Please click to enlarge this photo.
This is one of my all-time favorite photos, taken at the shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico City. I’ve been waiting for the proper chance to use it for a loooooong time. Now, finally, the perfect prompt! I love the one young nun turning around to look behind her–the rest blithely marching along–seemingly straight into that wall!
For more habits, go here: http://ceenphotography.com/2015/08/25/cees-fun-foto-challenge-habits/
To see Tulips and other flowers, go HERE
Mailboxes, Etc.
Believe it or not, this is my mailbox. The postman just throws it over my garage door. I run over it a few times and then finally notice it and retrieve it! The mural shows maize, agave and the tree of life. The two little circular components represent peyote buttons–a usual symbol depicted in Huichole art. The mural is by Jesus Lopez Vega. In case you don’t know it, I live in Mexico!!!
To view more mailboxes, go HERE.
This little girl looks like she’s already had too much Halloween candy.
You scream. I scream. We all scream for ice cream!
What do you mean you’re out of Snickers bars?
Can’t wait until I grow up and don’t have to do this kid stuff.
Will trick and treat for Kleenex
You only have apples left????
Delayed Agenda
My first week after camp was out, I had so much to do,
but how I’d really spend it, I didn’t have a clue.
Sunday I was resting–staying close to home–
eschewing rituals of makeup, jewelry or comb.
Catching up on sleep and alone time and my blog.
Straightening camp clutter and shampooing my dog.
By Monday I was taking samples to the lab
for a friend who wasn’t feeling very fab.
Taking her electrolytes and medicine to do
what was necessary to execute a coup
on all the small amoebas who’d colonized her bod
and made of her their temple, their dwelling place, their god.
On Monday night there was a birthday party for a friend,
but Tuesday brought my social life abruptly to an end
as I commenced a sort of party of my own,
communicating my own pleas upon the phone
for a friend to help me, for I was feeling fragile
and had an urgent need for electrolytes and Flagyl!
Two days at home just running between my bed and loo
left me with no time left for other things to do.
But when at last the meds kicked in, I found that I could go
to execute my errands, to meetings and a show
of kids on ukuleles that I’d committed to–
in three weeks, the third showing of kids for us to view.
So now it is a Sunday. I’ve fed the dogs a bite
and I have come back into bed to finish out the rite
of publishing this blog post and tweaking a few pictures
that I hope you’ll approve of with a minimum of strictures.
I’ll have a swim and then I’ll tackle that job I’ve been dreading
of cleaning all the piles off my desktop and my bedding!
Computers, files, folders, forms, boxes, books and cards.
Bits and pieces, piles and scraps, strips and orts and shards.
For months I’ve just kept piling things that I have just done,
unpacked or started packing–while I am on the run.
Now it’s time to organize, to put away and hide
all this mess I’ve found it necessary to abide.
I wish my life were simpler, my habitat more sparse,
but that would mean a schedule that gets me off my arse
earlier each morning, which would cut into my blog time–
my swimming and my photographing, dreaming and my dog time.
With only so much time each day, I must choose how to spend it;
for time is just not flexible. There is no way to bend it.
Desk # 1 Cleared off. Check!
So for two months I have chosen to write and teach and play–
to exercise and see my friends and post my blog each day.
And once a week to clear some space–my desk that’s in the sala.
Then I did a week of camp and the final gala.
Then I cleared the dining table of mat cutter and books,
papers, art supplies and pens. ratchets, screws and hooks.
Desk #2. Cleared of clutter. Check!
Then off again to one more week of art and words and kids
and those mean amoebas that put me in the skids.
But now I’m almost finished with this tedious little rhyme
which means that I have finally nearly reached the time
when I’ll do the final sorting task that I have to do–
of sorting of more desk rubble–the whole motley crew!
Desk #3. Today’s agenda.
Desk #4. Today’s further agenda.
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Obstacle Course.” Think about what you wanted to accomplish last week. Did you? What are the things that hold you back from doing everything you’d like to do?
Tulip Tree with Kiskadee
This fellow was at the opposite end of the lot at the top of a giant African Tulip Tree. Thanks to the wonderful zoom on my new Canon camera, I captured him! Thanks, Canon.
He was catching bugs as they went by. You can see one in his beak in this photo.
Here you can see him going after yet another fly. It was an almost constant repetition of a theme. A great hunting ground! My shutter speed wasn’t fast enough to freeze his movement, but at least the flowers were in focus!
And then he flew away! He always returned, but my mind turned to other things, and two days later I had this nice surprise on my camera when I finally got around to downloading the pictures from my camera. Another day’s challenge met!!!
(In Mexico, the name for the African Tulip Tree is Tulipan. It is also sometimes called a Fountain Tree.)
http://ceenphotography.com/2015/08/05/flower-of-the-day-august-5-2015-delphinium/
CAMP ESTRELLA FINAL SHOW!!!!!
(Please click on pictures for a larger view.)
The final show included the kids from Camp Estrella as well as part of the 153 member kid’s orchestra and chorus from San Juan. They are the spirited children in white blouses and dark pants. They presented music from Grease, La Bamba and a wonderful spoof where they drew participants from the audience and wound them around the stage area in a long line. It turns out it was a song about the whole village lining up to buy tortillas in the morning–to buy enough tortillas for 7,000 people from one shop with 7 tortilla machines…The joke is that the people drawn from the audience who took a place were forced to go to the end of the of the line–like newcomers trying to break into the tortilla line. Much funnier when listening to the lyrics!
The woman doing the scarf dance was Cynthy, one of the counselors. The woman doing the flamenco was Cindy, the organizer of the camp and the man on the drum and guitar is her husband, David. Other counselors left to right are Audrey to the far left, Juan behind Cynthy, Gloria in polka dots and me! Alicia regrettably left before someone requested we pose for a picture. She is the exotic Mexican lady standing to the left side of the stage in the picture to the right of the audience shot.
After the show, where all those little girls in bright yellow Camp Estrella T-shirts turned into sophisticated flamenco dancers in exotic dresses and tightly-chignoned hair and all the jostling young boys turned into swelled-breasted young men, every one of them hugged every one of us. Audrey and I vied with each other over who could do the best job of hiding wet eyes and lumps in our throat, and we decided the 5,000 pesos that the audience gave us to support the camp (the show was free) should be split between the performers. So, we gave each child 100 pesos and gave the rest to the orchestra/chorus.
Counselors were even more richly rewarded by the memories of working with and getting to know these warm and lovely kids…not to mention the remarkable counselors. We now count among our friends two new generations of young Mexicans–and feel younger for it and more determined to stay in the flow of life. Tomorrow we start all over again with another camp in Ajijc, the neighboring town.
Thanks for giving me a platform to share this wonderful Experience.
Now do you know why, if I had a billion dollars, I would spend it to make this sort of experience happen every day for the children of San Juan Cosala?
If you haven’t been following my stories on Camp Estrella, go HERE, HERE or HERE or for more of the story.
I’m choosing an alternate prompt today–to talk about my most unconventional love affair. I’m fairly sure I’ve written about this prompt before, but this time I’m talking about another unconventional love affair–my love affair with Mexico. Hopefully you’ll know why after you read it.
The Boy in the Blue Feathered Mask
I was so busy issuing art supplies, that when the masks were set out to dry, I had no idea whose was whose. Other Camp Estrella counselors were helping at each table and requests for paint colors were coming fast and furious. Who knew so many boys would want to be grey foxes? A lot of white and black got mixed. A lot of red and pink to make a deeper rose.
Then, feathers flew and concrete became polka-dotted with sequins in every shape from polka dots to half moons and leaping reindeer. Day after day, layers added until it was impossible to tell roosters from foxes from bears from falcons from rabbits.
But when I saw the remarkable turquoise feathered mask with the jeweled beak, I tried to imagine which of the graceful young girls had conceived of it. When I collected it from the tarp set in the sun and sat it under cover with the others for the night, I knew I wanted to be sure to capture her picture tomorrow before my day became consumed with other tasks.
The next day, the members of the camp surrounded the tables and piano where we had set the masks away from the night rain and winds of the rainy season. Some asked for more sequins, feathers, beads, paint, glue, glitter gel. Others wanted their headbands attached and wore the masks, as is, all day long–swooping between the fruit trees of the open courtyard and over the open spaces where the dance routines were practiced. They sat during language lessons and singing practice with beaks and ears and wattles and plumes.
And then I saw the boy in the turquoise feathered mask!
He didn’t seem to mind that his friends behind him were getting a large charge out of his mask.
He wore it almost constantly, once I’d fastened the strap to it. And then one morning, he caught me by the arm and asked me to take his picture. With his other hand, he caught the hand of a girl who walked by. She was one of the taller girls, rather shy, as you can see from this photo snapped the first day of camp:
“Take our picture!” he asked politely, and although at first she pulled away, she didn’t resist much, and neither did I.
Brave young man. Looks pleased. Brave young woman. Looks placid and mature. In the flamenco dance lessons, she alone looks almost as poised as her instructor. She is the niece of my housekeeper, and although I’d never met her, her aunt pressed me to see that she was included and it was a special request of mine that she be added to the camp roster. Now, in the 4th day of camp, I am so glad I did.
There’s a reason why feather boy looks so pleased. She is talented in everything she does, graceful and kind, and I’m told by the other counselors that the other girls look up to her. Although innocent, and in spite of a few flirty looks from girls toward boys, this is the only case of pairing up (short as it was) between the 11 through 14-year-olds in the camp.
When I mentioned the picture later on, he seemed puzzled, and then when I reminded him, he beamed again. In the two days since then, I’ve seen other boys watching her closely in the dance or at her table as she carefully pens thank you cards to camp sponsors. But no one else got his picture taken with her, and I noticed her shyness melt away rather quickly afterwards.
So many pleasures in this camp. Watching child after child mature and blossom was the greatest one. More stories if you want to hear them. Telling them assures me they won’t be forgotten.
See other Camp Estrella stories HERE and HERE.
https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/unconventional-love/
https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/the-perfect-game/
Coincidentally, a friend brought it to my attention that this post also meets Cee’s prompt this week, so if you want to see some more teal or turquoise, go here:
http://ceenphotography.com/2015/07/21/cees-fun-foto-challenge-teal-or-turquoise/
Needed: Innovative recycling ideas for 30 rolls of chewed up TP. Extra points for artistic uses. (If you are new to this story, better have a look HERE first.)
Morrie, want to tell the folks what you did tonight? Morrie? Do you? 
Want to tell them why the sewing machine is out in the hall? 
Want to tell them why the drapes are tied up in a ball? 
Want to tell them what that is in your mouth,Morrie??? 
(Morrie looks a bit stunned at the prospect, or perhaps this is a look of uncomprehending innocence? Tune in later for the rest of the story.)
What Did You Do, Morrie?
When Morrie got into his cage the minute I came into the room, I suspected something was wrong.
Is something wrong, Morrie?
Did you do something naughty?
Have you been a bad boy?
Oh, oh, oh. What did you do, Morrie?
Did you make a mess?
Did you chew up a roll of toilet paper?
Did you open up the closet door and chew up thirty rolls of toilet paper?
Bye, Morrie!
Before he decided to leave the room for awhile, Morrie taught me some lessons. This is what I learned:
Always secure the closet doors before you leave the room.
Put everything up high!
Especially toilet paper!
And be sure to put your shoes away. This is my favorite pair.
I wonder where the other one is? Oh, that’s right. Morrie ate it!
Morrie? Going out again?
lifelessons - a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown 