someone. somewhere. something.....

someone lived in this house once, but now it looks like that someone has gone away.

i'm sure i would have liked that someone. 

how do you not like someone who paints their porch ceiling turquoise?

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lately, when i wake up, i can literally smell morning. it means fall is coming.

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recently, i've loved visiting here and here and here.

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i have another senior photo shoot tomorrow and sunday. honestly, the places i have chosen are going to be considered trespassing {to some degree} and i'm giddy just thinking about it.

is that bad?

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weekending.....

we drove to an art fair yesterday, that isn't until next saturday.oops.

ate the best chicken salad sandwiches for lunch.

won a mean game of bean bag toss that i think my future son-in-law "threw" just so i could win.

checked out a wedding reception venue.

found three heart shaped rocks.

laughed as a beach goer photo bombed my photo. twice. then his wife yelled at him.

stopped for a glass of wine at a winery on the way home.

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today the deck is getting stripped. it's cool and cloudy outside. in other words, simply gorgeous.

tonight the olympics end.

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a big thank you, to the amazing athletes for keeping us completely entertained for the past two weeks. michael phelps, we can't take our eye off you. you'll be missed in rio. you deserve to be the most decorated olympian ever and if you change your mind and want to come back, that's okay.

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when swimming was over, we fell in love again with misty and kerri and misty can say that she's done, but if she shows up with michael in rio, we'll be smiling.

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i hope that your weekend has been full of love and laughter

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never never land.....

happy weekend everyone

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{if you're one of the 48 strangers on state street, here's that post}

what you said you read.....

when i asked for reading suggestions, you all delivered brilliantly.
it was like having an urgent librarian pounding loudly on my front door. her arms were full and her balance was off and she begged me to let her in. thank you, thank you, thank you.
these are just some of the suggestions.

~

wildflower hill

night road

still alice
left neglected

the daughters walk

the art of racing in the rain

the mermaid chair

the night circus

the language of flowers

sea change

three junes

my sister's keeper

plainsong

the tie that bind

imagine

faithful place

saving cee see honeycutt

her fearful symmetry

the history of love

the fault in our stars

the chaperone

a pocketful of names

a year of wonder

the ice queen

a year in provence

a tree grows in brooklyn
standing under the rainbow
all over but the shoutin
tender at the bone
patti jane's house of curl
the imperfectionists
a tree grows in brooklyn
~
krisen hannah books
jennifer wiener books
anita shrove books
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happy reading
~
{if you are one of the 48 strangers on state street, here's that post}

hello 48.....hello complete strangers.....

yesterday was my forty eighth birthday

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i had nothing planned and nothing on my calendar other than "happy birthday to me."

after getting dressed i had one of those lightbulb moments. what if i challenged myself to take photos of 48 complete strangers on my 48th birthday. now i had a plan.

i hopped in the car and drove down to the union, only to discover that there was nowhere to park. 

off to state street i went. 

immediately after parking, i started going up to strangers, telling them i was a photographer and that for my 48th birthday i wanted photos of 48 strangers. they all smiled and said yes.

well, i did have one man in a hurry who passed quickly by saying "no" before i even told him what i was doing, but other than that, everyone i met was happy to stop and pose for me.

~

i found families, bartenders, lovers, homeless people, a nephew visiting from austria, bike riders, book readers, marketing students, visitors from england, a parking authority, other photographers and people in a hurry and everyone of them wished me a happy birthday when we parted.

~

some i talked to in great length. others were just a quick, "thank you so much."

bryan, who i found while he was on his break, offered to buy me a drink or a shot for my birthday from the bar he was working in. i passed, but the offer was so sweet. instead, we talked about life, colorado, snow boarding, portland, oregon and the coast. 

model like mike told me where he was from and how he was searching for what he wanted to do with his life, hoping soon to find his passion. he reminded me so much of my son. i told him i only found what i was passionate about 5 years ago and that it will happen when he least expects it.

the marketing students said they loved this idea of mine, the 48 strangers for my 48th birthday. the guy in the group said, "i completely respect what you're doing." that made me smile.

~

so in two and a half hours, i had talked to 48 people, smiled more times than i can count and had more birthday wishes than i ever imagined. i was even told that i looked more like 38 than 48. wow. if that isn't a great gift i don't what is. below is a video i made of all 48 strangers. i hope they make you smile as much as they did me.

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{slide show works best if you let your cursor rest on the side of the first photo that comes up...as that will get rid of the thumbnail photos at the bottom}

your wildest ones.....

today's a day for dreaming. and nothing else. because i said so.

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under the dim light.....

can you help me? i need a good book to read.

~

sadly, i don't like anything with history, but i love romance if it's written well.

i like anything funny and stories about families, especially if they have to fight for their kids in some way.

murder mysteries, not so much, but every now and then a good one finds its way into my hands.

jodi piccoult and elizabeth berg books have always been winners for me.

the last book i read was "a special relationship" by douglas kennedy.

i loved it and highly recommend it.

~

so, if this summer at your house has been filled with quiet nights of reading under the dim light on your night stand and you want to share what you've read, i'm here to take your suggestions.

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