365 Days of Twenty

365. September 27

2010-10-01T08:32:00.000-07:00

Day 365. Thank you, dear reader, for a sharing in a beautiful year.

364. September 26

2010-10-01T08:26:00.000-07:00

Taking the long way home...

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on."

~ Robert Frost

363. September 25

2010-09-28T21:32:00.000-07:00

Lisa and Kyle meet small town USA.

"Never suppress a generous impulse."

~ Motto of Camilla Eyring Kimball

362. September 24

2010-09-28T21:21:00.000-07:00

"A strong life is like that of a ship of war which has its own place in the fleet and can share in its strength and discipline, but can also go forth alone to the solitude of the infinite sea. We ought to belong to society, to have our place in it and yet be capable of a complete individual existence outside of it."

~ P. G. Hamerton

361. September 23

2010-09-24T08:18:00.000-07:00

I sort of ran away to Grandma and Grandpa S's house today. I felt just like a little kid, hopping on my bike and pedaling like mad to the distant other end of town. I followed a path much of the ride, a pretty cool path because along the way one can see quail, roadrunners (which aren't as big as cartoons led me to believe), and lizards, among other creatures.

Even better than the ride was the visit. Grandparents the best ever. Grandma and Grandpa told me stories of their recent adventures that I probably shouldn't repeat to their children. They even showed me their battle wounds. Grandma asked if I'd written any poetry lately, which she always does, even though it's been a while since I've had anything to show her. When I was younger, I always had little stories or poems to share, but somewhere along the way, I grew up, I grew self conscious, and I stopped sharing. What is it about growing older than makes one forget what's it like to feel unstoppable and brilliant? My writing may have improved since I was kid, but that little kid I was sure had more moxie than I do now.

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up."

~ Pablo Picasso

360. September 22

2010-09-22T22:01:00.000-07:00

First day of fall.

My room is a mess, it's been a long day, and I'm a little on the cranky side.

But I woke up to the most beautiful morning. I love sleeping with the window open and waking up with the sun to find the morning breeze billowing through the curtains and to hear the birds outside. Of course, it also means hearing sprinklers, dogs, passing cars, and whole hosts of other noises throughout the night, but it's so worth it. Thank goodness for fall, and weather still warm enough to wake up to the sound of birds.

And thank you to Elbert Hubbard's Scrap Book for supplying yet another quote of the day.

"What can I do? I can talk out when others are silent. I can say man when others say money. I can stay up when others are asleep. I can keep on working when others have stopped to play. I can give life big meanings when others give life little meanings. I can say love when others say hate. I can say every man when others say one man. I can try events by a hard test when others try it by an easy test. What can I do? I can give myself to life when other men refuse themselves to life."

~ Horace Traubel

359. September 21

2010-09-21T21:16:00.000-07:00

Just another remarkably ordinary, beautiful day.

(Hey mother, this is just a subtle hint that you should consider making pecan pie for your daughter's 21st birthday, but with riper pecans of course.)

And now on to the quote of the day.

"Why should I wish to see God better than this day?
I see something of God each hour of the twenty-four, and each moment then;
In the faces of men and women I see God, and in my own face in the glass;
I find letters from God dropt in the street--and every one is sign'd by God's name,
And I leave them where they are, for I know that wheresoe'er I go,
Others will punctually come for ever and ever."
~ Walt Whitman, from section 48 of "Song of Myself"

358. September 20

2010-09-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

I'm currently procrastinating going into work. Fortunately there's only one more month left with this job, as a month from today my adventures as a Mormon missionary begin. I just want October to fly by.

And I forgot to take a picture of the day, but no worries, I still have a quote of the day, as found on my cousin's pretty awesome blog, Creating On A Budget. Check it out.

"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before." ~President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

And check out Uchtdorf's full speech here.

I'm a little perplexed. If I began this blog on the 29th of last September, then wouldn't the 365th day be the 28th of this September? Why then is it lining up to be the 27th?

357. September 19

2010-09-20T15:46:00.000-07:00

I've had a TableTopics cube in my car for quite some time now. I picked it up at a thrift store and I found it amusing to keep in the car for random conversation. The other day cards spilled out of the case and all over the trunk of my car. While clearing them up, I came across a few that were particularly intriguing to me, such as this one:

And this one:

“Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do.”

~ Pope John XXIII

356. September 18

2010-09-18T21:56:00.000-07:00

Tonight, I lamented to my dad that I needed to get out of the house. Ten minutes later, three bikes were in the back of my dad's truck and my parents and I were off on an adventure. My dad took us down a relatively new bike trail, through parts of my home town I'd never even seen before. That's what I love about my dad; he just knows a lot of cool stuff. He also knows southern Utah better than nearly anyone I've ever met. And this is what I love about southern Utah; I could live here twenty years and still not see it all.

Another from Hubbard's collection...

"The ideal life is in our blood and never will be still. Sad will be the day for any man when he becomes contented with the thoughts he is thinking and the deeds he is doing,--where there is not forever beating at the doors of his soul some great desire to do something larger, which he knows that he was meant and made to do."

~ Phillips Brooks

To Answer Your Question, Miss

2010-09-18T20:52:00.000-07:00

A little note on Love Locks, as it seems to have gathered some curiosity, though I don't know much more other than that I like the idea. There is a Love Locks gate at 223 S. Main in St. George, UT with new gates to be installed in the next couple weeks. Kanab, UT also has one. Check out more at "Love Locks" on Facebook. Then, go find yourself a lover to lock love with.

355. September 17

2010-09-18T16:24:00.000-07:00

Friday night out on the rowboat with ma and pa.

Wow, only ten days left with you, dear reader, and then my days of twenty are up. This is fortunate because I've run out of inanimate objects in my home to photograph at a quarter to midnight, but also a shame because I've only just discovered Elbert Hubbard's Scrap Book. I found Elbert Hubbard's Scrap Book, published 1923, in a thrift shop today. The cover page describes it as "CONTAINING THE INSPIRED AND INSPIRING SELECTIONS GATHERED DURING A LIFE TIME OF DISCRIMINATING READING FOR HIS OWN USE." In other words, it is a truly unique and valuable collection of quotes and poetry gathered from a lifetime of reading. For example, today's quote of the day:

"I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a prettier shell, or a smoother pebble than the ordinary, whist the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me."

~ Newton

And check out this Elbert Hubbard quote, posted here, last November.

354. September 16

2010-09-16T22:35:00.000-07:00

Today was not a particularly busy or fulfilling day, but hey that's life, and it wasn't a bad day in the least.

I kind of love this wall to the right of my home computer. Up top is an endearing shot of my sister and I, clearly being punished for living in the 90s. I'm the kid to the left, the obviously cuter one. And below is the September page of a calendar my sister-in-law put together, filled with pictures of her and my brother's son, Cash. It's so strange to think that Cash will be walking and talking when I see him again, after time away in Russia. He'll be his own little person, with a character that's already making a strong appearance. I sure love that little guy and wish I could see him again soon.

The highlight of my day was watching Dead Poets Society for the first time. Now there's a film that knocks the socks right off of you. Loved it.

"Carpe, carpe diem, seize the day, boys, make your lives extraordinary."

~ Dead Poets Society

Make your life extraordinary. What a wonderful idea. I think I'll do just that.

353. September 15

2010-09-16T10:23:00.000-07:00

I find I am happiest when my days are full, but not too full, when I am productive, but not overwhelmed, when I am busy, but not too busy. I like a day than includes work and pleasure, worship and adventure, beauty and simplicity, and both solitude and social life. I like balance, that's all. And I don't think there is ever a day that should be so busy as to not have time to photograph flowers.

This quote was running through my mind all day today, as the more I think on it, the more true it seems:

"Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of."

~ Benjamin Franklin

352. September 14

2010-09-16T10:12:00.000-07:00

The other day on the radio, I heard an ad for Lovelocks. As the story goes, there's a custom, believed to have originated in China, where lovers close a literal lock and throw away the key as a symbol of love that cannot be undone, a love that is forever. All around the world, there are fences, chains, and poles adorned with these symbolic padlocks. Click here and here to see what I'm talking about. Now there is an organization called Lovelocks creating gates for people to lock their love to, be it love for a lover, family, or friend. And my little hometown has it's own Lovelock gate. How cool is this?

(Oh, and on the Luzhkov Bridge in Moscow, Russia, can be found "Trees of Love," based on the same idea. Maybe I'll be lucky enough to see these "Trees of Love" someday soon.)

We'll forgive the slight grammatical error on this next lock. It's the thought that counts, right?

"Travis suddenly knew why they called it falling in love. It did feel like falling, helpless, half terror and half exhilaration. Wishing desperately to call it off, Travis, wishing it undone, calling it stupid, senseless, hopeless, everything a mistake, knew he was in love...He hadn't know it was going to feel like this. It was going to take some getting used to."

~ S. E. Hinton, Taming the Star Runner

351. September 13

2010-09-16T09:37:00.000-07:00

This little love note, from the fabulous Jenn, traveled two thousand miles to bring me a smile. Thanks, dear. Hope all is well in your corner of the world.

"This is just to say I'm glad you're alive in the world."

~ Cynthia Voigt, A Solitary Blue

350. September 12

2010-09-13T16:37:00.000-07:00

Decorating for autumn on a Sunday afternoon...

Life feels good today.

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns."
~ George Eliot

349. September 11

2010-09-13T16:26:00.000-07:00

Nine years to the day since

09.11.01

“Time is passing. Yet, for the United States of America, there will be no forgetting September the 11th. We will remember every rescuer who died in honor. We will remember every family that lives in grief. We will remember the fire and ash, the last phone calls, the funerals of the children."

~ President George W. Bush, November 11, 2001

348. September 10

2010-09-13T16:17:00.000-07:00

Early autumn adventures...

I am positively in love with autumn and cannot believe how beautiful the weather has been. However, I can't help but miss another autumn, one spent in Asheville, North Carolina where the trees throbbed with color unlike anything I'd ever seen before. Someday, Asheville, I'm coming back to you.

I wonder what an autumn in Russia is like?

"I want adventure in the great wide somewhere
I want it more than I can tell
And for once it might be grand
To have someone understand
I want so much more than they've got planned..."

~ "Belle (Reprise)," Beauty and the Beast

And to Kelsi, a very happy 21st birthday.

347. September 9

2010-09-10T09:24:00.000-07:00

Little Mermaid birthday gala for Miss Melysa's 21st.

Happy Birthday, Melysa dear.

"Risk more than others think is safe. Care more than others think is wise. Dream more than others think is practical. Expect more than others think is possible."

~ Cadet Maxim, U.S. Military Academy, West Point

346. September 8

2010-09-10T08:50:00.000-07:00

Just kind of an icky day.

"There will always be a happy ending. If it's not happy then it's not yet the end."

~ Spongebob Squarepants

(Thanks, Kyle's Facebook page, for this quote. I can't find it anywhere else online, so I hope you're correct.)

345. September 7

2010-09-07T21:49:00.000-07:00

"I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence, I can reach for; perfection is God's business."

~ Michael J. Fox, quoted by Lorne A. Adrain in 'The Most Important Thing I Know'

344. September 6

2010-09-07T21:39:00.000-07:00

Hiking. Sunshine. Family. A holiday.

This, dear reader, is happiness.

"I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air."

~ Nathaniel Hawthorne

343. September 5

2010-09-07T21:20:00.001-07:00

Sunday dinner with my mama's delicious (and poorly photographed!) pecan pie for dessert.

"The homemaker has the ultimate career. All other careers exist for one purpose only—and that is to support the ultimate career. "
~ C.S. Lewis

342. September 4

2010-09-04T20:34:00.000-07:00

My little brother asked me to play photographer for his group for the Homecoming dance. It was kind of fun. Thanks, Kyle, for faith in my little camera. You sure looked handsome in that tux of yours. But I feel slightly creepy posting pictures of your group, so instead I'll offer a shot of the ladies showing off their sweet kicks.

"I want my daughters to be beautiful, accomplished, and good; to be admired, loved, and respected; to have a happy youth, to be well and wisely married, and to lead useful, pleasant lives, with as little care and sorrow to try them as God sees fit to send. To be loved and chosen by a good man is the best and sweetest thing which can happen to a woman; and I sincerely hope my girls may know this beautiful experience."

~ Marmee, of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women

Of all the fictional mothers I have met, Marmee is by far the most dear to me.

341. September 3

2010-09-04T20:11:00.000-07:00

Photographic adventure in a ghost town...

Thanks, Sarah, for the excursion.

"Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often-times we call a man cold when he is only sad."

~ Henry Wordsworth Longfellow

340. September 2

2010-09-04T20:04:00.000-07:00

Hand wash and wax. Vacuum. Dust. New seat covers.

My baby has never looked so good.

"The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved."

~ Victor Hugo

I think my little car is feeling pretty dang happy.

339. September 1

2010-09-01T22:07:00.000-07:00

Hello September. Today actually felt September. There was an ever so slight chill to the morning air that seemed to whisper, autumn. I adore autumn. I'm ready for it. So September, hello, and welcome.

One thing I will miss about summer is the abundance of fresh fruit. I am a passionate lover of peaches, plums, nectarines, raspberries, and oh yes, strawberries as well.

Today, as is often the case, the picture and quote show two different facets of being; the picture illustrating my physical participation in life, and the quote reflecting the preoccupations of my mind.

"By the time I was twenty it was clear to me that I was good for--and good at--nothing else. I hated every job I had...picking cucumbers, hoeing beets, selling popcorn, life guarding, waitressing, selling Kentucky Fried Chicken...I knew if I were to have any chance at all for happiness in work, I had better throw myself at the writing life."

~ Louise Erdrich (when asked why she decided to become a writer)

338. August 31

2010-09-01T21:29:00.000-07:00

"And then, quite suddenly summer was over."

~ Ray Bradbury, Dandelion Wine

337. August 30

2010-09-01T21:22:00.000-07:00

Busy, busy day. I think I'm drained of creative juices. So you, poor reader, get another late night scramble for a photo. Mind if I introduce you to Mr. Bear, my oldest and dearest stuffed friend? I sure was clever with the names as a small child.

"And I hear them saying you'll never change things
And no matter what you do it's still the same thing
But it's not the world that I am changing
I do this so this world will know
That it will not change me."

~ Garth Brooks, "The Change"

Good song, from one heck of a great musician.

Don't bother the search for teddy bear quotes. They are all pretty unbearable.

336. August 29

2010-08-31T20:54:00.000-07:00

Isn't family just the greatest?

"Never forget the nine most important words of any family--

I love you.
You are beautiful.
Please forgive me."
~ H. Jackson Brown Jr.

335. August 28

2010-08-30T22:25:00.000-07:00

Loved this day. Most of it, anyhow.

Still, it left me feeling an old and familiar sense of restlessness...

"I can never read all the books I want; I can never be all the people I want and live all the lives I want. I can never train myself in all the skills I want. And why do I want? I want to live and feel all the shades, tones and variations of mental and physical experience possible in life. And I am horribly limited."

~ Sylvia Plath

334. August 27

2010-08-30T12:24:00.000-07:00

Every summer, these beauties grow wild along the freeways of Utah. For some landowners, the wild flowers are a horrific pain, but for weekend road-trippers such as myself, they are a source of immense pleasure. Thank you, little wild flowers, for brightening my drive.

"The men where you live," said the little prince, "raise five thousand roses in the same garden--and yet they do not find in it what they are looking for."

"They do not find it," I answered.

"And yet what they are looking for could be found in one single rose, or in a little water."

"Yes, that is true," I said.

And the little prince added:

"But eyes are blind. One must look with the heart..."

~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince, trans. Katherine Woods

(Jeremy, thank you for suggesting The Little Prince. You were 10,000% right that I would enjoy it. I loved it.)

333. August 26

2010-08-30T11:50:00.000-07:00

Today I did have a camera by my side. These are just a few snapshots from a Thursday adventure downtown.

"You don't need to worry about what happened before. All you need to look at is what's happening now...And be happy about it. And if that means you only get to be happy for a month or two months or three months, so what. A month or two months or three months is a good long time."

~ Jacqueline Woodson, Feathers

Thanks, Danni, for the loan of Feathers. It was a lovely book, even if I still don't appreciate it like you do.

332. August 25

2010-08-30T11:29:00.000-07:00

"I'm writing you, to catch you up on places I've been
And you have this letter
You probably got excited,
But there's nothing else inside it

Didn't have a camera by my side this time
Hoping I would see the world through both my eyes
Maybe I will tell you all about it when I'm
In the mood to lose my way with words.

...

Guess you had to be there
Guess you had to be with me

Today I finally overcame
Tryin' to fit the world inside a picture frame."

~ from John Mayer's 3X5

(Thanks, Hillary, for the essential John Mayer mix, upon which I first heard this song.)

331. August 24

2010-08-30T11:21:00.000-07:00

Freshly baked bread and homemade granola. Did I mention my mother is a saint?

"One of your unique, precious, and sublime gifts is your femininity, with its natural grace, goodness, and divinity. Femininity is not just lipstick, stylish hairdos, and trendy clothes. It is the divine adornment of humanity. It finds expression in your qualities of your capacity to love, your spirituality, delicacy, radiance, sensitivity, creativity, charm, graciousness, gentleness, dignity, and quiet strength. It is manifest differently in each girl or woman, but each of you possesses it. Femininity is part of your inner beauty."

~ James E. Faust, "Womanhood: The Highest Place of Honor," Ensign, May 2000, 96

330. August 23

2010-08-30T10:14:00.000-07:00

Hiking the Subway of Zion National Park. 9 miles, nearly 8 hours. What a terrific and inspiring challenge.

(Thanks, Maren, for the picture--and the hike.)

"What is there that confers the noblest delight? What is that which swells a man's breast with pride above that which any other experience can bring to him? Discovery! To know that you are walking where none others have walked."
~ Mark Twain

Perhaps the Subway wasn't a journey to discover where no others have walked before, but there was a certain thrill I'd never known, when at the end, overlooking what we had hiked, I knew I'd seen and experienced what so few on this earth ever will.

Come Monday

2010-08-26T20:52:00.000-07:00

Come Monday I'll give a lovely week of posts. For now, check out recent posts on my other blog, Ode to Poetry, a blog which was basically created as an excuse to indulge in poetry. So go ahead, indulge.

329. August 22

2010-08-25T21:07:00.000-07:00

My passport arrived, which apparently means the world is now mine. What to do with it is the next question...

I know a boy whose head is a delightful file of quotes. He shared today's quote with me, as well as the wonderful speech from where he heard it. Thank you, sir, for picking this particular quote from the recesses of your curious mind to share with me.

"Loyalty is for the loyal man not only a good, but for him the chief amongst all the moral goods of his life, because it furnishes. . . him a personal solution [to] the hardest of [all] human . . .problems, the problem: 'For what do I live?'"

~ Josiah Royce, The Philosophy of Loyalty

For what do I live? A good question indeed... I've been thinking on this for a few days now. I have thus concluded, I live for my faith and I live for my family. I live also for joy and for beauty, but I find faith and family to be the greatest source and enhancement of all other joys and beauties to be found. So dear reader, I live for my faith and for my family. For what do you live?

328. August 21

2010-08-22T13:05:00.000-07:00

It seems the entire city has blossomed in purple, practically overnight. Has this happened in years past and I just haven't noticed? I am amazed by this beautiful abundance of purple.

"When it's over, I want to say: all my life I was a bride married to amazement."

~ Mary Oliver, "When Death Comes," New and Selected Poems: Volume One

327. August 20

2010-08-22T12:58:00.000-07:00

"So long sweet summer
I stumbled upon you and gratefully basked in your rays
So long sweet summer
I fell into you
Now you're gracefully falling away."

~ Dashboard Confessional, "So Long Sweet Summer"

326. August 19

2010-08-22T12:56:00.000-07:00

Girl's night with the wonderful ladies of my church group.

"Find out who you are and do it on purpose."
~ Dolly Parton

325. August 18

2010-08-19T13:01:00.000-07:00

This is the attempt (and failure) of Danni and I to make Russian Blini.When we gave up on any chance we had at producing Russian cuisine, we turned to a "Russian" movie, the animated Anastasia, a historically inaccurate and entirely delightful musical. I'm feeling more Russian already.

This quote has little to do with Blini or Russians, but it's been on my mind a fair deal lately.

"My greatest ambition has been to be a good wife, to be a good homemaker, and to be a really good mother. I've always thought that if I could do this, I would fulfill my mission here on earth."

~ Claira May (Clair) Hunter, wife of President Howard W. Hunter, 14th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

324. August 17

2010-08-18T13:19:00.000-07:00

Sunset hike.

"There's not much happens here to make one day unlike the next. The seasons change. The ivy grows. Stones fall over. But you coming here...well, I'm glad you did, that's all."

~ Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book

323. August 16

2010-08-17T13:55:00.000-07:00

Today started with the most beautiful morning, and wound up even better.

"You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen. There is an art of conducting oneself in the lower regions by the memory of what one saw higher up. When one can no longer see, one can at least still know."

~ Rene Daumal

322. August 15

2010-08-17T13:46:00.000-07:00

A silly self portrait, on a Sunday.

Today's quote comes from my favorite postcard of the Postsecret collection. I think this posting of a picture off of Google of a book in what looks to be a library is pretty sketch. Forgive me, Postscret, all I wanted to do was to share the postcard.

I LOVE the quirks, flaws, and imperfections that people have. (I wonder if anyone likes mine)

~ Postsecret

321. August 14

2010-08-17T13:30:00.000-07:00

Summer is slowly dying, dear reader. It makes my heart ache.It's not gone yet, but soon. Autumn's in the air, but I'm not ready to let summer go just yet. I'm not ready to bid farewell to lemonade stands such as this...

"June dawns, July noons, August evenings over, finished, done, and gone forever with only the sense of it all left here in his head. Now, a whole autumn, a white winter, a cool and greening spring..."

~ Ray Bradbury, Dandelion Wine

320. August 13

2010-08-14T14:22:00.000-07:00

Really short, but quite wonderful, extended family reunion. I love getting together with this crazy family.

"The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together."

~Erma Bombeck

319. Agusut 12

2010-08-14T14:11:00.000-07:00

So, here's the thing. My camera is pretty much rendered useless after dark. I'm not even talking really dark, just mildly close to dark. Like this shot, of a shuttle ride through Zion, was only taken at, oh, eight thirty or so. My camera failed entirely at capturing Zion's beautiful cliffs and the stars above, so just picture Zion at night beneath the most amazing sky, okay? Throw in a few, fleeting meteors into your image and then you just about have the right picture.

"When you look at yourself from a universal standpoint, something inside always reminds or informs you that there are bigger and better things to worry about."

~ Albert Einstein, The World as I See It

318. August 11

2010-08-12T17:18:00.000-07:00

"Fall is here. Here the yell. Back to school. Ring the bell."

~ White Stripes, "We're Going to Be Friends"

Public school has begun another year. I know, Utah starts things early.

It feels strange that for the first time in fifteen years, I am not preparing to go back to school, be it grade school or a university. My educational pursuits have been postponed for couple years so I can take a little jaunt to Russia.

Moscow, Russia. Only seventeen inches on the map from the corner of Utah, across America, over the ocean, and through the European continent to the heart of Moscow. The adventure begins in 2 months and nine days. I am so excited to cross those seventeen little inches.

"...there was a language in the world that everyone understood...It was the language of enthusiasm, of things accomplished with love and purpose, and as part of a search for something believed in and desired."

~ Paul Coehlo, The Alchemist

317. August 10

2010-08-11T09:36:00.000-07:00

Fondue, with you, and you, and you.

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?"
~ Mary Oliver, New and Selected Poems

316. August 9

2010-08-10T15:42:00.000-07:00

In news unrelated to anything else in my life, when I came out of work today there was this enormous dead bug on the ground.

And in other news, my little brother is 16. Such a cool kid.

Happy birthday, Kyle. I think you're the best little brother there is. Then again, you already know that. I'm going to miss you like crazy when I leave here in a couple months.

"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."

~ Albert Einstein

315. August 8

2010-08-10T15:09:00.000-07:00

I love rain in August...

"All I can say is that my life is pretty plain
I like watching the puddles gather rain."
~ Blind Melon, "No Rain"

314. August 7

2010-08-10T14:54:00.000-07:00

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."

~ President Theodore Roosevelt

I knew a girl who carried a laminated copy of this quote with her, as it meant a great deal to her. Thanks, Emily, for sharing it with me.

313. August 6

2010-08-10T14:49:00.000-07:00

Movie night in the park with Lori and Sarah. Crazy picture, but it will do. Thanks, ladies, for a terrific evening.

"If I had a time machine, I would not kill Hitler or meet Jesus; I would take you to the movies."
~ Postsecret

312. August 5

2010-08-05T21:07:00.000-07:00

A favorite spot of mine for lunch as well as the instigator of my love for really, really good soup.

“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.”
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

I first read this quote, handwritten on a poster on the walls of a middle school creative writing classroom. It's long been a favorite of mine. I suppose I could liken this unto Judd's, where the employees create soup even as Michelangelo created art.

311. August 4

2010-08-05T20:27:00.000-07:00

Bicycle ride.

"Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride."

~ John F. Kennedy

And...

"Think of bicycles as rideable art that can just about save the world."

~Grant Petersen

310. August 3

2010-08-05T19:34:00.000-07:00

I don't exactly "get" the whole zombie craze, but when I saw this sticker on a car parked next to me, I still smiled. I dedicate this picture to all the zombie lovers I have known, Caitlin C., Jordan H., Ryan N., Professor Kyle Bishop and his book, and on and on... Thank you, vigilant team member of Unit 7 for making our world a safer place.

"You can't overthink a zombie apocalypse, Valerie. That's how you prepare."

~ Ryan N.'s advice to me

309. August 2

2010-08-05T19:25:00.000-07:00

"Russian" waffle making adventures on a Monday morning.

308. August 1

2010-08-04T21:36:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning with two of my favorite men.

Goodbye, Idaho.

Today's total driving hours: Twelve? Thirteen? I lost count.

"Still, there are times I am bewildered by each mile I have traveled, each meal I have eaten, each person I have known, each room in which I have slept. As ordinary as it all appears, there are times when it is beyond my imagination."

~ Jhumpa Lahiri, Interpreter of Maladies

At some point in your life, I highly recommend reading Jhumpa Lahiri's beautiful novel, The Namesake, as well as her short stories. She writes like a painter of beautiful dream.

307. July 31

2010-08-04T21:15:00.000-07:00

My papa had a truck like this when he was a teenager, crank start and everything. Crazy, eh? His truck, however, was much less spiffy and whole lot more rusty than this one at a Saturday morning car show.

And I couldn't help but laugh when I saw this sign at a barber shop:

I love family vacations.

"My parents will never be written up in history books, but as far as their [four] children are concerned, the world has been a much warmer place because of them."

~ Harold Krents, To Race the Wind

I found To Race the Wind in used bookstore while on vacation. I devoured it in two days. This autobiography of a blind man is surprisingly hilarious and tender. I'd definitely recommend it.

306. July 30

2010-08-04T18:49:00.000-07:00

Dear Reader,

You're great. And you should know this. If you don't have somebody in your life who tells you every day how great you are, you should find that somebody. Or, you should be that somebody to someone else. But in case no one else is there to say it, I think you're great.

I'm slowly, but surely getting caught up (or more behind, I can't tell) on this little blog, and trying to give you the best of a journey to Idaho.

Today? I wish you could have seen this pioneer cemetery, nearly lost to the oblivion beneath overgrowth. I kind of feel sorry for the neglected graves, forgotten up on a hillside with no real road to reach it.

This quote doesn't have much to do with Idaho. Or life. I just the song and I like the line. That's all.

"They say you're really not somebody
Until somebody else loves you
Well, I am waiting to make somebody
Somebody soon."

~ Ingrid Michaelson, "Are We There Yet"

305. July 29

2010-08-03T19:15:00.000-07:00

Thursday.

"... but you can love completely without complete understanding."
~ A River Runs Through It

If you've never seen A River Runs Through It, I suggest you watch it at some point in your life, just so you can fall in love with the sensually gorgeous beauty of fly fishing, not to mention the beauty that is Brad Pitt.

And in searching for fishing quotes, I came across this great Einstein quote that has nothing to do with today, but I loved it nonetheless.

"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."
~ Albert Einstein

304. July 28

2010-08-03T18:06:00.000-07:00

One of the best part of vacations is time for books and puzzles.

"...a human being is not one in pursuit of happiness but rather in search of a reason to become happy."

~ Viktor E. Frankl, "The Case for Tragic Optimism"

303. July 27

2010-08-02T20:26:00.000-07:00

Today, I had breakfast at this delightful restaurant with my sister and a friend I met in Asheville, NC. Paige, it was so good to see you, even if it did make my heart ache for Asheville. And today I said goodbye to my brother and sister-in-law's beautiful yellow house. Matt, Cierra, I loved your yellow house, particularly for quirky touches such as this:

Then, back on the road for more driving.

Today's total driving hours: 5 1/2.

"I want to think again of dangerous and noble things. I want to be light and frolicsome. I want to be improbable, beautiful, and afraid of nothing, as though I had wings."

~ Mary Oliver

302. July 26

2010-08-02T18:05:00.000-07:00

On the road, again.

Today's total driving hours: 5 1/2

All completely worth it to spend time with family, particularly this chipper sister of mine:

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime."

~Mark Twain

301. July 25

2010-08-02T17:44:00.000-07:00

On the road in Idaho, land of the famous potatoes.

Today's total driving hours: Roughly 12

"I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move."

~Robert Louis Stevenson

Still Here

2010-08-02T11:17:00.000-07:00

Dear Reader,

I still love you. Posts from one excellent vacation are coming soon. Now I just need to scrounge up some excellent quotes... Any ideas?

300. July 24

2010-07-24T23:11:00.000-07:00

Day 300. 65 to go.

In Utah, today is a holiday, Pioneer Day/ 24th of July/ Utah Day/ Whatever You'd Like to Call It. Basically, it's a celebration of our pioneer ancestry, as well as our statehood.

And what did I do with it? I accomplished Life Goals and Ambitions #67, bullet point 5, Find Navajo Lake. It was more of a pickle than I thought it might be, but a pickle of the most delightful variety.

To get directions to Navajo Lake, my exploration crew and I stopped at a visitor's center near this viewpoint:

Shortly thereafter, I was then able to successfully find this beautiful lake.

Mission accomplished. My heart felt infinitely happy.

Thanks, pioneers, for establishing this beautiful state. I mean this sincerely. I love Utah. And I have a love for those pioneers who came here so many years ago. It is to you, pioneers, that I dedicate my quote of the day.

Above and beyond the epic historical events they participated in, the pioneers found a guide to personal living. They found reality and meaning in their lives... A few did turn back. But the great majority of the pioneers went forward to a heroic achievement in this life and to eternal life in the life hereafter. Francis Webster, a member of the Martin Company, stated, “Everyone of us came through with the absolute knowledge that God lives for we became acquainted with him in our extremities.”
~ President James E. Faust, "A Priceless Heritage"

And to you, dear reader, goodbye for a week. I will be exploring the wilds of Idaho. I promise to return with many beautiful pictures.

299. July 23, An Alteration

2010-07-24T22:36:00.000-07:00

As president and author of this fine blog, I am utilizing my authority to make an alteration to Post 299. July 23.

The quote of the day is now as follows, thanks to a viewing of Stranger Than Fiction.

"I just figured if I was going to make the world a better place I'd do it with cookies."

~ The character Ana Pascal of Stranger Than Fiction

299. July 23

2010-07-24T18:00:00.000-07:00

Friday night:

- Cookies

- Milk

- Laundry

- A viewing of Benny and Joon in ten parts on YouTube

Thanks Tif, for the movie suggestion and Mother for the cookies.

"We'd get sick on too many cookies, but ever so much sicker on no cookies at all."
~ Sinclair Lewis

298. July 22

2010-07-23T19:50:00.000-07:00

Applying for a passport, though expensive, was surprisingly not the headache I feared it might be. The Russian visa application, on the other hand, is quite the whopper.

"Not only is the universe stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine."

~ Sir Arthur Eddington

297. July 21

2010-07-23T19:35:00.000-07:00

Today.

"Summer afternoon--summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language."
~ Henry James

296. July 20

2010-07-23T19:28:00.000-07:00

Monumentally dull day.

This sign may as well read: Touch me. Stroke me. I promise you'll be satisfied.

"Sometimes life is really ridiculously repetitive."
~ Postsecret

295. July 19

2010-07-20T16:53:00.000-07:00

It's hot. Crazy, fanatically hot, morning, noon and night. Don't get me wrong, I prefer the heat immensely to the winter because I get all the sunshine I want. It's just hot. That's all.

106 degrees Fahrenheit, in the shade, after the hottest part of the day has passed.

"Don’t worry about the world coming to an end today. It’s already tomorrow in Australia."

~ Charles M. Schulz

294. July 18

2010-07-20T16:29:00.000-07:00

These flowers, purchased in behalf of my mother's birthday, are a source of endless wonder to me. When I left this morning, this flower was a closed bud. Upon returning only a few short hours later, the bud had shyly unfolded itself. Another few hours later, it had fully opened, glorious in its beauty. I would love to be there for the exact moment when the bud cautiously opens itself into a flower.

"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious."
~ Albert Einstein

293. July 17

2010-07-18T22:35:00.000-07:00

Remember these books? A coworker of mine collects them. After sorting through her collection during a move, she generously gave me a huge stack of duplicate copies. It was such a charming gift, like being given a small chunk of my childhood back. Oh how I love books.

I'm trying to be particular about my book collection. I don't want shelves of "impressive" books, just for the sake of impressiveness. I want shelves and shelves of books I've read and loved, books I would loan out in heartbeat. I'm not concerned about collecting first editions or hardbacks. I like my books to look lived in and loved. With this stack of Little Golden Books, I want to read every single one out loud to the children I hope to someday have, not stack them away for the sake of collecting. Books are meant to be read and loved, not to sit as shelf ornamentation. Someday, I hope to have little kids who share the same love as I do. Someday, I hope to have a house spilling forth with well loved books. Someday...

I love Louis L'Amour's words on his own library, so, if you don't mind, I'll share a couple. I would have loved to have had the opportunity to chat books with this great man and peruse his library, which I am sure is one of the finer collections the earth has seen.

"These were not nice even rows of books in similar bindings but often were battered old veterans moving from the hands of one lover to another..."
~ Louis L'Amour, Education of a Wandering Man

"My library is not simply an accumulation of books. Each book has its reason for being there, and there is no deadwood on those shelves. Those I have are what I believe to be the best in their field, and if not that, they at least have something of value to offer. I have no book I could not read again with profit, and most of them require rereading."
~ Louis L'Amour, Education of a Wandering Man

292. July 16

2010-07-18T21:57:00.000-07:00

Another evening bike ride, with a deliciously stormy summer sky behind me and this lovely view before me:

Tonight's quote was found on Miss Lex's adorable blog. Check her blog out here. It's a sheer delight.

"People keep telling me that I fall in love too easily--that I should protect my heart, that I shouldn’t wear my heart on my sleeve… I fall in love at least 20 times a day. I fall in love with the sky and the sun and the flowers and my children. I fall in love with smiles, with music on the radio and with french fries and Dr. Pepper. I fall in love with the sound of laughter, blue jeans, accents… Sometimes I fall in love with complete strangers, especially the ones holding hands and kissing in public. The ones who aren’t afraid to be in love with the idea of being in love either. I don’t mind the pain of unrequited love so much, because I think they’re wrong. Love looks good on me."

~ Natalie Anne Erlanson

291. July 15

2010-07-18T17:33:00.000-07:00

This, dear reader, is a good day, a very good day indeed. I have been called to serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the Russia Moscow Mission. What this means is that for eighteen months I'll be teaching Russians all about the gospel of Christ--in Russian. Crazy, huh? So, I guess I'd better learn some Russian and buy me some long johns. Oh, dear reader, I'm so excited to share the gospel. I've wanted this day for a very long time. Thank you to my marvelous family and friends for so much warm enthusiasm and encouragement. It means everything to me.

Sharing the good news via Skype and speaker phone with the family.

"Just be one more voice to say that God lives and that this is His work. That will bring satisfaction."

~ Marjorie Pay Hinckley

And happy birthday to my beautiful mother. I love you, Mom.

290. July 14

2010-07-16T22:14:00.000-07:00

The LDS Institute of Religion. I'm taking classes here a couple nights a week with other college age kids. It feels like a good place to be.

"You can do anything, but not everything."

~ David Allen

289. July 13

2010-07-13T22:13:00.000-07:00

My work with a little cleaning company, as of late, has been a horrific bore. Then again, how many people are lucky enough to really love their jobs? Today, in an effort to love mine, I cleaned to music. It improved my work day tenfold. Thank you, music world.

"If I should ever die...let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC."
~ Kurt Vonnegut

288. July 12

2010-07-13T21:57:00.000-07:00

Today was a perfectly photogenic day, complete with a Christmas in July white elephant gift exchange and sand volleyball in the park. Did I photograph such events? No, of course not. Instead you get, drum roll please, my keys. I used to be a fun key chain person, but now I suppose all my keys have to say for me now is that I work out at the gym, spend time at the library, and drive a Saturn. What's on your key chain, dear reader?

"If you are waiting for a sign...this is it. Do it. It will be amazing."

~ Postsecret

287. July 11

2010-07-12T17:16:00.000-07:00

My good friend Joshua returned from the land of the Canadians after two years of preaching the gospel. Of course, my camera died at his homecoming. Thus today's shot I'm borrowing from Joshua's Facebook page. Thank you, Joshua for the picture. It's good to see your face again.

And one more shot, from an evening bike ride by the river.

"The bicycle, the bicycle surely, should always be the vehicle of novelists and poets."
~Christopher Morley

286. July 10

2010-07-12T16:59:00.000-07:00

Wedding cake. A very, very colorful wedding cake. I was thinking on weddings the other day. Given that there are fifty-two weeks in a year, at the end of this year I will have spent over one tenth of my weekends attending wedding receptions. Thank you to Tel and Kayla, for at least making this ordeal a colorful one.

"Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same."

~Emily Brontë

285. July 9

2010-07-10T09:45:00.000-07:00

"When you want something, all the universe conspires to help you achieve it."

~ Paulo Coehlo, The Alchemist

284. July 8

2010-07-09T07:15:00.000-07:00

I sent postcards all over the world today, to friends met through an exchange program. I do love mail, however, I can't help but wish I was instead arranging to meet face to face with these friends once again.

"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world."
~ Mother Teresa

283. July 7

2010-07-08T17:31:00.000-07:00

I took a day to enjoy some of the finest pleasures life has to offer: food, books, theater, and nature. Because, dear reader, I cannot share with you the taste of the croissant club sandwich I enjoyed for lunch, the thrill of finding just the book I wanted, nor the felicity felt while watching 39 Steps, I offer you only a view of nature.

"One can be so overwhelmed by the forest as to miss seeing the trees."

~ Louis L'Amour, Education of a Wandering Man

Do you ever have those days when, after a rush of sheer satisfaction, you find yourself irrationally cranky and irritable? It as though the other side of life's coin is saying, it's my turn now. I'm trying to be better at recognizing when these moments arise so I can thus control my attitude more effectively. In the meantime, I apologize to those who see me when I'm on the losing side of the battle to stay on top of my moods.

282. July 6

2010-07-08T16:34:00.000-07:00

Bolstered by the joy of my bike ride the previous evening, I began this morning with another bike ride. It was, in one word, delightful. I brought my camera along, of course, and just had to capture the beauty of flowers growing wild on the edge of field. I am cheered by any and all flowers that manage to survive or thrive in this desert heat.

"Associate with the noblest people you can find; read the best books; live with the mighty. But learn to be happy on your own."

~ Professor Thomas Davidson, as quoted in Education of a Wandering Man

Learn to be happy on your own. I love that phrase. It's not suggesting learn to be happy alone, just simply on your own. Happiness, lasting happiness, cannot be bestowed upon you by an outside source. It's something you have to learn to acquire on your own.

281. July 5

2010-07-06T16:09:00.000-07:00

I love, love, love desert evenings. They are the perfect time to be outdoors, enjoying sunsets such as this.

Thank you to my mother for reminding me of little joys such as riding a bike. Mom, your pretty fantastic in so many ways.

"While I write these words, I feel that my pulse beats faster; those moments will always be present to me though I should live a hundred thousand years."

~ Rousseau, Confessions, trans. Anonymous

280. July 4

2010-07-06T15:26:00.000-07:00

Hello, America.

Happy Independence Day. I celebrated your big day with s'mores, guitar music, and conversation around a fire. America, my heart belongs with you. I love this beautiful country.

"America, for me, has been the pursuit and catching of happiness."

~Aurora Raigne

279. July 3

2010-07-05T15:51:00.000-07:00

I woke this morning, sat up in my sleeping bag, and watched this view unfold before me.

Dad, I love this picture because I loved this weekend. You might never know how much I loved our camp out.

"The world will never starve for want of wonders, but for want of wonder."

~ Gilbert K. Chesterton

278. July 2

2010-07-03T18:54:00.000-07:00

Setting up camp at dusk. Sleeping under the stars in the bed of the truck makes my heart so happy.

"We know what we are, but know not what we may be."

~ William Shakespeare

277. July 1

2010-07-02T11:52:00.000-07:00

Forget laundry, housecleaning, and grocery shopping. Sometimes a Thursday night just calls for a movie night in and Mac n' Cheese for dinner.

"Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted."
~ John Lennon

276. June 30

2010-07-01T18:50:00.000-07:00

Here's what's new:

It's hot. I mean, really, really hot.

I'm waiting, and waiting, and waiting for something awesome.

I'm not very patient.

I'm hoping this pretty place can school me in patience:

"The strength of patience hangs on our capacity to believe that God is up to something good for us in all our delays and detours."
~ John Piper, Battling Unbelief: Defeating Sin with Superior Pleasure

275. June 29

2010-06-29T22:45:00.000-07:00

Long post. Sorry for my recent garrulous nature. If you aren't a fan of my commentary, skim the post for the pretty pictures. If you aren't a fan of my commentary or my pictures, the world wide web is a big place and surely there is somewhere else that can please you.

Smatterings of a Tuesday in June:

This is a field I passed this morning on my way to a job. My first thought when I pulled this photo up my computer tonight was, life is so good. Utah's skies need no editing and this photo needs no further commenting.

Reading L'Amour's memoir at sunset at the park. Gods of the library, please forgive me for marking up your beautiful book. It was, let me assure you, quite necessary.

The quote of the day is again from L'Amour. It may not mean much to you, dear reader, but if L'Amour had come to me in a dream and spoken these very words to me, I do not think they could have hit me harder than they did on the printed page.

"There are so many wonderful stories to be written, and so much material to be used. When I hear people talking of writer's block, I am amazed. Start writing, no matter about what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on. You can sit and look at a page for a long time and nothing will happen. Start writing and it will."

~ Louis L'Amour, Education of a Wandering Man

In a somewhat related note, I now want to marry a man like the young Louis L'Amour.

And, let me take a quick moment to wish my parents a happy 26th wedding anniversary. I hope to one day have a marriage as happy as theirs--with my young Louis L'Amour, of course. I cannot tell you how much it means to me to have parents who are still in love with each other. I love that Dad and Mom still hold hands everywhere they go, go on dates every weekend, and kiss each other goodbye everyday. The world could use a great deal more spouses, lovers, friends, and parents, like this couple.

(Photo taken 6/20/10)

Lastly, I'm digging the awesome Live Traffic Feed on the sidebar. Check it out. I'm intrigued, dear reader, by all the locations from which you come. I wonder what your stories are. Do you like reading books at sunset, eating toast at midnight, or walking the beach at dawn? Are you a lover, a dreamer, or a wanderer? What, I wonder, makes you tick? And how did you ever stumble upon this humble little blog?

Midnight already. So much for getting my faucet of writing flowing tonight.

Dear Brain,

Please retain your beautiful stories until a time when I have a free hour to write them out. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Dear Me,

Keep your blog posts shorter. Then maybe we'd have time to write.

Sincerely,

Your Brain

274. June 28

2010-06-29T22:18:00.000-07:00

This little notebook is, as the title implies, a book of thoughts. Here is where I collect the thoughts of the world--quotes from books as well as from life, characters and stories I come across that I don't want to forget, funny bits of conversations I overhear, curious facts, and anything that strikes me in a particular way. Here is where I collect the thoughts of my mind--word pairings and lines I like, ideas for stories, questions on life, and things to ponder. I began keeping a notebook such as this in my freshman year of college, due to the suggestion of an English professor in a creative writing class. It was the best suggestion anyone has ever given me concerning my writing. This little book is very dear to me.

I know a handful of other people who keep similar notebooks for all sorts of reasons. Every once in a while, a friend, or perhaps a stranger, will pull out a notebook similar to mine and I'll feel as though I suddenly have a small understanding of who they are in a way I never would have had were we not both keepers of notes. It's a lovely connection.

Someday, dear reader, this notebook, and other notebooks that have come and will come, will come in handy to my writing. In a few cases, it already has.

If you, dear reader, have every felt the ache of wanting write, or the passion to read, or the desire to gain education outside of a classroom, read Louis L'Amour's memoir, Education of a Wandering Man. It has thus far been the best education I have ever found on what it means to be a writer, a reader, and a pupil of life. It also happens to be delightfully entertaining. From L'Amour's work:

"...For a writer, of course, everything is grist for the mill, and a writer cannot know too much. Sooner or later everything he does know will find its uses.

A writer's brain is like a magician's hat. If you are going to get anything out of it, you have to put something in first.

I have studied a thousand things I never expected to use in a story, yet every once in a while these things will find a place.

I have read because I loved reading, and I have learned because I loved learning, yet all one needs cannot come from books. It can come from sounds, from music, from the play of light and shadow, from the people one meets or those one does not meet."

273. June 27

2010-06-28T13:23:00.000-07:00

The Newport Beach California Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This place is beautiful to me not only for its aesthetic appeal, but because my faith is beautiful to me.

For more about temples, click here.

"Christianity does not remove you from the world and its problems; it makes you fit to live in it, triumphantly and usefully."

~ Charles Templeton

272. June 26

2010-06-28T13:07:00.000-07:00

I spent the most wonderful afternoon on the beach. I ate a burger on the pier, played bocci ball in the sand, and stood at the shore and let the Pacific wash over my feet. I enjoyed the California sunshine, the company of friends, and the pleasure of doing nothing.

And I didn't take a single picture.

That's the funny thing about this 365 project. If anything, I've come to understand, I don't want to live life behind the lens of a camera. I love taking pictures for the sake of taking pictures, but as for preserving memories, I'd rather just live life in the moment and live each moment well. But, you, dear reader, and I still have another ninety-three days to go together. And I'm not giving up on you yet. So, I continue to take pictures and I continue to find joy in doing so.

Today's picture was actually taken the day prior on a morning walk. There are few things I love more than early mornings on the beach.

"The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera."
~ Dorothea Lange

It's the words of this poem that haunt me every time I feel I'm losing myself behind my camera:

The Vacation
Wendell Berry

Once there was a man who filmed his vacation.
He went flying down the river in his boat
with his video camera to his eye, making
a moving picture of the moving river
upon which his sleek boat moved swiftly
toward the end of his vacation. He showed
his vacation to his camera, which pictured it,
preserving it forever: the river, the trees,
the sky, the light, the bow of his rushing boat
behind which he stood with his camera
preserving his vacation even as he was having it
so that after he had had it he would still
have it. It would be there. With a flick
of a switch there it would be. But he
would not be in it. He would never be in it.

271. June 25

2010-06-28T12:49:00.000-07:00

Lisa and Louis on a rock atop California's Point Mugu State Park. This world is such a beautiful place.

"People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes. All is a miracle."

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

270. June 24

2010-06-28T12:44:00.000-07:00

Road trip.
California sunset.
Love it.

"As you walk and eat and travel, be where you are. Otherwise you will miss most of your life."
~ Siddhārtha Gautama