Weekend hues

do you see a face too?

Fox Games by Sandy Skoglund

I am wooed by color, completely. I am enchanted by the hues that have seeped into memory this weekend via optic sponges. The contrast of blues on greens, the fearlessness of red and its ability to change with just a smidge of light, the yellows and browns, and even the black and whites gripped my visual attention, inspiring. The Van Gogh exhibit opened this weekend at the Denver Art Museum, and I have to say it was mind blowing, truly. A Jedi master of color is what he was...

I've also been playing with the polaroid and Impossible Project's latest film. The surprise of color, the wonder of what will surface makes me feel like Charlie opening a chocolate bar...Yes, I am still addicted. And now something new...bookbinding. To read books, to write on inviting white pages, to  hoard collect them, to be obsessed by love them, yes, it's a lifelong affair that never gets old. But now I have taken the relationship a step further and have learned to make them. The craft of stitching them together lovingly, carefully, intentionally, yes, we have reached a new level, books and me :).

So enough about my weekend...how was yours????

Monday love
xoxo

with Amanda...

p.s. Thanks Petra for introducing me to Alex Winston--LOVE HER! Samples in the sidebar :).

7 days

Seven days later and I think, wow, how quickly we acclimate. There was a time when 65 degrees was cold for me. Today, 65 feels fabulous and I walk coatless. There was a time when going to the grocery store was a 15 minute drive. Today, we walk 5 minutes. There was a time when hiking meant getting in the car and driving 25 minutes to a local preserve. Today, it's a 10 minute walk and there is no preserve, just one of many trails natural to the landscape and leading to views like these. And we climb, and we basque, and we gasp, and we continue to squeeze and open our eyes to make sure we are truly where we had always imagined ourselves to be.

I would be lying if I said it's been all happy daydreams. It's been challenging for the kids with everything so different and so new, and it's been stressful for us to be in-between homes and without routine. We said goodbye to Nana (my MIL) yesterday as she flew back home to Florida. We've been so spoiled having her here, having her in general, as she has been there for us and for the kids since the beginning. I miss my own mother, my nephews, our homeschool friends, and my own normal routine of blogging, knitting, reading. I should be clear, there is no whining here :). Just awareness that yin and yang are alive and well, and for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

After looking at several neighborhoods, I believe we may have found a place to call home. I'm anxious. I'm nervous. I'm uncertain. I'm excited. I'm ready.

Happy Tuesday

♥ 

in the backyard this morning, there were NINE!

"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."~ John Muir

I took over 70 pictures on our hike to Crabtree Falls the other day.  This was one of the most beautiful and enchanting hikes I have ever done. The forest and its peaceful hums create such an awareness of your surroundings, there is no room for thought. These feelings of peace mixed with waves of happiness and serenity are why we are here. The joy on my children's faces as I watched them discover caves, rock, and falls, only confirmed our resolve.

I could have taken more pictures if my battery had not run out. Even as I stood clicking away, trying to capture these beautiful moments, I knew that the same images on the screen would never evoke the same visceral response it did the moment the picture was taken. Memories, yes, even the fondness for the memory, but not the same beautiful intensity of actually being there.

It was for this reason, in the past,  that I hardly ever used a camera. Birthdays and holidays were the only days that received this special attention, and that was even more out of a sense of duty than desire.  But something has changed, despite my awareness of its lack. Maybe it is something about getting older. Maybe it is something about wanting to recapture old longings for childhood memories or emotions.  Maybe it is my growing ability to stay in the present moment and perhaps, the actual act of taking a picture is what signifies the moment, not the picture itself. Regardless of the reasons, shooting these images has only intensified my experiences and for that, I am grateful.