goodwill to all :)

hope your day is filled with blessings,   

hope your heart is filled with love 

merry Christmas to you and yours!

traditions :)

traditions begin without knowing...

they start out little, not knowing they are destined to hold that big spot in our hearts that we call 'traditions'

you can't create them, you can only recognize them

yesterday, joey and i realized we have created some new Christmas traditions.

it was a lovely moment, recognizing that history still happens 

after years - thirty-plus together and many more, prior to 'us' -  

christmas eve meant big family gatherings, hors d'ouevres, laughter, noise, presents, love and tight schedules

we tried to keep that going after 2008 but it never fell into place like we'd all hoped

let go, marie

move forward, marie :)

softly, i heard it at first

but it's louder now

almost a scream :)

so together, joey and i, we will make a special christmas eve dinner

we will set the table (big deal!)

and then we will relax 

together

we've done this since 2010 but it never seemed like a tradition before

it seemed like the absence of one...

but i realize in the wisdom of my old age, my 60's (lol),

this is what we do on Christmas Eve 

and we love it

it is us, it is special 

and it is tradition 

merry Christmas eve to us all, 

hope your day is filled with something special, 

and may we all recognize 'special' when we see it

joy to the world

almost...

new decade in my life...

new family dynamic...

new traditions, new home, new surroundings...

missing the old ways, my family, the different milestones that marked the journey to Christmas...

this year has been one marked by moving forward, leaving the past behind.  in so many ways.

some days, i shook off yesterday like a madman

other days, i believe i clung

christmas is no different

so as the year closes in on it's last day, 

i am going to let the past surround me 

and then, 

one more time,

 i will let go.  

i will cross the bridge to 2015, 

to the silver sixties, to the second wind in my life 

with a big let go.  

some will see the change in me, some will never know

i am almost there

a l m o s t . . .

holiday spirit

memories of holidays never included the ocean before.  

it is a beautiful place to spend december.  

but it does not yet feel like Christmas. 

so much of holidays past were driven by retail photography craziness, 

along with frantic rushing to shop in whatever few minutes i could find.  

now, we don't buy presents for each other nor do we work.  

our family is pretty far away.  

it has not felt holiday-ish yet...

so we find Christmas where we can and create new memories and traditions.   

and we consciously count our blessings

we are together.

we are happy and healthy and stress-free. 

 we have Christmas right here on cape cod

 it is our place, 

a link in its own way to our past and and to our future.

turns out, the Christmas spirit IS everywhere

softly changing...

i saw a post on facebook where, 

if you put milk in a saucer, add a few drops of food coloring and then a few drops of dish soap, 

beautifully abstract changes would take place as the soap displaced the colors.  

i think it was meant as a child's experiment 

but it looked fascinating so i tried it.

 

 

 

the changes were sometimes dramatic and other times, subtle

 

the saucer became a tiny world 

of fantasy and movement and dancing colors

 

a little saucer of art and magic :)

awareness

some days, i just wait.

i do stuff, i move around, i take rides 

but i know i am waiting.

for inspiration...

for a moment that turns the day from mundane to meaningful.

i am not always patient.  

but if i stay engaged and aware, 

i am always rewarded.

tequila sunset...

in my mind, retirement was always synonymous with freedom

once i didn't have to work, or worry about work, i would be free to do whatever i felt like doing.

and so far, that's been true.

however, now that i am almost 2 years into it, i have developed a problem with staying engaged and active and interested in all the possibilities. 

so, in an effort to keep my butt off the couch, i put my butt in the driver's seat 

and went for a sunset picture ride yesterday.

i was actually looking to return to the amazing magical feeling of last winter 

when the snowy owls kept me actively engaged for months on end.  

instead of snowy owls, i found an empty tequila bottle.

it was left on the barrier wall on the edge of the beach parking lot. 

at first, i was annoyed that someone left their litter behind.  

and then i realized it was a very cool looking bottle.

and that it might look good if i shot it where it was 

but from a low angle so the sunset was behind it. 

and it did. 

i was happy, it was a special moment

 and when i got home and looked at the image, i smiled

a pretty picture always makes me smile. 

this morning, however, as i looked at this image, i saw more than just a pretty picture.

i saw a way to look at this stage in my life.  

the sunset years

i can be annoyed at other people's impact on me and my environment.  

or i can see it as an opportunity to see things i may not have seen.  

this beautiful bottle, on the ledge, in the golden glow of sunset - i would never have seen this if not for someone else.  

i can sit at home, on my warm couch, with my husband (who begged me to stay home).  

or i can go see what i can see.  

to wander and ponder at will, no schedule, has been a lifelong quest of mine.  

to sit on my warm couch has not been a lifelong quest.  

i need to leave the comfort zone. 

now today this minute. 

wander then ponder.  but don't neglect the wander.

and then tequlia.

 the wild stuff.  

i need to cultivate some wild stuff.  

warm couches, cozy fires and comfort food are all wonderful and i am lucky to have that.  

but i need to cultivate some wildness to make the golden years a growing stage of life.  

i do not want to slow down or lay low.  

i want to expand and grow and glow like a tequila sunset.  

right down to the last drop.  

late to the party :)

i just found society 6.   

apparently, i am WAY late to that party.  

there are bazillions of other photographers and artists on there.  

how did i miss this?  it is the most fun i've had in a long time :)    

i can post an image, sized appropriately, 

and immediately see it as a tote bag, a throw pillow, a phone case etc. 

for a girl who loves instantaneous impact, this is as good as it gets. 

 i can sell these things and don't have to make them or ship them.  

i also can buy these things.  

holy moly.  

 i am wishing for cold rainy days so i can sit on my couch and play. and spend money :)

 

 link - http://society6.com/mariegradypalcic/heartlight-ajb_bag#26=197

 

link - http://society6.com/mariegradypalcic/tree-tops_pillow#25=193&18=126

 

link - http://society6.com/mariegradypalcic/a-book-addiction_mug#27=199

 

link - http://society6.com/mariegradypalcic/fading-hydrangea-blossom_iphone-case#52=377

 

link - http://society6.com/mariegradypalcic/tiny-pink-petals_pillow#25=193&18=126

love...hate?

i have had a love/hate relationship with fall over the years.

it is a time of glorious but fading beauty 

and it makes me tense, to some degree...

i feel pressured to appreciate it all before it goes away.  

nature can be a tough teacher...

time and time again, it makes me understand and appreciate THIS moment...

today. 

right now.

i don't want to miss a thing...

and at the end of the day,

i learn again, deep down in my soul,

that even though this too shall pass,

the wonder that is winter 

has a beauty all it's own.

and that, too, shall pass...

tough on equipment...

a week ago this morning, i had a camera malfunction.  

or more accurately, a human malfunction...

i was out taking photos with my sister in albany ny.  

 

everything was just beautiful - dramatic skies, colorful trees, rolling hills and bubbling creeks.  

we ended up on a bridge by a reservoir.

i  always carry two cameras - one with a wide angle lens, one with a 300mm zoom.   

i had one around my neck and one on my shoulder.  

as we walked back to the car, i was digging in my pocket for my keys 

and forgot to put my arm through the strap on my shoulder.  

in an instant, the camera slid down my shoulder and my 55-300mm lens went nose first into the road.  

it broke right off.  it was gone.  

in a split second, i felt like i went blind.   

i silently, with my heart in my throat, bent down, picked up the pieces and went to the car.  

i had to go home.  

it was a long four hour ride back to the cape.  

the radio was off, my cell phone was quiet and my heart was sick.

when i got to the house, joey met me at the door with a silent hug.  

then he took the pieces and a wrench and went in the other room.  

when he came back, he handed me my camera - intact.  

amazingly, it still worked!  

it felt like a rebirth of some sort, like there is life after death.    

i hate that i lost the lens.  it was like losing a friend. i felt like i let it down.

this lens was not the one i wanted when i bought it 3-4 yrs ago.  

i was replacing another broken lens - a 70-300mm but they were unavailable so i settled for the 55-300.

it was a workhorse.  and i put it through a lot. 

i went out on monday to find a replacement.  i was able to get the 70-300mm this time and for that, i am grateful.  i also have huge gratitude to that 55-300.  

it was a beauty and gave me sights i would never have seen without it.

rest in peace, big lens, RIP...

 

p-town art :)

yesterday, we drove up to provincetown and dropped off my 3 images for an art show i am in 10/31-11/7.  

it is a thrill to be included in the provincetown art world - a town that, since childhood, felt like the place where artists go to "art".  i am longing to call my mother and tell her. instead, i have to trust that she knows. 

my mother was a fabulous painter and i remember p-town as an artist mecca.  she seemed like a different, more complete, person when we went there.  i remember the artists along the main street in town and remember imagining her sitting in those booths, painting.  

the booths are gone but the galleries and the artists in town remain. 

and the connection to her spirit - the wilder side of her - also remains :)

i am proud to be included in this small way, in this artist community.  :)

and i know she is proud as well.  

i love you, miss you, mom, more than words can say . . .

sweet autumn stuff

it has been a pretty fall.

crazy busy for about a month and then a total slowdown....

glad to have the time to stop and look around :)

bittersweet and beach grass together.  i love cape cod in the fall :)

and misty mornings on the cranberry bogs...

 and leaves. lots of leaves.

fall is currently my favorite season :)

 

all textures from Kim Klassen

before and after

i love photography

i also love paintings

combining the two loves is an art all in itself

i now love painted photography :)

for this image, i first opened it in snapseed to straighten the horizon and sharpen the details.

then i brought it into Photoshop (elements 9) and cloned out some distracting grass in the bottom corner 

and a branch in the top right. 

i added a layer of Kim Klassen's texture (KK_99) at 35% soft light and saved that image. 

 i again went into snapseed, added some drama and grunge, and saved again :)

Finally, back in photoshop, i added a texture layer from Melissa Gallo's Painted Texture (Confetti Canvas). 

i kept that in normal mode, then painted some of the texture layer off.   

i loved the way it changed the image, and gave it such a vintage feel :)

here is the original image...

desktop calendar for august...

may your august be filled with light and peace...

"From within or from behind, 

a light shines through us upon things, 

and makes us aware that we are nothing, 

but the light is all." 

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

feel free to use as a calendar on your computer desktop -

just right click on the image, 

select Set as Desktop Background from the drop down menu and

you have a calendar at your fingertips...

i post one every month HERE if you are interested  :)

cape cod light

soft air...

light and color...

peace at the end of the day...

happy place

this carnival was set up in a mall parking lot.

even though it was totally empty, it didn't feel deserted like i suppose it could have...

instead, it felt like it was readying itself for an onslaught of happy kids making memories...

i was the only one there, i wandered all over and fell in love with the little happy place :)