Art...Nature...Inspiration

A Walk In The Dark...with Kevin Adams

noreply@blogger.com (Art...Nature...Inspiration) — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 22:37:00 +0000

I'm excited to announce that Kevin Adams will be presenting a special 3-hour workshop, A Walk In The Dark, in my Raleigh, NC studio on July 12 from 9am to Noon. If you want to learn about night photography, Kevin, is the person to learn from. He's an amazing photographer, a renown author of several books, an Instructor at PPSOP, www.ppsop.com, a co-founder of Western North Carolina FotoFest, http://www.wncfotofest.com/, he produces a wonderful Blog about night photography, http://www.kadamsphoto.com/Default.htm, and a great friend.

Seating will be limited to 25 participants, so reserve your spot soon...

Enjoy Today...Be Inspired

The Ballet...

noreply@blogger.com (Art...Nature...Inspiration) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 11:25:00 +0000

If you ever have the opportunity to go and photograph a ballet performance, go! Last week I received a special invitation to photograph the dress rehearsal of The Carolina Ballet's production of The Little Mermaid, which is currently being presented at the Fletcher Theater in Raleigh, NC. Let me just say, this was an amazing experience and I absolutely loved every minute of it. Of course, photographing an event like this was full of challenges...from extreme lighting conditions to dancers in motion to trying to adjust camera settings in the dark. After receiving some great instructions ahead of time from Ted Salamone, who is the Official Photographer of The Carolina Ballet, the lights lowered and I was immersed in wonderland. The talent, grace and power of the dancers, the creative choreography and music score, plus the elaborate detail in the costumes was an experience I won't soon forget and one that left me wanting to return again and again!

Here are a few of my images from the dress rehearsal:

Enjoy Today...Be Inspired

You Are Never Too Old...

noreply@blogger.com (Art...Nature...Inspiration) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 18:24:00 +0000

Recently I saw a quote by C. S. Lewis, "You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream", and it really struck a chord with me. As I turned 60 on New Year's Day...quite a wonderful milestone and a wonderful way to celebrate the beginning of 2012...it occurred to me that setting goals and fulfilling dreams shouldn't have a thing to do with age. Why should having a new dream have anything to do with how old you are??? We are the ones who put up our own barriers, limit ourselves and make excuses...just dream. After writing down several very lofty dreams last year, tucking the list in an envelope and then tucking the envelop away, several of my lofty dreams from that list are starting to bloom. Did I forget to mention that I tucked the little envelope away so well that now I can't find it?...LOL...I'll keep you posted if I find my envelope. No worries though; those dreams are still out there along with some new ones.

To share, here are a few from my lofty dreams list...to return to Paris...to travel, photograph and live in France for several months...to have my images published and selected for exhibition...to share my passion for photography with others...to have my own successful and profitable photography studio... What lofty dreams might be on your list???

"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream" ~ C.S. Lewis

Enjoy today...Be Inspired

Extending Your Canvas

noreply@blogger.com (Art...Nature...Inspiration) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 03:35:00 +0000

Have you ever needed just a little extra space either at the top, bottom, or sides to help balance an image...well, there are times when I could use just a smidge so here's an easy way to do that.

I fell in love with the shape of the door handles and how the dark and light played off of each other, however, there wasn't quite enough room on the right hand edge. Increasing the canvas size is a way to help balance the image a little better.

The first step is to increase the canvas size...select Image, Canvas Size. For this image, I only added space on the right-hand side...make sure to anchor your selection and to check "relative".

You then select the rectangular marque tool, selecting some of the image on the right edge as close to the handle as you can and some in the newly created white canvas space...with the area selected, go to Edit, Content Aware Scale...grab the center handle and drag...accept by clicking on the check mark, or hit Enter; then deselect.

If you added a little too much canvas, no problem...you can easily remove this by going to Image, Trim.

Enjoy Today...Be Inspired.

The Winter Garden...

noreply@blogger.com (Art...Nature...Inspiration) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:15:00 +0000

The winter garden can be an amazing place to photograph, even when the weather isn't ideal. The JC Raulston Arboretum, in Raleigh, NC, is near my home and a wonderful place to photography any time of year. I was drawn to closeups and more abstract images on this very chilly day. Here are a few of my favorites from my afternoon in the winter garden...

The images were taken with a Nikon D700, 105mm and a Raynox 150 macro diopter.

...Enjoy today...Be inspired...

Lotus, Water Lilies and Dragonflies, Oh My!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Art...Nature...Inspiration) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 12:01:00 +0000

Summer is the perfect time to find blooming water lilies and lotus and dragonflies. To find them all in one place is certainly a treat. The Triangle Carolinas Nature Photographers Association plans a visit to Water and Garden Creations each year and what a treat we had this year. Our group of 25 photographers started rolling in Saturday morning around 8:30...no need to hurry...the blooms don't wake up and open until after the sun is up. Here are a few of my favorite images from the morning.

Enjoy Today...Be Inspired

Afternoon With A Single Lens

noreply@blogger.com (Art...Nature...Inspiration) — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 03:36:00 +0000

This afternoon after picking a bouquet of sunflowers, I decided it would be fun to select my 50mm lens and photograph just with that one lens. Honesty, I really can't remember the last time I'd pulled the 50mm out of my camera bag so this was definitely a self-assigned challenge.

I gathered my old watering can, with all it's bumps and dents, and a little red chair for my props. There's a makeshift table set up in the backyard, well, it's not really a table but boards nailed together then set on top of two old saw horses...but it made the perfect location for my assignment. After an hour of putting up with the pesky mosquitoes and the heat, I have to say it turned out to be a fun afternoon with a single lens.

Here are a few of the images from my afternoon...

...Enjoy Today...Be Inspired...

Classic Cars

noreply@blogger.com (Art...Nature...Inspiration) — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 11:56:00 +0000

The first Saturday afternoon of every month, from now through October, you'll find a car show at Char-Grill in North Raleigh. It's the perfect location to grab a burger, milkshake and fries, listen to some beach music, and slowly meander around a classic car show. Even though the temps can be a little hot, mid-90s right now, you can bet there will be a crowd gathered to admire these beauties! You'll find all makes and models...from restored vintage to muscle cars...along with interesting stories and people of course.

Classis cars make wonderful subjects to photograph...from the details down to the reflections in the chrome.

Memorial Day

noreply@blogger.com (Art...Nature...Inspiration) — Mon, 30 May 2011 21:09:00 +0000

Memorial Day is a special day...one where we honor and show respect for those who have died in our nation's service. In my hometown in Virginia, I remember wearing a small red poppy on Memorial Day that was made by disabled veterans and sold by the local VFW. We would attend the local parade, the downtown swimming pool would officially open for the summer and we always gathered for a picnic...but we would also make time for a visit to the cemetery to honor those who had given their lives for our freedom.

My dad was a very proud American and WWII veteran...even though he did not die in our nation's service, he had to receive special permission to serve as he was too old to enlist. My dad was

True to God
True to his country
True to himself, always.

In memory of my dad, to all who continue to serve and all those who have served, have been true to our country and have given their lives to protect our values, I express my hearthfelt gratitude and thanks.

Texture Tuesday

noreply@blogger.com (Art...Nature...Inspiration) — Tue, 24 May 2011 00:31:00 +0000

I recently completed taking The Art of Textures from Kim Klassen and have been having fun painting and creating my own textures. However, on Tuesdays at Kim Klassen's Cafe, she challenges us to post images using at least one layer of her textures. This week everyone is using the same texture...at least one layer of "Yesteryear". It is a lovely soft texture so I can't wait to see how many beautiful images are created with this texture. You can visit Kim's Cafe at http://www.kimklassencafe.com/ for her classes, textures and creative inspiration.

For the image below, I used an action from Florabella and then added two layers of Yesterday, the first at 62% opacity using Soft Light plus another layer at 29% opacity using Multiply.

Enjoy Today...Be Inspired

Good Intentions and New Beginnings

noreply@blogger.com (Art...Nature...Inspiration) — Sun, 15 May 2011 18:42:00 +0000

When I started my blog, I had good intentions of updating it on a weekly basis. As you can see from my last post many, many months ago, I truly neglected fulfilling my good intention. Even though my first attempt didn't receive my best effort, I'm not one who gives up easily...I'm very persistent and will keep trying.

My last post was before my son's wedding. The wedding and all the festivities were beautiful...we were surrounded by and celebrated with family and friends who had all traveled to be with us during that special time. In November we'll have a new reason to celebrate...the arrival of their first child. New beginnings...

So with photography, there are new beginnings too. I'm not quite ready for iPhone photography yet, however, I began seeing some amazing work done by very talented photography friends on Facebook and Flickr and was intrigued. Their images had an element of creativity that I wanted to explore. It was different; they added depth to their work by adding layers and textures and adjusting opacity and adding text...these techniques were speaking to my creative soul. My journey with adding and ultimately creating my own textures begins...

Adding textures to floral images conveys a soft and delicate feel

Adding textures can change the mood of an ordinary image to the unexpected...it's up to you and your creative expression.

Some of my favorite Textures and Texture Artists include Kim Klassen, French Kiss Textures, Flypaper Textures and Totally Rad...

Enjoy Today...Be Inspired

Beach Blessings

noreply@blogger.com (Art...Nature...Inspiration) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:56:00 +0000

This is a most memorable week in my life. My son will be getting married this weekend. We have been planning all the details for over a year and soon we'll begin the weekend wedding festivities.

We arrived yesterday with our vehicles packed to the max leaving a few items still to make their way down to the coast with family and friends arriving on Thursday. Now I have a few days to rest and renew before the events begin.

This morning I woke early and peaked out the window to see we were going to have a beautiful sunrise. I threw on my clothes and grabbed my gear rushing out to get to the beach in time. As I looked down the beach, there was a glow from behind the pier that looked like a glowing crown...

I was in awe.

The house we have rented for the week is appropriately named ... "Beach Blessings".

We will greatly miss those who are unable to attend, however, we look forward to the family and friends who will travel to join us as we celebrate the love Richard and Jennifer share. Our lives are truly blessed each and every day.

Beach Wedding

noreply@blogger.com (Art...Nature...Inspiration) — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 16:02:00 +0000

My son is getting married in less than eight weeks so now I'm in wedding preparation overdrive. Lots to do and I know the time will fly by way too quickly. My list includes some crafty things to help them stay in budget...not complaining since I love being crafty and artistic...and the after rehearsal party.

The wedding takes place in Morehead City the same weekend as the North Carolina Seafood Festival so it will be a crazy, fun-filled weekend. The Seafood Festival usually draws a crowd of about 150,000!!! It's a good thing we'll only have to worry about entertaining around 120. At least our guests will have lots of opportunity to consume some wonderful local seafood, party until the wee hours or just hang out and enjoy the beautiful North Carolina beaches.

Being the mother of the groom is supposed to be less stressful, right? Guess I didn't get that memo. We decided, well the bride and groom decided, they wanted a down home BBQ for the after rehearsal party. Fine with me, who can refuse Eastern NC style pit cooked BBQ, especially when Ole Time BBQ in Raleigh will be catering...it's the best, and the cutest Groom's Cake ever will be prepared by Cinda's (she's also making the absolutely stunning wedding cake too)! We got really lucky finding a location for the after rehearsal party. Since the Seafood Festival is the same weekend, remember the 150,000 I mentioned before...well, everything gets booked way in advance or in some instances they completely shut down because the streets are blocked off for the three day festival. Fortunately, the bride's parents have a vacation home near Morehead City, so they were gracious enough to let us use their backyard for the event. We'll spend Friday morning decorating for the rehearsal then off to decorate for the wedding reception.

The wedding colors are a beautiful teal and pool blue...perfect choice for the beach location! I'm working on creating seashell wreaths for the doors and beach-inspired candle centerpieces for the tables. Can't reveal too much but here's a sneak peek...

Can't wait to see family and friends!

Being Selected - A Positive and A Negative

noreply@blogger.com (Art...Nature...Inspiration) — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 01:49:00 +0000

Just received notification a few days ago that two of my images were selected for the upcoming NCPBE (North Carolina Photographers Biennial Exhibition)...needless to say I'm thrilled. The Exhibition opening and reception will be on September 13 from 2-4 p.m. at Meredith College in The Weems Gallery. Eighty eight pieces were selected by the juror Deborah Willis. Ms. Willis is currently professor of Photography and Imaging at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. She was a 2005 Guggenheim Fellow and Fletcher Fellow, and a 2000 MacArthur Fellow, as well as she curated the landmark Smithsonian exhibition, Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers, 1840 to the Present. She has pursued a dual professional career as an art photographer and as one of the nation's leading historians of African American photography and curator of African American culture. On October 1, Ms. Willis will return to Meredith to present the Juror's Lecture at 8 p.m.

Being "selected" now has a new meaning for me. Last year I was honored to have fifteen of my images purchased for display in the main lobby and lower gallery of a medical office building. I got word last week five of the images were "selected", well, not exactly selected they were actually stolen. As a photographer, we always want others to appreciate our work; however, to actually have images physically stolen has really been unsettling. When we post images online, we always run the risk some one might "steal" those images, so we take precautions by uploading images at 72 dpi. To have someone just walk into a building, remove images off the wall, then walk out without any regard or respect for the property of others has really bothered me and left me wondering "Why?". It certainly isn't because I'm a well-known photographer by any means so I certainly don't think someone could resell the photographs and make lots of money...hummmm, maybe I should check out Ebay and Craigslist. The good news, the owners want the work replaced.

Just curious, is there always a positive and a negative to everything?

Water & Garden Creations

noreply@blogger.com (Art...Nature...Inspiration) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 20:12:00 +0000

Yesterday morning I met up with a group from CNPA to photograph at Water & Garden Creations. This is my second time there to photograph; however, I've visited other times to purchase for my own backyard pond. Frank, the owner, is known in our area as a grower of beautiful lotus, exotic water lilies, koi and goldfish.

The property is full of tubs and beds; each chocked full of different sizes and varieties of aquatic plants and fish. As you roam around, you'll find several beautiful display ponds; one in front by the road, one on the side of his house by the driveway, and one on the back deck...you'll also find a few "dug but not finished yet".

It was overcast yesterday morning and not so terribly humid...always nice this time of year. The front and side display ponds were the hot spots yesterday...you could count on seeing at least 2 or 3 photographers most of the morning. I decided to go off and experiment a little with my Lensbaby and wide angle lens. Since working Corel Painter, I've been trying to get a little more creative so I got a little brave and just hand held the camera out over the water to get up close and personal and fired away.

Then after I got home, I had some more fun experimenting in Lightroon with a cool and funky new preset I received from Jon Canfield.

Water & Garden Creations is definitely a place I'll look forward to photographing again.

High Noon

noreply@blogger.com (Art...Nature...Inspiration) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:08:00 +0000

On Saturday evening, Lisa, a photographer friend who I hadn't seen in a couple of years, called with a plea to help photograph her former boss and family out on her farm. The family gathering was to celebrate the long weekend visit of her two sons; one had traveled from Seattle, the other from Argentina. Ok, I'm a sucker...no, not really...but since I love the outdoors, farms and photography, I agreed to tag along and help her out. There was only one problem...we were going to be photographing at "high noon". Yikes!! I know, it goes against all the rules to be out photographing between 11am and 2pm; however, there are those times when you just have to work with what you've been handed, or, I guess it's more like what I'd chosen to handle in this case.

Since Lisa had been to the farm before, she offered to drive. It was about a 30 minute ride out to the country so we chatted the entire way trying to catch up as much as we could. The drive went quickly and I enjoyed the scenery and the road signs as we drew closer to the farm ... Eagle Rock Road, Covered Bridge Road, Turnipseed Road ... I just knew then I was going to be in for a treat and would need to go back to explore on another day. A lovely restored farm house, beautiful pastures, a pond, horses, peacocks, lamas, guinea hens, a swimming pool, a tire swing, picket fences, a flower and herb garden, wooden structures....we had reached our destination at the end of a State Maintained Road.

It was predicted to be in the mid 90s. When we got out of the car we felt a slight breeze circulating under the huge shade trees, what a nice relief. I immediately felt more relaxed than I had in weeks...was it the country air, the beautiful location, the quiet or a combination of all three? Who knows, who cares!

Anne, Lisa's former boss, immediately greeted and welcomed us in true Southern style ..."I'm so happy you're here...I just want you to be like the paparazzi this afternoon, don't worry about a thing...I just want candids...Come inside and get something to eat and drink"... it was like taking medicine...suddenly, I wasn't too concerned about "high noon" any longer.

We stayed and photographed for the next four hours; it was a wonderful way to spend a beautiful summer Sunday afternoon....

Freedom to Paint

noreply@blogger.com (Art...Nature...Inspiration) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 02:09:00 +0000

This past weekend, I attended an amazing two-day Beginner Painter Workshop in Asheville, NC with Marilyn Sholin (http://www.marilynsholin.com/). Not only was I introduced to an entirely new and creative way of sharing my love of photography but I also had the opportunity to met some wonderful new friends, all who are talented artists and photographers. The workshop was so much fun. Marilyn is a Corel Master Painter and an extremely patient instructor. Before moving to the mountains of North Carolina, Marilyn was a hugely successful photographer in the Miami, FL area; she's still a hugely successful photographer but with a twist...she's mastered combining her love of photography with digital painting using computer software. Her work is extraordinary.

Our workshop started each morning at 9am but everyone began gathering around 8am to enjoy hot coffee, mini quiches, fruit, bagels, juice, etc. Not only did Marilyn prepare breakfast for us, she also provided us with lunch! Our workshop sessions ended around 5pm just in time to head off to check out some of the wonderful local restaurants. We covered so much information during the workshop, my head is still spinning...fortunately a bottle of Tylenol was available...of course the vino at dinner was helpful too. On our final day of the workshop, we had to complete a painting in about an hour so we could come home with a print. It was an awesome workshop!

Here's my first printed Painter image from the workshop...the orginal photograph was taken during a train trip to Philadelphia to attend the opening for the Project Basho exhibit "Onward '08".

Now I'm home from the workshop and trying to remember everything I learned. I'm glad I have Marilyn's book "The Art of Digital Photo Painting" as a resource. Just so I wouldn't forget what I learned during the workshop, I've been practicing each day ... I know it will take me a while, but I'm totally enjoying the freedom to paint.

Learning Lightroom 2

noreply@blogger.com (Art...Nature...Inspiration) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:15:00 +0000

I'm new to Lightroom 2, however, now that I've been using the program for a couple of months, how in the world did I manage before? From cataloging and keywording ...to editing...to slideshows, printing and web pages...a totally amazing program. I also recently discovered there were two new Lightroom plug-ins which one day will hopefully save me a tremendous amount of time...one from Nik Software for Viveza and the other for ProShow from Photodex; I'm hooked.

After trying to figure things out on my own, it was time to get some help so I enrolled in an online course. Both PPSOP www.ppsop.com and BetterPhoto www.betterphoto.com have great instructors and offer a wide range of online courses for all skill levels. It's a great way to learn, have your images critiqued by a professional photographer and meet other photographers.

Here's an image from a wedding I recently photographed. Lightroom 2 made the entire process much easier to manage...the final touches were added in Photoshop with Silver Effects Pro.

This weekend I'm traveling to Asheville for a 2-day workshop with Corel Master Painter Marilyn Sholin, www.marilynsholin.com!

Wedding At Spruce Pine Lodge

noreply@blogger.com (Art...Nature...Inspiration) — Sun, 31 May 2009 15:04:00 +0000

After being together ten years, Rachel and Dan exchanged wedding vows on Saturday, May 30. Family and friends gathered in Bahama, NC at Spruce Pine Lodge to celebrate. It was an event filled with Rachel's creative touches, from the hand designed and handmade wedding invitation, to the floral arrangements, table center pieces, and bouquet, to the white chocolate raspberry filled wedding cake.

Spruce Pine Lodge is tucked away in Durham County on a bluff overlooking Lake Michie. The lodge was originally constructed as a summer house in the 1930s by Mary Washington Lyon Stagg; now Spruce Pine Lodge is somewhat an unknown Durham City Park ... it is definitely a gem.

The ceremony was held on the front lawn in the dappled shade provided by the huge oak trees. It was a beautiful Carolina afternoon for an informal, outdoor wedding...the perfect setting for Rachel and Dan. Music for the ceremony and reception was by the very talented Tim Smith.

An Evening At The Museum

noreply@blogger.com (Art...Nature...Inspiration) — Fri, 29 May 2009 17:35:00 +0000

On Thursday evening the Raleigh City Museum hosted Time Warp 2009; their major fund raiser for the year. This was my first time attending, both as a member of the museum and as a donor. A member friend, who is also on the board, asked me if I'd consider donating some images for the silent auction. Of course I was thrilled so I selected three images showing a wide range of my work, from an abstract tulip to the dunking booth at the State Fair to an architectural image from downtown Raleigh that had been selected for Onward 08, a juried photography exhibit in Philadelphia.

I knew I was in for a fun evening when I arrived and valet parking immediately whisked my vehicle away...walked in and there were long tables filled with silent auction items, an open bar set up with wine and beer, a band tucked in the corner playing wonderful toe-tapping music (banjos, fiddles, bass), and waitstaff serving finger foods. Staying true to being Southern...the bbq was in the back.

Decided I needed to take a look around and check out all the items up for the silent auction: a week in a luxury private apartment in Paris, brunch at the exclusive Washington Duke Inn and Golf Course, a week in a vacation home at Emerald Isle, NC, one night stay at the historic Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill, passes to the Raleigh Symphony for the 2009/2010 season, a 2-hour interior design consultation, gift certificates galore to Raleigh's best restaurants (The Angus Barn, 42nd Street Oyster Bar, Zest Cafe, The Mint, Humble Pie, and others to numerous to mention), jewelry, pottery, massages, well you get the picture, an array of fantastic items. Then I spied my images; two were among the silent auction items and one had actually been selected for the live auction, yikes! I was quite honored to be in the live auction along with an autographed Carolina Hurricane's hockey stick, a NCSU basketball signed by the coach and team, beautiful porcelain pottery, sterling silver designer jewelry, and other noteworthy items. Actually I became pretty nervous at this point wondering how in the world would I fare with those items. All I can say is it's a good thing they had wine!

The live auction and bidding began, an acrylic and gouache painting went for a song ($25), the signed basketball went for $100, the autographed hockey stick went for $85, a porcelain platter went for $75, silver earrings went for $50; they were coming down to the last few items and I became more and more nervous as it was time for my abstract tulip...I wasn't sure if I could watch. The bidding started out and before I knew it a little bidding war began among three bidders...then, Sold $150!!!

What a great evening...Paris anyone????

Endings and Beginnings

noreply@blogger.com (Art...Nature...Inspiration) — Tue, 26 May 2009 20:27:00 +0000

After my 97-year old dad recently passed away, my life seemed to turn upside down. Two years ago, my dad was forced to move from a facility that had been "home" for almost ten years because he had become a little more than what they could handle. Dementia, a terrible debilitating disease for the patient, is just as excruciating for the family members having to watch the daily decline take their loved one away. You cherish the days where there's a connection, a short but coherent conversation, a remembrance of either people or places, and you work really hard to erase the days when you feel helpless and find your loved one in the middle of the floor with a blanket over their head repeating "don't lock me up, I didn't do anything wrong" over and over. I'm still struggling trying to make sense of it all and working my way through grief, the feelings of extreme sadness, the indescribable emptiness bordering on loneliness, along with a little depression thrown in for good measure. Being an adopted child is a glorious event because I know I was loved and "chosen", however, now that my parents and my brother (also adopted) are gone, there is a void in my heart that goes to my very core. Loss is aways difficult; however, being adopted adds an additional layer that complicates the recovery journey. Some may find this difficult to understand, but I'm finding comfort in writing about this as it gives me some understanding about my current emotional state and why photography is so important in my healing process.

When I began photographing several years ago, my family and friends were always the first to support, encourage and compliment my images. They inspired me to learn more and as I learned more, I realized there was still so much more for me to learn. Its been great having the opportunity to take classes and workshops from amazing professional photographers who are eager to share their passion and knowledge as well as the opportunity to meet so many other wonderful and talented photographers (many who have become close friends) who also share the same passion of photography. Photography has given me a way to connect and a way to escape at the same time.

Where are my beginnings...I don't know and it doesn't matter...I do know "love lasts". Today is a new day with a new beginning. I will open my eyes and my heart. I will notice the light, the colors, the shapes and the textures around me. I will enjoy today; I will value, respect, and appreciate all my many blessings. I will cherish my family and my wonderful memories. May you too be touched and blessed by the beauty of life.