.:spring:.

A quote Brian has been using these past few months has really struck a chord in me lately:

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." -Albert Einstein

I'm so excited that spring is finally here--rain, laughter, joy, new friends, grand new adventures, and, of course, CHANGE!

Speaking of change, we've made some changes here in the Avia household. We've been working on getting healthier (almost 15 and counting!) and adhering to a real schedule to get our life in order. And finally, just FINALLY I squeeze in the time and creative energy to get a new logo designed. I've been dying to change it for awhile and, well, now we have! A new spring. A new season. A new day!

Happy April, everyone! May it be full of joy and life, my friends!


This particular spring day a few weeks back, Brian and I were taking a break from photography. We walked around a nearby park and ended up sitting down, as we often do, to talk about life, our hopes and our dreams. In the middle of our conversation out of the corner of my eye, I began to notice a gorgeous tree blooming with a rich golden sunlight streaming through the other trees, acting as a beautiful spotlight. We hadn't brought our cameras on this trip so I took a few shots with my iPhone (this being one of them). I was a little bummed, as the photo didn't do the tree justice, so Brian, being the wonderful, kind, amazing husband that he is, agreed to pause our conversation and run back to the house with me and grab some camera gear. Sadly, by the time we returned a few minutes later, the golden spotlight was gone, but we continued our journey around the park, enjoying creation for what it was: absolutely marvelous, miraculous artwork. = )

Brian being oh-so-sweet and waiting on me while I worked on some close-ups (he was not feeling so great that day, which made it doubly amazing that he was so patient!).

This was the photo he was waiting on. The blooms from the first tree. I'm not usually a magenta fan, but with bare branches and a vibrant blue sky, how could you go wrong?








What in this photo doesn't belong (and subsequently makes it different from the previous photo)?



I *LOVE* seeing these everywhere!

The beauty of this next set was almost overwhelming when we encountered it. I couldn't delete many!




This one encapsulates my life. Seriously.






*sigh* I love spring!

Can you see him? He's hiding. = )


Yay spring!

Mallory (& Brian--who seems to be yawning, not growling, in this photo)

.:a post for brian:.

So somewhere several months ago, while developing an addiction to Ken Rockwell's writings about camera and the equipment, Brian decided he wanted to become a film junkie. Problem was that neither of us owned a film camera nor really knew much about using them. Brian diligently waited for the right one to show up and *bam* in comes an ebay purchase of a film camera for $40 that was worth several hundred dollars. Brian picked the film that was apparently the best for colors and waited for his shots. Recently, Brian has decided that he wants to specialize in landscapes so when everything came in, that's what he focused on.

He says that he was only satisfied with around 5 on the roll of 30 but I picked my 5 favorites that he didn't even touch! Ken Rockwell is right, there is something film does that digital still hasn't gotten to but it is so darn expensive!

On a totally unrelated note, we had talked about an unwanted friend who was visiting our basement and getting into the trash and eating the Taco Bell mild sauce packets. We called the management company who happily filled the large hole that led to the basement. We hadn't had any troubles since then (that was several weeks ago). However, last night we woke up to the sound of gentle rain on our windowsill. (Our bedroom is on the 2nd floor). Brian checked the radar and found that no rain was anywhere near us. So he opened up the shutters (we have shutters on the inside of the window) and found a raccoon staring at him!!! Brian ran and grabbed the camera and took a few pictures through the window, one of which you will see posted below. You can see the raccoon behind the reflection of the shutters. You will also notice a faint reflection of the always adventurous Mr. Mostly Mittens, our cat, at the bottom left staring curiously at this intruder. Apparently the raccoon was nibbling on the windowsill, probably to try to open up another way into the house. After Brian shot this photo, the raccoon scampered off into the tree where Brian noticed TWO MORE raccoons, one of which was very small. Looks like there is a family of raccoons. I wonder if this may become an ongoing sag while we live here...

(click on the photo to make it bigger)