Cold Spaghetti

I took these last fall in Boston — my continued obsession with shutter speed.  It wasn’t a busy afternoon, so there weren’t a lot of people walking by to get a group (which was my hope).  The ducks in the back are in honor of the book “Make Way for Ducklings,” by beloved New England children’s author and illustrator, Robert McCloskey.

It was one of my favorite books growing up (I still call all pairs of Mallards Mr. and Mrs. Mallard) — but my absolute favorite McCloskey book is “One Morning in Maine.”  It was one of the only books I had where a young girl is the protagonist.  She goes hunting for clams, loses a tooth, and takes a boat trip to town with her little sister and father.  As a child, I adored it — the pencil drawings, the characters, the story — part of my life-long obsession with seaside life.

When I started dating Paul, I was surprised to find a copy of it on his bookshelf and opened it to find that it had been autographed by Robert McCloskey.  Signed just to Paul.  An early sign our fantastic match.

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Purple has been a big color in the Internets this week.  First, twitter pages started going purple in honor of little Madeline Spohr.  Then in dual purpose of supporting another tragedy with the loss of baby Thalon.

Like so many others, I have spent time and tears this week lurking in the unexplainable, unimaginable loss of a child. I remember the losses of children within my own family and friends and it makes me appreciate the internet a little more… that we can share and educate and act.

These pictures of Kate, wearing purple, seemed an appropriate fit to this week’s theme.

I’m hugging my kids extra tightly. I feel very, very lucky.

Triangles, leading to Oak Alley Plantation.  Or Louis the Vampire’s home.  Depending on your perspective.

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For more of my photohunt, go here.
For more information about photohunt and links to many more, go here.

It’s not his age. It’s a state of mind.

Or perhaps the number of peanut butter cookies he’d like to munch.

Kind people visiting… could I encourage you to visit here? And support my photography dream? It will only take a moment. Thank you thank you thank you!

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For more information about photohunt and links to many more, go here.

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NEWSFLASH!
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THIS POST HAS BEEN INTERRUPTED BY A PLEA: SEND IN YOUR JUST POSTS FOR FEBRUARY! What have you read that was informative, insightful, educational, and inspirational? WE’LL POST THEM THIS COMING TUESDAY!

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Back to the post…
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The post-Mardi Gras post-Disney bliss is wearing off around here, thanks to the cold one-two punch of reality.  Big hits this week included my Mother’s illness (update: she finally had the surgery and will hopefully be home later this weekend), returning to grading and classroom coordination, preparing final syllabus changes for the course this summer, the kick-off to a 2-year participatory action research project using Photovoice that I’m stoked about, and a long Skype call with a committee member who gave me some much needed advice when she basically told me to stop each and everything I am doing that isn’t my dissertation AND JUST FINISH THE DAMN THING.  I need to hear this over and over and over again.

And then, I think I need to check out for awhile.  Maybe live in a convent in Mexico for a few months.  Somewhere I can be left with quiet and air and my computer.  In sort, if I’m going to finish this thing, I need SPACE.

Here is some inspiration, both taken during last fall’s trip to Pittsburgh.

At the time, I was a little obsessed with panning.  This is a branch of fall leaves.  I like the feeling of flying into it, which is why it makes me think of space.  Warp speed, Captain Zulu!

This was taken in the Pittsburgh Children’s Museum.  It’s a huge table of colored sand.  My Dad spun the table while I held the camera for a long(er) exposure.  It reminds me of the cloud-like nebulae in deep space…

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Paul and Will, Fort Walton Beach, Florida.

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Amazon River, near Iquitos, Peru.

Can you image your 10(?) year old daughter navigating a little pica-pica boat, with Peruvian Naval ships and huge cargo shipping vessels (not to mention water taxis that U.S. based public health folk could be riding in) on the vast sea that is the Amazon River?

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Foot bridge from the end-of-the-line PeruRail train station to the town of Aguas Calientes, a tourist mecca with the distinction of being the closest habitable place to Machu Picchu. This is exactly the kind of place I try to avoid at all costs. So believe me when I say staying here is worth it, in order to wake up in the middle of the night and get to the sanctuary by dawn.

I will finish that travelogue. I will. I will. I will!

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