Meek - McCarter Wedding

My first!  So many things could go wrong making a trip (with family in tow) to Louisiana for a first wedding shoot!  And it started badly with a botched car rental which caused us to nearly miss the rehearsal dinner entirely the night before!  But I think we recovered nicely for the actual event.

Heather is my sweet niece and so it was extra important to me that this special day was beautifully captured for her, Matt and little Alyssa.  What a precious little family they are now!  With nearly 400 shots from pre-wedding, ceremony and reception I can honestly say that I don't think I missed many of those special moments!  ;-)

Heather was a lovely bride:

We enjoyed a little playtime (but at least, Heather, I'm not posting the shots of you "pole dancing" in the church!  ;-)

Daddy couldn't resist another baby girl hug

Matt made a handsome groom, too ...

Summer Is ...

Summer Is ..., a photo by Sparky2* on Flickr.

Summer Is ...
... Long days with nights
that stretch as we like
Strong light that runs, plays,
melts into the wet
And soft expectations that allow -
and let and let
and let
us live it long.
~ Susan M. Kennedy

Summertime

Summertime, a photo by Sparky2* on Flickr.

"Ice cream is exquisite. What a pity it isn't illegal." Voltaire (Francois Marie Arouet) (1694-1778)  French philosopher. 

"My advice to you is not to inquire why or whither, but just enjoy your ice cream while it's on your plate that's my philosophy."
Thornton Wilder

Summer Morning Light

You haven't lived until you've tasted a chilled Clementine Cutie Tangerine in the summertime!

Ok, so these photos are early summer - before it became absolutely mandatory to close every curtain and shade tightly against our Texas heat (and the electric bills)!  After 19 straight days of temps over 100 F. summer is no longer my favorite season.  I'm discovering that I suffer from light deprivation unless I brave the heat some every day!   ;-)

But, I do leave this one window uncovered - over the kitchen sink ... and the light did wonderful soothing spirit things with this lovely birthday gift from the grandkids:   petunia petals floating in a Mason jar (decorated by the talented Maddie.  :-)

Summer in the South

Summer in the South, a photo by Sparky2* on Flickr.

Summer in the South
~ by Paul Laurence Dunbar ~


The oriole sings in the greening grove
As if he were half-way waiting,
The rosebuds peep from their hoods of green,
Timid and hesitating.
The rain comes down in a torrent sweep
And the nights smell warm and piney,
The garden thrives, but the tender shoots
Are yellow-green and tiny.
Then a flash of sun on a waiting hill,
Streams laugh that erst were quiet,
The sky smiles down with a dazzling blue
And the woods run mad with riot.

To be alive

 ~ by Gregory Orr

To be alive: not just the carcass

But the spark.

That's crudely put, but…

If we're not supposed to dance,

Why all this music?

I participate in a wonderful photography group in which there is a topic/theme for a weekly challenge.  All of our works for this group are to be based upon things in our home and gardens.  This week was "What's new? What have you brought home lately?"

I've brought so few new things into the home this past year that I had to wrack my brain to come up with something for this challenge!  Then I remembered my last trip to the Salvation Army ... just killing time waiting while a family member had an appointment. I found this pencil cup ... and although it's new to me it already has a story.

"This is the day that the Lord has made.  We will rejoice and be glad in it."
                                             Psalms 118:24

My grandmother quoted this scripture often as she shooed all us kids out the door to play outside ... (the same straight backed and stern woman who refused to sew my skirt hem before church one Sunday morning because "Every stitch you sew on Sunday you take out with your nose on Monday!"  My own mom used the verse in a more gentle way ... reminding me to focus on the good parts of a bad day.

I had a literature teacher in high school who would begin each class with the exclamation, "Carpe Diem! This IS the day!" Then she would recite this verse. She would never get away with that these days (wouldn't be politically "correct") but I adored her and the excitement she brought to us each day was contagious.

Later I had a friend who signed all her notes this way (she still does 45 years later!) and it never fails to make me stop and think.

In college I had another literature teacher (so then I understood the constant reference from the first!) who obviously felt very at home in the "seize the day", "make hay while the sun shines", carpe diem theme of Horace's Odes. She spent an inordinate amount of time expounding on this period, dissecting most every word for meaning, nuance, purpose, reference, insinuation; she made it come alive for me and now I'm compelled to do the same - connecting the writer's words with his time when I read anything of a historical nature.

When I saw this cup, with its hefty $1.00 price tag, it felt like a gift. Not a day goes by now that my thoughts don't touch on those special women and times of my life when I reach for a pen - and I'm glad for each of them ... and the day..


May in My Texas

May in My Texas 1, a photo by Sparky2* on Flickr.

Our family has been experiencing some major crisis and upheaval over the last few months and I apologize to my special friends who have been left hanging with no word. I'll be trying to get mail out to you asap!

Just before it "all hit the fan" I had committed to my first wedding shoot in Louisiana and I'm so glad I didn't let circumstances keep me from it; it was a huge success and Sassafras Photos is now up and running! More on that later ...  but in the meantime if you're moved to do so you might check out my Sassafras blog, website & Facebook through these links:

http://sassafras-photos.blogspot.com/

http://www.wix.com/susan_kennedy/sassafras-photography

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sassafras-Photos/137596746277467?ref=ts
(my Facebook page is really new, and if I'm understanding the process correctly I have to hit 25 "likes" on it before having my own Sassafras I.D. 



Things are still in a state of flux for us all at the moment, but there is more breathing room and I'm cautiously optimistic that positives are at work. My youngest daughter took over my responsibilities for the day as a lovely and much appreciated birthday present and I spent two hours of it hiking through the Texas Wildflowers around the pond - then came home for a short nap and gave myself a much needed mani/pedi! The girl gets extra stars in her crown if moms get to vote!

(Video is best viewed via the Youtube link and full screen ... the strings in this music

will grab your heart, I guarantee it!)

The daisy is often described as sunny.

I did a google search for the phrase

and reached for my sunglasses at the fourteenth page,

scrolling past Facebook's "Sunny Daisy Girl"

wearing dangly earrings of ... you guessed it.

She's probably the one who sighs

and buys Sunny Bath Confetti
for the Creative Bride

and hides her dirty laundry

inside shabby chic wicker -

Sunny Daisy on the side.

Matisse, I'm sure would be dismayed

to see his work of art displayed -

betrayed upon a vinyl peva shower curtain ...

"background clear" the ultimate cut.

But.

Lest we forget ....

The daisy has a right to cry

to scream aloud and wonder why

to shake its florets at the sky

to grump and frown to pump and kick

and thrust and pound
and toss its petals to the ground

and shriek and stomp and pout and moan

and carry on

until it's done.

Copyright ©2011 Susan M. Kennedy

I'm having problems with Blogger... this post was made in March and because I've been ... "busy" ... I just discovered it lingering in limbo. Also having problems with connections and subscriptions. I now have help requests in and hope it will be fixed soon!