Hello all!
Oh my.  :stares around her in horror:
This blog looks rather um... unpleasant, doesn't it? o_O {read: icky}
After a nearly three month 'leave', I'm back, and ready to 'whip this place into shape', as my grandmother would say.
                                       And it's been a wonderful summer.

Yes. It was a very refreshing break, but it's time to forget summer vacations and get back to work - so please bear with me over the next week, as I set this place to rights, and get ready for this next year of blogging!
Have a lovely day! {And thank you for not entirely giving up on me...}
~Kate

{this moment}

{this moment} -A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do this yourself, comment with your link below!

:right now:

right now, i am...
:picking: black rasberries. and blueberries. and gooseberries. and currents. our kitchen is beginning to look like a berry explosion at the moment.

:realizing: that life is hard. that it's not easy, and it hurts, and - well, it hurts.
but...

:also realizing: that real life is - real. and that it's a million times better then the imaginations of a six year old. that while some is hurting and painful, some is brighter and more beautiful then i ever dreamed!

:understanding: what l. m. montgomery meant, when she said... "those who can soar to the highest heights can also plunge to the deepest depths and the natures which enjoy most keenly are those which also suffer most sharply."

:adoring: this amazing two-tone hydrangea, from our front yard. {more photos from this shoot should make it on the blog soon...}

:playing: 'georgiana' from the pride and prejudice soundtrack. it's definitly the hardest piece i've ever attempted [thrilled], because i am now...

:finished with: 'secret life of daydreams'. finally. such a breath-taking piece.

:aggravated: that i still don't have a header in! if anyone is just dying to give it a try - go right ahead and contact me. ;)

:loving: iced coffee. night breezes and dark nights with the windows open. sing arias to the scarlett tanagers and the goldfinches.

:giggling: because I recently called a chickadee a chipmunk. on a test. thankfully, i erased it time. {rolls eyes}

:awed: by this russian dervish dance, from riverdance {click}

:transforming: a wool skirt into a kilt. epicness. {pictures coming soon!}

:looking for: a really good, 'real' camera. someday, Lord willing, someday soon!

:singing: a lot.

:thankful: for a wonderful life, and a Father to Lean upon! All glory to Him!

Until next time...
Kate~*

Unintentional Intentions [Guest Post]

[Kate speaking here: I'm so excited to be featuring this guest article by Allison - this is one of those articles you won't forget. One that so definitly needs to be said, in todays world of 'casual dating' & 'emotional purity'. Bravo! ]

Guys, I hate to let you in on this secret of the female mind, but let me just tell you: If you spend any amount of substantial time with a girl who you believe to truly just be “a friend”, then it’s already too late. She’s already thought about it, wondered about it, and more than likely spent a good amount of time praying about whether your intentions will go beyond anything other than this friendship you’re in. That’s pretty much just how most of our minds work. And let me tell you, I don’t enjoy it one bit. It’s not fun to hang out with a guy on and off for a while and have relationship thoughts creep up slowly at the back of your head, nudging your doubts on and prolonging the agony. Does he like me? Does he not? Does he really just see me as a friend? WHY is he not seeing that I like him? Maybe he just enjoys being single. Maybe I’m not his type in the slightest. Maybe it’s the color of my hair. Maybe the way I dress...


Pathetic as this may seem guys, a girl will think this at one time or another in her life, like it or not. And since I’m not a guy, I unfortunately can’t add my thoughts about what goes on in their mind when hanging out with a girl and after weeks and weeks, are still utterly content to be simply friends and nothing more. Maybe you agonize over it the way we do, or have doubts or fears. Maybe you really do enjoy being single where you are in life... and probably until most of us ladies get married, the male mind will still remain elusively hard to figure out. There will of course be times when one or both of us will NOT think those thoughts of wondering, but instead wonder if we’re giving off the wrong impression and are making the other person think we’re interested in them, when we’re not. That’s equally hard. What a balance! On one hand, as either a guy or a girl, you can’t be too forward, or too laid back.

Too forward, Allison, really? Yes. I’d wholeheartedly recommend you don’t do this the first time you meet a girl, as it will seriously creep her out:

Girl: Hi, I’m Jessica. What’s your name?
Guy: MynameisBobWowyou’reamazingwillyoumarryme??

Whereas you can go to the far extreme and probably still be single at 40, by your own doing:

Girl: You know Bob, we’ve been friends for the past 15 years and hung out exclusively every single weekend and you’ve never even looked me in the eyes. I’m starting to wonder if I should marry Harry, since he just asked me again for the 11th time.
Guy: Fifteen years? That’s all?


So now you need to assess your perhaps unintentional intentions. You may have no intentions whatsoever to this girl, or quite a few girls you hang out with all the time and seem to be best of buds with, or you may secretly like one of them, and just.... I don’t know... haven’t wanted to ask? Haven’t wanted to ruin a perfectly good friendship? Face rejection? Put forth the money and time it may take to date someone seriously? Because, yes, it can sometimes be expensive. You may get rejected. You may have to not spend as much time with your other girl friends, and that would be sad. Every guy has his reasons, and I commend you for those if they’re honorable. But let me just let you know that you may one day wake up and that girl will have given up all hope of you ever noticing her, or becoming more than friends. One day you may wake up, and find out that you’ve been mistakenly hurting someone’s feelings, or unintentionally showing emotions and certain actions and affections that only someone who is interested in a girl would show. Maybe you’ll wake up and realize you don’t want to be single forever.

Whatever your reasons, I encourage you to stop, sit down, and evaluate every single relationship, deep or not, that you, as a guy, have with each girl you know. Is it honorable? Are you taking their feelings into account? Are you leading them on unintentionally? You may be surprised to find that you are not. And then again... you may find that you are. You can do it! It’ll only benefit you in the long run. Adventure awaits!

[Allison J. Filkins is the author of several articles and the young adult novel, The Amazings. She lives and works in Colorado Springs, CO, and dances, writes, and rock climbs in her spare time.]

If only it could speak...

...what marvelous tales it might tell.

The Past: I can see him so clearly.... the Appalachian culture hasn't changed much in the years. I can see this interprising young man, building himself a castle in the valley. His name is forgotten, but I can see him - see him choosing the piece of land by the county road, building himself a house, digging a well, building his barn with his own hands, pegging it together, then trying the newer and popular invention, the nail. And he is gone, but he has left a legacy.

fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffeeeeeeffffff .haymow.


The Present: The county road is rutted and forgotten - the forest has almost taken back it's own. The house is gone, the wild roses grow where the fields once were. Nothing is left but the barn. And haunting memories, that I will never know, but that I can feel.

fffffffffffffffffffffffeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeffff .grey skies and empty rafters.

:snaps back to the present: Forgive my rambling. There's something wonderful about the forgotten barn that is below our ridge, in the valley. And I cannot bear for it to be forgotten and left to the grapevines and birds. So, the other day, I took the camera, and shot a few shots. I really wish I was a better photographer. It's worthy of a better photographer then I.

ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffeeeeeeef.beams and rafters.
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.details.

ffffffffffffff

fffffffffeeeeeeeeeef {I did risk my neck for a few of these. Don't let Mum know. ;)}



ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffeeeefffffff.in one frame.

Tis all for today. Thank you for putting up with my [not-so-amazing] shots, and somewhat ridiculous rambles. ;) It just seemed right, for these early summer days.

May your day be blessed! Kate~*

[P.S. Remember the :right now: post, from Monday? Would that be a good 'regular feature'? What do you think?}

the girl behind the blog...

ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff{self-portrait}


Hm... I think I need to re-write my 'about me' - what do you think? It's rather ridiculously out-dated. Yes?

:right now:

Right now, I am...

:saying: goodbye to strawberries and peonies, and 'hello' to blueberries and roses.

:sewing: a bohemian skirt. the scraps are as gorgeous as the skirt. see photo #2.

:playing: 'secret life of daydreams'and 'mrs. darcy' from the 'pride and prejudice' soundtrack. captivating.

:apologizing: for the terrific mess around here. it won't be for long, promise.

:excited: about a trip to oregon. about meeting my best friend in person, for the first time. about seeing the pacific. that her parents offered to take me, for a week. [amazing people]
but...

:nervous: because i'll be flying out alone. yet it's a good nervousness.

:loving: going barefoot. long walks in the moonlight. peonies. clean sinks. photography. being outdoors.

:listening too: luciano pavoratti. such a unbelivable and pure voice. one of the very few true singers the modern world has known. vivere!

:laughing: at myself. because i've been home alone all morning, and haven't stopped talking to myself. the entire time. and yes, occasionally answering myself. ;)

:working: outside. a lot.

:finding: a new dream. because what i thought was meant to be wasn't. because what used to be enough wasn't enough. because dreams are not meant to be forever.

:understanding: what anne meant, when she said.. ' i'm not a bit changed - not really. i'm only just pruned down and branched out. the real me - back here - is just the same.'

:over-using: the word 'cute'. because i can.

:thankful: for a holy and righteous God, who bears with his children. and for his Love.

:wishing you a splendid week, whatever it may hold!: