Life is....

what happens to you while you're busy making other plans. ~ John Lennon

It's been over two months since I last posted, wow that sure is a long time. I actually started this post about two weeks ago and got distracted once again by some tiny little detail... minutia, but the trail was lost and it took time to get back on track. Not that the last two months have been uneventful, quite the contrary. It was so eventful I was completely overwhelmed by it all.

The last week in May ended with the passing of a very close friend and confidant, my Aunt Lil was so special to me and she is missed daily. The pain and suffering are over and she is in a better place, yes I do believe there is a better place. The flowers of May brought relief and beauty in a time of deep sorrow.

June brought a birthday dinner for my daughter and I. Since we share a birthday, we also shared a celebratory cocktail while waiting to be seated. I had the honor of celebrating the 25th Anniversary of my 29th birthday this year.... but who's counting?

July was an exciting month! We attended my niece's wedding in south west Pennsylvania, a celebration and road trip all in one. With a dog and cat to tend to my DH stayed home while my daughter and I had a semi Thelma and Louise weekend (lol). It was great to spend time with my brother and nieces, something that's become far to rare! The bride was beautiful and the groom was as excited as a little boy, may they be blessed with love and happiness for many years to come.

Unfortunately we ended the month on a sad note. Our cat Belle has been suffering with kidney disease for the last year and sadly we had to let her go with the help of the vet that has cared for since we adopted her in 1994.

Seventeen years is a long time, she gave it the good fight and held on until the end, may she now rest in peace.

Music Love

135/365 Music Love
Originally uploaded by maggie_gem

Pretty exciting day for Kate... she won tickets to see Sugarland and her favorite band Little Big Town this Saturday from Thunder 106.3 in NJ. They also included a "Meet and Greet" which put her over the top!

Congrats Kate... I can't wait!

Texture Tuesday

134/365 Classic
Originally uploaded by maggie_gem

I've enrolled in Kim Klassen's Photoshop Skinny-Mini course to help me get the most out of the Photoshop Elements trial I downloaded.

I haven't really ventured into the post-processing realm until now and it is stirring a new inspiration for photography. This is a good thing, since I seem to be falling behind on my 365 Project.

For today's processing I applied Pioneer Woman's Vintage action, then applied Kim's Pour Vous texture at 75% soft light. What do you think? Have you used Actions and Textures in processing your photography?

Travel Dreams

131/365 Travel Dreams
Originally uploaded by maggie_gem

Spring has sprung and with it the travel bug has arrived! While dreams of seeing the world struck last week, the reality is I'll be staying local this year.

Don't get me wrong there is plenty to explore and see right here close to home. New Jersey and New York provide for some very interesting backdrops. I just need to plan some trips and then get out and do it!

Hopefully there will be many day trips now that the cold and snow are gone... looking forward to the sharing with all my friends!

Texture Tuesday

Friendships Remembered
Originally uploaded by maggie_gem

Friendships Remembered - Summer memories always improve with age. Applied Pioneer Woman's Vintage action and Kim Klassen's Silence texture for Texture Tuesday submission.

Here is the original

The Watch Dog

Letting me know the mailman has entered the block.... you'd think he was a giant much larger than his ten pounds of terror!

Afternoon Ride

110/365 Afternoon Ride
Originally uploaded by maggie_gem

Patiently waiting....

April Showers

108/365 April Showers
Originally uploaded by maggie_gem

The morning rain on my neighbor's beautiful flowers. These are gorgeous when open, I'll have to post another day when that happens!

Spring is in the Air

This past week has certainly been proof that Spring is gaining ground in these parts!

Beautiful pink blossoms were found at the local supermarket, in the parking lot.

Also at the local pharmacy

And while out and about visiting my customers, there were new bunnies everywhere!

Can Easter be far behind?

Speaking of Easter, has anyone seen Hop?


Looks like it's been #1 at the box office these past two weekends, looks like a fun movie. Yes, I'm still a child deep down :-)

Stop...

96/365 Stop...
Originally uploaded by maggie_gem

Finally, some blossoms proving that indeed Spring will arrive!

Another shot in the Spring Colors series, which I forgot to mention yesterday was inspired by the Spring Colours Week hosted at Poppytalk you can find out more on their site.

Color Week 2011

200/365 Dreamy Sunflowers
Originally uploaded by maggie_gem

Today's Shutter Sisters post inspired me to dig a bit into the archives in hunt for Yellow. Despite the gray rainy day.... I'm now walking on sunshine! Happy Tuesday everyone.

Branch Brook Park 2010

Branch Brook Park, a set on Flickr.

Revisiting last year's photos and looking forward to making another trip this year.

The Bloom Fest is scheduled for Sunday April 17th.

Exploring: 5 Pointz - Long Island City

80/365 5 Pointz
Originally uploaded by maggie_gem

This weekend hubby had a meeting in Flushing, NY and we took the opportunity to explore the old neighborhoods. Coincidentally we did this almost exactly one year ago, we visited Long Island City then too, but stayed closer to the river.


We both grew up in Queens, he grew up in Astoria and I in Sunnyside. We really enjoy checking out the neighborhoods to see how they've changed over the years, we moved to New Jersey in 1988, there have been many changes! Yesterday after showing our daughter the schools we went to and the apartment houses we lived in we ventured over to Astoria to have gyros for lunch (I think that's the main reason she came with us). We went back to Mr. Gyro's where we had lunch last year, but the place was now Broadway Eats. Looked like they still made gyros so we were game to check it out. Glad we did, the gyros were just as good as they were last time! Yummy!

 

Gyro at Broadway Eats

After lunch we headed down by the water, then decided to change course and checkout the 5 Pointz graffiti area I had seen photos of several months back. While browsing the web on my phone I noted there were recent news stories that 5 Pointz would soon be closing due to future development plans for the site. I felt it might be now or never, so off we went to Long Island City in search of the world renowned "Graffiti Mecca" off of Jackson Avenue.

As we approached the site, an old warehouse, the first mural that caught my eye

The main entrance was quite intriguing...

Photographers come from miles around to capture the artists and their work

Read more about this amazing place at their website 5Ptz.com

Update: 1000 Cranes for Japan

77/365 Kimmidoll and Crane
Originally uploaded by maggie_gem

The movement and effort continue! In little over a week the Flickr Group 1000 Cranes for Japan has grown to 668 members posting 879 photographs, it's amazing to see such caring and unity in this community of photographers. In addition, the group founder has uncovered another group willing to make monetary contributions for Origami Cranes and/or photos of the cranes.

Students Rebuild is collecting 100,000 actual paper cranes, which will be woven into a piece of artwork.

The Bezos Family Foundation has pledged $2/crane up to $200,000! The funds will be donated to Architecture for Humanity efforts to help rebuilding efforts in Japan, you can read more here: studentsrebuild.org/japan/ they also have a Facebook Page Paper Cranes for Japan

So much can be gained.... Just Do Something!

1000 Cranes for Japan

74/365 Yotsuba's Crane   Originally uploaded by maggie_gem

"The crane in Japan is one of the mystical or holy creatures (others include the dragon and the tortoise), and is said to live for a thousand years. In Japan, it is commonly said that folding 1000 paper origami cranes makes a person's wish come true. This makes them popular gifts for special friends and family." Wikipedia

The earthquake and ensuing tsunami of March 11th has brought many people around the world together in efforts to support all who have been impacted by this tragic event. I stumbled upon one such group on Flickr that is gaining a following of photographers from around the globe that are making origami cranes for Japan, to offer support and hope in difficult times.

I've never created any origami until seeing this group, but with the help of this excellent tutorial on YouTube I was making cranes in no time.

Maybe you'd be interested in participating and raising awareness of the efforts that are being made to provide support. You can view the group photos at 1000 Cranes for Japan Group on Flickr. Through this group I also learned that Miya Company is offering to donate $5 to Save the Children for each of the first 1000 photos of cranes submitted to their email. You can read more about their effort at this web-page www.miyacompany.com/static.asp?htmltemplate=1000cranes.html

Thank you Hilary, I am honored to be a "Mention" on the Post of the Week!

iPad 2

I was hearing all the buzz last week about the soon to be released iPad2... so I just couldn't pass up sharing this video I came across today: