Bipity Bopity Boop.

This past weekend I drove two hours to Fruitland, Washington to see my God Mother Cori, Not CORY But Car-IE. A woman born in Vermont, raised in Mississippi, and a chosen northwest country resident.
Cori has always been a driving force in my life, When I graduated high-school in my card she wrote; "Congrats, you're not a teen mom!"

She is strict but fair, she embodies what a modern day fairy god mother might look like. Cooking like Paula Deen, gardening like Martha Stewart and loving like any T.V. Mom would.  Making even the dullest of days magical.

Upon my arrival she cooked for me; Ham, Grits, Fried eggs and Biscuits. Then had me sit in her garden with her drinking sweet tea and admiring the cottage like feel that is the flowers and foliage surrounding her home at the base of a mountain.

Sitting there, she started to tell me a story like she often does.

She told me about how her grandmother was a fundamental christian who never cursed. But she did have her own wordage. When she was a angry she would proclaim "Well I'll be a Johnny Jump up!" and then how magically this large area sprouted up with  these flowers as if her grandmother was with her all the time.

We also discussed the large amount of butterflies that fluttered around the garden being her mother. a fact I had known but forgot over time, she had some of her mothers ashes put into a glass case with a preserved butterfly. 



Cori is a hippie to the max, by that I mean she is much more spiritual than religious. A lover of nature she chooses to live a half a mile from a road, four miles from the nearest "'service station" and a little over a hundred miles away from my home "In town".

For a while she would spend half the winter with me, so she was not forced to drive a mountain pass in the deep and dangerous snow that was her two and a half hour commute to work. 

My whole life she has encouraged me to be nothing but what and who I am. She has always made me feel beautiful and wanted. Never judgmental and always there for advice, In particular I remember a day when I was working for her in the back yard as a child. I must has just learned what is was, but I asked her if I was old enough to know if I was a lesbian. I must have been ten at the time.

She told me that she did not think I was a lesbian, but it was all right if I thought girls were as handsome as boys were. 

I am not a lesbian, I am a photographer, which now makes sense to me.

She smokes pot, DUN DUN DUN.
She maybe has a drink once a year and I am pretty sure she is more level headed then most of the female influence in my life. 



Cori is incredibly Kind, She is the reason I am tolerant individual, as a little girl, if she did not like someone there was good reason behind it and she remains the same.

I am so very thankful for such an amazing god mother, for a friend, and for the love I have received even before I was out of the womb, she has always been there to let my imagination run wild as well as to preserve the good morals I have seemingly taught myself.

I am very spiritual because of her as well. maybe she has never gave me a glass slipper, but she always insisted I be the slipper, shiny and beautiful, transparent and honest. She has told me to go with my gut and always supported my decisions as an adult. To leave relationships, to try harder to go to college for something I love instead of something to make money.


 She is wise an has always tried to lead me in the right direction, What I am most thankful for is that, its never been for selfish reasons. As her "in between" I am responsible for living the best possible life I can live. It is my responsibility to make sure I am happy and healthy. She has never pressured me to be skinny, or perfect.  and if I wanted something, either I earned it or lost it. 

She has always brought me close to nature and taught me how to appreciate the beauty that is all around me (all the time). Another reason its likely I am a photographer now.

What is one of the greatest things about being in her life, is being family to some interesting people. Her "husband" Paul is one of the most interesting people I have ever met and possibly the inspiration for a series I am working on called "Mountain People"; showcasing the hard, interesting and awesome way these people in rural areas live.




This is Paul, He is ADORABLE!



I am the "In Between" Cori and I have discussed weather I would be her youngest child or her oldest grandchild but in between is alright with me. Cori's actual oldest grand daughter Sarah is pretty well adjusted too, we have had a similar upbringing coming from both our home life and our life with Cori. Sarah is so very sweet, and kind. She hopes after high school to become an RN, she believes to be a Godly Woman you must help people. 



Sarah, In between frames worried about the shots being fired in the orchard. 



I really needed a weekend like this, no cell phone, no worries. 

And as Jimmy Buffet would say, we're not in a hurry. Not once over the weekend did I feel rushed or guilty that I had not done anything productive, I feel blessed to have taken so many beautiful photos while in the country.

Be sure to look for more "mountain people" stories in my blog!

Cori, I love you!


















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