Lyrical Musing: For a Dancer

Jackson Browne - For a Dancer Pin It

Santa Clara

Happy Independence Day to my fellow Americans - I hope you have a great day. While I'm out celebrating, here are a few photos from my visit to the Jacob Hamblin Home in Santa Clara, a site commemorating the settlement of Southern Utah by the pioneers.  

I've been listening to Of Monsters and Men lately and their Slow and Steady helps take me back to slower times in life, kind of like a visit to a site like the Hamblin home, which reminds me that life hasn't always existed at the current pace.

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Idaho

I was on vacation last week with my family in Sun Valley Idaho (the picture above is from Twin Falls, ID, where we stopped for lunch on the way up.) All 9 of us (7 adults and 2 kids) crowded into a condo for a week and had a great time - I suspect the fact that the condo came with 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms probably made all that together time a little more pleasant!

My family has spent some time in Sun Valley in the past but it had been at least 20 years since I'd been there and it was fun to see that some of the things we remembered were still there and to realize it had only gotten more beautiful with time.


In other news, I finally pulled the trigger and purchased a mirror-less/compact system camera (Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX1.) I've loved my Canon dslr, but I finally admitted to myself that with as much travel as I do, it just isn't practical. I'd been relying more and more on my Canon point and shoot, which is great, but didn't give me as much control. I'm still working my way through the owners manual - but so far I'm loving the Panasonic. Has anyone else out there switched to a mirror-less camera? Have any tips for a new user?

I've also joined the rest of the world and have upgraded my life with an iPhone. Like everyone before me, I've fallen in love with the camera and Instagram. My username is jamieshaw_lj if you want to follow along, or you can see my photos on the web here.  Now that I've finally joined the cool kids on Instagram, let me know your username so I can follow you too.

I can't get enough of Michael Kiwanuka's voice, here's his beautiful cover of Hendrix's May this be Love (Waterfall).

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Lyrical Musing: Rio

Hey Marseilles - Rio Pin It

Antalya

Last month, I had a free weekend in Turkey so I hopped a plane to Antalya and spent the weekend on the beach of the Mediterranean. I'd like to say it was sunny and warm, but it was breezy and cool so I spent more time layered up than I did tanning.

Cool weather or not, it was a perfectly relaxing weekend, plenty of quiet time spent walking along the beach, picking up shells and pebbles.

I even got brave and had my first Turkish Bath experience, an experience I'm sure to be repeating!

Kat introduced me to Ed Sheeran, and I'm so glad she did, here's his A Team.

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Vintage Fire Truck

On our way to Gunlock Reservoir we stopped in Gunlock (a microscopic town) to check out their vintage fire truck. It was incredible looking and given the terrible fire season we are experiencing in the west, I suspect it is having a busy summer.

I don't think I can post pictures of a fire truck without thinking of one of my favorite Ryan Adams songs: Ashes and Fire.

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Lyrical Musing: Awake My Soul

 

Mumford and Sons: Awake My Soul

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Life in the Red Rocks

My goal over the next several weeks is to get through my backlog of photos. I have a ton sitting on my computer that haven't even been looked at. My plan is to organize them, back them up, process them and share a few here, I hope you don't mind a few weeks of travel photos.

My blog has become my journal and photo album/scrapbook, the main place for me to record life. I'm also slowly working to turn my blog into blurb books - one book per year. I finished 2008 late last year, and am now working on 2011 - which I know doesn't make sense, but I couldn't get the photos from 2009 to load to the blurb program so I gave up and moved on.

Have you turned you blog into a book? What service did you use? I was very happy with the result of the first Blurb book I created, but it is a ton of work to put the book together if you don't use their template. 

In honor of the slow progress I'm making on my photo backlog, here's Rumer's Slow.

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Gunlock Reservoir

This spring I took a Sunday drive to Gunlock Reservoir in Southern Utah, what a perfect way to spend a lazy Sunday and another reminder of how much I love that part of the world. I didn't go anywhere quite this beautiful this weekend, but I did spend a couple of perfect hours with my sister, pedicures and lunch together was just what the doctor ordered.

 

I've been listening to the new Snow Patrol and have been reminded all again how much I love them. Here's my favorite track: Lifening. Pin It

Lyrical Musing: Devil Knows You're Dead

On Friday's I share a song that caught my attention. A lyric or line that made me stop and think, inspired me, or caused me to see something in a new way. I hope you'll play along and share songs that inspired you.

Delta Spirit's Devil Knows You're Dead, has been on heavy rotation this week on my iPod. Every line is like a prayer for all the good things you hope will happen for those you love.

May the wind be always at your back

And the sunshine warm upon your face

May the rains fall soft upon your field

Until the day we meet again

May good luck find you at your worst

And bad luck lose you at your best

May your days be rich and full of wealth

And your nights be long when you need rest

And the road may it rise to meet your feed

And be downhill all the way to your door

May the grass below be green and the sky above be blue

May it be so forever more

Lyrically, this song is stunning, each line paints a perfect picture and is full of emotion. In my book the songwriter is a genius.

After spending a long weekend with my extended family, I'm feeling very lucky to have so many wonderful people in my life and I find myself praying for blessings like those described in this song in their lives.


My friend and neighbor, Nikki, from The Salty Pineapple has a blog series running this week in honor of Intentional Picnic Day, she asked me to share my tips for a stress free picnic, check out my contribution if you are looking for a super easy idea for your weekend.

Have an amazing weekend! 

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