Capture This ...

  Resolve (Word prompt given on October 22, 2021):    Resolve was another challenge. I think Jill is secretly torturing me. 😂 (Sorry for inserting the cheesy emoji.) The scarlet leaves resolved to fall. There. Problem resolved. That’s the best I can come up with. We haven’t had much color in our leaves like we usually do. It was due to our unnaturally warm October I believe…which I thoroughly enjoyed immensely. The leaves will fall soon, they just won’t be as beautiful as they have been in the past.

  Jennifer gave me this image on October 16, 2021. She said, "You're great with teen angst. Maybe you can catch someone's hair on fire or something crazy." So, that's what I did. I wanted it to be so absurd that it's funny. Not sure if I got there. But here ya go! RIP, Belinda We were trained to never stop a performance—no matter what. That’s what our high school band director had always emphasized. So, you can see how confusing it was for us the evening that Belinda died.  No one had ever actually coached us on what to do if one of our classmate's hair caught fire from a faulty firework and she was rolling around in agony because none of us would stop and help her. In our defense, we had been trained to just keep smiling and pretending like distractions weren’t actually happening. Our director had always told us if we’d just keep putting on the show with enthusiasm, no one would notice (or at least focus on) the mistake—no matter what it was.  He was wro...

  Jenn gave me this photo on October 10, 2021. I'm a little behind in my posts (I'll get caught up soon, I swear!). I immediately looked at the crowd since I like to focus in on the not obvious thing in the photo to get an idea for something to write. So I noticed the kid in the front who looks pretty miserable. And I started to think about how when you're depressed everyone around you can be having fun and you just feel flat. I'm not super happy with this piece, but I'm a few photos behind, so it's as good as it's going to get for this photo! The Life of the Party It seemed like everyone around me was having fun, but were they really? I dunno. It seemed like they were. They were all at least participating —you know, laughing and talking and stuff.  I just wanted to be alone somewhere. Not in this crowd. Not with people. It’s not like I was having a  bad  time. I think I just wasn’t feeling the same vibe that everyone else seemed to be feeling—like, I didn’...

  Balloon (word prompt given on October 15, 2021): I have always loved a shiny happy balloon. Regrettably, they are not good for our environment or sea creatures, but I do purchase them for landmark occasions. These festive blue and gold ones are from band and soccer senior rec night. Balloons elevate people’s spirits because they’re delightful, they last for a few days, and are easily transported.  Fun fact: balloons were first made out of rubber by Professor Michael Faraday in London back in 1824. (Taking them outside and through two doors to photograph them was comical! I also didn’t secure them properly, and almost lost them in the wind!)

  Whimsical   (word prompt given on October 8, 2021): When Jill gave me whimsical I was pretty excited I must admit. It seemed like such a fun task to seek out something playful, or fanciful. I was thinking of children having fun blowing dandelion fluff forcefully into the air…although those are gone right now, but you get the idea. We went to the renaissance festival and the universe delivered! Not soon after we arrived then BAM there she was! A beautiful, charming fairy who was entertaining the children with her gorgeous wings and giant thick string that she made large bubbles with. Her name just also happened to be Whimsy! Whimsy the whimsical fairy. It doesn’t get better than that! She was so patient and stood there for quite awhile, posing for me and smiling at everyone. Without speaking she conveyed such joy and fun with her face and motions. She made me feel young again. —Jennifer

  Tedious (word prompt given on October 1, 2021): Jill gave me tedious as my word for the week. This week it was remarkably easy to think of tedious things! The things that stood out to me the most were the unpleasant things like, insurance, taxes, figuring out technology, and bills. Also, I have ADHD so that makes it exponentially harder at times. When I think of tedious, I think of unpleasant forms and me switching between my regular glasses and reading glasses. Bifocals give me a headache so switching between the two constantly is exceedingly tedious! —Jennifer

  Jennifer gave me this photo prompt on September 24, 2021. First off, I love this pillow and want one! I love how there are shadow stripes on the deck and stripes on the pillow and how they almost line up, but don’t. Then I thought about someone receiving bad news and using the pillow and the stripes as a sort of distraction, so that they really don’t have to process what was being said. I tried to think about what the news might be, and I started to write. At first I wasn’t sure where I was going with it, but then I realized we don’t need to know for sure. But I did throw in a name from The Reminder posted on July 24, 2021. The Throw Pillow I don’t remember the words you said—only that I was trying not to hear and process them as I sat in the glider on the back patio, gently pushing myself back and forth. That was one thing I could control at that moment—how fast the glider moved. I remember one of our throw pillows had fallen on the deck—who knows how long it had been lying t...

  Tiresome (Word prompt given on September 24, 2021): I was reflecting about how many of Jill’s words really fit with what is going on in my life. Even if it’s not apparent at first. So initially, I thought there was an incredible sunset Friday night at an away football game, (a band event really…football is tiresome.) Anyhow, I thought I’d post a photo about sunsets NEVER being tiresome. (I think Jill would wholeheartedly agree!) Then two days went by, and I was still wrestling with my word, because that idea was just cheesy. I also was thinking that all photos don’t have to be beautiful. They genuinely tell a story in one way or another, and hopefully I will include a lot of beautiful nature photos in the future, but a lot of real-life stuff as well. I had had a crazy busy week; multiple doctors appointments, four soccer games, and three band events to attend. Sunday I was to take my cousin’s anniversary photos, and then go to a dear friend’s funeral. Sunday was just the worst, I...