Tangled Up in Blue

Ayla and I went on a two-hour walk through our neighborhood yesterday.

We set out to get lost, take paths and roads we hadn't before, and find our way home again.

It drizzled. It down-poured. The sun shone.

  It was beautiful.

Almost Wordless Wednesday: Yellow

A repeat, but it makes me smile

The Wait

"Be like a flower and turn your face to the sun."
- Kahlil Gibran

Last week's Slice of Life is "The Wait." Darrah writes about spring in spring in Seattle on her site, and while I feel like I'm waiting for something, I don't quite know what it is yet. And end to the strange summer-winter weather we've been having here in the Bay Area? My next concert? For my fingers to recover as I'm teaching myself to play guitar? I suppose I'll just keep waiting to find out, and until turn my face to the sun...

See more Slices of Life here

Where Darkness Meets Light

"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to."
"I don't much care where –"
"Then it doesn't matter which way you go."

- Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland)

 

This week's Slice of Life is Where Darkness Meets Light. There's a very nice poem on Darrah's site here, but the first thing that popped into my mind when I contemplated the poem was Alice in Wonderland. A few months back I read the book for the first time, and I have to say I prefer the animated Disney movie to the book, which I found a bit simplistic, though rife with wonderful quotable passages. I also watched the Tim Burton movie, being both a big Tim Burton and Johnny Depp fan, which was enjoyable and visually satisfying. I think dark and light is a common theme in the story: imaginary vs. real, the Red Queen vs. Alice, the Chesire cat, for example. But its where they meet that makes things interesting.

"La Fuite de la Lune"

La Fuite de la Lune

by: Oscar Wilde

To outer senses there is peace,

A dreamy peace on either hand,

Deep silence in the shadowy land,

Deep silence where the shadows cease.

 

Save for a cry that echoes shrill

From some lone bird disconsolate;

A corncrake calling to its mate;

The answer from the misty hill.

 

And suddenly the moon withdraws

Her sickle from the lightening skies,

And to her sombre cavern flies,

Wrapped in a veil of yellow gauze.

 

This week's Slice of Life encourages us to choose a poem that speaks to us, and a photo that goes with it. I took this photo today of a giant dried flower on one of the hills I walk. There were a few large stands of these, amid the burgeoning green of spring. I also recently listened to a podcast about Oscar Wilde and would like to familiarize myself more with his work. I see a parallel in the flight of the moon and the starkness of this flower.

See previous Slices of Life here.

Ordinary Moments

I recently came across the website of Darrah Parker, a Seattle-based photographer who take some wonderful pictures of people (via The Mrs., another blog I enjoy reading and who takes some lovely photos as well). Darrah has created Slice of Life Tuesdays "...in which I provide a little inspiration and a gentle nudge, encouraging you to find the beauty in your everyday life." This really resonates with how I try to view things, so today I'm playing along.

Today's theme is Ordinary Moments. My day to day generally goes like this: wake up, get ready for work, take care of the pets, commute, work, commute, do something fun with Ayla, make dinner, good off for the rest of the evening (except for Thursday nights, when I have band practice). I've been listening to a lot of podcasts on my commute, since is kind of long, and I've really been enjoying it. Lately its been This American Life, Stuff You Should Know, Stuff You Missed in History Class, and The Moth. I love that I can turn a very ordinary moment, at least for a Californian, into something entertaining, educational, and just enjoyable.

Another ordinary moment for me, and one in which I find a lot of beauty, are my outings with Ayla. We often hike the hill behind our home, which has great views of the valley; or walk in the neighborhood or on the golf course, where I often find something small that catches my eye; or head to the dog park where I enjoy seeing all the variations in the canine world. A couple days ago we did the hill, and I took a few pictures while we were up there. We saw the turkeys (I love hearing them gobbling around our place), and I snapped a picture of Ayla mid-run, where she just looked happy. These are quite ordinary moments for us, but they always make me smile.