End of a season

It seems that Mother Nature knew that Labor Day is coming, and generously gave Seattle one last beautiful summer day.  Walking home around 7, I had the sudden urge to grab my camera and head for the sculpture park next to my apartment.

I'm happy I obeyed my instincts because the sunset view from the park is really breathtaking - mountains, water, some modern art - what's not to love? My next goal is to make it to Kerry Park, which supposedly has amazing views of the city.

Sadly, the weather for this weekend is looking pretty drab (high of 65 degrees today - really?). I have a feeling there will be a lot more gloomy days from here on out, but at least I got to catch the end of a Seattle summer.

My photo editing/collage skills are a work in progress, so I've been browsing flickr and other blogs for inspiration. Advice/comments are welcome!

Happy holiday weekend!

Lifesaver

Sometimes things happen just at the right time. This weekend was a much-needed pick-me-up after a stressful week.  Spending 24 hours at a beautiful lake house (!) in good company was exactly what the doctor ordered. It seems like a fitting end to the summer - the smell of burgers cooking on the grill, a 3 am rowboat trip out on the lake, s'mores around the campfire...all of those idyllic summer moments that never seem to materialize in real life.

Sometimes the simple beauty of nature is enough to remind you that there is more to life than the daily grind. I just need to take a deep breath and keep on trucking...

perspective

Recent events have disrupted the normally calm surface of my life, sending out ripples in every direction. Things that I had taken as fact suddenly seem less sure - maybe it was a trick of my mind, or simply my own careless arrogance.  I start to doubt my own memories, going back to reanalyze the same facts in a different light.  It's funny how memories are living things, colored not only by our recollections but by our present-day perspective.

Perspective is a powerful thing. Living in my comfortable bubble, I sometimes get trapped in my own narrow vision of the world and get bogged down in my own thoughts, bending and distorting things until they're no longer recognizable. With some wise advice, I've been trying to take a step back and see things for what they are. I know what I know, and I'm trying not to let anyone take that away from me.