243. May 28

For a little more behind this photo, click here.

"'I know this much, is all,' Franny said. 'If you're a poet, you do something beautiful. I mean you're supposed to leave something beautiful after you get off the page and everything.'"

~ J. D. Salinger, Franny and Zooey 

242. May 27

Dear reader, 

So guess who forgot to take a picture of the day, again? How is it that I can go over 200 days without forgetting only to do so twice in a few weeks? As compensation for my grave error, I offer another shot taken earlier this month.

241. May 26

Three shots. One blood test. One TB test. Five needles total and two very sore arms.

But, don't worry, dear reader. It's all in the name of a beautiful dream. And after this rather horrendous ordeal, I treated myself to a cupcake.

"Life is pain, highness. Anyone who tells you differently is selling something."
~ William Goldman, The Princess Bride

240. May 25

For those of you who have followed this blog awhile, you know I have a love for close-up shots of flowers and shots that include a wide expanse of sky. Of this shot in particular, I love the beautiful translucency of the waxy petals.

I feel as though my life could be summed up as the pursuit of beauty.

"We live only to discover beauty. All else is a form of waiting."

~ Kahlil Gibran

239. May 24

I am a firm believer in the idea that there is beauty to be found in everything, but Las Vegas makes it hard to hold to such beliefs.

 I think Manilow pinpointed just what it is I dislike about Las Vegas:

"There's just no quiet in Vegas. "
~ Barry Manilow

238. May 23

My sister-in-law, Cierra, dressing her son for his baby blessing.

"The moment a child is born, the mother is also born.  She never existed before.  The woman existed, but the mother, never.  A mother is something absolutely new." 

~Rajneesh

237. May 22

I'm posting this one just so my little brother, Kyle, knows how handsome he is when he's behind the wheel. Love this kid.

"I walk around the school hallways and look at the people. I look at the teachers and wonder why they're here. If they like their jobs. Or us. And I wonder how smart they were when they were fifteen. Not in a mean way. In a curious way. It's like looking at all the students and wondering who's had their heart broken that day, and how they are able to cope with having three quizzes and a book report due on top of that. Or wondering who did the heart breaking. And wondering why." 

~ Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

236. May 21

Hiking in Hidden Canyon with my sister, Lisa. Where is this lovely canyon located? I can't tell you. It's hidden. But it may or may not be in Zion National Park. Hillary, Zion (without an "s") will forever make me think of you. Going in on an annual pass with my parents was the best idea ever, even if my parents have yet to take advantage of it (which they should--soon). And there is still a whole summer ahead of hiking...

"Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life."  

~Rachel Carson

235. May 20

My big brother, Matt, and his son, Cash. It's the greatest experience to see my big brother as a daddy. He sure loves that little guy.

"...noble fatherhood gives us a glimpse of the divine attributes of our Father in Heaven. A father should be many things. He should...be an example of righteousness. In companionship with his wife, he should be the source of stability and strength for the whole family. He should be the protector and the provider and the champion of the members of his family. Much of his love for his children should flow from his example of love, concern, and fidelity for their mother. By his uncompromising example he should instill character into his children."

~ James E. Faust, "Them That Honour Me Will I Honour"

234. May 19

Mom with her grandson, Cash Matthew. I'd have to say my mother makes a lovely grandma.

"Hers was a beauty that cannot be purchased. It came from years of seeking the best gifts, becoming well educated, seeking knowledge by study and also by faith. It came from years of hard work, of faithfully enduring trials with optimism, trust, strength, and courage. It came from her unwavering devotion and fidelity to her husband, her family, and the Lord."

Elaine S. Dalton, "Remember Who You Are!"

233. May 18

"All because...Every life is difference because you passed this way and touched history."

~ Barbara Kingsolver, The Poisonwood Bible

232. May 17

It feels good to be outside in the evening in the early summertime. I love that there is a whole summer before me. I love summer: late-night drives, long hikes at dusk, lemonade stands, morning jogs, and namely, the feeling of possibility.

 

Thinning peaches at welfare orchards for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. For more about the LDS church's welfare efforts, click here.

 

 

"Though my work may be menial, though my contribution may be small, I can perform it with dignity and offer it with unselfishness. My talents may not be great, but I can use them to bless the lives of others...The goodness of the world in which we live is the accumulated goodness of many small and seemingly inconsequential acts." 

~ Gordon B. Hinckley

231. May 16

Well. It was bound to happen at some point. Day 231: I forgot to take a picture. I remember vaguely thinking of a picture at a quarter midnight, while I was brushing my teeth, but it was quickly lost in a wave of sleepiness. My apologies, dear reader. As compensation for this faux pas, I offer up a shot taken previously this month. Why this shot? Well, I like it. And this is my blog.

"It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all--in which case, you fail by default." 

~ J.K. Rowling

230. May 15

Will you just look at this little guy? How perfect is he? Of all the privileges my twenty years of life has afforded, holding my nephew for the first time was one of the best. He's perfect. Simply perfect. I'm sure you'll be seeing more of this kid soon. His momma is so much better at this picture taking than I, so maybe I'll borrow a few from her.

"You were the fairest thing God ever made / I think...What is the need of Heaven / When earth can be so sweet?"

~ Edna St. Vincent Millay, "Interim"

229. May 14

Grave marker at a Catholic pioneer cemetery.

"Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them." 

~ Henry David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience and Other Essays: Collected Essays of Henry David Thoreau

228. May 13

"If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it."
 ~ Toni Morrison

227. May 12

I know, another flower shot. But I just love, love, love the flowers. I love the hollyhocks and roses that bloom in the yards downtown, the wildflowers that spread recklessly along the roadsides, and I even kind of love the silly pansies in the landscaping. Come late summer, the sunflowers will grow wild along the freeway, and when that time comes, I'll photograph those as well. 

"Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer."
~ Rainer Maria Rilke

Happy birthday, Lisa. I can't wait for California adventures with your lovely face.

226. May 11

I get to meet this guy in just a few short days. I can't wait. Isn't he handsome?

"I think, at a child's birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift would be curiosity." 

~ Eleanor Roosevelt

225. May 10

Tonight I am a chaotic jumble of energy, excitement, anxiety, confusion, and questions. Sleep won't be coming soon, so I might as well blog. Today gave way to a surprise email, even more surprising ground mail, and still a more surprising phone call...

Airmail from Japan and tax returns! Woot!

And I just couldn't resist showing you this delightful blurb from the back cover of J.J. McKenna's novel, Sarah and Joshua. Sounds way good, right? My favorite line has got to be, "Had Joshua not been a doctor, he would have been a poet."

Quote of the day:

"If they give you ruled paper, write the other way."

~ Juan Ramon Jimenez, as quoted in Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury

224. May 9

Happy Mother's Day.

Here's a shot from a walk with my own lovely mother.

And for tonight's quote, I've always loved this quote by Marjorie Pay Hinckley, wife of Gordon B. Hinckley, former president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. What a divine example of a mother. 

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor's children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived."

 ~ Marjorie Pay Hinckley

223. May 8

Bridal shower for Miss Samantha (back row, in black). Fabulous party, ladies. Maren, your culinary artwork was divine.

Thanks, Danni, for the photo.

Congratulations, Sam and Jason, on your upcoming nuptials. I can't wait for the wedding. And since I have no love life of my own to use love quotes on, I'm dedicating this one to Sam.

"I, with a deeper instinct, choose a man who compels my strength, who makes enormous demands on me, who does not doubt my courage or my toughness, who does not believe me naïve or innocent, who has the courage to treat me like a woman." 
~ Anaïs Nin

222. May 7

This spot is a good little get away. The pond itself is peaceful and it's nice to watch the quiet patterns of the fishermen and the ducks. Beyond the pond there is a sweeping view of the city, just far enough away that the noise of the city doesn't accompany the view. It's a good place to think all sorts of thoughts.

 

"That was all he wanted now. Some sign that the immense world would accept him and give him the long time he needed to think all the things that must be thought."
~ Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

221. May 6

Go on, dear reader, device some clever analogy if you will of the facades of life and the masks we wear. Yes, this mask, I suppose, does relate to my life, but mainly it has made its way onto this blog simply because I was, once again, without a picture as midnight was drawing closer, and the mask just happened to be there waiting to be photographed.

This little quote was simply just what I needed to hear this week to untangle my jumbled thoughts.

"Look at the trees, look at the birds, look at the clouds, look at the stars... and if you have eyes you will be able to see that the whole existence is joyful.  Everything is simply happy.  Trees are happy for no reason; they are not going to become prime ministers or presidents and they are not going to become rich and they will never have any bank balance.  Look at the flowers--for no reason.  It is simply unbelievable how happy flowers are." 

~Osho

220. May 5

Sunrise. 

I've noticed the sunrise often, but it's likely been since last summer that I  have really watched one.

"What humbugs we are, who pretend to live for Beauty, and never see the Dawn!"

~Logan Pearsall Smith

219. May 4

A Tuesday afternoon.

"And I think to myself, what a wonderful world."

~ "What a Wonderful World"

218. May 3

Rumor has it that there are people in the world with real blogs that blog about important things and big issues.

I'm sorry. This is not one of those blogs.

This is one of those sort of blogs that chatters about trivialities of daily life and makes collages of lunch excursions. 

Lisa, I owe you $3.50.

 

I don't quite know why, but this little quote won't get off of my mind. 

"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives."
 ~ Annie Dillard

217. May 2

"The glorious feelings that once gave us life / Are numbed in the tumult of the world."

~ Goethe, Faust, Trans. Randall Jarrell

216. May 1

This is the family dog, Odie. It's a bit of a lousy picture of him, as he's afraid of cameras (and most everything else). I love this silly mutt.

 I feel like C.S. Lewis's depiction of an old dog he had is a pretty decent summary of Odie.

"...for poor Tim, though I loved him, was the most undisciplined, unaccomplished, and dissipated-looking creature that ever went on four legs."

~ C.S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life

215. April 30

This lovely pile of junk is all destined for the thrift shop. It is the result of an afternoon of deep cleaning my bedroom. What is in this massive heap you ask? Dresses and jewelry I always wanted to pull off but never quite could, useless knickknacks I've forgotten the significance of, frames too ugly to be hung, a homemade skim board I never actually used, dozens of leis acquired from who knows where, old magazines I've already read, books I don't want on my shelves, and relics of childhood that deserve a new home.

 

"Clutter and mess show us that life is being lived...What people somehow forgot to mention when we were children was that we need to make messes in order to find out who we are and why we are here." 

~ Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life