Hello, my friend! Hello!

The Gypsy and the Gypsy's Husband buried alive!
My dear and loyal readers,

First, let me assure you that no, I did not just drop off the face of the earth.  It rather felt that way, but my sudden and abrupt departure was absolutely necessary.  This Gypsy’s life has just been a little out of control in the last few weeks!

As many of you know, my husband and I have been living apart for a little over a year.  His work took him to San Francisco.  But we had a house in Sacramento -- a place where the housing market has been very, very rough.  Last spring, we decided that we would wait until 2010 to list our house and try to live together in one city with the hopes that the housing market would stabilize. 

Well, it did.  And to our surprise, dear readers, our house sold in four days.  In fact, our buyer wanted a shortened escrow period, too.  We were completely surprised!  We thought it would take months for our home to sell, and we were rather unprepared. 

So, in the last month we sold our house (with all the work that comes with that undertaking), found another apartment in San Francisco, moved out of my husband’s old apartment, moved out of our house, and are beginning to settle in at our new apartment. We've only been in our new place about a week, and we are still surrounded by boxes. 

Phew!

Oh! And tomorrow I leave for two weeks in London, Wales, and Ireland.

There are times when it just feels like the Earth is spinning a little too fast!

But the dust has settled a bit, and I’ll be blogging and tweeting my way around London, Wales, and Ireland, so make sure you are set to come along! 

I’ve missed you!  What have you been up to while I’ve been gone? 

Cheers!
A

PS: Wanna see what I've been up to lately? Well, check out my Project365.  While I haven't been blogging, I have been shooting photos.

Holy Week in Art: Palm Sunday

Entry into Jerusalem by Giotto (in Cappella Scrovegni, Padua)
Hosanna!  Hosanna!  Hosanna! 

Today in Christian churches around the world hosannas will be said, sung, and shouted as Christians celebrate Palm Sunday, the start of Holy Week.  Palm Sunday marks the day when Jesus entered Jerusalem after a time away.  He rode on a donkey -- a mark of humility -- but was greeted like a king with crowds in the streets shouting “Hosanna!” and lining the streets with their coats.  The events of the day fulfilled a long-held prophecy heralding the coming of the Messiah according to Christian theology. 

In Christian art, depictions of the events of Palm Sunday are often called “Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem” or some variation thereof.  Key elements include Jesus (often with a halo around his head) riding a donkey and palm branches.  However, many Northern European artists did not actually know what a palm branch looked like, especially in the Middle Ages, so the foliage may vary. 

In many depictions of Palm Sunday have a sad, hollow feeling to them, too.  While Palm Sunday often feels like a celebration, it is a hollow celebration because Jesus was executed just a few days later.  Palm Sunday begins what is referred to as Holy Week -- a week of events and remembrances of the final days in Jesus’ life. 

I’ll be blogging all week about Holy Week in Art.  Stay tuned!

Photo Friday: Project365 Update

I am now nearly three months into my Project365! I absolutely love this project.  Love it!  I've been working on night and low-light photography and shooting entirely in manual mode.  I have learned so much thus far! 



A few of my recent favorites:
Want to join the fun? Check out my post about starting your own Project365.
Thanks to all of you joining me from DeliciousBaby.com's Photo Friday!