TP: 2009, The Year That Was (Boys and Dogs)

Oh yes it was!

TP: 2009, The Year That Was (XBox360)

I love this theme, I love the idea of the project containing a phrase! Mostly though, I love how thoughtful and reflective I've become over my photographs and photography, through the Thematic Photographic project.

My boy, Hayden, spent a good many hours invested in gaming.  In years past, he's focused on World of Warcraft (this mantle has been passed to Scotty and his Amazing Snarf), this year was his XBox 360, the HALO franchise, and many many other games he's tested and beaten or discarded. His friends have been those he can gather with locally (for gaming, strategizing, or creating art on controllers/consoles or from cardstock) or those whom gather each evening on XBox Live (HeyHay98) to eradicate the common enemy. He's taken me down paths with twists and turns I've never anticipated and for which I shall be eternally grateful. Supporting (and accepting the lack of full understanding on my part) his gaming as a valid and worthy investment of his time, energy and other resources, has been a gift that continues to give to the both of us. daily.

Though the houses have changed and the boy has aged,
2009 ends much as it began: controller-in-hand, smile-on-face.

TP: (steamed) Feet

Sitting beside the cave that contains the spring that feeds these pools, my corporal Self could bear merely to dip my toes into this flow. I could feel the power of the magma, so deep below the surface, super-heating this water for our enjoyment.  Others felt far more comfortable with parts far more sensitive than feet in this pool. Not me, I'll meecha two pools down, where at hotter-than-hottub temperatures, it's downright cool in comparison!

TP: Feet (Ready to Dance!)

A pre-concert huddle of love and mutual adoration. Or a totally staged photo because I liked our shoes. OR both. The world may never know.
Our second Bowling for Soup concert together; we subbed Emma for Hannah, who came along the first time. 

Unconscious Mutterings, 361

This week's special host, Rowan's friend Frank (Bob) (Junior):
I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Classified :: Withhold
   
2. Praised :: Glory
   
3. Censored :: slippery slope
   
4. 2010 :: End of first decade
   
5. Lamp :: Fishnetted leg
   
6. Alternate :: Options, options, options
   
7. Script :: Feminine
   
8. Handsome :: Strong
   
9. Eager :: Beavers 4-H
   
10. Meeting :: Quakers
    

TP: Feet (with names)

Combining Christmas monies with some Birthday cash, Hayden bought Worst-Case Scenario: Game of Surviving Life for us to play. In this game, wrong answers result in the loss of body parts. At one point, under threat of losing a second arm, Hayden cries No! Not Louisiana! I neeeeeeed Louisiana! You named your arms? I ask.
Nah, just the fists, the left one's Louisiana and the right one's Betsy. Louisiana? She's my left hand man!! His feet? Alabama and Hawaii. Worst-Case Scenario this night? Soda spraying out the nose for laughing too hard... Merry Christmas indeed!

TP: (Hannahbear) Feet

'twas a sleepy morning in September of 2004 when we rolled into a rest stop in the middle of nowhere, Illinois. Hannah's feet happened to be against the window, which happened to pick up the trees' reflection, which happened to all be noticed by our accompanying photographer, David Warren.Again, my heart fills with gratitude for having such a picture in my life; such a moment in my memory.

TP: (Dead Guy's) Feet

I'd never thought to photograph someone's feet for posterity.
Yet for this photograph of Mitch's feet, I am eternally grateful ♥
It wasn't until the end of his life that we actually got to see his feet often. He was definitely a city kid, used to full-time shoes and socks. His summer as "Enrique the pool boy" (2000) was the first time I'd ever seen his feet sans sock tan line ♥
Those are pretty white feet there, so this is just after Hayden's birth-ish, 1998. Post diagnosis, surgery and radiation, pre-chemo, in the throes of a much-appreciated calm in the Storm our life could seem at times.
Hannah's smile could bring those moments, those "ah, this is why I woke up today" feelings, with a mere expression of joy-in-the-moment. I'm glad to have captured so many of those moments on her face, to pull out and remember...
The top of Mitch (and the baby Hayden) looked like this sometime around the same day...

I am so blessed! ♥

TP: (Inked) Feet

My feet read one of my favorite verses from Nakey David:

Yea though I walk through the Valley of Shadow of Death,
I will fear no evil,
for Thou art with me.
Psalms 23:4

It's great to be filled with inspiration and comfort when looking at your feet ♥

Merry Winter

May your coldest days be filled with visions
of the rainbows awaiting you...Winter's Day, Corvallis, 2009

TP: (Ringo's) Feet

I got a thing for feet, I do.
So, thanks Carmi for giving me the perfect excuse opportunity to scan my folders for my collective feet photos. I found one I didn't expect!
Ringo! Ringo beside the Morning Glory Babies!One of the few properly focused shots from the whole shoot with The Boys.
Ya know what? A bit of blur can't take away their cute! see? ♥
Tonight we played The Beatles Rock Band as a family,
while these guys watched.
I hope I did 'em proud.

Unconscious Mutterings, 360

I say... you think...
1. Interest :: no ceiling in South Dakota
2. Chase :: not just in Manhattan anymore
3. Itch :: Scratch!
4. Soothe :: Calm
5. Lamp :: Sunlight
6. Tutor :: risk
7. Nicole :: sister-in-law
8. Sloth :: sin
9. Burn :: forest health
10. Bug :: Hayden

On this longest night,

I wish for you a vortex of sacred beings,
lights from where you can renew your own...I am grateful every day for those lights
Who shine so brightly upon my path through this Life.
~Namaste, my Friends, stay Bright!

TP: Different (perspective on food)

Hayden and Elizabeth bonded over this plate of food. Nope, not eating it, nor consuming it in any way for that matter. They bonded as they played; with the food and each other. They salted and ketchuped and catsuped and saused and piled and played and giggled and whispered... A different bonding to be sure, a sure bonding nonetheless :)

Unconscious Mutterings, 358

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Hotter :: Tar
   
2. Negotiator :: Peace maker
   
3. Crimson :: Robes
   
4. Loses :: not Lost
   
5. Tide :: = clean
   
6. Alan :: Alda
   
7. Fool :: "Tosser" cried the Raven
   
8. Pink :: Molly Ringwald
   
9. Palm :: -top Computer
   
10. Lipstick :: Pink
    

TP: (Rockefeller) Building

Not my first trip to NYC, definitely my best!
PTSD be damned, I'm in NYC and
I'm gonna ice skate at Rockefeller Center ♥
Aaaah, mostly I remember being 25 and filled with possibility.
I long for that feeling... mayhap that's the true purpose of this project,
to rebuild what was lost, inside, by looking at what's still left, outside.

Unconscious Mutterings, 357

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. MacGyver :: Hayden
   
2. Garter :: belt
   
3. Wedge :: heels
   
4. Inches :: centimeters
   
5. Code :: breaker
   
6. Water :: Bruce Lee
   
7. Running :: Cool
   
8. Curly :: hair
   
9. Turkey :: gravy
   
10. Stupor :: drunken
    

TP: Building (Memories)

This building means something different to Hayden than it does to me...
For the entirety of Hayden's life, this has been the Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science, where his fun tank stopped for a fill-up. From playing with Mitch in the art room, to reminders not to touch banisters and elevator buttons (lest we infect Daddy with some foreign pathogen), to scary-then-fascinating dinosaur skeletons, to lifting a whole car alone, to gigantic movies in the cinedome, to the recent Rodin exhibit (where he came full circle from his babyhood trip to the Rodin Museum in Philly)...for me, the behemoth structure was the institution it was intended to be; this one for poor kids. Washington Senior High School students didn't need available, affordable parking. WSHS students didn't need an effective heating system, nor their coats (wearing them in class seemed disrespectful to the instructors) in the breezy-in-winter classrooms either. Tornado Drills at WSHS were a waste of time, to paraphrase my biology professor, Mr. Jackson, "If this building, in the center of town, is destroyed, there's nothing left in the city to live for." I'm honored I was able to take away my own meaning from this building's intentions; this building where we've all learned so much. I hereby edit only one piece of the cornerstone message, so that it relates to my own family and our memories of this sacred building:

The thing of most value and joy that takes place here is the flow of human interest. It is the spirit of the institution to be human in all of its activities. May the days spent here be filled to overflowing with scholastic attainment, courteous conduct, joy, and happiness, so that as the rest of the journey progresses, each life shall abound with gladness and our high school childhood days ever remain a happy memory.
Placed by old central pupils, June 16, 1932
Rededicated by Diana (Lambert) Jenner, WSHS Class of '86, 27 November, 2009

TP: Building (OMG Brownies)

Just another day at the office...
except this particular day called for a special order of Oh My God Brownies.
And indeed, they are so good you will say
Oh.My.God. I love you forever!
Unless you're like my Aunt Donna, she'll give you her share, & you'll say
Oh.My.God. How could you give this up? I love you forever! It's what I do best, infusing baked goods with love (more to come on this transformational journey). There's something magical about the raw baking materials coming together, much like a construction site, to build beauty for the inside of you, instead of the outside.

TP: Building (for Wolves)

Silly me, I thought I'd never have a chance to share this picture.
Quite a sight, a building surrounded by wolves.
Maybe they're intended to keep people out, I'm afraid they'd keep me in.
And they'd make my heiny clench each time I looked out the windows.
It wouldn't matter that I'd remind myself they're not real.
That's just what makes Venice Beach, well, Venice Beach -
it doesn't have to work for me, s'long as it works for you!

Catching up!

I know I've got 30 things to talk about in my repertoire, indeed I should be blogging them!
So today's a day of catching up and planning ahead.
And laundry. Lots of laundry.
And some Buddha Butt entertainment, just for you!
Yes, they make an application for that.

TP: Orange (Favorite Shirt)

One day in 2005, when Hayden was wearing his favorite Orange shirt (this one a gift from Jorgen), and Hannah was away on a Traaseth Adventure, a newspaper reporter came to speak to us about homeschooling. It was a not a particularly enlightening article; after all, it was the Argus Leader (Sioux Falls, SD) and I was the sole out-in-the-open unschooler East of the Missouri.
This shot of the two of us deep in battle on our Star Wars Chess Board was worth the experience!Hayden's on tip-toes in anticipation of my next move;
the one that will allow him to beat me soundly. again.

TP: Orange (Jake)

If you invited Jake bowling today (like we did in May),
he'd probably dress a lot like this.
And he'd look for an orange ball, too.
He's crazy about orange that way.

TP: Orange (Hugs)

The only thing brighter, in this world, than Jeff's orange shirt,
is his smile! ♥ When not drumming himself, He was hugging, and hugging, and huggingthis little girl, who is not his sister,
captured his heart so intensely, he could not stop hugging her!
She was such a good sport, I ♥ unschoolers

TP: Orange (James)

If you gotta have dirty laundry in your back window on a road trip, at least let it say something!
Like this here bright orange shirt of Hayden'sMary's right, sometimes you just need some more James in your life!
Take a listen here
while reading the lyrics:

Help comes when you need it most
I'm cured by laughter
Mood swings not sure I can cope
My life's in plaster (in plaster)

May your mind set you free
(Chorus: opened by the wonderful)
May your heart lead you on
May your mind let you breathe all of disaster
(Chorus: opened by the wonderful)
May your heart lead you on

These wounds are all self-imposed
Life's no disaster, disaster
All roads lead unto death-row
Who knows what's after

May your mind be wide open
May your heart beat strong
May your mind's will be broken
By this heart-felt song

May your mind set you free
(chorus: be opened by the wonderful)
May your heart lead you on
May your mind let you breathe all of disaster
(chorus: be opened by the Wonderful)
May your heart lead you on, may your heart lead you on
May your eyes let you see all of disaster
May your heart lead you on, lead you on
(Chorus: may your eyes be opened by the wonderful)
Set you free
(chorus: may your heart lead you on)
Lead you on

Good reason this band is so popular among unschoolers ♥
Thanks Tim & the Boys!

TP: Orange (Ninja)

For a boy who's lived a lot of life in a short 11 years,
His biggest Act of Courage, to date, is his ride on The Ninja.
The Orange Badge of Safety, a Rite of Passage.
This one's for Daddy.

TP: Orange (Pumpkin Pie)

I played along, for the very first time, I jumped right in and said,
"Yes, I wanna eat a pumpkin pie as fast as inhumanely possible!"
I was especially excited for the super-sexy-clothing-protectin'-garbage-bag. Mostly, I wanted free pumpkin pie; I got to bring the pristine uneaten other half home with me.
I didn't go for the scoop and slurp methods my male counterparts adopted.
I chomped and chewed and finally nibbled my pie. Mr. Orange didn't win first place, though he had the best cheerleader and was quite an entertaining pie-eating neighbor.