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Rainy Days and Mondays

It’s hard to believe that it is the middle of January in Minneapolis! Rain has been falling all day. The dreary gray skies and falling rain remind me of the song Rainy Days and Mondays Talkin’ to myself and feelin’ old Sometimes I’d like to quit Nothin’ ever seems to fit Hanging around Nothin’ to do but frown Rainy days and Mondays always get me down    — Carpenters This morning I planned our week’s menu and went grocery shopping. But this afternoon I’ve been feeling a little bit at loose ends. With the cold rain I’m not planning to Read more…

By Marilyn, ago
Single leaf in the snow

True Things

    It’s a quiet sunny Sunday with mild temperatures outside and a bit of wind. I’m looking forward to another walk in the neighborhood later today. On my walk yesterday I kept a lookout for the quiet beauty of True Things in the snowy landscape of our neighborhood. It always astonishes me to see perfect dry leaves that have fallen onto the pristine white snow. Sometimes there are no nearby trees, but still, here it is — a beautiful perfect leaf. I appreciate these hushed gentle reminders of life and loss. A tree near my path dropped long slender Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

Happy Sunny Saturday!

This is my view as I head out for my walk this morning. The sun is shining! Happy Sunny Saturday! It’s been several days since we’ve seen the sun and the weather forecast predicts clouds moving in this afternoon again. So I donned my trusty mukluk boots and headed out on the park path near our house. It’s well packed down by many walkers by now. The snow is sparkling like a million little suns.— Lama Willa Miller And though snow covers the ground I still find little wild altars or dried leaves or twigs in the snow along the Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

Simply Roses / Not Simply Roses

The roses that I picked up on Monday continue to delight me with their soft color and layers and layers of petals. Yesterday I stacked them up on my work table and photographed them up close — Simply Roses with a shallow depth of field. Then I stacked images together, played around with more depth of field and finally created an abstract image by layering, slightly moving some of the layers, and using creative blend modes. This was how I distracted myself from working on my homemade book project where I am feeling stuck and stymied on how to proceed. Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

Take Me Away!

It’s another cloudy day with poor air quality in Minneapolis. A little bit of freezing rain early this morning created havoc on the highways. And though I am thankful for the beauty outside, this morning I’m remembering a bath powder commercial from many years ago with the catch-phrase, Calgon… Take Me Away! I am dreaming of escaping to someplace warm and sunny with not a care in the world. In this fantasy I bask in the sun, wander with my camera, and soak up warm breezes with the scent of flowers in the air. But I’m not escaping to a Read more…

By Marilyn, ago