For A Moment Photography

Day 206: Simplicity

Day 206:  Simplicity

Happy birthday to me and my twin...  

 

Calligraphy Tools and Where to Start...

For years I have wanted to learn calligraphy.  I made several attempts years ago, buying paint brush style pens that left me feeling helpless.  Early last fall I was at a yard sale and saw a calligraphy book for $1.00.  Feeling like all I do is buy other peoples junk I talked myself out of the book.  Then once returning home I kicked myself in the rear- it was a dollar!..  Not knowing what direction to go I decided to look for a calligraphy guild in my area.   

The guild meets once a month fall-spring and costs $25.  I joined and talked a girlfriend into joining with me.  When we arrived the ladies asked what type of calligraphy we wanted to learn, “huh?”...  We had some work to do!  After spending too much money and several months trying to figure out what I wanted to learn (trial and error) what tools I needed (and did not need) I finally have the answer.  Copperplate!

For the past two three months I’ve been fumbling around buying expensive books, useless implements (for me needs), watching hours of on-line tutorials, and late night hours on Pinterest and now I feel I have found the holy grail starter kit!  Keep in mind I am only 6 months into my first year of calligraphy.  So this list may change but I’m hoping to save others time, money and energy.  Oh and tiny fits of frustration!

Paper matters.  I went through all sorts.  Be careful some “calligraphy” papers are worthless, your ink will bleed and I found all the slanted lines overwhelming.  The paper I like is Canson Pro Layout 9in x 12 in.  Bright white.  I ordered this on amazon (be careful the your search doesn’t give you similar Canson paper)...  

Ink:  I was told by the ladies in the guild to buy Higgins Eternal black ink.  With all the information I was getting I decided to trust the gal from a modern calligraphy book.  Many of the ladies in the guild don’t care for Copperplate.  I purchased a ink that will fade over time= fail.  Then I grabbed the Higgins Calligraphy Ink= fail.  This was too thin...  I may try to leave this open for a few days and see if it thickens up enough to use.

Nibs:  I bought a sampler kit from www.paperinkarts.com I was pretty excited about this starter kit in the beginning.  What I have found is so far the best nib for me is the Nikko G.  This is also the most recommended nib in books, on-line and from users.  Once I’ve mastered the Nikko G I may play around with the others.  For now I feel it’s best to learn with one nib.  Now, not so excited about the sampler kit.  

The Holy Grail of Calligraphy Books:  Mastering Copperplate Calligraphy by Eleanor Winters.  This book was purchased on amazon after hearing multiple on-line tutors say they used it and it was $9.00.  I wish this was my first purchase six months ago, it’s so helpful!!!  

Metal Ruler 15inch.  From amazon and it has cork on the back to prevent from slipping.  The size I’ll admit isn’t the best to tote around but the holy grail book recommended it and for now I’m trusting Eleanor Winters!

White artist tape: paper and ink website, to tape your papers down very handy and doesn’t tear your paper.  

Tips:

Sit down for at least one hour of practice.

Write the dates on your work so you can see how you progress.    

Have a system to mark your work for errors and compliments.  Otherwise you might be temped to not look back and learn from your mistakes or celebrate your success.  

Draw the lines (baseline, ascender line, descender line) or use a lined paper underneath.  It’s time consuming but copperplate is a slow methodical art and the time and effort will show in your work.   

All these things are common at craft stores:

white eraser

medium to hard pencils 3h-4h

small water container: one should rinse their nib every 15 mins or so.  

rag: to clean nib (any rag will do).

 

The best advise I can give is get the book listed above and you can’t go wrong! 

My minuscules (lower case letters) are much better than my majuscules (capital letters).  

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Viva Las Vegas... Skydive Las Vegas

**DANGER** #11

I was in Vegas for March Madness like every year but, this year my brother in law came along.  He is looking for some change and needed to try something different.  He asked me if I would jump off the Stratosphere with him.  Now I wouldn’t say I am afraid of heights but, I do have concern on who I trust with my life.  Sorry, to the guys and gals operating the Stratosphere jump you’re not on that list.

I told Devin (bro in law) I would be willing to skydive if he was.  He did a little research and found a place we could skydive in Vegas (well it was 20-30 miles off the strip).  So before I knew it we had a skydive jump scheduled.  I didn’t tell anyone, I still was not sure he was really ready to do this.

 Tandem skydive didn’t scare me because I figured the guy I’d be strapped to didn’t want to die either.  So trusting him with my life was easy.  My only concern was that there is a chance (like in everything I do) to have an accident.  This was a nagging feeling that if I died I’d leave Presley without a Mommy by my own selfishness or recklessness.  This thought came to mind but the next thought of wanting her to live her life being fearless and to not be afraid was stronger much more intense feeling.  I decided to listen to that one...

 

We arrived as the sun was coming up, the sky was a beautiful shade of blue and purple, there was barely a breeze.  I had a bit of nerves that morning but I felt it was a good nervous.  We arrived signed our life away and with very little instruction we were suited up and matched with our dive partner... 

 

Reminded me of Taliban videos.  Not very comforting.

During our short and concise training one of the instructors said, “and if you’re feeling like getting crazy let your instructor know”.  After I heard that I told my instructor, “I’d like to get crazy.  Hey who knows when I’ll do this again”.  

He said, “ok lets do a back flip out of the plane”.  I asked if we could do a bunch of back flips, he let me know I’d miss most of the jump by doing that (we’d drop pretty fast) so one would be good. 

 

Saturday morning on March 22nd at 8:45AM Devin and I along with 5 other first time jumpers hopped in a plane.  We then started our climb of 15,000 feet in the air to voluntarily jumped out of a perfectly good plane.  By 9:04 we were back on the ground with big smiles on our face feeling more alive than ever!    

 

I was the last one on the plane which at first I was bummed out about but, then my instructor said we were going to be the first to jump.  This made me happy, I was the only girl and more than willing to jump first.  But not before telling all the guys (before we take off) this was their last chance to change their minds!

 

 

While in the air my instructor was chatting with me and videoing the take off etc.  We were sitting right in front of a roller door.  He asked me if I was nervous, I let him know I was a little nervous, healthy nervous.  He turned to me and said are you ready for “this”, we are half way there?  I said, “yeah!”  What I wasn’t ready for was him to open the door next to me!  The only thing stopping me from falling out was his leg.  The view was amazing and the feeling of the wind on my face was breathe taking...

One bit of advise I was given was to try to calm the adrenaline rush while on the plane, otherwise I’d forget most of the jump.  Once I knew we were close I took a minute closed my eyes placed my hand on my stomach (grounding myself) and tried to slow my pounding heart and shallow breathing.  The plane was loud and it was not hard to zone everything around me out.

The first minute of the jump was the most thrilling, invigorating feeling I have ever had.  My ears pounded from the pressure, I imagine my face looked similar to a dogs face hanging out a car window (yup, photos proofed that)!  

We did a backflip, I thought maybe I had closed my eyes because I didn’t remember.  But when I saw the video, my eyes were open, it’s just hard to make sense of everything going on.  The loud humming of the plane, the wind, my heart and all my senses on full alert. 

I got to drive and spin us in circles!!

Safe and happy on the ground, Thank you John!

www.skydivelasvegas.com

 

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Presley's Puppy Themed Party

 

Yummy treats.

 Popcorn and pretzels for a snack.

 

By chance we had some left over wood from our home office remodel to make this dog house facade! 

 

 

My dear neighbor helped the kids with adopting their puppies!

 

 Water balloon toss is always a highlight. 

 

It's a blurry photo but the kids look so animated! 

 

 Mark kept throwing balloons "to" my handsome twin bro.

 

 Best game of the day, who can pick up the most water balloon pieces.

 

 Puppy Chow Cake!

 

One of the fews ddays that there will be an overload of sweets in our house!

 So many adorable toothless grins.

 

Most of the kids at the party and their adopted puppies.

In lieu of gifts Presley asked for toys and supplies for dogs in the shelter.

 

 

Every year Presley has three different birthday party's, it sounds excessive but let me explain.  I like to have one party for her and her cousins, another for family friends and a party for her school friends.  This way I feel she and her guests get to spend time together and it's more enjoyable for all.  We tend to do the same stuff each year at each party.

We don't tend to make any of the parties big elaborate events.  The cousin's party is dinner and cake, family friends is a sleep over with four friends (this year they went to free event at ASU) and school party is at our home.  The school party is always a bigger party because there are a lot more kids than any other of her parties.

This is the first year we had a theme, Presley's Puppy Paw-ty.  We had stuffed puppies available for adoption as the kids arrived.  We had a dog house for the kids to take a photo with them and their puppy.  We served hot dogs and all sorts of puppy desserts.  The desserts were shaped as puppies, some were dog bones and we had puppy chow cake and cupcakes.  I thought about making some of this myself but the gal we had do them was priced so well (and tasty) I decided to let the professional do it.

Like the previous year we played traditional party games, pin the tail on the donkey (this year it was on the puppy), a water balloon toss and we had a pinata.  I was tickled when one of the boys that attended the party both years ran up to me and said, "when are we going to decorate cookies?".  As you may have guessed last year we decorated cookies as the guests arrived.

One game that we added was darts!  When I first started to ask Presley what type of party she wanted to have she asked if they could play darts.  Her summer cousins father have a dartboard in their garage, Presley apparently thought it would be a great party game!  I was not really on board until I spoke to a friend and found out there is such a thing as magnetic dart boards...  With so many kids we could not play a full game of darts so we had them line up and throw two darts at a time trying to get the best score.  I can only imagine what some of the parents thought when the kids went home to tell them they played darts.  One of the little boys cousin apparently lost his eye playing darts...  

Presley asked me when we were in the planning stage of her party if we could ask guests to bring toys for needy kids.  Then as we discussed the party and theme the idea of gifts for dogs in a dog shelter seemed like a better fit!  As the day approached I was worried Presley would regret not asking for gifts for herself.  But thankfully she did not, she enjoyed opening the gifts for the dogs.  And with the few gifts mixed in from us, my parents, uncles and some friends she seemed quite happy.    

 

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“They are my memories I’ll remember them how I want to” ~ Judy Garland

 

In my previous blog post I spoke about the trip I made to Italy.  When I started that post I was intending on writing about something totally different.  But the words just flowed so I went with it and decided I’ll write several posts about the trip to Italy.  As I laid in bed thinking about this time in my life for the first time in years I realized I made an error.  Rather then just correct the single sentence I decided I would write another post...

When I graduated from High School I enrolled in the local community college, took classes there, but I had no clue what I wanted to study.  My best friend and I went our separate ways and several of my other friends went to U of A (talk about misguided).  At this point I didn’t think I would ever graduate from a university.  

At the time I was working with a girl (she was a few years older) and she wanted to set me up with her brother.  He was a return mormon missionary.  Growing up around in Graham County I knew lots of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) kids so I did not think anything of it.  I can not remember all the details (I’m not sure how important they really are).  My coworker not only introduced me to her brother but her three younger sister’s one of them (the one closest to my age) and I became very good friends.  

The great thing about the LDS church is the young adult life is pretty active.  So through all of them I was introduced to a world I had never been apart of at a time when I really was looking for something.  The church has pretty clear roles and direction for their young people, so it seemed I had direction again.  There are a few of the local church leaders/members that really stand out in my mind to this day...

At some point I got baptized, moved to Mesa with three LDS girls (one of the sisters).  After dating her brother for awhile we broke up, I dated a few other mormon boys.  It just never really seemed like a good fit.  Pretty quickly the girls I lived with started to get married and we all went our separate ways.  Many LDS girls get married young, so around 20 years old (my roommates, off and married) I found myself looking for direction again.

It was not long after this that I went on that trip to Southern Virginia College (SVC) for Spring Break...

My feelings toward the mormon church are good.  I found comfort and support at a time in my life when I was looking for it.  There are a few friends that I met at that time that I still keep in contact with...

I wanted to talk about this time in my life partly because I never do.  One friend who knew me before all of this asked me if I was embarrassed I had been baptized.  The question caught me off guard but no, I’m not.  It is not apart of my life today but it was a part of my journey and discovery of me and that I am ok with...   

*This is not an invitation to send visiting teachers.*

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This is the group of Southern Virginia College I went with to Italy.

 

My childhood friend Tara and I.  I wore clothes way too big for me...  

 

 

Venice

 

Tara and I stayed in Italy after the semester was over to travel on our own.  We made a few friends.

Venice, Italy

When I was 21 I went to Italy for a summer abroad program with a Southern Virginia College.  One of my childhood friends was going to college there and after visiting her one Spring Break.  It was a very small private unaccredited college with ties to the LDS church.  I was not a member of the church but they let me come anyway.  For the sememster in Italy I had to enroll in the college.  

 The trip to Italy is a small piece of a puzzle that changed the direction of my life....  At the time I was working at an optical company taking a night class or two at the community college with no real goal in mind.  My boyfriend was a Brown graduate who had family that was less than excited to meet me.  Not only was I not Lebanese (he was) I was not college educated (Ivy league- I was blissfully unaware of how different their world was).  Lucky for me I was young and clueless.

When I decided go to Italy that summer it was not was not a part of a big plan in the next step of my future.  It just sounded like fun and I wanted to go...  Now how to do I make this happen...  No one in my family had been to Europe.  Except my grandfather during his time in the military.  My parents did not want me to go.  They didn’t know how I was going to pay for it (neither did I) and it was so far away and unknown.  Keep in mind we didn’t have internet and no cell phones... Is that possible?  That sounds so strange...  

 This is bizarre too, I called (from my apartment phone- no cell phones) the bank to ask for a loan.  I didn’t dare go into the bank because I just knew they would say no.  To tell you just how clueless I was, I didn’t even call prepared to ask for a school loan.  I just told the guy I wanted to pay for a trip to Europe, the bank representative is the one that said, “oh a school loan”.  I wanted a $4,000.00 loan enough to pay for my ticket, my classes, room and board.  

 I remember sitting on my bed (mattress on the apartment floor) talking to a bank representative.  He asked me a couple of questions and put me on hold and then he came back and said, “you have been approved.  When can you come to the bank and sign the paperwork?”  I got a ride to the bank a few days later, signed the loan and the first thing I did was go buy a huge map of the world...  

 This I did not expect!  I really keep taking one step at a time thinking every time that the next step would be the one where something/someone stopped me.  With each step I some how made the next step and the next.  

 The weeks I spent in Italy were everything I thought it would be.  Being exposed to a world I didn’t dare dream I could experience changed my life.  It was the following semester that I enrolled in ASU, expecting/waiting someone or something to stop me... 

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3 Pixie Hollow, Adirondack Mountains NY, 12874

The first pixie house that didn't survive a few rain storms.  You can see the swing on the left.

Our new and improved pixie house.  The table and empty bowls (acorns) on the left, camp fire (battery operated tea light), glass blown blue bird.

Top lifted:  Mantel with candle sticks made from tiny cut pine cones.

"flower" pine cones in fungus flower pot, and in the top right of the photo is a acorn hollowed out with a light inside used for a porch light.  

Light made out of an acorn and stuffed with clock flower (fluffy white and feathery).  Birch porch, I love the curl on the end.

Corner post with worm designs.

Side wall with fungus, bark and moss.

Pixie broom is one of my favorite creations.

Campfire made from battery operated tea light.

I probably have my friend Gina to thank for getting started on this Pixie House.  For Presley's birthday she gave Presley a Fairy House starter kit.  It was filled with adorable little trinkets to get us started on a fairy house.  We’ve made a few since then, this last one being the biggest project yet.  Being in the Adirondack Mountains I knew we would have so many supplies in our own back yard.

 The first fairy house we did this summer was with Presley’s summer cousins and we spend 5 hours straight working on them!  The girls (6yrs., 9yrs., & 13yrs.) had such a great time I had a hard time pulling away from their fairy village.  However after the first rain storm the houses were pretty quickly damaged.  Presley was pretty upset by this, it was then I had decided I would make one a little more durable.  

 While working on the first set of fairy houses I had found these small branches that had carvings created by worms that looked very decorative.  I knew that those would be used as the corner posts.  For the four walls I purchased .25 inch plywood, this would be inset from the corner posts and then later covered with tree bark.  I used peeled birch bark to cover the door.  A small rock as the door pull, hard dried fungus a flower pot, rock for house sign, a twig and pine needles for a broom, and cut mini pine cones as candle stick holders and flowers.

 The project would not be nearly as adorable if it was not for help from a few friends.  Our friend Terry from Silver Bay kindly offered to cut the corner posts for us ( I didn’t have the tools for this) and this really gave us our start.  Mark (hubby) constructed the “bones” of the building.  As the summer ticked by and people saw me working on this they started bringing Presley “supplies”.  Sandy (who we rent from) brought back some birch bark (front porch), pine cones and twigs (mantle) from a kayak ride to Little O’Dell Island and Matt (Mark’s business partner) found the chimney on the golf course. 

 There are still a few design items that I have not photographed and a few that I have not remade since the storm.  Presley had a great idea to make a swing, it was so cute but was damaged by the storm (or by someone stepping on it).  This is our last week here and I’m not sure how much more time I will spend on 3 Pixie Hollow.  As much fun as it’s been part of me would like to leave the rest for next year.  The interior is pretty much empty for now.  I have a table made but there is still a lot more that needs to be done.

 I’ve really enjoyed my time working on the house and Sandy and her sister Laurie have made a few fairy houses too and they keep popping up around, The Little Red Cabins.  We’ve already joked about making more each year an creating a fairy village under the trees...  I’m not sure I can wait that long, I’d love a Christmas theme fairy house.  

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This year on my summer bucket list was the Brimfield Antique Fair. It’s the largest most popular antique fair in the country.  It’s only open three times a year and over 6,000 vendors come with their goods.  

 As the days got closer I lost my motivation to go.  It was going to be a far drive and I couldn’t find anyone excited to go with me.  Normally I don’t mind doing things alone but this was going to be a full day with the fair being 3 hours away.  Mark did kindly offer to go but I knew it’s not how he’ll really like to spend a summer day.  I talked myself out of it, because I really wasn’t looking for anything specific and I had since heard the one in the fall is better.

 We had were having such fun the friends here that I also forgot about the fair for a few days.  But towards the end of the week, and the end of the fair I wondered if I was just being lazy.  I mean who knows what amazing things I could find there.

 Then as luck would have it I found two wonderful antiques here.  On a visit into Rathbun Jewelers I noticed a beautiful pocket watch in the estate section.  It caught my eye but I usually let things like that sit for a day or two before I buy.  If I still want them, then I know it’s not just an impulse buy.  

 A few days later we were in the store and I had Mr. Rathbun put it on a silver chain for me and now it’s one of my most favorite possessions.  It’s a european watch from the 1880’s- and it works!  I carefully wind it up and admire the sounds it makes.  

 Then if that wasn’t sweet enough I found a working 1938 Remington Rand Model 1 Typewriter.  Presley and I were in a store in Vermont poking around for possible fairy house items (that’s another blog post).  We stopped in Clemetines and saw these typewrites placed around the store.  I started asking a few questions about how hard it was to find the ribbon, if they worked etc.  She answered all my questions and then invited us to type a note.  

 Presley having never seen one before needed a little help with the paper but then began typing.  Her first note, “i love lenny and momma and dad”...  Yeah, we’ll take it!  We were in the store about 45 minutes and I just couldn’t leave without it.  It was a bit of a quick decision but I love buying local, I didn’t want it shipped and it’s so beautifully charming (the only way to describe it).  Presley let me know today that it’s not mine it’s hers.  One day it will be, just not yet...

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Where has the time gone? The older I get the faster time seems to hum along. Our time in the Adirondack Mountains, for that reason is a time that I cherish. Presley seems to be more connected to all the tiny creatures around us and the landscape itself is more inviting than the sometimes harsh terrain of our desert home. Summers on Lake George are as cliche as it sounds, a time to slow down and be thankful for all the real gifts in life.

There is not a day that goes by that I don’t feel lucky to be here. Even with this year’s rainy beginning, followed by the buggy, muggy days to follow. I can walk out my door and takes hikes through grand trees to views that remind me how small I really am. I am awaken to sunrises that are so exquisite they touch my core as I try foolishly to etch that view in my memory. Each year my heart aches to leave.

This year I wanted to take photos of the places and things that bring me joy. It’s my hope that everyone has a place and time in their life that they go to do feel small and thankful for the wonderfully wide world around them. My summer is coming to a close but my photos will keep my spirit fed until next summer.

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On vaction in the Bahamas 2013.

This past week I went to my parents house to visit after coming home from vacation.  When I got there my mom gave me a letter she had been holding on to.  It was a letter from my first grade teacher, Mrs. Nancy Bingham to my parents while I was a student of hers.  I’ve always been fond of Mrs. Bingham and have great memories from her first grade classroom.

When I read the letter above, my heart hurt a little bit.  I don’t think I had ever read the letter or even knew about it before Monday but the concerns were all very familiar to me.  Stuttering is not something that happens much anymore but I still speak fast and sometimes slur my words together.  Something I still work on as an adult and most likely always will.  

Story telling is part of the human experience and I feel it is instrumental in bonding relationships.  As an adult I hope I have become better at knowing when it’s appropriate or not to share a story.  There’s nothing more uninteresting than a person incapable of listening.        

The part that stings was that it reminds me of conversations I have had with Presley’s teacher and her learning style.  Presley is a very caring, imaginative and artistic child and we’re so thankful for that.  She also has trouble staying focused and loves to share stories.  Luckily she had a wonderful teacher that understood her learning style and worked with Presley in a way that she could be successful and excited about learning.

My heart ached because I know how difficult school was for me all the way through college (I never expected I would actually graduate)...  It has been suggested to me on several occasions that I most likely have ADD.  Lucky for me it was not so severe that I was able to be successful without medication or proper diagnosis.  Having professors let me test in their office, instead of in auditoriums with 300 other students was crucial (so I could stay focused).  Tutoring in calculus was the only way I passed.  

The good news is that we understand her learning style and she can and will be successful.  Reading the letter brought to my attention the fact that Presley doesn’t stutter.  She is still in the very early stages of learning and her experience quite possibly will be different than mine.  

 I’ve spent the last few days processing my thoughts.  Presley and I bond when we can do creative things like, draw, work in our art journals or craft.  Recently I taught her how to make a friendship bracelet and I hope to teacher her to knit soon.  The bright side of it all is I’m pretty sure I’ll know how to connect with her and we’ll most likely we’ll shift gears often.