crystalized

24 11 2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kristen’s long time friend, Tracey joined us for Alterna Thanks last Saturday. Tracey was in charge of bringing a couple of appetizers. I liked her display of fresh sliced oranges, pomegranate seeds,persimmon wedges,  crystalized ginger pieces and sliced apples. She encouraged everyone to eat the the persimmons along with a chunk of ginger. They were delicious!

 

 

 

 

She also brought radishes to be dipped in softened butter and two types of salts. Although I’m not a fan of radishes I couldn’t not resist a try since everyone at the table was ohhh’ing and awwww’ing at their complexities. After my attempt I quickly went back to the persimmons and ginger.

 

 

Another one of my photography obsessions is capturing candle light glow. I realized that I began taking dozens of photos at the dinner table while everyone was chatting and working on digesting the scrumptious thanksgiving meal we ate. This is a bad habit (I think) of mine. I think it’s a way for me to tune out a little. But, I can’t help but to obsess on capturing interesting images like this one.





birds

23 11 2009

Sometimes I don’t really know what to write about my photos. Half the time when I post photos and write a story I feel like a babbling 3rd grader. Usually I’m feel like I’m just writing, “And then we went here” … “and the we went there”… “and then we lived happily ever after”. I find this boring. I totally admit that my writing skills totally suck. They always have.

 

 

 

 

When I started this blog late September, I had no intention of writing a blog or blurb about my daily post. My intention for starting this blog was/is to post a daily photo as well as pushing myself to shoot tons of photos on a daily basis in order to practice, practice, practice. Others might call it “finding my edge”. In the early weeks of October, I began to feel this overwhelming feeling of having to tell a story about my photo or why I took the photo(s). I also began to become more self-conscious about my writing skills at this point. So now, I’m at this point of questioning what to do next  with my blog. I can clearly see that it’s evolving, but maybe I can continue to control its evolution? I’m beginning to ask myself questions like, “How do I expand this blog or rather how do I make it more interesting? How do I attract more visitors to my daily posts? I know I’m totally obsessed with daily blog posts and what would happen if I actually made my blog into a weekly blog? What if I posted that best photo in one week instead of the best photo of the day? How do I engage the viewers of my blog in a way that will make them want to Leave a Comment? Why do I want the visitors to Leave A Comment?”

 

 

I’ve been thinking that I need to add a weekly post theme like ”My favorite photos on Tuesday” or “Things I most like to shoot – Thursday” or “New blogs that I’ve found and Tri likes this – Friday”. If you’re reading this right now, what theme do you think would be interesting for you to see on my blog?

 

 

 

 

 I’ve also been thinking that instead of telling a story or writing a blurb about my daily happenings, that rather I’ll describe the reasoning behind my photo. Maybe I’ll describe why I took the photo or what I like in the scene of the photo or just something that I’ve been trying to capture through this lens and I think that maybe I’ve got one photo that will illustrate this idea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh the complexities and dilemnas in life. I think I’ll pour myself another glass of wine.





sisters

23 11 2009

 

 

 

 

 

 





alterna thanks

22 11 2009

We are celebrating Thanksgiving a week early in Seattle with my family, because next week we’re all going to be in different places on Thanksgiving Day. It seems ironic to me that after having just hauled ass to move back to the west coast after a short year and a half stint in Nor Cacka Lacka that my first major holiday will still be spent without my family. But you know, I’m completely okay with this. Now that I live in Portland I get to see my sisters just about every 6 weeks which means sisters and kid fix galore! I can’t tell you enough how great it feels to live so much closer to my family.I might not have a job, or a working vehicle, or even a washing machine that works for that matter, but this year I definitely have so many blessings to count when it comes to a life full of love, fortune, and joy.

For that, I am thankful.





copper

21 11 2009





wood

20 11 2009





hee haw.

19 11 2009

Lately, I’ve been feelin kinda like writers do when they experience writers block. Maybe it’s the weather, maybe it’s because I’m  just not feelin creative, but today I kinda feel like I’m pullin’ this outta my ass.





hilarious

18 11 2009

 What the hell is so funny?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I mean, … do you think anything is so funny, mister Mann? No?  Hmmm.. okay……

Riiiiiight.





slide.

17 11 2009

And, then there will be days that feel like this.





stage.

16 11 2009

stage

I was so bummed out yesterday when we hiked all the way up to Mt Tabor park for my stage performance debut and not a soul showed up. I mean I know it’s been cold and rainy outside, but I thought Portlanders were rain warriors.

mt tabor reservoirrain dropsbirds

p.s. Your comments on any post that you view on my photog are Welcome. Do you see the welcome mat? It says, “Leave a Comment”.





chance

15 11 2009

stop lightThis is not photoshop. This photo is the real deal. Call it chance. Call it luck. Maybe a fluke.

What are the odds that when I was trying to capture the unique look of this stop light in a Sellwood neighborhood in Portland that I was able to get this shot when I pushed the silver button?!…

wait. wait. don’t. tell. me.





about last night

14 11 2009

What a hoot. Last night, we went out on the town and met up with more awesome new friends. We started at Hopworks Brewery which is a 100% sustainable, organic brewery in Portland. The IPAs went down smooth, the margharita pizza was chalk full of whole cloves of garlic, and the getting to know a bunch of new friends was the best part of the night. I especially liked the setting of the brewery. Check out this shot I captured of the bar. It’s lined with recycled bicycle frames along the track lighting.

hopworks brewery 

vinojodyLater on, a group of us decided to bounce over to Vino Vixens to listen to a female folk musician – Jody Crocker. There was dancing and singing. Kari and I even had a few dances together. Yay!

It feels great to be meeting so many great people in my new home town. Yay, Portland!





texture

13 11 2009

 

ground reflection





up

12 11 2009

november sky

…and, then there will be days like this after several weeks of rain, rain, grey, cloudy, rain…

These are the days that feel like the angels have decided to come out and take a look around. “Hey, Angels, … why don’t you stick around for a few months!”





big red

11 11 2009

rear view

So there we were, driving home from work. As I pulled away from the curb, I immediately heard a funny (not so funny) noise from big red’s engine. It actually sounded like I was dragging a bunch of leaves under my right tire. Then, as I slowly turned another corner I heard another ugly noise like hissing and popping under the hood. I noticed that the power steering was going out. I was in a panic. I was frantically asking Kari who was patiently sitting in the passenger seat, “What should I do? What should I do???!?!” I think I remember her saying to me, “You should call Click and Clack on car-talk!” As I crossed the busy intersection and pulled into the proper lane, big red went Hisssss, boom, bang, woooooooosh, …. and then died. Right. there. in. the middle. of. Portland. evening. traffic.

hood

About an hour later after I had called my car insurance roadside assistance 800number for a tow truck - I  came to the conclusion that PORTLANDERS ARE SOOOOOO NICE!!!!!! An elderly man stopped in front of us, got out of his car and asked if we needed a jump or anything. I told him ‘no, thank you’ and that he was so kind, and that we were patiently waiting for a truck. And, two different cyclists stopped along their wet tracks to ask if they could do anything like offer their cell phone. I heart Portlanders!

So, finally I got a call from Speedy Tow Truck company driver- George. Ohhhhh, George. Apparently George was turned around and couldn’t find our location because he didn’t know how to spell “Lloyd” on his gps machine. When he finally arrived, he jumped out of his truck, approached the car and said through his missing teeth, “I woulda been here sooner. My darn gps quit workin on me. I even stuffed a ding-dong foil wrapper that I found in my truck into the gps to make it work. I’ve driven on this street a hundred times and never knew what it was called. AND, who ever spells Lloyd with two L’s!!!!?!!!!” George continued to explain as he was towing us and big red back to our house, “I kept typing into the gps L-O-Y. And, it kept tryin to take me to LOY street. Damn gps. I still don’t know who ever thought to spell it with two L’s. …Say, did I tell you about the time I was towing this guy who musta been homophobic cuz I kept grabbin his ass and then he’d punch me real hard? Boy, he definitely had a good arm! Har Har Har Har!”george

 

 

 

Did I tell you that his tow truck smelled like a honey bucket?





dock.

10 11 2009

dock





the wall

9 11 2009

Kari has always wanted to learn to play the guitar. Other than jamming out on the faux guitar on Rock Band at our friend Becca’s house in Charlotte, she has no idea if she’ll be good at the real thing. Although, she has been telling me and everyone else that she just knows she’s gonna be awesome at it!

                                      Way to go with building great self-confidence, honey!

And, so we decided to check out the Portland Music Company on Saturday to see what her options would be for buying a starter acoustic guitars. The moment I walked into the store I was overwhelmed by the sight of the wall of electric guitars. How gorgeous they all were; so shiny and colorful in all shapes and sizes.  Of course, I had no desire to pick any of them up off the wall to demonstrate a Jimi Hendrix imitation, but rather I immediately pulled my camera out from my purse and clicked a few shots of that wall.

wall of guitars

If you’re interested in knowing what guitar she decided to go with- it is a beauty. She’ll be getting a Godin guitar of the Art & Lutherie – Ami series. Check it out http://www.artandlutherieguitars.com/amicedarantiquebst.html





r.o.y.g.b.v.

8 11 2009

rainbow

Last night, Kari hurried into the house after checking the mailbox and said, “Honey!! Honey, come outside! Come look at the rainbow! You have to see it!!!” I rushed to slip on my shoes, grabbed the Canon and carefully ran out to my front lawn.

Might I be so lucky that the real pot-of-gold is here in Portland? Could it really be that I don’t have to be lounging on a beach in Hawaii sipping a Mai Tai in order to see a rainbow? Is it true that I have the fortune to see these beautiful streams of light outside my front yard as often as I see Subarus drive down my street?

double

     It was huge. It was a full rainbow, too! How Be-U-Ti-ful it is!





savor

7 11 2009

tabor

Portland has had some gorgeous Fall November days. On a drive home cutting through Mt Tabor park the other day, I had to stop and capture the beauty that the sun was casting on the park and its reservoir. I heard on the radio the other day that Portland hasn’t seen fall colors like this in over 5 years. Lucky me!

shadow

             Inspector gadget, you ain’t got nothin on me!





main st.

6 11 2009

red





solidarity.

6 11 2009

street light

Oh how I love Portland! Back in the early part of September, I spotted this street light strung with an assortment of shoes on the line. Boots, heels, vans, nikes, converse, .. you get the picture. Now, normally I think the password is when a pair of shoes is strung over a street light line that this is the place where drug deals go down. However, I’m thinkin’ that here in Portland this is a simple display of whimsical creativity at its best!  Word.

Fast forward to about two weeks ago and I then spotted that sadly enough ALL of the shoes had been removed from this line. What a sad day that was. I cried for hours. Until about two days later (yes, I drive along this route often. no, I am not the shoe stringer), I spotted a new pair. Yay. I heart solidarity. And I bet it won’t be long until several more pairs are strung up again.

shoes

Oh how I love Portlanders! Will the real shoe-stringer please stand up, please stand up!





crystal

5 11 2009

Can you believe that this chandelier was hanging from the ceiling in the veterinarian’s office? It was quite the lovely clinic for Miss Trudi. We found out that she has hyper-thyroid disease. Poor, baby. Have you ever heard of a cat having hyper thyroid disease? We now have to give her 2 pills a day indefinitely – in hopes that her symptoms will dissolve.

I especially hope her yowling throughout the house in the middle of the night will dissolve. She’s been doing that for the past 2+ years!

chandelier





h8te

4 11 2009

Yep, I had to do it. I had to get political on my blog. Is that the purpose of doing this daily photo blog, you ask? No. The purpose of doing a daily photo blog is to showcase my daily experiences in life in hopes that you may have a similar experience or feeling.

However, my thoughts, feelings and emotions are quite raw today. After hearing about the election  results in Maine not passing a same-sex  marriage law, I keep reflecting on this same day last year. Although I was ecstatic that the first black President was elected into that WHITE(man) house, I was so torn up inside because California voters placed a ban on same-sex marriage (a.k.a. Prop h8te). “I must break you.”

Last year, at this time I was living in Charlotte, North Carolina. I felt so helpless living so far away from a place where I felt I should be on NorCal street corners protesting h8te until November 15, 2008 came along. I was finally able to join in on a day for the nationwide protest against Prop h8te. I felt a lot of relief having this golden opportunity to express myself.

The ultimate relief will be when all people have the civil right to wed their partner.

h8te





waning…

4 11 2009

st andrew's

Ho Hummm, … if only I had a better lens to capture a clearer photo of that moon. In the meantime, I added a bit of saturation and soft focus to the shot.





bee

3 11 2009

bee





shoe in

3 11 2009

shoe





bay.

2 11 2009

IMG_4444





mt. hood

2 11 2009

ayep…..

…still totally obsessed with Mt. Hood. I can’t wait to take a road trip up to see the mtn up close. We’re making plans with our friends to go snowboarding or tubing or sledding. Yah, I think tubing or sledding  is more my thing. I’ve signed up to take ski lessons in years past at Heavenly, and was dumb enough to try the bunny slope before I actually took the lesson. That didn’t work out so great. I ended up making speed -up to what felt like 100mph on skis that I didn’t know how to control other than “pizza” now “french fries”…..

 Yep. I bailed out, passed out, and was taken down the mountainside by the mtn patrol. A few months later, I made another trip to Heavenly (now that I think about it, I think I was cursed on that mountain) and took snowboarding lessons. Yah, I ended up being the adult student in the class that the bitchy blonde haired, blue eyed, snow bunny Tahoe queen picked on for the entire hour. “No, Trina. A falling leaf. Watch the others. Look. They’re doing the falling leaf down the hill on their boards. Now you try!” I thought it was quite entertaining since the moment I rocked myself upright onto the board and proceeded to barrel straight down the hill and practically taking out every person in my line of path.

I do have to say that the Heavenly ski lodge makes delicious hot tottie drinks. b





halloween

1 11 2009

halloween





spooky

31 10 2009

spooky