photo by markwickham. see others here on flickr

originally uploaded by jolayne.a.

I woke up with a certain friend, and a morning we had spent together a few years ago, on my mind. I sat down at the computer and went straight to a photo journal that my husband started in 2002 - just before we were married and moved to Japan - with hopes of finding an image that might relate to that morning or that day or even that week.

I was able to find a photo that I had taken, of that particular morning. The image, whose purpose was to capture the orange in the wall of the funky little diner we were having breakfast in, brought back memories: the blistery cold autumn day, the warmth of the coffee, visions of the photographs on the wall, the story my friend gave her boss about why she wasn’t going to be in that day, the sense of calm I felt at being face to face with someone who knows me well…

Thank You PhotoJournal

I store all of my photos on Flickr but Kemp has made an effort to keep the PhotoJournal alive - I am so thankful for this running record of our lives and the power of the connection a photograph has with memory.

Here are some of the “photo journals” we have been following over the years:

Low Resolution Davin Risk/Toronto

Rion Rion Nakaya/Paris

Jimbus Jim Green/London

Hello Alison Garnett/Toronto

“It is never time to judge our people” originally uploaded by jolayne.a.

In Paris, from July 17th to August 26th, every night except Monday, one can take in a film at the
Parc de la Villette ; pack a picnic of wine and cheese, rent a deck chair and wool blanket for just 6 and a half euros, sit back and relax under the stars.

This years theme was “Our Favorites” (or something like that).

Saturday night we went to see “The Philadelphia Story”, “a 1940 romantic screwball comedy starring Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, and James Stewart. Based on a Broadway play of the same name by Philip Barry, the film is about a bride-to-be whose plans are complicated by the simultaneous arrival of her ex-husband and a handsome journalist. It is considered one of the best examples of a comedy of remarriage, a genre popular in the 1930s and 1940s, in which a couple divorce, flirt with outsiders and then remarry - a useful ploy at a time when depicting extra-marital affairs was banned in American film. The film was a great success.”

I have to admit that I went to see “Pretty Women” a few weeks back. Nostalgia filled the air and I cried at the end when Richard Gere drove up in his limo, blasting music from the opera he introduced her to, climbs up the fire escape…

Here is this summers program which is a good reference for a rainy day, when “nothing good” is playing at a theatre near you.

originally uploaded by jolayne.a.

Every now and then I come across a “Flickr Group” that I find interesting. I would like to get in the habit of sharing those groups with you, simply because I hope you might find them interesting too.

“The Items We Carry” is my most recent find. This group gives us a peek into what other people “carry” with them on a daily basis - items they just wouldn’t think to leave home without.

“The Items We Carry are the small things we put in our pockets* or on our persons — the essentials we need to function daily at a basic level.*If you don’t have pockets and say, are a lady, then your purse may serve as your pockets. Arrange your items in a similar way and add them to the pool. Enjoy!”

What do you carry?

originally uploaded by jolayne.a.

In June, artist and poet Eireann Lorsung’s mother, suffered a brain aneurysm rupture. According to the doctors, only one in ten people survive. Eireann’s mom has astounded her doctors and therapists with her strength and progress - I am happy to report that she is on the road to recovery.

A friend suggested an auction of handmade things to help cover her mom’s medical bills and with the support of a talented number of people, the auction has begun!

Please visit One In Ten to view the list of participating artist and designers along with their lovely hand-crafted goods and place your bid.

originally uploaded by jolayne.a.

“an honest memo book, worth fillin’ up with GOOD INFORMATION”
by Draplin Design Co.

When you get yours take some time to read the inside of the back cover, where you will find “30 Practical Applications”

“01. Lengthy “To Do” Lists, 06. Half Ass Calculations, 14. Poignant Quotes, 17. Escape Routes, 21. Road Trip Mileage, 29. Tall Orders…”