Inspired

Week #10 - Where I Would Take You

 

This weeks prompt for 52 Photo's Project was "where I would take you" if you came to visit me...

 

 

I live on an island and this is my neighbourhood...in fact, I live right across the street.

This picture was taken 2 years ago on a chilly winter evening.  I was standing at the end of a dock that juts out into the cove.  A full moon, newly risen in the winter solstice sky, was rising in the sky behind me.

This area was originally settled by early pioneers on the island but the older farm homes and turn of the century beach cottages are rapidly being replaced by very trendy, architecturally "west coast modern".  Happily, much of the original plantings of lilacs, elderberry and hawthorne's are still thriving, contributing to a feeling of peace and balance to the neighbourhood.

So if you come to visit me, we'll most certainly stroll across the street and walk out to the end of the pier. We'll spend a few minutes gazing down into the water for starfish and jellyfish but eventually we'll lift our eyes up, look out to the islands and ocean beyond and feel blessed that this world in transition is still so full of beauty.

 

I've just returned home from 2 1/2 months of travelling in Mexico...feeling slightly discombobulated but happy....no, thrilled...to be home!  The skies are grey, the temperatures are chilly but after all the time I've been away since last August, this...right here...is where I want to be.  In my home, near my family, with my dog Molly beside me.  (contented sigh) 

 

Week #9 - How I Start My Day

Let The Day Begin!

 

This weeks photo prompt at 52 Photo's Project was to take a picture of my morning routine.  It doesn't seem to matter where I am in the world...this picture perfectly represents how I start my day.  

Thankfully, I'm retired and no longer have to jump out of bed in the morning...it's more of a slow easing into life.  I retreat back to bed with my cup of coffee (or sometimes tea), fire up the computer to find out what's going on with friends and family around the world and enjoy seeing and listening to the world outside my window.  

Here in Mexico, it's almost always sunshine with exotic (to me) bird song...as well as roosters crowing and trucks with gas, water, fruit and vegetables, touting their wares with gusto on loudspeakers....no, it's not all bliss!

I'm now caught up with the photo prompts...Yay!  I'm into the 3rd month and I've only missed one so far.  Things are looking up!

Week 7 & 8

We moved to a new town just over a week ago...San Pancho (San Francisco on the map) in Nyarit, Mx. (north of Puerto Vallarta).  I've just realized that time was slipping away and I missed 3 weeks of photo's on Bella's 52 Photo's Project!

Week 6 was Valentine's week and yes, the prompt was for a heart.  It wasn't for lack of hearts that I didn't take one, it was more a lack of "interesting" hearts.  By the time I realized the week was over, I still hadn't found one.

Week 7's theme was "mint"...and this was the closest thing to mint I could find...a paper fish tucked into the ray of a metal sun wall hanging in our bungalow.  It's painted on two seperate sheets of very thick watercolour paper and then assembled so that it's "3D".

 

 

The prompt for Week 8 was "People Gathering"...

 

Last weekend was the 14th annual San Pancho music festival. There was an amazing amount of talent and we felt fortunate to be here for this event.  Every evening for 3 days as the heat of the day cooled, people from up and down the coast converged on San Pancho's town square and enjoyed music under the stars.

I still have two more prompts to catch up on so I'll be back soon with those.

The universe seems to be sending me a message recently...to put my computer aside and get off the internet!  My beloved MacBook Air has crashed and I'll have to take it home for servicing as it's still on warranty.  I still have my ipad but the aerial on it isn't great and I have a lot of trouble accessing the internet.  Without Photoshop I'm not doing any designing and that's leaving me a little twitchy...which just shows me it's probably a good thing for me to have a few weeks of enforced downtime!  

Love, Love, Love

 

Time spent here in Mexico during the winter seems to be my time to design the quote cards for Veronica.  I don't have the distractions of everyday life here and I like to begin my days in bed with my coffee, my lap top and an Eloheim quote.

 

 

I love the challenge of taking words, adding colour and playing with balance and design to bring the words to life.  These quotes about self love and kindness are particularly meaningful to me. How many of us can say we truly love ourselves without qualification?

 

 

It takes time and life experiences to learn what self love means, to know what our worth is and understand how that emanates back into the world.  Love is not measured by jewelry or chocolates, no matter how much fun that can be!  Love is who we are.  Period.

 

 

These are are just a few on this theme that I created for Veronica over the last week or so for Valentines Day.  Sending love out from my corner of the world today and everyday!

 

Week #6: A Crooked Line

 

I've been looking for crooked lines all week...this week's photo prompt at 52 Photo's Project.  There are lots of them around me here in Ajijic but when I'm out, I'm usually so hot that all I can think of is getting to where I'm going as soon as possible...temps today were in the high 80's F/over 31C.  As we left the Lake Chapala Society's talk today on the logistics/rules/regulations of driving in Mexico, I looked down at the sidewalk and voila!!  There it was.

People here often decorate the sidewalks outside their homes or business' with tiles or stones and each person's sidewalk is unique.  Some of course have none at all and many are broken with amazingly large holes that require cautious navigation. Walking at night can be particularly hazardous.  And then there are the many piles of dog poop that have to be avoided...but enough of that!

Tomorrow we're off to visit the town of Tequila...yes, THAT Tequila, home of THAT beverage.  I'm looking forward to seeing the beautiful agave fields.

And Yet Another Photo Project for 2014

So, what do you do with all your time while you're in Mexico during the winter?  

I get asked this question a lot and for me it's easy to answer.  Besides, walking (a lot), painting, designing new cards for Veronica Torres (and did I mention I started a crochet project?), hanging out and having fun with friends, I've started another photography project.

 

 

A photo-a-day-for-a-year project is something that I've wanted to do for a long time but it just never happened...until now.  My camera phone has made all the difference from turning just "thinking" about it, into actually "doing" it.

  

 

I'm still doing the 52 weeks Photos project with Bella but I also wanted something that could easily be turned into a book. I found Vicki Stegall's 52 weeks project which has easy digital templates...one for each month and one for every week.  I just send the pic's from my phone into a folder on my computer and at the end of each week and each month, I fill in the blanks. Vicki also has other page templates that I'll include as well.  The one for January was about "my word" for 2014.

 

 

I've also started a Blurb book with these templates...the large format photography size ...and I just drop the templates (12" x 12") into the book editor when they're finished. So far, so good! (I've also started a Blurb book for the photo's of last year's Greece and Turkey trip so I need to get back to that as well!)

 

 

I have to admit I was a bit concerned that I'd start this and then then not finish it (I have a history!) and we're just at February so the potential is still there...but now that I know how easy it is to organize, I'll want to keep it up.

 

 

What I really appreciate about this project is that it makes me aware...I'm forced to notice my surroundings and look for what's interestesting and fascinating rather than wander through the day lost in my thoughts. I love to document and I love to make books so this type of project is right up my alley.

2014 is the year!

 

 

All Dressed Up - Week #5

 Young Girl in White Dress on Dia de Candelaria, Ajijic, MX

 

Just as I was walking past Ajijic's Paroquia, the doors opened and out spilled the parishoners...but this was no ordinary Sunday service, this was Dia de Candelaria and a special occasion.  The babies were swaddled in flowing white gowns,  the children in beautiful white dresses and even a few boys in white satin suits.  They all gathered together in the town plaza, visiting, under the shade of the trees of the Zocalo.

 

The Paroquia, Ajijic, MX.

It was likely a day for Christenings as well as Dia de Candelaria but It was absolutely the perfect opportunity for me to snap a photo for this weeks photo prompt at 52 Photo's of "All Dressed Up"...even if the light was much too brilliant at mid-day for anything but an over exposed shot.

 

(Dia de Candelaria is a fusion of pre-Hispanic traditions and Catholic beliefs. Celebrated on February 2nd, it falls forty days after Christmas, and is celebrated by Catholics as the "Feast of Purification" or as the "Presentation of Christ at the Temple." According to Jewish law it was customary to bring a baby to the temple after that period of time had passed. So Jesus would have been taken to the temple on February second.

February 2nd also marks the mid-way point between the winter solstice and spring equinox. This may be a vestige of an old Pagan Tradition, since Feb. 2 has long been thought to be a marker or predictor of the weather to come. Remember that in the States Feb. 2 is celebrated as Groundhog Day.  Information found here)

 

 

Week #4 - My Reflection

 

The theme for week #4 at 52 Photo's Project was "Reflection of Me".  As I was admiring a very unusual but beautiful arrangement of paper flowers and twigs in the lobby of the Nueva Posada, I realized there was a mirror behind it and snapped a quick picture on the way to the ladies washroom! I look like I'm hiding in the bushes!

It's warmed up considerabley here in Ajijic...winter, such as it was, is over!!!  I'm now attempting to walk in the morning hours before it gets too warm.  We've been walking 5 or 6 kl. at day, mostly along the Malecon where the pavement isn't broken and lumpy.  It's an easy walk and we do it twice...as well as walk up and down hill to the town square at least twice a day.  I'm starting to feel stronger and have more energy although there are still days when I get home, stand at the bottom of the stairs to the 2nd floor (where my bed is calling to me!) and think to myself...I can't do it, I just can't climb those stairs!

It's a slow life here and it all seems very "deliberate".  We plan our days around 1 or 2 activities and how long it takes to walk there and back.  The organic market is out of town so it's about a 40 minute walk to get there and another 40 back.  Lunch happens on the way back and by that time the heat and walking have taken their toll and it's siesta time!  Dinner is often a gathering of friends and we're usually ready for an early night.  Slow is OK. Slow feels very full and quite satisfying.

Mexico is always a time for us to relax, breathe and recharge.

 

Week #3- Wide Open Spaces

Rain Showers over Lake Chapala

 

The theme this week at 52 Photo's Project is "wide open spaces".  This picture was taken from our bedroom balcony in Ajijic, Mexico, looking out over Lake Chapala.  

It's a large lake...about 50 miles long, almost 8 miles wide and sits at 5000 ft. above sea level.  The nights are quite cool here in the winter but the days are warm and pleasant.  Ajijic (the town we're living in) is an easy place to live and North Americans have been choosing to retire here since the 1950's...in fact it has the largest expat population in Mexico. (some stat's say 30,000 and others 50,000)

We've been here for a little over two weeks and I'm just now beginning to feel acclimatized to the altitude.  Being without a car requires LOTS of walking every day which I really enjoy, although the cobblestones are truly the most treacherous I've ever tried to navigate!  Life is deliciously slow here but also full...I'm painting with friends about 4 days a week and the big outing of the day is to go out for coffee or breakfast at an outdoor cafe in the town square.

We're enjoying our time here yet we likely won't be back next winter...we're feeling the call to travel to new destinations and experience new cultures.  There's just so much to explore in this amazing world and I have a wish list as long as my arm!

 

 

Week 2 - Very Small Things

Mexican Doll House Furniture

On the way home from the market this morning (in Ajijic, Mexico), I passed by this window full of tiny Mexican dollhouse furniture.  The store was closed but if I pass it again when it's open, I'll go in to have a better look at all this brightly painted delightfullness!

We've settled into our house (after a day or two with no water!) and more importantly, the studio is set up for painting and we've already spent two happy afternoons there!  It's a perfect room for the three of us...lots of windows overlooking the street below with bright cheery bougainvillea hanging over the walls, horses clip-clopping up and down the cobblestones...and of course the sound of neighbourhood kids playing happily and loudly below us (with the occasional firecracker!).  Pictures to come soon.

The picture above is linked to Bella's 52 Photo's Project. Week 2, where the theme this week was "something really small".