

Funny how images can not only bring back memories, but how they can inflict memories that never were.  I found this slide the other day.  The partially visible image is of my maternal grandparents.
I loved them very much... my grandmother, "Wela", was like a second mother to me.  I think we had a lot in common and I often think we are alike {the "good" and the "bad"}.  But as I looked at this image I could remember seeing them portrayed like this, standing there, slightly apart from each other, my grandfather with a grimace that I could never quite figure out, and my grandmother laughing with a bit of a smoker's cough masked underneath her laughs.  Upon closer inspection of the slide itself I noticed that I had not yet been born.  I was pretty astonished by this.  I remember this moment!  Although it would be another year before I would be in their presence for the first time, I remember this moment. 

Polaroid Framing Thoughts and Freebie

I finally got around to posting on the ACoLab.  Did I say something about posting more frequently??  The latest inspiration is an easy one, the word "Celebrate".  I think it's a good one to start back with - happy and we all hopefully have something to celebrate.  But in making the image to go with the post I ended up making a frame that I thought I'd share.  Scroll down to the bottom of this post for the files.

Three!

Wow, time moves along quickly.  It's hard to believe Twila's is already three!  April 1st was a day full of festivities.  I really wanted the day to be special for her so may have planned a bit more than I have ever done in the past.  It was extra special having my mom in town this year to help me bake and set up. 

We woke up to our two year old tradition of filling the house with balloons.  This turned out to be even more exciting than last year.  Pretty remarkable really what one year's difference will make.  This year, lots more interaction and fun with friends.

I ended up also making a little photo-booth type wall.  I have admired them for a long time but it's only been since we moved that we have had the space to entertain again. The wall was a hit, lots of good photo keepers, entertaining for the kids and cats, and was a festive decoration for the party too. 

The morning was spent with family and then in the evening, with the perfect weather, we joined for cupcakes and games with friends and all her "aunties and uncles".

By the end of the day it felt like it could be a memorable birthday.  She went to bed talking about everything that happened that day and then fell asleep with a smile.  Success!  Thank you to everyone who made Twila's day so special and for all our far away birthday wishes!