YELLOW + BLUE

When I saw this prompt I immediately thought of  this illustration in the book I had just read, "The Crossroads of Should and Must" by Elle Luna.
"While a redwood tree can grow 360 feet tall, the roots are only, on average, about ten feet deep. This is because they spread their roots outward searching for other redwood trees. Their roots intertwine under the ground. and they hold each other up. A redwood tree cannot stand on its own, and neither can we. The source of must connects us all."
As we seek to find our own Must, our Calling, our Essence, we discover that:

 "Must is both the journey and the destination, the upward journey of our lives that guides us toward that higher place, the oneness of all things, the ultimate source of Must."

Maybe a little ethereal?? :) But anyway, it's YELLOW + BLUE!

MY HAPPY PLACE

Although I haven't been there in many months, Red Butte Gardens is MY HAPPY PLACE. In the warmer months, even when I'm exhausted or down hearted, if I make the effort to drive up there, I ALWAYS feel rejuvenated, cooler, more relaxed, and HAPPY. And I often get to enjoy a wonderful sunset view on the way home. The flowers and trees are amazing, and I fill my camera with many of its beauties.This magnet on my frig is a reminder of that HAPPY PLACE.

A PET

My grand-dog, Nena (Nay-na) is A PET well loved by her master, Aaron. She's so gentle and well behaved. I love to pet her soft white coat. Aaron points out a spot where she won't be underfoot - here it's a blanket at the edge of a room close to Aaron's work zone. At any given time he can say to her "Go find your spot!" And she usually stays there till he invites her to join him. They are inseparable and give each other much comfort. I haven't been so attached to A PET, but many of my children are, as well as many of my elderly clients.

PAPER

The PAPER label around this colorful yarn had instructions on the back to crochet a dishcloth. Kay, at the Community Center, helped me translate them into the actual item and reminded me of skills I'd learned many years ago.

A WALL

On an errand to a grocery store for a sick friend I saw A WALL of flowers ready to brighten someone's Valentines Day or whatever occasion.

PINK

Driving home from work I could see the PINK mountain through the inversion smog. It was like hope through mists of darkness. I noticed another driver getting a photo of it too.

A CORNER

Macklin was happy to find that the puzzle piece fit in A CORNER of the frame. 

What fun we had today!

JUST NOW

JUST NOW I am shelling a bag of pistachios that were in my freezer. I think I inherited them from Lexi, and she's been gone for two years! Now that they are shelled maybe they'll get eaten!

CAR

This CAR pulled in just as I was recording the sunset from MY CAR in a parking lot.

SO COLORFUL

A few COLORFUL things in my house lift me from the winter blues of gray and white. The bowls on my windowsill, the markers in my pencilbox, and the toys that await grandkids coming to visit. 2 year old Harley wants someone else to turn the crank on the Jack in the Box because she's not positive that the clown who pops out is not a robot in disguise, and robots are a little terrifying to her. But she screams in delight when Jack "surprises" us over and over again. SO COLORFUL are her screams of laughter, my ears ring for hours afterward!

DRINK

There was this cool view of evening sun frosting the clouds as I left work today. As I got on the freeway it had turned all pink and orange and beautiful, but I had to keep moving, so I tried to just DRINK it all in - it's saved somewhere in the recesses of my mind - and this was all that was left when I stopped for gas.

ME

"Hi Mom, It's ME Syd! I just had to tell you this funny 

(cool, awesome, hilarious, weird ) thing that happened..."  

Love it when she does that! The first time was when she called me from a phone booth when she was 15 and away at Girl's Camp. I never thought of doing that to my mom when I was a teenager! And being one (the oldest) of nine, she must feel like she has to identify herself - it's ME, Syd - cuz she still says that every time.

ME and ME Syd

FLAT LAY

First I had to find out what a FLAT LAY is! I immediately realized I don't have any cool makeup or clothing fashion items that would make an interesting flat lay. I finally settled on trying an arrangement of juice ingredients. I have a long way to go but not toooo bad for a first attempt...

















....so here are a few images I found that I like and a few tips for creating a nice FLAT LAY;
*Use a white or wood background.
*Take photo during the day, near natural light.
*Test to see if texture/size looks good from bird's eye view
*Leave space between objects.
*Pick a theme and stick to it.

HOME

I love coming HOME after dark to my favorite lamp lighting the entry.

TELEPHONE

To me, a phone is a cell phone, and a TELEPHONE is a clunky landline. When I arrive or leave a client's home, I clock in/out on their landline TELEPHONE.

SMILE

This beautiful family of children brought a SMILE to my face as I leafed through a catalog. They each have varying degrees of SMILES of their own. The whole catalog was done in the muted neutral tones you see here.

NUMBERS

These NUMBERS identify the 12 Cell Salts that were my medicine for coughs and colds last week and in the years of raising children. Even some of my grandchildren know that when your nose is dripping like a faucet you need NUMBER 9, Nat. Mur.

Numbers handy beside my reading chair

WINDOW

Yesterday's pall of smog thru the WINDOW of my car turned into 

today's renewed covering of white thru the WINDOW of my room.

Even the fence is happy about it!

Fence, Smiling its Approval of New Snow

And Now, from my WINDOW, my neighbor family building Snow People!

PLAY

The hilarious PLAY, Beau Jest, at Hale Theater, was a fun way to
start out the New Year with a lighter heart. It wasn't just silliness;
the characters became real, and left the audience with a message to
be yourself, not the person you think someone wants you to be!

NIGHT

As NIGHT approached the moon rose over the mountain. I love my view to the East!

MORNING

What a way to start my MORNING!

PATTERNS

I'm leaving this Christmas decoration, with its PATTERNS spelling JOY, in view for a while to remind me of my decision to be less somber, more cheerful.

IN THE HAND

When I got used to the Old English style of writing In Robert Louis Stevenson's The Black Arrow, I quite enjoyed the swashbuckling tale of knights and ladies and narrowly escaped danger. This passage reminded me of my prompt for the day:

 "Would ye have me shoot upon a leper?" he cried. 

"THE HAND would fail me. Nay, now," he added-- "Nay, now, let be!"

The book is wonderfully illustrated with N.C.Wyeth's paintings, the first showing Richard with a torch IN THE  one HAND, and a crossbow in the other. The second illustrates members of the order of the Black Arrow with bows IN THE HAND, at the ready to assist Sir Richard in his attempt to rescue the lady Joan.

"We must be in the dungeons"

WHITE

From the odd assortment of bowls in my cupboard, I often choose this small WHITE fine porcelain one. I thought it set off the curried carrot soup nicely.

CHAIR

I wanted it to be not just any chair, so I went looking for a thrift store find with character. What I found was this bright red chair in great condition, with good clean upstanding character. To top it off it was only $20. Wish I could say I had the perfect spot for it and bought it.... I hope the right person finds it and gives it a good home.