John Waterhouse, The Tempest

"O, wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in't!"

Miranda
William Shakespeare
The Tempest Act V, Scene I

 
Sometimes the road is straight, but no less of a climb, to get to where you want to be.

RIP Davy Jones

Sad to see you go...

                                                                 Davy Jones (1945-2012)

Happy Birthday, Mr. Poe

(Source:  Wikipedia)

"Beauty of whatever kind, in its supreme development, invariably excites the sensitive soul to tears."

--Edgar Allan Poe 

Oh yes....there is nothing greater than a book, or hundreds of them.

Those old days

(photo source:  holgacamera.org)

HOLGA—I saw one today in some antique shop.  I had one of these in college, when I thought myself a photographer, and wanted to do something artsy.   It was cheap, plastic, and super cool.  It made me think about the days of film.

I miss film.

I loved using my old mechanical Canon AE-1. I still have it and it works.  My digital SLR died after three and a half years of easy use. They told me that I probably got a lemon.

I miss manually advancing the film to the next frame—nothing beats the sound. Oh, the anticipation of what I would see next that was worth being imprinted on film forever.

With film, I took the time setting up the shot, because each photograph, meant something.  I relished in the ritual of making sure the lighting was right, picking the appropriate film, adjusting the dials for film/shutter speed and aperture.  And when everything was just so...click.

With digital, I rush.  I don't mean to, but really, if the picture doesn't turn out okay, I know there's always Photoshop.  I don't even take many photo's these days.  With more technology, the more time you spend trying to figure out why it's not working.

Sometimes less is more.

This year, I am determined to slow down, maybe pull out my old camera, try to find some film, look around, and really see what's in front of me.  Who knows how much I've missed....

For a cold night

It's twenty degrees outside.  Brrr.  The large log that sat outside for the past month for just such a night has been gently placed in the fireplace.  The warm glow is warming the room as I sit with my homemade Five-Alarm Chili.  Nothing could be better, except of course when the oven timer goes off telling me that the cornbread is ready. I love nights like this.

Have a safe one!

(Source:  Photobucket)

I wish I could live here all the time

Photo Source:  maldivesresortislands

All you have to do is believe

(Photo Source:  IMDB)

“The thing about trains… it doesn’t matter where they’re going. What matters is deciding to get on.”
~ The Conductor

_____________________________

Every holiday season, I watch The Polar Express to remind me how important it is to believe and to have a  childish delight for life.  The older I get, I find it harder and harder to do this.  In these times, it is easy to lose faith, no matter the religion, and hope, for a better future.  It is easy to settle for things as they are, rather than try to make a difference for ourselves and others. We start thinking, "What's the point?"

The point is that it really is never too late to make a change in your life.  If you're unhappy, take a chance and go the path you never planned.  Who knows what amazing things will come into your life, and what you might bring to others. 

And even it doesn't work out, at least you tried.  In the end, knowing you had the courage to try, that will mean something.

Baby, it's cold outside...

I'm starting to think about where I want to go for vacation this coming year:

(Photo Source:  Hilton Nui Resort and Spa)

Seafood Night

Even on Christmas night, while most people are enjoying the traditional fare consisting of poultry, ham, or beef, I opt for seafood.  Tonight it's snow crab legs cooked to perfection.  Nothing beats the sound of cracking the legs open, carefully pulling out a perfect piece of crab meat, dipping it in melted butter, and savoring every juicy morsel that goes down.  I really can't get enough of it.

Maybe I should consider moving to Alaska.  I hear that they hold a yearly Crab Fest in Kodiak.  Hmmm. 

Merry Christmas to All!!

(courtesy of Photobucket)

Wishing everyone a happy Christmas and blessed New Year!

Blow out the candles and make a wish

It's my birthday, and I'll cry if I want to..

I will not say how old I am.  I'm not vain (mostly), but I can't believe that I'm this old.  The years go by faster each year.  But, I've never felt so content and comfortable in my own skin.  I won't deny that some nights,  I look wistfully back at my youth and wish that I could change many things--choices that weren't the best ones, wishing I'd taken the other fork in the road...  But then if I did, I wouldn't be where I am and who I am at this moment.  And I am thankful for the things I have and the people I've been surrounded with. 

I don't regret anything, everything I've experienced is a life lesson learned in full.

Flowers for me, thanks lover

Las Vegas, Baby!  The beautiful hand blown glass ceiling at the Bellagio Hotel.

Home

I miss you...

I took this picture a week after I moved to Hawaii, when I was exploring the island by myself. The sun was setting with breathtaking hues of purple, pink, and bright orange. I immediately pulled over to Ala Moana Beach Park. The last surfers were reluctantly dragging themselves out the the deep blue water. I didn’t blame them, I wouldn’t want to leave either.

I sat, marveling at this glorious scene, so grateful that I actually lived in a place like this. This was the view that greeted me for 365 days a year for 5 years. They don’t call it “paradise” for nothing. Now that I’ve been away for 5 years, all I can think about is finding my way back to Hawaii’s shores. It was the only place I was truly happy. It was the place where I found the peace that I’ve been searching for all my life.

One day, I will return. I will sit on that beach again, I will breathe in the salty air of the Pacific, I will gaze at the sky with colors that could only have been painted by God, and I will smile because I am home.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

~	Mark Twain