Weekend Gratitude: Still Life

Dear friends,

Saturday morning, I sat in my favorite chair in my bedroom, and noticed the silhouette of a bird fluttering back and forth outside the window.  I grabbed my iPod and quietly went outside and rounded the corner of the house, trying to catch a picture.  The bird was gone by then, but I realized I had been wanting to photograph our magnolia tree, and several new blooms had appeared.

First I tried photographing them on the tree, pulling the branch downward and snapping photos with one hand.  Then I climbed up a ladder and Naomi climbed the tree.   Finally, I decided to pick the one bloom I liked best and bring it inside to put in a float bowl, as I often do with flowers.  Just in time for the P52 photo project theme of the week: Still Life!  The first several photos are of the flower in the bowl, and the next several, though taken before this, are from outside.  Why so many?  Because even though magnolias are smooth white with just a tiny bit of yellow, the shadows add in an entirely new dimension, especially with the reflections of glass and water.  I just couldn't stop.  I actually took dozens more...

  

After playing with magnolias for a while, I hadn't had enough fooling around, so I tried on my daughter's Minnie Mouse bride hat and her sunglasses.

Outside OMA

My other grand plan for the day was to take some of my kids and some of our neighbors to the Orlando Museum of Art since I had heard there was free admission there and at 150 museums around the country if I presented my Bank of America debit card on the first full weekend of each month.  Unfortunately, when we got there, we found there is free admission only for the cardholder, not for their guests.  I had seven kids with me (two of my daughters, two of my sons, and three neighbors, and it would have cost a total of $35 to bring them in, so we left.  I'll go back by myself soon. 

Leaving the museum, I couldn't help but notice
the flower beds next to the drive lanes.
I especially liked the effect from my side mirrors.
What do you think?
Abstract art?

Since we couldn't go to the art museum, I figured we would at least stop at Lake Lily on the way home to walk around the lake and enjoy the playground.  It turns out there was a festival for people with Crohn's disease and colitis, so we were able to enjoy the bounce house, balloon animals, and a bit of food.

This duck walked right up to me!

I also noticed that the Waterhouse Residence Museum at Lake Lily
was open for guests.  We had to wait a half hour since there was a Girl Scout troop already touring it, but we enjoyed our time there. Built in 1884, it is furnished Victorian style.  Generations of the Waterhouse family lived there until 1989.  Since we have a Maitland address, admission was free; otherwise it is $2 for kids and seniors, and $3 for adults. The museum is open Thursday - Sunday, 12-4 PM. I'll do a separate post later for my Florida Field Trips series.

Another beautiful still life, this time in the Waterhouse Museum.

My son Andrew turned 15 today.  Four friends joined him for dinner and youth group, and two of them from our home school co-op are spending the night and going to class with us in the morning.  Tomorrow is the last co-op day of the year!

My daughter Mary and her husband Ryan brought their two boys over.  I didn't get pictures of Jacob (who turns 2 next month), but here are three of baby Isaac, who is almost 3 months old.  After the boys left for youth group, I enjoyed a chance to chat with Mary.  I don't see them often enough!

Things didn't always go as I planned this weekend, but sometimes the detour is the sweeter path.  It's still life! 


As John Fischer used to sing...


I used to dump the puzzle on a table
And put it back together in a day
But now it sits undone
The table's overrun
With pieces no one showed me how to play
In one hand I've collected all the answers
With the other I'm just trying to survive
Living on the ledge
Hanging on the edge
Is keeping every ounce of faith alive

It's still life
But not as still as it once seemed
It's still life
And I never would have dreamed
That the answer
Would have so many questions
He's the same
And it's still life


It's been a great weekend, but morning is coming all too soon!  Tata for now!
Virginia Knowles
www.VirginiaKnowles.blogspot.com


This blog post will be linked at the P52 photo project.