.good morning sunday :: No.6

The house is super quiet except for a hushed voice of the narrator on the History Channel.  The husband forgot to cut the t.v. before he went to bed.  The light outside is still a little dim making it pretty dark in here.  But it's okay because. . . it's quiet.  Peaceful.  yay.  Well it's Sunday friends.  Already.  I'm hoping to get my Good Morning Sunday posts back up and going.  So here's one for today.

• Hoping to make a trip up to New Bern, NC today.  Not sure what I'm going to find, but I hear it's a neat town to visit.
• I found out yesterday that the Amy Grant video my Grandfather starred in has been nominated for a Dove Award for Short Video of the Year.  Make sure to stay tuned on April 20th!
• I'm thinking about borrowing a copy of this book, The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating.  I read a tiny bit of it while at work the other day and fell in love with what I read.  NPR has a great page about it here.  
• Looking forward to my trip to the Post Office tomorrow to pick up my new little photo buddies! 
• My favorite children's book illustrator, LeUyen Pham, has two new picture books out that are just too cute!  For those of you who have little girls, or once was a little girl yourself, you will need to check them out.
• Etsy put out an article a few weeks back that I thought was so interesting.  It was about vintage photos taken in the 1920s in an Australian police station.  The images are of individuals who had their brush with the law and whose portraits were taken while in custody.  Probably some of the best mug shots I've ever seen.  I would have loved to have known who their photographer was because he, or she, had a great eye!  The photographs are amazing!  Some funnier than others.  What's neat is seeing their wardrobe, the women in particular because you can see that style reemerging in the fashion houses of today.  The original post is in French, so I have a translated version here for you to read. 

Have a wonderful week ahead my friends!  Spring is almost here!  Woo hoo!!

.a year of mornings.

I love books.  I love books with pictures.  I love books about pictures.  I love books about people taking pictures, and sharing pictures, and . . . well you get the idea.  I first came across a copy of A Year of Mornings, a photo book based on the collaborative photo blog of Maria Alexandra Vettese and Stephanie Congdon Barnes, back during the holidays last year.  I didn't purchase it right away.  Honestly, I felt guilty for wanting to buy it (why?!  I have no idea.) so I waited.  That is until yesterday.  The year long documentation of mornings between two friends living 3191 miles apart is such an inspiration.  Their images reflect those quiet mornings we savor while at the breakfast table when the light is soft and very simply, perfect.  I needed this book.  It reminds me that it's okay to photograph stuff that we would normally blow off as mundane.  Not every photograph that we take has to be worthy of an art exhibit.  So, with that renewed frame of mind, I too shot a photograph before noon to document what my day consisted of.  Rags (aka the hubby's former white t-shirts) and furniture polish.  Not quite the glamorous side to the domestic life, but hey, at least my furniture's shiny! 

. be the storyteller.

I have learned a valuable lesson over the course of the last week or so.  Several lessons, actually.  But the one that stands out in my mind the most is this: when we no longer have stories to tell, we are not really living.  It is the stories of our lives that truly make up who we are.  I don't know about you, but I'm hoping my life makes for a good read.  I think back to the stories my GrandDad shared with me. . . over and over.   Ha! He knew they were pretty interesting and had even started to write his own memoir.  The title he was going to give it was Stories from the Sea Chest.  While he was in the hospital, I happened to find that sea chest in the spare room of his home.  When I opened it, I had expected to find typewriter paper bundled up with tales from his time in Egypt or Kure Island.  Instead I found an old pair of binoculars, and a lot of other odds and ends.  It was the binoculars that I thought were so interesting.  A glass piece was missing, but otherwise, it was still very much intact.  What did he see through these?  Where did he get it?  I'm sure if he were still here, sitting there in his worn, yet comfy green chair, he'd start his conversation with, "Oh, I haven't seen those in years.  It reminds me of the time when . . . "

Let's open up that heavy old door to that room filled with all our memories.  Pull out an old volume, the one coated with a thick layer of dust.  Open it up.  Do you remember any of these stories?  Do you have pictures?  I LOVE the ones with pictures!  What were your favorites?  I'd love for you to tell me about them.  Have I ever told you about the time I took a Greyhound bus from Nashville to Los Angeles and back?  If you ask, I will.  What new adventures would you like to embark on?  Tell me about those too.  Sit with me awhile friend, I have time.

Here is a video that I want to share with you.  This was filmed by Grant Howard and Kip Kubin, the two wonderful souls who gave my Grandpa the chance to be a music video "star."  You two are angels. 

.better than a hallelujah.

Back in Wilmington.  I want to thank all my wonderful friends for all your love.  It has been a long week.  I am exhausted, and yet my soul is refreshed and blessed.  My sweet Grandpa Bill Evans, a wonderful family man, a genuine friend, a brilliant artist and blacksmith, bid farewell to this old, tired world around seven o'clock on Saturday morning.  He went peacefully.  The song "Better Than a Hallelujah" was the last song he listened to before his spirit was lifted to the clouds.  This song has special significance to us because he was involved in the actual music video for Amy Grant.  So, if you would, please stay a moment to watch the following two videos.  Again, thank you friends for all your love and support these last few weeks.  They mean the world to me.  

We pour out our miseries
God just hears a melody
Beautiful, the mess we are
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah

.away for a little while.

Hello my friends.  I just wanted to let you know that I will be away from my blog for a little while.  My GrandDad has fallen ill and I am planning to leave here today to be with him.  Life is so fragile.  Time is equally so.  Spend them both of them well.

.soak it all in.

It was such a beautiful day yesterday.  Clear blue skies, temperatures just slightly under 70 degrees.  The wind was exhilarating.  This was prime beach weather for our family.  Although we didn't brave the waters by taking a swim, we walked around, allowing our child the freedom to play without having to wear a heavy jacket.  As my hubby scoured the shore for seashells, my daughter rolling around in the sand, I gazed out towards the sea, my heart and mind swollen with emotion.   I'm soaking it all in.  Everything. It's been three months shy to a year since we embarked on our journey to the sea.  So much has happened since that day that it almost feels as if it was just yesterday that we were loading up the car with no real set plans as to how or where we would end up.  As frightening as it all was, it was so worth the risk.  Sometimes, we need to tell ourselves, just do it!  And I am so grateful, so so very thankful that we did.  Things are truly falling into place. . . slowly, but surely.  Every day, I am reminded that we should be thankful for even the littlest things that we so easily take for granted.  The warm sunshiny days in winter, the first signs that Spring is on her way, the soft and gentle gaze that say I love you without words ever being uttered, the excitement in your child's voice as she points to a streak in the sky and cries, Superman!  Let us make a point, every day, to take note of the little wonders in life we so often pass by. . . and treasure them.

.happy valentine's day my lovelies.

Happy Valentine's Day my beautiful friends!  Can you believe we're already half way through February?!  It's crazy.  Alrighty, so today, I wanted to share with you a handful of blog sites that have the word LOVE in its title.  Here are the ones I hand picked for ya!   

• Diana Mini Love
• Love It Alot
• One Love Photo
• life.love.paper.
• handmadelove
• bloom, grow, love

Make today the day that you blow kisses to your sweet's heart, give a trillion times more hugs & smooches to your kids (whether they be human, canine, or feline), give someone a wink just because, and  remember that random acts of kindness to a complete stranger is always, always a beautiful thing.   xoxo