A Monday Morning Chat Over Coffee

Abi of Creating Paper Dreams is inviting people to link up with a chatty post over a cup of tea.  Although I enjoy a nice cup of tea (English Breakfast with lots of milk), here in California we're much more likely to enjoy a good cup of coffee (Peets being my favorite brand). So, come on in, sit down and let's chat over a cup of coffee.
I hope you won't mind the dogs - Gypsy will bark for a while and Aria might climb on you a bit, but they'll both calm down in a minute.  Once they quieted down and we could talk, I would tell you that I'm looking forward to a quick trip up to Oregon at the end of the week with Henry. We're going to visit University of Oregon and Oregon State, even though he hasn't expressed much interest in the latter. I'd tell you that I'm not sure where he will end up going to University, although it will probably be Oregon or Sonoma State.  Gonzaga might still be in this mix, and he hasn't even heard from the University of San Francisco or University of Washington yet.   
When you ask about how Paul is doing, I would tell you that he's doing pretty well. He's officially in remission and just started "maintenance chemo" which means he goes to the infusion clinic for an hour once a month and takes a bunch of pills.  His hair is starting to grow back, and he's starting to walk for exercise and drum up some business for his consulting firm. It's really nice to think about his life being defined by something other than his illness. I'm trying to be optimistic and take life as it comes, but I wish we had a more solid prognosis about what his future holds.

I would tell you that Saturday was my birthday, and I had some yummy German Chocolate cake from Mazzetti's Bakery.  Paul bought me a new ipad and took me out to dinner. Earlier, Clara and I completed a six mile run with our Team-in-Training. I would tell you that training and raising money sometimes feels like a full time job, but it's worth it to be funding such an important cause and that I am grateful for the time spent with Clara in such a fun and productive past time. 
I would tell you that I have the week off from teaching, but I'll be busy. This afternoon I'm going to watch Henry play baseball at the High School and tomorrow night I'm going to my book group to discuss The 19th Wife, which I haven't finished yet! I'd tell you that Henry is having trouble juggling high school baseball and club soccer because both of his coaches want a full time commitment but he really doesn't want to choose. 
Before our chat ended, we might discuss creative pursuits. I'd tell you that I'm really enjoying photography these days and it's taking up most of my time. But that I still want to sketch and paint and art journal. Even scrapbooking and card making continue their siren call. If only there was more time in the day!
Do you want to join in the conversation? Head over to Abi's blog and link up! Or just leave me a comment telling me what you would like to share.

Storytelling Sunday: Heirloom Jewelry

On the first Sunday of every month, Sian of From High in the Sky hosts "Storytelling Sunday," a chance for bloggers to tell some tales and spin some yarns. For 2013, she has invited participants to "pick their precious" and tell the story behind a precious object. For March, she suggested something Irish. And I have just the thing or two to talk about!

I love jewelry.  I always have. And when I travel (as I am wont to do), I try to pick up a special piece for my collection. In 2001, on our first trip to Ireland, I wandered down the cobbled part of Grafton Street, closed off to cars and a joy pedestrians.  I stuck my nose into Fields Jewellers and looked at every piece of jewelry that had an Irish feel to it. We were staying in Dublin, on the Trinity College campus, and Grafton Street was just a hop, skip and a jump from our apartment in the student dorms. It was our first trip abroad as a family, and I loved exposing our children to the world (we returned to Ireland twice for similar academic summer abroad programs and also taught in programs in Prague and Budapest).  Over the next few weeks, I visited Fields over and over, thinking about what I wanted to buy. Eventually, I bought five pieces: a child's bracelet for Clara (who was 3 at the time); a sterling silver cuff bracelet (which I wore for years and then gave to our Goddaughter on her 16th birthday with an invitation to go to Ireland with us on our next trip); a pair of silver Celtic knot earrings; a light and (relatively) inexpensive sterling silver Celtic cross necklace; and this gold Celtic cross pictured above. In the last dozen years, I have worn the cross most days. I love its simplicity, its length and the feel of it around my neck. In Christopher Moore's awesome novel, A Dirty Job, he suggests that every human being has a "soul object," a tangible object where their immortal soul is transferred upon death. The novel's protagonist is in charge of collecting these and making sure that deserving souls make it to heaven. When our book group discussed the book, I asked everyone what they thought their "soul object" might be. And, for myself, I chose this necklace. Because it encompasses my faith and reminds me of all the travel we have undertaken as a family and because I wear it almost every single day. It's definitely precious, and I hope that, someday (a long time from now) one of my children will cherish this necklace as a piece of heirloom jewelry. 

Much like I cherish this piece:

My father bought this gorgeous gold necklace for my mother on Mother's Day in 1972.  The back includes a quote from Washington Irving, "The love of a mother is never exhausted, it never changes, it never tires." I was thrilled to inherit it from my mom. I think she left it to me because I was the only one of her three daughters who became a mother. I wear it on those days when I feel like I need her strength to bolster me.

I will end this (very long) Storytelling post with one more Irish piece:

I love this Claddagh ring which I inherited from my Aunt Vera and Uncle Nano. The design of the ring symbolizes love, friendship, and loyalty and originated in the village of Claddagh, just outside of Galway (one of our very favorite places in Ireland). I'm not 100% sure of the story behind the ring I have, but it is special in a couple of ways.  First, it is made out of rose gold which gives it a beautiful and unusual color. Second, it is fairly heavy and thick. It almost has the feel of a man's ring  My Uncle Nano was a Houston, Texas jeweler of some note, and every piece I inherited from him is of the highest quality. I love wearing my Claddagh ring and (secretly) enjoy the fact that I'm not sure of its back story. It allows my mind to wander and weave all kinds of tales . . . which I'm sure every storyteller in Ireland would appreciate!

For more stories (Irish and otherwise), please check out Sian's linky here.

PHC: A Girl and Her Dog

Once a month, in response to Kat Sloma's Photo Heart Connection, I go through my photographs and choose the one which has the "strongest connection to my heart and to my soul".  After reviewing them all, I settled on this candid portrait of Clara playing with her dog, Aria. There is such tenderness between them in this photograph; other times, their connection is rowdy and wild.  Many people questioned our sanity when, in the midst of so much turmoil last fall, we decided to get another dog. Paul shrugged his shoulders and said, "I guess there was still one ring in our circus that was not yet full." But, truly, Aria has been a blessing for Clara. She provides an anchor, a confidante and a soothing presence to our little girl. Just when she needs it most. This photograph validates our decision and touches my heart.

I considered a couple of other photographs this month:

These beautiful oak trees, which I blogged about here. 

And this photograph of my loyal dog, Gypsy, discussed in the same post.

Interestingly, all three of these photographs were taken with my iphone. Although I took lots of soccer pictures with my DSLR, none of them were real contenders for my photo heart connection this month.  The iphone is such an amazing camera. This month, I'll be learning a lot more about it as I'm taking Cheryl Johnson's Iphonography class. All of CJ's classes are great, and this one is very reasonably priced (just 10 pounds). You can see more about it and sign up at this link.

To check out other participants in this month's photo-heart connection, click on this link.

PPF: Dualities

Happy Paint Party Friday! I'm offering up an art journal page today titled "my dualities." I started with a green and black painted ink-blot I created a long time ago and built the page from there. I'm really pleased with how it came out. I love all the little paired embellishments and images throughout. It's art for art's sake.  A concept which I like, but which I don't practice often enough. This recent post from Michael DeMeng, titled "The Importance of Being Artist" reminded me once again of the importance of art in my life. Check it out; I think you'll enjoy it!  And, to see others engaged in painterly art, check out this link.

Questions About the Summertime Photo Scavenger Hunt

I know that we're still in Winter, but the first day of Spring is just three weeks away!  And lately, I've been thinking about the Third Annual Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt which I will host this year. And I'm getting excited!
But I had a couple of questions.  First, about timing. I have traditionally run the Hunt beginning on the first official day of summer (June 21 this year) and ending on the last day of summer (September 21).  But I've had some feedback that people actually tend to start their summertime activities earlier than that, and I was thinking about whether to change the time frame from June 1- September 1. Any thoughts?
Second, I was wondering about whether to set up some specific forum where people can post their photos (i.e. a facebook group, a flicker site or a yahoo group), rather than relying on people posting on their blogs. I kindof like seeing all the photos pop up on folks' blogs, but it can be a little difficult to keep track of everyone who is playing along. Thoughts?
Those of you who have played along before, let me know your thoughts please.
For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, check out this link.
Looking forward to your feedback.

Look Up//Look Down #8

This week's installment of look up//look down features a winter's sunset and a photo of my deck that I call "winter lichen." Thanks so much to Helena for starting this meme. I'm really enjoying it.  If you've been enjoying these pairings, you should check out this link at Digital Photography Studio about telling a story with a diptych.

My Photographer's Eye

Vignette #9 Cozy
She really wants to be a good dog. I know that. And I know she's trying. And I believe she'll get there (someday). It's just that (right now) she's still a puppy. She can't help barking and chewing and (occasionally) having an accident in the house. And it's annoying. She gets on my nerves, and I (occasionally) yell at her, calling her a "bad dog." And I feel bad about that.
So, I took this photograph to remind me that she's really cute. . . especially when she's curled up nice and cozy.  My photographer's eye can capture this part of Aria. And help me recall this next time I find a chewed up shoe or book or ipad .  
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My Photographer's Eye is a semi-regular series designed to feature my instagram photography and a brief accompanying narrative. You can see the other vignettes in this series by clicking on this link