The St. George Middle Eastern Festival at the St. George Melkite Catholic Church...

...whew, that's a mouthful. Anywho, mom and I went to the festival on Thursday and it was a big basket full of cultural fun. We had $18 between both of us--which is not much considering the prices they usually charge at festivals--so we strapped on our frugal pants and entered the church lobby, which was brimming with mediterranean wraps and sandwiches and pastries and coffee and and and... We tightened our frugal belts and walked to the back and ordered a single wrap for $7. We split it, and it was plenty for our bellies. Besides, we also had two pastries ($3 each) and,  I had a cup of Arabic coffee for $1, whoa that stuff is good. It's sweet and smooth and not bitter at all. Outside they had a large white tent with tables and a dance floor in the middle. Two belly dancers performed, as well as a group of high schoolers in traditional middle eastern clothing. 

Next we ventured to the front of the church and entered the sanctuary where they were giving tours. The lady who gave us a tour was sweet and soft spoken and she told her stories of the church with pride. She said that her family was from just outside of Jerusalem and that most of the people who attend the church are Lebanese or Palestinian. We walked along the walls of the church as she told us the stories of each saint pictured on the walls, an apostle, a prostitute, a martyr, the mother of God. Each picture was packed with symbolism, each told a different story. The lighting in the church was warm and friendly, but low, so it was a little bit tough to get clear pictures. Too bad I can't fit a tripod in my back pocket.

We left with happy bellies, and another story in the grand tapestry of life that is made up of all of these beautiful stories, woven together. And $4 leftover in our frugal pants pockets. Heck, we even had enough leftover to purchase a candle. But we didn't. 

super duper

It never fails. I always become most inspired the night before an english paper is due. Inspired to do anything other than write the paper that is. I always begin with good intentions...intentions of sitting down with a good supply of caffeine and nothing but the materials I need to write the paper before me in an attempt to knock it out in a couple of hours. But as soon as I start brainstorming about the concepts, themes, and characters that I'm going to write about, my brain screams, "Do something creative! Write something! Paint something! Take a picture of something!" I have a four page paper comparing the themes of Hawthorne's The Birthmark and Marlowe's The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus that's due tomorrow and I've written about a page. And I'm pretty excited about it. No jest, I like writing papers like that. But seriously, it does something to my brain, it's like there's this mental block that won't leave until my brain throws up something somewhat creative. Tonight I did some photoshopping magic to cure the ailment. I told you I've been inspired by this lady lately. She's pretty much my hero. And she home teaches her kids. :) Anywho, she taught me this:

And I named this post "super duper" because that's what I think of what I learned. You can see what the photo originally looked like on the previous post. The only sad part is that the way-cool spectating man in the background is blurred out now. But I still think it's pretty super duper. Thanks lady. Now I can write my paper. :)

bubble

I took this at the Rothbury Festival in Michigan over the summer. During the lazy afternoon part of the day when everyone was flocking to the shade and soft ground of the Sherwood Forest, a couple of people set up and started blowing these -huge- bubbles. I like how the pretty lady in this picture is curled up under the bubble as it passes over her. And I like the man in background that's watching. The bubble was floating towards me and I kept taking pictures until it almost popped on my camera...but I pulled it out of the way just in time. :]

squie

For a while I lost interest in taking pictures. It became something that I felt was required of me, and so I began to enjoy it less. But alas, the enjoyment of it is coming back, and I hope to share it on this blog. I've been inspired by this lady lately. So, here are some pictures I took of beautiful little children gardening. Seriously though, I don't think you can mess up a picture if these kids are in them. :)