I’ve had people say, immediately upon entering my kitchen, “Wow, this place reminds me of my grandparents’ house.”  I think it’s a compliment. 

One young mother who visited years ago said she loved old houses. She said my house had personality. 

A very sweet elderly lady with beginning dementia wondered if she had been here before until she reached the kitchen where she said, “I know I’ve been here before. I remember this kitchen.”

While people are going wild over ViNtAgE, I’d like to remind everyone that what they are going wild over is pretty vintage.  Vintage that’s in good shape. Vintage that’s been painted or polished up and put in antique stores.    What people don’t like is vintage that is yucky, unsightly and hard to use.  I have got some of both in my 1921 house.

The pictures you are seeing are pictures of my newly-contact-papered kitchen counters.  Yes, contact paper.  Now you people with granite countertops take a deep breath. I know it’s hard to not be jealous.  But try.

Jessamy, if you are seeing this, I know you know the drill all too well.  Do you know how many contact paper designs I’ve been through by now??  In the 80’s and even into the 90s contact paper was in style.  I would go to the store thinking, “Hmmm, wonder what kind of contact paper I’ll choose.”

Folks, I know it’s a shock, but contact paper has recently fallen out of the top 100 decorating designs for the home, and now I have to hunt a little harder for any design.  Now I go to the store thinking, “Hmmm, wonder what kind of contact paper I’ll have to buy.”

The only real choice they had this time was fruit. But it looks vintage, in its own fruity way and it has been a big hit with the fam.  One day maybe I’ll have real countertops.  I can dream.

It’s Monday, a work day for me, but I got into the garden for my requisite few minutes this morning.

I filled up a dry-as-a-bone bird bath.

I searched for creatures and found that in the shadow of a black-eyed Susan, the spider had won.

I continue to study Home Education by Charlotte Mason, in preparation for the upcoming school year.  I am reading aloud to Michaela every evening from Little House on the Prairie. We are slowly moving our way through the Little House books as bedtime read-alouds, along with beautifully illustrated nursery rhymes (do these ever get old — even for adults?), and some nature readers.

Michaela is reading to me from Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm and practicing narration.  We are doing only a little a night — maybe only a paragraph and I am already seeing an improvement in her ability to remember details.

Today’s Thought on a Charlotte Mason education.  Method versus System:

Teaching with CM is to use a method.  Not just a system.  A method has spirit, and touches every part of our lives.  A system can be just a series of things to check off a list each day.  

Method implies two things–a way to an end, and a step by step progress in that way. Further, the following of a method implies an idea, a mental image, of the end of object to be arrived at. What do you propose the education shall effect in and for your child? …The parent who sees his way–that is, the exact force of method–to educate his child, will make use of every circumstance of the child’s life almost without intention on his own part…”  ~ Charlotte Mason.  Home Education Volume 1.

Happy Monday
Lynn

Yesterday my sister and my mom and I got together and went thrift shopping.  I guess the skeleton’s out of the closet now and you realize it’s a family addiction and we all readily enable each other whenever possible.

I fell instantly in love with these dishes and the vintage-y table cloth.  The dishes made themselves right at home, got acquainted with our dishwasher and replaced some old dishes that I’ve been wanting to say BYE to.   The tablecloth…  Well I love tablecloths. 

How could I say NO?

The tablecloth got along wonderfully with the lavender laundry detergent and lavender dryer sheet. 

I’ve decided to share with you a MAJOR cleaning breakthrough.  It’s the super-cleaner’s way to mop.

I take two cleaning rags out and wet each one with hot water and then add a squirt of dishwashing liquid to each one.   I wring them out and put one under each foot.   I then skate around my kitchen. 

They say housework done properly can kill you.  So you can quit worrying about me.

Lynn

What is perspective? 

One definition is, “the manner in which objects appear to the eye in respect to their relative positions and distance.”  Another definition is, “the ability to see all the relevant data in a meaningful relationship. ”

I love looking at my garden as a whole and that’s usually the way I enjoy it. 

But the garden as a whole is made up of many layers. I can focus on the pink rose by the birdbath.

Or the Allium (garlic chives)  that surround the rose.

At a glance, it’s all pretty, but I know that there are minor problems going on with both plants.  The rose tends to get stem-boring pests that need to be addressed at some point.  Soon.  The garlic chives, though attractive, are growing out of the boundaries I have set for them and need to be thinned.  But I’ll let them bloom first.

In my mind, that is perspective.  Perspective,  in real life, is exactly the same as knowing that it’s okay to simply enjoy the roses today, as long as it’s on my to-do list to check for those pests soon.  It’s knowing the garlic chives are not an emergency, but being sure to thin them after they bloom and not to forget about it.  I think perspective also includes my planning to thin them on a day when I’ll have the time to pot some up for a friend.  They are beautiful, after all.

Perspective, like good judgment, if you seek to have it, leads to all sorts of sound decisions.

Home Perspective, Homeschool Perspective

Just as I wouldn’t try to thin the garlic chives during a thunderstorm, I try very hard not to make decisions about our home or our homeschool when I’m in a less-than-positive frame of mind.   Let me be more forthright.  If I’m depressed and hormonal and have had a horrible week, it’s probably not the best time to decide whether or not to pay a thousand dollars to put all the children on a regimented, boxed curriculum encompassing all seven (or eight or 10 or 15) subjects!  A decision like that can certainly wait a few more days until the clouds clear.

There will be cloudy, thunderstorm days in real life, in our homes and in our homeschools.  I have found that a thunderstorm kind of day is a good day to get by the window with a cup of hot tea and a good book and meditate on the garden as a whole.  Enjoy its overall beauty.  I save rose-repair and garlic-thinning for days when it feels right and when I am in a good frame of mind.

Writing To Gain Perspective

A big part of my life is journaling, including my blog and many hard-cover, bound journals here at home, so I know the power of writing things down.  Sometimes a clearer perspective can be gained by just writing down a few thoughts. 

I have a business friend who does what she calls a “brain dump.”  Each morning she starts her day by scribbling out the copious thoughts running through her mind.  They might be just fragments of ideas, or even questions or just errands to do, but after doing this “brain dump” there’s usually one or two very cohesive thoughts or ideas that help her streamline and prioritize her business goals for the day or week.  Ever since hearing that, I have kept a section of blank notebook paper in my home/homeschool notebook for dumping out thoughts.   It works. 

I have another dear friend who has written out where she wants to be in her personal life; her goals and her aspirations.  It’s her life plan.  Will she get there all in one day?  No.  But it’s so exciting to hear her talk about each accomplishment that gets her one step closer.

What Am I Talking About?

You may be wondering, what in the world is Lynn rambling about this morning??  (Honestly, sometimes I wonder too.)  Actually these thoughts stem from my having to work a few days each week, which leads to juggling, which leads to me feeling like there’s always something not being tended to, especially having one child with dyslexia.  On some days it would be so easy for me to cave in emotionally and just throw in the towel, but I have learned to step back, take a deep breath and enjoy the garden as a whole. 

I love that my homeschooled children have the freedom many days to enjoy learning what they want to learn.  I love that my homeschooled son is totally his own person.  I marvel at his ideas, knowing that they came from books he’s read and from an education undertaken completely in our home.  Yes, there are weaknesses and gaps, but I don’t have to focus on those every day, all the time, especially since he’s an emotionally grounded young man who exercises obedience and an excellent attitude on a daily basis and who enjoys learning! 

What a shame it would be to never enjoy the garden as a whole because I’m too busy looking at flaws and work that needs to be done.

As they say, homeschooling is a  marathon and not a sprint.

Go To Where The Blooms Are

If you want to photograph insects, go to where the blooms are.  Bear with me.  It’s another lesson I’ve learned in my garden.

This is the first year I’ve seen this Euonymus americanus bloom from start to finish.  It’s a native tree and it has drawn some insects into the garden that I’m not sure I’ve ever noticed here before.

I love to photograph insects, so I was excited to see the various insects drawn to this tree.  The thought came to me again that I’ve always had success in photographing insects when I go to where the blooms are.

Going to where the blooms are is a positive thought.  I like it. 

Blooms are everywhere. 

• A freshly-straightened room in the house that you can look at with pride (even if the rest of the house is upsidedown at the moment). 
• A homeschool meeting with other moms. 
• A good book that shares the experiences of others, both joyous and difficult.
• Teatime with your children.
• A great read-aloud, even if, or maybe especially if, all other plans have fallen apart.
• Psalms.

This morning during my quiet meditation time I enjoyed reading some in Psalms.  I read a little bit in Homeschooling: A Patchwork of Days: Share a Day With 30 Homeschooling Families. I wrote out a few thoughts in my journal.

I was reminded of the very most important things of all.  I was encouraged again that all homeschooling families are different and that I’m not trying to do “school at home” but rather to home educate.  I jotted down a few little things that I know I’ll enjoy reading at some later time down the road.

Basically, I’m just rambling in my on-line journal and reminding myself to stay encouraged, enjoy the garden as a whole, and to keep going to where the blooms are.

Lynn

Dear Friends,

As promised, a bit of an update on what is going on around here during our much needed spring break.   I’ve done a bit of this and a bit of that; tidying up the house, wandering around the garden, cleaning out a closet or two.

Living in an old house with a tin roof and without central air requires that attention be paid to the window treatments.  When many are lightening up for summer, we are putting heavy coverings over especially the south and west facing windows.  Today I covered one of the west-facing windows with a quilt I made for one of the boys years ago.  Hanging a heavy towel or old throw underneath will help keep the quilt from fading in the sun.

Princess of the Universe and I spent a couple of hours in her room.  I organized the craft closet while she culled clothes that no longer fit.  I’ve ended up with a nice stack of old clothes (fabrics) from which to make a memory quilt for her.  One of these days.

I noticed a little bunny had appeared in my sitting room, nestled quietly underneath a large arrangement of both dried and artificial flowers.  I guess he wanted to be here in time for Easter.

I’m not even sure what type of tree this is, but it has beautiful cream-colored blooms each spring.  One day I’ll identify it.  Any ideas?  I’ll try to show you more of the tree later.

The azaleas are beginning to bloom.  Pink…

and white.

Princess of the Universe was kind enough to take some pictures of me in a new dress.  A leisurely trip to the thrift store on Tuesday yielded some nice dress and blouse finds.  I love the easter-egg colored jumper.   The blouse is white cotton and very old-fashioned in design.

We filled all the birdbaths today.  I don’t know who enjoys them more, the birds or our cats.  The birds are usually quick enough to get away from the cats, but the cats actually like to jump up on the the eges of the baths and drink from them. 

Bleeding heart.  One of my favorite springtime plants.  So pretty and delicate.  Looks like a dainty white locket made especially for a garden fairy.

We’ve snacked on violets and made a nice nutritious infusion each day.  Much of yesterday was spent winding down, shopping, and washing my laundry, putting a bit of lavender in the water.  Today has been mostly spent inside, with scattered trips into the garden to just think and look and plan.  I am hopeful that tomorrow will be a big gardening day, getting hands dirty and really planting some things.  The weather is supposed to be gorgeous and I have nasturtium seeds and many other seeds I want to get started.

Thank you for all of your kind well wishes that I enjoy my spring break. It’s working!

Lynn

Ah, my home notebook.  I love it.  It’s nothing spectacular, but I am happy with a notebook in my hand.  I always have been.  I like lists and organization and I like to jot things down that are important to me in the moment.  Where better than a notebook to keep my lists and goals and plans and stuff?

Isn’t it pretty?  Doesn’t it make you want to sit down right now and make a list of some kind?  It’s actually just a plain white notebook.  I have taken pages from one of my old Victoriana calendars (by Cynthia Hart) and cut pieces to fit into the front cover…

the back cover…

and even the spine. 

You might wonder what goes into the notebook.  My notebook is actually one of the big things that keeps me sane as I try to work and homeschool and keep a home.  I have always kept a notebook of sorts, and I actually have different planners and notebooks for different things, but this is the MAIN notebook that has information that is nearest to my heart each day.

Let’s take a look:

Inside the front cover are two pockets. One holds our attendance records. The other holds projects I am working on currently, usually a test or paper of some kind that I need to have at my fingertips for easy access. Right now it’s several Saxon placement tests that I’ve been using to make sure we remember everything we should in math.  And to see if Michaela should really be in a higher grade level.  

In the very front of the notebook itself is the Five In A Row calendar I ordered.  I love the pretty pages and quotations.   It is where I work out when we’ll “row” which books. 

From there the notebook is broken into sections.  HOMESCHOOL is the first one.  I have a list each for Joseph and Michaela that shows what I would like for them to cover every school day.  You’d be amazed what I can forget!  There are also things like my BOOK LIST where I keep the names of books that I want to either check out from the library or buy.  Many of them are recommendations from on-line friends.  Thank you.  When I go shopping for books I just take this list out and it goes with me.   There’s also a MUSIC LIST.  There are also blank pages for me to write out goals and thoughts and long-term plans. 

I have a section in my notebook called PRAYER JOURNAL.  I don’t necessarily have to have this section.  I think the Lord is perfectly capable of putting things on my heart to pray about.  But sometimes I read a verse, such as the ones about praying for our leaders, and I feel bad that I have not remembered it well enough.  Or a family member or friend will have a need.  Or someone will ask me to pray about something.  It just helps me to make notes to myself about prayer.   Like I said before, you’d be amazed at what I can forget.

There is a section for HOME.  In a clear cover, I have routines written out for each day of the week.   It might sound silly, but since I work and homeschool they remind me of how my life works so much better if I have certain things done on certain days.   For example, you might remember that after being off during the week and enjoying homeschool adventures, I have to be at my work desk on Friday, so this is one of the notes on my THURSDAY page:

Note:  Friday is frequently a hard transition day.  On Thursday evenings make sure the house is tidy and anything computer-wise or bill-wise is already done.  You need to have a clean slate on Friday morning.

The HOME section of my notebook also contains a list of DAILIES such as wiping down the bathrooms, washing one load of clothes, knowing what will be for supper,  etc.

Then there’s a section on HEALTH AND BODY.  I keep little tidbits I read about vitamins and nutrition.  For example I was recently reading about zinc and bone health.  Who knew?  Next week I won’t.  Except that I jotted it down in the handy-dandy health and body section of my prettily decorated notebook. 

My exercise schedule (uh, reminder) is also in here.

This last section, pictured above, is one of my favorites.  It is the HERB / NUTRITION section of my notebook.  There is an A-Z index where I can store information about various herbs.  For example, under C there’s cleavers where I have written “gentle lymphatic & urinary.”  I’ll add more as I learn. 

After the last section is a nice big 3-hole pocket.  It holds stuff.  “Whatever” kind of stuff.  Right now it’s got paper dolls in it that I will get around to cutting out soon.  Inside the back cover are two more pockets that hold more STUFF, like a current edition of The Greenhouse Report and a small timeline project that I will be introducing Princess of the Universe to.

I hope I have helped you.  Because of my website, I do get questions from time to time from readers about working and homeschooling and staying organized.  I know this is one of the things that helps me to at least keep my thoughts straight and keep my ideas in a safe place for when I need them.

Lynn

I have continued to declutter the living room.  I think.  Maybe all I’m really doing is spending my life dragging furniture up and down the stairs while I trick myself into thinking I’ve made more room somewhere.

Poor Hubby went somewhere last evening and when he came home later there was a ladder, an antique suitcase, a desk, an end-table and various other items like photo albums and sewing scissors blocking the walkway through this room, which runs right behind the loveseat.   

In fact, this is the route he took to get where he needed to go.

It did not look like an easy task when he squeezed around the ladder and then sucked in his breath to make his way between the loveseat and the record player.  At this point we made eye contact, but I must have looked unstable or something because he didn’t say anything. 

I must have looked extremely unstable — or maybe it was the sharp sewing scissors and crochet hooks laying around where I had dismantled the craft desk for the 108th time in our marriage — because he offered to carry something upstairs.

I am pleased to say that there were no arguments and that the craft desk is now upstairs where we will set up shop again in Michaela’s room.  When I think of the work ahead — organizing all the craft things in her room — I think I’ve created a new word.  Recluttering.  Sometimes I declutter.  Sometimes I reclutter.  I suppose since I did carry three bags of stuff out to the van last night for Goodwill donations that I did do some DEcluttering, but putting that craft desk upstairs was a major REcluttering move.

Thank goodness my marriage is holding out. 

Really, though, I’ll tell you a secret.  Sometimes I get discouraged with my house.  The rooms ARE oddly shaped.  And I DO have places where the once-fashionable blown ceiling is peeling off and looking really ugly.  There have been times over the last century where the roof has leaked — think hurricanes (it’s stood through quite a few) — and there are dark spots either on a ceiling or wall.  Sigh.  And the closets?  Horrid.  The carpet?  Gross.  The bathrooms?  Outdated and tiny and totally in the wrong places.  Let’s don’t even talk about the coal dust that wafts down from the corners and in the closets OR the old dysfunctional windows.

Last night when hubby saw how distraught I was over this craft desk of mine, he put his arms around me and said, “I’m sorry.  You think you see a shooting star, but then when you get to it it’s just a broken piece of glass in the sand, and the sun’s not even shining on it right anymore. ”

Awwwwwwwwwww.  Either he’s got a heart of gold or he knows just exactly what to say to keep me from letting go of the tiny thread I’ve been hanging onto.

THEN he said, “But I look at you and our four babies and know I’ve got something better than ALL the stars.”

Where are the tissues????

And I know I really cannot complain.  I have more than I deserve and I like being content.  It’s just that sometimes I get tired.  And you all know that most of the time I love my old house. 

So this morning for school we’ll be spending a couple of hours organizing the craft area upstairs.  Then, inspired by Angelo, we have something in mind to make for the doll house.  I’ll try not to reclutter OR complain anymore, though you can probably expect another post like this later in the spring when I try to open up one of these ancient windows and rip a fingernail off doing so.

Lynn

The last couple of my days have been sucked out of that mysterious window that leads to a place called days-gone-by.  And never to be gotten back.  Tuesday was out-of-town meetings for work.  Wednesday was a doctor’s appointment out of town. 

So today finds me wishing I could clean the house from top to bottom AND get all of our lessons done and then some. (Tomorrow is a work day.)  Alas I have to choose.   I’ll do some of both, in addition to having a talk with my children about how I expect a little more from them here at home when I am out running around like a chicken with its head cut off. 

I did clean up my living room and swing the love sweat around to a different spot.  Ahh, the joys of living in an old, old house that looks HUGE but has tiny, oddly-shaped rooms.  For those of you who live in an old house, I know you understand.  For those of you who have no idea what this means, I am unable to take the time to explain because we are about to go into the clean living room and read some more of Hamlet. 

Over the last few (plus) evenings I have really enjoyed going through old pictures and organizing all of our family pictures into albums.  Talk about days gone by!  I am so glad that the Lord put it in my heart to truly enjoy the children when they were little.  They grow up so fast. 

We’re talking well over 2000 pictures here that were placed into albums.  I knew if I didn’t just bite the bullet and do it soon, I’d likely never get caught up.  We are now taking more pictures than ever. 

There were old pictures, new pictures, happy pictures, funny pictures…

There were pictures that made me close my eyes and try, really, really, REALLY hard to remember exactly how baby Daniel or baby Joseph or baby John felt when they snuggled up to me, smelling like cheerios and apple juice and soft baby skin.  If you have a baby in your home, go hug him now!!  Let me know how that feels, okay?

Princess of the Universe still snuggles constantly, so there’s been a continuum of hugging with her and I have adjusted in a motherly fashion to its change, loving all of it.

If you knew baby John, you’d know what a brave and daring act of look-at-me this was.  Can you make out that this adorable, dark-headed 2-year-old boy is reaching out to touch the tree bark with his tongue?  Okay, okay, he was going to lick the pine tree. 

Anyway, Baby John was quite shy, and was usually hiding behind a tree.  This was no small act. 

Last of all comes a picture that warranted being actually scanned into my computer files.  This is one of my favorite pictures ever.

Do you see that demure my-daddy’s-got-me look?  And this was the year that Princess of the Universe would ONLY wear white cowboys boots.  All the time.  Even to sleep.  I guess that’s from having three big brothers?

As I thought of all these days gone by, I was reminded that we all only have today.  Even then, I knew that and lived with that in my heart and mind.  It’s so important to just be clear in this one day and live this one day and enjoy this one day, and, of course, do right this one day.  It’s all any of us have.

Well, I must peel myself away from the computer and get lost in some Shakespeare for a bit.  Speaking of peeling oneself away from the computer, I really think you should check out Betty Blonde, a comic strip written by a very bright, homeschooled young lady named Kelly.  The theme of the comic strip these days is, well, you just need to check it out. 

Lynn

Pssssst. 

Come on and sit down with me and I’ll show you what I’ve been working on. 

Okay.  Here it is.

There are so many ideas floating around in my mind for my house — you know, home improvement things.  I sometimes mention something to hubby.  Like, I’ll say, “honey, I would love to have wood flooring in the kitchen.”

I know he hears me because he says, “uh huh.”

Anyway, I started thinking that it would be really nice for him to have a reminder of the things I want done, so I made up a GREAT BIG LIST of home improvement projects.  Then I got some salsa and some chips and I even lit a candle for ambiance.  And I invited him to sit down in the living room with me. 

I told hubby about the list.  These were my exact words:

“Honey, I made a list of all the things I want done in the house.”  (I stopped and smiled at this point.  Good, huh?)  “This list has got a lot on it, okay?  I mean a whole lot.  But I don’t want you to think of it as a lot to do.  Okay?  When you look at this list I want you to look at it like this.  You’ve got options.  There’s so much to choose from, you can just pick one thing that you want to do.  Okay?”

Hubby laughed.  Then he split.

I cannot imagine why.  Can you?  I thought I was doing him a favor by giving him a choice.  Oh well.  Maybe he’s thinking about what he wants to do first.  I put the list on the refrigerator so he can see it in the morning when he gets up to drink his coffee.

Lynn

I like to take time on Sunday evenings and get ready for Mondays. 

Monday brings a work day for me, a new school week and a new week of menus.  This evening was nice.  In addition to having chicken and garlic pizza – a treat around here - I got a lot of planning done for the upcoming week.  I also managed to declutter and clean up the girly-girl mantle in our bedroom, the place where all my hair thingys live.

It was hair pins and clips gone wild, but now all is under control, I’m happy to report.  I threw things away that were no longer usable.  I fished out a few nails and safety pins (gasp) that had gotten mixed in with hair pins and put them in their proper places.  I got really inspired to try to do more with Michaela’s hair on Sunday mornings, rather than just let her fly out of the house with a ponytail.  Yes, it was pretty bad.

An assortment of combs wait in an old tray that came out of the house I grew up in.

As far as school, I have copywork lined up for this upcoming week.  Michaela will be copying from Matthew 5, verses 3 through 11.   Joseph will be copying from Robert Louis Stevenson all week.   Math lessons are ready.

For Five In A Row, Michaela will begin studying

Grass Sandals : The Travels of Basho

I am really excited about this book because Joseph is studying Japanese and I think he will enjoy listening in on some of Michaela’s lessons, and I think Michaela can learn some things from Joseph. It should be fun!

I am also planning to start teaching Michaela to play the piano tomorrow.  Our budget really only allows for one type of lesson at a time, and that is going to karate, which we are enjoying immensely and don’t want to give up.  I don’t play piano myself, but played the clarinet and bassoon in school, so I think we can learn together.  I found some very simple books at the thrift store and we do have a nice keyboard, so here we go!

It’s time for bed now, and I’m confident I shall sleep more peacefully knowing that all of my pretty hair pins are nail-free and where they belong.

Good night!
Lynn

I bet you thought I was lost under a big piles of clothes in my closet!

Actually I have been enjoying my closet being so organized.  So easy to use!  Below is what I decided I needed to keep, based on my lifestyle.  I’m a dresses and skirts girl, so that’s what we’re dealing with mostly.  I also like to garden and I saved three pairs (out of eight) of overalls for my heavy gardening work.  I ended up keeping:

• Four very nice outfits for Sundays (skirt/blouse)
• Seven everyday outfits that I can work and keep house in (like the one in the picture)
• Three pairs of overalls with three work T-shirts
• My favorite dresses – there were five of them
• Three suits – sort of 1930s Miss Dorby brand
• A summer nightgown, a winter nightgown
• Three sets of PJs — think sweats or pantaloons and long T shirts
• Two winter coats
• A couple of light jackets
• A couple of long pull-over sweaters
• A couple of old sweaters for outdoor work when it’s cold

I still have a lot of accessories to go through, but you need to see the van with my donation stuff in it.

and…

and

and that’s not all.  By the time we were done, there was hardly any room to see out!

The amazing thing is that my cleaning out was contagious.  My daughter cleaned out her room and got rid of nearly all her old toys.  Now she has her new things from Christmas, and of course all of our doll house stuff, and she saved her very most favorite things.  The things that, as she put it, were like bubblegum stuck to her heart.

I had to laugh.

On a final note, this photo makes me think of the little phrase, it’s okay to be different.

Lynn