Contemplating.

Contemplating.
Wayzata, Minnesota

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Outside or Inside- Good Fences

"Mix a little foolishness with your serious plans;
it's lovely to be silly at the right moment."
Horace


Beginning in the true outdoors,




Have you ever dreamed of having a lovely yard right inside your very own house?  Well this is exactly that.  Wishes do come true, with various shades of paint and a little fencing, instant outdoors in any room.


You can do it too.



Just beyond this gate, my Words for Wednesday begins.

A nearby wardrobe assistant on a photo shoot stared in bewilderment from her tent as Charlie Joy, an agent for the F.B.I. flew his microlight off a roof of a local tyre factory (known for their experimental shoe breakthrough that every shoe manufacture was in awe of) so much so that they sent their best chair person to hound their designer.
(All 12 words complete.)




  Add a telephone pole with a few birds on the wires and



possibly throw in a bucket or a chair,



and of course genuine fencing against the painted wall and you have 



summer all winter long.


I'm hoping you all have your Halloween costumes in order, (if you're one to dress up) just remember what Horace said-

"It's lovely to be silly at the right moment."

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Reverie - The Mag

Greetings.


on a 

Tuesday afternoon-

Why not ponder over a delicious Magpie while living a Tuesday afternoon?Especially one that promises to be precisely, so black and white.

A wee bit mysterious even.


"Mortals. Everything is so
 black and white to you."
Kami Garcia


"That crazed girl improvising her music.
Her poetry, dancing upon the shore." 
Kami Garica

Dancing, lusting, and finally dreaming-


Photo- Daniel Murtagh


I magpie this for you-
Dreaming of tomorrow?
REVERIE
Lost in sleep's translation

Of what tomorrow 
shall be costuming away
magic makes merry

needs not be scary
 flirtatiously pumpkin spiced 
between joyful sheets.



"The farther we've gotten from the magic and mystery of our past,
 the more we've come to need Halloween."
Paula Curan


Size Small- Thematic Photographic

Greetings my little pretty!


Our theme this week is

Size Small

So, what little, small sized critter can I conjure up on this grey Minnesota morning?


I see you.




Enjoying an early morning swing.


Live from Minnesota-



Fence hopping.



"Don't sit on the fence; break it and move out!
Don't be confined to the little things you do;
the sky should be below your limit."
Israelmore Ayivor



Dreaming with eyes shut.


Smiling with eyes shut.

Keep your eyes open for the little, small sized things in life today-
they might just offer an over-sized joy!

Saturday, October 24, 2015

Seeking Ina - Sepia Saturday

"History, like love, is so apt to surround her heroes
 with an atmosphere of imaginary brightness." 
James Fenimore Cooper


My post touches the days when
families gathered around radios and televisions for entertainment.




SEPIA SATURDAY

"Glorious is the Voice of Man, and sweet is the music of the heart."
Rich Llewellyn

BUT, sometimes-


If they weren't gathered around their television sets they were off to the theater, or as theatre-goers and those fond of music they often searched for opera houses or perhaps-






the less dramatic, more humorous "Traveling Theatres" in various places around the community.



Most musicians had quite a fan list following them like the lovely Ina, pictured below at her harp, wearing flowers in her hair.  She was obviously known for her beauty as well as a most defining and gifted harpist, drawing great crowds.
Or was this photo a ploy by the photographer? Could she really play the harp?





 Our theme photo for Sepia Saturday, entitled-
"Ina playing harp."

Like many of our theme photos they often possess little information.  Clicking here you'll enjoy a bit of information regarding, James Samuel Windeatt, the photographer once located in the Eureka Building.  My search within Windeatt's photography leads me to believe her real name may be
 Ina (Fagan) Claire, (from Billy Rose Theater division photo by Windeatt) actress and harpist see here, and here.

Interesting fact about Windeatt is the British legacy visible in his portraiture was the avoidance of deep shadows.


Enough facts let's have some fun.
So here's my story about Ina, 
and we'll begin in a theater where she quite possibly may have played as a harpist.  Maybe.


This photo taken with detail showing sculpture relief of winged-lion orchestra area of auditorium near stage at the Missouri Theatre Building in Saint Joseph, MO. 






Music lovers of all ages (and yes even youngsters) flocked to the city for a performance by Ina playing her harp.




I'd easily believe this young lad appearing as though he'd just flown in by means of his own aircraft and ready to catch her next concert.  I imagine he could very likely be seeking more than just harp music.






Everybody loves Ina! 

 They were all dressed for chilly temperatures! 

The photo reads, "Children outside the Minnesota Theatre, Minneapolis" and The Minnesota was a lavish "picture Palace" photo taken sometime in 1931.

Most of the theatre-goers were seeking more than a picture show or a concert.  It goes without saying, after any performance the local soda fountains were all the rage for all ages of theatre-goers.  Excepting of course, those of drinking age desiring to frequent one of the local bars or tap rooms.




Usually every soda shop, as well as other local eating establishments readily supplied telephone service, but there were limits and rules to follow.



Remember these? Get your coins out.

So just in case you have any doubts about harps being sought after- enjoy this photo image from the Library of Congress-
Gifted Harp performers traveled to Minnesota as well and were far more common than you might think.

Harp-Flute-Cello Trio performance (harpist Jeanne Chalifaux) by see here

The duet


Young and old performers.

The young pupil

Saturday Critters

Critters Matter

Welcome to another

Viewing Nature with Eileen.

"Know that the same spark of life that is within you,
is within all of our animal friends
the desire to live is the same within all of us."
Rai Aren

The best thing about animals, is no matter where you go, you can always make animal friends!



Say hello Sparkle!





Lately everywhere I look there's a Wire-Hair-Fox Terrier like my beloved Mickey from my childhood days!



Yep, the cows are coming home!



Maybe she's not a real kitty-cat but she's darn cute and-
She can ride a bicycle.


Sometimes, we can't name that animal but we can still adore it!



Now you see me, then you don't. Fluttering is what we do.





Closing my critters with a few beauties that have taken to hiding, for now.

Enjoy your weekend everyone!







Thursday, October 22, 2015

Joyful Fences

Happy Boo-tiful and Joyful Fences to everyone!






"A word is a bud attempting to become a twig. How can one not dream while writing? It is the pen which dreams. The blank page gives the right to dream."
Gaston Bachelard









Rarely do you see a scarecrow that isn't smiling, in my yard anyway!


"The human urge to create comes from the play impulse."
Carla Hannaford





"In art, everyone who plays wins." 
Robert Genn









"Reverie is not a mind vacuum.
 It is rather the gift of an hour which knows the plentiful of the soul."
Gaston Bachelard



"The debt we owe to the play of imagination is incalculable."
Carl Gustav Jung



"I'm so thankful for friendships. It beautifies life so much."
Lucy Maud Montgomery



Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Serving Number Eight- The Mag





Serving up No. eight
These cobwebbed human caverns
never underrate.



"It doesn't make much difference how the paint is put on as long as something has been said. Technique is just a means of arriving at a statement."
Jackson Pollock






No. 8, Black Flowing, Jackson Pollock



Where oh where, have I seen this style before?

Oh here it is!

One Is Quicker Than The Other
Honorable Mention - 104th Fine Arts Exhibition
Drawing/Pastel $1,200



NUMBER EIGHT


How lovely the dripped
 black enamel falls against
 this one blank canvas.

Solely black in sight
some sort of hidden image
 your eyes decipher.



"The strangeness will wear off 

and I think we will discover the deeper meanings in modern art."

Jackson Pollock

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Thoughts- On a Tuesday Afternoon

Isn't it amazing how one photo or experience can provoke such a remarkable thought process?

I have a question on this Tuesday afternoon, and it's also linked to a story for an image offered by Margaret and her friend Sue and posted by Elephant's Child for Words on Wednesday.
(Where we're encouraged to write.)

In unexpected situations,
Should we jump to conclusions?

 Do past experiences cause us to jump to conclusions quicker than we wish sometimes? Here are my thoughts beginning from childhood.










"Every human has four endowments-
 self awareness, conscience, independent will, and creative imagination. 
These give us the ultimate human freedom.
 The power to choose, to respond, to change."
Stephen Covey

Case in Point

(A snowy example.)



Markus Zusak said-
"A snowball in the face is surely the perfect beginning to a lasting friendship."
(said nobody ever, in my life.- Me)


BLACK BOOTS, BROWN BOOTS
Without fail, especially after a heavy day of perfect snowball making white-stuff touched down, it begged our adventurous nature, to form two teams for competition. We were collectively known as the Black Boots and the Brown Boots.

For awhile.

Until someone ruined it for the majority.

Our young lives discovered quickly,
 some good things eventually come to a bitter end.


"The productive approach to a mistake is to acknowledge instantly, correct and learn from it."
Markus Zusak

Essentially, the object of our Black Boots, Brown Boots game was to throw snowballs at each other, after dark, once the headlights of oncoming vehicles flooded the streets and yards.  If you were captured by the light you were instantly vaporized and out of the game.

It was a frolicking good time until, that one child decided to fling a hard pressed snowball at an oncoming car.

Ultimately, that one faulty throw brought the end of Black Boots, Brown Boots as we knew it.
But our story was a lucky one, without harm to anyone.  Not to be the case for a few teenagers elsewhere.

"Trust is the glue of life. It's the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It's the foundational principle that holds all relationships."
Stephen Covey


Naturally, there was more to the dissolution of our game
 and what once was productive play.

A new age of brick tossing, followed by boulders, came into play when a few teenagers decided to throw them off highway overpasses, aimed at passing vehicles.  Of course, they explained their actions as simply, childish pranks, and supposedly were initiated as practical jokes.  But, lives were lost in the process.  

Look Before you jump to conclusions.




This Photo image for and by
Words for Wednesday and
Margaret and Sue.

We store our experiences until eventually something will trigger them into play like a recent experience I had while driving in Alabama.



My grand-daughter and I were en route to a city park for us to investigate when thump, or rather BANG! went something against our car.
Of course, everything but creative imagination went into play in my mind, but Lyra's response was epic and clearly of her own free will as a youngster.

"What was that?" I asked.
"Oh grandma, it was probably just an apple falling from a tree."

How refreshing that was, and pretty accurate, since I didn't see a live soul anywhere.  

What a carefree way to be, wouldn't you agree?

Sometimes, it's very important not to be so serious.

Maybe Samuel said it best.
"Life is the art of drawing sufficient conclusions from insufficient premises."
Samuel Butler









Saturday, October 17, 2015

Theme, Images

Our challenge this week is the freedom to interpret our theme image
 prompt, without suggestions.


When Two Hearts Meet
Lives and Roots Begin.


Two Trees
"A portion of your soul has been
entwined with mine
A gentle kind of togetherness, while
separately we stand.
As two trees deeply rooted in
separate plots of ground,
while their topmost branches
come together,
forming a miracle of lace
against the heavens."
Janet Mills




My great-grandparents on my father's side.

and so our stories begin.


Our elders gave us life, to make it as we will.




"A place is only as good as the people in it."
Pittacus Lore


"It is good people who make good places."
Ann Sewell



(Pictured my father's aunt)

There is nothing more pleasing 
than to return again and again 
to the places where your heartstrings bound.


Mothers and their children, 
and if they're lucky, a critter or two.



My Aunt Margot, and Cousins, Gesine and Jorg.


Two of My Three Children


Moments From the Civil War Period.



All Three of My Children!




My Sister Oriana and myself.




How about another somewhat Critter Photo. 
From, the year I dressed as a kitty cat for Halloween.



Meow, Meow, Meow!


What could be more pleasing than ending a post with my grandmother, my Aunt Mary and my Daddy, showing off their grand catch of the day.








This is our Sepia Saturday image for this week.
Thank you Alan and Marilyn.



Thanks for stopping by.
May happiness follow you everywhere you go. Enjoy your weekend.