Scenes from a City...

Bright Lights, Big City.

At the grammies...

Instagram...I'm addicted.

In case you've been wondering where I've been.

needing nature...

I want to go for a long walk deep in the forest & collect my thoughts.

Fill my pockets with moonbeams & memories.

The old oaks know my secret

&

the owl knows my dream.

creative spirit...

Sometimes it's a needed trip to that special place 

where my inner spirit can roam freely

in the safety of home.

Cartes Postales: Cabinet of Curiosities, new...

In the Shop now!

Because my collectibles keep growing 

&

I get more curious by the minute.

Perhaps you recognize one or two?

~

Thank you to all my friends

for sending me your local treasures,

I'm pleased to include & honor them

in my home, naturally!

Cartes Postales: Appaloosa

My newest beauty, my avatar, is in print & currently in the shop

&

May your creative spirit

Run wild, Run free!

paw prints...

You visited me in my dreams

&

I took my morning tea in gratitude.

neon, neon...

Sometimes the neon energy of this city is blindingly bright

&

i retreat to the comfort of my clam shell

where the world

is at my fingertips

&

alongside the dimmer switch.

a winterscape...

Sometimes Mother Nature aligns herself 

within my viewfinder

&

frames my life with wonder.

5 of them...

More reasons than not to get out of bed today...I have sunbeams to catch!

un natural...

I am at a loss for words today, literally.  I'm at home with laryngitis.  I needed to look up the correct spelling of laryngitis on dictionary.com as I misplaced my y's & i's!  Have you been to dictionary.com? Have you played the little Word Dynamo game?  Oh, it's fun!  I got lost in the multiple choice questions, well really only 2 choices, on the meaning of words...for instance: did you know that callithumpian is a children's mummer's parade with prizes for best costume?  It appears, I did!  Or that a lulu is any outstanding or remarkable person or thing? Although it's slang, dictionary.com gives an example of it in a sentence: His black eye is a lulu!  Or that ort is a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal?  Again & again, apparently I did!  Well, I played & played! I started beating the Word Dynamo clock by whole seconds, until nearly dinner time! Some questions were easy: lollapalooza, doohickey & flibbertigibbet, while some were more complex: slumgullion, bezoar & quincunx!  I plan to use the word ort tonight should hubby leave any dinner morsels behind...

PS: did you know related words for lulu are: beauty, dish, knockout & mantrap?  Now, that I didn't know!  LOL!

finding space...

Sometimes, when I rest my weary soul on the pavement of this cement canyon, I look up & see more than I ever expected.  Someone is listening.  My heart stands tall.

today...

As I drift into the afternoon of this day, I am peaceful.
I prep brunch for two
&
lean into the warmth,
of a pot of Earl Grey and
a kiss on my cheek.

~may your day be as lovely~

mink muffs & hot gossip...

I'm going to start off this new year, here, by posting a blog answering a few of the many & varied questions you have asked me over the previous 12 months!  I keep a running list and plan to continue this Q&A theme throughout 2013!  Whether it's via a card, letter, email, blogmail to me, keep those queries coming!

* What are you working on right now?
Well, let's see...which project first?  Right now, I would have to say selecting/editing & printing new photos that I've taken over the last 6 months so that I can refresh & restart my, Cartes Postales, Etsy shop!  I want to expand my artistic portfolio & my shop to include more fun & interesting things!

* Where have you been?
I haven't blogged in quite awhile, I know!  My apologies, I left you all hanging during Hurricane Sandy!  She was a doozie, but I faired very well compared to a lot of my neighbors. My absence has been because of my lack of creative energy: my spark blew out, my emotional state depressed & my soul suffered from a lack of space & bright light.  It was a very sad season for the Northeast & I absorbed some of that sadness.

* Whatcha eating, whatcha drinking?
Ha, cute question(s) & how did you know I was?!?  As I sit at my kitchen table typing out this post, I have a plate of sliced Organic Gala apples & a jar of earth balance coconut & peanut spread beside me! I've never had a coconut & peanut combo before and I have to admit it's my new snack addiction!  Plus, I'm drinking a pot of unsmoked Yerba Mate.

* Where do you get your inspiration from?
Oh, from a lot of places & a lot of people really!  As a person of very few words (except when I'm complaining) I'm very visually stimulated, so I tend to gravitate towards online periodical sites with pictures...photo blogs, flickr, pinterest as well as printed magazines & design/photo/art books. I also rely heavily on the emotional inspiration generated from conversations with creative friends, & those that also sell on Etsy!  And, Light, especially filtered sunlight passing through a room.  Last, but not least, from travel, of course!

* What are you wearing?
1969 always skinny jeans.
heather blue long sleeve T~shirt.
grey & purple argyle socks.
charcoal old town frye boots.
woven shawl.
layers of silver.
turquoise.
a strand of beads.
mink muffs, nail polish.
hot gossip, lipstick.
&
a hawk feather.
...you caught me on a dressed up day!

* What would you like to personally create in 2013?
Oh, I'll keep it simple:
a photo book.
photo~printed on fabric.

* What would you do if you knew you wouldn't die?
Fantastic question, no one has ever asked me this one before!
And if I interpret it as a physical challenge that wouldn't cause me death...
The first thing that comes to my mind & heart is:
I would sail around the world!

Thank you & may you continue to inspire & buoy my creative heart & soul in 2013!
My question for you...which question resonates with you & what is your reply?
Please, share it here!
Xo

'tis the season...

XOxoXO

Crikey...

Sandy's blowing on in to town...she's big & she's strong...boy, how I wish i were here right now:

From the Archives...

The sounds of silence, sometimes...

sometimes i find myself

standing still

silently

listening

to the flow of sound

around me.

it bends, sways & swirls 

 it whispers and it whistles

half truths & sad songs

of unkept promises & broken dreams

of old souls on bended knees

warriors lost to conquerers

&

in the silence of speech

i weep

sometimes.

while i'm standing

tall.

~nMc~

++  originally posted May 3, 2011 on Nancy*McKay...tea & a little photography  ++

I was out, living life...

Have you embraced the arrival of a new season?  Are you ready to...Fall?  

I am!

Yet...what a summer it was for me...what a fine, full summer it was, indeed. 

I'd like to linger in it, just a little bit longer so that I could continue to roam out west &

celebrate out east & take photos of all that full living...just a wee bit more.

Vacationing is good for the head & the heart while traveling is food for the soul.  

I had been so busy but,  in between the months of hard work,  I was fortunate enough to take some time off & take a few trips.  I had the chance to visit beautiful & special places right here in the U.S.A.  I took adventures that rewarded me with spiritual, soulful & heartfelt gifts.  I met really kind people throughout my journey & stayed in very gracious communities. When I returned home, I was invited to celebrate love with dear friends & photograph their weddings (2 of them)!  This was a magical, memorable summer & it was also a photographic dream for me! 

I meandered down hidden Chinatown streets & through thickly wooded forests of 

Northern California.  I sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge...oh yes i did!

I shared a quiet little river bed with a spotted owl one afternoon 

& 

a smashing moment with a Moose as we watched a tail smacking beaver make waves
one early evening.

I huffed & puffed my way up towards the timberline to watch the western sunset, 

and I comfortably collected beach glass, at sea level, along the Pacific Ocean.

I visited Mesa Verde & was enamored with its beauty.

I cried at Point Lookout during the golden hour.

I climbed ladders up into Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings 

& I prayed, 

overwhelmed with their glory.

I connected with the red rock, the silence & the solitude. 

 I dusted off my rough outs, slipped into my western soul,  

& I felt at home 

in the vast mesa valley. 

I donned my vintage aviators, melted into the saddle of a black mustang & rode like the wild wind.  

I brought back souvenirs: one of a fallen feather, one made of white buffalo turquoise,
 a ground pound of Sinful Delight 

& 

over six hundred digital images...

but it's the lingering fullness within my heart,  

the feeling of "being home," that means the most to me.

I captured tender moments & gracious gestures that filled me with pride: 

lovers saying "i do," 

symbolic rings being slipped on steady fingers,  

first kisses given & taken as husband & wife...

but it's the lingering fullness within my heart, 

 from loving friendships, that means the most to me. 

I was out, living life & living it in the details.  

Looking through these visual images
I can take a step back in time & linger...just a wee bit longer,
in the moment, at the places & with the people that made up my

beautiful summer & filled my heart.

PS: Dang that Sinful Delight is goooood coffee!!!

Traveling lady, stay awhile...

My week long vacation begins today...aaah, I am one happy gal!  We slept late this morning, yet I was the first one up.  I prepped his pot of coffee & made my french press brew.  Oh yes indeedy,  I've already had a cup...of a delicious blend: mocha, mocha java & chickory!  Have I shared this with you all before?  Well, it comes from my local Amish Market.  It is roasted by Porto Rico Importing Co. & it is their New Orleans Blend!  To me, it is like having a cup of dessert at breakfast, decadent & full of flavor...but pardon me if I am repeating myself...it's such a treat!  I serve it on special occasions.  Day 1 of vacation is a very special occasion!

In a couple of days we head out west.  It will be a short trip & part of it work, part of it play for him.  It will be a balanced blend of separation & togetherness, for me.  I look forward to a few solo days, when I can wander & roam & photograph the details of my adventure alone.  Without a schedule, or a plan, or a chartered course, I can meander my way along a trail or a riverbank, through a vintage shop or a sidewalk cafe & call it my own.  With my camera poised & ready I can wait, & wait & wait, for the light to set just right or the moment to stand so still, for my photographic pleasure.  Carefree & guiltless.  It's a small window of intimate, nomadic & mysterious time...& that's a beautiful treasure to me.

That being said, I am NOT a solo traveler...I can do it & have done it, a lot actually!  I just don't do it all that well anymore, mostly because I just don't enjoy it as much as with having a friend, a pet, or a loved one along!  And no matter how exotic the destination is, I always miss being away from my home.  Aaah, my home...& no matter how exciting the destination is, I always look forward to coming home.  Home is my heart's haven, my soul's cradle.

Q & A:
Is there anything you would change about your home?

What is your favorite room in your home?

Do you prefer modern, vintage or rustic?

What's your favorite travel destination?

***here are my answers***

A)  Yes, I would add more closets...we need more closet space! And I would love to have french doors leading out onto a garden patio!
B)  I truly like them all because each one has a different personality, but my kitchen is the center, everyone gravitates towards it...& I'm deliciously creative in it!
C) All of the above!  Most everything in our home has a personal connection (our first lamp, inherited china, a reclaimed club chair, a friend's custom crafted twig table) and we like to mix it all together!
D) Hmmm, the one that I haven't taken yet!

I look forward to reading your comments upon my return!  See you bright beings soon! XO

Tea & feathers...

Favorite moment Friday:
While I sat in my kitchen waiting for my tea to brew, I reread a card that a lovely friend sent me.  She tucked inside an additional treat for me, a Hawk feather!  It was a wonderful surprise & such a beautiful gift.

That was the 3rd feather to come my way so far this summer.  The first, a scraggly little blue & black one, was found in the woods while hiking in Northern California this past June.  I had just stopped to look & listen to the old growth redwoods, when she appeared.  A tiny little thing fallen from the branches above.  I cherish that sweet one as it was gifted to me by the magnificent Hendy Woods.

Last month while visiting my home state, my sister presented me with a gorgeous Hawk feather.  She found a cluster of them, grounded together in the grasses, while walking through a nature preserve.  She blessed my visit with this special gift & I will honor it's beauty & it's sentiment as long as I live.

Feathers don't come my way that often.  When they do, they move me.

They will be placed in my cabinet of curiosities, next to shells & bark, skeletons & painted rocks. One by one I will arrange them but until then...

As I waited for enough time to pass when I could pour my cup of Earl Grey, I gathered my small collection of feathers & held them in my hand.  I twisted & twirled each one of them in my long fingers, and arranged them in a ceramic heron hatpin holder, for just a moment.  It was a simple moment, a still life of sorts...a gathering of feathers...the honoring of friendships...& the gifts of love.