weekly photo challenge: curve

Tags

curve, Lisbon, photograpy, photos, Rossio Square, travel, Weekly Photo Challenge, weekly photo challenge: curve

Two years ago I flew out to Lisbon for a few days. It was the middle of November but the weather was still no-socks warm and even though there was some rainy days I was able to walk around the beautiful city that Lisbon is and let myself be enchanted.

I was staying in a hotel near the city center and one of the first things I saw was the stunning pavement at Rossio Square, I loved how the back and white cobblestones curved below my feet!

 

time for tea

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afternoon tea, breaks, Henry James, little break, photo, photograpy, quotes, tea, tea time

When I look to my right I see my to-do-list, a stack of paperwork that needs my attention and my notebook filled with pencil scribbles. When I look to mt right I see my tiny backyard that needs my attention, my plants need a little tending too, my bike a bit more air and it needs a bit of tiding up.  But when I look in front of me all I see are letters, words, a screen filled with blank pages and endless possibility, yet I feel a little stuck.

Now we all have our little rituals and habits that we turn towards in these kind of situations. Some get up and go for a walk, others switch on the TV of half an hour or pick up a newspaper or magazine and browse for a while, a third group may opt for a chat with colleagues or on the phone. But for me the perfect thing to do when I  need  a little break is to make a cup of tea.

Just waiting for the kettle to boil and then watching the steam billow up out of my mug while I pour the hot-water onto the teabag, pouring milk into the brew and watch the little clouds of lactose rise to the top, colouring my tea the perfect shade of brown, settles me and helps me gather my thoughts.

So as my mug is empty and I need a little “pick-me-up” I think I’ll step away from my desk for a little while and try and find inspiration in my beverage of choice, create a little time for tea and me.

There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea. – Henry James

suddenly sunday

Tags

blog, miscellaneous, photograpy, photos, random, thoughts, windows, writing

I can’t believe it is already Sunday, where did the week go, or the last half year for that matter. It kind of makes me wonder what I have been doing with my time, what have I got to show for 2012 so far?

Well there is this blog that I started back in the middle of March, and yes it has taken up much more time than I ever thought it would, but I have been enjoying it immensely. Meeting new people, even if only in this virtual universe, reading about things I have never considered, learning things and laughing at the wackiness that is out there in the world wide web. I am not sure it counts as an accomplishment, but I do look forward to it every day so I think it is a plus.

I did send out my manuscript a while back but no “yes” has pinged back into my mail-box just yet, I’m still hopeful. But I should really follow up on it and maybe see if sending if off to the UK changes the game. It still isn’t finished mind you so I think the next few weeks and months means less blogging more writing for me. Maybe I should post a few pages here and see what my blog-companions think about it … mmmhhh now there  is s a thought.

The gym, well that has been a failure so far, I somehow haven’t been able to get into a rhythm, so it is still on my list of things to change, as is my desire to do more photography and art. I keep saying I want to do it but somehow life gets in the way and I don’t. But I am glad to say that I have been better with taking photos, my collection getting bigger every week, even if only by a few shots, now my canvas needs to be tackled.

My dating life, well that is a whole other story. It’s on the back burner for now as there really doesn’t seem to anyone out there that tickles my fancy and heart and I really don’t want to do the whole internet, speed or blind-dating rig-ma-roll again, and yes everything I wrote is true.

As I may not be able to change having achieved so little in the last half year, I think i wills tart small today and clean my home, go to the gym and maybe just maybe climb through that window that is opened when a door closes.

Some open windows in St Petersburg, photos taken on my trip last year:

light and dark in the park

Tags

barking dogs, beach, contentment, crying children, Dublin, light and dark, miscellaneous, nature, outdoors, park, photograpy, photos, random, St Anne's Park, sun, sunday, thoughts

Yesterday was a close to perfect day. After a leisurely morning at home and some chocolate spread on toast I decided to enjoy the sun and spent the day in the park. At first I was going to go to the beach and enjoy the sea, sand and air but because it was literally a  Sun-day I decided against it. You see when it’s hot, sunny and the weekend the beach fills up with loud teenagers, crying children, barking dogs, barbequing families and lobster people, those weirdos who lie out in the sun till they go bright red and then just flop over to burn the other side. I normally don’t mind but yesterday I wanted a bit more peace and quite.

I packed a small bag with a picnic for one, my camera and lenses, a book and applied a lot of suncream, not wanting to join the multitudes of lobsters walking around Dublin today. I jumped on the bus and enjoyed the short trip down the coast to my favourite park, St Anne’s. I have been going there ever since I was a little girl and love the variety and space it has to offer. As the light was beautiful and I had all the time in the world I was looking forward to taking some photos, a hobby of mine even if most of the time I have no idea what I am doing. Sadly after just a  few clicks my battery told me I needed to charge it, yes I had made the vital error of not checking before I left the house.

A little annoyed with myself I decided to continue my stroll underneath the arches of the trees and enjoy the play of light and shadow. I loved how the leaves varied in their shades of green and how they were back-lit from the sun, casting shadows and shapes on the ground, trucks and branches around me.  Later I sat leaning against a tree and watched as a dad blew bubbles for his toddling child, couples kissed in the grass and a family played tag running laughing across the field. As I observed from a distance I felt a little sad to be on my own, not having someone to share the moment with. But I suddenly realised that without sadness you can’t feel happiness, just like light can’t exist without the dark.

After a few hours of reading, dreaming and ambling barefoot in a field laced with daisies and buttercups I treated myself to cup of cappuccino and strolled around the rose-garden. With the smell of BBQ in the air and birds song welcoming the evening I started to walk home along the coast as the sun began to sink slowly in the sky. And as the sun lit up the sea I felt content to be on my own, a feeling like dusk, where light meets dark and creates its own unique light, contentment is a feeling that can be both sad and happy but simply enjoys the fleeting moment you are in.

The last photo I took before my camera died … shadows on bark