Fun With Hair Clips

Fig 1. Just a few.

So, I have a lot of hair pieces. It started years ago with barrettes and fun clips til I was well into high school, then putting actual flowers in my hair every day. Then came fake flower clips. This lasted for a while and I lost a lot of them to random acts of silly. Then I started making them. Now: addiction.


I can be seasonal or match an outfit. I have to say I am a bit disgusted with it. I blame it on being someplace with not much to do.

Boredom  will do it, assuredly.


This box is what I have "acquired" this past 5 months. I don't  know what happened, but I think it started in a craft store. I slipped walking in and walked out with sass in feathers, paper, and yarn. Let me show you some of the ones I have done!

Gardens Galore!

I have been very busy in my recovery lately, but one thing more that most has occupied my time: the gardens. I enjoy working on them, sitting in them, watching and just being in them.... I will just show you.

An Attempt at Pattern Interruption

bumble bee on a sunflower

I am finding harder and harder to breathe at the moment, so I am attempting to interrupt myself. Apparently my train of logic right now is completely distorted. I don't feel like it is, but it must be because I am in a highly elevated state of emotion and am feeling frenzied. Since I am attempting to change what I have been thinking about, I am going to post pretty pictures of flowers. Flowers with bugs and the like.

Every morning when I get to the place I am getting treatment (and some learnin'!), I wander the gardens and take pictures of the lovely plants. Sometimes I just sit and watch the bugs buzz around, the plants sway in the breeze, the way the sunlight bounces off the leaves....


Here's to hoping it helps.

bug on milkweed

pretty blue

yum yum pepper

these have been eaten

just what it sounds like

hiding amongst the veggies

 

More Happiness Out of Doors

Yesterday , I was fortunate enough to get to do an outing. I was invited to go with a group to aid in making an archway at the entrance of a nature preserve. The Blue Heron Nature Preserve, to be exact. This was just the sort of outing I needed. A bit of exercise, some fresh air, wildlife, sunshine, and running water made for a more mentally relaxing day. A contrast to today. The post needs no more words. Here are a few pictures.

Invasive Ivy I spent most of the morning yanking out

Really big ants!

People staring at the Wisteria vines we used.

Nancy Creek

Lunch by the water.

Art or Something Like It

The poster for part 2 of the event

Steve Rockstein is one of the most amazingly talented people I know and I am honored that he has allowed me to participate in what is sure to be an outstanding event in our community. His photography exhibition— aptly titled STEVE ROCKSTEIN: PHOTOGRAPHY 1971-2011— is his life’s work in every sense of the expression.

The exhibit will showcase more than 100 of Steve’s photos and covers every type of photography from photo-journalism to nature photography to portraits… whatever genre you want to put it in, the fact is it is all truly artistic. He cuts right to the core of the subject matter and really brings out the essence of what the subject (or his rendition of the subject) is attempting to portray. Steve’s shots all have a rawness and almost candid feel to them. He has an unapologetic take on photography that I would love to call “refreshing” amongst all the scores of people with expensive digital cameras and auto-focus that have websites and consider themselves photographers, but I can’t. It is just who he is.

He has taken pictures this way for far too long for me to call his take “refreshing:” it is simply genuine. It is provocative. It is introspective. You are sure to find a piece that will make you smile, make you wonder, make you reminisce, make you turn away, make you sad. His images invoke such an array of emotions every time I am fortunate enough to look at them. I am duly honored that I can even consider such a talent a friend as well. Luckily I know his awesome wife or she may wonder at my praises. It’s the artist in me: I can’t help it.

One of the most nerve binding views and he captured it perfectly.

Part One of the exhibit is at Oceana in French Town and Part Two will be at Seven Minus Seven in Subbase. Both parts take place on March 18th from 5-8pm and 9pm-midnight, respectively. I am honored that my band UncovereD will set the musical backdrop for a show that is not to be missed. If you can’t make it for the opening, the show hangs until April 15th.

Winding Road

I love the stunning winding roads and amazing cliff colors out west. That is all. Good day to you.

Wildlife Pictures

Ever since I was younger I wanted to be a wildlife film-maker or photographer. That is part of the reason I started Potspoon! a few years back. It was supposed to have more videos, but also gave me a chance to flex my science writing skills and post some of the amazing pictures my husband and I have had the fortune of taking these past six or so years.

In the picture above, for example, I am stoked to be so close to a wild buffalo. I am glad my husband had the digital as I am rarely in any of our outdoors photos. The camera in my hand is a 35 mm camera because it just takes that good of pictures. I love the opportunity to take pictures of any sort of wildlife. My husband is excellent at flora and I take care of the fauna. It's a good match.

There is something absolutely magical about seeing an animal in the wild up close. There is a mutual respect that passes through you and the animal, as cheesy as that may sound. I know that a buffalo is capable of amazing ground speeds and could trample me. I have to respect that but also show that I do not intend to harm in return. My healthy fear and respect for the majesty of nature has allowed me some fantastic shots through the years and makes me want to learn more of the intricacies of photography.I'm ok with the SLR I have but really want to learn to better apply f/stop and shutter speed settings. Experimenting with them is one thing, but I want to step it up for sure! Mother Nature deserves a professional approach. Anyone can set things to certain settings and have the camera do all the work.

I suppose that is why I like my camera. It only does so much for me. I can't doctor or edit the photos easily. I can't take 100 photos and pick out the best ones. Well, I could, but it would be expensive and cost me lots of film and time. You have to make every shot count. Using a camera without all the fancy settings has made a better photographer and I can't wait to learn more.

What's your secret hobby?

J'ouvert 2010

J'ouvert (pronounce JOO-way) is a massive street party held before the final parades of Carnival. It is a conjugation that literally means daybreak or open day and starts at the wee hours and works it's way until around noon. We march and dance down the street behind bands until we get to around the Carnival village or stadium where we have the Jump-up. It's just what it sounds like. People come in silly costumes and tramp all day. Even though ours is big, it is actually considered one of the (gasp) lame ones of the East Caribbean. It is still, however, the largest in the VI and we always try to make it a good time.

J'ouvert was going to be shut down because of a lot of misbehaving, but they pushed it up this year and everything was cool. That is what happens when you get 10,000 drunk people together at once: someone fights. This year was pleasant and started after 6 am so there was lots of light and not enough time. People still had a great time and I think everyone realized that we shouldn't lose one of our local traditions because of stupidness.

Usually there is powder and dye thrown as well. I saw a few people in curry yellow dye, but not too many. I was a bit disappointed. I did boogie and break in my boots for sure and had a blast the whole time. Sorry about the lame picture and video quality. I had my camera in a housing for fear of beer, water, and/or dye being spilled. Today is the Children's Parade and tomorrow is the super popular Adult Parade. I hope to catch one. Happy Carnival!

My buddy posted some great picts of my band at our last show. We are so high energy normally that this picture really stood out. Tom and I look so mellow and in sync in this photo. Kudos to iPhones apparently.

No Time for That...

WOW! Has it been a busy week or what? Since last week I have barely had time to sit and breathe, much less keep up with all my bloggy buddies and write anything on any of my sites. So today, ladies and gentlemen, I give you a moment of peace. This photo was taken at one of the most impressive fortresses I have ever been to... and I have been to quite a few. It sits atop a hill in St. Kitts. The fact that some of the buildings have been there as long as 320 years is amazing. The fortress looks so strong perched atop this hill overlooking the Caribbean sea. We'll talk more about this later though. I hope you guys have an awesome weekend!

A Super Floyd Picture

Because of the lack of anything cheap on island, I have neglected to get my film developed in any sort of reasonable time-frame. Yes, I still use film. Something about the crispness and inability to delete the bad ones... you have to make every shot count, you know? It makes you a better photographer, I think. Anyway, I finally got a roll developed and I was so pleased to see this adorable picture of my Floyd on it.

She's just too cute, with her scruffy neck and heart shaped nose. Do you have any pets? If you do, leave a link to a picture in comments. I love animals and photos of all kinds!

Me and My Honey

I posted this image on Facebook and decided to post it here, too. I think it is a silly picture and me and my honey have way too much fun on our vacations. If only the vacation could last longer! Plus, it's one of a handful of pictures of me I actually like.

What is your favorite picture of yourself? Share a link!

Picture Sharing

I know, I know, I'm lazy... but I feel like I have to post something somewhere so I am presenting the actual picture used to make my header. Super neat. Me and the hubs nearly did ourselves in slamming on the breaks to take this and a few more monkey pictures. I love monkeys!Will you share a link to a picture for us? Please?

Fun Sign

This was one of the highlights of my recent trip. Let me tell you, if I had been to St. Kitts before moving to the Caribbean the first time, I may have ended up there instead. For real.

Do you have any weird signs where you live?