Early March Weekending.

In spite of the chilly wet weather, both Marc and I were out and about.  Marc played golf. I took a very cool field trip and spent a wonderful (but long) morning at church to celebrate Gifts of Women Sunday. 

The field trip was to a Hindu temple, specifically the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, with our spring confirmation class (I am fortunate to be a mentor to one of the confirmands). Ten teens and 13 adults visited on Saturday afternoon.

Most of us had no idea what to expect; all of us were blown away. We learned not only about the Hindu religion, but also about the amazing construction process that follows traditions thousands of years old. ...and the Atlanta temple is one of only five in the US (six in North America counting the one in Toronto). 

The temple website is definitely work a click-through - even if just to see the beautiful photography! You can also learn more about that construction process - which took only 17 months and used 1.3 million volunteer hours. All the carving was done by hand, in India and then the pieces were shipped here for assembly. My mind is still boggled!

I hope to have photos from the services to share next week (relying on others' iPhones is sometimes tricky business for Monday blog posts ;-), but it was 100% written and celebrated by women. Our congregation is blessed to have two wonderful female pastors, a beautiful women's choral ensemble, a female guest organist and a host of other females of all ages - acolytes, greeters and ushers - to lead and celebrate worship. I had a very small speaking part to recognize the Presbyterian Women in our congregation; it was inspiring to see about half of the congregation stand for that!

We also spent a good bit of time together at home. We started the second season of Sneaky Pete, cheered the awesome showing of the ACC in the upcoming NCAA tournament and FaceTimed with our favorite boys. I love that I can now take photos from FaceTime (even if they're blurry!).

That's Sam hugging Charlie in the bath and Sam completely and utterly despondent when his dad left the house. The boys fight over who gets to hold the phone ... I think Charlie sometimes lets Sam win. and I think Marc's favorite thing about all of it is that Sam can say Poppa. Katie says that's his first two-syllable word. (yep, just a little jealous).

And in between all of that, I also kept close tabs on the latest (last?) amaryllis bloom. Here it is yesterday afternoon.

Hard to tell it was pouring rain outside, isn't it?!

Photos really do help to tell the stories! I hope you captured something good this weekend, too!

Happy Monday!

Looking Back | February.

Yep, one more catching up post before I'm ready to move on to March! 

Today, I'm looking back at February through the lens of my daily photos:

I've already shared most of these photos here or on Instagram, but I'm still surprised by the story all 28 photos tell together - what a month! The trip to Mexico over the last week was planned, but I had no idea Marc would be such a willing participant in the photos! Then there were the little boys - breakfast on the 11th, followed by two whole days with little Sam on the 14th and 15th. First signs of spring ... and an amaryllis that looks just as lovely when the blooms fade (the 5th) as when they're just beginning (the 10th). 

That "just beginning" bud managed to hold off blooming until we were home and I've enjoyed watching it unfold over the past few days. Its first blossom was a most welcome sight this morning.

One photo I haven't shared here is from the 8th - my mom at her new front door:

We had a mini photoshoot that afternoon so she had a "new home" photo to share with her friends. I'm delighted with the photo (smiles, sunshine, forsythia wreath!), but mostly having my mom so close ... and getting settled. I fully expect her to be a regular feature in these monthly collages going forward - what a blessing!

There was also one part of my February that I purposely omitted from the collage. The 10 day #tblmindbodypilates challenge was something I wanted to accomplish, but I knew it would mostly happen while we were away. and of course I knew I'd want to have vacation photos fill those daily spots. I did take a daily photo to mark each workout (doubling up on days 5 & 6 when we were traveling) and made a mini-collage. 

Pilates with a beach view is definitely more fun than pilates in my living room - but The Balanced Life works great in both places! (although I'm not sure Holly would agree 😉)

And that's a wrap!

Cheers, February - you were wonderful ... but I'm ready to welcome March!

Mid-February Weekending.

... started out with blue skies and temperatures warm enough to have the roof open in the car - this is Friday afternoon on my drive home.

Thankfully Saturday and Sunday weren't as rainy as the forecast predicted (meaning Marc did leave the house for several hours both days to "hit balls" which judging by the state of his clothes, he did) but I still think the best parts of my weekend were spent indoors:

Catching up with Sara. I listened to her latest 2+ hour podcast and then had a long FaceTime (about much more than Homeland).

Watching the amaryllis. Another flower stalk has started (this is #7!)

and the blooms are still going strong.

Saturday evening we watched Longmire while I snuggled with Holly and worked toward finally seeing colors change on my Parallelogram Scarf.

And then yesterday morning, we met up with our favorite toddlers and their parents for breakfast. Marc hadn't wanted to commit to any daytime plans (in case the weather turned nice), but he agreed to 7:30 am when Katie texted Saturday evening. Leaving the house dark-early in the rain was completely worth it!

I love how Katie can get Sam to smile

and how Charlie can actually make Marc laugh!

What made you laugh this weekend?

Amaryllis Watch | Week Nine.

We have blooms - lots and lots of blooms!! Here's what that one basket of bulbs looks like today

 with waterlogue's natural filter, which rendered those gorgeous blooms most "naturally"

and a close up of that far right bloom

seriously stunning. and also not as dark as last week's buds suggested.

I've kept up my daily photos, (still) amazed at the pace of growth. and change.

top left is Saturday, bottom right is yesterday - the big photo is from Tuesday

Also delighted to see the evidence of so much sunshine in my west-facing study. The clouds are moving in and we're supposed to have a wet weekend. These photos are a wonderful reminder that the sun still shines. and there are lots more blooms in the wings!

Happy Friday and best wishes for a wonderful weekend! I'm ready for a break from football, but now golf is a Big Deal around here (and Marc is anxiously tracking Tiger). Good thing I have knitting (that test knit has been consuming much of my time - one more sleeve and it will be done ... stay tuned!)

(Weeks One - Six, Week Seven, Week Eight)

Amaryllis Watch | Week Eight.

This week, the first two buds opened!  I started a daily photo watch the day the snow came ... it's remarkable to me how much can change in 24 hours!

Tuesday

Wednesday

I took this photo while my sister and I had our weekly cocktail hour via FaceTime 😀

Thursday

and today

Here's a topdown view of that four-blossom bloom. I wonder if the flowers will be so dark?

Waterlogue (and a little bit of photoshop) suggests maybe not!

Streamlined filter

Wishing you a happy Friday and a great weekend - and may your team win on Sunday!!

(Weeks One - Six, Week Seven)

Amaryllis Watch | Week Seven.

It's week seven and all three copper stakes are now in use.  I might get to break out the knitting needles after all; each bulb has a second bud!

I think blooms are still a ways off, but I'm starting to see a faint hint of red (or is it just my imagination?)

Today's waterlogue is the Illustration filter. All those wonderful pops of blue are a marked and welcome contrast to the skies outside the window - dull, wet gray.

Wishing y'all a wonderful weekend!

(Weeks One - Six)

Looking Back | December.

Looking back at December through the lens of my daily photos,

I can't help but smile! Family (who are friends), a few cocktails, a delicious spread of cookies, reading, knitting (and one FO - that lovely bit of pinned out lace on the 23rd is the 2016 Mystery Shawl), plenty of twinkle lights ... and the beginning of this year's amaryllis watch.

My mom gifted each of us super fancy bulbs from Jackson & Perkins. I set mine out on December 1st and have been documenting their progress every Friday since then.

I'm positive I can really see those stalks growing! This week, I threaded the two taller ones through copper stakes (so pretty and practical ... but maybe not quite as charming as the knitting needles I had to use last year 😉) and I'm sure the 3rd one will need a stake in the next day or two.

week six

Last year, my two bulbs bloomed about a month apart - one at Christmas and the other later in January. Too soon to tell, but I think this year's bulbs are all on track for January. Stay tuned ... I plan to make this a Friday feature for a few more weeks!

Waterlogued - Streamlined (looking back at last year, I was reminded how much fun these photos were, too)

And whew, I think this is the last looking back post I have to share. The first weekend of 2018 seems like a good time to start looking ahead!

Wishing y'all a wonderful weekend ... stay warm!

A Lemonade Day.

Little Sam is having a tough week. Yesterday morning, Katie and I agreed he should go to day care today (instead of spending the day with me) ... hoping one more day there will help get his transition onto more solid ground. Of course I'd cleared my calendar weeks ago and all that empty space would be a shame to waste!

Yesterday afternoon I made a few plans - found a new knitting project, planned a walk with Lauren (which is really a double lemonade thing - she was supposed to have knee surgery yesterday but it's been rescheduled for next week), and made sure I had all the episodes of Victoria recorded.

Turns out the knitting and the walk, along with a third bloom on that amaryllis

and a very happy mail day

were all I needed. By the time I finished listening to Lillian Boxfish (loved it!) Marc was home. Just in time to help me try on the sweater.

Yep, still needs a few more rows.

Thanks to last week's trial run, I do have a bit of Sam to share with y'all. Hopefully next week I'll have a lot more!

...and now it's time for something a little stronger (and likely a little redder) than lemonade... cheers to (almost) Friday!

Waiting and Watching | Week Seven.

yesterday afternoon

playing with the light (and yep, that's a knitting needle holding up the stalks!)

The main reason I planted amaryllis bulbs this year was to re-live a bit of the magic our first one brought us last January. These blooms are certainly not as stunning as last year's (whoa, those white stripes and whoa - all those blooms!), but this one got the timing right.

Sunday afternoon there were still just buds

but by Monday afternoon there were blooms!

I'm betting the bright sunshine yesterday and today will get that third bud to open by this afternoon.

Today's waterlogue is again the Color Bloom filter, chosen for the beautiful way it portrays the blooms, their reflection and their shadow. and that touch of blue in the window...well that's just serendipity!

Happy Wednesday!

(Week One, Week Two, Week Three, Week Four, Week Five)

Waiting and Watching | Week Five.

Three of those eight white blooms from last week are still holding on, but this week's real stunner is on the second bulb.

At least I hope it's a stunner... waiting in the wings.

Today's waterlogue is another new filter - Fashionable. chosen entirely because of the way it rendered the collage. I love the pops of pink and the faint, suggestive outlines of the words.

These photos were actually taken yesterday; Holly and I are headed to Florida this morning to visit my mom for a few days. Hoping to share a few posts while we're there. I'm itching to see what the #blueskyblooms are up to!

Happy Wednesday!

(Week One, Week Two, Week Three, Week Four)

Waiting and Watching | Week Four.

There are eight (!!!!) white blooms this week and every one of them is lovely, but my favorites are the ones that catch the sunlight (yes, sunlight!) just so. simply stunning.

I tried a different Waterlogue filter this week - this is Color Bloom ... which will be even more appropriate once the Red Lion blooms.

Happy Wednesday!

(Week One, Week Two, Week Three)

Waiting and Watching | Week Three.

With all the zeal of the newly converted, "WOW!" or maybe "Whoa, that was fast!"

I took these photos yesterday afternoon - maybe 48 hours after I noticed the first bloom on Christmas Day.

...and then just for fun, this morning I played around with one of them.

I think I like what Waterlogue does with the pictures and the birds even more than the amaryllis.

Happy Wednesday!

(Week One, Week Two)