Living room

via flickr.com

Love this living room. I couldn't really define my style until I read her own: "Kind of mid century modern meets nature girl".

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Oh my God, I love this darned kitchen.

via flickr.com

I love this kitchen so much, I could cry. The stove! The sink! And the milk glass in the cupboard. It doesn't get any better than this.

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The Green Cure

I dunno what it is but my nesting instincts of late has become stronger. All I've been wanting to do lately is decorate and clean, clean, clean. I'm normally a stress and angry cleaner (if I'm pissed, you will likely come home to an immaculate house) but the cleaning urge has been going on for a month, and the decorating, for longer. I've also been yearning for a much simpler life, a more handmade home. And, friends, this is not me. I like being creative with my hands and all, but I don't have the patience for it--or didn't. Now I want to sew. SEW. I never really liked sewing except when I made a handkerchief for my grandma and clothes for my dolls when I was a kid. And my heart wants a vegetable garden and to make bread and eat healthy, organic food. And I want to raise livestock. And if I had a million dollars, I would live in a farm. And so fueled by all of this, but not really knowing why, I searched for blogs and websites, and found The Green Cure on Re-Nest, which I have begun this week and will continue doing for eight weeks. Here is a short description that I took from the site:

It's not just about organizing your home; it's about managing your consumption and reducing the amount of "stuff" you have. It's about discovering what you love and need in your home and forming new habits that will help you live lighter, cleaner, and better.

I don't really have a lot of clutter that I don't need, having just moved, but I do need to organize my stuff a little bit better and make it greener, more comfortable, healthy and healing for myself, my family, and whoever comes to visit.  And this sounds corny, but I want what I have at home be made with love, whether it be laundry detergent or adobo. Oh, and this has also come and gone (it started in the fall and is has just ended or is about to) but I am jumping in anyway. I'm on Week 1 now and I have gathered images that I've seen in Flickr for inspiration. I'll share them soon. 

I probably won't move to a farm or grow a vegetable garden since I live in an apartment, but I can do the rest.

Posted via web from I turned green.

Photos from Flo:Pho's Kitchen

I didn't think I'd ever say this, but I love cooking. I'm new at this, so when I cook something, I'll sometimes take a photo:



Smoked Salmon Chowder




Fettucini Alfredo with Shrimp

Subtle White Flowers

So from bold and vivid colors, let's move on to white and delicate. I love the subtlely of the colors below. I don't know what these flowers are called, though. If anyone can tell me, I'd be grateful.

Today's Flower Photo: Wicked Lady

This is one of my favorites from all the flower photos I've taken. Aptly called Wicked Lady, this Daylilly is quite the sensual flower, isn't it?

Pet Photos

I'd like to introduce everyone to my little boy, Cam. I got him when he was less than 10 weeks old, I think, and boy, has he grown since. And I thought kids grew fast. Below, he is trying on his Dracula outfit for size and playing the role with his toy.




And when he's not playing, he's napping, one of the 3 things he loves to do most (the other 2 are eating and playing.)



He is a naughty but sweet kitten, and plays and naps a lot. He's also pretty smart—he consistently responds to me to come to where I'm pointing to and sits when I pat his bum and say, "Sit."

I love flowers, but animals, this little dude especially, are wonderful to take pictures of. It's a bit of a challenge getting the right angle and catching them in a great pose...heck, keeping them still is hard enough.

I have more animal photos here if you missed it and are interested in looking.

Back at Last

These past few months have been extremely busy with the move, work, and a legal proceeding that I had to go through just recently. Work has been the most stressful, and it still is, but things have gotten better; hence, here I am. Oh, and did I mention I have a new kitten? You will be seeing a lot of my little boy soon.

Anyway, without further ado:



Pink Flower. I'm not sure what this is called, but as you may have noticed, most of the flower photos I take come from my strolls around my neighborhood. This is one of them.







Daffodils. This one, I ventured out to take. There was a big bed of these, and I went to town taking them, but out of the many shots that I took, a couple of them looked just about right—this one, and the one below:

No internet access!

Hi, everyone! I'm so sorry for not having updated in so long—due to my recent move, I have not had internet access. I'm settled in now, and internet access will be my next order of business.

Needless to say, I love my new apartment. It has a little solarium that is bright and cheery and would be great to hang out in during winter. It is separated from the living room with a fireplace, so with a fire burning and with all the windows, it should be a very bright, warm place during the cold season! It gets so hot in the summer though, so I've added solar curtains to block out the sun.

I've also adopted a rambunctious kitten I've named Pixel. He is a 10-week old playful and affectionate orange tabby who has kept me busy and occupied these past couple of weeks. You can bet you'll see pictures of him later!

I've managed not to forget about photography and taken a few pictures here and there of flowers and mostly things around the house:

I got a cute little incense holder with the cutest shape at World Market (I love this store.) I love the cracks in it, too.





A neighbor taking a stroll saw me taking a picture of another neighbor's flowers one day and told me this was a butterfly bush:





Until next time, everybody!

Beautiful Pink Flowers and Buds

The flowers in my previous entry and the following buds and flowers belong to the same tree. These were taken, of all times, as I was walking to the dumpster to throw out the trash. I had to go back inside the house and fetch my camera. It had just rained so everything seemed fresh and clean and alive.

Flower Buds Against the Sky

I took a little stroll around the neighborhood today, and this is what I've captured:

Yellow Daylilies

Here are more daylilies. I'm not sure what these are called, but they sure are bright and cheery. I wish I had these in my garden to look at every morning. Heck, I wish I had a garden. Haha.

Interesting Pink Flowers

I'm not sure what these flowers are called, but they sure captured by attention when I saw them. The long, slim buds look like fingers pointing up to the sky, and the petals, after full blossom, look like crepe paper.

The Coneflower and the Horseman's Star Flower

The "horseman's star" flower, or Hippeastrum flower
This plant is also called "knight's star" and was named by Honorable Reverend William Herbert, Dean of Manchester for it's resemblance to, of all things, a weapon called "morning star". This weapon was used by horsemen during the medieval times. Behold:


Thank you, Wikipedia! Scary looking, no? (I can only kind of, sort of see the resemblance, though.)


The Coneflower
You almost can't see the bug that's camouflaged so well on the flower.

In Flowers : Photography news, I have been busy playing around with a logo. The process of designing the logo is great fun, but I tend to be a little bit picky, so although I have narrowed it down to two options, it will probably be a while before I place it on the blog. So far, I really like the two that I have.

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend. I had a late night at the studio, and I am so glad it's finally Friday again.

Daylilies - Power of Light

Daylilies have such interesting names and varieties. Some of them are bold and strong; others, like this one, are soft and delicate. This one is called Power of Light.

More photgraphy from the zoo

Here are more photos from the zoo:


Mr. Distinguished
Looks like a mustachioed man looking for his buddies to invite them to a game of cards and smoke cigars.



The Showboat
This baby giraffe ran and pranced and did all kinds of crazy antics in front of a very amused and captive audience. We stood there, entertained, for a good while until he got tired and went into a shed for a snack.



Up close
The baby doesn't look quite like a baby up close. He's huge!



Red
Sitting here very pensive, despite the group of people observing him.



Up close
I had to zoom in on him quite a bit, so this is not a very good shot, but I love his expression.


Now back to our regularly scheduled program on flowers and photography.

Still photography, but taking a break from flowers...

We went to the zoo, and this little guy has so far been the one with the most character. I love that face. More of him, other animals and flowers soon, but for the meantime, off I go to babysit 6 kids and 3 dogs.

What in the world have I gotten myself into.

If you don't hear from me, send help.

(tee hee.)

Daylilies - Devil's Footprint

When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other.
- Chinese Proverb

I happened across some daylilies over the Memorial weekend. I had no idea how diverse these flowers are! There so many different kinds of daylilies, each of them having its own character.

I'll be posting pictures of the few that I found. Below are Devil's Footprints, with very attractive and complementary colors.

Mr. Blue and a Confession

Flowers have an expression of countenance as much as men or animals. Some seem to smile; some have a sad expression; some are pensive and diffident; others again are plain, honest and upright, like the broad-faced sunflower and the hollyhock.

- Henry Ward Beecher, Star Papers: A Discourse of Flowers

I just love this little guy. He looks like a dude with blue hands and open arms.

This picture was taken at the arboretum. I spent hours there, and I didn't even cover half of the entire area. I'm not sure how long it's going to take me—a month, perhaps?

And yes, I have a confession. I am addicted to photography! The entire process, from choosing a shot to taking the picture to image and color correction to displaying them on this blog has been unexpectedly rewarding. I mean, I knew I would love it, but I think about it all the time now!

There's so much to learn, so many places to visit, and even more images to capture.

I'm enjoying every single minute.

Orange Landscape

Sometimes, I wish flowers were as large as this one looks in this photo. Can you imagine walking along the soft, smooth landscape of this flower?

When bright flowers bloom
Parchment crumbles, my words fade
The pen has dropped
- Morpheus

Purple Society Garlic

I love the delicate petals and long stems and leaves of Society Garlics.

The temple bell stops but I still hear the sound coming out of the flowers.
- Basho

Zebra Leaf

This is a close-up of a leaf with a beautiful yellow and green pattern. I like to inspect things closely, including flowers and leaves.

This is one of the images I am planning on one day framing and hanging on my living room wall.

As with all my work, whether it's a leaf on a rock or ice on a rock, I'm trying to get beneath the surface appearance of things. Working the surface of a stone is an attempt to understand the internal energy of the stone.
- Andy Goldsworthy

Umbrella Frames

These flowers look like upside-down umbrella frames. I'm not sure what they are called. Anyone who knows, please leave a comment!

Each flower is a soul opening out to nature.
- Gerald De Nerval

Water Lillies

My trip to the arboretum was fantastic despite the oppressive heat. I packed batteries, water, and my trusty camera and happily took these shots. Here come the water lillies first. The rest, I will post in the following entries over the next few days/weeks. I may do this weekly.

Anyway, I hope you like them.

A very vibrant hibiscus

Pink Flowers

Flowers : Photography

Flowers : Photography is my hobby.

I love taking pictures and will spend hours taking them and playing with them digitally.

I hope you enjoy looking at these images as much as I did taking them and learning as I go.