Today's Joy: Faith, Demonstrated.
It's been a hard day, Reader. I took my photo wares to my third show this year, very optimistic that this was it! I'd been praying and hoping the bad shows were behind me. I was finally going to recoup some of the cash that's been sunk into this venture! After all, I'm very proud of my work and the products I sell. They're thoughtfully-made from the best quality materials I could find. I'm proud to put my name on them.

However, once again, the show turnout was almost non-existent and for the second show in a row, I sold nothing. Yep, not a notecard. Not a bookmark. Zip! A few lovely people did stop by and offer encouraging feedback. There were also a few that monopolized 20 minutes or more of my time and man-handled several items before mumbling they were broke or unemployed and walking away. I tried not to notice when they bought ugly multi-colored roses made from wood chips at the booth next door.

I really tried to keep my positive attitude, but after six tedious hours of selling nothing, my positivity was utterly deflated. So, Mom took me out for a late lunch and we talked about what was successful (not much), what wasn't (a whole lot) and how to improve. Talking helped, but I was still in a funk.

After we parted ways, I realized there was still time to make the evening service at a local church God's been prompting me to visit. So I took my heavy heart over there and walked into a baptismal service.

Reader, there are few things more moving, more uplifting or more personal than watching someone who really believes in Jesus & God's love dedicate his or her life to God and re-affirm their faith. I watched a young widow renew her faith as she deals with grief and trying to move on. There was also an angry young man, now at peace with his demons. Most powerful though, was a couple being baptised. The husband led his wife, who has stage 4 breast cancer, into the pool and they went together. They were all so happy when they came out. It was really, REALLY wonderful and moved me to tears.

It also made me feel very silly for spending so much energy brooding over my problems. As a photographer, I spend a lot of time peering through a lens to capture little, infinitesimal moments of beauty. I forget sometimes that God uses me as a lens in the same way and I have to be just as mindful of those images. Good thing He loves me, 'cause I am SO not perfect! Is there anything He's put on your heart to see or do, Reader? If you're putting it off, what's stopping you?

Photo: Forsythia, 2008.

Today's Joy: Storm Front Coming Through.

Reader, tomorrow is the first day of May and it definitely feels like there's a change in the air. For the past few days, it's been warm and windy. The air is full of pollen and the scent of every green thing. Tonight, the last of the winter debris is blowing across the garden and there's a tornado watch for our area in northern IL. The smell of fresh rain is wafting in through the screens.

I don't care for storms. They make me nervous. I wait and watch for that green tint in the sky when things are about to get nasty. But I love the way the world is right after all the lightning, thunder and torrents of rain--soaked and scoured clean. I love the way new life explodes after a rainstorm.

Good night, Reader. Just heard the first low rumble of thunder. Can't wait to see the world tomorrow.

Photo: Skydog During A Storm Front, 2008.

Today's Joy: Where Codependency Meets Hard To Get.

Someone is pining for me tonight, Reader. It's not unusual. In fact, it happens most evenings, though, some are more passionate than others. Alas, it never happens the traditional way, with a lovely Juliet or Roxane up on a balcony and a Romeo or Cyrano de Bergerac pouring his heart out from the ground.

Instead, my needy (yet aloof ) tom cat yowls his loneliness from the upstairs landing each night and I'm the one on the ground. Not quite sure how this became a tradition. My cantankerous, pale orange tiger would rather I admire him from a distance most of the time.



But lately, he's playing more codependent than hard to get. He sits on the balcony where he can survey the whole first floor, and pontificates on all he feels is wrong with the world. Perhaps there's dry food in his bowl and he wants wet instead. Or, he has wet food and wants dry. Maybe his water bowl is low. Or the bedroom window, left open for his enjoyment, is now too drafty. Sometimes, he simply murps in a repetitive fashion.

But mostly, he wants me to come to bed. Now. Not to cuddle him--we never, ever, ever do that--but just so he can curl up on the bed several feet away, with his back to me. We have to maintain our personal boundaries, after all.



I've been asked many times why I put up with a notched-ear, old stray who hisses and swats as much as he purrs. If you aren't a cat lover, you'll never understand. If you are, whew! I don't have to explain. Some cats are like the bad boyfriends of our twenties--selfish & overly-dramatic. And we love them for the same reasons we loved the boyfriends--because they're intriguing, mysterious and know how to throw out just enough affection to keep us coming back for more.

You build history with a good cat, developing a type of commitment very different from the open, mutual affection you have with a dog. Bonding with a cat is kind of like living a scene from Love Story, except being in love means your cat never has to say he's sorry. For anything. Ever. In my case, it's a little more like There Will Be Blood. And biting.

Still, I wouldn't trade my ratty old crab-cat for any fancy, high-maintenance puss. I like that he always has an opinion. And that even when he swats my hand, he still prefers me to every other lowly human he meets. Besides, nobody else would put up with him.

So, here's to crabby cats! May they complicate our lives for many years to come!

Photos: Chunk, 2008.

"Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers to-day;

And give us not to think so far away

As the uncertain harvest; keep us here

All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,

Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;

And make us happy in the happy bees,

The swarm dilating round the perfect trees."

- Robert Frost, A Prayer in Spring

Today's Joy: Gratitude & Spring Sunshine.

It's one of those quiet days, Reader, when nothing extraordinary happens. A little peace on a warm afternoon--the perfect time to take stock and count blessings. I'm grateful for windows that roll down, yellow shirts paired with pink-n-orange scarves, homemade potato salad, dinner with loved ones, listening to Aunt read from the latest issue of Victoria Magazine and fat, orange tom cats crabbing because they're ready for bed. It's after seven at night, I'm drinking Limeade and the sun hasn't gone down yet. Yep, a darn good spring day!

"What delights us in the spring is more a sensation than an appearance, more a hope than any visible reality. There is something in the softness of the air, in the lengthening of the days, in the very sounds and odors of the sweet time, that caresses us and consoles us after the rigorous weeks of winter."- Philip Gilbert Hamerton

"I stuck my head out the window this morning and spring kissed me bang in the face. "

- Langston Hughes

Quotes courtesy of the Green Way Blog, by Mike Garofalo.

Photo: Earring Detail, Chaplin Creek Re-enactment, Franklin Grove, IL, June, 2008.

Today's Joy: Kicking Off Horse Show Season.
This past weekend, my family took their carts, horses & ponies out for their first show of the 2010 season. At 33, I'm really enjoying watching my aunts & uncle shine up their harness, clip their ponies and don their best show outfits to go have a ball with their friends.

For many years, they worked hard, playing grooms, coaches and cheerleaders at every county fair & 4-H horse show my brother, cousins & I attended. They gave up many weekends and plunked down a veritable fortune to turn us out respectably. And they were always there with encouraging words, tissues, hoof black and safety pins. Showing horses was an integral part of my childhood and one of my fondest memories.

Now that we're all grown, I love to see them showing for their own enjoyment. Aunt came home Sunday with 2 blue ribbons, which are now prominently displayed on the shade of a living room lamp. While I'm no longer showing, myself, I'm delighted to tag along and take photos of the family & our friends doing what they love most. Stay tuned, Reader. I'm sure there will be many wonderful show highlights to post this season!



Photos: Girl at Horse Show and Red Boots, taken at the Fox Valley Saddle Association, Plato Center, IL, 2008.

Spinach & Mushroom Un-Quiche

Today's Joy: Recipe Requests.
Is there any nicer compliment, Reader, than a friend or co-worker enjoying your potluck dish enough to request the recipe? Sure makes me feel warm & fuzzy. So, here for my friend, C, and your enjoyment too, is my new favorite, lower-calorie breakfast casserole: the Spinach & Mushroom Un-Quiche.

Spinach & Mushroom Un-Quiche
8 eggs (or substitute egg whites)
1 lb. (16 oz.) chopped spinach, cooked & drained
1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
8 oz. shredded Colby / Monterrey Jack
1 tbl. fresh chive, chopped
1 tbl. butter
1/2 tsp. tarragon
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In small skillet, melt butter and saute mushrooms & chives until tender. Set aside.
In large bowl, whisk eggs, tarragon and salt & pepper until eggs are thoroughly beaten. Set aside.
In greased 9x13 glass casserole dish, spread spinach in an even layer. Season with salt & pepper. Scatter sauteed mushrooms over spinach.
Pour egg mixture over spinach and top with cheese.
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until egg is cooked and cheese is melted.
Cut into 2-3 inch squares and serve immediately.
Serves 8-10.

Today's Joy: Being a Proud Parent.
Well, Reader, after a month of watching, waiting and (probably unnecessary) fussing, today the first flower opened on my Lady's Slipper Orchid: Paphiopedilum 'Raisin Pie'.

I adore Orchids. They're elegant and resilient plants. They come in many distinct forms, each adapted to life in a specific climate, and they grow on every continent except Antarctica. I love their unique shapes and colors--the way many of them look like strange, alien life forms. I especially love the varieties whose flowers stay open for weeks and even months at a time. Nothing seems to brighten up cold, winter afternoons like a tray of Orchids in full-bloom.

The Lady's Slipper varieties really appeal to me. This particular plant came from the 2010 IL Orchid Society Show, held at the Chicago Botanic Gardens in March. Could hardly wait to see it bloom! Here is a photo-a-day series of 'Raisin Pie' opening over the last 5 days:

Gorgeous!!