Mrs.O's writing room.

...And that is how the sun was lowered for the last time in 2013.

Interesting conversation on the way home from church. Mich: Daddy have you succeeded in life? Dad: (Laughs) Tell me. What do you think? Mich: Well, you have a wife, that means you didn't break up with her. Dad: Go on Mich: You succeeded in school. Dad: Yes, you can say that. Mich: You have children who are normal for their age. (We cracked up at this point) Dad: So what do you think is missing from your description? Mich: Love? Dad: Well, not exactly. It is God. If you are living your life in a way that doesn't bring glory to God, if you are not in that place, it doesn't matter what you have, you wouldn't have succeeded in life. Silence.

Lonely play ground No body cared for bike share The holidays are coming...Always Coca-Cola Frozen mail box. Black, white and a lot of grey

I walked out to the most beautiful scene - icicles on branches. They looked spectacular, glistening in the natural light. I went "snap snap". You'd think it would be a simple click of a button and viola! - the perfect picture. But oh! the devil is in the details. One shot would not do, I clicked away. As I trudged through the soggy snow, I saw more interesting scenes. I was lured in. I took the glove off my right hand to press the shutter and would place it back in the glove after a few clicks. There in was my mistake. As I went along, my fingers begun to feel painfully numb. I would place them back in the glove and hope they would regain some heat but they only got more painful. Slowly the cold crept into my fingers eventually setting them ablaze. Like frozen ice tapped to my bones. By the time I got to the metro my fingers were pulsating. I could barely feel them. Nearly as red as strawberries, going a little purplish. Got me thinking about the photogr...

... on my way to work.

Big padlocks, small padlocks, colorful padlocks, dull padlocks, new padlocks, old ones too. Engraved. Committed. Locked forever: Laura and Enrique, Peter and Simone and on it goes. I smiled as I walked over the Frankfurt bridge on a windy September day. It was an artistic sight. As I looked at these padlocks I wondered whether these relationships were still intact. I like the romantic gesture - very sentimental but was love locked  forever? Sometimes such acts keep people committed to each other, like the wedding ring, it is a constant reminder but other times it is just a pad-lock. In the middle of the bridge an old man played a harp, he looked up and smiled at me but I didn't have a coin to put in his hat. Did the lovers have spare keys, you know, just in case things didn't work out? If relationships soured would they avoid the bridge or lock with someone else in a different corner. The Eiserner steg known as the Iron bridge in Frankfurt am Main is over 1...

"Breakdown. Break through. Break the shell. Elevate and Fly”  In the presence of a Grammy Award-winning celebrity, overwhelmed with excitement you scream, you want to reach out and touch them and hold their attention but you’re tucked way out in the crowd. Your screams are drowned by overly enthusiastic fans. You shake off the madness and resign to sit with gratitude. It is after all a unique opportunity. In the crowd of Washington D.C revelers you represent a small land locked East African nation , a Nilotic race who might never have this privilege - India.Arie in concert. I first saw India on an Oprah Winfrey show in 2006. Intrigued by her natural beauty, her style and simplicity I listened as her soulful voice lifted clearly and powerfully from the bottom of her feet up on to the stage and into my living room. I liked her. Her music made me smile, it made me bob my head and feel sweetness rise from the essence of my being. I wanted to know more about her.  Rea...

Travel. Sights. Sounds. Food. Fun - some of the best things in life. Explore new places, shake off the old mold, do the extraordinary - something daring. Aah! but between work, parenting and other responsibilities I can barely get much in edge wise. Time flies, suddenly I'm older, less energetic and then I think I deserve a party for arriving home from work. But just when I settled into the mundane an opportunity knocked on my door with a bunch of goodies - a business class air ticket, a 4 star hotel and yeah! I was set for a 17 hour flight to South East Asia with an 8 hour lay over in Frankfurt. Highlights: I ate my first crab, munched on a red baby octopus, tasted the yummiest dumplings ever. 3 times I nearly missed my flight, I got hit on, I lost my phone and all in the space of 5 days. Red baby Octopus Chili crab Hubby took care of the kids while I traveled to a different country, a different continent. Of course I suffered small panic attacks along the way. As the ...