when looking through my new friend's page i found this....

completely took my breath away.



ashesandsnow.org

i like their sound.

i have always been the type of person who appreciates what is happening while it happens... savours flavours, and remembers silly details about the day.
i associate music with people i love or loath... i even get an emotional recall when the atmosphere outside is a certain stillness, or grayness...or tickles my nose with the play of rain...

my mom called me yesterday right before we were embarking on our whidby island expedition... she called with a quiver in her voice and told me that it had been time for LJ, one of our family dogs, to be put down. funny how sentimental i am. how i get sooo wrapped up in animals as being more as family members than pets...

she had been going down hill for awhile, but the last three days my parents did all that they could for her. i know that it was sooo hard for them to have to deal with this kind of thing. my mom told me it was like having one of her own kids die.. she's strong.. yet broken up by it.

so the last day or so i have been a bit uneasy.. i am fully rational and have accepted the passing of LJ, even happy that her suffering has ended and that her spirit can play and run without any limitations; but, what has been leaving me with anxiety is how Hooch, LJ's sister, will deal with the loss of her sibling. i worry about my dad and his attachment to them... i guess i just feel so far away from them and wish i could do more to help them mourn and cope. i know that we have to process such feelings and in time they hurt less.. but i wish that i could do more.

i talked to my mom for almost an hour and 45 mins today.. and we left with a bit of lightness on the phone. we had chuckled about old times and how life goes by so quickly. we made a little pact that we would try to live fully each day. drink in the sun, and savour our relations with others.


so this is a reminder those who read this, and perhaps myself too.. that we need to live each day being devoted to that day and not in the past or lost in the future. savor the moment when you notice that the afternoon sun is kissing the trees that try to touch the stars.. be present with your families.. even when miles are between you and listen to their words rather than interject the occasional uh huhs.. while you are multitasking...

the moment is real.
i enjoyed each moment with my old friend LJ.. i will miss her soo much. but i know that i truly was in the moment the times i spent with her.

savour each breath.

on the 17th of august, we celebrated the four year anniversary of our meeting...

:)

like a treasure on the shore, one finds the most amazing things when one is not looking.

the summer of 2003, my life was dismal at best.
i had just moved my entire life to tulsa, oklahoma from the beauties of victoria, british columbia. i went from cool and groovy to stagnant and suffocating.

my best gurl elizabeth came to visit me 2 weeks after i had moved.
we spent the weekend partying hard in the 108 degree temp, drinking much, and experience the ever so awful night club scene. on the hung over sunday, we decided to head over to the gypsy coffeehouse for a tamer night of coffee and tea and because i had heard that there was an open mike there. I asked the girl behind the counter about the festivities and she told me that i needed to speak with Captain. it was rumored that he might be in tonight.

well with luck, he did arrive. he had decided to pop in before heading out to see autumn shade play at a bar down the way. we talked for about an hour and i felt that he was the first normal person that i had found in tulsa. i definitely needed to know him better...

and on tuesday i went to the open mike, heard him read poetry... asked him if i could buy a chatbook from him and he said, i would like to buy you a drink...
so that thursday, was the day.
i was photographing the HOPE benefit at the PAC and told him that i would meet him after at this place called Caz's...
my sister came with me! OY! but she was worried.. and when i said. .. it's okay, i can take a cab home.. she was hesistant, but complied.
:)

that night we talked and talked and talked!
we walked to the center of the universe...
we danced in ballerina park..
and we kissed on a bridge under the stars..

he asked if i believed in spontanious living..
and i said yes

he's been by my side ever since.

:)














i love being in love.
:)
especially with my best friend.

'twas a year since i had to
...sport the lusterous lanyard
...buzz around with signs and sales fighures
...worry if we had enough staff
...wonder if there would be picketters
...drink 3 to 4 redbulls in one evening to keep me going
...care about if my district manager would be pleased


my old existence


harry potter 2004


harry potter 2006


harry potter 2006

So tonight, while the old borders crew will be buzzing ...
i will be kickin back with my friends captain and jameson
:)
reflection is sweet... growth is bliss

happy harry pothead!
to one and all!

O Canada!

Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.

With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!

From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

History

"O Canada" was proclaimed Canada's national anthem on July 1, 1980, 100 years after it was first sung on June 24, 1880. The music was composed by Calixa Lavallée, a well-known composer; French lyrics to accompany the music were written by Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier. The song gained steadily in popularity. Many English versions have appeared over the years. The version on which the official English lyrics are based was written in 1908 by Mr. Justice Robert Stanley Weir. The official English version includes changes recommended in 1968 by a Special Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Commons. The French lyrics remain unaltered.

summer is here! hooray!!

time for flowers and gardens and painting pictures while toes wiggle in soft grass and sunshine!

get outside!
create!
and live each day as if it were your last!

. wear sunscreen .
love, fae

even dry erase boards can be fun! this is a portrait of my love at his last film shoot. he looked very much like VanGogh to me. :)

what ever happened to freedom of speech? freedom of assembly?


incidently, this happened this year.. a little over a week ago. the director was so quick to get this out there that a typo slipped by.
-----------------------------------
The Bill of Rights... how much of this is REALLY inforced as it was orginally written...

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment III

No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment V

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

Amendment VII

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

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make noise.

your life deserves it.

photography has alway been a passion...
capturing the simple things that perhaps one would overlook was always a game to me.. like uncovering a secret in the sand and wondering if it was placed there just for me...
sometimes images can be as strong as a touch, flooding back memories like a fragrance of an old love.. or an echo of laughter now departed..
it can be the symphony of the forest or the silent sparkles of the stars..

i believe that a picture can tell a thousand words...
like laundry on a clothesline.. my life has been documented with one photo after another.. zig zaging from one point of my life to another..
*smiles* dad was always snapping that camera..
 ...from first birthdays to road trips...
... silly sleepovers to serious convictions by the fashion police...
documented... and waiting for a moment of fond remembrance and perhaps blackmail.

i can remember, when i was very young, my mother would bring out this old photo album with all the great, great, great, grandmothers' pictures in it.. i remember the way that it smelled.. dusky musky.. the pages were black and the yellowed photos were held in place by fragile little corners.. the stories that would come from that book.. radio stores, bookees, tales of huge italian dinners that i swear i could feel the humidity from the pasta water and smell the basil and garlic frying in the olive oil... to the warmth of my nana's smile, her perfume and her broken english...

yes, our photographs are the illustrations to our storybooks... such tales!

for earthday, i started a little countdown on my deviantart site...

   

each day i will submit another photo until april 22.. earthday.
i've been away from taking pictures lately ... so i am back in the swing.
funny how us artist types flipflop between mediums.. it's like we are artistically promiscuous!

anyhoo..
take the time to look around.
taste the air and see the colours around you.
what is your story...