International Day of Women: Unexpected Delight

That's me with a new Girl Scout shirt in this delightful flashback photo. Have you ever had someone else's organization project benefit you? Out of the blue, my dear elementary school friend Ann (above right), messaged me that our mutual friend was organizing things and came across a bunch of terrific photos from our days as Brownies and Girl Scouts. Last week, we sent messages back and forth as we tracked down emails for some of our old friends and then forwarded the photos to them too. The pictures made us so happy we wanted them to see them too. Delight was expanding.

I scrolled through pictures of our trip to a horse camp, the time we cooked hot dogs on a stick, a fashion show, singing songs and an exciting ferry ride to Boblo Island. We had wonderful years together and I feel so thankful for all of the learning experiences and just plain fun moments I had because of the Girl Scouts and its volunteer women leaders. 

Today was the first chance I had to tell you about my surprise gift of old photos and it happens to be the International Day of Women. It feels like serendipity that I can share these photos today and appreciate the first women leaders I saw. 

Delightful Idea: Try pulling out a few old photographs and then sending a digital copy of the photo to whoever would appreciate an unexpected trip down memory lane. If the photo is not digital, you can use an app like Photomyne for an easy way to scan old pictures with a smartphone and then retain a digital copy.

#internationaldayofwomen #girlscout #womenleaders #photos #lifelongfriends #shareoldphotos #tellsomeoneyoumissthem #tellsomeoneyouremember #finddelight 

Shopping at Home: A bit of Hawaii in my fabric stash

You can imagine the size of my photo library...thousands of images of crafts, travel, roses and cookies.  It's my job to delight, right?  When I see something beautiful I try to capture with my camera.  Not every image makes it into the blog, certainly, but I do my best to keep my posts fresh and interesting, inspiring and beautiful.  

When I am surfing my own tidal wave of images, I sometimes find one and say, "Oh, I forgot about that shop etc."  This photo is from the swap meet in Honolulu and I just remembered that I bought 2 yards of the kiwi green fabric on the bottom roll! It has hula girls silhouetted in deep purple and it spoke to me.  But where is it? I must go shopping in my own house and find this fabulous fabric.  Maybe it will become a table runner to brighten up the icy white month of January.  This month is all about making something new with the supplies I already have.  That knitting stash isn't going to knit-one-purl-two itself!

How did i stumble upon this particular photo? I lived in Hawaii for almost a month with a friend and her husband (they had moved to Oahu for a job opportunity) in January 2102.  We drove around the island seeing the sights, but we also shopped at the grocery store, grilled dinners and made jewelry.  it was really fun. Now that it is January again, I get nostalgic for that wonderful experience and think back on all of the neat things I saw.  

You can read my posts from that trip by clicking in the CITY SERIES section in the sidebar of the blog.  Choose Honolulu, Oahu and Hawaii to see a variety of posts. They are beautiful!

So today I am inspired by Hawaii and my tropical stash. Do you have something tucked away that you could craft or sew with this month?  It will feel great.

Touring Poilane with Patricia Wells

It was one of my luckiest days - being able to go into the basement bakery of world-famous bakery, Poilane on rue du Cherche-Midi in Paris with culinary inspiration, Patricia Wells. It has been a while since we crept down the steep half-circle staircase and found the bakers hard at work, but it seems like just yesterday.  I was in Patricia Wells cooking class for the week and part of our itinerary was a tour of Poilane. Can you imagine? 

Did you notice the intricate work being expressed in dough above? This type of culinary art is known as pain décoré - a custom loaf of bread with words, leaves or decoration to denote a special occasion.  

Here you can see the Poilane Country Loaves rising in a tower of linen-lined baskets. Functional and beautiful.  Their famous wood-burning oven is glowing in the distance.

It was a thrill to see the baker pull some Punitions (delicate butter cookies) from the wood-burning oven in the basement - you can see them as they are baking (above). Pierre Poilane (founder of Poilane in 1932) used to tell the story of his grandmother and how she would call her grandchildren to her side for a reprimand (punishment in French, punitions) and then instead surprise them with one of these sweet treats. 

The cookies are just delicious and the perfect cookie to enjoy with a cup of tea. We had a little snack upstairs in the famous room where Poilane displays the paintings of bread they accepted as payment by starving artists of the day.

Why am I spotlighting all of this now?  I keep seeing notices that Patricia is on a book tour in America for her latest book, The French Kitchen Cookbook (Santa, are you listening?) and her birthday was yesterday, so I was able to send her my best wishes on Facebook.  All of these happy events have my mind whirling as I reminisce about my time with her in Paris.  Magnifique!

Las Vegas: Modern Vacationing

Sometimes technology is a delight.  When I saw this kiosk and realized that it would snap a digital photo of us and post it to Facebook, Twitter or in an email, I couldn't resist.  Dan and I were walking through Mandalay Bay on our way back from dinner at Border Grill when we took this photo.  Cute, eh?

You simply stand in front of the screen, tap to take a picture (and, yes, you can do retakes) and then log into your email/Facebook/Twitter to send it out to your friends.  What a great idea!  

It gives a plug to the source (Thank you, Mandalay Bay) and shows your family and friends that you are having a great time on your vacation.  It also reinforces Mandalay Bay's new branding of guests as "resortists," rather than tourists.  Interesting.  

Painting Lake Lucerne

One of my favorite memories from a trip I took with my parents to Switzerland a few years ago, was painting with my mom on the edge of Lake Luzerne.  We brought my travel paint set and some watercolor postcards along on our trip and found a quiet afternoon to sit at a table drinking tea and painting.  It was relaxing and so much fun.  A view like this needs to be savoured and painting is the perfect activity to slow you down and help you to really "see."

We were staying at the Hotel Central Am See and since it was a cool day, we had the patio all to ourselves.  I painted this view above, and my mom painted the scenery from her perspective. 

Not only do I recommend painting a "postcard" while you are on a trip, but be sure to photograph your painting alongside your inspiration.  It will help cement the memory and can "put you right back there" any time you want.

My task for this week?  Track down my little painting and frame it.  Art is meant to be displayed!

Saving Summer

Photography is my way of saving Summer.  It's how I save everything, really.  I love that I can capture a look, a meal, a view and then months later, just a glance can bring it all back to me.

Before time slips away, flip through your photos from the Summer and pick out a picture with a meaningful view.  Print it in 8 x 10, or make it your screen saver.  Let it be a timeless canvas to remind you of some pretty great days.  

Reflecting on Summer

As funny as it sounds, this moment made me wish that I had a canoe.  Paddling down a river when the water is flat like glass has to be the most relaxing thing in the world.

I was having dinner on a patio by the river when the early evening light started to change and I noticed that the entire landscape was reflecting in the water.  The blues and greens blended back and forth and I felt very lucky that I was there to capture it.

I feel the same way about the blur that I call June-July-August.  This has be a wonderful Summer packed with fun.  We've had long stretches at the cottage, friends in from out of town, family parties and long phone conversations that have left me feeling more connected than ever - and I've got the photos to keep these memories fresh in my mind.  As you reflect on your Summer and the conversations and connections that made it special, look through your photographs (are they still trapped on your camera?) and print a few of the special ones. 

Whether you magnet them to the fridge or frame them grandly on the piano, the glimpse back to your Summer will do you a world of good. 

Sisters

I love love love the sunset silhouettes of my nieces on the shore of Lake Michigan.

This is two sets of sisters. What I think is facinating, is that their body language is so similar, you can easily to pair them up!

For me, it is moments like this that make me grateful to be a photographer.