sixty-four colors flickr group
During Ward Conference two weeks ago, our Stake President encouraged us to “find one thing, that if added to or removed from my life, would most tangibly fortify my faith and the faith of my family in the Savior Jesus Christ.” The thought crossed my mind of course that spending less time on the internet would help, but I chose to add first. Maybe by adding something I will feel more like taking away some of that wasted time.
I had already been thinking about how my Temple attendance has completely diminished since moving to within 20 minutes of the Temple. I had already added it to my list with the worry that I wouldn’t actually accomplish it. After the inspiring challenge from Pres. Tanner I decided that I wouldn’t worry, I would just do it. Yes life is crazy and yes it seems daunting to add one more thing but it’s something that is definitely worthwhile and I know my family and I will be blessed tremendously.
I went to bed Monday night with the intention of going the next morning. But when I woke Tuesday I realized I had slept too late, hadn’t gotten dinner ready to go in the crock-pot, and would be stressed about being on time to pack meeting later that evening if I tried to go. So I promised myself I would go Thursday. I turned down an invitation to a sewing bee that evening and left the day completely open. I didn’t want to have to worry about anything but getting there and back. So I hopped on the bus and thoroughly enjoyed my day. Except the sore feet from my choice of shoes.
Listening to: Coldplay- X&Y- Speed of Sound
Blah. I had a hard time focusing on this project this week. Too many different shades of brown that all meld together, I think. Anyway, I had noticed that the bottle of leather cream sitting on the shelf above my computer was almost a perfect match but I hoped to find a better subject. No such luck. So there you go. 
Listening to: Sting- Brand New Day- Desert Rose
hattie and i took a quick walk down to the boys’ school this evening because I thought I had spotted a spot of sea green on a light pole. it turned out to be more aqua but the walk was fun anyway and i got these shots as well. i’m not making a slide show because it’s only the three.
a very rewarding walk.
Good! That gives me time to talk about my Uncle Clyde, a very independent barn owl who didn’t give a hoot for tradition. He became enamored of a pussy cat and went to sea in a beautiful pea green boat!
I have had that quote in my head all week, even though the color was sea green not pea green. So I was very delighted when I came across a sea green boat.
So the first 5 or 6 rolls of film that I was so excited to get for a buck at the thrift store were Seattle Film Works brand. Their film was made from movie film which has to be processed differently then regular film. So for the past several months I have had a roll hanging out in my purse as I tried to figure out where to get it done. The first one was a fluke and the kid at Fred Meyer’s didn’t pay attention and processed it anyway. From what I’ve been told, the SFW film will ruin the expensive chemicals in a regular machine. So no one messes with it. A week or two ago I read somewhere that Fuji used to process it. I found that Rite-Aid uses Fuji for their film processing so I didn’t even ask. I just dropped in an envelope and crossed my fingers that it would come back to me. And yesterday it did. Yay!!!
Here’s the whole set.
This walk was more of a sprint to and around the park to keep up with Hattie and our next door neighbor.
So join us in the beautiful Seattle sun.
for the sixty-four colors flickr group.
i’m actually in more of a quiet, thoughtful mood today. we had a really good ward conference with plenty of teachings to think about for days to come. and maybe a few things to add to my list.
I haven’t felt much like taking my camera out in the rain the past week or two. But I did have to make a quick run to the store on Saturday. I jumped over our back fence to make the trip quicker so it was a very short walk.
A neighbor girl asked why I was taking a picture of the trike. I always just say, “cuz.” I never know quite how to answer that question. Why does it seem so odd to just take pics of random stuff? I realize most people probably think it’s pointless. They’d rather take pictures of people and I can understand that. I am very intimidated still by portraits. I need to practice them more but my kids get really tired of me taking pictures of them. But I love this world we live in, both the natural and the man-made. I love all the little details. I like capturing colors and shapes. I enjoy seeing the world through my lens.
Ipod playing the DCFC cd I picked up at the thrift store for $2!! Death Cab For Cutie- Plans- Different Names For The Same Thing
Technorati Tags: Photography,Walk with me
I have avoided writing a post about my Dad for sometime now. I always feel like my words just won’t do him justice at all. But I can’t put it off any longer.
Today would have been his 69th birthday but he passed away about 6 1/2 years ago. I spent a lot of time today thinking about him. I don’t cry anymore when I do, which is a relief because I don’t like to cry. That probably sounds terribly insensitive but I think it has to do with the condition he was in when he died. My dad was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease when I was pretty young, I think before I was baptized. A large tire fell on him at work and caused some damage to his brain which caused a very early onset of Parkinson’s. For years he and I would joke about his shaky hands, he had a great sense of humor and a wonderful laugh.
I so wish that we could go to a Seahawks game together now that I live in Seattle.
After I had been married a few years my dad’s mental health really started to deteriorate. It wasn’t all that noticeable till we started looking back. He eventually developed Dementia and by about 2000 was only partly living in the real world. His physical health slowly deteriorated as well and he caught Pneumonia and died. By the time he passed it felt like such a relief to know that his spirit was free from his crippled body. However for sometime after, all I could see when I thought of him was that shell of a man that wasn’t completely my dad. I think that is what would make me cry the most. It was difficult to remember him otherwise. Slowly though, those memories faded to the back of my brain, only to come out if I bring them, like now. Now I remember my dad as the playful, joking, kind-hearted man I grew up with. And that doesn’t make me sad because that’s who I know I’ll meet when I cross the veil someday.
This picture is one that I love and hate. It was during an unfortunate period when I decided to see what peroxide would do to my hair, but this scene was a daily ritual in our house. You couldn’t pass my dad in his chair without being grabbed and tickled.
I wish that I had inherited my dad’s temperament. He was incredibly easy going. I can only recall being spanked once growing up because I had dumped my mom’s cleaners into the little outside pool to make bubbles. When he would get angry he would just ball up his fists, clench his teeth, suck in his breath and shake. At least that’s what I remember, I’m told he was a little harder when the boys were little. He rarely acted out of anger. He never lost his cool, not even when he found out I had spent one summer smoking with a friend. He took me to his room, asked me if I should be doing something like that to my body, told me he was disappointed, then told me that if I never did it again, he would never bring it up again. And we both held to that bargain. I can probably name many more instances but that was one of the most poignant for me. He didn’t freak out, fly off the handle, ground me or forbid me from hanging out with that friend again. He just asked that I never do it again, very calmly and with all the love in his heart.
Other favorite memories that don’t make me cry, just smile:
Sunday drives up on the mountain
secret ice cream cones by Becker Lake
racing me home from Granny’s house (and he didn’t let me win either)
dressed up in his Scout uniform with that cool OA sash across his chest
him and Hayden watching rodeos together
his Dutch-oven cooking when we’d go camping (the only time my dad EVER cooked, my mom must have loved it)
him wrestling Odie, the pit bull, on the trampoline
the smell of diesel on him even after a shower
listening to country music in his truck (even thought I probably couldn’t stand it now)
the spider
snicker bars and some sort of caffeinated drink that we would sneak sips out of (why for do you drink my drink?)
ice cream after dinner every night that he could get away with
John Wayne, Bill Cosby, Wings, Dallas, eventually Seinfeld (gasp)
resident hippy
Yes I miss my dad TERRIBLY!!! And yes I cried a little while writing this.
Celso Madrid jr
Jan 13 1941 ~ Jun 6 2003
