Rose Red

In many, many ways, I strive to be an individual.  I take great pleasure in being unique and going against the grain.  If something is trendy, I tend to be driven away from it as opposed to drawn to it.  


Yet there is one way that I am hopelessly and utterly stereotypical: I love red roses.  So much so that my husband makes a habit of buying them for me--whether or not there is an occasion for them.  He started doing this when we began dating, and I'm happy to say that he still does it now, 7 years later.


What do I do with the roses?  Honestly, I spend a great amount of time just staring at them.  I arrange them.  I dry them and use the petals, whether as potpourri or decoration.  


And (surprise, shock), I take pictures of them.

I love the depth, the way that the petals are gently unfurling.

Perfect bloom...  Reminds me of one of
the quote my mother always tells me:
"A Bud is not a Broken Rose."

Almost looks like a desktop wallpaper--and I took it!

Playing around with focus...  I like the contrast of the
white on the red.

This last round of roses (shown above) was given to me on Valentine's Day, and has the distinction of being photographed with my new, amazing camera.  (Also bought by my husband...  I am blessed!)


To take those pictures, I actually put the bouquet on the floor.  That way, I could get the best lighting from outside.  Tolkien found this very amusing:

He looks either hungry or annoyed...
I cannot decide.

So why am I blogging about this?  Besides showing off my snazzy pictures of my favorite flower?


I wanted to show what inspired this, my most recent Silmaril:

Rose Red - Silmaril Pendant

Another shot of Rose Red

As might be expected, I love that color red.  It reminds me of roses (obviously).  It also reminds me of the many blessings in my life.  


When I find myself blocked for creativity (which has been happening quite a bit recently), I have been trying to find ideas in simple things.  The green of the grass.  The red of roses.  There is so much beauty surrounding me...  I am endeavoring to take the time to actually see it.