7 Days: Day 6 (Snape, Snape, Severus Snape)

I carried my camera with me all day yesterday and yet, never found a moment for a portrait until nearly the last minute.

In the morning I took the kids to art class, but I was in charge of a very charming baby instead of the camera and babies don’t work in quite the same way cameras do. Even though I kept poking him, I never heard that shutter sound. Kidding.

In the evening I met some homeschooling mom friends for coffee and we sat and chatted until the last possible minute (as it turns out, you can get kicked out of a strip mall, too). We sat outside in front of a fireplace and I really should have taken a picture there, but felt insecure and they looked a little alarmed when I started aiming the camera so instead we just counted rats and crickets (1 and about 30, respectively).

And so, by that time, I decided to just prove to you all how late it was. And what better way then a cameo by Snape? And, just in case you haven’t seen this, I suggest you do. You will never be able to say his name the same way again. (Video not good for children terrified of Muppet-esque explosions like mine are. *sigh*)

7 Days: Day 5 (Night)

The theme fit perfectly for me since last night was my date with M to go see the Planetarium Show. I got two different shots I liked, although both of them show M in an unhappy mood because she felt nervous. The computer running the show crashed, so while we waited for them to reboot, we sat in this eerie red light (talk about wrinkles – red lighting makes them go nearly entirely away).

Then outside, after we peeked at Jupiter through a telescope, I stood us by the fountain and she was afraid she’d fall in. Although I liked both photos a lot, I chose this one to be the official one because I am a sucker for night shots like these.

Which one did you like?

7 Days: Day 4 (I Just Dyed in Your Arms Tonight)

Har.

We are learning about the ancient Phoenicians in the kids’ history right now (really mostly for the 7 year old, but her brother joins in sometimes) and they were, apparently, famous for their purple dye. While they used snails, we gave it a try with some red cabbage. It produced some really lovely deep purple water, but the yarn came out more of a pale dusty rose.

Anyway, dying does not, typically, involve the kitchen floor, but it was the best spot in terms of lighting so there you have it.

7 Days: Day 3

I tried to make my wrinkles show up, but it didn’t happen – at least not very well. But I do have some. And I love them. I enjoy growing older and I find wrinkles beautiful. I’m not afraid of them. There is a commercial currently on the air where a woman complains about the “parenthesis” around her mouth, saying they don’t belong on a face. But I think they show how many smiles have been there. Crow’s feet, also, are footprints of happiness. I love how wrinkles show where joy has been, how much wisdom has been gathered through the harvests of life.

I am not afraid of growing older or looking it. I embrace it.

7 Days: Day 2 (Writing)

It was time for our (sort of) monthly Photo Party and since three of us do 7 Days now (we can’t convince Graham… yet) we made it a mash-up weekend. Bethany and Annalie came along, too, which was extra cool. We first attempted a group shot, but it had very little to do with today’s theme, “Writing.” We were outside of Lou’s Records where they have these cool theater-style chairs covered in graffiti. Unfortunately, the graffiti was all covered up by our lovely selves.

So we wandered further down the strip where Annalie assigned us each a color to focus on – I got blue.

At some point, I heard Bethany point out Annalie’s assigned color to her, in the form of a neon sign. I noticed the sign said “7 Days” and then Katie pointed out that it was written out for us. And so, we had our 7 Days shot sent to us from the Divine. Possibly the Goddess of Coffee for some reason.

(You will need to see it large or original size to spot Bethany and myself, you can do so by clicking on the photo and then “all sizes”.)

Here you can see me sneaking some of Katie’s sunlight to make my face actually show up.

And then Graham bought us lunch at my new favorite restaurant. I had an “Artitaco” which was stuffed so full of artichoke, avocado, onion, and tomatoes that it was really more of a soft tostada. I took a photo so I could forever remember the lunch.

7 Days: Day 1 (Stalking Firemen)

Today was the fire department’s annual open house and I took the kids to check it out. We had never been before and, as it turns out, it’s really more of a fair than an open house. For instance, as far as I could tell, they do not actually let you in their, you know, house.

I kept my eyes open for a certain fireman that a certain friend wants to, ahem, know about, but he was a no-show.

I did, though, grab a shot for the first day of the Autumn 7 Days run.

I Saw God

I may have mentioned before the fact that sunbeams can send me into a religious ecstasy. Watching them pierce the clouds and then float gracefully to Earth is the closest to God (the one I grew up with) that I have ever felt. Tonight we took a shortcut home through my heart’s quiet land – a winding dirt road in danger of development – and watched God caress the Earth with His gentle fingertips the whole way. I also saw a strange light within a cloud which a friend later informed me was the Dark Mark, but I don’t think that was part of God’s message.

But this post isn’t about all that. This post is about the yin yang I found in my Via tonight. See?

I noticed it as I was about to take a sip and froze for a minute as it settled into my brain. Carefully as I could, I set it down, but it drifted a bit with the movement so it’s not as perfect as it was next to my lips. Even so, I think you can make it out. Clearly, this is a message from God. Some hippie god who’s totally OK with Starbucks. No. I know: it’s the Goddess of Coffee! And, clearly, she wants to tell me to drink more coffee. Who am I to say no to a god?

How Stupid I Am

It’s not exactly current events anymore, but a few weeks ago a little league team from my town won the World Series!  It was very exciting and all of San Diego is very proud (to which I say, “Step off, SD, this belongs to CV!”).  I am not sure if anyone elsewhere even knew this because, frankly, I wasn’t even aware there was a Little League World Series until this happened.

But this entry isn’t about how proud we are of these kids – it’s about how stupid I am. I had never heard of Parkview and so I assumed it must be in one of the new developments out in Eastlake, until I heard that they practice at Greg Rogers Park which is old school CV (albeit more southerly than I am usually familiar with) so one day while we happened to be in the area, I drove by Greg Rogers Park, and also by the school which hosts the Unitarian church we have attended for a year now. And I notice this sign placed strategically in front.

As it turns out, I do know where Parkview is. Go figure.

Day is Done

Oh, Mary, you will be missed.

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