Summer and watermelon go together like pumpkins and autumn. Watermelon is one of my favorite summer treats. The kids usually flock around me when I start to chop one up.
This year, I grew watermelon for the first time. We got a bunch of cute little watermelons that tasted amazing. There really is nothing better than food grown at home.
Watermelon is harder to photograph than I thought it would be. I’ve always struggled to photograph the color red. I’ve attempted to tackle it with roses but even then, they’re not exactly to my liking.
That’s the kind of challenge that I don’t give up on. I actually did this photoshoot 3 times. The first two were not to my liking. My last, I can finally say that I have an image I’m proud of.
It took me quite awhile to mull over what I was going to do with words. Should I photograph a few meaningful words? Should I photograph a journal page? Should I go out and find some words that appeal to me?
What words are worth capturing for this project? What words will have meaning and depth? Should I choose my own language or another? Words do always sound more romantic in another non-native tongue.
After Princess woke up and climbed into bed with us last night, I couldn’t fall back asleep. I mulled over words, saving inspiration to my Pinterest board. I put down my phone and attempted to go back to sleep when it came to me. I wrote the whole blog post in my head and it sounded great! Best blog post ever! As I drifted off to sleep, I knew I would forget every word. So I turned on the light and jotted down the most important part.
Words have power. The power to build someone up or to tear them down. Choose wisely.
When I think of all of the words that have made the sum of my life, there have been billions. I learned to speak, I learned other languages. I’ve heard others speak. I’ve written countless school papers, letters, journals, work notes, and emails. Words make up a large portion of my life.
Words create emotion that can touch deeper than any slap or caress. Words can be cruel, hate-filled, malicious, violent, slanderous and life-shattering. Words can be kind, gentle, loving, hopeful, sweet and uplifting. The bible says “Thoughtless speech is like the stabs of a sword, but the tongue of the wise is a healing.”
Words must be chosen carefully. I can remember vividly, words that I regret using. I can also remember words that have changed my life. I have deep sorrow for words never spoken. I have tears for the memory of words from lips that have been silenced. I have pain from words of vows that have been broken. I have joy from words of memories of my favorite things.
Words can be a gift when used wisely. In turn, those words can be a curse when used carelessly. So think carefully about your words, friends. Be careful, be patient and most importantly, be kind.
How have words changed your life? What are some of your favorite words?
Happiness. What a word. The dictionary defines happiness as a state of well being, contentment and joy.
In my notebooks over the years, I’ve made many lists full of the things that make me happy. When I think of the words contentment and joy, everything on my list fulfills those two descriptions of happiness.
What about well being? The dictionary defines well being as the state of being comfortable, healthy and happy. That’s where it gets tricky. You see, a lot of people are neither comfortable, nor healthy, yet they retain happiness. They are grateful for their lives despite their hardships. This is something that for the last year, I have been working hard on.
When you are a healthy, comfortable person, the little things are taken for granted. It’s hard to imagine any life other than the one you are living. Though you might try to be empathetic, you can never truly put yourself in someone’s shoes unless you have also walked that path.
Although my health has always been frail, it has never been as fragile as it has been this last year. I’ve lost count to the number of times I’ve had anaphylactic attacks and nearly died as a result. I can’t say how many times I thought to myself, this could be the last year of my life, what will my family do without me?
I am not afraid of death or dying, having faced it so many times. I think it would be peaceful to be without suffering. Not that I want to die. I love being alive. I love waking up every day. I delight in the weather, the seasons, my family, and what health I do have. So many suffer so much more than I have. I feel selfish when I think of my hardships because I do not deserve to complain about them. I don’t feel I can, when there are so many who suffer more than I.
I like to focus on what I do have and what I can do. I focus on teaching my children and maintaining my home. I also focus on maintaining my health and my education. I focus on my relationship with God. I am thankful. I am grateful. I have joy. I am happy.
Every person has a puzzle of their life. When we are born, we’re given this giant jumble of pieces which makes up the sum of our entire lives. As babies, we don’t even yet understand this. We are new and young and innocent. As we grow, we begin to understand basic concepts, like walking, talking, and eating. We don’t even realize that we’ve begun to sort out some of the basic pieces of our pile into categories. Some of the like colors are being separated into piles.
As we grow, we begin to learn about EVERYTHING. We learn about relationships, God, emotions, animals, history, science, art, and we begin to explore our world. We still sort our jumbled puzzle mess into color categories, but we also begin to make basic connections and understanding that start to piece our puzzle together.
At some point, we begin to realize that by having discipline and choosing to do hard work, we can benefit ourselves. We also realize the importance of helping others. We discover that we can help ourselves with introspection and we try to learn from our mistakes.
We have a greater desire for connection and faith in God. We work on developing our relationship with our creator and deepening our faith with more in-depth studies of the bible.
We might, at this point, begin to realize that our life is a giant puzzle. We know that we can’t see the whole picture yet. We can only focus on our little piece that we’re working on. We know that God can foresee our completed puzzle and how our puzzle connects to the puzzles of others and the entire beautiful masterpiece as a whole.
For me, my happiness is a variety of things that make my puzzle feel more complete and whole. It’s my happy memories, my future prospects. It’s this present moment and my life where it is now. It’s the fact that I’m alive and I can continue to have new adventures with those I love. It’s my relationship with God and feeling safe in his protection and love. It’s the giant puzzle that is my life.
What makes you happy?
Previous Week: Apples
Next Week: Explore
Main Page for 52 Project
Join us for the photography challenge! We’d love to see your images!
You can post your image on our Facebook page here:
This is perhaps the most difficult photography project yet. Like many of you, being in front of the lens instead of behind it makes me cringe a bit. Attempting to photograph oneself requires more work, more equipment, and more bravery. However, it can also be a lot of fun!
So what do you need for a self-portrait project? Why does it require more work, and what equipment is necessary for a project like this?
More Work
Like all of my projects so far, I have usually researched the work of other artists. I love using Google and Pinterest for this. By using keywords for the general idea of what you’re looking for, you can find inspiration for your own project. Plus, seeing all of the amazing things that others have come up with is great motivation!
Although, sometimes, even after all of my research, I scrap my whole idea and come up with something entirely new. It’s all part of the process. By finding what you don’t like about something you’ve tried, you find what you do like instead.
In the case of a self-portrait, you have to try to find ideas that can apply to a self-portrait. Some angles and positions are tricky enough for a photographer and a subject, but for oneself, it can be next to impossible.
Over the years, I’ve become more aware of posture and angles, due to being a portrait photographer. In the beginning, I used to catch sight of myself in a mirror and pause, refine the pose, and mentally save the idea for later. After several thousands of subjects later, posing became second-hand nature. The downside to this is, I hate to be repetitive. Too much a good thing can be bland. So I try to mix it up and try poses outside of my comfort zone. THIS IS NOT THE PROJECT FOR THAT. Stick to the classic, tried and true posing for yourself.
When you’re on location, you won’t be able to see yourself to make sure you’re in a good pose. The best way to handle this, besides bringing a full body mirror and a stand for it, is to practice at home in front of a full body mirror. Turn around a few times, wiggle, then face the mirror. Close your eyes and try to recreate the pose you practiced. Open your eyes. Once you have refined the muscle memory necessary, you’re ready to go!
To summarize what you might like to do for your project:
Reseach keywords on Pinterest and Google image search. Good keywords are self-portrait photography.
Don’t be afraid to scrap your original idea if it’s not working out.
Become aware of natural bends and curves. Watch people to see the angles and tilts of their heads, the bends of joints, like elbows, wrists, waist, and knees, the positioning of arms and hands, legs and feet.
Practice posing in front of the mirror.
More Equipment
This leads me to what equipment is necessary for self-portrait project. The obvious thing necessary for this project is a camera. Almost every camera on the market has a self-timer, from iPhones to high-end DSLRs. Not every camera has a remote option, but should yours have one, it can make the job easier.
A tripod is also extremely helpful. Yes, you can be creative and find ways around this, but the job will be more difficult. A classic tripod is awesome, you can raise your camera to your eye level at any location. A portable, flexible tripod can be great for trying some of those weird angles that I was talking about earlier. For example, if you want your camera to be higher than your head, or if you’re in a small and tight location where there isn’t room for a traditional tripod.
A mirror is also a nice thing to have on hand. If you don’t have someone (usually the photographer’s job) to check to make sure your hair and makeup are ok, then you definitely need to check yourself. Otherwise, you could have a lot of post editing should you have a clump of hair sticking up at a colic.
Everything else necessary is only what is necessary for every photo shoot, which I’m not going to go into detail here. I don’t like a lot of equipment. I like to stick with the basics. For a self-portrait, where you are the photographer and the subject, you don’t want to carry a large amount of gear and end up crumpled and flustered. Carry what’s light and easy, so that you can focus on the task and not the gear.
To summarize what you might like to do for your project:
Find out how to set up the timer on your camera. Or figure out how to work the remote for your camera.
Figure out if you are going to use a tripod or set your camera on a shelf. Make sure you have all the necessary pieces for your tripod. Mainly, the attachment for your camera.
Gather supplies, including a mirror.
Ask yourself if each item you’re bringing is necessary or excessive.
More Bravery
As for bravery, I don’t like photographs of myself. There are very few that I do like, much less love. The idea of being the center of attention makes me cringe. Taking a self-portrait feels like I am baring my soul, naked to the world for critique. I overthink it and due to that, I haven’t taken my portrait. Seriously, months have dragged by and my project is a little behind.
Silly, I know, when I’m writing a blog. For me, this is kind of terrifying. I fit the classic description of an introvert. Every time I make a post, I have a small panic attack. What if they don’t like me? What if they hate me?!
Being brave enough for your own self-portrait is mostly necessary during the planning phase. I tend to overthink everything, so if I can get past the planning phase and into the action, I’m a much more laid back person.
Once I’m on location and the camera is on, I’m focused on my work, all worry erased from my mind. I love being a photographer. I love working with my chosen beloved tool, my camera, analyzing light, hunting and seeking the details that make it come together, creating an image, a work of art. I look back on my work years later and I am so thankful, for all of it.
So, despite the delay, I’m going to take the plunge and post my self-portrait. I’m choosing to be brave.
How do you feel about having your portrait taken?
See my first attempt at a self-portrait project here:
Autumn is my favorite season. Autumn trees are part of why it is my favorite season. The colors of the leaves transform the world into a breathtakingly beautiful place for a short week or two.
Here is one of my favorite autumn trees poems. While googling the words for this poem, I found out that it is actually a song! I might have to learn the tune so I can sing it to my kiddos next autumn.
Come Little Leaves
by George Cooper
“Come, little leaves,” said the wind one day,
“Come over the meadows with me, and play;
Put on your dresses of red and gold;
Summer is gone, and the days grow cold.”
Soon as the leaves heard the wind’s loud call,
Down they came fluttering, one and all;
Over the brown fields they danced and flew,
Singing the soft little songs they knew.
“Cricket, good-bye, we’ve been friends so long;
Little brook, sing us your farewell song-
Say you’re sorry to see us go;
Ah! you are sorry, right well we know.”
“Dear little lambs, in your fleecy fold,
Mother will keep you from harm and cold;
Fondly we’ve watched you in vale and glade;
Say, will you dream of our loving shade?”
Dancing and whirling the little leaves went;
Winter had called them and they were content-
Soon fast asleep in their earthy beds,
The snow laid a soft mantle over their heads.
I have an obsession with adorable cups. I love drinking tea out of cozy mugs and lemonade out of mason jar glasses. I drink water from a glass water bottle and kombucha in a little bit of everything.
I’ve worked hard to minimize the items in my kitchen. I find the more dishes available the bigger the mountain of dirty dishes to wash. My family would rather get a new dish than put a dirty one in the dishwasher or empty a clean load, or handwash something delicate. I did most of the work and it was neverending.
So I got rid of the majority of our plates, bowls, cups, and silverware. I gave everyone one complete set and got rid of the rest. I even gave them each their own special spot on the shelf in the cupboard.
One thing I didn’t minimize was tools for making food since I do a large amount of cooking and baking from scratch. The other thing I didn’t minimize was my cups.
I love my cups. I enjoy drinking from them. They’re part of my self-care routine because they make me smile. When I’m anxious, depressed or having a bad day, they help cheer me up and calm me down.
I also enjoy serving company tea or coffee when they come over. I love to share my cups. They’re usually a conversation piece and cause my guest to smile.
I heard a story once about broken cups. All cups have a lifespan. At some point, that life will end by being broken. Whether it is by our own hand or that of a guest, that ending is inevitable. If we should have company, and one of our precious cups should break, the natural inclination is to exclaim in horror over the loss. Doing so, however, might cause discomfort and the deep remorse of our friend. Out of a desire to be a gracious and hospitable host, we should smile and immediately put their mind at ease by saying something of the like of “Oh, that old thing? Don’t worry about it.”. Later, after they leave and we are alone, we can mourn the loss of our cup and maybe shed a tear or two. Yet knowing the end was inevitable, that all cups have the destiny to be broken, it makes the loss that much easier to bear. It makes forgiveness easier to give.
So though I love my cups, I don’t save them for a special day or hide them from my company to prevent accidents. I use them and enjoy them as much as I can.
My cups are a source of more than the ability to hold liquid. My cups hold personality and character. For me, they hold memories, joy, and great comfort.
Tell me about your favorite cup!
Check out my video!
Previous Week: Baking
Next Week: Natural
Main Page for 52 Project
Join us for the photography challenge! We’d love to see your images!
You can post your image on our Facebook page here:
Or tag us on Instagram with #cisforcomfort52
Need inspiration for your cup project? Check out my inspiration board on Pinterest!
When finding patterns for a photography project, it can be difficult to find a satisfactory subject. At least, it was for me! I couldn’t find anything that really spoke to me. I have already incorporated leaves into past projects and I didn’t want to be redundant, but that would have been my first choice.
Searching in the world, there are a lot of patterns, brick walls, playground equipment, windows. Honestly, they all seemed so overdone and boring to me. I really wanted to try something different.
I have seen a photograph similar to this before and I thought it would be fun to try it myself. Let me tell you, this was no easy task! It took A LOT of matches and I ended up with a few burnt fingers.
I tried so hard to get a perfect gradient. Did you know that matches bend when they are burning? Or that they shoot flames out the end of the match when you get too close to the end? Also, not much holds the head on once it’s been torched.
For the really charred ones, well, everything past the fourth match, I had to deal with warping and bending of the wood. My remedy for this was to burn a short section, cool and then burn another section.
For the last 6 matches, I had to be really careful not to burn my fingers. I decided to burn the butt end first, then burn the remaining sections. This is where the flames shooting out of the end of the match became a problem.
After numerous attempts at perfection, I said “Forget about it!” and became satisfied with imperfection. I theorized that I could fix it in photoshop in a jiffy, but I earned that imperfection with a badge of honor… or burnt fingertips anyway.
I had been having a rough few months. The stress of my grandfather’s failing health and death. Regular life chaos and work. The return of the school year. Sending my oldest two back to school, which has always made my heart break from sadness and the beginning of homeschool work for my youngest two, which has its own amount of work and struggles.
On a regular grocery shopping trip, I stopped to smell the roses while passing by. I always try to stop and smell the roses. They are so beautiful and they smell so lovely. It’s a brief moment of joy in my day.
A day later, Nate ran some errands alone. I went to open the door for him since he had his arms full. He asked if I could please grab something from the trunk. I immediately went out to help and paused when my eyes caught sight of a beautiful bouquet of red roses.
I couldn’t help but laugh with joy as I hugged my flowers to my chest and took a deep breath of its fragrant perfume. Nate knew just the way to make me feel better.
I enjoyed trimming my stems and leaves and arranging my flowers perfectly in my favorite vase. Princess enjoyed smelling several of the flowers herself and happily played at my side as I worked. Once my bouquet was just so, I cleaned the table well so that it was worthy of the beauty that graced it.
For the next week, I enjoyed gazing fondly at my roses as I washed the dishes or helped the children with their homework. I stopped often to smell them, enjoying the butterfly soft caress of the petals on the tip of my nose and my lips.
It wasn’t just the beauty of my lovely roses that warmed my heart. It was the thought and love behind them. Nate saw the joy that stopping to smell the roses brought me in the store. He remembered it and took the effort to surprise me with some. A grand gesture in a melancholy week.
As for love, it isn’t always big grand gestures and flowers that make love so sweet. It is the little things, like helping carry in groceries, cooking dinner together, helping with homework, a hug, a kiss, and time well spent together. Love makes life worth living. Sometimes a rose is a great reminder of that.
52 Project, Week 31: Love
Previous Week: glitter
Next Week: silhouette
Main Page for 52 Project
Check out my video with my roses:
What does love mean to you?
Join us for the photography challenge! We’d love to see your images!
You can post your image on our Facebook page here:
Or tag us on Instagram with #cisforcomfort52
Need inspiration for your love project? Check out my inspiration board on Pinterest!
Summer is such a brief time in Minnesota. It’s a few short months of sunshine, warmth, and greenery. We can temporarily shed our many layers and don clothing that exposes our skin. We wear sandals and flip-flops or even luxuriate in wearing nothing at all and going barefoot. We can spend a considerable amount of time outside without fear of frostbite.
June, July, August, and September. These months we welcome weather anywhere from the 20’s to the 100’s. June and September are prone to the occasional frost and even a chance of snow. Yet most often, weather in the 50’s and 60’s makes these months the fairest of the year. July and August you are most likely to find the weather in the 70’s and 80’s with an occasional few days in the 90’s or higher.
The rest of the year, all bets are off for how cold it can be. It could be warm in the 40’s or it could drop to -60. Usually, it is cloudy and dark. On average, we spend those 8 months indoors, hiding from below freezing temperatures, bundling up to hide skin and protect from frostbite It can be beautiful. There are a lot of fun winter sports. Overall though, most activities are inside where it is warm.
This is why summer is so often looked forward to. We try to soak up every minute of fresh air, sunlight, vitamin D and outdoor activities that we can. In that time, the world erupts in color.
The most prominent color to be found is green. Beautiful, bright, vibrant, rich green. Carpets of green grass, fields of green crops, and mountains of green trees.
Trees in the summertime are the happiest of my childhood memories. Climbing up in their strong, rough branches to heights not reached anywhere else by a small child. Hiding behind the cover of leaves from the sun and from people. Feasting on its fruits. Using imagination for endless hours of fun. Sometimes just lying below and gazing up adoringly at my friend, the tree. I can’t think of anything happier in my memories than of the time I spent in the trees.
As an adult, trees still fill me with love, admiration, and wonder. These gentle giants do so much for us. They give us oxygen, shade, protection from wind, wood for our fires and to build our homes, fruits to feast upon, and beauty to behold. They give a boring landscape character. They fill me with wonder at the majesty of our God.
When I look at trees, I can see the wonder of creation. Trees clean our air and give us oxygen. They have the ability to draw water up to heights that man has been unable to replicate and or even understand. They convert sunlight into energy! Their leaves are mathematical works of art. Each one is different and unique. The bark, leaves, pine needles and even the shape of the branches are as varied as the people on this planet. Each tree seems to have it’s own personality and temperament.
I can’t imagine living in an area void of trees, I love them so much. Trees give me joy. Trees fill me with hope for the future. Knowing that a tree I plant will likely outlive me fills me with awe. When I find a large and old tree, I wonder who has seen and loved this tree. What stories could this tree tell?
What are your favorite tree memories? What is your favorite thing about summer trees?
Check out our summer trees video!
Previous Week: water
Next Week: glitter
Main Page for 52 Project
Join us for the photography challenge! We’d love to see your images!
You can post your image on our Facebook page here:
I love pumpkins. I love their shape, their color, their smell. I love the season in which they’re harvested, autumn. I love their twirly vines and big green leaves. I love the way they taste, and I love using them in cooking. I also love to use them for decorating. Pumpkins are awesome.
I’m sure the other squashes are a bit jealous of pumpkins. I mean, pumpkins are pretty popular. I do love acorn, butternut and spaghetti squash too, but they don’t have the visual appeal of a pumpkin, for me at least.
Maybe it’s because I was obsessed with fairy tales as a child. I used to pretend I was Lisserella while I was doing my chores. I pretended my blankets and old shirts that I used for dress up would turn into a ball gown and the squirrels in our yard would whisk me away in a pumpkin to some faraway castle where I could fall in love with a prince. I remember making my brother dance around to classical music played on my parent’s record player. I definitely had a big imagination.
Now that I’m an adult, I know that fairy tales don’t exist. Real life doesn’t have fairy Godmothers who can whip up a beautiful gown and a lovely carriage. There aren’t any beautiful balls where women in skirts and men in suits swirl around the room anymore. There is no Prince waiting to fall in love and live happily ever after. Reality can be a bit harsh.
There is something better than a fairy Godmother though. Jehovah God can and will do things more wonderful than dresses and pumpkins and coachmen. After all, he created the entire earth, all of the plants and animals. Jesus set a wonderful example of the quality of God’s love, which is better than any prince in a fairy tale.
Despite the fact that life isn’t a fairy tale, my love for pumpkins hasn’t waned. I love getting a fresh white pumpkin for my entryway table every autumn. I adore the tiny white and orange striped pumpkins for my center wall. I love baking my pumpkins and creating muffins, cheesecakes, and beverages. For me, that is so much sweeter than a carriage.
What is your favorite color of pumpkin? White, orange, blue, green or somewhere in between?
