A moment of rest

In our busy lives, it's often hard for us to take a moment of rest. Between work schedules, school, housework, homework and a multitude of other things - life gets crazy!
I recently spotted this quote: "Life should be simple - not unchallenging, just not so complicated."
I couldn't have said it better myself. 

Recently, these "critters" were spotted at the house taking a breather:

The moth was stationary for almost a whole day. It was of substantial size compared to most moths. It sat in one spot while I took these pictures - only opening its wings slightly to show off the striped edges. It was gone by the next morning. (I hope it moved on to live a longer life and it didn't become bat food).

The praying mantis was perched on the edge of the porch - guarding the yard. A tiny overseer of the world around him. He was very alert and turned to look at me while I was taking his picture. He moved only slightly (to the opposite edge of the post). Scott was standing in the yard and asked for my camera. He captured the praying mantis staring at him intently - as if he was wondering what Scott was doing (or maybe he knew and was smiling for the camera).

These creatures seemed to be taking in life's little moments - never sure when it will be their last. Maybe we could all take a lesson from these guys.

Until next time - It doesn't matter where you choose to take your moment, in the sun or the shade, as long as you take it.

A perfect Saturday

Well, if you read my previous blog post, you know I had quite an adventure last Saturday...and it all started with the Farmer's Market and Indie Craft Parade.

The Greenville downtown area is the perfect place to park and walk from one end to the other. What a better place to have a Farmer's Market on a Saturday morning? The sun was shining and the temperatures have started to cool down. It's the perfect tease before Fall in the South.

The Farmer's Market has more than 50 vendors who line the streets every Saturday morning from May to October. It opens at 8 a.m., but don't worry...you can grab a coffee and breakfast while you are there.

Here's a quick look at the items along the way to Indie Craft Parade:

The beautiful display of peppers at the Lanhere Farm table (grown in Taylors).

Sunflowers for a sunny morning.

A variety of jarred goodies.

Honey for sale.

Colorful eggplants in a crate.

After enjoying the sites, sounds and tastes of the Farmer's Market, we made our way to Huguenot Mill for the Indie Craft Parade. It was a pleasure to see some old faces and to experience the new. Here's a look at the things we saw and some of my personal favorites:

Lily Pottery

Lazymuse

Maie Dae

Illyria Pottery

Booklaces from Illyria Pottery

Once Again Sam

Curiosities from Once Again Sam

Merciful Hearts Farm

Shed Labs

I also spent time talking to several other shops I would like to mention. My sweet ladies at Owlette Collective, Jason Waggoner at GREENville Books, yummy homemade marshmallows at Malo, Cindy Jantz from The Herb Garden, and last but certainly not least, Joseph Bradley from Joseph Bradley Studios.

We had a great time at the Farmer's Market and Indie Craft Parade this year. As always, we will be back next year to see what the crafters have in store for us. Please take the time to visit these shops and support the local community. There are many talented artisans who would appreciate your help.

Until next time - Happy Crafting or what ever it is you enjoy!

Shiny "old" toy

Well, I must say...this past weekend was quite an adventure!
I spent my Saturday morning in downtown Greenville at the Indie Craft Parade, followed by an afternoon of competitive college football (USC vs. Georgia - Congrats USC!) and then I was off to see Eye Empire play at the Handlebar.

On Sunday afternoon, I went to meet up with a girl from Garden Daisies, an Etsy shop, who was selling this gem. It's an Argus C3, a rangefinder camera produced from 1939 to 1966 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. All of the knobs and gadgets make this a very scientific-looking camera and a complete beauty to me! Since the camera was mass-produced and has been credited for making 35mm photography "popular", it's not a collector's item. I'm not concerned because I'm not looking to get rid of it anyway : )

I took the camera to a local photo shop yesterday and had them take a look at it. (I was having a hard time opening the back of the camera and didn't want to tear anything up). The seller had told me the camera had a roll of Kodachrome film inside!
If you are not familiar with the Kodachrome story - check out this link and view the slideshow (plus, it's a good read!). The Last Roll of Kodachrome
Sure enough - the Kodachrome roll was inside - although, the film was loose from the canister. Still a pretty cool thing to see. I can't wait to get this thing cleaned/oiled up and take a few shots.
I'll keep everyone posted on how it goes. Wish me luck!

Mail art joy and (almost) sorrow

I recently asked one of my new found friends in Canada if she would like to do a mail art swap with me. I have been enamored with Jeannine Saylor's blog Saylor Made for a while now. She has beautiful control over watercolor (which I have never quite mastered). I sent this lovely package to her and she featured it in her Mail Art Monday blog segment. I can't wait to see what Jeannine has in store for my return package. (I secretly hope there's a watercolor in there).

This past weekend, a long awaited package arrived from Jessica Gowling at Nature's My Friend. She sent this package to me around the same time I posted mine to Jeannine. We both had our doubts about whether it would show...but finally it did!
 
The package contained: a beautiful altered page (incredible!), a bear print (with a lovely handwritten message on back), two postcards (one a poster design and the other a clever photograph), two notes cards that read..."Let's talk about How Fabulous you think I am" and two cut-outs (one of an amazing owl and the other of the Easy Slider snow sled - "King of the Hill").

Jessica is a pro at putting these packages together. I hope my return package will be just as enjoyable to her. And next time...I'll give the post service a bit longer before I lose faith!