Monday, August 31, 2009

Summer's LAST Days

Blog note dated December 18, 2009: My blog is a like a diary of sorts. Many of my posts have meaning not necessarily apparent to my readers. This one, for example, is about my smoking habit. I am like an alcoholic when it comes to cigarettes. I cannot have just one.

I started smoking cigarettes in high school, although my habit probably started earlier when I was an infant since my mother was a smoker. I quit in my early 20s and then again after a few years of smoking, in my early 30s. For the last two years, on New Year's Eve, I have smoked just one cigarette, in the holiday spirit, and loved it.

In August, when I posted this photo of Brigitte Bardot, I was smoking again, full-steam ahead, and while it looks fashionable, it clearly is not. How quickly I was jonesing for cigarettes and counting the time until I was home and away from the office. It was delicious at first, as all addictions are. Eric and I woke up early, and had cigarettes and coffee on the balcony just before dawn. I would sit on the steps in the sunshine, smoking slowly, while my thoughts ran free, but within a short period of time I was smoking again in excess and struggling to stop. It's been 35 days now since my last cigarette and I am stopped again ... but for how long?

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Kisses

I like the composition in this photo. The kiss is the focal point. The man's arm brings your eye down and around to the dog. The dog looks up and the girl's arched back completes the circle.

Is this an "I love you kiss," the kind that happens when one person says something and the other leans in to emphasize affection? Or is it a farewell kiss?

They have both finished eating. The plates are empty and the napkins have been used. He looks as though he's sitting down rather than standing up. Maybe he got up to leave and then sat back down to say goodbye. What do you think?

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Polly and Jim



My mom and dad. Today, married for 5o years. How awesome is that?
Starting left: Fred, Jim, Polly, Jan (my aunt)

Friday, August 14, 2009

Sailing



a bigger dream begins on the Potomac River.