Last night a friend brought over some fragrant fresh basil from the garden.
I felt inspired.
The recipe I used called for
2 c fresh basil leaves 1/3 c pine nuts 1/2 c Romano or parmesan cheese 1/2 c olive oil 3 cloves of garlic. 
Another friend’s flowers from her garden.
Such generous friends.
It might be time for new red and white checkered table cloth. I hemmed this fabric in 1974 and the red has faded to almost pink.
Even if it rains, the front porch offers shelter and a wonderful place to watch the downpour.
Spring in winter.
What a difference a few hours make. 
In a hammered aluminum pitcher and afternoon light.
Alstroemeria or Lily of the Incas
Sometimes you need to brighten up your surroundings
Took this shot at home last week
Photography is all about the light as you know
Recently I photographed the discarded Christmas Tree along the sidewalk and the direction of light made a significant difference.
Found these two photos taken in NYC at my sisters apartment which illustrate the exact same concept. Moving around for the overall light is one result but the first one in the mottled light gives a dramatic shadow and a whole different feel.
It was Margie over at Fueled by Chocolate blog who alerted me to the two possibilities of spelling and inspired the title of this post and Jeff Golenski at WordPress challenged bloggers to post a photo illustrating ambience.
And then my neighbor, Joaquin, is always encouraging me to make photographs with the things I have in my home. I took his advice tonight and thought I might do a whole series of ambience/ambiance- creating still lifes to lift my spirits.
I definitely lifted my mood by creating this little scene. My original intent was to show the tulips in the hammered aluminum pitcher but since I have been knitting all week I went to my living room bookshelf and found the rabbit figurines waiting to be photographed. Oh and I pulled out the good camera instead of the phone today. It’s that wonderful Canon 50mm 1.2 L series lens that allowed me to take the shot with scant light.
“Ambience is the atmosphere of one’s surrounding environment. It basically boils down to how one’s surroundings impact the human senses and alter the feelings of an individual. Things like light, temperature, smell, sound, and sometimes taste, all work together to create ambience. The term ambience usually refers to a positive atmosphere that uplifts a person’s mood. As an example, one might say, “Wow, this place has real ambience!”
Love to all, near and far.
