Three Favorites

I’ve been putting in a tremendous amount of hours at work, covering for someone…a promise I made and intend to keep. Tomorrow is my last day and I can’t say when I’ve looked more forward to a Friday…in my life. At least when my head hits the pillow…those sheep that need to be counted…well, I’m not the one counting them this week 🙂

In other words, I haven’t been able to develop anything new for you to …so… I selected 3 of my personal favorites from a little while ago. You may have seen any one of these but I thought… what the heck…you may not have! The first one is of my very lovely Niece Nicole, the second…one of my Father’s  beautiful orchids and the last is a church in Bodie, the old ghost town that Nicole and I visited earlier this year. If you have never been to Bodie…well…you just need to go.

Little White Churches N.S.

My Current Muse

I have a moment between combing mannequin head hair… so I thought I would show you my current muse. On this last trip, seems I found an instant liking to little white churches scattered around the areas traveled. I shot over 100 different kinds. Some were churches, others converted to meeting halls, stores and even homes. I only chose the old ones and of course, they had to be white. I may produce some sort of book if I get a fancy to. Here’s one I came across quickly to give you the idea…oh, and quite frankly…I’ll be boring you with many more. :0

Flying past the Dutchmen

Lost Vegas is coming

A little update for all of the many Halloween fans that like to be kept apprised of the antics that begin this time of year. Never fear…the Queen of Halloween is busy keeping up her part for the festivities. As luck would have it, while sitting at the local breakfast bar, chewing on a biscuit, I was tapped on the shoulder from behind. Low and behold, it was my mannequin benefactor of years gone by. He asked about this years theme and I told him of my (so far) unlucky search to find a big enough piece of white plexi-glass for the focal point of the scheme inside my brain. I’m of course going to build a 13 foot model of the Las Vegas sign and need it to be perfect. His face lit up when I told him of my plans… He said he knew just the folks that would have the very thing I was searching for. I believe by the time my biscuit was consumed, he was talking about helping me build the whole thing. He’s an old hand at creating elaborate things so I left quite happy about it all. I was off to the swapmeet to see what prop finds I might add to an already great start.

As luck would have it, I ran into a guy selling old tuxedo getups. I asked how much and was told 50.00 which I knew I didn’t want to spend. I explained that I solely fund a large Halloween event for the kids in my city and suddenly everything changed. I walked away with 4 long black tuxedo jackets with matching pants, 4 beautiful white shirts (40’s looking), 4 different satin vest with matching ties… for 90.00 bucks. I was also handed a card and asked to if he could come to the shindig. Happily, Larry and I shook hands and I was off. My 7 foot gangsters are going to be lookin’ good. Oh, I also snagged a bright fuchsia ostrich feather boa with silver strands (which my husband would not let me wear thru the parking lot to the car). Let the madness begin. :0

Here she is…Of course…mine will welcome you to “Lost Vegas”…

Autographing an egg

While traveling to Nova Scotia, we were lucky enough to drive up the coast of Maine. I had never seen the Atlantic Ocean before but was not surprised when I discovered it to be just as beautiful as my own Pacific… though dotted with many more lighthouses. This particular lighthouse is the most photographed in the world…but it’s not the lighthouse that makes my memories what they are…it’s the people I met along the way.

Along this coast, while taking shots of this particular lighthouse I met a local Fisherman. At first, he saw the rather large lens protruding from my head and figured I was just another photographer to add to the list of fellow lighthouse worshipers. It’s was when I approached and could prove that I was fluent in “fish” that he smiled and opened up. Seems he was a lifetime Maine resident and proceeded to tell me all about the town, the beautiful coastal homes, historic facts on the lighthouse and even about the cars he collected off ebay…one shipped from California… a place he’d never been.

While talking to him, I was approached by three British people, two males and a female from Brighton. Usually I am asked to take someone’s photo. They see a large camera and they figure you’re the one to snap their picture perfect portrait to take home and show Grama.

But…this time I was asked to be in the photo. Something new to me but whatever…they were friendly so I was game. They said they were on a scavenger hunt and that they needed a picture of one of them with a total stranger. They continued with the details while I smiled and nodded, looking up at my husband. He was way up on the hill that I had climbed down to get a certain view to shoot from.

From his view he saw the older of the two men strip down to a pair of tiny black speedos, then we locked arms around each other’s shoulder, smiled brilliantly for the camera…and voila… the shot was taken. I was then asked to sign a hard boiled egg to prove that I was indeed a willing part of this escape. The gentleman had of course warned me that I might be alarmed by his skinny white body but I assured him, as any normal Californian would do…there wasn’t much left I hadn’t seen. My husband…knowing me, never thought anything out of place. 🙂

By the way, if the owner of the house in the photo is looking for people to stay and mow that big nasty lawn for say…the whole month of August…for the next twenty years…I’m willing to make the sacrifice.

Mangie Wrangie

On every trip we make, I always include my beloved Mangie Wrangie.

Mangie was all the rage in Nova Scotia and PEI. First of all, not many people had seen the newer 4 door wrangler… let alone someone who actually drove from California… Now I know how it would feel to be a Rock Star. As exciting as it was, I let my husband do all the talking while I escaped to find something to photograph. Unfortunately he doesn’t know anything about the engine and all the manly stuff they want to ask. That’s the kind of thing I tend to know. But he makes it up as he goes… I think Mangie has 16 cylinders at last count 🙂

He did know about the gas though… after 9970 miles…

I chose this photo because of my fetish with a highlighter pen and Michelin Map… directing our way into the unknown.

The Lobster Shacks…PEI

These are everywhere in both Nova Scotia and PEI (Prince Edward Island) but I never got tired of looking at them and their various states of wear. I’ve many…but here’s three 🙂

What if Claude borrowed my camera?

As I study these lillies shot in New York

A funny notion keeps recurring to me

What if I had a visitor come from the past

Asking to borrow my most beloved 5D

Belfast uses Hairspray…

On our recent road trip across the US heading towards Nova Scotia, we visited the tiny working town of Belfast, Maine. We were pleased to find a very friendly little fishing village with a population, I’m guessing now, of about 7000 people. Apparently they lay claim to the oldest shoe maker…or was it store… in the States. They also hide a wonderful secret… their restaurant called Darby’s. It’s a small pub that was built in 1865 and has been passed down from generations of the same family. The bread alone…yummy and I won’t go into the seafood. The bill we received at the end of our meal stated “Time flies like the winds…fruit flies like bananas”… Don’t ya just love a small town.

Steps away from Darby’s is the old Historic Colonial Theater, which opened it 1912, the same day the Titanic set sail. While we were there, they were having their opening debut of the remake “Hairspray”…and I can tell you…the whole town was really into it. 🙂