Photos of Life's Greatest Blessing

I am often wakeful at night.  For many years it was because I was roused from pleasant slumber by babies or restless tots. Later, I would lie waiting for teenagers to come home safely.  Now it seems all those years of practise have ensured a good night's sleep is out of the question.

These days however, when easy sleep evades me,  I lie in quiet. There are no sounds from others, no late night worries that keep me awake.

Listening to the stillness and quiet one recent evening,  my mind revisited those memories — leftover giggles at lights out, the pattering of tiny feet up the hall to the bathroom.  With four children, life was never quiet, not even at night.

When the nest emptied,  it was interesting at first adapting to a home without children. The silence often overwhelmed me. With no one to run to music lessons, sporting events or social times with friends, I really wasn't sure what to do with my new existence.

Of course, over time I adapted, finding an easy comfort in fewer people to be responsible for. It's nice to come home from a busy day and relax on the deck with a refreshing glass of wine. With no place to run nor kids to feed, supper comes when we get around to it.  Sunday mornings with coffee and the paper are no longer interrupted by the requests and demands of little people. It can be a life as leisurely, or as exciting,  as my husband and I want it to be.

So, yes, I've adapted. It doesn't mean, however, that given the option I wouldn't go back. I miss my reasons to wake up in the middle of the night.  Parenthood was my greatest blessing. 

These photos honour that wonderful bond between parents and children of all ages:

iCLIPART.com Photos of Children and Parents

iPHOTOS.com Parents

Acclaim Images Photos of Parents

Celebrity Fix Famous Parents and Children

LIFE Famous Fathers With Their Daughters

Wonderful Illustrations of the Whimsical Dragonfly

Well, I guess it might seem I'm a little buggy these days what with photos of butterflies and illustrations of bees being featured in this blog.  However, when one considers the massive population of mosquitoes finding refuge in my shady lawn during the day and buzzing and bombarding in swarms around me at night, it's entirely possible that's the reason.

I suppose you could factor in too, the nasty earwigs seeking the damp earth of my bedding plants, the lost and frantic moth darting around my bedroom light or disgusting beer bugs ruining al fresco dining, as to the reasons why I might have bugs on the brain.

The ones I have highlighted here, however, offer something — bees, their benefit to agriculture,  and butterflies, their beauty.  Yet, there is one other insect, though it's neither as aesthetically nor as industrially wonderful, that appeals.  Long and awkward of body the dragonfly, not as obviously pretty perhaps as the graceful butterfly, does have a certain je ne sais quoi.  Its smooth flight,  translucent wings sparkling in the sunlight, is an exotic dance with a spiritual essence. Like the butterfly, it is often, for those in mourning, a symbol of hope and peace.

So,  today we enjoy a glimpse of the whimsical dragonfly with these wonderful collections of illustrations:

iCLIPART.com Dragonfly Illustrations

Acclaim Images Dragonfly Illustrations

iPHOTOS.com Illustrations of Dragonflies

ClipartGuide Dragonflies

Photo Collections of Swimwear

Like many people these days, I'm a big fan of the television series, Mad Men. For those who've lived in a cave the past six years, this is a show about Madison Avenue advertising executives in the 1960s.

Besides being well written with a stellar cast, for me, it's also a cool trip back in time, with loads and loads of nostalgia, familiar cultural references and styles.

Amidst the chain smoking and heavy drinking,  the men and women of Stirling Cooper (with the later additions of Draper Pryce) doggedly pursue companies with advertising campaigns for everything from Clearasil to Mountain Dew. Some they win, some they lose, some they toss away.  One of the latter was a company that made two-piece bathing suits. They were fighting against  'emerging' competition from the bikini. The firm sent them packing as a lost cause when they rejected the demo ad as being too provocative for their family-oriented business.

The ad in question, showed a young woman in a modest bathing suit bottom, with the slogan covering her breasts.  While it suggested she was topless under the band of text, in this day and age it would certainly be a long way from provocative. Barely there bikinis are today's fashion trend for the beach, it's more conservative two-piece cousin pretty much a distant memory.  And even provocative today seldom offends.

Of course, there are people who prefer a little more coverage. Like the folks who wear them, swimsuits come in a variety of shapes and styles all designed to keep cool and play cool in the summer. From the slightly risqué to the demure, you can find them here in these photo collections;

 iCLIPART.com Swimsuit Photos

iPHOTOS.com Photos of Swimsuits

Acclaim Images Swimsuit Photos

Looking at Still Life Through a Fisheye

One evening last summer we enjoyed spending some time with a group of young musicians visiting from the Czech Republic. Our son had met them while touring Europe the year before and as they were in Canada to perform at a festival, they decided to return the favour.

One of the fellows, a film student, is also an avid and talented photographer.  I admit I was a little envious looking at the camera he had. But what really caught my attention was the lens he was using, an extra-wide device that I'd had little knowledge of prior to this.  It was, he told me, a fisheye lens.

The effect was as fascinating as the lens. The visual distortion gave the photos he took a convex appearance, rather than a straight or flat image.  It was an 'I must have one' moment  for me.

Sadly after a little research, I realized that as a non-professional the price might make this just a bit of an indulgence.  Not out of reach, but one does have to prioritize I suppose.  For now. 

Be assured, I do continue to dream and scheme. This also involves a little research into ways to use a fisheye lens when, and I do mean when, I finally decide the creative fun of owning one would far outweigh the cost.

Here are just some of the cool tips I found:

DPS Five Ways to Get Creative With a Fisheye Lens

How to Use a Fisheye Lens

P/B A Fisheye Lens for Landscape Photography

Improve Photography Getting Creative