31 October 2019

335/365

I like an excuse

halloween costumes I have worn:

vagabond gypsy girl, age six, vague but extremely pleasant memory of large gold clip-on earrings

wonder woman, age seven, classic boxed costume from the drug store complete with plastic mask

chorus line dancer, age nine, only girl in the elementary school halloween parade wearing black patent stillettos

ballet dancer, age thirteen, thinly veiled excuse to wear pointe shoes out in public

belly dancer, age seventeen, thinly veiled excuse to bare my midriff

flower child, age eighteen, an entire costume built around the most spectacular pair of thrifted bell bottoms 

the cat in the hat, age twenty-one, with ward as a very literal interpretation of green eggs and ham

crazy mary, age twenty-three, wig worn a tad askew, crimson lipstick gone horribly awry

fifi from france, age twenty-six, yes there was a beret, yes there was a striped shirt, my deepest apologies to the french

sunflower, age twenty-eight, just, so much face paint, so much face paint

butterfly fairy, age thirty-four, requested by a four year-old ava

pink floyd, age thirty-seven, pink wig plus pink top plus pink bottoms plus a name tag with the name 'floyd' written on it

boom boom corrona, the roller derby queen, age thirty-eight, the pink costume from above but with bruises and roller skates

cotton candy, age thirty-nine, fifteen yards of pink tulle, a pink wig, a cardboard cone hat, voila

frida kahlo, age forty-two, never wanted to take that costume off, frankly

30 October 2019

334/365

a list for the day before halloween:

an absolutely terrifying story

29 October 2019

333/365

lists I can't bring myself to make:

motherhood wins
motherhood fails
things about grief

28 October 2019

332/365

dreams I've had recently:

that my neighbors were building an elaborate multi-level treehouse
that we were in iceland but couldn't figure out how to get to the blue lagoon
that I found my mom's old wallet and thought, I will make a list of things I find inside

27 October 2019

331/365

things that are not for me, part two:

memojis
black licorice
country music

26 October 2019

330/365

thirteen polaroids I loved from fall polaroid week:

one (home surfaces, michelle gd)
two (untitled, kari)
three (which way from here, jenna gersbach-king)
four (untitled, clare marie bailey)
five (sneaker waves and monoliths, ben innocent)
six (c, ouen)
seven (untitled, andy jenkins)
eight (untitled, meredith wilson)
nine (back flip, maija karisma)
ten (outback at dusk, susan)
eleven (washing you, kevin o'donnell)
twelve (untitled, mari-ann curtis)
thirteen (point reyes, heather polley)

(more favorites here, forever I love polaroid week, forever and ever, amen)

25 October 2019

329/365

friday//day six

things I remember about the day I made this polaroid:

drove up to the top of black rock mountain at sunset
twas cold and windy 
stood at the edge, marveled 
for a second, we were quiet
ezra, especially

(november 21, 2017)

(friday's polaroid-- the last poalroid-- for the last day of fall polaroid week)

24 October 2019

328/365

thursday//day five

things I remember about the day I made this polaroid:

sunlight hit the kitchen window around eleven am
and the bottles practically sang
and outside, leaves fell
and it was cold enough to wear a sweater
and it finally felt like october

(october 22, 2019)

(thursday's polaroid for fall polaroid week happening over on ye olde flickr)

23 October 2019

327/365

wednesday//day four

things I remember about the day I made this polaroid: 

walked the streets of our old portland neighborhood
walked by our old house on 64th avenue
walked along the ridge with mt. hood in the distance
made our way to ava's old school, found a side door that was open
wandered the halls, found our way to old classrooms
had feelings
had all the feelings
HAD SO MANY FEELINGS

(august 14, 2018)

(wednesday's polaroid for fall polaroid week happening over on ye olde flickr)

22 October 2019

326/365

tuesday/day three

things I remember about the day I made this polaroid:

drank coffee in the morning with light pouring in
felt the whole of the day ahead of us, giddy at the prospect
spent hours at the chicago art institute, meandering and meandering and meandering
walked out the side entrance at closing time, completely dazed
looked up and spied the tiny people
was quite taken with the tiny people
but did not think the scene was right for instant film
took the polaroid anyway

(october 22, 2018)

(tuesday's polaroid for fall polaroid week happening over on ye olde flickr)

21 October 2019

325/365

monday

things I remember about the day I made this polaroid:

needed a photograph of ava for a piece I was writing for uppercase about lockets
shot in the backyard in late afternoon
blew through a whole pack of expired 600 in minutes
and I remember how good that felt
and I remember how good the air felt too-- clear and true
and I remember thinking, in just one month she will graduate
and I remember thinking, in just one month everything will change

(april 24, 2018)

(monday's polaroid for fall polaroid week happening over on ye olde flickr)

20 October 2019

324/365

new mexico

things I remember about the day I made this polaroid:

was on my way from sante fe to albuquerque with tracy and lisa to catch a flight back home
decided to take the turquoise trail in a rented car to see what we could see
wanted to stop along the way at least a hundred times
must have taken at least a hundred photos of the sky
listen, I could not stop taking photos of the sky
when we stopped for gas one last time, I got out of the car, promptly took this polaroid
on the flight home to atlanta, I could not stop looking at it
nothing beats a polaroid sky, I thought
nothing

(october 8, 2018)

(sunday's polaroid for fall polaroid week happening over on ye olde flickr)

19 October 2019

323/365

things from this list I might actually be able to swing before I turn 49 in two months:

fly down seventy slides (number 9)
label the backs of the polaroids (number 10)
label the backs of the photobooth strips (number 11)
bake a lemon meringue pie (number 21)
write about the charm bracelets (number 29)
visit the korean sauna (number 41)
embroider favorite bridges (number 57)
finish the book of polaroid portraits (number 64)
make a little paper zine (number 65)

18 October 2019

322/365

things I know I probably shouldn't like, part one:

fried cheese
sitcoms at bedtime
snuggies

17 October 2019

321/365

things I hope to find hidden deep in the depths of the garage, part two:

a long lost box of winter clothing
an old french dictionary from high school
a portrait ezra made of me when he was five

16 October 2019

320/365


the sightseer

things I miss, part seven:

answering machines
a fireplace that works
trick-or-treating with the kids
picking out videos to rent on a friday night
wood floors in the house
west coast train trips
this particular version of myself

15 October 2019

319/365

Untitled

the last three cameras I shot with:

fuji X100
iphone 6s
polaroid SX-70

14 October 2019

318/365

three places I'd like to walk today:

muir woods
my old neighborhood
this spiral treetop walkway in denmark

13 October 2019

317/365

Untitled

things that cost practically nothing but bring me great joy:

marigolds in tomato cans
canvas dropcloths over tired couches
cut tree branches in glass jelly jars
dollar tree pillar candles in white
paintings on the backs of brown paper grocery sacks
complete and total furniture rearrangement
sprigs of mint leaves in recycled old soda bottles

12 October 2019

316/365

huzzah!

small pleasures, part twelve:

the swish of a basketball
fifth floor parking deck skateboarding
sunlight through trees on neighborhood walks
waking up before the alarm clock goes off, realizing there's more time to sleep
hidden gems on home movie reels
polaroids developing
pancake stacks 

additional contributors to this edition of small pleasures: ezra (first one), ava (second and fourth one) and ward (third one)

11 October 2019

315/365

favorite classes taken, part one:

creative writing
dance anthropology
muscular skeletal function and human performance

10 October 2019

314/365

things I can't believe we did as kids in the eighties:

laid out in the sun slathered in baby oil
laid out in the sun on shiny aluminum foil mats 
baked things and ate things with margarine

09 October 2019

313/365

things I can't believe we did as kids in the seventies:

considered canned vienna sausages a special treat
consumed large amounts of bright orange and red kool-aid
played, seat-belt free, in the wide open back space of station wagons while flying down the highway

08 October 2019

312/365

seven photographs recently loved:

one (nuevo laredo, mexico, 1996)
two (let's show the world we love each other)
three (another for the summer legs)
four (find me here)
five (delhi, india)
six (sunset conversations)
seven (nice, france)

07 October 2019

311/365

things decided just now:

sometimes sleep is the answer
sometimes a little bit of ginger ale right before bed is the answer
sometimes a short list is better than no list at all

06 October 2019

310/365

things I have trouble turning down:

matinees
birthday cake
mexican coca cola
hand-me-down cameras
free samples
fortune cookies
bubble gum

05 October 2019

309/365

things for doing this saturday night:

stand outside 
marvel at temps miraculously below ninety degrees
play david bowie records
bake chocolate chip cookies
watch old home movies
open windows
read books

04 October 2019

308/365

Untitled

things for doing this friday night:

read lists
practice french
watch leaves fall
work on zines
make popcorn
drink ginger ale
watch scary movies
pass out on couch

and lo, it shall be a wild, wild night.

03 October 2019

307/365

words I had to look up in the dictionary in september:

plebeian
cogitate
auspicate
prevaricate
hagiography
interstice

02 October 2019

306/365

books I read in september:

my year of rest and relaxation (otessa moshfegh)
the street photographer's manual (david gibson)

01 October 2019

305/365

on this first day of october:

leaves, crunched
banana bread, made
apple cider, mulled

it's been ninety degrees here in atlanta for eleven hundred years but we are still eating and drinking all the warm things.