Daily Prompt: Opposite Day
If you normally write non-fiction, post a photo. If you normally post images, write fiction. If you normally write fiction, write a poem. If you normally write poetry, draw a picture.(New) photographers, artists, poets: show us OPPOSITE.
This is a picture I took in Seattle in March. I love the way the lights dance with the pavement at nightfall, it created something special.
Every mix tape tells a story. Put them together, and they add up to the story of life.” ― Rob Sheffield, Love is a Mix Tape
We all know that Video killed the Radio Star but the murder of the mixed tape was swift and malicious. Society killed the mixed tape and society should be ashamed!
Many of my young memories are tied to the production, giving, receiving and listening to the mixed tape. In the good times, bad times, sad times and fast times, in every season, for every reason we could count on the mixed tape to help express our feelings.
I am about to watch Perks of being a Wallflower for the first time and I hear there is a mixed tape scene so I am excited for that. In the meantime I called my husband to see if the mixed tape I made for him had any impact on our budding relationship fifteen years ago? Some strange man answered and said he found the phone on the ground. Groan!! I should have asked the stranger with my husbands cell phone his thoughts on the mixed tape but he sounded a little scattered.
I LOVE the part in No Strings Attached when Ashton Kutcher makes the period mix for Emma. BRILLIANT!!
The Actual Period Mix
1. “Evenflow” – Pearl Jam
2. “The Tide Is High” – Blondie
3. “Red Red Wine” – UB40
4. “Sunday Bloody Sunday” – U2
5. “I’ve Got The World On A String” – Frank Sinatra
6. “Muddy River” – Johnny Rivers
7. “Bleeding Love” – Leona Lewis
8. “Here Comes The Flood” – Peter Gabriel
9. “Red Rain” – Peter Gabriel
10. “Waterfalls” – TLC
11. “Red Red Rose” – The Weepies
12. “Red Tide” – Neko Case
13. “Why Does It Always Rain On Me” – Travis
14. “I Love You, Period” – Dan Baird
15. “Just A Girl” – No Doubt
16. “Here Comes The Rain” – Eurythmics
17. “Everybody Hurts” – R.E.M.
18. “Stormy Pinkness” – They Might Be Giants
19. “Time To Flow” – D-Nice
20. “Blood Is Thicker Than Water” – Wyclef Jean featuring The Product G&B
Guys this is some good thinking!
I am off in search of retribution for Mixed Tapes everywhere. Over and out 
Yes that’s right I said it, any jackass can do it, even me. I used to think that gardening was reserved for people with a special and sought after “green thumb”
I always envied the blooms of my grandmothers flowers. Especially the wild pink roses with that intoxicating scent that whispered summer.
I convinced my younger cousins that though we may never have “green thumbs” we could be the producers of great perfume. Armed with the spirit of the young, crumbled wild roses from the bushes that lined Grammy Millers lane, her plastic pepsi cups and some tap water we were passionate about capturing that earthy, heady smell for all to enjoy. I am quite certain our parents didn’t share in our enthusiasm but Grammy Miller graciously held out her wrist batch after batch to test it, told us it smelled glorious and encouraged our thriving ambitions.
Years later when my mom started gardening I would help her weed but took very little interest otherwise except to casually appreciate the beauty or smell of her blooms. I would often make fun of her for no longer taking pictures of her children but taking countless pictures of her flowers (we do turn into our mothers right!)
When we bought our first home I was excited to build on the landscaping that was started but it turned out to be a dying, overgrown mess. We opted that first year to clean up only and as a quick fix to the fast growing country weeds we put a thick plastic sheet down and mulched over top around the hedges in the front beds. This proved to be a nightmare when we attracted a den of snakes that would mingle underneath the plastic where it was toasty warm, slither across my walkway and get inside my front door. I had a huge property that would have been a gardeners dream but my fear of snakes paralyzed me from ever attempting to enjoy it.
We bought our house in Edmonton a couple of summers ago. They had a vegetable garden planted and mature fruit trees and herbs but very little perennials. The difference between perennials and annuals always confused me and it now confuses my daughters. They are anxious for the quick color fix that annuals bring but in my advancing age I think there is more to learn from sustenance and longevity and it has been a fun lesson in patience for all of us.
Alas my love of house plants spilled over to the outdoors. I actually have some indoor tropicals that I move outside in the summer, it strengthens them and sparks a fall/winter growth spurt.
I had a daydream one day about a rose garden path, or it may have been an envious longing while looking at a gardeners magazine my husband bought me to read during a long road trip.
I was told by countless people that roses were difficult but my childhood love of roses and my lack of good sence prevailed. I did however not want to spend a lot of money in case my venture failed miserably. I opted for bare root roses which had no foliage whatsoever. I started them on a windowsill in late April. I planted them after the lost frost, using our own rich soil, some compost and a little peat moss. I planted the roses a little lower then the rootball to keep them warm and put beside each one a fertilizer spike from Rona. Each day I filled my coffee press with warm water, leaving my used coffee grinds in, I stirred and watered my roses with them. Most of them bloomed that first year in July. Being an accidental gardener I didn’t cut them back or cover them in time and when I came back from my late October vacation we had already had two snowfalls. I just crossed my fingers and they all came back except one.
When my granddaughter Gracie was born I bought her her own rose bush. I tended the young root rose inside till after last frost. It didn’t occur to me not to plant the bush in the same location as the failed bush or at least to use new soil. I am admittedly not a girl with a “green thumb” just a girl with a garden spade and a dream.
The rose seemed to shock immediately. It’s delicate limbs turned from brown to black. My initial thought was to yank it but because I had labeled it Gracies rose I wanted to dedicate some time to it. Daily I cut back a tiny bit more of the limbs. I scratched the bottom close to the root and noticed green beneath the surface so I felt hopeful. Twice a day I fed Gracies rose bush strong black coffee and I am proud to say that she is doing well. I am so excited to see her bloom next year.
My daughter and I planted the other side of the garden path this year with beautiful pink drift roses and lavender. This year I will cut them all back and cover them. I figure if I can do really well with minimal effort why not up the ante?
I urge anyone who appreciates a nice garden to try your hand at gardening. I find myself planning next year and for years down the road. To call me a gardener would insult actual gardeners. I am just a girl who would rather plant and tend flowers then do laundry.
It is very satisfying to watch a plant erupt from underground to full bloom, raised by the motherly love of me and the sun. Where nature meets nurture.
Happy gardening friends!
I posted this last year on our tenth wedding Anniversary, I cannot believe another year has passed. 11 married years and it was a better year then the last. I think we learned a lot about ourselves that allows us to be better people and be better to each other. I wanted to share it again because it will always be relevant and a little video I made to celebrate 11 years. I made it to seem like it was a time capsule being looked at in the future.
Kirk is away till the end of the month so I hope he sees this and knows how much I miss him. Cheers to many more years.
xo
Michelle
I am feeling pretty nostalgic waiting for Kirk to come home and celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary so I thought I would share some things that I have learned…Marriage is hard, from way back in the Cave Man days when men clubbed you over the head and dragged you back to their cave it is unnatural to assume two people can live in peace and harmony all the time. Marriage requires work and upkeep, people will maintain their houses and vehicles but forget to maintain their marriage. To Error is human, to forgive divine. The minute you say “I would never”…you will! Fill your life with memories not things. Fun and laughter are fuel for a marriage. A marriage requires two people, you only become one in the eyes of the government, retain your individuality. If you truly love someone your heart will be broken a million times, but each time it gets stronger and great strength will get through this crazy world.
LIVE, LOVE, LAUGH, DARE, CRY….FEEL EVERYTHING!!
IN A NEW POST CREATED SPECIFICALLY FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE A PICTURE TAKEN DURING THE GOLDEN HOUR.
This picture was taken on our recent trip to the West Kootenays, in a little place called Faulkier, British Columbia. This is the lakefront at a 100 acre orchard nestled in the woods along the Arrow Lakes. I caught a picture just as the last bit of daylight was retreating into the summer evening sky.
http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/07/12/the-golden-hour/#more-31440
Dancing in the rain! 