Earth Day

A beautiful day for Earth Day. The creeping phlox have begun to open. The pansies are standing very spritely in the window boxes. The forsithia still radiates sunshine. Even the daffodils display their bright countenance.


I know that Earth day is so much more. But I'm reveling in this quintessential Spring day; bright sunshine, gentle warmth and the glory of early flowers.


Wishing you a colorful day, Cyth

Lily

I'd like to have you meet Lily. She came home with the Mr. and me just yesterday and I gotta tell ya, she's made us laugh more times in these past 24 hours than we'd laughed all week.

Checking out the snow-laden daffodils

It's all such an adventure for her right now. Eight weeks old and seeing the world through new eyes---deep black puppy eyes, so black that you can fall right into them or be totally turned out by them. And it's wonderful that we can be seeing the world through new eyes with her. I think that this will be a new adventure that we'll all enjoy.

Sending puppy love, Cyth

Wonderful Easter Week-end

I hope that your Easter Day and week-end were as glorious as mine. After rain , rain , and more rain , we've finally had a few sunny days. And I can't een say how perfect they were. Warm and sunny. Yellow daffies opening. Forsithia blossoming. Birds chirping. And smiling liberated people everywhere, so glad not to be cleaning dirty water out of their basements AT LAST. ( YES. We did have lots of flooding these past two weeks. Roads closed. Schools closed. But that's not today !!!)

We got in a little kite flying with the grandkids.

Bunnies parachuting in to help with festivities.

Wee little houses found in the awakening garden. I wonder who lives there?

Pussywillows , all plumped up.

And , how 'bout that? An amaryllis blossomed to bring in Easter. No winter celebrant this bright fellow.

And looky here. A wee gray furry friend. He's mighty plump. He's fed well on dropped sunflower seed all winter. Amazing he moves as fast as he does. Might he be living in the tiny village found in the garden?

Sending you all well wishes for a glorious Spring, Cyth

Of White Rabbits and Coincidences?

I'm late. I'm late ---for a very important date. Well, I've been around but occupied -and very busy too. Preoccupied as well. I get like that. No excuses. It's just the way I am. But already I digress. And so I am late for another post.


You might have guessed that I'm about to tell you something about Alice and Wonderland. And indeed that is true. But there is more. And it is the "more" that interests me the most , intrigues me & baffles me . It is a subject I've written about before , but then I keep getting more little tidbits thrown my way that sparks that curiosity yet again. Let me start from the beginning.


Alice and Wonderland. The Mister & I made it out yesterday to see the new movie---a classic story with a new twist. And Johnny Depp, who I really appreciate as an actor, starred as The Mad Hatter. Who better to play The Mad Hatter? No one , in my book. But I digress again. I'm not going to review the movie except to say that I loved the sets and costumes and make-up---the story was not as compelling as I thought it was going to be. But glad enough I was to catch the movie yesterday.


I'm sure that most of you know that there are some very intriguing characters in the story. The White Rabbit for one. He leads Alice down the rabbit hole, which gets her into the mess she is in. And for Tim Burton's version of the story , it is not the first time she's been lead down a rabbit hole. ( Wouldn't ya think she'd have learned the first time? ) Anyway, he's got an important role in the story , though no more so than some of the others ( The Mad Hatter, The Red Queen, the Cheshire cat, for example ). But it is he that connects me to the rest of my story.


You see, when the Mister & I came out of the theater after the movie, we found that the rain that had been promised to come in and inundate us this week-end had actually begun as snow. Yes, again, and almost mid March. And a fierce wind accompanied the precipatation. It was a fine night for a murder OR a little magic. We were perhaps just over half way home , alone on the road at the time, when we noticed movement ahead, crossing in front of us. A critter. Not uncommon in our neck of the woods as the skunks have been out more for than a month now and raccoons have too been sighted . And we were far enough away not to be a threat to it if , as the Mister did, we slow down.


Now , I said that it was not uncommon to sight "critters" in our neck of the woods, but the one that crossed in front of us IS rather uncommon - for us. If I had been alone , I would've thought that I was hallucinating or that my imagination had taken a stroll. But I was not alone. And the Mister and I both spied it and simultaneously voiced , with bewilderment, that it was a rabbit just crossing into the breakdown lane -----and not just any rabbit. It was indeed a white rabbit.





And I have to tell you again. We do not see rabbits around here. Though there is woods behind us and farm land not far in almost every direction, we have never seen a rabbit in the years that we have lived here. Last night we slowed down for a rabbit , a white rabbit, just after seeing Alice in Wonderland.


I know, because I'd be likely to say it too, you are probably thinking, " Just a coincidence." And maybe you're right. But maybe there is Magic. And maybe some nights are just more Magical than most nights. That's all I've got to say about the matter now. I'm late. I'm late.


Wishing you delightful magic to intrigue, Cyth

More White on White

Early this morning.....just a crack in the sky showing a pale blue sky with barely-there-pink cloud edge.

Oh I told you that I was NOT going to be fooled by the come-on with which Mother Nature was trying to draw us in the other day. Yes, the daffies have begun to break ground , but that ground is again covered in white ( known as "poor man's fertilizer" in these parts ).

Funny day. Snow , sun, snow, wet big-flake snow, sun , snow.......and on it went today. It covered the ground and the street and it melted and it covered and it melted. Some split personality on Mother Nature's part. AND more white rain to come.

Spring will be much welcomed this year !!!!


Off tomorrow to view the litter of puppies . One little bundle will be ours , but not tomorrow. We've still got a bit of a wait until she comes home with us.

Have a wonderful week-end, Cyth

White on White

Dirty snow. Not a pretty sight. But it can be a hopeful one. It , of course, means that we haven't had sufficient new snow to cover it and perhaps Spring is almost within our grasp. Not that you could particularly tell today for it is cold and raining; raw to the bone. But with the cold rain we get a glimpse of "things to come". By that I mean "Mud Season'. That's what we call the next seasonal phase up here in NH.

Harbinger of Mud Season

But I know not to quite believe that it is upon us yet , though it might be beginning to look that way. We'll surely get more white stuff to have to shovel and and bemoan before the onslaught of the mud. So as I continue to prepare furniture pieces and themes for the Shop I'm again, and still, enamored of White on White.

Here I have a few piece of milk glass that I've been collecting ( because they are still affordable ; unlike some of the other collectibles that I used to acquire). And how crisp and cool they look against the snow.

I'm always inspired by white on white during mid-winter when snow piles on top of snow. It's clean. It reflects lots of light. It's expansive. Come Spring my palette changes in a way that reflects the burgeoning growth of new life. Summer suggests deeper , lusher color , and my furniture reflects that too.

But I'm toying again with doing a "white on white corner" in the shop this year. I thought that last year I'd do that , but nixed the idea after painting 2 pieces of furniture white. This time 'round I think I'll stick with the scheme and see how it works out. Afterall who wouldn't appreciate a little cool crisp corner in the heat of summer?

If you are interested in milk glass you might want to check out Eddie Ross' etsy site. I've seen some lovely pieces there; some with cutwork effects , some more unusual pieces. I'm sure ebay offers lots of choices as well. Then you too can enjoy some cool white in the heat of summer.

Wishing you a white and wonderful day , Cyth

Sky Blue Pink

My Mom called it Sky Blue Pink. And I would laugh. I always thought that she was so funny calling it that, especially as I got to be teen age. You know how that goes; you need to have everything be "real" -like when you were drawing---it had to look like what it was , and most often your skills were woefully lacking. And you needed to have your mother know what was real too. And what was real was always dependent on your definition. So to have mom say that the sky was Sky Blue Pink was as ridiculous as saying the sky was falling.


But this afternoon late , when I looked up into the sky, my first thought was that the sky was -yes- Sky Blue Pink. It's that quickly melting sunset sky when at first the sky is as blue as it can be , and the sun having dipped just low enough casts a warm glow under the clouds. The clouds shift and dissipate and the colors seem to melt into each other. Watching it makes you want to hold your breath and hold the day in stasis just as it is. Then so imperceptibly you make a small groan as the colors meld and fade to night. And the realization hits again that Mom couldn't have said it better ; Sky Blue Pink.


That kind of celestial inspiration , I imagine, motivates artists , and poets & musicians to create all manner of wondrous and creative canvases, poems and songs. The desire to capture such small and seemingly perfect moments gives rise to some acts of beauty and creativity. But what of the population not so creatively endowed? How does one express that kind of beauty and hold on to it? Some devise descriptive little ditties for their kids ,like Mom did. Then others try to hold on to it by injecting their translation into their environment. Witness:

This, my friends, is the legacy that the Mister & I have been given . I'm slightly embarrassed to show you , so I tried to find discrete corners of our narrow little bathroom to share with you. I'm afraid that the colors of the photo are slightly off , but not too much so. But there it is......someone's interpretation of Sky Blue Pink.

You can see just a wee bit of the dusty pink sink to the lower left corner, set into brownish pink laminate against sky blue tiles. Oh my ! And the tiles wrap ALL around the dusty pink tub and beyond. Oh my. I wonder , whatever were they thinking ?

This is original to the house , which we've guessed to be about 50 years old. ( I was just a wee small lass back then and don't rightly recall what was considered fashionable back then . But could it really have been this sky blue pink?) Now the Mister and I have slowly , ever so slowly, been working on upgrading bits and pieces and parts on and around the house. We've a bit more to do. This will probably be our last project and I'm simultaneously dying to do it and dreading doing it.

In an effort just to make the room a bit more comfortable to live with in the interim ( a l-o-n-g interim it is ) we have painted most of the wall space white -as white as we could get it ( The sweet little room is also north facing. brrrrrr ). And out of my stash , I pulled a few vintage hankies of , what else, pink and blue and white, to use as a window valance.

What can I tell you. They are almost the only things , aside from my milk glass which I have everywhere in the bathroom ( the more white , the better ) that give me reason to smile while I'm in there.

Oh I DO yearn for the day that we can haul those tiles and that tub and sink out of there. Until then I will "grace" ( ha ) the room with my little hankies , and gaze out the window to watch that Sky Blue Pink sky melt into night.

Wishing you all tender, melting moments of your own.

Happy Valentine's Day

I wish you all a wonderful Valentine's Day. I'd like to chat a bit today, but the grandkids are here and I've barely time to think. But I 'm so enjoying having the little cherubs here on this day in particular. Since I haven't got much time for thinking & blogging and I just LOVE , love , love Valentine's Day I'll leave you with these wonderful,"heartfelt" photos.

Enjoy and "spread a little Love", Cyth

Feeling Slightly Out There

Okay. This is not what I was going to blog about. It is now. That adorable little picture-one of my granddaughter's masterpieces- pretty much gives a visual of how I'm feeling. Yup- a little other-worldly would be accurate.

Maybe I 'm just feelin' this way 'cuz I just don't understand. But here is my little story.

I finally relented. I signed on to Facebook a couple of days ago. Ah , another maze to navigate. But I managed to get it enough to get myself out there----though I'm still uncomfortable about it and really want to run into a closet and hide. ( I know, I know. But that is fodder for another day ).

I checked my email earlier this afternoon to learn that an old school friend " found" me. On Facebook , that is. Very cool , I think. But I gotta tell ya, she has been on my mind for the past 2+ weeks----- she and her son , who used to be quite close to me. I haven't had a day in that length of time that I didn't find myself wondering about her or him ; how they're doing, what they're doing,etc. We haven't been in touch at all for a number of years, for who knows what reasons---just grew apart , I guess. And there she was, "finding" me on Facebook, as I was in some psychic/cosmic quest to learn about her. ( Do you suppose that it's true , that we find that which we seek ? "The teacher appears when the student is ready" kind of thing ? I'm thinking , yeah 'tis true , very true. )

Now I need to give you a little background before I continue my tale. Many years ago, probably some 34 years ago , I had a tickling little thought one afternoon. I thought that my friend ( at that time we were still close and in touch , though living probably 80 miles away from each other ) was going to go into the hospital in labor ( yes, she was pregnant and I knew that , nothing "witchy" in that ). But I also thought , that long-ago day , that she was going to be sent home. And indeed, she had been. I did not know those facts at that time. That had been over a week-end. The following Monday I was off to the big city, taking classes yet one more time. The day was perfectly ordinary, at least until classes were over. As I started walking back to the subway I began to feel disoriented, kind of in a fog. I suddenly couldn't wait to get home , but knew that it was going to take me at least an hour to get back to my car. The whole while I was traveling I kept feeling worse , not really in a physical way. It was definitely a psychic drain , or pull. At that time I couldn't tell really. And all the while I kept telling myself that as I got closer to home, everything would begin to feel more familiar and this disorientation would dissipate. It did not. It only got worse. From the end of the subway line , I needed to get a bus. Boarding my bus at the next stop, was an impeccably groomed gentlman. But he was odd. I remember today , almost as clearly as if it was that day , that this man's forehead came to a point . He was slightly bald and the point was all too prominent. And it was all too improbable , impossible , that anyone's head could be that pointed. I remember feeling angry , though he did nothing to provoke it. It seemed that his presence only served to make heighten my psychic discomfort. Finally I reached my vehicle and headed off to pick up my son at pre-school. It took a lot of effort to concentrate on that drive. We made it home safely , but rather than feel better , I continued to feel worse. I stalked through the house like a caged animal; I couldn't relax , nor sit still, couldn't prepare dinner. I was BESIDE myself , like some part of me wasn't there. Six o'clock chimed, the news was faintly in the background and the telephone rang. It was my friend's mother who called to tell me that my friend had just delivered a baby boy; that she'd gone into the hospital on the week-end and had been discharged with " false labor". As soon ,and I mean JUST AS SOON , as she told me the news, the restlessness , the disorientation , the caged feeling disappeared - simply went away. And that baby boy was the child who I grew so very found of, who came to visit me even when his mother did not. He was truly a special child who was so very close to my heart.

Now I've never been able to explain most of what I had experienced that day. I can tell you what I think and believe in my heart. I think that though my friend & I had grown up across the street together, graduated high school together, shared so very much more together , I was somehow attuned this child even before his birth ; that we were meant to enjoy some time together and share some deeper bond in this lifetime for however small amount of time. He's grown up ,as kids will. My life has taken me in a new direction , as has my friend's and her son's, and so our communication has stopped. Or maybe ,it hasn't.

Back to now. My friend just "friended me" on Facebook. In the brief greeting she sent to me , she told me that her son JUST had a son born to him. I have for the past two ( maybe a bit longer ) weeks not been able to get them out of my mind. I mentally was searching for some knowledge of them. I now know that he has just received a son into his life. As I had experienced many years ago when he was born, did I "know" or at least want to know that something incredible was to repeat itself ? I'm inclined to think so. Why? I can not answer. Nor can I yet explain the "gentleman" on the bus those many years ago. He was a very prominent feature of that strange afternoon. But explain it , I can not. Nor can I explain the state of mind fog that long afternoon 34 years ago. But for me it all suggests that we DO know more than what is on the surface. There is some law of the universe, I call it Magic, that enriches our lives even when it confounds us.

Addendum : After being "found" by my friend and taken a few moments to think about the " coincidence" of this situation I quickly reviewed her page a wee bit. A few of her "friends" were listed , so out of nosiness more than anything, I read through some of the list. You just try to guess who I might have found. Never mind, I 'll tell ya. My ex-husband , that's who. Man , that was like being hit first on one side of my head, then the other. Any wonder why I'm feeling tonight like the picture above?

May you all be blessed with a little Magic, Cyth

It surely was cold the other day, I noted, as I walked out to the mailbox. Fortunately it is not a long walk to the end of the driveway and across the street. But it was only about 5 degrees and the wind whipped by at probably 25 miles an hour. So it sure did feel COLD for even that short a walk.


I was bundled up , but I still I shivered. And I'm not entirely convinced that it was just the weather that had me quivering. I don't know about you , but there is always for me an anticipatory pleasure in going to retrieve the mail. There is something almost magical in that anticipation, and something hopeful as well. Each day that I go out to the mailbox I hold a tiny hope that I will receive something personal or fun, something attractive to the eye, words that bring news of someone I'm not routinely in touch with.


So few people actually write, that is , hand write a note or , heavens, a letter that I wonder how my mind still keeps watchful vigilance for something nearly as archaic as written correspondence. And still it does. It's that little bit of magical thinking that one day a special little parcel will be tucked into the box, that fills me with eager anticipation.

I imagine all sorts of goodies being sent my way by old friends and new. How about something like this little dream envelope? Oh , I think that I would nearly swoon to find a treasure like this in my mailbox.

This is a beautiful sample of an entry to the Graceful Envelope Contest back in 2000 ( I think ). Wouldn't it be lovely to check your mailbox at the end of a long day at work , or a trying day with the kids, and find that someone had taken the time and the care to send you something so exquisite? OOOOOOO ! I think I'd have achieved Nirvana if I got anything like this.


I'm sure that like the rest of you,the contents of your mailslot looks more like this.

Oh , how dreary , boring and repetitive. Must pay this bill ; be sure to shred that envelope and its contents; feel the weight of guilt when you simply can not contribute one more dime to a worthy cause. And look at the graphics. Those too are boring---patches of in-your-face colors
that scream at you to "tear at the edges", remember to send, check your "time critical" material-------squares and rectangles , diagonal lines , all positioned to S-C-R-E-A-M at you. Where do they invite? How do they caress your senses and pique your interest to investigate the inner contents? They simply do not.

Oh please just give me an occasional glimpse and feel of human communication meant to tickle the senses and emotions.

The piece below ( forgive the poor photo ) is an example of "mail art" that a gentleman by the name of Alan Blackman has sent to himself. He began doing this many years ago, and has continued to this day. He coordinates the calligraphy with the postage stamp(s) he's chosen and incorporates an illustration within the whole to make a beautifully cohesive presentation. This , as you can see, is a butterfly theme. I would love to see it in color. If you'd be interested in seeing more of his work (in color) try this link .

The "graceful envelope" below is another sample from way back 10 years ago. But they still hold a competition every year. This year's theme is " A Stream of Letters". If you think you might be interested, try the website of The Washington Calligraphers' Guild . There you can find entry rules , background information and beautiful samples from the past years, from most recent to the oldest.

Maybe , just maybe, you'll find yourself inspired enough to have some fun with embellishing an envelope for a special friend of yours. Not having the time or talent isn't excuse enough. My dear cousin simply took a page from an old calendar and made a few cuts and folds and voila , a simple yet pleasing package that tickles the imagination and pays honor to some one dear ( she sent this on Valentines Day for the Mister & me who met at a dance ).

And it is the MAGIC that delights everytime I go out into the cold and see that someone has thought of me kindly. And who can't use a little of that kind of magic?

Wishing you delight and Magic, Cyth

Hello again,

I was going to try .....really I was..... to post more frequently this year than last. I'm trying hard to balance my ambivalence about this whole blog endeavor with some joie de vivre. Mostly, I guess one could tell which side is winning the struggle. Ah, but this is not what I wanted to get started about tonight. ( I'll tackle it another evening.....perhaps when I'm all around feeling stronger---------- You see, I've been D-O-W-N this past week with some manner of nasty virus !!!! I can barely get out of my own way, even today, day #6. Urgh ! )

What I am endeavoring to show you , but not without a circuitous lead-in, is my latest little "orphan furniture" paint job. The photos above and the one below were some that I'd taken before the snow began to fly, though it was nearly cold enough then to have it fly. I was walking through the backyard one bright frosty afternoon and was totally taken in with the frost-etched images right in front of me. It wasn't for a few weeks yet , that I would begin to see the impact of that chilly stroll. But once I had finished a delectable side table in pewtered lavender, I began to realize the influence of that icy landscape (previous post). So I went back to review some of the photos , and sighed a big " Ah Ha ". Yes , I do think Mother Nature was speaking to me.

So , my INSPIRATIONS, ..........well a few of them..... ABOVE ................AND it's manifestations in my world of painted furniture , BELOW.

And well pleased I am . Hugely grateful I am that, too, I had that opportunity to witness AND express from within me the beauty I witness around.

And expectantly hopeful I am that come "shop time" someone may just see this polished up orphan and want to take her home. Surely she will place a smile on someone's countenance. And surely she will offer someone a hint of a frosty late fall stroll .

Thanks for dropping by. I'll try to share more frequently, unless , of course, that ambivalent side wins out again.

Cyth

Devastation in Haiti

Good Morning,

I hope it is a good morning for you. I woke up this morning , my grandkids were happy and laughing. I enjoyed breakfast with them, modest though it might have been. I helped them get dressed and washed and off to school. There were hugs and kisses all around. The world was looking pretty rosy for me this morning. Then i returned to the house, powered up the computer and felt like I'd just walked into a brick wall.


The news reports on the earthquake in Haiti. The devastation there won't even be fully realized for days.


I couldn't even look at all the pictures. A few were enough for me. And my heart goes out to all who are there, either still caught in the debris, or looking for family & friends who may still be caught. I pray that many are sent a miracle , that they are found or loved ones are found. I hope that the world has heart enough to send all who can, go to help in the search and later in the recovery.


I pray that everyone who can , open their hearts and send a loving thought or prayer out to the country of Haiti. Miracles CAN happen. And the greater the prayer, the more auspicious the answer.


Blessings, Cyth

Nature's Inspiration

I promised myself and I kept to my promise. Sundown this evening finds my promise complete. Yay , that's one for me. The basement workspace (otherwise referred to as the "hell hole ") is cleaned up. I guess I should qualify that statement a bit and say that it's cleaned up as much as it's gonna get cleaned up. And that's pretty darn good. I can actually see surfaces that had gone missing in action many long months ago.

Now I must get back to work -now that I can work in there. The Mister has been slowly and steadily preparing all manner of furniture for me to , as he says, "work my magic" upon. So as I pass by the piled high stack of big & small chairs, tables , salvaged old medicine cabinets, stools,benches and so on, I try to imagine how it is that they wish to be clad. My mind has locked on to muted , nature-inspired colors , even though when I picked some of those pieces last summer, late, and early fall , I think I remember envisioning bright , vibrant colors. Now , now that Winter is truly upon us and I'm ready to begin painting anew I see a soft palette, perhaps shot with just a wee bit of light, metallic or opalescent; just enough to add a touch of sparkle.

This photo I took in November, as Fall was descending into Winter. The creamy white of the hydrangea darkened to parchment, but the first frost adds a twinkle to the edges that softly delineates each petal shape.

I'm thinking that a sweet little wooden cabinet that I found at a yard sale would be properly dressed in colors such as these. I can even see it in my mind's eye in a room painted that almost- watercolor blue-green of the background.

Jack Frost delicately coated the foliage here so that we can clearly differentiate the textures in this 8 square inch patch of landscape ; long grassy texture that could suggest tentacles in an underwater scene; small button-like moss gone silver could almost be miniature sea urchins; velvety gray-green moss tempting us to reach out and touch . I can almost even see a star fish nestled beneath silvery purple foliage.

As I look at this now , I wonder if I hadn't subliminally been influenced in my choice of paint color after having seen and photographed this. It was just around the time of taking this photo ( about mid November ) that I painted a lovely little table in a gray-violet color with silver accents. I do believe now that I had internalized this frosted scene and reimagined it in my paint choice .

I recall that last year I was nearly swooning over the glistening whites of the early snowfalls (that sooned grew old) . After having found a magazine layout of an all white shop , I went full throttle into painting whites -white on white , cream on white. It didn't last long, but

unfortunately the snowfalls did. I found myself yearning for more color, even as the snow whites continued to pile up outside my window , or maybe because it continued to pile up. As Spring approached , those colors that I yearned for manifested in the clear , clean pastels of new spring flowers and grasses.

Today, however , I am aching to try my hand further to produce the soft , muted tones I see in these photos; the whites muffled by gray bark , oyster-colored fungi embellishing the fallen log like ruffled sleeves, and silver green lichen accenting the whole as though it were a scarf about the neck.

I've got a dining table that could be just the vehicle for this color scheme - a pale gray, with a frosty lichen green in the leg grooves, overpainted in opalescent topcoat. I can see it. Can you? I'm anxious to get a start. (Hope to show some pictures as a finish each item. But I do work s-l-o-w-l-y. Don't expect it too soon.)

I must be off, perhaps to organize my paint cans. Thanks for dropping by and giving me a chance to dream aloud.

I wish you a good evening ,

Cyth

Through the Viewfinder

The snow started Thursday and it has hardly quit since then. I've been in self proclaimed exile, sequestered in the house and trying to weed through all my "treasures" down in the "hell hole", otherwise referred to as my work space. Problem was that it had gotten so FULL of projects and Christmas wrappings and "stuff" that there was hardly any space left , including breathing space . So when the Mister decided that I needed some warm and cushy floor covering on the basement floor , I was forced into doing the clean up. And that has been ongoing just as long as the snow. And I'm sick of both. But I will continue.... I figure that I've only got about a day left and I'll be in good shape down there. Hope Mother Nature is feeling the same way !!!

I got a new toy this Christmas, an old Kodak DuaflexIII, and I'm having a good time trying to work it out. I've only recently become aware of photography technique of TtV ( Through the Viewfinder ), whereby you take a picture with one camera as it focuses through the viewfinder of another camera. I love the effects , though most of my attempts so far have ranged from ghost-like to blurry to too this or too that to crooked to okay. Actually I think that I'm doing pretty well for a newbie who really doesn't understand her camera in the first place. The photos that you see here are some of my successful attempts. ( The bottom one was one of the very first. I think that I am already seeing some improvement.--- Yeah, well, that's what I'm telling myself anyway.)

I think that it's a good thing to learn something new every once in a while. I do believe that it fires up some of those synapses that have gotten lethargic. I was considering taking up a new language, but with my new gift, I guess I'll go with this for now. I hope that this New Year offers you some wonderful opportunities to take up something new, stretch your creativity, spark those old neurons, and just have fun.

Thanks for dropping by, Cyth