Blue Moon at Year's End – Looking Back

♥ Happy New Year! ♥, originally uploaded by georgianna lane.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,

Ring, happy bells, across the snow:

The year is going, let him go;

Ring out the false, ring in the true.

~Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1850

It's the last day of the year, New Year's Eve, a full moon, a blue moon, and a lunar eclipse on the far side of the world. I do think that's auspicious – a celebratory finale for the year past and a celestial blessing on the year to come.

(In a month, such as this, graced with two full moons, the second is called a Blue Moon, which actually occurs every 2.72 years. The last one being in May, 2007, the next in August 2012. But the next on a New Year's Eve is a long way off...)

I wish you and those you love a new year abundant with happiness, health, prosperity and joy, liberally sprinkled with magic and rich with dreams come true!

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When I worked in corporate marketing, the last days of each year were a frantic flurry of stat counting, reports, analyses and sometimes puffed up lists of accomplishments submitted to give ourselves a pat on the back, justify our year end bonuses and generally make all and sundry feel it was a productive year. Most of the time it had been a good year, but doing it as an admin exercise felt forced.

It is a testament to how much my life has changed that doing a year-in-review list didn't even cross my mind until today when I noticed a few blogging friends post photo montages of their year. I think it's a healthy activity to put the year in perspective and focus on the happenings that brought joy and a sense of completion. So, if you like, join me on a little tour through some of my year's highlights!

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I realized a lifelong dream when D and I went to Peru and I stood at the top of the ruins at Machu Picchu. Returning home and sharing the trip with my Mom, who had gone there at exactly my age, but 31 years prior was priceless. We compared photos, talked about the places (some of which had changed) and the people (who have not).

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We celebrated my Mom's 85th birthday! Being able to share all my daily joys and activities with my Mom means more to me than anything. All I know about art, music, poetry, color, design, magic, playfulness and wonder are due to her influence. She's a genius musician (violin and piano), singer, painter, poetry lover, interior decorator, pilot and all around spritely, creative spirit. I'm thrilled that at 85 she is sharp and active and currently putting the finishing touches on her downstairs bathroom renovation, which she designed and which looks fabulous!

This year she and I did some fun road trips. She's always up for an adventure!

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I opened an Etsy shop as an outlet for some of my fine art photographs and note cards.

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I became active on Flickr and discovered a universe of incredible images and even more incredible, talented and kind people all over the world, a number of whom I am delighted and honored to call friends. I created two "Best of 2009" galleries to showcase some of their incredible work.

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Blogging and blog reading became a regular activity and I was thrilled and grateful to have my work mentioned or featured on a number of spectacular blogs including Decor 8, Real Simple/Simply Stated, Gabrielle Loves, Life Through a Lens, Chronically Vintage, City of Blackbirds, oh, hello friend, Secrets of a Butterfly, Such a Wondrous Place This Faery Tale Space, Trinkets and Roses.

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Business wise, D and I shot, edited, keyworded and captioned nearly 6,000 rights managed botanical and garden images for one of the international stock agencies we are contracted with, Photolibrary Group, as well as also posting them on our own stock site, Garden Photo World.

Here are some of the images we sold this year for magazine articles, book covers and posters. (I don't yet have copies of the actual publications.)

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I signed a contract with another of the world's largest garden stock photo agencies, Garden World Images, and now have nearly 500 images with them. You can see some of them here.

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We shot, edited, scored and produced two new promotional videos for clients Purple Haze Lavender and Colette's Bed & Breakfast, two beautiful places on the Olympic Peninsula

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I wrote and designed another 12 artist profiles for Fine Art Registry. You can view them as flip pages on my Issue site here.

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A client needed 120 scrapbook paper designs on a rush basis which was quite a fun project. Here are a few:

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Many new image collections were created. Here are a few:

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I joined Facebook and put up a fan page have been stumbling around trying to figure it all out!

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We had a glorious summer and spent many wonderful days enjoying the garden, even while working!

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So many things to be grateful for. I appreciate every single one and every single day, and most of all, every single person who has touched my life this year. Thank you for joining me!

I wish you and those you love a stardust, magic sprinkled, joyful, healthy and prosperous New Year full of dreams come true!

♥Peace, Joy and Magic Galore♥

With abundant wishes from us to you for a joyous, sparkly season of magic and love!

– g ♥

Solstice

~ ~ Winter Solstice ~ ~

The shortest day ~ The longest night

A time for gathering and sharing and reflecting on the year just past.

Sol stands still before turning back upon himself and beginning his measured journey towards growth and renewal.

We mark the dark morning with eggnog lattes and thoughtful remarks on what has gone before, and what will be. The garden withers at last into slumber, and the birds fly hither and thither on their many errands. As the sun stands still, let us do the same, at least for a moment, collecting up, on this traditional day of gathering, our hopes and dreams and wishes and prayers, for ourselves and those we love, into shining garlands to light our way through the New Year.

Holiday Cheer and A Cheery Thank You to Gabrielle Kai

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Some scenes from around our house today. I'm so tickled that I've conjured up a bit of time to sprinkle a few handfuls of magic around our place to get it into the festive spirit! I hope everyone can take a deep breath and step away from the holiday preps to relax, have a cup of cheer with loved ones and reflect on life's many joys! ♥

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And speaking of joys and celebration, a heartfelt thank you to Gabrielle Kai, who featured my work over at Gabrielle Loves this morning! She has such a gorgeous blog, such exquisite taste and is such an inspiring photographer herself that being featured by her got me all tingly and happy! Thank you so very much! And she's inspired me to get caught up on the many projects swirling around here so that I can share more about the artists that inspire me, one of my original reasons for resurrecting this blog.

Garden d'Lights

Winter's mantle of darkness lies deep and rich as velvet, the solstice a mere week away. To brighten up the long nights, come with me to an enchanted garden!

Here you'll be transported to a magical kingdom of fairy lights and wonder! Words truly are inadequate. So, here are probably far too many images for one post, but I hope they help you experience it just a bit...









If you are in the Seattle area this holiday season, you must visit Garden d'Lights at the Bellevue Botanical Garden. (We went twice in January - once D took me for my birthday and then I took my Mom two days later.)

The Magic Season

Does more magic abound in December than at other times of the year? Certainly homes and shops and trees are more sparkly and twinkly. And of course it becomes acceptable to discuss how many falls of raindeer hooves have landed on the rooftop and what flavor of cookie should be left on the hearth. We can deck our halls with golden garlands and fairy lights and gossamer wings, without risk of sidelong glances or being thought a wee bit mad, which is often our reward for such efforts at other times of the year.

More magic, or perhaps simply more willingness to acknowledge what is there all along? What are your thoughts? ♥

On the Cusp of Winter

The Winter Realm

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Almost without warning, it is upon us. Darkness and cold seep in through cracks. Faster than normal, colder than normal. Today.

Today, before being fully awake, or fully dressed, I was out, out to the garden with buckets and pans, slopping hot water on D's boots that I had hurriedly stepped into, pouring and chipping at the ice in the bird baths, solid and inhospitable. We have many birdbaths...Then on to the feeders that the dear hummers love so much, dipping and shaking the hand blown glass to melt their sweet nectar.

I survey the garden in between shivers. Just one more day and I would have been finished, mulching the roses, protecting the hydrangeas, tucking in the last of the bulbs. I fear I left it too late. The ground is hard, so hard a spade needs my full weight to break through the crust of frozen earth, a good two inches deep. I try not to worry but we lost many plants last year. And here I am, taken unawares by the swift decent of winter.

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Inside at last, mug of strong coffee cupped in my hands, I sit at my desk and do indeed have something to smile about. Yesterday, I cut what are probably the last of the blooms from Lady Emma, and they sit regally in the Fenton vase, so precious. Our brave, indomitable December roses.

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Tonight we lit the fire for the first time and cuddled under a blanket on the couch, as the brilliant moon rose and spilled grace over the garden. We have the cold because it is clear, and because it is clear, we have the moon.

Magic is happening, when you are willing to see it.

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Update: I finished this post last night well after midnight. As I stood in our bedroom window, nose against the glass to soak in one last view of the moon in the cloudless night, I saw a shooting star streaking toward the east. If I hadn't stayed up late, if it hadn't been so clear and cold, if I hadn't been quite close to the window pane, I might have missed it. But I saw it, like a the trail of a fairy wand. I made a wish, oh yes, a very big wish. Then turned to sleep, gratitude swirling in the frosty air.