wow

the sign-up for the postcard swap is now officially closed. and I am officially shocked by the overwhelming response. about a week ago, the mister wondered if maybe I should close the swap sign-up a little early. um, you do have a life and a family to look after, he said. but I just couldn't do it. partially because I wanted to honor what I'd originally said but also because the comments and emails kept coming in. I couldn't stop it, I just couldn't. wow. thank you, all you lovers of summer, you lovers of postcard swaps! you are from all over the country, all over the world. my inbox is singing, my humble little laptop is all abuzz with your enthusiasm.

the details will be coming your way soon, friends. you should receive an email from me in the next couple of weeks with the next round of instructions. a few of you left comments and expressed interest but did not leave an email address. can't include you on the list if I don't have an email address. if that's you, you know what to do. and if you haven't already, feel free to join the flickr group. not required at all, just something there to join if you like.

for the record, I can't send a postcard to everyone this year. I wish I could, I really do but like my husband says, I have a life, a family to take care of and besides that, the cost of the postage alone would kill me. I'll be putting myself on a couple of the lists, though. and I promise to be as diplomatic about it as I possibly can.

so here's the part where I ask you to be patient with me as I sort out all the details, put together the groups and inevitably make so many mistakes. the details, they are coming. they are, they are, yes they are.

photobooth friday

I wanted to cry when I saw them. I did, I really did. the carnival is in town, my friends. a few rides, a little bit of freshly spun cotton candy and of course, this:



ah, photobooth friday. it's been too long.

june, I love you

(postcard I made for last year's swap)

first of june= unofficially summer. even if it doesn't feel like it, even if portland doesn't know it yet. the first of june is when the sandals and floaty skirts come out, it's when I start thinking about things like box fans, lightning bugs and baby pools. I get serious about gardening. speaking of which, my strawberry plants are looking awesome. anyway. june means open windows. it means picnics, yard sales and road trips. and projects. good lord, the projects. june is for the starting of new projects, june is the new january. only without all that pesky dreary weather. unless, of course, you live in portland.


(more of my postcards)

so it was this time last year that I organized my first postcard swap. when I initially put the idea out there, I had no idea so many people would be interested. 20, I thought. 30 tops. when the final count hit 80 something, I was shocked. I decided I needed to break folks up into smaller groups of 12-15. high on some kind of crazy summer happy, I put myself on every list. which is a little nuts, yes, I realize this now. but I'd decided early on to send a postcard to each person who signed up.


(the great wall of postcards, about to be dismantled and *gulp* mailed out)

which meant I made a lot of postcards. oh friends, so many postcards. wore down more gluesticks than I'd care to mention, cut up enough little squares of paper to cover a small third world country. I spread my supplies out everywhere, took over the entire bed, the entire house. each night, ward would try to fit his body into the inch of space I'd so generously left for him on his side of the bed. he would gently (okay and not so gently) push supplies out of the way, curl up into a little ball and try to fall asleep. meanwhile, I woke up with bits of paper stuck to my legs, my arms, found them hiding in the folds of my nightgown.



somewhere around the 50th postcard, I wondered what I'd gotten myself into. but sending out 80 or something postcards also meant that I'd be receiving 80 or something postcards.


(my wall of summer, thanks to all the delightful swap peeps)

actually, I received a little bit of lovely summer mail art everyday for about a month. which made all the hard work absolutely totally worth it. the postcards, they came from all over. some from different countries, many more from all over the united states. each day I found something new waiting for me in my mailbox. a bright-colored collage or painting, an old-fashioned summer recipe, a favorite summer poem. everything from a deconstructed watermelon to the simplicity of the grape popsicle. everyone had a different take on summer and by the end of the season, they'd all found a place on my kitchen wall. which is exactly where they stayed until the night before thanksgiving. I could barely stand to do it but the time finally came to take them all down.



so I just can't not do it all again. and I can't wait for portland to bring me summer because holy crap, she is really dragging her feet. portland, I'm going to pretend that it's not cold and rainy outside today. I am going to shut my eyes and pretend it isn't so. while I am waiting for the sun, I will be working on summer-themed postcards. well, hopefully. I need a few people to sign up to make the second annual summer postcard swap an official thing. so if you're interested, please leave your name and email address in the comment section below or click on my profile where you'll find the option to email me. same guidelines as last year and soon there'll be a new flickr group to join. I'll allow a couple weeks for folks to sign up and then close the swap on june 15th. you'll receive an email with instructions and a list of names and addresses. and then the fun really begins. hopefully, the sun will be out by then. hopefully, summer will be in full swish.

yes I said yes

berry-stained fingers, secret languages, things with feathers, spoonfuls of ripe avocado, blouses that wait patiently for summer, cherry poptarts broken in half, weather that requires open windows, writing that happens in the middle of the night, men that sing and mean it, yellow swimsuits with white polka dots, the lines in the corners of his eyes, the scent of old library books, the first popsicles of the season, the kid with the maddest handle, songs about doves that cry, flowers in mouths, bottles in windows, double dutch anything, shoes that are uncool, the voice of ira glass, seafoam-colored beetles, late afternoon sun, the shaking of unopened seed packets, bags made from old muumuus, fans that oscillate wildly, the wonders of elmer's glue, ezra and his wearing of shoes on the wrong feet, ava and the laugh that breaks free, the smell of film, people who do their own stunts, dandelion necklaces, rope hammocks that take over the backyard, nutella on everything, the sounds a polaroid camera makes, the roadtrip that will happen, the van morrison song that makes me cry, hula hoops and the people that love them, fish that are fancy, hips that are curvy, meaningful glances, construction paper menageries, cartwheels done on the fly, the best of intentions, tutus that glow, houses that are pink, things that float, poppies and peonies and roses in full bloom again, the time we stayed up all night, the way the house smells at the end of the day, paper flowers in every color, handfuls of dirt, matchbox cars in my freezer, broken crayons in the bottom of my purse, tiny plastic spoons, incomplete backspins, the best summer song ever, strangers who say yes, people who represent, wanting to be salt, wanting to be light, wanting to be salt and light.

back soon

taking a little break. need to work some things out. could be back in five minutes. or five weeks. I don't know. probably next week. I don't know.

soon: more strangers, more photobooth friday, another week of color. maybe a little instant summer.

I don't know.

blue friday

ah, blue friday. but on a saturday because that's how I roll these days. not that I'm particularly proud of it or anything. as for the extended version of color week, not completely sure yet. maybe next week, maybe more like a month from now, I don't know. stay tuned, friends. and thank you, leya-- you were a most excellent color week host.

pink/red thursday

super fresh tote by the fantastic miss jenny



I'm behind, I know. later on today: blue friday. and hopefully even photobooth friday.

(more over at leya's house of color)

orange wednesday

I am such an orange-y kind of girl. but with pink and red thrown in. well, and some turquoise. okay, and some yellow.

leya's color week continues on. pink and red tomorrow. am thinking I would like every week to be color week.

yellow tuesday

hello yellow. for leya's color week.

green monday

leya, you read my mind. I've been thinking of doing this for weeks.



hello, color week! I'm so glad to see you.



I've got some catching up to do. if you want to play along, it's not too late. it's never too late:

monday: green
tuesday: yellow
wednesday: orange
thursday: pink/red
friday: blue

check with miss curious bird for links and such. also, am thinking of continuing on with this into next week. anyone interested? what say you?

hey, another list

liking, probably even loving:

week of the polaroid. which forced me to stop hoarding my humble stash of polaroid film and shoot it already, ultimately resulting in happy, happy times. so wrong not to pimp it here: save polaroid.

all the folks who left kind, encouraging and helpful words regarding me and this business of photographing strangers. thank you so much.

lovely victoria over at sfgirlbybay who featured me this past wednesday. you can read the interview here. like a good meme but more official. because that's how victoria rolls. I am so loving her.

number 28

"hi, I was wondering, would you mind if I took your picture?"

"what?"

"um, I'm sort of doing this thing, taking photographs of strangers and I thought maybe I could take your picture?"

"yeah okay. sure."

he starts to roll the sleeve of his shirt down over the tattoo covering his left forearm.

"you want me to cover this thing up?"

"no, not if you don't want to. I like it."

he puts down his cigarette and sort of smiles, shifts uncomfortably in his seat a bit, readjusts his posture. then he sits up real straight and tall, starts in with a stiff little smile and freezes. like he's back in first grade again, posing for the school photographer. I find this ridiculously cute. though not exactly what I want so I keep shooting until he really relaxes. I'm very nervous about the whole thing, I'm fumbling with the camera, setting it all wrong. I am completely flustered. trying to play it cool, though very unsuccessfully.

"so you're trying to get over your fear of strangers?"

"my fear of taking photographs of strangers, actually."

"just so you know, guys will never care if you take their picture. but girls will. girls care more about the way they look."

"hmm. you're probably right about that. thanks."

then he suddenly gets all excited about this thing I'm doing and gestures towards the coffee house where he works. he tells me about all the guys in the shop who'd love to have their picture taken. girls too, he says, but I'm running late. I thank him and say goodbye.



as I walk to the car, I know this will be my next project. I knew it the moment I saw him sitting there, the moment I ran to the car to grab my camera, the moment I opened my mouth to ask his permission, the moment he relaxed in front of the camera and started to forget I was there. as I drive away, I am somewhere between terrified and giddy. because taking photographs of strangers scares me. a lot. and this is how I know I'm headed in the right direction. out of all the possible projects I listed, this one made me the most uncomfortable. and since I'm looking to be stretched in new and spectacular ways, I'm thinking yes. yes, I'm headed in the right direction. I'm feeling all lit up inside. I'm closing my eyes, I'm jumping in.

thank you to everyone who initially offered their two cents worth, thank you kindly. and now I have more questions for you: how would you feel if a stranger approached you on the street and wanted to take your photograph? would you allow it? would you feel weird if they asked your name? how would you like to be approached? how would you like to be asked? please do tell because I'm in this for reals. currently finding great inspiration over at 100 strangers and the thought project. number 28 off the list, done. er, just beginning. 52 weeks of strangers and I've never been more nervous than I am right now.

photobooth friday

hannah plus saturday morning plus the photobooth at the ace plus a wallet crammed full of dollar bills= good times. best part of this whole blogging gig has to do with the people you meet along the way. strange but true. so true. can I get a witness? also strange: I got the crazy eyes here.



oh, that hannah.



she is a girl after my own booth-loving, camera-crazy heart.

her strip is here. checkit, we're very smiley. except for that last frame which is very fool-like (a somewhat intentional nod to april's theme). also, this is only part one of saturday morning/with hannah/down at the ace. other people are involved. and they are cute. I promise.

more photobooth friday fools here.

number 5

not writing so much lately. but only because I've been busy crossing things off the list. I'm telling you, my head is really in the game. inspiration wires, you are finally hung. look at you, making the dark recesses of the basement shine like a room filled with late afternoon sunlight. late afternoon sun is best. hello, number five. hello, inspiration. hello, happy. maybe I can finally get some work done now.

some of what hangs on the wires:

pages from really old interview magazines

colors that rhyme: ava's drawings of bubbles and rainbows

atlanta graffiti

trisha brown as seen through the eyes of robert rauschenberg on the pages of (the sadly now defunct) dance ink magazine

original collage by friend ryan coleman, artist and graffiti writer extraordinaire

little bit of cy twombly

little bit of margaret kilgallen

dear mati rose's elephant

old placemat from the thrift store

hello monday

pixie sticks for your monday. which you might consider, if you need a lift.