1. I think, despite her being sick, my mom's visit went just the way we needed it to. We sat a lot. That's okay. We watched movies and baseball and Moonrise Kingdom (my mom loved it). We went to the beach a few times, but it was a sitting at the beach kind of thing rather than a body surfing/boogie boarding at the beach kind of thing. Of course we made her bake. I was not at my best this visit, and I feel bad about that, but sometimes when you're feeling blue, a visit from your mom is just what you need. My dad is up next week.

2. I think I need to pay more attention to my Pinterest boards. Honestly, I'm embarrassed to link to them, they're so lame. I told my blogging class a few weeks ago that it's impossible to keep up with everything, and for me, Pinterest is the ball that gets dropped (and ironing). But. I have things I want to keep track of, dreams and ideas, and you people get it, what better place, right? I mean have you seen Annie's boards? Or Sue's? Clearly I have my work cut out for me. So how do you guys do it? What's your Pinterest work flow? Do you spend time pinning, pin as you go or both? How do you keep all the pieces and parts organized? I'm dying to know.

3. I think I'm going to be adding a few pieces to SPL in the coming weeks. One component will be a link to the blog I use for my blogging class. We're going for round two this fall, and I want to have that blog nice and tight. Right now, the blog is called The Artful Blogger Class (named after the name of the class, which is so named because we're teaching in an art museum!). To me that feels clunky and not minimal. I like things minimal and unclunky, in case you haven't noticed. So what to call this blog? Should it have the word "blog" in the title? Or the word "class?" Does it have to? Any thoughts or suggestions for me?

4. I think, speaking of blogs, we clearly have some kinks to work out around here. Are you guys still having trouble commenting? If so, please drop me a note via the contact page and tell me exactly what happens when you try to comment so I can get the awesome folks at Squarespace support on the case.

5. I think that I need to spend more time reading photography books. Or creativity books in general. My reading time is limited, generally, to right before bed, but I could easily find a way to commit more time. Right now I'm reading Photographically Speaking, by David duChemin. I borrowed it from my friend Jackie, but I'm thinking I might want to own it. Here's a little gem I probably should print out and hang on my wall.

I believe in the power of shooting intuitively in much the same way that I believe a jazz musician (I'm listening to Miles Davis's Kind of Blue right now.) plays so much, develops the muscle memory required to play his instrument without thought, and internalizes the language of music so well that the path between his emotions (intent) and his expression seems uncluttered by so much as a single conscious thought. That's flow. It's a magical place to be, but it doesn't happen because of your genetics or talent ... It comes from putting in the time.

So Cal went sailing last week. It was a wonderful experience for him on many levels, and one that I wish he'd had the opportunity to take advantage of earlier (as in, a few years ago). Thing is, this program didn't exist until recently. Sail Nauticus, run by our neighbor Bill, is new to Norfolk and is already taking our sweet city by storm.

The summer program works by combining open enrollment campers (like Callum) with city groups that support disadvantaged youth between the ages of 10-14. Its mission is to not only get kids on the water, but to use maritime skills, sailing and plain old science to help these kids gain leadership and life skills. It's pretty laudable, actually, and we've been impressed from top to bottom.

For Callum, it was all about the water. He says he could stay on the water all day. This has always been true for our boy, and I believe it even more so now. The camp consisted of half days on the water and half days doing other stuff, and when he wasn't in the boat, Cal was itching to be back there.

On the last day, parents were invited to come down to the waterfront to watch their kids out on the water. It was like a Pirates of the Caribbean battle with water guns, coolers and hoses! We ran into one of the camp volunteers there, a young man named Brandon, who had such a light and shining spirit. I felt that if these were the men and women my son was spending the week with AND he was learning to sail, well, this was nothing but a good thing.

And if it helped my son; if he came out of those boats so much more confident, how can it not help but do something for the kids who are starting with so much less? I hope so. What a difference it could make.

five things, august 9

fair winds and following seas {life}