once, i was a child, with a child’s playful spirit.

then, i thought i had to grow up and leave childhood behind, and so i forced myself to do so.

now, i am learning to play again, though it seems that part of me never forgot – she is the one who tells stories and builds summer houses for the faeries and goes on adventures to the mailbox and sings silly songs and plays (always, it is play) with her camera.

she is so very wise. i recognize that now.

{my attempt to capture 52 photos that represent trust – my word for 2011}.

this image reminds me of trust for a few reasons, one of which is that in order to take the photo, i had to trust that i had enough balance to dangle over a ledge while holding my camera below me while trying to take a photo and not drop my camera and not let the strap fall into the water.

i managed. barely.

because i am drawn to the chaos in these photos.

patterns! and color! wheeeeeeeee!

also, fall is clearly the best time of year to visit the waterfalls in the columbia river gorge.

i feel like i had a funny atlas story i was going to tell you, only in this moment, i cannot for the life of me remember it. oh well. instead, i thought i'd share another atlas song, sung to the tune of "oh my darling clementine".

oh, my darling. oh, my darling. oh, my darling atlas pup.

you're so sweet, and how i love you. love you so much, atlas pup.

brown he was and very furry and his tail was very small.

smelly feet and a wet no-ose, ears like velvet, yes there was.

oh, my darling. oh, my darling. oh, my darling atlas pup.

you're so sweet, and how i love you. love you so much, atlas pup.

“walking softly like a spider in the early morning”

– Brian Andreas :: StoryPeople

as you might know, i love stories.

i stumbled across a book titled “bedtime stories” while waiting for my sandwich at new seasons and was looking through the stories.

in a story titled “troll bridge” by neil gaiman, i read this:

‘Trolls can smell the rainbows, trolls can smell the stars,’ it whispered sadly. ‘Trolls can smell the dreams you dreamed before you were ever born. Come close to me and I’ll eat your life.’

i bought the book for that bit alone. i had to stop reading so i could put my hand on my heart and breathe in the goodness.

so far, i love the few stories i’ve read, including that one, but i keep going back to those words. over and over and over.

as a side note, i have decided that i really want to illustrate a story (or stories) someday. photographically and artistically, of course; clearly i am not an actual illustrator. with the right person and the right story – oh my goodness, the fun.

{my attempt to capture 52 photos that represent trust – my word for 2011}.

can you see the teeny-tiny raindrop?

there are oh-so-many things that i get excited about. i was thinking about one of them – beauty, something i want to talk more about – but then i got distracted by some of the other things.

like diet coke.

i mostly don't drink diet coke. i had to give it up when i decided to cut out artificial sweeteners. (that was a sad, sad day.) every once in a while, i treat myself to a can of it but unfortunately, now that i don't drink it, it's hard to drink it at all because the caffeine in it bothers me.

anyway, i was thinking about how much i love the treat of a can of (flat, cold) diet coke (with lime) and it made me think about the times you're in a restaurant and ask for a diet coke and they say, "is diet pepsi ok?" my response is a very sad face and a politely horrified "no, i'll just have water". what i am really thinking is, "of course it's not ok! they taste nothing alike! why would you ask such a foolish question?!"

speaking of diet coke, am i the only one who likes my diet coke flat and cold? i like to open the can and then leave it in the refrigerator and drink it hours later or even the next day, when the bubbles are all gone. it's the best way to drink it.

or pickles.

i love dill pickles. not sweet pickles. sweet pickles could be banned from the world and i would not be sorry. there is nothing that aggravates me more than when i see pickles and get excited and pile them on my sandwich or burger and then take a bite and they are sweet pickles and it is horrible.

dill pickles are excellent with peanut butter. really, peanut butter goes with everything, but it is especially good with dill pickles. if you are looking for a breakfast idea, might i suggest a piece of toast with peanut butter and dill pickle slices? you will thank me; i am sure of it.

i would also like to note that sandwich makers never put enough pickles on their sandwiches. pickles need to be piled on, like a little mountain. clearly i should run a sandwich shop. i could call it "the picklewich" and people like me would finally get enough pickles on their sandwiches.

(and no, this picture is totally not related. though now that i look at it after having written my post, i suppose it could resemble the bubbles in a diet coke or the green of a good dill pickle. clearly i am a genius picture picker.)

now i'm curious, what do you get excited about?

on tuesday, i took atlas for a walk at 7am because i needed to leave earlier than usual. he walked a few yards and went to the bathroom.

i continued on because, yay! a morning walk with my puppy!

atlas took a few steps. then, he stopped and gave me a look. the look said, "it is cold and dark and there is a still-warm bed calling my name. i already did what you wanted. why do you torment me so?"