MISTY'S MORNINGS

These pics are all from the Big Picture Classes Phone Photography Project in July.   So July 2013 is in the past. Once again I have gathered all my favorite moments in the Project 365 app photo calendar.  August is here and brings the daily countdown to an early start to school on August 19th.  I have officially purchased the school supplies, uniforms and backpacks.  We have yet to find comfortable black shoes that my newbie middle schooler will deem "cool" enough that I can also tolerate buying for him.  These pre-teen years are truly a roller coaster ride of finding the middle place where he and I can meet.  Thankfully he has a gentle spirit so our disagreements aren't so bad. (Do I need to add "yet" to this sentence??) Anyway, in honor of the boys going back to school I have decided to go back to blogging this month!  2013 has been such a growing year for me yet I have shared so little of it here in my sharing space.  So when Susann...

A few days ago I bumped along the highway in the back of a greyhound style bus full of fourth grade children.  We were on our way to Colonial Williamsburg for a "trip back in time" as eyewitnesses to early colonial life.  We arrived, myself a bit queasy, and began a quiet tour through empty cobblestone streets. After a stop at the carpenter's shop, the tailor's and the military magazine, we paused for lunch beneath a wooden-framed arbor covered in flowering vines.   Against the white-washed wooden building next door was a patch of magenta foxgloves already six feet tall and glowing in the gentle sunshine.  I lifted my camera to get a shot when into my frame flew a fat fuzzy bumble bee.  His legs were heavy laden with golden pollen but he greedily gathered more.  Here he is upon liftoff ~ moving on to the next patch of old-time blooms.

~PRETTY~ Two weeks ago our family drove the Blue Ridge Parkway from Charlottesville, VA to Asheville, NC.  While in Charlottesville we visited Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson and in finished our trip with a visit to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville.  Both places were fantastic for parents and children and we recommend them for family vacations.  Our whole family agreed, however, that the best part of the whole vacation was the scenery and hiking in the mountains. 

Ranunculus from Trader Joe's.  They are the perfect antidote to a gray day outside. Good Sunday morning.  Are you enjoying your weekend?  I hope so.  It is pouring rain here today - all day - so I foresee lots of coffee and coziness in the future.  Maybe even some time to read a book or work in my Smashbooks .  Definitely need to plan the week's meals as well as put away the four laundry baskets of clean and folded clothes that are lined up in the upstairs hallway.   We are having a lazy morning before going to church at noon.  The boys and my husband are playing endless games of NHL and soccer on X-box while I am enjoying time to catch up on my e-courses :   Poem It Out and Swan Dive .  I have gotten so far behind since April has swept me up like a wave and just now dropped me off on the shore.  This week is designated "Catch Up Week" for certain. What does your Sunday look like?  How about your week ahead? ...

1.  Redbud Trees in bloom.  My current favorite. 2.  Foggy morning walks into the mysterious beyond . 3.  Mr. Mistysmornings completing a half-marathon last weekend and our whole family heading to the beach (along with way too many other people) to celebrate him. So what if it took us an hour to locate one another ~ being in a sea of people is a bliss all its own ~ right ? 4.  Raindrops on pansies and patios (and POLLEN bursts!).  Oh, how I adore rainy days in Springtime.  Especially when they are accompanied by flashes of lightening and crackles of thunder.  Nothing says cozy like warm rainfalls, cups of coffee and time to read~ read~ read. 5.  Fresh starts.  We all need them. Right now, I need one and this change of seasons has brought new vigor to my creativity.  I am eager to bake, read, write, blog, photograph, Smash* and garden.  What about you? I hope your weekend brings you ti...

~PRETTY~     It was so foggy this week that several neighboring communities put school on a two hour delay.  That was my cue to grab the camera and get outside for a while.  Dew hung in droplets on every leaf and twig, mist swirled over ponds and secreted the horizon.  At first glance the woods appeared gray and dark but as KC and I explored a bit, we found several bursts of color and mystery.  These pink and green pods were by far my favorite  discovery. ~HAPPY~   While I snapped, KC dribbled his mini basketball and clung to his Hot Wheels car.  Just seeing his joy made me happy. ~FUNNY~ Unfortunately, our visit was cut short in order to get KC home to a bathroom.  Ha ha! ~REAL~ Even spider webs become beautiful scraps of lace when brought out of the shadows covered in mist.  This truly was a misty morning. :) Sharing here...

::  I Love It  :: Week 48 Photo Gallery Prompt   The first beach outing of the season (and my red Rimmel nail polish !) is what I am loving these days.  If you're like me, you'd prefer to keep this mild, not-too-hot-not-too-cold weather all summer long.  Alas, it will not last and soon even a trip like this to the ocean will leave me sweaty, sunburned and sleepy .   For now, though, nothing beats an isolated afternoon visit to the sun-warmed sand , the water yet too sharp to swim in, watching little boys fling shovels-full into the air and seeing sea birds nosedive for unseen snacks underwater.  It may even induce some trashy novel reading (not by me of course) but I may have seen other women paging eagerly through historical romance novels such as Outlander by Diana Gabaldon for the tenth time. ..  

So happy to be sharing my Coffee Steam photo over at the Picturing God photography blog from Loyola Press.  I'd love it if you'd stop over there and leave me a comment today.  Thanks!   Where might you see God today?