dpp 2011 | life stilled

This project is really making me notice the light in this apartment at different times of day. The conclusion I've come to is that I need to repaint in a warmer colour: the light in here during the day is just so cool it reads positively cold in photos. At night, though, with the lights of the tree and lights draped around the living space it is warm and cozy feeling. Definitely the sort of light I like photographing. As a result, most of my photos are happening in the evening. It makes for some late editing and posting, but it's worth it. I couldn't limit myself to one photo, so I've included the two runners up as well.



An evening coffee and some blogging while the family sleeps. Normally I would drink tea, but today I wanted something rich. A big Christmas mug of a fair-trade roast - an Ethiopian bean, my favourite! - was in order. The mug was a gift in a Christmas stocking years ago. If you look closely at the base of the mug, the reindeer depicted is Dancer. My mom knows what she's doing when she's picking out gifts. :)


I've often admired pictures in magazines or on blogs of living rooms that are beautifully put together, particularly at Christmas, where the tree is well-styled and the space seems entirely changed and devoted to the season. Our living room doesn't look like that, I suspect never will look like that and, ultimately, really shouldn't look like that. That's just not who we are. What we do have, however, is a room where Christmas has filled our space and co-exists with the business of living. And I like that. I like that we don't have "Christmas space" and "normal space". It's all just one space, and it is where celebrating and train track building and colouring and laundry folding and diaper changing all happen. This is where we live, including where we live our Advent.



Jon remarked this evening, "Some parents insist that Hallowe'en costumes are only worn on Hallowe'en. But every day I try to convince her to put hers on!" Peanut was a puppy for Hallowe'en this year and I think Jon loves the puppy suit even more than Peanut does, which is really saying something. Often when he asks if she wants to wear it, she responds, "No!" in a tone that suggests that the idea is utterly ridiculous. This evening, though, she was game. She also insisted that she sit next to our other puppy while they each had a cookie.