See this cherub? Does this look like the face of someone who could hate? This little cherub is what I look like on the inside. So, when my dear friend Janey over at Cupid or Cats tagged me for the Love/Hate Challenge, my heart was filled with joy that she thought of me. Then I went into hyperventilation mode. Where’s that paper bag? I don’t really consider the “h” word to be a part of my accepted vocabulary. Not that I never use it.
“My computer just deleted my entire post! I haaaate that!”
“Brussel sprouts you say? No way….I haaaate those.” “My jeans…won’t….snap….hmpfff!! I haaaate this!”
But really and truly I don’t mean H.A.T.E. I was raised strictly evangelical “God doesn’t like it for you to say ‘hate’ watch what you say and think Southern Baptist. In that world saying that you hate something was tantamount to pointing a loaded gun at the heart of whatever the object of said hatred might be.
Still, I love, love, love Janey and as I was editing photos things began popping into my head that just might work. I also decided to mix it up and, well, dilute the darker side of my list. So, I will be blending the Love and Hate items into a sort of chocolate striped candy cane of my feelings. This is for you Janey!!
I love the beach. All beaches. Any beach. To me it is the one true place where I can sense God’s presence, a place where gravity proudly exhibits ts power by pulling the oceans to and from the shore every moment without fail. I am at peace near the ocean.
I hate to be ignored. I know people who will honestly stare straight ahead as I talk, even when I ask direct questions, tap my toe and wait patiently for an answer. Or for them to walk away. But they just ignore me. WHO raises these people? Haven’t we been a civilized world for quite a few centuries now? And it really hurts when it happens to be coworkers or “friends”. Just tell me to shut up, to go away, or ask me to please wait a moment, that you can’t think right now. ANY thing but stone cold silence.
I love that I got to jam with Robbie Clark one night in Costa Rica!
He even let me play his guitar. Well, I held it and waited for it to play itself
but still…….
I hate that I lived for 30 years without having any sensitivity to poison ivy and suddenly developed an allergy when I was expecting my youngest son. uggggh. It was the worst! So now I avoid it like the plague and I get a poison ivy awareness refresher course whenever hubby and I go out for hikes. He loves me. 🙂
I love lizards and I refuse to apologize for it! They are true little divas and some of the friendliest creatures around. I feel at times like I live in a small Jurassic Park. When I step outside, the sound of them scurrying around is comforting. Their role in the cycle of life is so beneficial since they eat thousands of mosquitoes, spiders, ants and other various annoying insects. Besides, they really like to show off which makes for great photo ops!
I hate that we had to leave Costa Rica-not once-but twice, leaving behind an authentic paradise, wonderful friends and a life that knew nothing of time. It was wonderful. But I also hated leaving our home to go there. And the home before that. I just hate leaving. I am a nesting Crab; but like the crab and my totem animal the turtle, my home is mobile and can be set up again and again.
I love miracles, like these chicken eggs. Those birds will lay anywhere there is a soft spot and I have helped to hatch Emu eggs at least once in my life which was priceless. Sorry, but I have only a couple of “real” photos of that and they are buried beneath thousands of others, not quite as organized as they once were.
I hate the carelessness of humans that do not understand the impact they have on the natural world with their inconsiderate disposal of waste. And still the creatures find a way to blend beautifully with it all….
I love accidental moments, like this one. After doing dishes one evening there was a flurry of soap bubbles in the air. Normally they float delicately until they come in contact with something else and then burst, much like a lot of my best ideas. But then there was this one. It came to rest precariously on the tiniest fiber of the dish cloth and just clung there, waiting for me to capture its moment of brilliance. It was no bigger than a pea. I think perhaps there is hope for my dreams after all….
Love Sangria….
I hate hangovers. I had enough of them in my younger days to know it is NOT how I want to spend precious hours of my life. I still drink but have learned to pace myself. The porcelain God will have to find its subjects elsewhere. By the way, one of these fruity delights gets a really nice warm, fuzzy going for you. Then there’s the drunk fruit that is left. Good stuff! And we ordered it by the pitcher. I swear….no hangover.
I love kiddie art-all those priceless treasures that were done for me by my beautiful children over the years. No piece of art can ever match a tiny hand print or self portrait. And if it is labeled by the artist, then that ups the value! I love my guys and I have every really special picture they made for me. That’s quite a few pieces. I finally had to part with the boxes of 34 years worth of school papers and Mother’s Day cards….yeah, that was last week. 😉
I hate that I don’t have one of these!!! How awesome is this?!
I love to draw, sketch, paint, and pretty much create things. This piece is special because for me it represents the seat of the human soul, a place wherein resides the darkness and light of all existence. The only real battle between these forces comes from within.
I hate that I don’t speak turtle. I wanted to ask whey he thought is was cool to nibble all my cucumbers!!
I love photographing cemeteries. There is so much history, so much love and so much ‘after life there’. I like to imagine the lives of the residents when they were still of the human world. The cemeteries of New Orleans are rich in architecture and history.
I hate that vultures are so maligned. They are one of the only creatures that does not ever kill for food. They are nature’s garbage collectors. Noble. And what would we do without their generous appetite for the dead?
I love this moment. A neighbor rescued some baby raccoons and this little one adopted her daughter as its new “Mommy” and cried to be picked up. Where are my tissues damn it?
Yes, I got to hold it but I just wasn’t “MOM”.
I hate that I don’t get to see my little momkey friends every day now. They are truly delightful, mischievous and reverent (apparently) animals. I call this one “praying for bananas”.
I love that I got to see and photograph the magnificent Resplendent Quetzal. It only lives in high altitudes in Central and South America.
Okay so I was trying to avoid this, really I was. But I really hate wasps. I try to imagine the good that every creature brings to the table of Life but this red beast has only brought me misery in this life. I feel no remorse in my emotion. NOW are you happy Janey? I am so ashamed………lol. Not. They are real buggers.
And that wraps it up folks. I HATE that I had to pick out only ten things that I love because there are so many more. But if you want to know about those, well you need to visit the rest of my blog. :))
My nominees to tag for this Love/Hate Challenge are:
Just list ten things you love and ten things you hate, then tag in ten others! Simple
Tropical Affair 
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