Uncategorized | Change Is Hard

January 6, 2014
by dawnkinster 8 Comments

Weekly photo challenge: beginning

This week’s WordPress photo challenge is beginning.

After much thought I realized that many things begin with this…

…so I boiled up a dozen in celebration of beginnings.

Stop by the link above and check out a few entries. See what’s your favorite. Or better yet…show us your interpretation of beginning.

Here are a few of my favorites…and I only clicked on a few random entries. There are probably lots more if I take some time and explore. Given we’re sitting under at least a foot of snow I just might do that!

January 5, 2014
by dawnkinster 32 Comments

Snow!

Waiting for summer.

We’re getting a ton of snow; they’ve been warning us about this storm system for days. Yesterday the local grocery stores ran out of food. Literally. Many shelves were so empty the whole thing ended up on the evening news because some people waited for up to an hour just to get through the checkout lanes with what little they could find.

The amount of snow we got…BEFORE the heavy snow started.

During the night we got 5 or 6 inches of snow…and that’s the first ‘light’ part of the storm. Husband and I used the snow blower to clear out the driveway in preparation for perhaps another 8 or 10 inches that is coming this afternoon and tonight.

Pushing through the snow.

Earlier Katie and I went to play in the backyard.

How deep is this snow Mama?

But the snow is up to her chest and she decided she wasn’t having that much fun. She bunny hopped her way back to the deck and now she’s napping. It will be a good afternoon for naps or baking or perhaps doing a bit of laundry.

Only bringing this back ONCE Mama!

Tomorrow’s commute to work will be interesting. Might as well enjoy the beauty of it now, there will be lots of time to curse it later.

January 1, 2014
by dawnkinster 14 Comments

Come visit the Detroit Institute of Arts!

Have you ever visited or lived in Detroit? I know most of you have heard things about the city. Probably not good things. Heck our football team can’t even get us good press. So let me show you something beautiful that resides in the city; a gem of a place that we are lucky to have.

Enjoying the art.

The DIA as we like to call it, is at risk because the city of Detroit is in bankruptcy and everyone is looking for assets to sell in order to pay off debt. Just this past election counties outside the city voted to increase property taxes so that funds could be sent to support the DIA, but even that is not enough to guaranty it is safe.

Symmetry

Let me show you a few of the treasures we found inside this past Sunday. When we first arrived we joined a short tour where the docent explained a few of her favorite pieces. It’s amazing what you can learn in a few moments listening to someone that understands the art.

Even if you think you don’t like this sort of art it’s worth going to your local art museum and taking a tour. You might be surprised by what you turn out to like once you know a bit about it.

One of the galleries had several paintings by Picasso. I was struck by the progression of his work over time.

Melancholy Woman. 1902

Woman in Arm Chair. 1923

And this one I like a lot, sort of reminded me of my library days.

Girl Reading 1938

Seated Woman. 1960

There were 4 or 5 of his pieces hanging together. You could see them becoming more and more abstract. I never knew I liked Picasso until I saw his work all lined up.

Sunday my favorite painting in the museum was this one:

The Wedding Dance by Pieter Bruegel approximately 1566

There was something about the joy, the distribution of color, the movement. Can you find the bride? We couldn’t. Turns out the bride is the only woman there without a headdress. And she’s wearing black, which was the custom back then. Do you see her now? She’s in the middle left, about 1/3 way up. See? You learn something new all the time!

The DIA has lots of classical art but lots of modern art too. Some of it was interesting, some of it was strange. Some made you think…

Play ball!

…some made you think “why is this art?”

Ummmm…

But the other big thing we have at the DIA are huge famous frescoes depicting the auto industry done by Diego Rivera.

Over the top amazing.

The art is beautiful; the two main panels show laborers working in the auto industry. Other panels show advancement in sciences and medicine.

Working on the line.

I enjoyed watching the people as they walked into the huge room and began to notice the detail, the stories that were being told, the history, the beauty of the place.

Look up there!

This museum is less than an hour from my house. I’ve only been once before, and then only to see a special show. I’ve never wandered around, never stretched myself to stand in front of something I didn’t understand and ponder, never checked the back of corner rooms or explored around the next corner before.

I’m glad we went. Granted we went in part because there is a possibility that all or most of it will be gone, sold to raise funds for the strapped city. We might have procrastinated for more years if not for the fiscal crisis. Still, it opened my eyes to what is there. I know we will go back.

Sculpture and landscape.

Look around your community. What has always been there that you take for granted? What have you not visited lately? Or at all? Maybe you aren’t sure you like whatever is stored inside. As a kid sometimes we’d say we didn’t like something. My dad would always respond – “How do you know if you haven’t tried it?” And that’s what I’m saying to you. How do you know you don’t like classical art…or modern art…or sculpture…or the symphony? How do you know if you haven’t tried it?

This new year make a decision to stretch outside your normal box. Visit some treasure in your community. See what’s there. See what you like.

I bet you’ll be surprised.

See what’s out there.

December 30, 2013
by dawnkinster 34 Comments

Weekly photo challenge: Joy

The WordPress photo challenge this week is Joy. I’ve thought about this; looked around, searched for that one image that expressed joy around here. In the end it was obvious.

Hey there Katie girl. You express joy every day. Thanks for being you!

Stop by the link above and check out a few other expressions of joy. Here and here and here are a few of my favorites. And of course stop by Robin’s blog where she shares beautiful images of joy in her part of the world.

Enjoy. And look around…what do you see that is joyful?

December 29, 2013
by dawnkinster 22 Comments

Last look at Christmas

Main street lit up

Want to see a last little bit of holiday cheer? Well come along with me as we visit Rochester Michigan, a small town that puts on a show you won’t want to miss.

Santa’s on the roof!

We visited Saturday night, an almost balmy evening which brought out the crowds and added to the festive feeling.

Doesn’t the purple building look like it’s smiling?

We walked up one side of the two long city blocks and then down the other side.

Street of color.

The shop windows were decorated for the holidays and each building glowed in a different color.

Window shopping.

All the restaurants and coffee shops were full of happy people enjoying friends and family, good conversation, good food and good feelings.

Massive color.

It was magical. Everywhere you looked people were smiling. Little kids were giggling. So were grownups. No one was in a hurry.

Shades of fun.

Millions of lights were making lots of people happy. Maybe we should do something similar in the summer.

Holiday sparkles.

Who says lights have to be confined to December?

Green light for fun.

December 28, 2013
by dawnkinster 10 Comments

Relief from winter

Katie here. You know how I’ve been thinking that maybe my Mama didn’t love me anymore because she’s never around much? Well I was wrong! HA! Mama took me to the park today! It’s been forever since I’ve been at my favorite park and today Mama said that since it was so warm – 44 F (6.66 C) – and there was sunshine too that we just had to take advantage of the break from winter cold and go for a walk! WOW! Did she say GO FOR A WALK? I’m ready Mama! (Mama says click on any picture to see more detail.)

So off we went. I just love this park. And because it’s winter it’s not even officially open. We have to park in a different spot and walk in, but that’s OK, just means fewer doggies are there. Mama said there had been a big dog there earlier in the day because she saw these really big paw prints in the snow. But we didn’t see anyone while we were there.

Sometimes Mama let me be off leash, like when we were practicing my recall. Which, if I do say so myself, is pretty darn spectacular.

Other times I still had the leash but Mama got busy taking pictures of other stuff and I got to wander around a bit. In fact once when Mama was busy taking pictures of boring grass I wandered right off the path. She told me “NO! Katie come HERE!” and I told her that sometimes a girl just has to explore a little bit. Geesh.

Anyway, we had a wonderful time. I walked almost the whole way. It was harder to walk in the snow than on grass, and near the end I asked my Mama to pick me up. My Daddy says I’m a wimp. But I didn’t see him slogging around out there in the wet snow! When we got home I told him all about our adventure.

Then I sat on the sofa next to my Mama. I did not go to sleep. I was just resting my eyes.

Oh who am I kidding.

I needed a nap.

December 26, 2013
by dawnkinster 25 Comments

Holiday spirit?

I’ve heard that UPS had a problem delivering many packages that had been guaranteed for arrival by Christmas. The story was aired all day on Christmas and is still running on CNN tonight. When I first heard heard, listening to the media hype up the horror of gifts not arriving on time, I figured it was just a slow news day. But here it is still in the news.

My immediate thought was of the UPS drivers; those I’ve encountered have been the nicest people I’ve ever worked with. And they work like dogs during the holiday season, so it’s not for lack of trying that some gifts didn’t make the deadline. Frankly, if you order something within a week of the holiday and it doesn’t make it on time you should be prepared to provide a photo of the gift or a link to a website along with a letter to your intended recipient and I bet that person will be fine with the actual item showing up in a day or so. In the big scheme of things getting a gift a day or two or even a week late doesn’t take away from the fact that someone loved you enough to send something to you. And doesn’t everyone really believe that Christmas is about family and friends rather than how many gifts you receive?

So why is this still news? And why are certain government officials calling for an investigation? Sure guarantees were not met. That happens in life more than most people realize, but the world still turns. It’s not as if the gifts were stolen and will never be delivered. It’s not as though anyone intentionally cheated anyone else. It was just a combination of honest, uncontrollable events including weather and unexpected volume.

So how about we let it go. Let’s just enjoy the time we have with family and friends, and let the gifts fall where they may.

December 25, 2013
by dawnkinster 27 Comments

Merry Christmas!

Katie here. My Mama is too busy cooking and stuff so she asked me to tell you all how much she appreciates your support and all your comments on her (my) blog.

From up here in Michigan, which currently looks like a winter wonderland, we’d like to say Merry Christmas!
We hope you all have a lovely day with family or friends, or just with your fur-kids.

My Mama and Dad are going to have a quiet dinner here at home with Mama’s Aunt and then they’re going to go visit my Dad’s Aunt. I guess I’m not invited to go visit Aunt V, but I’ll be under the table for dinner. Just in case someone happens to drop something — wouldn’t want it staining the floor. Like there’s a chance of that anyway.

So Merry Christmas to everyone!

Love, Katie. (and her Mama and Dad too.)

December 23, 2013
by dawnkinster 12 Comments

Weekly Photo Challenge – – One

This week the WordPress photo challenge is One. We had an ice storm Saturday night and I decided to take advantage of the sadly beautiful devastation in my own backyard to show you my interpretation. You can click on any photo to see more detail.

Many of our trees are hanging in low curves over the bird feeder. Sunday the birds tried hanging out on ice covered twigs only a few feet from my window while waiting their turn at the feeder. I thought this solitary finch was perfect for the concept of one.

I thought about stopping there, but I had a plan, even before the ice storm, to hang a single holiday ornament on a tree in the yard. I thought I’d wait until after the storm and pick a snow or ice covered spruce. But Sunday morning I couldn’t resist using the ice on our toppled birch tree as a foil against the red.

The ice is beautiful, but my heart aches for the loss of our lovely birch trees. They’ve all been damaged, most will have to be cut down this spring. I’ll have these images as memories of how beauty can be so damaging.

December 19, 2013
by dawnkinster 19 Comments

Dreams v.s. responsibility

I’ve been thinking a lot about how people deal with their dreams. Not the crazy out of control dreams in living color I often tell you about on mornings after a restless night, but the kinds of dreams we all had as kids when we thought about our futures. Believe it or not when I was a kid I wanted to grow up to be a truck driver. Given how my family’s life was irretrievably altered by the trucking industry I think it was an ironic dream. But that’s another blog for another day. As a kid I imagined the open road would be romantic, free, nomadic. Of course I knew nothing about the reality of driving big trucks cross country. And I wasn’t interested in the reality of it; it was the chance to see what was around the next curve that pulled me in, that still does.

Now that I’ve spent a good number of years in one spot the restless itch has come back. Truthfully it never really left, it’s just been stuffed down under the weight of responsibility. My folks were nothing if not responsible and all four of us were brought up to be productive, to contribute, to be self sufficient. Yet we were brought up to be curious too and they made sure we got to see as much of this country as they could share with us. We traveled every summer somewhere new and these days husband and I try to travel somewhere new every year still.

So why am I so restless? It’s not as if I never get to go anywhere – you’ve come along with me on plenty of adventures – yet as soon as I’m home I’m looking for the next opportunity to get away. I consciously work at being satisfied where I am, but half my heart is always one step out the door. I could throw a dart at a map and find something interesting to explore at any random location. Often I’d like to do that. Get up in the morning and throw a dart. And the day after that throw another dart.

So where is the balance between dreams and responsibilities? What makes one person stick with routine, follow the rules, maintain the status quo and be happy while another person turns away from responsibility and throws that dart? And can a dart thrower ever be happy with routine?

Can contentment with what is be learned? Or is a dart thrower always a restless dart thrower?

Change Is Hard

…but change is certain.

Category Archives: Uncategorized