love this picture of my friends
one an engineer and one a doctor
who broke into song
‘so long farewell’ from ‘the sound of music’
as they said goodbye to each other after a long weekend away
spent relaxing with us
an eclectic group of longtime friends
—
”dear best friend, if you ever feel bad, call me.
i promise to sing for you. then you can decide what’s worse.”
-author unknown
happy quad of moms
babies in tow
meet at the mall
to workout
dance, laugh, chant, count, sing
most of all
to enjoy time spent
in each other’s company
away from the world
outside those automatic doors
—
“friendship is a wildly underrated medication.”
—anna deavere smith
*Anna Deavere Smith (born 1950) is an American actress, playwright, and professor.
warm and rainy early evening in town
pleasant ending
to a relaxed day with friends
between the holidays
good balm for the soul
feels almost like spring
later tonight
once we’re all home again
temperature drops
snow squalls and winds arrive
reminding us that winter is here.
—
‘happiness is a collection of joyful experiences shared with soul friends.’
-amy leigh mercree
—
ann arbor, michigan, usa, december 2025
The Gift of Nothing considers two main subjects:
the concept of nothing and the value of friendship.
What do you give a friend who already has everything?
Why, you give them nothing at all.
One of my favorite books, now celebrating its 20th anniversary, ‘The Gift Of Nothing,’ explores the meaning of friendship and the meaning of gifts.
What is a friend and what is a gift? Things might not be what actually make people happy. Perhaps it is the people and our relationships with them that really make us happy.
Why do we give gifts? Is it to show that we care about the person and that we are happy to be with them? If so, is the gift truly important or could the real gift be spending time with them?
Originally written for children, but loved by all ages.
—
Author/Illustrator: Patrick McConnell, New York Times best selling author and Caldecott honor artist, creator of the popular comic strip Mutts.
Publisher: Little, Brown Books
—
“the greatest gift you can give someone is your time.
because when you give your time,
you are giving away a portion of your life that you will never get back.”
-author unknown
heading to our longtime friends’ fairy castle house
for an early christmas celebration
on a cold, snowy night
lots of warmth inside
food, drink, cheer, stories,
meetings, memories
singing with the piano
twelve days of christmas
part of each room
sang a different number
everyone tried
some got lost
some forgot
some sang lots
some sang little
piano played on
all were laughing.
—
“Lady, dear, if Fairies may / For a moment lay aside /
Cunning tricks and elfish play, / ‘Tis at happy Christmas-tide.”
-Lewis Carroll, capturing fairies joining the Christmas spirit.
our friend, the birthday queen
celebrates
with a relaxed and festive pool party
we go around the circle
sharing stories of our connections
while she glows and cheers the day.
—
‘your time on earth is limited, don’t try to age with grace.
age with mischief, audacity, and a damn good story to tell.
-author unknown
fifteen of us met in a parking lot
at the appointed time
boarded an unmarked rock ‘n roll party bus
equipped with a very patient driver
70-80’s style
disco lights, music, coolers, bevs, decor, ice
drove to our unsuspecting, just-retired friend’s house
got him on the bus and surprised him
then we were sixteen strong
drove him to detroit
to celebrate him
played games
had an axe throwing competition
(we were all unscathed)
followed by
a long delicious japanese dinner
rock ‘n roll bussed back
laughing singing dancing storytelling hugging
a day turned into a night to remember
he stood to speak
said he could not believe it
he was overflowing with joy and tears
he was so happy.
—
‘the chief prevention against getting old is to remain astonished.’
-Kevin Kelly
fun spontaneous happy hour yesterday
with longtime friends
relaxed and glad to be together
sharing stories and catching up.
—
‘friends come and go like waves in the ocean but the true ones stick like an octopus on your face.’
-simplereminders
—
art credit: pinterest
–
such a lovely and delicate web was there to greet us
a welcoming art installation created by a spider
—
‘the bird a nest, the spider a web, man friendship.’
-william blake, poet
—
blake suggests that as birds create and live in nests, and spiders create and live in webs, so humans create and live in friendships. it suggests friendship is as complex, natural, and beautiful as the first two.
—
photo credit: thank you, cws
on the first day of fall with friends
lake michigan
—
‘not every lake dreams to be an ocean.’
-memet murat ildan
I didn't have my glasses on.... 