PaD #30: calm

CALM = Center for Alternative Living Medicine.  well, it does at a Rainbow gathering!  but out here in Babylon, I notice this sign every time I pass it, and it reminds me to keep Rainbow in my heart even if there's pavement under my feet rather than pine needles.  and one of these days, I hope to remember to follow that arrow, and see if it takes me where I'm used to going when I see it, or somewhere entirely new!

PaD #29: last thing I bought

yeah, okay...really boring, but it's the truth!

hey - if you've enjoyed my Photo A Day series, try it yourself!  I enjoy seeing all the interesting takes on the prompts, and though it's a challenge to post every day, it's a fun way to (sort of) connect with other people who share your interests.  The list is up for the August challenge, already, so take yourselves over to Fat Mum Slim's and check it out.  I have previous constraints on my time next month, so I won't be doing the August challenge, but I may do another one sometime when I'm not about to start a Master's program.  Thanks for reading along!  (psst - there's still two days left, stay tuned!)

clicking on this photo will bring you to the website

PaD #28: cup

I used to work at a glassblowing studio...

sexy pulled stems!

these are the two cups I made while working there - I made the one on the left first, but felt the apprentice had helped me more than was necessary, so I tried another, the one on the right. while I use the one on the left for wine or liquor, the one on the right is our toothbrush holder...

here's why:

a cup and dish I've had all my life, engraved with my name and birthdate.

and my all-time favorite, the hand-thrown mug I picked up at an art fair just before leaving home for my freshman year of college (egads, 25 years ago already?!?) from a potter I knew from working at the Renaissance Festival.  after I told him I was going to college to study ceramics, he offered me an internship. to this day, I wish I had taken him up on that offer, but my mother dragged me away from his booth, snarling, "we've already mailed the check, you're GOING!"  in an alternate reality, I took him up on it!

PaD #27: on the road

a cinch, as I love being on the road, and I frequently shoot from the driver's seat when I am filled with the spirit and freedom of travel...

somewhere in Pennsylvania

Plainfield, Vermont

Mt. Tremper, New York

PaD #26: sunshine

this one was easy - I love the sun!

PaD #25: heart

for this shot, the dialog went like this:  "oh, I forgot to take today's photo for the blog!  quick, baby, go grab something we can make a heart out of!"  so the small one grabbed some mulch off the playground, and helped me make these!  ...which is reminding me of a picture I had taken of him a few months back, so I'll post that one, too, for good measure. ♥

PaD #24: a stranger

I don't know any of these people - well, I haven't met any of these people...yet.  which, technically, makes them strangers, but I love them and call them family.  'why?'  you may ask.  'how?'  you may wonder.  I'll explain.  these kind folks are all in attendance at a Rainbow Gathering, where I like to go on the 4th of July, as often as I can, since 1991.  we call it 'going home' because that's what the experience is like for most of us.  Rainbow is a place for freaks like me to be free - free of the confines of mainstream society, free of the cares that living your daily grind can wear you down with, free of the judgements people who choose to live outside the mainstream tend to endure when existing in 'Babylon', free to be who we are in safe space created and maintained with loving kindness, and free to explore and interact with an abundance of like-minded individuals who often as not have better ideas on how to do things than 'the way things are done'.  are we free to do these things outside of the gatherings?  for sure!  but can you imagine being surrounded by thousands of these folks all working and interacting towards the goal of peace and harmony for a whole week (that's how long I usually stay, many stay much longer)?  the energy is magnetic, transformative, enlightening, illuminating, healing, and joyously uplifting.  so even though these members of my chosen, extended family remain thus far strangers to me, they are also people I look forward to meeting out in the world I live in during the other 51 weeks of the year.  bless them all ♥

PaD #23: mirror

I'm going with two shots from the archives again, because they just seemed perfect for this prompt - and lord have mercy, they are of the kid and me...one of these days I'll take a picture of something else, I promise!

the one of me is from just over a year ago, but the one of the boy is five years old!  he looks so little to me in this picture - oh, how I miss those chipmunk cheeks and his long hair!  I gotta go give him one of those 'no reason, mommy just loves you' hugs... : )

PaD #22: upside down

just for the record, I do not endorse this product. In fact, I think it's one of the most insidious and evil condiments out there due to its GMO tomato concentrate, distilled vinegar, mercury contaminated high fructose corn syrup, more GMO corn syrup, overly-processed salt, 'spice' (whatever that may be), onion powder, and 'natural flavors' (read:  monosodium glutamate).  personally, I only sparingly use an organic ketchup that contains tomato paste, distilled white vinegar, water, cane sugar, sea salt, onion, allspice, and clove.  unfortunately, my son and his grandmother have 'scheduled visits' once a month, and she's gotten him into the habit of choosing one of those chain restaurants where there's naught a healthy item on the menu, and I tend to wonder how far the lettuce in my Caesar salad had to travel to get to me (let alone what it may have been sprayed with), to be drowned under the god-knows-what-they put-in-this dressing.  it feels somehow blasphemous to eat frankenfood when I happen to have a healthy stock of  organic romaine goodness growing on my porch at home - but a free meal is a free meal, right? and I'm not the kind of mom who won't allow my child some joy in life by over-policing what he puts in his mouth - we eat healthy 90% of the time, and one bowl of white pasta a month is not going to destroy all my efforts on his part.  anyway, the point is, we were at said chain-restaurant when I snapped this pic for today's post, and my son had originally set the bottle down the other way...I said, 'technically, that's right side up,' so he turned it over for me.  do you remember when this used to be 'right side up' for most bottles?  well, according to the label, it's now upside down!

of course, no photo blog post is complete without a pic of the boy, as he's the only other person in my daily reality...

and oh, my goodness, what is this?  could it be the newest addition to our family?  why yes it is - dear readers, meet Otaka (the boy named him after the wizard Ged's otak familiar from A Wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula LeGuin)!  Petey (our older boy) is less than thrilled about 'the intruder' but he's getting used to the little ball of fluff, and I have high hopes that someday, they will be the best of friends (fingers crossed!).

PaD #21: 9 o'clock

a.m.

"it's raaaiiining, camp is caaaancellled, what should I doooooo all day?"  (my bed, with Petey)

 

p.m.

"but I'm not tiiiiired, I don't wanna go to bed!"  (the couch, with new kitty)

you'd think we never left the house, or did anything other than lie around all day!  seriously, we were out and about, getting things done and all that jazz - but it did rain, and there's no camp on rainy days, so after playing with his toys he helped me with my faxing, mailing, filling out and delivering of paperwork, and grocery shopping.  then he accompanied me to two job interviews, after which we played several hands of cards, played with the kitties, and cooked and consumed a lovely dinner.  finally, I allowed the small one to chill on the couch and watch a movie.  he earned it!

♥

PaD #20: eyes

ninja pumpkin

super style

another anthropomorphized veggie

snake eyes

how many eyes?

mystery eyes

my eye

PaD #19: animal/insect/pet

wow - look what the kid found!

he found it in our garden, poor dead moth or whatever...

PaD #18: plate

the plates I carelessly toss my jewelry on when I take it off:

PaD #17: my addiction

tough one, this...'addiction' is a loaded word for someone like me, who has watched friends and family struggle with the ugliest connotations of it through the years.  my first reaction was, "I have no addictions", as I really don't, in that context - I hardly drink, I quit smoking, drama is not generally on the menu with me, I don't watch television or drink coffee, and I can't afford to 'shop 'til I drop' (not that I would, if I had the money, it's not my style to over-consume).  I suppose one could become addicted to anything, so I moved to thoughts of my unhealthy relationship with food, starting with ice cream, which I LOVE, but I tend not to buy it to keep from eating it.  not that I don't indulge a sugar/chocolate craving now and again, I just tend to go with organic dark chocolate, so there's both a mindfullness and a health benefit attached to my indulgence.  I thought I could post a picture of my bookshelf, because I love to read, but once again, I had a hard time wrapping my head around the negative connotations of 'addiction', and have a writer's aversion to using it to mean anything other than an ugly downward spiral caused by an out-of-control abuse of some harmful substance or another.

so, I searched the term 'positive addiction', and lo and behold, it's an actual 'psychological' term akin to all the other 'think good things' schools of thought.  with that in mind, here are a few shots of things I love to do, experience, and interact with:

helping/watching things grow
 

playing in water

sunshine

this face!

sorry, I forgot to snap one of my bookshelf, but reading is way up there in terms of things I truly enjoy - along with writing, and taking pictures.  and while none of these can be considered an 'addiction' with me, I do tend to do them over and over for the good vibes they create, and the feeling of connectedness to my own divinity ~

PaD #16: sign

taken from the end of the runway at the airport where my brother learned to fly, after they closed, now hanging at the end of my hallway:

an old one from the ski resort where my son's father works, claimed when they updated all the signage, now hanging over my bedroom door:

a street in the county where I grew up - I used to have 5 or 6 of these (naughty teenagers...), but now I'm down to one, hanging out in my bedroom, in case I forget whose 'place' it is!

PaD #15: finger

"hey, point at the door..."

doll parts

one for good luck...

and an accidental score!