a sense of accomplishment

i have to admit that i'm really proud of the 365 project i did in 2010 - i took at least one picture (and most days dozens) every single day in 2010. this is my final shot...and while i'm being honest, i'll admit that i didn't even see those plane trails in the sky when i took the shot. and yet they're somehow so symbolic of the year and the blog camp 365 flickr group. we came together from all directions and now, at the end of it, we leave in all directions. but i hope we'll come together again, on a little more relaxed basis, in the postcards to blog camp group - where you can check in when you'd like to send a postcard of your favorite shot and still experience a bit of the sense of community we had in our group.

a big thank you to all who persevered in 2010 and even to those who didn't (you were missed) - i loved every minute of it and every interaction. i learned to be more present in my life and to see the beauty around me every day. and i was so inspired by everyone else's photos. so if you're considering a 365 project - i can highly recommend it. in fact, i might not really be able to stop in 2011, tho' i am going to do a whole lot more film and a whole lot more fighting my urge to duplicate all those film shots with my digital camera.

happy new year, one and all. looking forward to seeing what 2011 brings...photographically and otherwise.

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inspiring right now:

prolific living

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something i want to do in 2011:

be part of one of those quilt block swap groups (any takers?)

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thinking about:

what my personal bhavacakra might look like

(thanks bill)

magic beads indeed

a few more hours have passed since my airport lounge post. a lot has happened. i've been on two flights. i've spent an hour fuming about how backwards it is that you have to collect your bag in oslo (even tho' it's checked through to the remote wilds of norway), go through customs (which means OUT into the world), and then go upstairs and wait in line to recheck it (while meanwhile the precious minutes between your flights are ticking swiftly away).  i would seriously not have made it without the gold counter and the fast track security--and there must be a lot of people who have to do that who aren't gold and i wonder if they make it--i was sure my bag would never make it, hence the fuming. but the bag did make it, and so did i, so the fuming was for nothing...and now back to your regularly scheduled blog post...i've also rented a car, taken a ferry from the little island the airport is on, over to another little island (picturesque and GORGEOUS) where i found my hotel after a very long search (suffice it to say it wasn't where the rental car guy said it was...and i was rather disturbed by the fact that my clever phone showed the blue dot that was me to be out in the water when i was definitely not out in the water). now i've realized it's well after 10 p.m. and still light out, which in turn made me realize this is the furthest north i've been in my life. i haven't had any dinner and it's too late on a monday night to get any and i think my car might be illegally parked. but honestly, you can't stay mad at norway, even if that customs thing is stupid, it's just so beautiful.

and despite all of that, i have felt the most amazing opening of my mind. it's like my experience today cleared out some blockage that i didn't even know was there. on the plane, i scribbled out seven pages of blog ideas in my little blog notebook and another 4 of thoughts for the articles i'm working on at the moment. the ideas are flowing, the writing is flowing (not that you can tell that from this), it's like a light came on in some blocked, remote part of my brain that i had forgotten even existed and it's just so cool!

being a bit superstitious, i actually credit how this day has gone (the good bits) to the fact that i was wearing the cool grey beads molly sent me today--two strands of them. they gave me some kind of strength, like a talisman. they felt smooth and cool around my neck, like good medicine. and they looked spectacular. thank you molly, they are definitely magic beads. :-)

i promise all those ideas will be more in evidence tomorrow, just wanted to capture some of the manic monday feeling it's given me this evening...