Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: party

(+9 insets!) (view large please!) When Steve and I went down to the San Francisco Bay Area to visit my younger brother and his wife, we were really happy to learn that Nathalie's daughter, Phoebe, would also be home from college! It would be so nice to see her and catch up with what's going on in her world. Being 54, it's fascinating to talk to someone who's just starting college. At 19 years old, Phoebe's college experience compared to mine totally floors me. It's just gob smacking. For instance, when I went to San Francisco State University, gym classes were varied with dozens of courses available. But today they have only dance classes. No gym. No badminton. No aerobics. No soccer. And of course, not my favorite--trampoline (which I took for two semesters!). All creative art classes…GONE. Etc. It's horrifying. This is the world that Phoebe lives in. Yes, she can go to a local gym for classes but they aren't on campus. Art classes would be the same situation I'm sure. Anyway, talking to her about school leaves me feeling totally staggered and I feel sad that there are so few opportunities for Phoebe's generation to explore creatively within the confines of school. When I first met Phoebe a couple of years ago, she gave me a tour of her bedroom, which was such an honor. It was so much fun to see how she decorated her room and to tell her how I had decorated mine. She had some art on the walls but nothing too outlandish. As I grew up, my walls and ceiling became 100% covered with animal and horse pictures without any surface showing. When I turned 17 or so, I began collecting swim suits and pinned them up to my walls in tropical displays with beach posters behind them, using fake palm fronds as accents. I had a spot on one wall for pictures of cute celebrities too. Phoebe's décor was wonderful but sedate in comparison to my flamboyant display and I really enjoyed the peek into how she showed herself off in her room. While I looked around, I was immediately drawn to a large glass bowl in the corner. It was nearly half-full of some kind of beads. Peering inside I saw…RAVE BEAD BRACELETS!! Dozens of them, in fact! HOW COOL IS THAT?! Rave beads…what the heck are rave beads?! They are bracelets known as "Kandi," worn at dance clubs and parties, created by individuals as gifts to people they meet there. Originally started by drug dealers to stand out as a source for party drugs like ecstasy and coke, these showy bracelets soon turned into a popular fad for anyone who loves the dance scene. Bracelets are shared in a special way--essentially the two people hold hands and the gift bracelet is slid from one wrist onto the other's wrist. Specifically it goes like this: 1. Two people make peace signs (Peace) 2. They form their hands into hearts (Love) 3. They join their hearts (Unity) 4. They slide their bracelets from hand to hand (Respect) 4.a. Hug someone. (From) (For more info & pictures about the Kandi craze, click this phrase!) The whole rave beads-Kandy craze started many years after Steve and I were over our club days, so we never got to see any of this in action. It's a shame because I would surely have had an enormous collection myself! However, seeing Phoebe's collection filled me with excitement because I was sure they were very special to her. She confirmed this by immediately telling me all about her experiences. Every bracelet has a story, instantly coming to mind when Phoebe holds it in her hand. I loved hearing her tales and at the time I thought to myself that I'd just have to get pictures the next time I had a chance. Visiting San Anselmo this time aligned all of the stars and Phoebe gave me permission to take pictures of her collection! My eyes twinkled as I pulled out a bracelet and asked for details. She instantly told me where she got it and who gave it to her. I took out another one. "Oh! That one I got in the bathroom when I met a girl in there!" I pulled out another one and out came another story. Such fun. Thank you Phoebe, for allowing me to share part of you with the world! I spent quite a while photographing her bracelets and my main image shows the whole collection as a glorious pile of dance party memories. I am also including 9 insets for you to enjoy as well. Pam, did you ever have a party phase in your life? I loved dancing but I didn't get many chances to go "clubbing." My dates rarely had the interest and I didn't have friends that liked that sort of thing. But when I met Steve, we went out dancing on a regular basis for the first couple of years when we lived in San Francisco. What fun! I hope you're having a nice day today my dear! Explored on 1/27/19, highest placement, #5.

(Please view large!) Stop what you're doing and for just a moment, think of three things that you are grateful for in your life right now. Think about why you feel this way. This is something you can do for yourself every morning to make your day even more wonderful! On this rainy, cold, but beautiful morning, I walked up and down our driveway and I thought about my day's trio. What was I especially grateful for? Who did I feel grateful towards? I am grateful for my husband. He's always been there for me, he doesn't give up, and he is a huge reason for all of the fun and adventures we've had in our lives. He's exposed me to things I've never done before, like scuba diving. He's taught me to be the best that I can be whenever he has something to offer; in photography, he's shared his expertise which has shaped who I am. He and I are the best team I've ever had the joy to be part of and we continually prove we are better together than apart. I could go on and on but you get the point! :) I love Steve so much. I am so grateful. I am grateful for my parents. They raised me and my three brothers to the best of their abilities and we grew up in a nice neighborhood in San Francisco, close enough to all of our schools that we could walk to most of them. My mom and dad were both brilliant and I was lucky enough to get my father's analytical mind (but not his math skills, lol) and my mother's creative and artistic talents. I am so grateful that I have been able to tap into these life-long gifts from my mom and dad. I am grateful for the community here at ipernity. Since I came back to start my Pictures for Pam project, I have been welcomed home with open arms. I'd been in a terrible depression and hoped that doing something for Pam might make me feel better. It did. More than that, I've been surrounded by the most amazing, supportive, wonderful, warm, and generous people from all over the world. You've made me a new person. I have a renewed sense of confidence in myself and my abilities. You've reminded me of the joy of visiting the world through this community's eyes. I am able to give back my thanks by visiting your photo streams and letting you know how I feel about your pictures. This feeds my insatiable drive to make others happy. Additionally, the feeling of sizzling inspiration when I see some of your photography is so fantastic. Because of you, I am back to my wiggly, happy, creative self. That joy has then made my whole life, my relationship, my world so rich and full of exciting possibilities. I am so grateful to each and every one of you. Today's picture was something that amazed me when I saw it on my computer. It wasn't something I planned for and I had no idea it was there! As I was looking through images I'd taken a few weeks back, I came to this one and I could hardly believe my eyes! All I can see is Tony Robbins talking to a flock of enchanted followers that gaze up at him in awe. I know that feeling. His teachings are responsible for a huge amount of life-changing understanding and realization. I am so grateful to him. I hope you like my tribute! Pam, I am so grateful to you. You shook my shoulders and woke me up. You gave me the courage to stand up and take a step forward. A gentle realization came to me that doing something to show you how much I care would in turn begin a healing process for me. Because of you, my downward spiral turned upside-down and now I'm on an upward spiral with no end in sight. I am so grateful to you, my dear friend. May all of our grateful hugs bring you the strength to regain your health. We love you Pam. Explored on 12/19/18, highest placement, #2.

(This image is best viewed large!) I woke up this morning to the rain pattering against the windows and popped eagerly out of bed. As I got my day started, I thought to myself, "Oh goody! A walk in the rain will be so nice!" Armed with our huge umbrella, I skipped out the door, stretched on the porch and was soon on my way. Splashing my way down the gravel driveway like Christopher Robin, I sang merrily, "And the rain-rain-rain came down-down-down and washed away the pig-a-let!" (from Winnie the Pooh) The rain drummed enthusiastically on my umbrella and I beamed in response. There's something so wonderful about walking in the rain under a large, protective umbrella. It's like being in your own little world where time seems to stop for a while. I love it so much. As I walked along, I simply could not get enough of the shiny-wet juicy-colored leaves on the ground in a rainbow of colors…bright yellow, orange, rust, red, deep brown, and splotched combinations of any or all colors including bits of green. A stream of water ran down the driveway and the submerged leaves were even more beautiful. Leaf-shaped jewels I mused. So, so pretty. I thought about pictures but rain and cameras don't mix, and trying to coordinate an umbrella and a camera doesn't work either. I wondered if we'd get a break. By the time I was done with my 13 laps, my shoes went from dry to damp to squishing with water at every step, complete with very cold, wet feet! My lower pant legs were soggy too, but I didn't care, it was such a wonderful walk that I didn't dare spoil it with my audio story. I kept an eye out on the weather and was delighted to see my husband doing laps of his own, umbrella overhead and enjoying the experience for himself after I'd told him how nice it was. Eventually it stopped raining for a while and I slipped out with my camera in hand. I thought maybe the light wouldn't be good or the magic would be gone since it wasn't raining anymore, but I would discover I was in luck. In any event, my hope was to take a few pictures and go on my first exploratory adventure off into our lower forest. This is something I hadn't done in quite some time so I was excited to see what I might find out there. I wandered down to the gate, clicking at beautiful leaves I found...then I strained up to see the sporophytes on top of the brick post down at the gate and they were positively dripping with water! I stepped off into the woods and found wasp galls and cool lichen, micro mushrooms and tiny finger-like fungus that I captured. Lots of really neat things to photograph and soon the rain came down again and I made a beeline for home. I was amazed to find that I'd taken over 150 pictures on my little jaunt, how did that happen? Granted, I take many exposures of each subject to give me a better chance at getting one that's good, but that's no guarantee and I'm used to chucking out the majority of my shots, especially when I haven't been taking pictures for a while. To my utter surprise, I discovered that I got very nice images of every single subject I photographed! That never happens!! My biggest surprise was the picture you see today. I was hoping that I'd be able to share an image of the wonderful sporophytes on top of our gate, and what do you know? It happened. But here's the thing. This picture is...SIDEWAYS!! There is moss and sporophytes growing on the side of the brick too, and when I looked at this image I just about fell over, because you never know how a picture will turn out until you look at it on the computer. And though it works in its natural orientation, it wants to be sideways. Crazy! Pam, here is a sporophyte party for you! These guys are having a great time with their chieftain at center stage, fancy hair and all! It's such fun looking for images that I hope you'll like and this macro was a huge treat for me to find for you! FEEL BETTER!!! I'm thinking about you every day! Explored on 11/24/18, highest position, #15.