wishing you a blessed new year!!

May you have peace and prosperity in the new year.... May you be of abundant health, and experience great joy. Until then!

you're gonna miss this

Came upon this video today (thanks, Tree!), and wanted to share it with you, too. It brings a tear to my eye.  Love Trace Adkins... he's my kinda man, for sure!

happy winter solstice to all

lovin' up grandma

Pictures of Logan and my sister.

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the eyes have it

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winter sky

Logan with grandma and mommy

Here are some pictures of Logan, et al, taken over the past couple of weeks (including Thanksgiving day).  He will be one year old in just over a week!  He is such a happy boy.  I love the pictures of him with my sister, his grandma.... they have a real special bond.

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just chillin'

Which way?

my Grandma is the best

brushing Grandma's hair

mommy's making me laugh

Alas, no pics of me and the little guy... maybe next time someone will take the camera and do so.  

down time

This month has been a down time, so I certainly haven't kept up with blogging at all. Figured I'd just drop in and let you know I'm alive, and at least keeping up with reading my blogger friends, and forums, if not participating with them.


Depression (which is chronic, and hits sometimes worse than others) has been prevailing, on top of severe financial woe. It's aways pretty hard to get by, but these past couple or so months have been particularly bad.

Well, I don't like sob stories much, and especially not my own. Like Neil Young says... "You got your hard luck story, I got mine." Ain't it so.

I've been keeping inside mostly, which is an old habit of mine when things turn south. All this will pass, I imagine.

These holiday times are always particularly hard, I guess, since my dad died. Even though its been 19 years this December 8th. About now is when I typically start withdrawing into myself. But this year we have Logan's first birthday on the 9th, so that will open up a bright time, and maybe usher in better times. I can't believe he's going to be one already; where did the year go?

If you're so inclined, please send prayers and good vibes my way. I don't usually ask for such, but I do believe in the power of prayer.

Hope to be back in the swing of things real soon. Be well.

nano down the draino

On the day Nanowrimo started (Nov 1st), I had completely forgot about it. That night, I managed to eek out 747 words, not even enough for a minimum needed word count for a day, but it was something. Now it is the 8th day, and I haven't written a word more. My mind has been very preoccupied by the malady of the quotidian, so to speak, and writing hasn't been one of those preoccupations.


I haven't yet finished the first novel I started during the last Nanowrimo. I'm over 111K words, and I can feel the ending in my hands. It's hard to get started on a new novel, especially when it is somewhat of a sequel... But it should stand alone, it's just that this one's main characters were secondary characters in the first novel.

Thus my lack of updates on my Nano-progress. Not sure it'll get any better from here on out... it may just be bad timing right now.

2010 NYC Marathon

As they go through Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, NY, having just come off the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, from Staten Island, NY

some autumn color in the neighborhood

Happy Halloween!

hunter's moon, and the bridge

I don't understand how people get good shots of the moon, showing the texture on its surface and all.  All I can get is a glowing white globe.  I guess I need a tripod and a stronger lens (though I thought my 55-200mm would have worked well).  Someday I would like to learn the knack of shooting the moon.
I guess any of the night scenes really require a tripod.
There's a pic of the moon beyond one of the antenna's on the roof... I call that The Receptive Moon, hehehe.

my drum

This is my cottonwood drum, made in Taos, New Mexico.  It has been with me for 30 years now.  It has taken me and many friends on Shamanic journies, and Spirit Canoes.  It is a powerful drum, indeed.  Its sound is the sound of the Earth.  I painted the thundercloud on it because I love the Thunderbeings; great grandfathers.  I play it when it rains, and give thanks.  During the NYC Marathon, I play it for the runners, and many respond to it very visibly. 

textures

It was a short photo walk today.  People showed up late, so we were late getting started.  Didn't walk too far due to time constraints.
Today's theme was "Textures", which we could follow or not, as we pleased.  Here are a few of my shots. As usual, click on the pics to view a larger image.

unknown neighbors at night

Come night time I wonder about the people behind the glowing curtains and red reflections (coming from the Best Western Hotel sign across the street on this side of the street).  In such close proximity, people retain their sense of space by not getting to know each other.  I used to like the anonymity of apartment dwelling, but I have long since gotten over that.  I would like to live in a one family house, preferably, but that is just a daydream, really.  Anything like that would cost a fortune.  But to live in a 2 or 3 family would be nice, too.  A place where maybe you do get to know your neighbors.  Oh, to have that garden I've wanted forever.

Anyway, I live in a city, a borough, a county, a neighborhood.  Just a step away from the 1 and 2-family houses that number the places on the lower avenues... Ridge Blvd, Colonial Road, Narrows Ave., Shore Road... where the better off among us live.

Ah, they, too, must have curtains that they hide behind at night.  Though I doubt there are any neon reflections.

sun setting on bay ridge

the view from my bedroom, as the sun sets too far south to capture shots from my living room now.

two years blogging

Earlier this month... the 8th, to be exact... was my two year anniversary of blogging. Seems I skipped right over it, but at least I remembered in the same month.


I am still enjoying my blogging ventures. I still keep up with reading other bloggers I follow ( and I follow a lot), and try to leave comments more often than not.

I know I started blogger without a digital camera, and it was a while before I got one from a friend... a 1.3mp camera, and I was delighted to have it. I have certainly upgraded since then, first going to a Canon Power Shot A1000 IS, and now using a Nikon 3000 DSLR. Each camera I cherished while it was in my hands, even the 1 mp one. A camera records, with amazing precision, that which we can and cannot see. And then there it is in the photograph.

Tomorrow I think we (the photo group) will go on a short photo walk. Too bad we don't have much time for the group (just one hour). There are sure to be a few shots to share, however mundane.

I look forward to entering my third year of blogging with you.

Barbara  

October sunset

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