seascape

possibly if i lived near the sea my photos might become boring.

Emma

thankful thursday

for the second time this year i have field mice getting into my kitchen. i am thankful that the council were able to come out the next day and identify a second ingress point for the little fellas. i'm thankful too that an insect bite i sustained seems to be drying out and the infection is ebbing away rather than hospitalising me again. i am thankful for blue skies, sunshine and lunches eaten sat in my garden rather than at my office desk. september is treating us well.

Emma

what i did on my summer holiday

hello friends

it is lovely to be back in this space after taking some much needed rest and relaxation to enable rejuvenation. 

during my time away i had not just one break but two and i finally starting picking up my camera for more than just my daily photo project. i celebrated with friends getting married, i sat on a beach and got a little bit sunburnt, i drove long distances and walked almost everywhere i could, i have mostly worn sandles and was disappointed when i realised my favourite pair are breaking, i have spent time with my mum, time with my best friend and time alone, i have survived days without wifi (and what bliss that was), i finished one book and read two others, i watched the tides go out and come back in again, i drank chilled white wine and was introduced to sipsmiths summer cup, i hugged nieces i hadn't seen for months and heard about new schools and classes from both nieces and nephews, i spent time with old friends and made new ones, i laughed a lot, thought a lot and listened a lot. i realised leaves had changed colour while i wasn't watching, i discovered i could happily live by the sea and that no matter where you travel there is always someone you meet who either thinks you come from where they are from or someone who knows where you are from, i have found and much prefer barley couscous, i have marvelled at how little rain has fallen and have been grateful (for the second year running) i had beautiful weather for my holiday in the united kingdom. i have rooted through family history and have made new project plans, i have learnt my perspective is based on my life experiences just as your perspective is based on yours. i had forgotten that quite often i mix up e's, a's and i's when typing (as typing experiences has just reminded me - and yes, i typed it wrong the second time too),  i have listened with sadness to stories of too many people being taken too soon (why do they always come in threes?), i have laughed at old pick up lines still in use (i was wearing a red dress, it involved chris de burgh - if you are of a certain age you will groan too) and finally i discovered that if you give yourself enough time you finally miss the place you write in and want to come back to. 

thanks for being here when i came back for air.

Emma

snapshot

on a day where the uk is getting battered by ex hurricane bertha, i am reminiscing with this snapshot from last month. sat warmed by a jumper and a cup of tea while tomatoes are roasting in the oven and slowly filling the house with their pungent aroma i could be forgiven for thinking it wasn't summer. but summer it is and free times beckons. jane and i are taking a rest from this space as we take time out from our daily routine in real life.  we'll be back in a couple of weeks time, hopefully by then normal summer weather service will have resumed. i hope summer is being kind to you friends; wherever you are and whatever the weather, enjoy.

Emma

thankful thursday

this week i am thankful for a peaceful spirit. a catch up with old friends who now live in africa and an upcoming holiday to look forward to. i'm also thankful for this passion fruit plant that has grown (overgrown?) into my front garden from my neighbours. everyday this week the flowers have greeted me on my front doorstep in various forms of openness, their beauty exposed and each time i stop, amazed at the intricacy.

Emma 

summer listening

today i am finally getting around to finding the songs that i have been reminded of all summer. listening to the radio at work has it's perks but not so much when you are busy and the radio is kind of quiet because you are all concentrating. that is when i have found myself humming along to refrains within current tunes that have reminded me of old tunes known and much loved - don't ask me what the current tunes are - but the old ones? well they are the best, aren't they?

Emma

best part of the week

for the first time since starting this series with jane, i have no picture. this week my best part of the week is something i hadn't done before. my sister's birthday is next week and while i waited for the answer to my question "is there anything you would like for your birthday"? i decided to buy something small for her to open while she is away on holiday. i found something larger that i thought she might like, only the difficulty was it was in the very end of season sale - the kind that if you buy it, you can't take it back. after discovering this i decided to call and explain, i then took a photo and text her. it didn't go through. i attached the image to an email. it didn't go through. as a final resort i phoned again, this time we spoke over facetime. stood in the middle of the large store waiting for the call to connect, i walk back to the area i found had a 3G connection and wait for the image to match the audio i am already hearing. there in front of me is my sister, her youngest daughter and son crowded around their ipad jostling for a view of the proposed birthday present that i am modelling akin to some tv game show hostess circa 1981. once viewed and approved my sister asks if i am getting any odd looks, i look up and reply in the negative, she tries to trick me by telling me i am getting them behind me, we both laugh. i try to take a screen shot but succeed only in nearly cutting us off; not having enough hands to enable me to hold everything and press two buttons at the same time. we disconnect and i walk towards the cash desk still laughing, the first time i have face timed in a public place. got to love technology.

thank goodness they fit.

Emma

Sometimes the beauty of nature just takes your breath away. This was one of those moments.


Jane