Catch Up - Oct 21

Monica: Conversation

Catch Up - Sept 22

Catch Up - Sept 21

Making Art (2)

Evelyn: All the ways we entertain ourselves...

Kiss a lot of Frogs

Leisure

Evelyn:  I love the rails at dusk... warm glows and reflections.

Attention

Evelyn:  At work I am acclimating to big adjustments, yet again. New people, change in space, and evidence of what had been. It is late, and I see him staring at the space where my co-worker once sat... surfs up, there are some changes! Ride them out!

Priorities

Evelyn: Gizmo finally got Pito home, very late at night, with just minutes before the midnight hour. Of course, other than trying to see what Pito brought him in his bags, belly rubs were priority.

Little Leisures

Passages

Just ONE More

Monica: Today I celebrate the fact that my sister and I have successfully completed TWO YEARS of daily photos—that's 730 consecutive days of viewing the world through a little frame and capturing something—or anything—of interest from our day. I'm astonished at my own ability to maintain this daily practice, in spite of the days when I'm exhausted or frustrated or just not seeing any beauty in the world. This practice has forced me to find it, even if I only have 3 minutes left in the day and the only thing I can think of is to photograph my own feet. Tomorrow is the last day of my life here in Mendocino and then we're off to travel and visit family and friends for a little over a month. I'll keep taking photos, but I'm not sure how often I'll be able to post, so the sister blog may change its form for a bit. In any case, happy new year, dear readers, and thank you for visiting our tiny corner of the internet to glimpse a bit of our lives. Here's wishing you a sweet, healthy, joyous, and prosperous 2012. 

Evelyn: What she said... 730 consecutive photos? One of my biggest joys with this site has been getting curious on ANY ONE GIVEN DAY and checking what I was doing THEN. I have loved the chronicling of my life in this way, and the ongoing connection to my sister and her life. The late night conversations that emerge from some of our most connected work. Our chortling about giving up, then denying each other the opportunity. The last minute, dying light, what-do-I-do-now shots that sometimes are just as fun. The conversations with strangers about the work we have been doing. Tonight, just moments from midnight, forgetting my SLR, and in a desperate attempt to get in a few shots, I pulled out my camera phone.  I celebrate a new year, in a new place, with new emerging friendships, and the abounding enthusiasm I feel about all that is happening in my world, and some hope that we can carry on to 1096 shots (cause this year is a Leap Year - and we have just one more opportunity!)

Motion & Rest

Monica: I can't believe how fast time passes, how it seems like only a few months ago when we first arrived in this town and felt awkward calling ourselves "locals" merely because we had an address here. Since then, we've grown into our "local" skin. We've come to know many of the faces in this community and have felt welcomed, accepted, and even valued here. It feels weird to tell people we're leaving. I know they are sincere when they tell us they will miss us because I feel the same way. We've formed symbiotic relationships with the people that ring up our groceries, do our printing, serve our food, rent us DVDs, deliver our mail, process our paychecks, etc. I will miss these faces and the pleasure of the numerous little interactions we've had over the last 2Ω years.

Evelyn: Lots of antics, teenage boys running around and doing experiments (if not on each other, it may well be a social experiment between parents and teens). It felt nice to have a few moments of quiet on the couch, feet up, twinkling Christmas lights, and the blare of late night novellas with the Colombians.

Catch Up

Monica: It's Christmas Eve and we both spent a lot of time on the phone, catching up with family. It will be a quiet Christmas this year; the two of us in an empty house, staying warm by the fire. Even though I can't be with my family, I am still so grateful for all of this: for him, for my family & friends, for everyone's health, for the new job, and for the time we got to live in this little slice of California heaven.

Evelyn: The morning hours in my mother's garden are calm and colorful. My body doesn't quite know what time it is, and part of me is confused by the gently emerging sunlight when Florida is already seeing a late-morning haze. Going through my mom's yard, I am drawn to tiny forgotten accents—probably placed unexpectedly or covered by vines and nick-knacks—that feel like small hide-'n-seek treasures: an aging clothespin, a rusted iron candle holder, dead morning glory vines and a frozen statue of a red bird, all between warm sunlight and greenery.

Afternoon Treat

Monica: Michael cracked the whip this morning and I set my nose to the grindstone packing up the kitchen. I hate packing the kitchen—all those dishes and glasses that have to be wrapped in newspaper, all those pots and pans that don't nest into each other just so. The boxes have to be small so they don't get too heavy but then things don't fit easily into them. After wrestling with the kitchen for most of the day, we treated ourselves to what has become a Wednesday ritual: an hour in the hot tub at Sweetwater Spa. 

Evelyn: I have an appreciation for the warm light of sunset on the white picket fence that surrounds the Spring Hill campus. Never mind the shopping carts and flock of smokers, or the cranky leasing landlord who snarls at where we park, or the fact that I sometimes miss "THIS" light because of the office without windows that keeps me disoriented. When I get it just right, I am cradled by the warmth of this little picket fence reflecting the dimming yellow of dusk, and feel remarkable gratitude for the people I work with.

Apple in Hand

Evelyn: A little ripe smile amidst the labor. New space, new temporary desk, and lots of data to compress... my mind wishing for opportunities to stop as I take to "smoke breaks" with a few peers.  My apple was about the happiest looking thing in a florescently lit, bare-walled, faculty office... something familiar amidst all the ways this job keeps me challenged.

Monica: Slowly, things are getting done and checked off the to-do list. There is so much to do, I get overwhelmed thinking about it. I have to remind myself to breathe and savor the present moment, whatever it is. Crawling into bed after a busy day, I remembered I still needed a photo. I grabbed my camera and peered over Michael's shoulder as he lay propped on his side, reading his book.

A Little Disorganized

Monica: This is what our life is like right now and what it's going to look like for the next 3 weeks. Then our life will be compressed down to a couple of suitcases and several miscellaneous bags. It's a wonder that I have done this so many times before and can maintain a certain level of calm in the face of a certain level of uncertainty. I know even this time I will look back on with nostalgia and sigh.

Evelyn: Took a very gentle, very short, hike in Cassadega today. The park, with the founding father's home, a humble pile of ruins along a path, has a series of historical markers along the way. I love the seedpods I find, sharp and burly, large like ping-pong balls, yet each a frayed disorganized looking mess. I kick them along as we walk, sometimes picking one up to roll in my hand, and feel the texture. I wander in and out of the crevices through my mind, contemplating the ways in which our lives can be prickly and yet smooth like a shadow, a little frayed and yet all in one piece.

Leisure

Evelyn: In Orlando, waiting in a pocket of unexpected extra time. I parked myself at a dead end to discover the edge of rough marshy terrain  salted with yellow wild flowers. It was quiet, overcast, and breezy, and my soul joined the quiet moving dance of blossoms. I wanted to stand in the middle of what looked like a half mile of yellow, and look up to the overcast sky through lovely bright swaying warmth.

Monica: It rained all today. I went into town to enjoy a leisurely afternoon of window shopping and thrift store hopping. Michael stayed home to nap in his favorite chair.