February 27, 2009 – 8:34 am
vintage buttons, Canon Rebel Xti 
For months (okay, years) Matt and I have been meaning to drop off our knives at the knife sharpener guy at the Farmer’s Market. Yesterday I was finally there, my bag of knives all wrapped up and ready, not knowing they would endure a full inspection. As he examined each one to give me an estimate on sharpening the lot, his comments struck me as strangely personal . One was bent at the tip, another had teeth with divets cut out of it, all of them were incredibly dull. I had barely noticed.
“These are dangerously dull,” he said with the tone of an expert, a guy who knows his knives. His words felt grave to me, DANGEROUSLY DULL.
I looked up the word when I got home: Dull: Lacking interest or excitement, lacking brightness, vividness or sheen, bored, dispirited, not clear, muffled, gloomy.
Indeed, it is dangerous to be dull.
What sharpens you up at times like this? A good adventure? A long walk in the trees? Time with a child? A date with a friend? If you have lost your sheen, I dare you to brighten yourself up this weekend. Sometimes we don’t even realize when we’ve lost our edge.
February 23, 2009 – 9:06 am
striped tights, Ella, Berkeley Marina, Canon Rebel Xti
My favorite thing about the Oscars last night was not the fabulous fashions, the endearing speeches, or the magic tricks… although these things made the Oscars seem sweeter and more authentic than ever before. What I loved most though was their new tradition of acknowledging each actor. Didn’t that kind of blow your mind? For those of you who didn’t watch, for each person that was nominated for “best actor” or “best supporting actor” there was a fellow actor on stage that offered up a little love note just for them. (If any of you find a video of this online, let me know!)
Watching this year, I had the sense that the world might be a gentler place. Perhaps things have gotten hard enough that people are needing to soften their edges and be kinder than they were before. Maybe we are feeling less separate. Did anyone else notice this?
Also, my absolute favorite movies this year were Man on Wire and Milk… Two incredibly inspiring men.
And finally, I have a little interview up over at Old Soul Ink.
February 20, 2009 – 8:41 pm
Me jumping, photo by Frederik, Canon Rebel Xti
The new Superhero photo challenge is up at Shutter Sisters!
February 18, 2009 – 8:37 am
plum blossoms, Berkeley, CA, Canon Rebel Xti
“This is not a day for asking questions, not a day on any calendar. This day is conscious of itself. This day is a lover, bread, and gentleness, more manifest than saying can say.”
– Rumi
February 17, 2009 – 8:31 am
Me with my trusty camera, Jen Lemen, nyc, photo by Kelly Rae Roberts, Canon Rebel Xti
I am honored to have been interviewed by Jamie Ridler for her series on The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women. It is a book blogging group that any of you can join, or just you can give a listen to the interviews here… My interview is up now and you can look forward to hearing Jen Lemen’s and other inspiring peeps in the coming weeks (and past weeks)
February 15, 2009 – 4:04 pm
pillow fight, sf, Canon Rebel Xti
As promised, here is evidence of the massive pillow fight in downtown San Francisco on Valentine’s Day. I sprinted along the Embarcadero to get there right when it started (as you can see below with others) but it already looked like this when I arrived. It was very exciting and only a little bit scary. If you’ve ever been in a mosh pit, it was a lot like that- mostly playful people with pockets of angry boy rowdiness that you tried to avoid.
running to the pillow fight, sf, Canon Rebel Xti
feather storm, sf, Canon Rebel Xti
The most beautiful thing was the down that flew through the air and exploded in the sky… it looked like snow or shooting stars, and at the moment when pillows burst there would be a wild cheer that filled the air. I loved it.
Matt and I got burritos with our friends afterwards, laughed a lot and then got salted caramel ice cream at Birite Creamery in the Mission (you must try this if you are coming San Francisco) I was never the long stem roses type of girl. This was my kind of Valentine’s Day.
February 13, 2009 – 7:49 am
good graffiti, soho, nyc, Canon Rebel Xti
Love is such a deep, rich topic and it came up a lot during my time in nyc. One thing I was reminded of is that love is not a linear process. Despite what our culture and movies and teach us, it is not a boy meets girl then lives happily ever after kind of thing. Or sometimes it is, then it changes and the real work starts, the kind that doesn’t make good tv. Real love includes all of it and if you get four ladies in a room to talk about love, you will see that no one is better off than the other or farther along on some fictional timeline. We are actually standing in a circle, growing in different ways, all learning the same things in the end: how to love ourselves and others better and better.
This happens when we are not in a relationship, when we are longing for a partner and wondering if they will ever come. This happens when we are 20 years in and wondering if we made the right choices or if we made too many mistakes. This happens when we seem to have it all and wonder if the other shoe is going to drop.
Wherever you are in love, I want to be that whisper, that antidote to the Am I doing it right? Did I blow it? Will it ever happen for me? and say, Where you are is good. Start here. It’s imperfect and it always will be. It will be fierce and ordinary and torn and mended again. We will circle back and start once more. The goal is not some happily ever after, but a happily ever now.
I think the Buddhists have it right when they say that everything, suffering and joy alike, exist only in the moment. I suspect that in every moment there is the opportunity for love. Look around. Love is there. All over.
February 10, 2009 – 10:15 am
Just returned from NYC and I am in love! I have been to the city many times but saw it with new eyes this time around. It was magic.
I am a lucky girl.
A couple of dear friends lovebombed me with a surprise ticket to NYC where the sole purpose would be to eat and laugh and take photos. They hatched this scheme with the help of Matt and before I knew it I was on an airplane and away for 4 days…
Valentine’s Day update:
I’m jamming to get Valentine’s Day orders out but just wanted to give you an update on what I have left in stock that you can still get on time for Friday or Saturday delivery.
A few of each of these:
Joy
Pyrex
Passion
Plus:
all the pendant necklaces (starburst and bullseye) a girl could want!
February 5, 2009 – 7:46 am
Pillow fight, San Francisco, photo by my friend Sasha Wizansky, Canon Rebel Xti
A few more creative ideas to add to your lexicon:
1. Tea Attack: This was invented by a couple of my friends in San Francisco. How it works: Arrive at the home of the unsuspecting recipient of tea attack, with a beautiful teapot, cookies, bread and cheese, a variety of teas, cloth napkins, and a lot of joy. Insist that they stop what they are doing and initiate a spontaneous tea party in their home. This works well for birthdays, layoffs or no occasion at all. I have yet to be tea attacked but consider me a willing victim.
2. Lovebombs: This was the brainchild of a very dear circle of friends of mine who lives all over the country. When someone is feeling down, has a birthday or just needs to be celebrated because of their awesomeness we send out a call to lovebomb them. This includes emails, calls, handwritten notes, gifts, etc. It is a very sweet way to shower them with love when we are all far away.
3. Pillow Fight: Then there is the San Francisco pillow fight. For the last couple of years on Valentine’s Day, a group of hundreds of folks (some are disgruntled about love, some are in love with love) bring pillows to Justin Herman Plaza at twilight and laugh and hit each over the head with pillows. I know it sounds a little intense, but I suspect there is a lot of joy here, and I love the catharsis of it. This year will be my very first pillow fight and I look forward to photographing it. The spirit of it reminds me of New Year’s eve in Oaxaca, Mexico where spent the entire night hurling eggs filled with shaving cream and flour at people we didn’t know. It was good clean fun.
