Much to be thankful for.

 

If we could shrink the earth's population

found here

If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following.  

There would be:

57 Asians

21 Europeans

14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south

8 would be Africans

52 would be female

48 would be male

70 would be non-white

30 would be white

70 would be non-Christian

30 would be Christian

89 would be heterosexual

11 would be homosexual

6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth and all 6 would be from the United States.

80 would live in substandard housing

70 would be unable to read

50 would suffer from malnutrition

(ONE)1 would be near death;

(ONE)1 would be near birth;

(ONE)1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education;

(ONE)1 (yes, only 1) would own a computer.

When one considers our world from such a compressed perspective, the need for acceptance, understanding and education becomes glaringly apparent.

And, therefore . . .

If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this world.

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.  

If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, you are more blessed than three billion people in the world.

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful, you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.

If you can read this message, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all.
Please join us
for Tuesdays Around the World
at Communal Global.

Linda Derstine (1949-2012) Our neighbor, Our friend

The Dash

By Linda Ellis

I read of a man who stood to speak

At the funeral of a friend.

He referred to the dates on her tombstone

From the beginning…to the end.

 

He noted that first came the date of her birth

And spoke of the following date with tears,

But he said what mattered most of all

Was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time

That she spent alive on earth

And now only those who love her

Know what that little line is worth.

 

For it matters not, how much we own,

The cars…the house…the cash.

What matters is how we live and love

And how we spend our dash.

 

So think about this long and hard;

Are there things you’d like to change?

For you never know how much time is left

That can still be rearranged.

 

If we could just slow down enough

To consider what’s true and real

And always try to understand

The way other people feel.

 

And be less quick to anger

And show appreciation more

And love the people in our lives

Like we never loved before.

 

If we treat each other with respect

And more often wear a smile…

Remembering that this special dash

Might only last a little while.

 

So when your eulogy is read

With your life’s actions to rehash

Would you be proud of the things they say

About how you spent your dash?

When my family moved to Perkasie in 1986, 

Mrs. Linda Derstine became a part of my life.

Part of my story.

She always smiled.

She always cared.

She always loved.

When Kaish was born she and her husband Mark

 often let us come over to swing on their swings 

and play in their sandbox.

Kaish grew up with her grandbabies.

We mourned the loss of Mr. Derstine with her.

Mrs. Derstine was a light in this dreary world.

A beautiful light.

I will never forget her.

63 years wasn't long enough.

Baby Graham {Souderton Family Photographer}

'A baby is a blank cheque made payable to the human race.'  

~Barbara Christine Seifert

 Jimmy and Melissa and Cole warmly welcomed baby Graham into their family.
All 10 pounds, 5 ounces of him.
He is adorable.
{Times one trillion.}
Big brother Cole (aged 2)
is adjusting to the change.

Photographer Interview with Susannah Conway

Hello Dear Ones,

Happy Thursday.

You are in for such a treat today.

Do you know Susannah Conway?  She doesn't travel in many of the typical Mommy Blogger circles many of us travel in....but trust me, after today, you are going to adore this woman.

I love her pictures. I just know you are going to love them as well.

Susannah's work is different and unique.

Her images will help you see the world in a whole new light.

Susannah is from across the pond, but she loves the US, especially NYC.

Get ready to be amazed.

How many years have you been shooting? Can you tell us your story about how you got started? 

I first fell in love with photography at art college in 1992. I remember developing my first roll of film and looking breathlessly at the contact sheet realising I’d found the way to transcribe what I saw in my head onto paper. 

I studied photography for the next three years, basically living in the studio and darkroom, totally committed to my art. Back then there weren’t any digital cameras, and I didn’t even own a computer, so it was all chemicals and film and I loved it. 

The second time I fell in love with photography was in Seattle in 2006. It was my first time in the States and I was still grieving the death of my partner the year before. 

I’d brought a borrowed digital compact with me to record the week and taking shots of a new city not only brought me out of my grief for a while but seemed to wake up the photography part of my brain too. 

Looking through my photos when I got home lit such a fire of inspiration in me I bought a Canon DSLR and taught myself how to use Photoshop. Then I discovered Holga photography, which rekindled my love for film. I now mainly shoot with my Polaroid SX-70. 

What do you love the most about being a photographer?

I am obsessed with making images. Even if no one ever saw my photographs I would still take them every day. 

I like to record where I’ve been and how I felt. I see vignettes everywhere I go. Taking photographs calms me down and makes me happy, basically :)

What is your favorite sort of event to shoot? 

I don’t shoot events -- i'm not that sort of photographer. Instead, I shoot my everyday life. That is an event in itself! So wherever I am I have a camera in my hand, even if it’s just my iPhone.

Your blog is such a mix of things. Some days the words are plentiful. And some days the words are few but the image speaks all the words that are needed to say. How do you know when to talk and when to just be quiet?

It all depends on how I feel. As a photographer sometimes I feel that the pictures are enough. As I writer sometimes I want to blather on about whatever’s swirling around my head. 

Your style is so edgy and completely unique! Can you tell us about your mad love for polaroids and how that has defined your style somewhat?

I learned the photography ropes shooting film at art school, so I guess it was inevitable that I’d go back to film. It’s hard to explain why I prefer shooting Polaroids — it’s the quality of the film… the softness and hint of nostalgia. 

The way the film translates the light, and how it works with the camera and my eye. I also appreciate the imperfections — digital is so exacting and perfect, while instant film feels more organic. 

I don’t photograph ‘things’ but rather look for pictures that say something to me emotionally. I’m very drawn to ordinary everyday scenes that contain interesting details, that remind me of something from the past, maybe, or just simply have pleasing shapes and colours and a sense of harmony. 

Tell us all about your workshops! What made you start? What has been the greatest aspect of opening yourself to these?

In 2008 I was asked to run an evening class at a local arts centre and I immediately knew I wanted to combine photography with the self awareness work I had been chronicling on my blog. 

I taught my very first Unravelling: Ways of Seeing My Self class to ten women in a small classroom in Bristol, and by the end of the six weeks I’d seen so many breakthroughs I knew the course was ready to be shared with more women. 

In January 2009 I launched the first Unravelling class online and the course has been going from strength to strength ever since. I get such a buzz knowing that I am reaching out to so many women around the world, sharing what I know.

Communities are built, healing happens and dreams are uncovered, and every single email, card and testimonial I receive lets me know that I am truly being of service – it’s the most fulfilling and rewarding work I’ve ever done.

You have two books coming out this year - Instant Love: How to Make Magic and Memories with Polaroids in May, and This I Know: Notes on Unraveling the Heart in June. Tell us about that process! Did you ever imagine you would be an author when you were growing up?

Actually yes, I’ve always dreamed of being an author as I spent my entire childhood with my nose in a book. I found photography at the end of my teens but it was writing that seduced me long before then. I’ve always been an avid note-keeper and journaller.

This I Know came about with a bit of serendipity: In 2009 I shared on my blog that I wanted to write an Unravelling book; a few weeks later I received a quick email from Nikki Hardin, founder & publisher of skirt! magazine, saying if i ever put a proposal together she’d love to read it. 

So I wrote a proposal, sent it to Nikki who passed it on to the editor of the skirt imprint at Globe Pequot Press. One revision and a sample chapter later I signed my book deal in NYC in September 2010.

Instant Love happened because my friend and fellow Polaroid photographer Jen Altman emailed me and another photog, Amanda Gilligan, with an idea for a Polaroid book she thought we could write together. We sent a proposal to Chronicle Books and, luckily, they loved the idea too. 

I saw that your mom pre-ordered your books. Doesn't that make you beam? What other ways does your mom support you?

My mum has always been my biggest cheerleader, no matter where I was or what I was doing. My family is very small — just my mum, my sister, their partners and my nephew — so we are really close and support each other through the ups and the downs.  

You adore your nephew, Noah. How often do you get to spend time with him? What are your favorite things to do with him?

I try to go stay with my sister at least twice a month, if not more. I love when they come to visit me, but it’s spending time with Noah in his own house, with all his favourite toys and routines, that I appreciate the most. 

I love to do all the everyday things that I miss out on when I’m not there — like making his dinner and doing the bedtime routine. We’re always playing — which is probably why he loves his Auntie Susie so much ;-)

When did you know you had to leave a traditional career and pursue photography and all things inspirational? 

My path to the work I do now has been a bit unconventional. After I lost my partner in 2005 I was unable to work, so my previous life as a journalist disappeared. 

Thirteen months after he died I started writing a blog and it was from that humble beginning that I found my way back to my creativity, through photography and journalling. I didn’t want to go back to my old life — or my old profession — so when my classes took off I knew I’d found my new true vocation.

Do you ever want to go into the portrait making business?

I did try that for a year or so when I first got back into photography. I thought that was what a “real photographer” was supposed to do, but as I discovered, even though I enjoyed making beautiful pictures for my clients, it wasn’t work that lit me up. 

I’m too introverted to be out with clients every day. It suits me better to be behind the screen writing books and leading courses.

You have a good network of photographer friends because of your blog. Did you ever imagine that would happen when you first began your blog?

No, when I started blogging it really was just for me. I’d made a few friends online so I had some readers when I started, but I didn’t know that I’d make as many connections as I have done. I’ve made some of my best friends through my blog. 

In many ways it was easier to get to know people when I started blogging (in April 2006) as there seemed to be less noise back then. Now Twitter and Facebook have upped the volume!

If a magazine called and said they wanted you to do a shoot for them, what magazine would you hope it would be? 

Gosh, that’s a hard question! My favourite magazine at the moment is Kinfolk so it would be lovely to do a shoot for them.

Have you always loved vintage things? What has been your favorite find? 

Yes, I’ve always had an eye for vintage finds. I collect dusty old cameras and love mid-century enamelware and furniture — I have lots of Cathrineholm pieces, an Ercol daybed and a G-plan sideboard that I inherited from my mum.

 As I work from home, being surrounded by vintage-y goodness makes my eyes happy :)

What are your favorite photography actions to use on your art work?

I don’t use any actions on my Polaroid scans — all I do in Photoshop is correct the colour to make the scan as close to the original as possible. I’ve picked up a few actions over the years to use on digital shots — my favourites are by Wynona Robison.

If someone called and asked you to shoot their entire wedding with a Polaroid, do you think you would do it?

No, it would be too much responsibility! However, my friend Jen does shoot weddings on Polaroid so I would give them her number.

If you could go on a vacation any where in the world and the only requirement was you did a photojournalism spread for a magazine while you were there, what place would you want to go?

New York City. I’ve only visited once and I’m beyond excited that I get to go back this year for my book tour. I felt so at home in NYC, like I’d been there hundreds of times before. 

Do you have a blogging schedule? How often do you like to blog each week?

I don’t have an official blogging schedule as any time I’ve tried it just stifles me and I rebel and don’t stick to it. So I just try to blog about three times a week, sometimes more if I have lots to share, less if I’m busy working on other writing projects.

I told you that you would love her!

You didn't want this interview to end, did you?

Please go and visit Susannah Conway's blog right here!

Take her class.

Get her book.

You can tweet with her,

instagram with her and pin with her to your heart's delight!

Susannah Conway is all that and a bag of chips! 

I am so grateful she took the time to answer all of these nitty gritty questions. What a blessing.