Project 365 - Photo of the Day - February 28, 2008

I had a very long and complicated day at work. It was meeting after meeting. My head was overflowing with information and I just couldn't think anymore by 4 p.m. My trolley arrives at 4:30 so I usually pack it all in at 4:15 p.m. So I packed up at 4 p.m. and went out into gallery six to look at the new exhibit of quilts. These quilts are truly amazing. I heard the artist talking (while she was hanging the exhibit) and she said that it takes her one year to create each quilt. Each one is a artwork . . . a masterpiece. I took tons of photos, some far away and some close up. Here are the results. It was a great way to end my workday. Too bad that afterglow didn't last, however that is for another day.

Project 365 - Photo of the Day - February 27, 2008

This is the scene that greets me Monday through Friday at 8 a.m. A long time ago I had recorded Adina's voice saying, "Hi" and "Bye." I believe that Adina was less than two years old. As the computer boots up her sweet baby voice greets me and at the end of the day says good-bye!



This cup was a Christmas present from Joel. Meant as a sweet joke, but it is so true that I am one of those few dedicated goverment workers that has given my entire career to public service. Anyway, this is my cup of tea on my desk surrounded by many, many photos of my family and pets.



And this beautiful sunset was irresistible as Joel and I were on our way home from picking up a few items for dinner. These clouds are the remnants of the cold front. You can actually see the cold front sweeping through leaving crystal clear blue skies to the west! Joel had picked me up at the trolley (late of course and I had to stand inside the Auto Parts store because it was a chilly 49 degrees and dropping. Then we headed over to the Super Walmart and went shopping. I think we were the only white people in the store and we were all dressed up in suits. We sort of stuck out like sore thumbs, but that's okay. Didn't bother me at all. I grew up in Far Rockaway and proud of it and when the neighborhood changed, we didn't do the "white flight" thing. In fact, my Mom was the first white member of the NAACP in New York, along with my birth father, in the 1950s! Oh well, way off the track here, but I guess that is what blogging is all about?

Project 365 - Photo of the Day - February 26, 2008

I liked this photo because the sun was just coming up and it cast a pink glow on the moon which is waning. I also liked the pattern of the roof as a frame on the bottom of this photo.



The theme of today is rain. Although the sun is peeking through the clouds, it was pouring right before we left the house. Later in the day there were torrential downpours and then blackouts throughout South Florida . . . although they claim that it wasn't connected in any way.



Once again . . . more rain on the windshield and the rain drops catch the morning rays of the sun.



This was about 1 pm in the afternoon, looking out my office window. Dreary, but comforting that rain is watering our very, very dry lawns. We have been in a drought for more than a year now.



I just couldn't resist this photo. Newon had climbed into our pasta bowl that we had left on the counter to dry from the night before. I liked the angle of this shot because his paw gave an odd perspective to the photo plus the color of the sky was a magical, fairytale blue as the sun had already set but it wasn't quite dark yet.



This was just for fun to show off my new hair cut!

Project 365 - Photo of the Day - February 25, 2008

I was in a meeting with my director this morning and when I was done I came back to a surprise in my office! One of my colleagues brought me two absolutely beautiful Amaryllis flowers from her garden! They are so graceful and elegant in the Mason jar that she put on my desk. It was such a nice surprise.






This is a close up. I can never resist taking close up shots of flowers. The smell of this flower is sweet but very subtle.



When I came home from work, my neighbor's son walked over to me and asked me if he could see the inside of my house. I couldn't say no to this sweet little boy. His name is Jonathan. So as we were exploring the house, Rachel took the turtles out and put them on the floor. Then Newton came in to see what was going on.




I love when Newton spreads himself flat on the floor. In this photo he looks like rug!

Project 365 - Photo of the Day - February 24, 2008

This was the way Rachel assisted us. We were in the process of hanging a curtain rod, which ended up being a two-day ordeal!




Here is Joel up on the ladder trying to screw in the new hardware. This is about where he got upset with me and asked me to put the *&^% camera away! I did (for a while anyway!).




Later in the day, after we had hung the curtain rod, returned the wrong curtains and ordered more of the ones that we needed, we were back at the house and Joel was pressure cleaning the back of the house and the cement pad "patio". I liked the way the water looked as it was rolling down the glass.




As the sun was starting to set it made lovely reflections in the puddles and I captured this one.




This is what our living room looked like as I was taking everything apart and cleaning it and dusting and washing the floor and on and on! We didn't finish until about 8 pm!!

Project 365 - Photo of the Day - February 23, 2008

On Saturday my office held a Cultural Diversity Artists' Forum near my house in Lauderhill. I wasn't planning on going, but Rachel and Joel were both working and Adina and I weren't doing anything so we headed over there for about an hour or so. Before the meeting there was a presentation by a Polynesian organization and these kids were peeking in the window to watch the dancers.








This is the back of on of the dancers who was listening to one of the musicians talk to the audience. I just loved the way the flowers looked around her neck with the bright colors of her clothing and of the gentleman speaking.




I especially liked this photo because I was able to show the motion of the dancer while freezing the expression on her face.



I loved this moment of the mom leaning over to her child touching foreheads for just a second. I was sitting on the floor as quiet as a mouse, and I was able to zoom in unobtrusively.




This man was listening so intently to what was being said, but it looked as though he was posing for me. I really liked the tone of his skin and the way the background just melts away.

Project 365 - Photo of the Day - February 22, 2008

I love this waterfall. It is at the entrance to the Inverrary community where we live. When I see this as I am coming home, it is as though all the tensions of the day go away and i feel great!




I was on the telephone . . . a VERY long call and although I loved the topic that we were talking about,my mind started to wander because I was looking out my window. I was watching these workers take the clay tiles from their truck up onto the roof of the Women's Club. It was mesmerizing, so while I was talking, I was snapping photos at the same time. How is that for multi-tasking??



My baby kitten . . . now almost seven months hold . . . lays down in the strangest postions. In the background you can see Grace drinking out of the sink! Newton was just minding his own business and sprawled across the counter. But Grace was drinking and growling at the same time!





Last but not least, Newton was posing for me as he was taking a cat nap. I was right up in his face, but he is used to me doing that.

Project 365 - Photo of the Day - February 21, 2008

I caught Newton attacking my stack of brand new brochures that had two rubber bands around them. He kept plucking the rubber band and it was making a sound like a guitar string. But then he would back off and stare at it.









Rachel and Adina were each holding one cat. They were tyring desperately to hit each other with their paws. The girls were giggling as I was snapping away.





In this shot, Newton was hanging one paw over the edge of my bed. He was watching Grace on the floor and trying to decide when to pounce on her.








And this photo just says it all. It is the end of the day, several days of Joel's clothing are slung haphazardly across the chair, including a tie or two. This is the chair that Joel made for me in college as a Valentines Day present. I really can't believe that my best friend in the entire world who lives in Connecticut has the same exact chair!

Project 365 - Photo of the Day - February 20, 2008

What an ethereal site to start my day at 7:05 a.m. This rainbow greeted me as Robert and I parked the car in the Trolley parking lot. I snapped a lot of photos, but this one showed the colors the best even though it looks like the rainbow emanates from the light pole!








All I did was turn around and this is the site that met my camera. There was a rain shower on the way, which is why we could see the rainbow facing west! This, the other hand, is facing east into the sunrise. I just love sunrises and sunsets.

Ok, so I was bored. My graphic designer and I were headed over to his car in the parking garage so that we could drive to an artist's studio to do a photo shoot for our online Cultural Quarterly magazine. As we got to his car he remembered that his car keys were sitting on his desk. I refused to walk back to the office, so I went to the coffee shop and sat outside in the sun with my cup of coffee and snapped away while I waited for him to return!

Project 365 - Photo of the Day - February 19, 2008

This is a photo of an artwork that is currently in progress at the Coral Springs Museum of Art. The artist names are Peter King and Xinia Marin. They are artists in residence at the museum and are working outside in a makeshift tented area. As they complete the sections of the artwork they lay it out in the museum and then cut it into pieces so that they can put them into the kiln. Once the pieces are fired they are finished and then they will put it all together. They are making an entryway arch called "Gateway to Peace." The project is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and some local funding.




This is a detail of the archway.







I loved the way the moon looked as it was peeking over the trees. I was driving home from the museum and snapping photos as I stopped at red lights. Some people were watching me, but I didn't care!

Project 365 - Photo of the Day - February 18, 2008

As I walked out of the house this morning I saw the condensation on my neighbor's car. Since I was waiting for him to come out because we carpool over to the trolley parking lot, I grabbed my camera and snapped a few photos of the rear window of his car.


On the way home, I realized that I hadn't taken any photos during the day. So I snapped photos all the way home. Nothing really excited me, but I liked this one because I froze the motion of the fountain and you can still see the two people sitting on the bench in the background just relaxing and minding their own business, not even looking at each other.



Today was Presidents Day. I had to work but the girls were home and Adina's girlfriend came over to hang out. This is the scene that greeted me as I walked into the house. Didn't want to waste the scene so I pulled out the old camera. The light on the wooden floor makes the scene feel very warm and cozy.



This is the pencil sketch of the artwork that Rachel was working on. She had taken Adina and Candace to an arts and crafts store and bought small canvases and oil paints and brushes and they spread themselves out on the living room floor. They worked until about 10 pm when I told them that it was time to get ready for bed.

Project 365 - Photo of the Day - February 17, 2008

I normally wouldn't have uploaded a photo with a hot spot on it, however, I loved this photo because ever since Newton joined our household in August at two weeks old, Grace has been impossible. Not only does she hit Newton, but she growls and hisses at him to keep his distance. Today, Joel and I were sitting in the kitchen and both cats jumped up onto the windowsill and they were about two inches apart and not fighting! I supposed the treats that I put on the windowsill helped a bit.




In this photo Grace was staring very intensely at a lizard on the other side of the window. You can almost feel the velvety soft fur on her ears.




The longer we sat in the kitchen, the more the cats presented fun photo opportunites for me. Newton was attempting to climb into the bag and making lots of noise in the process.











Grace was looking directly into my camera lens for this photo but if she could talk I could just imagine her saying, "go away you're bothering me."












Newton kept jumping on the window to try to catch the lizard that was definitely outside. His feet remind me of a ballet dancer's toe shoes.