All The Way to 50

March 1st.....how did that happen? Two months gone, and what have I accomplished? Hmmm, nope can't seem to come up with anything significant. But I better get crackin' on my list of 75 things that make me happy before BD date.

#42 - #44 I leave for Phoenix on Tuesday to visit with friends and enjoy some sun and warmth...it's been cool there lately but according to our ever reliable (?) weather forecast it will be in the 70's and 80's while I am there. Can't wait to to see sites like this....

or this....one of my favs because of it's pinkish red color!

And how about this....the view from porch.

and ofcourse there are the sunsets...

My morning ritual is always the same...rise, potty, let Cinder out to do her potty, make coffee, grab my I-Pad and check email, read the paper on line, check instagram and facebook. Pretty boring, but it begins my day. I am definitely not a leap out of bed, immediately get dressed kinda gal. Easing into the day is my way. Today as I was doing the above I ran across a blurb about recently read books and she printed a quote from "An American Marriage" by Tayari Jones....it says "But mostly my life is good, only it's a different type of good from what I figured on."  That pretty much sums up my life...good but not exactly what I had planned.#45 Life is definitely not a straight line but twists and turns that become a part of who you are.

Door County, Wisconsin

Last Sunday I joined up with a photography group with Lou Nettlehorst and his son, Todd. I met Lou several years ago on a trip to the Smokey Mountains and have kept in contact with him since. He's a great teacher mentor and it's always a pleasure to be with him.#46. We met in the city around Lincoln Park, which is on the north side of downtown Chicago. Great views of the city from this vantage point and I managed to get a few shots of our beautiful city. #47

Fancy Schmanzy Apartment/Condo with views of Lake Michigan

I've had a rather quiet week, which was welcomed after last weeks busyness....after we walked and walked and walked on Sunday my ankles and thighs were screaming on Monday. I've always had bad ankles, even as a kid. My friend Winnie walked the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage last year and wants to do it again this year. I can't even fathom walking a journey that long. My hats off to you Winnie!! And to all others that attempt these journeys. 

The Out of Chicago Photography group that I participate with is having a 4 day workshop at the Chicago Botanic Garden in August photographing flowers and such. Only 100 participants, and 10 professional photographers to guide and mentor us along the way. Oh joy oh joy!! Definitely #48. 

And yes, I have already registered, absolutely no hesitation. 

OK to round this up to 50, yellow roses from TJ's....#49

Sunny days...2 in a row after a gloomy February. March came in like a lamb...hoping it doesn't go out like a lion. #50. 

Enjoy your weekend. Oscar night, Sunday night. And do something that makes you happy.

Until next time...

Out of Chicago - Part Two

When I was presented choices for classes, workshops, and a 1 on 1 with a professional photographer at the Out of Chicago photography event, I chose Bryan Peterson for the one day workshop and Matt Kloskowski for a 1 on 1 critique of my photography.  I wrote about my adventures with Bryan Peterson yesterday, today I will profess the feedback Matt gave to me. First, I want to tell you what a really nice guy Matt is. He is the exact opposite of Bryan. Humble, kind, gentle, warm, friendly are all the characteristics that I would use to describe Matt. And I say that not because he gave me a glowing assessment of my work, but because he truly is a well centered person.

Matt and I corresponded via e-mail to establish a meeting time and place, how many images I should bring, do I print them or bring them on a zip drive etc. He indicated that he has a method that he can record the feedback along with the visuals so I have access to his critique by having all my images on a zip drive. Bring about 20 images, oh Lord with my gazillion or so images on multiple portable hard drives what pictures do I bring?  I spent most of the afternoon Wednesday deciding and choosing, changing my mind several dozen times. I held my breath as I approached the session.

He used words like fresh, clean, a great eye, sees things he would never see, would enjoy going on a photo-walk with me. I was overwhelmed and needless to say extremely flattered. I spent about an hour and a half with him, just one on one. I am still basking in the glow of his kindness. And to top it off, I attended one of his classes on Sunday afternoon with a roomful of attendees and he asked if I was in the audience then told everyone there I was a great photographer. Surreal.

OK, enough of that. I appreciate you letting me blow my own horn and how grateful I am for the validation.  Prior to the critique I arrived in the city about an hour early, it was a beautiful day, so instead of waiting inside, I walked toward the lake and snapped a few images of  Chicago. It is truly a beautiful city, I would encourage a visit, just don't come in January.

Love this red, white, and blue combo....

And ofcourse when you see a man with his pants pulled up, socks pulled down (at least one of them), sunning on a park bench it's just a picture waiting to happen.

I probably won't be around for a few days, off to Dayton, OH to spend the 4th with my sisters-in-laws. Love those ladies. And taking the kids along too. Will finish my tales from Out of Chicago next week.

"People usually consider walking on water or walking in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child - our own two eyes. All is a miracle. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh 

Until next time.....

Downton Abbey and 18 More From the Happiness List

Falling behind again.....little tiny excuse, caught a nasty cold that seemed to take up permanent residence in my head for the better part of last week thru the weekend. Feeling better now, thank you.  

But before all that happened, I had a chance to drool over this wonderful display of Downton Abbey finery at a small museum in Chicago. The Driehaus Museum is a spectacular home built during the gilded age of the 19th century and owned by a banker of great wealth.  In 2003 Richard Driehaus (another man of obvious great wealth) decided to restore this grand home to it's original opulence and open it for public displays.  Let me just say, there couldn't have been a better venue to show off the fashions that our favorite family wore during the past 6 years.  So sad that Sunday is the last of the Downton delights. It has been one of my favs since it's first season. It will definitely go on my "happy" list.

This was probably the only time in the past several years that I have not lugged my big-girl camera along while traveling into the city.  I was joining 4 friends, riding the train, walking to and fro and just decided no extra baggage was needed. So my I-Phone was the camera of choice for the day.

A couple of street scenes...loved the green shoes with those tights and NO that is definitely not an advertisement for Trump, I just love this view of the city from the bridge.

After our trip to the museum, a quite tasty lunch with $3.00 Mimosas, and a walk to the Art Museum for a viewing of works by Vincent Van Gogh, we walked by one of my favorite areas of the city. Millenium Park and the Bean.  In the summertime this area is filled with out-door diners, but in the winter the city converts it into an ice rink. As you can see it was a gorgeous day, probably in the 50's, sun shining, breezes blowing (which later took a definite turn from breezy to knock you off your feet windy).  We had quite a trip from the Art Museum to the train station. Let's just say I never want to be in winds that strong EVER again.

The only reason I am writing this post today is that the plane scheduled to take me to my late winter migration to Phoenix was cancelled due to snow and ice conditions. Altho as I am typing this I do hear a plane in the air. Oh well, better safe than sorry. Somehow sitting in the seat of a plane and watching a team de-icing the wings tends to make me a might uncomfortable. Re-scheduled for tomorrow when Mother Nature calms herself....after all it is March 1st. Isn't the saying "In like a lion..." well predicted.

More Happy.... Don't be surprised if I repeat myself, forgetfulness is my middle name these days.

33.  Downton Abbey - loved watching this show, will miss all the characters, the costumes, the story-lines, the love, the ups and downs. I'm sure tears will be rolling down my cheeks on Sunday night, but they will be "happy" tears.

34.  Movies - I've loved movies since I was a kid too little to cross the busy street by myself.  I have written a piece about my love for the movies for my collaborative blog Focusing On Life tomorrow (Wednesday).

35.  My Kindle - I was one of those that said "I'll never give up books", well guess what, I have become a total fan of the Kindle e-reader. I have bookshelves of books on that little device. I splurged last week and purchased the new Kindle Fire 10.  Lightweight, big screen....love it.

36.  The aroma of anything by Crabtree & Evelyn.  I just love all of their fragrances.

37.  A window seat on an airplane. I love watching the clouds, seeing glimpses of the land below, and taking an Instagram shot of the wings of the plane.

38.  Google - It makes me so happy to have an answer to a question or directions in an instant.

39.  Having my hair washed at the hair salon. I want that gentle rubbing on my head to go on forever.

40.  Warmed peanut butter on toast

41.  A nap on the screen porch in the summertime

42.  Crab Apple tree blossoms in the spring

43.  When people drive me home and wait until I unlock the door before they drive away.

44.  Band concerts in the park

45.  Strolling along the Riverwalk

46.  Right out of the oven chocolate chip cookies

47.  Flea Markets

48.  Remembering when phone exchanges all had names....mine was DAVIS 7 1095.

49.  Lily of the Valley in spring

50.  French Toast with apple butter.

So the remains of my list will be written from Phoenix since I will be there for my birthday. I am sure that my surroundings will influence my list.

Until next time.....

Friendship....A Beautiful Thing

I think maybe, just maybe, my life is going to slow down to at least the speed limit now.  These last few weeks have been crazy with activities....new fence, clean out (major big deal) office, have said office painted and new furniture purchased, computer crash and purchase of new computer along with all the re-loading that goes along with that, have the ladies from Focusing On Life here for a whirl-wind first annual gathering, along with various other activities along the way and now, can you hear it....a big huge sigh.  

I have about a zillion pictures that I have taken in these last few days/weeks that I have not posted or even edited for that matter...so posting all of them would be ridiculous, I mean really ridiculous. When the computer crashed and I had to re-load all of my software, I decided to load Elements 11 which I have had for awhile but never jumped in to use it.  Felt so comfortable using Elements 9 and had all of my actions loaded into that, that I just kept putting off diving into 11 or for that matter, Lightroom.  So along with all of the above happening, I have been easing into Elements 11 and Lightroom....phew.  Almost too much for this tiny, over-loaded brain to handle.  I really think in order to make room for learning all of these new processes, something has to spill out....just hoping it is not something really major that I should remember. Don't you feel like that sometimes, when that learning curve gets stretched to the limit??  But I do so believe that an active mind is a healthy mind.  

One of the ladies from Focusing On Life, Kelly, sat down with me one evening and very slowly and carefully (I need that slow and careful) began to teach me a little about Lightroom.  So I have been doing some of my editing in Lightroom.  I wish Kelly lived next door, there is a lot more to learn, but at least I have my big toe in the proverbial water.  May have to do a conference call soon. 

On Tuesday evening I picked Kim up from her Mother's home after her visit with family to bring her to my house so we could spend some girlfriend time together prior to the other 4 that arrived on Thursday afternoon.  Wednesday I took Kim to the Morton Arboretum that was filled with blooming flowers and blue skies.  I love my Arboretum and I love sharing it with others.  

Along with all of the gorgeous views...it also has some pretty spectacular flowers in bloom right now, along with a huge collection of crawling critters....

Kim always has an amazing way with nature, she managed to coax this critter on to her and I was able to catch this shot just as he was descending onto her hand...

And how about this?? Hello you...

Then she spotted this guy....

I am just glad we didn't find any snakes or she would have them crawling on her too....yipes

Everyone arrived on Thursday evening and then the fun began....We had such a good time together, spending time on the back porch....trekking out to the country to get some barn shots, taking them to the Riverwalk and going into the city of Chicago for some all-day fun.  We packed alot into that brief time together.  The next time we agreed it had to be for a longer stay, we needed more hang time. 

A little country church we found along our country travels and I decided to try b&w on the stained glass windows....I like the effect.

And Saturday was Chicago day.  It was beautiful and almost perfect weather.  Carol had booked a room at the University Club via her sister who lives here and we were allowed to go on the 12th floor balcony and take these shots.

After this we grabbed a couple of taxis and we were off to Navy Pier....

While there we took the Architectural Boat Tour which is always such a fun way to see Chicago...

After lunch on Navy Pier we hopped on a water taxi to take us to the Museum area in order to take more shots of the Chicago skyline...

Arriving at the Museum area, the crowds began to grow with young girls walking around with shirts on saying "we will never, ever forget this night"....then we realized Taylor Swift was in town for a concert at Soldier Field....!!!  YIKES.  But we stayed long enough to get some shots of the skyline, then it was time to grab a taxi to head for the train and back home again.

Just a wonderful time with some truly wonderful women.  Ya just never know when you can develop a sweet relationship with a group of women that all share a common passion, photography.   It is a beautiful thing.

Until next time......

A Fun, Fun Day

Well, I am happy to report that after 8 hours and 3 technicians today, I finally have AT&T Uverse, internet and telephone.  Whoop whoop...they had to run brand new cable into the house after the repair technician thought everything was good to go for a new install.  HA...thank goodness I had a good technician that knew what he was doing.  So that is over after 3 tries...but what do they say, 3rd time is the charm.

About 2 weeks ago, when my sister-in-law was here visiting we went to the Lincoln Park Zoo where my daughter takes some of her dance students to perform.  How fun for the girls and how fun for us to watch.

The girls getting ready to perform....

Make-up put on...

Aunt Mary Jo and my two grandaughters....

Bailey doesn't dance anymore...she is just too busy with school and work, but she is there to support all of the dancers...

My daughter...talking about her love of her studio and her students....

Family....daughter and granddaughter number 1 (age)

Daughter and granddaughter number 2 (age)

Daughter and son-in-law, Sam

Granddaughter and boyfriend...

Now off to the zoo....

Hey...Come on over and see what I've found....

hmmm....not  too much to him, probably not worth it.

I'll just go back and chew on my cardboard box....

More animals....look at the nose on the top left, shaped like a perfect heart.  And check out the nails on the bottom left bear.  Now I ask you who wants to volunteer to clip those babies....??

Best seat in the house on top of Dad's shoulders.....

Just a cutie-patootie...

Came across this couple...they were doing a photo shoot advertising "bags"....Interesting.

A juggler wandering around....

And finally, what you see from the zoo...it is really close to downtown Chicago...what a view!!

A fine fine day spent at the zoo.

"How beautiful it is to be alive."  ~  Henry Septimus Sutton

Until next time.....