I’ve been busy–as evidenced by my absence from this blog. Nothing in particular going on. Just life.
And so when circumstances conspired to give me the gift of a day filled with nothing but silence and solitude I gratefully accepted it with open hands.
I took advantage of the time to play with a couple of prompts from the most recently lesson in Be Still – Fifty Two class.
The first: laundry.
I was delighted to have an opportunity to play with some of the ephemera I had rescued from my grandma’s tiny house a number of years ago before everything was sold off. They were perfect subjects for this prompt.
The next prompt I chose to work with was cuppa.
I considered different interpretations of this prompt as I stepped outside in the cool morning air and saw the columbine near the front door. Columbine is not my favourite flower in fact, truth be told, I tried unsuccessfully to eradicate if from the garden last year. I snipped a few blossoms and I saw them with a fresh set of eyes; they seemed simple and old-fashioned to me. Perfect.
As I tied the stems together with a rough piece of twine and I was reminded of a box of letters I had downstairs. I retrieved the box and spent a pleasant half hour or so browsing through it and reading letters written to me by my parents at various times over the years. Simple . . . news about their day . . . insight into their thoughts . . . treasures.
I couldn’t help but smile at my mom’s sense of humour as I read her words at the end of one letter: I was going to send you some money but I had already sealed the envelope. A small scrap of paper attached to the back of the letter with a note indicating she had, indeed, included a small bit of cash to be spent on something special just for me after all.
And so, my solitary and silent day went on. More photography, a bit of reading, tending plants outside, enjoying the still moments I was gifted with.
You make the commonplace and the elegant co-exist so beautifully in your photography as in your text, Linda. I have to wonder though about this line: I was going to send you some money but I had already sealed the envelope. Ha!
I’m finding how much beauty there is in the ordinary as I’m taking this photography journey, Marian. That’s part of why I’m enjoying it so.
And yes, the line from mom’s letter is amusing, isn’t it? I came across another one from a letter my aunt written advising me to ask my mom how her broken wrist was doing–a not-so-subtle prompting to mom that my aunt was expecting a letter from her. 🙂
I realized a day or so ago that I hadn’t seen a blog post come in from you. I realized I missed your celebration of life with your gardening, cooking, writing, and photography! So it was a treat to receive your new post today.
I never realized columbine could be so beautiful and yet pesty plant in your eyes, enough to spend time eradicating it from your garden. Sounds like it could be a metaphor for a woman I used to spend time with. <>
Your still life photos are really lovely! My favorites are the two that feature a cup of coffee/tea next to handwritten letters and flowers. I have a 92 year old friend who firmly believes in writing notes to her friends; she sends me a note after each of my visits. She is absolutely passionate about this, and believes we should never allow handwritten letters to become obsolete. Your photos reminded me of her; I’d love to give them as a gift to her. Could I possibly purchase those two in the 5×7 format or somewhere near that, so I can frame them in a standard frame? I know she’d love them! My email address is above; perhaps you could send me a note privately?
Best,
Kas
Nice to have you visit again, Kas! Thank you for your kind words about my photographs. I’d be happy to send you 5×7 versions of the two you mentioned–my gift to you–and in turn to your dear friend. Thanks for asking. Emailing you shortly.
Linda
So nice to visit your blog from our Bestill52 class on Flickr!
So nice to have you stop by, Sandra! Hopping over to you place to have a visit now. 🙂
Your photos…what can I say. Magnificent. They all give me a “feeling” if that makes sense. Just wonderful. And I’m inspired by them all. Well done!