Day 333 a kiss of summer

Could the girl be any more fabulous?

I adore that you can see my reflection in her glasses.  Such a simple mark of summer: sun-rimmed hair, big shades reflecting, casual untried expressions.

Day 332 a welcome

wel·come/ˈwelkəm/

Exclamation: used to greet someone in a glad or friendly way.  Verb: to greet in a glad, polite, or friendly way  Adjective: gladly received.

I like it.  That is all.

Day 331 where the heart is

somewhere

somewhere out there

and for better or worse, this is how i intend to journey:

no, no, not to worry, i’m not on a journey to find my heart. it is, after all,  “deceitful above all things and desperately sick” (jeremiah 17:9)  the dirty little b*stard.  (my apologies for the word, but it cracks me up almost as much as the above picture.)

i’m on a journey for truth and freedom. a journey to discover and KNOW the one true GOD.  and i desperately hope that “out there” and my journey aardvark (another amazing word!) in an inseparable fashion.

in the mean time i will continue in joy and thankfulness. and surprise.

and if. if i forget these things which i say, would you be so kind as to remind me?

xo, j

Day 330 a reintroduction, for sure

Back on mountain trails after three years of being a roadie. First crash. Blood.

Love this game.

A delightful and ever so refreshing weekend spent exploring the trails around Mammoth. More pics to come…. of course.

Jon + Lindsey | sneak peek

Fun and easy, full of welcome, overflowing with love.

Just how it ought to be for two of the best of friends, celebrating their love and life together.

Two weeks ago, I had the honor of not only photographing their wedding, but being a part of it.  A part of it in the sense that everyone was a part of it, from the smallest child, to the most distant relative, to the servers. This was a celebration that nodded to celebrations of old: the crowd,  larger then expected. The laughter, full and loud. The hugs, like a bear’s, warm, big and strong. The decor, simple, but lovely.

I’ve known Jon since Junior High when he and his family started coming to our little church in the small town of Chiloquin, OR.  The “Doud Boys” as he and his brother’s were known, were always down for a good laugh.  Pranks practically rolled out of their sleeves.

Jon and Lindsey met in college through mutual acquaintances.  Jon, charming and rascally. Lindsey, quite, shy and eye-catching.  They couldn’t be more fabulous together.

Day 329 baseball?

yes

There are two sports that for better or worse, I had pretty much given up on: bowling and baseball.  I’m all about community, friends and the personal sacrifices that come with these.  However. The line had been drawn. Don’t ask, because I don’t like to say no, but if pressed, I will.  That was my policy. Period.

Unfortunately, that was before last week.  Two weeks ago, I received an invite from Gina to view the Stremmel Gallery and then go to an Aces game.  The Stremmel sounded grand, but I pretended that I didn’t hear the Aces part.  I made a few vague comments about time, interests, etc.  A week goes by, the day of, Gina texts again, “nix the gallery lets just go to the Aces.”  For real? Does she realize what this will do to my reputation??

But its FREE. And we all know “free” in general is my biggest weakness.  Plus, fabulous company.  So despite my pretending, not going really wasn’t an option. So there I was, entering through the gates, walking under an over-sized baseball and gearing myself to jump out of my seat when we hit the winning home-run.  I even considered game updates on fb.  Lucky for you, that never happened.

And yes, my reputation is forever charred. Because, people?  The stadium, the field, the players’ set-up, the fans -all of it- was some of the best back-drop I’ve seen!  So here is my plea:

All you baseball players who are getting married? Can you please get married in the stadium?  And would you pretty please hire me to shoot your wedding??? First taker, I will shoot your day for FREE*!

Seriously! I can’t get over the lines!  Thankfully, the time was not void: I had Gina and her striking beauty to model for me.

And though my stodgy reputation was lost that day (thank goodness), the day certainly was not!

Shout out to Gina for pushing me beyond my comforts and letting me join her for a delightful evening at the Aces!

Um… yes, I did just put “delightful” and “Aces” together.

*lots of small print…

Day 328 a cause for giddiness

“Were you sleeping?” A question, followed by a barely muffled chuckle in my receiver. I deny it, but the groans that emit in place of words belay my claims.  It is a few minutes past 6:30 am, which gives me approximately a few minutes over 3 hours of sleep. Totally adequate, right? “You need to get up and swing by; we  need to make it to the sale before the pick plants are gone.” and then, as if she can’t resist, “I’m still in bed, but it will take you a bit to drive over here.”  A smirk leaks across the airwaves just before I hang up the phone.  I lay in bed and stare at the ceiling. Just a few minutes, just a few minutes more. Then rolling out and onto the floor, I grab my phone and text, “make coffee.”  Ahah, yes I finally found the purpose of texting.  And it is a beautiful thing!

It is the day of the UNR plant sale.  C and I have been scheming our gardens for the past few months and were looking forward to the sale as it promised quality garden starts from the local master gardeners. Tomatoes, peppers, spinach and kale, you are ours!  By the time we pull up to the plant sale, there is a small hoard of gardeners in floppy hats, crocs and wrinkled chinos marching back to their cars, towering plant-starts bobbing along in hand-held flats, artisan baskets, and little red wagons. Smug looks plastering their faces.  C can’t walk fast enough.  I’m thinking about the coffee I left back in the car. 

C is a happy person; and she is definitely not afraid of emotion.  That being said, she does not find it necessary to be overly exuberant about things that don’t deserve it.  Her communications are not filled with exclamation points and all caps.  But when it comes to deals and plants and getting deals on plants, good lord, do not hold the girl back.

With sleepy eyes and  a large grin, C charms every master gardener at the sale.  In fact, they randomly walk up to her and launch into diatribes about the best way to plant tomatoes, the careful balance of watering vegetables and other helpful tips.  She chats them up as if they are long-lost friends at an after-party.  I walk the maze of plants and pile the happy, green looking ones onto the flat C holds.

Finally, we check out and lug our loot back to the car. Eyes lock across the little green starts and we laugh. She laughs because lots of green things mean we are winning at this gardening thing.  I laugh because she’s laughing.

Early mornings, little plants, rich, moist dirt, a crazed sister and coffee. I guess it’s my newest thang.  yo

Day 327 eclipsing, babe

*final photo: credit to the amazingly artistic Gina Peraldo.

Day 326 today

Mornings are the thing.  They’re my thing.  The air is hushed, the day fresh, and for just a moment, a single moment, everything stands perfectly still; almost as though the world were poised, leaning slightly forward, carefully listening in expectation to what the day has to tell.

and it laughs.

 

Day 325 the other side

Klamath Lake, OR