Happy New Year!

The new year has started and with it, my desire (actually my need) to start organizing my home and all of the new things I have added over the last year and a half. How does one integrate memories of world travels into my existing world in Aurora, Colorado? A challenge which I am totally enjoying!

My first major step was to browse through almost 20,000 pictures (maybe more) and choose some of my favorites. I had two 3 dimensional collage picture frames which I decided to display with pictures of my trips. I wanted to display pictures I have taken around the world of flowers and sunrises/sunsets. I've thought about it for a while and finally spent many hours collecting and editing the pictures. Now on one side of my new tv there are pictures of flowers from around the world and on the other side, pictures of skyscapes. The frames are quite interesting, each picture is in a black wood frame that accentuates the colors of the picture and the smaller frames are connected to make a large 8 picture collage frame. The smaller frames are in both landscape and portrait directions and are truly 3 dimensional, not flat. So some of the pictures stand out from the frame. Interesting and definitely add intrigue and interest to the pictures.

The pictures were many, the frames smaller than I thought so I've purchased 2 more and look forward to filling them too! So many beautiful sights I have seen! So many beautiful memories to fill my head and heart!

The flowers that are displayed right now are all deep pink or red and look lovely. There is the pink poppy from Monet's garden in Giverny, France. Next to it is the most beautiful deep pink rose from the mountain village outside of Kusadasi, Turkey. Under that is the most unusual pink flower from Mazatlan, Mexico and next to that is a beautiful picture of deep pink flower taken from a balcony with the town of Mijas, Spain in the background. Under those two are some pinkish/red tulips from the Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen and a deep pink 'something' from our walk through the Swiss Alps. The final row has flowers that contain a range of pinks and are from the gardens of the Benedictine Monastery and distillery in Fecamp, France. The picture next to that one is of a poinsettia tree in front of the castle of Rhodes, Greece. Truly beautiful flowers from around the world! I am now excited to put the other frame together with a variety of colors and blooms from other places around the world!

The sunrise/sunset collage is just as interesting! The top two frames hold pictures of the midnight sun in the arctic circle from my cruise to Norway on my birthday and the midnight sun on my Antarctic cruise on Christmas eve. Quite stunning! The next row is a picture of sunset on the beach at Puerto Vallarta, complete with palm trees and a torch. Next to that is the most amazing picture of them all, the incredibly beautiful sunrise over Lisbon with a faint view of the 29th of April bridge, the bridge that is exactly like the Golden Gate bridge. Beneath those two is the frigid Arctic landscape near Churchill, Manitoba at sunset from my helicopter ride there. And it is next to the beautiful view of a sunset from César's backyard in Sintra, Portugal. The famous palace there is not quite visible in that picture, but remains in my memory. The bottom row of that frame is the picture of the sunset over Istanbul, with a faint outline of the city and a picture of a 'pre' sunset in Paris. That picture is almost black and white due to the overcast day, with just a bit of sun peeking out from the clouds with the Eiffel Tower in the distance. The colors cover the range of the spectrum and the pictures, a true sampling of my world travels. So much more to do and yet, I just want to sit and admire the beauty on the wall!

As I continue to organize my home, I will be sharing the memories and experiences that my new 'decor' reminds me of. For now, I am back to the mundane task of organizing. But what things I get to organize!