Compelling, or Not?

I skipped a meal yesterday, no, make that two. I don't know why I had no appetite, I just didn't feel right. As you well know, I rarely, if ever snack, however I always eat three meals a day, well, except for yesterday. After a sleeping marathon, I ate some delicious homemade granola this morning and I'm feeling some better.

The state of my health did not keep me from finally getting my hair highlighted. Six months is more than long enough to go without a touch up. Not only did Cheryl highlight my hair, she cut it into a much more stylish look. Who is Cheryl you ask? Well, she did my hair for years and years when the children were young, and not so young. We went through countless looks together, most memorably the "Dorothy Hamill" if that gives you any indication how long ago it was. Cue the applause for Facebook! Yes, that's where we reconnected. Apparently she found me on a mutual friends page, sending me a friend request, and there you have it. Did I mention she charged about $40 less than Melissa? I can't wait for Bruce to see it when he returns this evening.

Before we go any further let me mention a book by Larry McMurtry, entitled, Literary Life. It's a memoir of not only his writing, but his massive library as well. One line really resonated with me that I'd love to share with you. Discussing his library he writes, "....you write what you've read, to a large degree--and just as importantly, you write what you will someday reread. I'm not sure if I fully understand the second part of his statement but I certainly can relate to the first part. One aspect of my photography that gets almost as much attention as the images, are the titles. If I've told you this before, please skip down...Anyway, most of the time they come very quickly, on occasion, not so easily. For this seeming ease I credit years, and years, and years of reading. Listening to a lot of music has helped as well. One image that comes to mind which stymied me for a while is a flamingo with his neck all curved. I'm sorta proud of the title that finally came--U-Turn. Some are good, some mediocre, just like the images.

To my mind, most people assume it is easy to take a compelling flower photograph. The longer I'm at this, the harder it becomes. Maybe my aesthetics have changed, maybe I over think things, at any rate, here's some I've been working on with some lovely calla lilies I bought at Whole Foods. Don't you just love the intense purple?

Having tried this in all sorts of ways (these are only a sample!), I'm still not convinced any of them are good enough for print. The good thing is that I don't have to decide any time soon because Mr. Roger is on vacation for now and....drum roll please......we are taking a holiday!!

Yes, you read that right. We'll be heading over to Siesta Key next Friday, spending the week along the Gulf after attending Steve's annual Memorial Day blowout. See, last May posts for a description of his amazing party, which he'll try to outdo this year. Don't ask me how he'll do that, but I know he'll try. Following the week along the coast, we'll head back to Sarasota for a wedding. The romance began three years ago during, you guessed it, Steve's party. Sweet, huh?

More details to follow as the time draws near.

One thing about me is I hate planning and waiting. Bruce's job expertise is in large part due to his planning skills. He maps the whole job out in his mind tackling it piece by piece. Me, as far as trips are concerned, I'm much more prone to get in the car and see where I land. Of course, this is completely impractical, however it does avoid the waiting game.