Little Things...

...Thursday

My son,Austin, loves these and can't wait till I'm done shooting them

My teeth hurt just lookin' at 'em

So....tell me...

Do you eat them, use them to decorate with 

or 

shoot them?

Happy (candy corn) shooting!

xo

Kelly

Playing over at Kim's

LittlebyLittle

today

Coming...

...to terms

Is it just me that can fall head over heels in love with great finds?

This beauty came to me by pure coincidence & as the day progressed certain memories will just be attached to her home coming.

 I was on my way to do some errands when I started noticing estate sale signs. Not being too far out of my way I followed them to the house. The second room I walked into had 2 tables of the most beautiful vintage camera collection I'd seen assembled in one place. The owner had quite an eye for beauty. I quickly scooped up the one that stood out~checking off one teal camera on my mental wish list of props & cameras I want to own. I spent time admiring all the cameras but decided this was it. The price tag said $20~a price I would have easily paid if I wasn't  personally working on negotiating skills. (something that makes me cringe) Another woman, overheard me ask the estate agent  if the prices were fixed and she directed me over to man who'd know. The woman and I walked over to the man, I asked if the prices were fixed. He asked how many I was buying."Just the one" the woman & I said in unison. The agent blurted 2 for $30 motioning at both of our cameras. The woman & both looked at each other  with just a moment to assess each other as possible allies looked back at the agent and we blurted out "SOLD!"

We worked out our money and off I went. I never did get my errands done! Nope, I was already thinking about the photos I wanted to take with the fading late afternoon light.

I carefully picked and placed pictures of my dad from a box of photos my grandmother had given me & started snapping. How young he was to be a first time dad. His whole life in front of him.

 My brother called in the middle of this delivering the news I'd been dreading for 2 years. Dad was being released from the hospital in a few days and that hospice would be getting involved. 

It is hard to write this as those words echo in my head. 

I was done shooting for the day, left everything in its place and cried. 

The next morning, I looked at my set up. Something inside me sparked. I went and picked fresh bougainvillea, and started shooting. To some the sad news attached to an object would be a bad omen. But to me? 

To me this little charmer is a beautiful token and reminder of how much I my love my Dad & for the little gifts of the heart he has unwittingly bestowed upon me. 

 For one...his love of photography.

Happy (memories) snapping

xo

Kelly

Around here...

...don't let these photos fool you

While a lot of you are enjoying the changing seasons...

...here in Southern California, we're bracing for a heat wave

(insert scrunchie face emoji sticking out his tongue)

Last weekend, I got inspired to pick up my camera and make a spontaneous run out to a local farm stand...Looking for Fall!

I'm not usually spontaneous-but I was glad I went with my gut.

I have to find fall anyway I can...

...I hope it's soon.

The bees were happy

I was sweet on this guy!

Hurry fall.

You'll find me over at Kim's today.

Happy (finding fall) snapping!
xo
Kelly

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Blogging Bits...

...post promt 

My blogging journey has been a bit erratic lately but I miss being here when I step away. So when Barb over at KeepingWithTheTimes  created a free mini-series on blogging that is "designed to help motivate and inspire"~ I jumped on board.

 Our first prompt is to write a post on the story behind our blog. 

I started blogging in June of 2011. Just A Click Away was formed after unplugging for months from everything internet and photography related. I had allowed myself to get sucked into the fantasy side of the world wide web and became what everybody wanted me to be to the point I was anything but authentic. It was a dark time that I am not proud of but it is part of my journey & how I got to the place I am in now.
I unplugged, regrouped and started fresh with much trepidation.
The only thing I knew for certain was I wanted to share my passion for photography but needed a different platform that would work for me.
I slowly started finding photographer's blogs that offered prompts and link ups.
It felt good to shoot again.
 Pretty soon names became familiar & I felt a sense of community forming.

The name of my blog just sort of came about. The words spoke to me with no fancy fanfare. However, my tag line "where the little things make up the big picture" does represent my point of view. 

(No pun intended!) 

As I was detoxing and forcing myself to slow down, I really started to pay attention to the details in everything I did. The ordinary became extraordinary. Pretty soon all my senses were being used which  unconsciously guided me to be more open to receive these gifts I had overlooked for so long. There  really was so much more than the BIG picture...literally and figuratively! I wanted to be sure I captured those tiny moments. Those words stuck and have been my mantra ever since.

Life is forging ahead...and with it comes change. With change comes new opportunities. New opportunities need an open mind and willing heart. My journey is unique onto myself. I will be mindful not to compare my tiny space to others just as their journey is unique onto themselves. Whatever happens I am here to stay for whoever is interested &

 I'm glad you're here as part my blogging journey.

Happy (find your space) snapping!

xo

Kelly 

On a wing...

...and a prayer

By definition-"with only the slightest chance of success."

That about sums up my Monarch season and Monarchs in general. The mama Monarch who laid her eggs this summer had been infected with the OE parasite and transmitted the spores to her offspring. While she is busy fluttering around the milkweed and laying her eggs, she unwittingly scatters the spores that lay in wait between her scales. Thus infecting the caterpillar that eats the leaves and die a terrible death. I stopped counting the dead. 

  However...

...four survived~3 males and a female. The odds that Monarchs survive at all is truly a miracle in its own right.

Everyday, sometimes twice, I go "aphid squishing" with my trusty squirt bottle to rid the milkweed of these parasites that suck the life out of the host plant. It's a labor of love for these delicate creatures that I've come to have a one way connection with. On a recent aphid squash, I discovered 5 critters. I don't even have cautious optimism for these little ones...but I always hope that they've arrived at a good time of year when their chances of survivor are slightly higher. 

I'll keep you posted.

Happy (nature loving) snapping!

xo

Kelly

Finding my...

...voice...again

The old saying "use it or lose it" keeps rattling around in my head these days. I seemed to have lost my motivation, my purpose, and my voice for blogging. Not just blogging but photography and my creative drive. I even know when all of that enthusiasm for these things I love began to take a nose dive. Before my surgery, I was miserable. I had no energy.  I was gaining weight because the fibroid growing inside me was sitting on my sciatica. That made walking painful and so therefore was out of the question. There's a whole list of issues I was experiencing but want to keep things kinda short and sweet. I was losing confidence in everything I did...so I just didn't do anything.
There was one beautiful moment, about 3 weeks after my surgery that spoke to me and would have been a beautiful post at that time. It was about acceptance and so relevant to finding my voice and feel it's a great jumping-off point that will hopefully help ignite my creative mojo. Better late than never!

So, like I said, about 3 weeks after my surgery, I was more than annoyed that our whole summer was a bust due to my recovery. I was still walking something akin to the Hunchback of Notre Dame, parts of my belly were still so numb and swollen---but, I was starting to have better days. I got off the couch to get the blood circulating and Frankie asked to see my scar, as he often did to see the healing progress. I obliged. Upon looking down at the red, lumpy, and swollen scar that seemed to be my new abdominal landscape, said something pitiful and self loathing. To my surprise, Frankie kissed my scar and told me he accepts my new landscape and was perfectly ok with the way it was & how ever it might look in the end.  My heart swelled 10x its normal size.
From that exact moment, I was done feeling sorry feeling sorry for myself. I accepted whatever new landscape I was due to have but vowed to get back into shape & possibly have some say at what I wanted that scar to look and feel like. I'm also being kind to myself and allowing myself time to slowly get back into the things I love. If that wasn't enough, I was reading Barb's blog and she's offering a "Blogging Bits and Bytes." You can read all about it HERE . Wanna know the best part? It's free!  Thank you Barb...It was like you were inside my head!

...and what does tea have to do with any of this? Absolutely nothing...but I think it's prettier than my scar!! (lol)

Happy (kickstarting) shooting!

xo

Kelly

Sunday...

...Sundries

"my week in review'

I've got a few fun things to celebrate this week-

I guess I'll start with the obvious and say I wasn't quite prepared with the whole idea of recovery from my hysterectomy. Never having surgery before, what did I know? When Dr's say 6-8 week recovery, you better believe it's going to take at least that. Thursday will be 3 weeks so I'm almost, kinda half way there! I'm pretty proud of this 51 year old body and am healing nicely from what I can see. Did I tell you I had a cantaloupe sized fibroid removed? Well, I'm celebrating that thing gone! (funny story in time about "him") I've been in constant pain and misery for over a year as it was growing into my girlie parts, and subsequently all my organs and back nerves were just being smooshed and bamboozled into each other. 

   

I'm also celebrating the first month in 38 years of not having a period.

 I don't think that one has sunk in yet! 

Yeah...so this is fun. Twenty20

is a place to enter photo challenges, and sell your photos in a convenient app you download from itunes. I sold two July 4th photos in one day. Believe me, I wont quit my day job~I am just tickled that somebody liked my photos enough to buy them. 

 I am celebrating daily tasks that are tackled and accomplished. They were such no brainers before, and I know they will be again.

I'm happy to be here...with you all.

Linking with Barb today.

Happy (getting back to life) snapping!

xo

Kelly