simplyMagnified: The Second Day of Christmas: Do You See What I Hear?

This post is in response to the PhotoPlay Challenge/High Calling Focus. We were invited by Kelly Sauer to photograph the sounds we heard this holiday season...

So much of my advent season was filled with silence. Not a deafening, defeating silence, but a hopeful, expectant silence that allowed me to deeply connect with each task at hand.

This year, I spent time making gifts of poetry and photos, in various packaging. I heard tears flowing freely, uncontainable laughter, words of encouragement, joyful song and restful space.

I spent time photographing

feathers and lace around our pretty tree.

I wrote a poem

and made an art box for my daughter. I heard questions, MORE uncontainable laughter, secrets, hopes, dreams, girl-drama and a lot of Taylor Swift music.

I did not hear too much meow-ing.

Cache, unused to supervising my home projects

at such great length, was pooped.

Lucie was hiding.

I made creme de menthe brownie cupcakes, an adaptation of a recipe Nanny used to bake for me. I thought about all of the wonderful Christmas Eves we celebrated in Nan and Pop's tiny kitchen apartment, 12 of us smushed elbow-to-elbow around the long table. I can still smell the smelts, the baccala, the stuffed calamari, the shrimp, the aiglio e oglio... Nan, thanks for all you did for us without sitting down once to take a rest. I really miss you and think of you everytime I cook for someone and it warms their heart.