Nineteen Days

It's that time of year again. Baha'is around the world are preparing for that special time of spiritual renewal--the Baha'i Fast. Nineteen days of fasting during which we make a special effort to turn our focus inward, refreshing our hearts and re-invigorating our spirits through reflection and prayer.

Sarah-J (left); Ramin Hosseini (right)

During the past three years one of the highlights of the fasting period has been following, and participating in, the Nineteen Days blog--a collaborative photography project created by Amy and Leila that enlists photographers from across the globe in sharing reflections on the Fast and beautiful images taken daily at dawn and dusk, some of which I've included here.

.leili (above)

Tomorrow Nineteen Days enters its fourth year, with an incredible line up of photographers from every corner of the world. I hope you'll join us.

.leila (left); elliot|v (right)

Driftwood and Details

Aside from the obvious pleasures of sun and swimming, one of my favorite things about visiting the beach is seeing nature's detritus scattered along a shore.
Shells. Polished stones. Driftwood. The odd coconut here and there.

Bleached by the warm sun, scoured by the sand and wave after wave of salty surf, and revealing colors, textures and stories of all sorts.

Our Biggest Adventure Yet

It has been quiet over here on Under Consideration these last few months. Our time and attention has been completely consumed by our latest, and most exciting, adventure yet, and my lens has been trained almost exclusively on little fingers, tiny toes and pudgy cheeks.

But it's time to get back into the swing of things. And there's lots more to come.

Home Sweet (New) Home

After moving away from New York City last spring, and a long summer in beautiful Vancouver, we have finally settled down in our new home - a small town outside San Jose, Costa Rica. It has only been seven days, but we're already smitten with the natural beauty and the warmth of the people we are meeting. And don't even get me started on the fruits and vegetables. The words "avocado heaven" flash into my mind at least three times a day.

Perhaps we're just in the honeymoon period, but so far the monsoon rains, exceptionally large spiders and constant muddy paw prints of one particular member of our family have done little to dampen our enthusiasm.

Can you blame us?

The Vintage Baby

We've had babies on the brain here lately at Under Consideration, and for good reason! Come November, a wee little lass will take our family from three members to four (we include Hazel in the count, naturally). Let's hope we're up to the challenge!

It's no wonder, therefore, that items like the following have recently been catching my eye online and inspiring bouts of nostalgia. So many vintage baby clothes and toys remind me of things I once had, or that were passed down from my parents and grandparents. I thought I'd share the reminiscing by putting together a little collection. Do any of these things take you back to your days as a little one?

aluminum baby cup (from berrygoodlifefarm)

vintage baby clothes hanger (from veraviola)

I still have a few of these very same hangers that belonged to my dad as a child.

flowered babydoll dress (from hartandsew)

vintage playskool wagon (from happydayvintage)

smocked-front buttercup yellow dress (from hellodarlingvintage)

vintage baby blocks (from busybree)

antique muslin baby dress (from ethanollie)

seersucker baby jumper (from muraivintage)

Shades of Green

With only a few weeks left to go in Vancouver after a lovely summer spent here, this week I am doing all I can to appreciate the city's graceful green beauty.

Muted and subtle, mossy green creeps lazily over branches, tree stumps and sidewalks, as if suggesting that urbanization is only temporary and Mother Nature will soon reassert herself...in her own good time.

Bright and exuberant, verdant green leaves soak in the sun's rays under a blue summer sky.

Fanciful and mysterious, a shadowy green scatters the day's fading light, casting dappled patterns on pathways and people alike.

The Simple Joys of Summer

I mentioned in a post long ago that one thing that makes me very happy is picking fruit and eating it straight from the tree. Let me amend that to include bushes as well.

There's nothing that can make a person happily scrabble over sharp rocks and through thorny undergrowth like the promise of a few ripe blackberries.

Yellowstone

This past May we had the chance to spend a day in Yellowstone National Park--a little hiatus in a mad drive across the country from Chicago to Vancouver. Little did we know when we set out on our "summer" road trip that we would arrive at the park only the day after it had reopened following a long winter's hibernation.

There was still snow on the ground and on the peaks, and the roads were empty as far as the eye could see (undoubtedly everyone else thought to check the weather and saw there was a blizzard on its way).

A teeny little blizzard was a small price to pay for having the park almost all to ourselves. We did cross paths with a few hardy locals, still bearing their winter coats (and making us wish we'd had the foresight to bring along our own). Note: T-shirts in May are not seasonally appropriate clothing in Wyoming.

Stunning waterfalls, canyons, rock formations and volcanic pools, and we got to enjoy it virtually uniterrupted (except for a few herd of shaggy bison and one grizzly bear who woke up from his winter's sleep a few days too early).

What I am NOT Doing Tomorrow

Because I am moving in a few short weeks, I am currently focusing on sorting through, and getting rid of, as much as possible in preparation for that huge undertaking. That is why the following are things that I will NOT (no way, no how) be purchasing when I pop by Target to investigate the results of of their exciting collaboration with Liberty of London, which hits stores tomorrow.

No flowery dresses, no patterned mugs or cereal bowls, no pretty boxes of note paper, and definitely no adorable umbrella. It will be strictly window shopping. Strictly.

A Rainy Evening

There is something about the rain and the dusk and the yellow street lamps that creates a magical atmosphere on rainy evenings in New York City.


If you take the time to peek out from under your umbrella or over the high collar of your trench coat as you walk home in the chilly air, you will see everything you pass is laced with gold.

Is It Just Me?

Or has there been a whiff of Spring in the air this week? I thought I would add just a splash of pink to this space today, for the promise of flowers to come...

Nineteen Days

For nineteen days every March, just before the start of spring, Baha'is all around the world make a special effort to turn our attention from the daily details that so often occupy our thougts, and instead focus inward, allowing reflection and prayer to refresh the heart and re-invigorate the spirit.

For the past three years Amy and Leila have engaged in an inspiring photography project during this special nineteen day period, collaborating with photographers from around the world to take photos at dawn and dusk and share them along with a quote and a reflection on the Nineteen Days website. Last year's collaboration was so successful that it has been turned into this beautiful book (available here!)


This year's collaboration is well under way, with stunning images, beautiful quotations and thoughtful reflections coming from all corners of the globe. Yesterday was my day to participate, and it made me wish I had the initiative not just for a single day, but at every dawn and dusk, to walk outside and examine my surroundings for some beauty and inspiration. On yesterday's walks, this is what I found to share.

My dawn:


My dusk:

Snowmageddon

Also known as the Snowpocalypse, Snowverload, and (in my own inner monologue) Snowmygoodnessgracious. Not too long ago we were caught smack dab in the midst of the mid-Atlantic's biggest snowstorm in three centuries. The most memorable aspect? The icicles. Three feet long and shimmering with a diamond-like glitter in the cold winter sun--every time I passed under an awning, I felt like they were aiming right for me.

Words and Curiosities

As a lover of antiquities, reference books and, of course, words, I've spent the past few months wondering whether my overflowing bookshelves might have a little extra space for a copy of Pictorial Webster's: A Visual Dictionary of Curiosities.

Printed by Quercus Press, and released last August, Pictorial Webster's is a 400 page alphabetical arrangement of images printed from wood carvings and copper electrotypes used in 19th Century dictionaries.

The project was begun by John Carrera almost fifteen years ago when he found a tattered 1898 dictionary under his grandfather's favorite reading chair at the family farm. Read all about it right here.

Here's a peek inside the pages of this artistic and whimsical volume of lexical history:

Naturally, the copy I was thinking of adding to my collection is the Trade Edition, shown above, and available on Amazon.com for a very reasonable sum.

Nonetheless, this film detailing the making of the $4600 leather-bound Deluxe Edition, is incredible. From the actual printing of each image, to the cutting of the pages, to the painstaking binding and stamping of the cover, it is an amazing glimpse into the process of creating a book. I was blown away! Well worth 7 minutes to check it out.

Pictorial Webster's: Inspiration to Completion from John Carrera on Vimeo.

Alma

If you're down for a little dose of creepy, take two minutes to watch Alma, a beautifully-made animated short that I stumbled upon earlier this evening, written and directed by Rodrigo Blaas. But don't say I didn't warn you...

( via GeekTyrant)