Cheers!

December 31, 2018 (365/365)

“For last year's words belong to last year's language, 

and next year's words await another voice. 

And to make an end is to make a beginning."  - T.S. Eliot

Week 33 - Composition: Figure to Ground

August 12, 2018 (224/365) •  "Come quickly, I am tasting the stars!" - Dom Pérignon

Week 33 - Composition: Figure to Ground #dogwoodweek33, #dogwood52, #dogwood2018

[Figure to Ground is designed to make the subject stand out. Light on dark, dark on light.]

French Friday: French 77 & Champagne Macarons

 le 22 juin 2018 (173/365) • Le Rêve • Wauwatosa, WI

« Le Champagne aide à l'émerveillement. » ~ George Sand

French 77 Cocktail: 1 oz. St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur, 1/4 oz. Lemon Juice, Champagne, and a twist

Photos du déjeuner avec des amis au Rêve and a treat chez moi: le macaron du jour - Champagne!

French Friday: 50 ans (bis)

February 23, 2018 (054/365)

Last year, I celebrated my 50th birthday with a cocktail at the Bar Hemingway in the Paris Ritz. This year, I'm once again celebrating a milestone anniversary -- 50 years ago, my parents adopted me. This is my first "Gotcha Day" missing both Mom and Dad, but, as Ernest Hemingway once said, “No one you love is ever truly lost.”

Pink Champagne

February 18, 2018 (049/365) • National Drink Wine Day

“Champagne makes you feel like it’s Sunday and there are better days around the corner.” ~ Marlene Dietrich

Who can resist pink Champagne? Especially when it comes with its own purse?

Bubbles

January 1, 2018 (001/365) • The New Year should always start with bubbles!

"Approach the new year with resolve to find the opportunities hidden in each new day." ~ Michael Josephson

Hope

December 31, 2017 (365/365) • Cheers to 2018!

"Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering, 'It will be happier.'" ~ Alfred Lord Tennyson

French Friday: Santé

le 29 décembre 2017 (363/365)

« Le champagne aide à l'émerveillement. » ~ George Sand

Je vous souhaite une nouvelle année pleine de merveille. Santé!

On y va

February 23, 2017 (054/365

“Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” – Ibn Battuta

Going On...

January 1, 2017 (001/365)

"...Neither an end nor a beginning but a going on 

with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us. 

Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right." ~ Oprah

Cheers!

December 31, 2016 (366/366)

“Which of my photographs is my favorite? 

The one I’m going to take tomorrow.” ~ Imogen Cunningham

CHEERS 

...to another year of daily inspiration, 

to 366 days of growing and learning,

to 1,461 photos since January 1, 2013...

and to 365 more in 2017!  

11

July 22, 2016 (204/366)

"A wedding anniversary is the celebration of love, trust, partnership, tolerance and tenacity. 

The order varies for any given year." ~ Paul Sweeney

Oh, Beautiful...

July 4, 2016 (186/366)

I wanted freedom, open air and adventure. I found it on the sea." 

~ Alaine Gerbault (or, in our case, on the lake!)

Louis Vuitton Cup in Chicago

June 12, 2016 (164/366)

“That’s the great thing about sport and life: If it’s not over, 

if they haven’t handed the trophy over, you still have a shot.”

~ Jimmy Spithill, Skipper - Oracle Team USA

What a great day for the America's Cup World Series in Chicago!

It's the first time an America's Cup race has ever been sailed in fresh water!

What a thrill to see teams from the USA, New Zealand, the UK, Sweden, France, and Japan.

My three favorites!

It wasn't Team USA's day, but it was so fun to watch.

Pardon the fuzzy iPhone photos. 

It has nothing to do with the Champagne ;)

Celebration

February 28, 2016 (059/366)

"The more you praise and celebrate your life, 

the more there is in life to celebrate." ~ Oprah Winfrey

Thank you for the sweet wishes that made my day so special!

Namesake

February 7, 2016 (038/366)

"Great love affairs start with Champagne..." ~ Honoré de Balzac

[With Miss Piper, it was love at first sight!]

Happy New Year!

January 1, 2016 (001/366)

"Approach the new year with resolve to find

the opportunities hidden in each new day."

~ Michael Josephson

Gratitude

December 31, 2015 {365/365} 

Today, I complete my third consecutive Project 365: 

Three years, one thousand ninty-five images 

(plus companion photos and numerous unpublished attempts). 

At the end, there is a sigh of relief and an anxious anticipation of what's next. Each year, I wonder if I should continue with a photo every single day. What about a Project 52? Should my photos continue to be random images that inspire or intrigue me each day? Should I participate in an organized Photo-a-day challenge? Should I create my own challenge like last year? Should I continue find inspiration in literature and write reflections to enhance the meaning of my photos or should I let the images speak for themselves?

As I searched for inspiration today, I watched Louie Schwartzberg's TED Talk Nature, Beauty, Gratitude. His beautiful words and images are the perfect reminder of why I began my project:

• Nature's beauty is a gift that cultivates appreciation and gratitude. It opens our hearts, and makes us realize we are a part of nature and we're not separate from it. When we see ourselves in nature, it also connects us to every one of us, because it's clear that it's all connected in one.
• When people see images, a lot of times they'll say, "Oh my God." Have you ever wondered what that meant? The "oh" means it caught your attention, makes you present, makes you mindful. The "my" means it connects with something deep inside your soul. It creates a gateway for your inner voice to rise up and be heard. And "God"? God is that personal journey we all want to be on, to be inspired, to feel like we're connected to a universe that celebrates life.
• You think this is just another day in your life? It's not just another day. It's the one day that is given to you today. It's given to you. It's a gift. It's the only gift that you have right now, and the only appropriate response is gratefulness. If you do nothing else but to cultivate that response to the great gift that this unique day is, if you learn to respond as if it were the first day in your life and the very last day, then you will have spent this day very well.
• And so I wish you that you will open your heart to all these blessings, and let them flow through you, that everyone whom you will meet on this day will be blessed by you, just by your eyes, by your smile, by your touch, just by your presence. Let the gratefulness overflow into blessing all around you, and then it will really be a good day. 

So,  I've decided to keep going -- to continue to be present each day and to capture what inspires me without restrictions. I will be mindful of my purpose for starting my Project 365 three years ago and will try not to impose restrictions that may interfere with creativity and gratitude for the gift of each new day. Cheers to 2016.