Life in B&W, Sunflowers!

Morning Walk in Black and White

tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Continuing my series of posts Life in B&W, I thought I was share some images from a recent morning walk near where I am now living in the Denver Greater Metropolitan area.

But first I thought I would share some news/update you on my life…

I’ve Moved – from Urban to Suburban

Those of you who followed my blog for a while know that earlier this year (April 2019) I moved from Central Oregon to the greater Denver Metropolitan area, after my husband Terry suddenly passed in December 2018.

I moved from a home in Central Oregon to a two-bedroom apartment in the Denver area. and tried to stay positive about a new “living on my own apartment adventure” (the first time I’ve lived on my own in my life). However, little did I know how much I would dislike apartment living after living in a home most of my life. As well as how much I would dislike living without another human in my residence.

Mike my miniature schnauzer disliked apartment living also – he missed having a backyard to play ball in. Early morning, during the day and late in the evening, I had to take him on either a quick or longer walk for him to “do his business” and this became tedious. Additionally there were sketchy areas and a large homeless population near where I was living. Mike and I had one scary experience where a homeless man from the park near my apartment followed us for several blocks in a stalking manner.

In May I met a friend at the new Spousal Loss Grief Support group I was attending in the Denver area who also loss his spouse and was interested in having a roommate for his large house. He had a nice backyard that backed up onto a green space and walking trail and he really liked Miniature Schnauzers (his favorite dog breed)!

So a couple months ago I left my apartment in an urban area and moved to the suburbs and I am very happy (and so is Mike).

Plus it is wonderful to have a roommate who understands the depth of the grief of losing their spouse/lifetime partner and we’ve been a great support to each other. It is not something I want anyone to experience in order to understand. As I’ve discussed with numerous other widows and widowers, unless you’ve personally experienced this unique and devastating loss, you absolutely do not have a clue (and you are not in any position to offer any life advice to someone who has lost their spouse, all you can do is support and respect them on their journey) or can even imagine what they are dealing with.

You will lose someone you can’t live without, and your heart will be badly broken, and the bad news is that you never completely get over the loss of your beloved. But this is also the good news. They live forever in your broken heart that doesn’t seal back up. And you come through. It’s like having a broken leg that never heals perfectly—that still hurts when the weather gets cold, but you learn to dance with the limp.― Anne Lamott

With that background, I can now share with you some images in B&W I took with my smartphone on a morning walk near my new residence (by the way, I thought I was going to live an edgier urban life but I am a suburban girl at heart.)

Morning Walk in Black & White

2019-08-09_10-04-35_4122019-08-09_10-01-07_6042019-08-09_10-15-46_0122019-08-09_10-20-26_8922019-08-12_10-10-03_2512019-08-17_19-11-38_212

As part of my walk I had to go through a tunnel under the road to cross from one side of a busy street to the other. I was absolutely fascinated with the tunnel in B&W:

2019-08-09_10-24-54_9632019-08-09_10-25-07_4742019-08-09_10-25-10_6442019-08-09_10-25-15_7262019-08-09_10-25-41_718The tunnel was lined with bird nests, which also looked quite interesting in B&W:

2019-08-09_10-25-34_446Pretty cool, eh?

Postscript

Now that I live in a house, I also have a yard in order to plant things. One of the early thing I planted was sunflower seeds. If you are a longtime follower of my blog you might remember my obsession with sunflowers (see series of posts – Sunflowers!)

Recently the first sunflower from three large pots of sunflowers I planted has begun to bloom:
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I suspect I might have a future post about sunflowers when all three pots of sunflowers are in bloom!

And speaking of future posts – I have a new studio in my new residence.

If you remember my posts from May 2019 (“Oh Scrap”, Part II and New “Studio” Tour and New Studio Tour, Part II) I shared images from my new apartment “Studio/Guest Bedroom”:

2019-05-05_22-31-41_150

I now have a dedicated Studio – a room for creating that I do not have to share with any guest – ha! So I will do a future post about my Studio, but here is a sneak peak with an image of the design wall my roommate built me and a work in progress:

2019-08-13_19-17-07_358.jpeg

 

 

Published by tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Quilter, crafter, obsessive tea drinker and lover of all furry creatures (especially dogs and cats) - join me on my tierneycreates blog as I share stories from "A Crafter's Life".

44 thoughts on “Morning Walk in Black and White”

  2. Life just keeps evolving, doesn’t it? I am so pleased that you have found a home where you and Mike can settle….and that has a studio space for you! The work in progress looks intriguing. Your tunnel photos are very atmospheric. However, my favourite is the high tension wires; I love the drama of the composition.

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  3. The move sounds like a good decision. I love spending time all by myself, but that is probably because it has become so rare with 2 young children around. If I was alone in our house all the time it would lose its appeal quite quickly. I remember from when we were still childless that I didn’t really feel like cooking for just me when my husband was away for e.g. a business trip. It’s also nice to have someone around to tell how your day was.

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  5. I’m out of town (just cell phone) and so eager to see pics on my computer. So glad you and Mike have a yard–i was worried about that! And you need to be able to plant things!

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  7. I’m so glad you are happier now with where you live, it certainly sounds like the right decision! I certainly understand how tedious taking our four-legged friends out can be. I hope your new space gives you not only the supportive environment you need but also a lot of room to let your creativity flow.

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  8. I’m so glad you are back in the suburbs! I think urban life was too much change too soon. It sounds like you are on the right track. Thank you for your beautiful insights and your beautiful pictures. They match each other perfectly❤️❤️

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  10. I am so happy about your new place. I love the B&W photos. I am looking forward to seeing your creation that is in progress on your design wall. Thanks for the photo of the sunflower. I have been sketching sunflowers in hopes of making a fabric collage sunflower. I have never seen a sunflower of this color.

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    1. The deep orange sunflower is yummy, I’ve only recently discovered them myself. I seriously need to catch up on your blog to see what you have been up to. What I’ve been doing since I got so far behind is just focusing on reading one of my blogging buddies posts till I catch up on them at a time and then going on to the next person. I have missed seeing all the creativity!

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  12. I love your flexibility as you strive to learn what is going to work for you. This move sounds exciting especially now that you post scripted that you have a design space. I love the quote from Ann LaMott. It is always a bright spot in my morning when I read one of your posts.

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    1. Thanks so much Christine and I would like to return to more regular posting. I always feel good after writing a post and thanks for reading and your thoughtful comments 🙂

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  13. Back home, re-read your post and devoured the B/W pics–really intriguing and haunting. I’ve tried sunflowers so many times unsuccessfully but your pic makes me want to give it a go again. Probably inconsistent watering in our heat has been my downfall. But haven’t given up. I’m into rescuing caterpillars and raising them into butterflies, so I’m adding some plants specifically for them. Oh,how wonderful to be able to dig and plant! Welcome back to a yard!

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  15. Glad to see you back in the suburbs. You need that freedom. Nature. I hope you are able to find an apple tree on your journey and get a chance to make a pie.

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  19. Happy to hear that the new place affords much more space to walk and to work! 🙂 You have such a great eye for capturing (and creating!) natural beauty. Thanks for sharing the new landscape. 🙂

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