town | snowy central park

when i look back on photos of snow, the atmosphere seems so lovely. a sublime blend of tranquility and fun. but, at the time they're being taken, i'm encouraging scott to hang in there as we seem to be walking for miles while thinking 'just get this over with'. the problem with that is snow is so damn photogenic, especially in b&w, so we miss it when it's gone.

this weekend we hope to see gallery shows featuring photos by vivian maier, flickr friend trish mayo, and check-up on what charlie & his home health aide, shakira, have been up to. enjoy your weekend!

xo, cindy

life | good news

thank you so much for your caring & encouraging comments and emails regarding charlie! they made us feel so good, especially scott who now has a heightened sense of awareness of the importance of taking care of ourselves, too.

scott took charlie to the geriatric psychiatrist on thursday who gave him a test and he did really well. he answered 24 out of 26 questions correctly (not sure we could) and the doctor said many people in their 80s develop symptoms of dementia. the doctor prescribed two medications for charlie, and so far, he is a different person! it's like night & day talking with him, and thank god (and i do mean god) for the giants winning the game because he loves football.

so, onward on upward as we go. there was a small snowstorm this weekend and fortunately charlie lives near central park so we got to trapse around in it. today, it's in the 50s and the snow is all but forgotten.

xo, cindy

ps just as i figured out how to add the white frames to my photos really easily in lightroom, i decided not to use them at all. oy!

life | up in the air

scott's dad charlie was just diagnosed with dementia and i feel like our blog should take a break because it's overwhelming. i wrote a post about it, but can't press 'publish post' because the thought of not having this space makes me even more sad. so for now, even though i might only be around sporadically, it's all just up in the air and i'll see you when i see you.

xo, cindy

ps we walked past this wonderful installation hypergraphia: the cup drawings studio in the prow by gwyneth leech quite a few times without paying too much attention before aimee mentioned it on her blog. so glad she did because it is very cool.

life | bits & bobs

it's a nice day when i take a few minutes to make a proper cup of tea in the spirit of downton abbey (are you watching?). my favorite these days is the little dickens blend from bellocq with milk & honey.

i think my dentist & his wife are lonely because they keep having me come back for the slightest thing. it's trouble because on the way home i always stop to get something at a bakery like this chocolate peppermint cupcake from sprinkles.

brooklyn art library is so tempting for a collector who loves office supplies like this irresistible scotch tape dispenser, which seems right at home with our collection of red & white smalls.

enjoy the day!

xo, cindy

ps i've been meeting so many people who have known scott's father charlie for years and they all tell me what a great man he is. it's been tough going with him lately, so that's pretty awesome.

home | calendar display

i saw this idea in the january 2012 issue of martha stewart living and thought is was brilliant.

the aluminum ledge is a ticket holder used in restaurants by chefs to keep track of checks. marbles inside the track grab onto the notes (our stamp collection) without pins and the top is a perfect ledge for other things (the 2012 calendar i made on pinhole press). i bought mine from restaurant equipment solutions for a mere $7.50.

xo, cindy

ps thanks to asiye i'm starting a new 365-photo project where you post just one photo a week in this flickr group. here's my first one and it is bold. they also give weekly themes, but you only have until the end of january to join if you're interested.

life | focus, focus, focus

joy tanksley is a life coach and i really enjoy her inspirational monday morning spark videos. with the start of a new year, joy has a free audio download available where she shares her thoughts on the openness of intentions vs. the strictness of goals and i think it's great. she also discusses the difference between the things we can control vs. our power.

i don't really create resolutions, but for 2012 my intention is to improve my focus and i've put-up a reminder to keep that in mind. i won't get it right immediately, but improving the discipline of focus is something i can work on as my new 365-project.

xo, cindy

ps i wish dominique browning's post go where the love is was written years ago. her words are so true.

pps my tattly tattoo photo was featured as the daily click on shutter sisters and on tattly over the holidays. sweet!