Playing Along

Weekend Reflection: Lights of Aswan

2011-10-21T16:38:00.000-07:00

52 Photos Project: Bokeh Circles

2011-10-05T08:20:00.000-07:00

Bella loves bokeh, so here is my 52 Photos Project post.

What I want to know is why

the circles of light seem more dramatic and bold

when the photo subject has a religious or spiritual meaning. . .

52 Photos Project: Along the Fence

2011-10-04T10:59:00.000-07:00

I'm late coming to play to this 52 Photos Project.

I saw the prompt and knew just what I wanted to use

then life got in the way.

So here I am, playing catch-up.

My focus is on Ireland, not far from Sligo.

There's a stone circle in a field a few yards down

and across the road.

Mosaic Monday: Showers

2011-09-26T12:15:00.000-07:00

A little baby shower fun

to brighten a showery day

here in the Pacific Northwest.

Ruby Tuesday: I Choose Me

2011-09-20T11:25:00.000-07:00

Metal sign found in an antique store

in eastern Washington.

Ruby Tuesday

Photo Art Friday: Spirit Dancer

2011-09-08T17:35:00.000-07:00

My blog friend Bonnie is hosting

Photo Art Friday

and invites participants to link to a post

where they've featured their own artistic photo.

For my first submission,

I'm posting this photo called "Spirit Dancer"

that I like so much I'm having it printed on canvas

just to see how it looks.

I want to include it in the "Day of the Dead"

exhibit I'm putting up in the local Key Bank branch.

52 Photos Project: My Quiet Place

2011-09-07T14:31:00.000-07:00

See other quiet places at 52 Photos Project.

52 Photos Project: In the Garden

2011-08-31T16:56:00.000-07:00

The 52 Photos Project prompt this week

is "In the Garden."

They've bloomed and dropped their petals by now

(the ones that weren't gathered for bouquets)

but my favorite frou-frou girlie flowers

are my peonies.

Some of them have formed seed pods,

so I'm hoping to grow some new ones from seed.

Wish me luck!

Ruby Tuesday: Little Pots

2011-08-29T07:30:00.000-07:00

Weekend Reflection: Small Temple

2011-08-28T16:21:00.000-07:00

Reflection

2011-08-10T16:05:00.000-07:00

This week's theme - Reflection.

My photo above is the one that's included in a photography exhibit

at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma

that has its opening on Saturday.

The exhibit relates to the museum's architecture

and outdoor art installations

including the Bridge of Glass installation by Dale Chihuly.

Here's a hint of the glorious colors in the Glass Bridge.

52 Photos Project: Old and Faded

2011-08-03T20:35:00.000-07:00

Peeling paint . . .

a rusted ladder. . .

vestiges of a once robust fishing fleet.

52 Photos Project: Chocolate

2011-07-28T18:05:00.000-07:00

52 Photos Project: The Table

2011-07-20T07:17:00.000-07:00

Sur la table. . .

From beginning to end

scrumptious fare.

And for the wild women

a little Damiana Margarita on the side.

Ruby Tuesday: Popcorn

2011-07-18T18:55:00.000-07:00

It's bright red, has a lively sound,

a spiffy awning, little globe lights

and smells good.

I'll have mine buttered

with a Diet Coke on the side.

Weekend Reflections: Marina Flags

2011-07-15T12:29:00.000-07:00

Marina flags.

Can you tell I live in a village

with a scenic harbor?

52 Photos Project: Summer Treat

2011-07-14T11:38:00.000-07:00

Summer treat?

The one that springs to mind

is the marvelous photo workshop

I went to last summer in Venice.

It pushed me technically in ways I never imagined.

Filled my heart (and stomach).

And let me find that my love affair with Venice

isn't dependent on being there with the someone

I loved truly, madly, deeply

on my first magical Venice visit.

My love for Venice is soul deep.

52 Photos Project.

Weekend Reflection: Portrait Studio

2011-07-09T14:46:00.000-07:00

Weekend Reflections.

The window of Shutterbox Photos

in the Occidental Square area

in old Seattle.

52 Photos Project: Pushing Through Hesitation

2011-07-08T17:56:00.000-07:00

52 Photos Project prompted us to post a photo

that we hesitated to take. . . that we had to

push through the brain chatter to capture.

So here's mine.

I was on the shady side of the street

in Guanajuato. The wind was plucking

at the curtains on this sunny balcony,

making the lace dance.

And in the shadows, I saw an elderly lady

sitting on a chair between the curtains,

watching life pass her by on the street below.

I hesitated -- it seemed like a private moment.

What was she thinking?

Was she waiting for someone to come

and share her silence?

For someone to bring her a cool drink

on a warm day?

But I pushed through the questions

and the feeling of intrusion and snapped.

Was it only coincidence that

she disappeared from view a moment later?

Ruby Tuesday: Va Va Voom

2011-07-04T18:45:00.000-07:00

A little va-va-voom

by designer Luly Yang

for Ruby Tuesday.

52 Photos Project: The Blue Hour

2011-06-30T16:38:00.000-07:00

The blue hour.

Those moments when the streets

and passages

are silent and empty

except perhaps for those who focus

on the world through a lens.

When the world is sleepy

and still newly made. . .

full of promise.

Just one step beyond

the land of dreams.

52 Photos Project.

52 Photos Project: Self-Description

2011-06-22T17:22:00.000-07:00

One word that describes me.

No, not "distorted."

Happy Father's Day: Three Generations

2011-06-19T09:46:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day

to the three generations

of fathers in my life.

My Dad -- with his first (Brendan - R) and second (Gavin - L) grandsons

Thanks for the love and great gifts

you've brought to the world.

Gavin Kremian and his proud Papa, Terry

You're all incomparable men

who've given me great joy.

I'm proud to know you.

Brendan and Logan Kremian - photo by Katie Caughlin Kremian

And Gavin, my youngest. . .
heart of my heart. . .
take your time!

No hurry.

It's all right to practice
being a Doggy Daddy first
(just not a big dog while you're living at home)

before moving on to rugrats
in a few years,
if that's what you decide to do.

Shadow Shot Sunday: Logo

2011-06-18T12:22:00.000-07:00

Color. Light. Shadow.

Red against a night sky.

A dynamite combination.

Shadow Shot Sunday.

Weekend Reflection: Mother and Babies

2011-06-17T20:11:00.000-07:00

A mother duck and her brood

for Weekend Reflections.

Theme Thursday: Brick

2011-06-16T08:39:00.000-07:00

Theme Thursday.

Brick walls, stone pavers.

Rows and rows of brick.

I can do that.

Brick by brick.

The View Out My Window

2011-06-15T18:52:00.000-07:00

The view out the window in my little workspace

is one of the things I love best about my home.

A vine maple has grown to second-story height.

This is how it and its cousin maples look on after a rainy spell

on an early autumn morning.

This morning, a dampish late spring day,

I saw raindrops lined up along the thin branches

like pearls strung into necklaces.

Very often, I have a very special visitor

who flits and hovers and darts up and down.

He's ever-so-charming

and a hyper-drive of activity.

But sometimes he'll kindly perch

and even pose

because he knows it thrills me so.

And if I'm looking out at just the right time,

I'll see the eagle on his way to the pond

for a little fishing.

Mosaic Monday: Feast for the Eyes

2011-06-12T17:50:00.000-07:00

There's a place I love to go to browse

when I have a few hours to spend. . .

a place where I can find plants

for my yard, baubles and beads,

or pretty things for my house.

It's a great place to take photos.

Do you have a secret place

where your eyes can feast non-stop?

For more eye candy,

check out MOSAIC MONDAY.

Heart

2011-06-07T08:45:00.000-07:00

The 52 Photo Project theme this week is

HEART.

I can do that.

Oh yes I can.

How 'bout you?

Do you look for signs of love?

Do you think hearts rock?

Do you think every heart is charming?

Do you believe that every heart

is sacred?

My blessing for you today and always

is that you may receive and give love

abundantly.

Ruby Tuesday: Baubles and Beads

2011-06-06T10:14:00.000-07:00

Ruby Tuesday's here

and I have just the dollop of color

to make a statement.

I love street fairs and festivals.

You never know what you're going to find

and the most interesting people come out to play.

52 Photos Project: Memory

2011-06-01T11:32:00.000-07:00

This week's prompt at the 52 PHOTOS PROJECT is

memory.

When life is rich and full,

how do I pick just one memory

and elevate it above all others?

One that stands out is

watching my oldest son become a loving father.

That was a mere three years ago.

How things change. . .

52 Photos Project: Water

2011-05-25T09:10:00.000-07:00

This week's 52 PHOTOS PROJECT theme is

water.

Water's a magician. . . .

it can be transparent

or don a coat of many colors,

taking on the hues of

things around it.

It's rarely still enough

to be a perfect mirror.

Sometimes it's just itself,

flowing from source to destination

soaking up the sun.

lapping quietly against the shore.

Sometimes though, it likes to roar.

and splash

and make its mark

upon the land.

Ruby Tuesday: Textiles

2011-05-23T20:34:00.000-07:00

Colorful places

Colorful finds

52 Photos Project: Light Rays

2011-05-18T17:43:00.000-07:00

Light --

the magic ingredient in photos.

Illuminating light rays.

Magic circles of light.

Making everything we see visible.

Mosaic Monday: Spring Openings

2011-05-15T17:45:00.001-07:00

Though today is damp and rainy,

I can see the lilac in bloom outside

the guest room window.

Some of the camellias are still in bloom

and the peonies planted up against

the south side of the house are in bud.

Aquilegias and violets are naturalizing

in the side yard garden

and make a pretty sight --

a nice contrast to the hostas

that are shaded by my neighbor's laurel hedge.

I love the opening energy of spring!

Sepia Saturday: Major General Hugh Brady

2011-05-14T10:33:00.000-07:00

Hugh Brady, born July 29, 1768 in Pennsylvania to John and Mary (Quigley) Brady. He was a twin to Jane Brady and one of ten children who survived infancy and early childhood - six boys and four girls. His father, Captain John Brady was killed during the Revolutionary War in a skirmish with Native Americans. After John's death, Mary Brady moved with her children to her father's home in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.

When Hugh was 16, his mother died. HIs older siblings had begun to marry, so Hugh moved with his brother Samuel to Washington County, Pennsylvania. Though Samuel married, Hugh continued to live with his brother until 1792, when Hug embarked on a military career.

Library of Congress Photo Collection (Daguerrotypes) - LC-USZ62-110036 portrait of General Hugh Brady by Mathew Brady between 1845 and 1851.

He was inducted with a commission from George Washington as an ensign in the army of General Anthony Wayne and joined a rifle company. Within two years, Hugh was promoted to lieutenant and fought with "Mad Anthony" in the Northwest Indian Wars. Following that war, he temporarily left the military in 1796. After spending time with family and friends in Virginia, Kentucky and Pennsylvania, he obtained a plot of land around 1800 and married Sarah Wallace.

In 1807, Hugh and Sarah moved to Northumberland County, Pennsylvania and in 1812, Hugh received a commission from President Thomas Jefferson. Hugh commanded the 22nd Infantry Regiment and saw action at the Battle of Chippewa and Battle of Lundy's Lane. Severe injuries in the latter battle ended his wartime service in the War of 1812, but he remained in the military.

His military duties including postings at Sackett's Harbor, New York and at the newly established Fort Brady near Lake Superior in Michigan territory. In 1822, he was promoted to brigadier general and given command of the garrison at Detroit by 1828.

He was peripherally involved in the Black Hawk War in Michigan and Illinois territories in 1832. Five years later, Hugh Brady was appointed commander of Military Department 7, headquartered in Detroit and during his seven years in the position, was responsible for the removal of several Native American tribes.

By the time of the Mexican-American War, he was too old for combat, but helped raise troops and equipment. He was promoted to Major General in 1848.

Library of Congress Photo Collection (Daguerrotypes) - LC-USZ62-110176 portrait of General Hugh Brady by Mathew Brady between 1845 and 1851.

He died accidentally on April 15, 1851. He was driving a horse-drawn carriage in Detroit. Telegraph wires had been lowered for repairs and got tangled with the wagon. The horses panicked, throwing Brady from the carriage. His injuries were fatal.

Escape: Wandering, Dreaming

2011-05-12T10:50:00.000-07:00

Escape.

Sit beneath an awning and eat a leisurely lunch

beside the sparkling waters of the canal.

Watch the seagull posing prettily.

Watch people settle in to gondola seats

and be propelled along the waterways

by a striped-shirted gondolier.

Enjoy the view from the bridge.

Wander in the marketplace and imagine

what a feast you could prepare,

if only you had access to a kitchen.

Okay - I'll admit that I don't have a clue

how to cook these or whether I'd like their taste,

but they're so pretty!

Stop to look in shop windows

examine possibilities

imagine yourself in costume,

pretending to be someone else,

escaping who you are if only in play.

Watch evening fall and

dream of staying in this magical place

just a while longer.

Ruby Tuesday: I Like to Do Bad Things

2011-05-09T11:43:00.000-07:00

Telling tales on a teen. . . .

or self-fulfilling prophecy?

Who knows?

Sepia Saturday: Mary Surratt

2011-05-06T12:20:00.000-07:00

There's a Robert Redford film out now about the trial of Mary Surratt before a military tribunal for conspiracy in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.. That film inspired today's SEPIA SATURDAY post. (Click on the link to visit Alan and the other Sepia Saturday participants).

Mary Surratt (nee Mary Elizabeth Jenkins) was born in Waterloo, Maryland in 1823. She was educated in Alexandria, Virginia by the Sisters of Charity at the school for girls run by St. Mary's Catholic Church.

Mary Surratt photo from the Surratt.org website

In 1840, at 17, she married John Harrison Surratt of the District of Columbia. They lived on a small farm in Oxon Hill where they reared three children : Isaac, Anna, and John Jr.

John H. Surratt bought 287 acres of farmland in Prince Georges County, Maryland (near present-day Andrews Air Force Base) in 1852. On the land, he built a two-story frame building that became not only the family's living quarters, but the Surrattsville tavern, polling place, and post office.

In the decade leading up to the Civil War, the tavern was a community gathering place and likely housed lively discussions about the country's political direction (and divisions).

From the Surratt.org website - Reproduction of Harper's Weekly cover 1867 showing Surrattsville

Though Maryland did not secede during the Civil War, the Surratts' sympathized with the Confederacy during the war and there is much evidence that their tavern served as a safehouse in the Confederate underground network in southern Maryland.

And it was to the Surratt Tavern that John Wilkes Booth fled after the assassination of the President at Ford's Theater on the night of April 14, 1865.

Currier and Ives print - in Library of Congress Collection LC-USZ62-2073 (b&w film copy negative)

By then, Mary Surratt was widowed and no longer the proprietress of the tavern.. Her husband had left her deeply in debt and of necessity, she rented the tavern and farm to an ex-policeman named John Lloyd. In 1864, she moved to northwest D.C. where she owned a townhouse.

Mary Surratt House, 604 H Street N.W. St. in Washington, D.C.
taken about 1908 - photo in Library of Congress Collection LC-USZ62-92592

There, she opened her dwelling to boarders and visitors - including John Wilkes Booth.

Carte de Visite by Alexander Gardner showing John Wilkes Booth
Library of Congress Photo Collection
(digital file from original recto) ppmsca 19233 http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.19233

In the post-assassination search for Booth and his accomplice David Herold, the net was widened to include any who rendered assistance to the plot. (For info on Booth's death, click HERE.)

David Herold, convicted co-conspirator in the Lincoln Assassination
Library of Congress Photo Collection - LC-USZ62-121530.

Mary Surratt was arrested as a conspirator almost immediately and taken to the Old Capitol Prison

Library of Congress Photo Collection - LC -DIG - ppmsca -12611 (digital file)

where she was held pending trial before a military tribunal at the Washington Arsenal Penitentiary.

J. Orville Johnson photograph of the Surratt Jury - Library of Congress Photo Collection

Trial began May 9, 1865 and lasted throughout June. Despite vigorous defense by attorney Frederick Aiken, Mary Surratt was found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging, along with convicted co-conspirators Lewis Payne (a/k/a Powell, Hall and Wood), David Herold, and George Atzerodt.

George Azerodt, Lincoln Assassination Conspirator - photo by Alexander Gardner
in Library of Congress Collection - LC-USZ62-22995 b&w print negative

Lewis Payne, Lincoln Assassination co-conspirator
Library of Congress photo collection LC-USZ62-134024 (b&w film copy neg.)

Five of the nine military tribunal members recommended to President Andrew Johnson that "because of her age and her sex" that her death sentence be reduced to life in prison. Johnson refused, saying Mary Surratt "kept the nest that hatched the egg."

President Andrew Johnson - photo reproduction from Library of Congress Collection

Surratt, Powell, Herold and Atzerodt were hanged on July 7, 1865. She was the first woman executed by the U.S. government.

Execution of Lincoln's Assassins 1865 - Library of Congress photo collection

At the time of her death, a case questioning the jursidiction of military courts in cases involving civilians was pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. Less than a year after Surratt's execution, the court ruled that -- so long as civil courts were available -- military courts have no jurisdiction in civilian cases. Some legal experts think that, had this case been decided before the execution, that Mary Surratt's conviction would have been overturned, though the court did not specifically address the application of the laws of war and the respective jurisdictions of military tribunals and civil courts. Lincoln was assassinated, of course, during time of war.

Several other co-conspirators were also found guilty but were sentenced to life in prison. At the time of Mary Surratt's trial, her son John was in hiding and thus wasn't tried with her and the other principal accused. After the Supreme Court decision, he was arrested and tried in regular criminal court and judged by a jury of his peers. They could not reach a guilty verdict.

For more information, see the Surratt website.

Here's a trailer for the Redford-produced film.

52 Photos Project: Color

2011-05-04T10:48:00.000-07:00

Color. . . .

Do you have a favorite?

A preferred palette?

What draws you in

and makes your heart sing?

Mosaic Monday: Spring Has Sprung

2011-05-01T17:04:00.000-07:00

Reminding myself that spring is out there,

waiting for me to recover

from this wicked bronchitis.

A Night of Romance

2011-04-29T06:46:00.000-07:00

Ah - romance!

It's been a long time

since I had a whole night of it.

Now time for a nap...........

Nourish

2011-04-27T17:58:00.000-07:00

Nourish.

52 Photos Project

Wordless Wednesday

Sepia Saturday: Photochrome

2011-04-23T09:43:00.000-07:00

A little color, 1890s style, from around the world.

Women of the Caucacus - Library of Congress Collection LC-DIG-ppmsc -03930

Traveling by Reindeer, Archangel, Russia - Library of Congress Collection - hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsc.03931

Distinguished Moorish Women, Algiers - Library of Congress Collection (LC-DIG-ppmsc-05553)

Photochrome prints are colorized images produced from black and white photo negatives that are directly transferred onto lithographic printing plates. The process was invented in the 1880s by Hans Jakob Schmid (1856 - 1924). It was popular in the 1890s, when color photography was in existence but still commercially impractical.

Sepia Saturday.

Weekend Reflection: Building Skin

2011-04-22T11:17:00.000-07:00

this one

the skin of a Frank Gehry building

EMP

Experience Music Project in Seattle.

Theme Thursday: Television

2011-04-21T22:49:00.000-07:00

Theme Thursday

The queen of talk.

Ruby Tuesday: Fun at the Beach

2011-04-18T11:50:00.000-07:00

Ruby Tuesday

Weekend Reflection: Before the Virus Laid Me Low

2011-04-15T09:43:00.000-07:00

Reflection from three weeks ago

before I was ambushed by the world-class crud

and reduced to a feverish, coughing, simpering mess.

Weekend Reflections.

Wordless Wednesday: Spring Showoffs

2011-04-13T08:17:00.000-07:00

Ruby Tuesday: Amaryllis

2011-04-11T17:06:00.000-07:00

Sepia Saturday: Letsinger Brothers of Putnam County

2011-04-08T12:55:00.000-07:00

Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Liljenquist Family Collection LC-DIG-ppmsca-27248]

This portrait shows brothers William and Phillip J. Letsinger of Company D, 14th Indiana Regiment, posing with rifles in front of Camp Michigan painted backdrop. They enlisted together on June 7, 1861 while living in Putnam County, Indiana. They both were inducted at the rank of private.

William was discharged as a private on October 29, 1862. His brother Phillip, who had been promoted to Corporal, was one of 3252 men killed at Antietam on September 17, 1862. Antietam, also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg, was the first Civil War battle fought on northern territory.

Sepia Saturday.

Theme Thursday: Face

2011-04-07T09:13:00.000-07:00

Today's theme on Theme Thursday

is FACE.

Or more accurately

FACES. . . .

Share the Joy Thursday

2011-04-07T09:01:00.000-07:00

Mosaic Monday: Idea Seedling

2011-04-03T15:32:00.000-07:00

Oh me oh my!

An idea germinated in my head today -

more like a command from Spirit.

Images just keep popping into my mind

like a big mosaic.

I'm overwhelmed with possibilities

but inspired to shine.

Brightly.

Bloom on!