2019 The Year of Comfort: Week 5

If you’ve read a few of these 2019 posts you’ve probably noticed each title begins with the same “2019 The Year of” then changes to a short descriptive phrase from the past week.  In the past I’ve tried to keep yearly project titles more consistent but my objective with this new year of photos and weekly recaps is to explore how many times my point of view changes in a year.  I may start a January project with the intention to focus on one motivation but it inevitable slips and adjusts as life happens and months change.  This time around I decided trust and record my first instinct as I began typing each new post.  Some titles may seem a bit odd but it’s been a good exercise to acknowledge what I actually thought of the past week instead of simply noting what I’d planned for it.

The comfort aspect to this week’s photos reflects my last week of quiet rest at home.  I was feeling better but still needed to conserve my energy so you see a focus on soft colors and comfort surroundings.  I went out for short walks and enjoyed some pretty winter sunsets, icy blue water, pretty flowers, boats all in a row and a wintry shot of Finn comfortable in his fleece bed.

Editing choices this week are all from Hipstamatic.  If you like the lens/filter/flash combinations above I usually try to list them in each Instagram post but you can also ask me a question in the comments and I’ll be happy to share the details.

As with past year-long photo challenges I don’t plan to post here every day, I’ll save that for my Instagram and Twitter accounts, but you faithful blog readers will get one weekly recap every Sunday.

 

Lisa8 Comments

My Year In Pictures: July Week 4

Hard to believe July is already in the past but at least we had a good time while it lasted. 🙂  This week’s set of photos is a mixed bag combining some favorite vacation shots with scenes from my walks through the city and a new order ready for shipping from our Etsy shop.  All in all it was a good month here in the Pacific Northwest.

Sunday’s photo is from the deck of our return Ferry as we slowly navigated the thick fog between our island cabin and home on the mainland while Monday’s image is a piece of public art inside the Seattle Bus Tunnel at Westlake Center.  Tuesday I brought back a lovely sunset from Lopez Island and Wednesday night I packed this driftwood scented candle to ship to a new customer.  Thursday and Friday I was in the mood for some black and white and both images are from our hike out to Iceberg Point.  Saturday closed the week with one last sunset.  I promise to be more creative soon but with all the pretty sunsets we’ve seen I just couldn’t wait to share!

I’ve got a great set of new photos almost ready to share here from our latest adventures and if you’d like to follow along in real-time don’t forget I post my daily photos on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.  If a once-a-week blog read is more your speed my weekly recaps will continue here along with caption notes containing editing information for each photo.

Lisa12 Comments

It’s a New Year and I have a new challenge! My Year In Pictures: February Week 1

As promised I’m back with another daily photo project!  If you were with me through my last year-long photo series the format and tone of this new challenge will remain the same but to keep things interesting I’m spending the year experimenting with all the photo apps I’ve collected but not used on a regular basis.  Some weeks will follow a theme, some weeks won’t but every day I’ll post my new image to Instagram and once a week I’ll return here to write a recap.  Each photo will be captioned with the date and processing application used so if you see something you like you can try it out for yourself.

Since I’ve committed to a daily Instagram share I thought it would be fun to start the month with a spur-of-the moment Instagram processed image so here is my Monday morning shot of this stuffed orange monkey.  Tuesday’s photo is my viewpoint looking down on the lunch crowd at a Seattle cafe and Wednesday I went back to the scene of my last blurry cherry blossom image to try again.  Thursday I liked the cheery yellow circles in this light fixture,  Friday I walked through the Westlake Station Bus Tunnel and Saturday Ryan and I drove to the waterfront to watch a pretty winter sunset.  He is still on crutches but we found a way to get back to our beach. 🙂

If you’d like to follow along in real-time my daily photos post on both Instagram and Facebook but by the following week I’ll have them ready to share here as well.

Lisa25 Comments

A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up September With Hipstamatic (week 5)

If our fourth week of September was all about crisis management the fifth was about going with the flow.  I guess the best we can hope for is that everyone ends the week healthy and happy and this time I’m relieved to report we did just that.  Finn is on the mend, John and I were able to adjust our work schedules to balance his care needs and even though Hipstamatic made some major changes to their app I was able to find a workaround that meant I could continue this random photo-of-the-day project without interruption.

Sunday night saw the rare occurrence of a full blood moon and lunar eclipse.  We had clear skies and prime viewing times here in the Pacific Northwest but after our weekend at the hospital with Finn I wasn’t in the mood to see anything resembling blood.  Instead we made a quick trip to the beach after our evening clinic visit and this sunset was a beautiful end to the day.  Monday morning the moon was still in the sky and I decided the soft, white light would be a nice way to welcome a new week.  It’s hard to see in this photo but the moon is shining through the trees directly in the center of the image.  With so many days of “hurry up and wait” on uncomfortable chairs my hands needed something to do so I picked up a new ball of yarn and by Tuesday night I finished this cushy pillow.

Wednesday was a bit of a blur filled with work and home duties… am I the only one who occasionally needs to take a picture of where they parked so they don’t lose their car at the end of the day?  Thursday Finn got a sweet get well soon card and my cold and dreary Friday afternoon was brightened by this nice outdoor fire-place.  Saturday found me back at work to make up for time off with Finn and while I was in the middle of grumbling about having to work on the weekend I looked up and saw this wall tiled with quotes chosen by Seattle school children.  One more reminder of how this project has helped me see the beauty in everyday life.

Each photo was taken with my iPhone 6 using Hipstamatic’s “shake to randomize” function then posted without any additional editing. If you like a particular combination and want to try it at home just click on the image to see the lens, filter and flash used.  For variety I continue to add new lenses and filters so if you want to try Hipstamatic but are unsure how to start let me know and I’ll do my best to answer your questions.

Lisa13 Comments

A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up July With Hipstamatic (week 5)

Another beautiful week has come and gone here in the Pacific Northwest and I’m happy to say we spent every minute possible enjoying outdoor living and a bit of travel.  Sunday afternoon Ryan and I hiked to the lovely waterfall from yesterday’s post along with my aunt, sister and her family and Monday this was our view from the train window on our trip home.  Tuesday’s image a small section of some public art outside the Lynnwood Senior Center and Wednesday’s photo is the amazing evening sun from the rooftop garden of our local library.

After all that sunshine I thought Thursday would be a great time to capture the Blue Moon and apparently Hipstamatic agreed framing the image with this purple/blue border.  Friday was “too hot to handle” inside our house so we packed up dinner to-go and brought everything down to the beach.  This view is from our walk back to the car.  Saturday’s photo is of my try-at-home box of Warby Parker sunglasses.  If you haven’t heard of this company they specialize in quality eye wear with a retro-hipster edge.  Knowing it’s hard to select frames online they ship a box of your 5 choices free of charge to your home for a 5 day trial period and for every frame purchased a pair is distributed to someone in need.  Today I brought one of my 5 up to Wallace Falls and plan to work my way through the box during our staycation.

Today’s “Shake It Up” post will be my last here until August 9th but I won’t be vacationing from all my social media accounts.  If you’d like to follow our adventures through the beaches, forests and mountains of Washington State I’ll be dusting off my neglected Instagram account and increasing postings on Facebook. Everyone’s welcome to come by for a visit, peek over our shoulders and hike the trails with us!

Each photo was taken with my iPhone 6 using Hipstamatic’s “shake to randomize” function then posted without any additional editing. If you like a particular combination and want to try it at home just click on the image to see the lens and filter used.  For variety I continue to add new lenses and filters so if you want to try Hipstamatic but are unsure how to start let me know and I’ll do my best to answer your questions.

Lisa31 Comments

A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up July With Hipstamatic (week 2)

I think I’ve mentioned before that some weeks I’m surprised by a theme weaving through the photos when I sit down to write my recap.  There are plenty of weeks that feature random yet interesting moments but every once in a while I see a trend in my choice of subjects that wasn’t apparent from the middle of each day.  This week is one of those surprising ones and even though a few days aren’t exactly on trend I see hints of unsettled feelings and/or out-of-place elements in each one of them.

Sunday afternoon was spent hiking with family and while you saw a pretty picture of mossy trees a few days ago this is one of Ryan looking back toward me on the trail.  He stayed in Bellingham for the rest of the week with my parents while John, Finn and I drove home without him.  I always think it will be nice to have a quiet few days without having to plan and care for another person but as always, we missed him the entire time and welcomed the return of dirty laundry, loud music and lots of chatter about science and movies.  Monday afternoon this holiday display reminded me that while summer is just finding it’s rhythm in the Pacific Northwest the retail world is ready for fall and Halloween pillows are evidence of the season to come.  Tuesday night I pulled over on my way home to capture a bright red setting sun.  It looks small in this square photo but the haze from so many forest fires turned the sky a fiery red and this section of road along the water was full of walkers and photographers capturing the scene.  You’ll have to take my word for it that this wasn’t a typical red sunset, the sky, air and even water were reflecting a misty orange-red that looked completely foreign.

Wednesday morning I was surprised by this new natural arch covered in morning glory.  Finn and I walk along this road twice a day but this is the first time we noticed anything here, it was like it sprang up overnight.  Finn really wanted to move closer and explore what was on the other side but I knew it was balanced on the edge of a steep ravine so we kept on walking.  By Thursday Finn really missed Ryan and every time I looked over he was staring off toward the garage with a dramatic sigh.  I’m sure he was watching and waiting all week long…  Friday’s photo illustrates the sad result of our record-setting dry weather. Lawns are dying all over town but this patch of clover is apparently drought tolerant.  Maybe I should plant some on purpose instead of fighting it like a weed. 🙂  Saturday morning found John and I back in the car for the 3 hour round trip to get Ryan.  I tried to pass the time by working on this crochet project but even though the pattern shows a cute market tote with a cross-body strap I’m afraid it looks more like a fat doily.  😦  I’ve gone too far to quit though and if all goes well I’ll finish it tonight. I hope it looks better by the end!

Each photo was taken with my iPhone 6 using Hipstamatic’s “shake to randomize” function then posted without any additional editing. If you like a particular combination and want to try it at home just click on the image to see the lens and filter used.  For variety I continue to add new lenses and filters so if you want to try Hipstamatic but are unsure how to start let me know and I’ll do my best to answer your questions.

 

Lisa18 Comments

Weekly Photo Challenge: Nighttime

“How did it get so late so soon?”
Dr. Seuss

Nighttime

Long summer days are one of my favorite things about living in the Pacific Northwest but nighttime still comes far too fast.

Posted as part of the Weekly Photo Challenge:  Nighttime.

Lisa22 Comments

Weekly Photo Challenge: Extra, Extra

Extra Extra

It’s been a busy week here filled with family activities, end of school projects, a band concert and a Wednesday birthday.  Mine!  I was lucky enough to have the day off but couldn’t fit everything I wanted to accomplish into the happy day and still try to relax at the same time.  One of the things I thought wouldn’t make the list was a walk along the waterfront but as luck would have it we went out for dinner by the Marina and I got my walk right at sunset.

Dinner with my guys was wonderful and I’m choosing to think of  this pretty view as my “extra” present.

Posted as part of the Weekly Photo Challenge:  Extra, Extra.

Lisa72 Comments

Weekly Travel Theme: Illuminated

Illuminated

I always look forward to Alisa’s weekly travel themes and this latest challenge has inspired some beautiful images of light from around the world.   For my Illuminated post I hope you like this view of a fiery evening sky as seen from the top deck of a Washington State Ferry.

Lisa29 Comments

Outside

Tell us about the experience of being outside, looking in — however you’d like to interpret that.

Photographers, artists, poets: show us OUTSIDE.

My Black and White Tuesday post included the news that I was posting a color photo of the evening sunset from the same Ferry trip on my new Facebook page.  Several of you clicked over to take a look (thank you!) but Vastly Curious sent me a very nice note asking if I could also share the photo here for anyone who doesn’t use Facebook.

Daily Prompt Outside

If you have successfully managed to stay outside the reach of Facebook this post is for you.

Lisa32 Comments