Kat Eye Studio

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Let there be light

Love windows. Love windows with light coming through. Love windows with light coming through on a wood floor. Doesn’t this look peaceful? Doesn’t this look like what you want a living room to look like? I do. I want a comfy chair and a book and a blanket in that light. A cat on my lap. A pot of tea by my side. I can’t help it, when I see something like this, I just have to capture it. My own personal light when it’s dark outside.

What a crazy week this has been. It’s not work, that’s been reasonable, it’s this darn Italian driver’s license test! I’ve studied probably 15 hours or more in the last 7 days. Taken probably 50 or more practice tests. My passing rate is maybe 70-80% on average. The wonderful thing is that we can take the test in English. The horrible thing is that the English book has about half of the info that you can be tested on. So, I’m literally taking the tests to learn what I don’t know! If I’m lucky, I’ll get a test that has answers I know. If I’m not… well… I’ll be studying a lot more.

The test is tomorrow at 10am. Wish me luck!

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Just a Glimpse

A glimpse of the flowers, half hidden by shutters. A glimpse of color. I love this photo, another Burano image. Today it is sunny and -3C, the ground is frosty and I just needed something that said “warm and summery.” That’s the beauty of photos, they can take you to a different place and time if you want to go. You get to revisit places you’ve been or see places you’ve never been through someone else’s eyes.

Yesterday we got back from a great weekend in the Dolomites, the Alps up near Austria. I won’t have time to go through pics until this weekend, because this week is study week – my theory driver’s exam is on Friday. My practice tests have improved from passing 40% of the time to passing 60% of the time… but those still aren’t good odds. I’m off to make a pot of tea and to study!

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Finding the Quiet Places

Sometimes in our wandering, down a back alley, I spot something interesting. Some little scene, some spot of color. Something unexpected. I love this photo of a back alley in Burano. It’s not the color, which is all over Burano. It’s the not the architecture either. I think it’s the “looking in” from the outside aspect. Looking through the doorway, looking into the back alley you find this illuminated spot of color, this little peaceful courtyard. You could easily walk on by and miss it. It’s almost like it’s a secret, something the residents want all of us tourists to miss. A quiet spot of their own.

When we travel, we like to wander. Brandon loves to turn us down side streets and see where we end up. I love the things we sometimes find, especially the quiet places.

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Inviting

Isn’t this the most inviting little scene? The gate is cracked open, just waiting for someone to step inside. There is tantalizing view of the flowers in the courtyard, showing that someone put thought and effort into the space. The purple house makes me think – hey, I want to know this person who paints their house purple and has such beautiful flowers. I want to sit in their courtyard and drink tea. (Of course, this is in Italy, so it would be coffee they are drinking, sadly for me.) I love images like this that invite you in, where you can make up a whole story based on it. They say, “An image is worth a thousand words,” but each of us can use a different thousand for the story. How fun!

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Blank Slate

A new year has begun, a blank slate for us to write on. I’m not a fan of New Year’s Resolutions. What is it about the changing of the calendar that makes us thing that we should do anything different? It is a little reminder, though, that each day is a blank slate. Each day is a chance to write the ending a little bit differently than the one before.

This image from our visit to Castello San Sebastiano da Po this summer speaks of possibilities, of sitting down in the light and writing something new. It reminded me of the lyrics I loved from a song that was popular a few years ago called Unwritten. The lyrics to the song are…

I am unwritten,
can’t read my mind,
I’m undefined.
I’m just beginning,
the pen’s in my hand,
ending unplanned.

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten.

What will I write this year? I’m not sure, I’m sitting down here at my desk, with the ending still unwritten.

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Year-end Reflection

The end of the year, time for a moment of reflection. This picture of Brandon at Castello San Sebastiano da Po makes me think of a moment of quiet. A peaceful moment, paused in the busy-ness that is an 8 year old and the busy-ness of our everyday lives.

This morning I was reflecting in my journal that, while it is always surprising to reach the end of the year and realize a new one is upon us already, this year didn’t seem to fly by. If I think back to where I was a year ago, it was a very different place both geographically and personally. It seems like many years ago. I am happy to say that, a year later, I am a different person. A happier person. Much more me than ever before.

So, with that note, I hope that you all have had a wonderful 2009, and take a moment to reflect on what it brought you. And I’m wishing you a fun New Year’s Eve and a fabulous 2010! Ciao!