Somewhat Pink

Well, I started out by trying to gather images of pink and making this a pink post, but I didn't get very far before I ran out of pink....you just can't find a lot of pink in the white world I am living in right now.  But I did go out and buy pink tulips (actually I didn't even know what color they were when I made the purchase, their little buds were so tightly closed it took a couple of days before their true color was revealed.

And then I thought of my trip to the Arizona zoo, and the pink flamingos...don't ya just love pink flamingos.

And then I remembered there were pretty pink flowers that the butterflies were sipping from at Butterfly Wonderland in Phoenix....

And then ofcourse there is Cinder's new sweater....this is her bounding thru the snow.  No, she really isn't playing she is running to get back inside, this is not her favorite weather.

And then Toby, who doesn't have a lick of pink on him, standing there wondering why Cinder is in such a hurry to get back inside, because when the temps get to above 20 he is ready to stay and play.

Kathy over at You'll Shoot Your Eye Out has a fun meme on Sundays entitled Song-ography - take a song and photograph your interpretation...this week it is Meatloaf's "I Would Do Anything For Love"....personally if I was a big singing star, Meatloaf is probably the last name I would have chosen to be known as, but then I didn't do the choosen.  Anyhoo, I thought this might represent that song....you just don't see giraffes sitting down too often, and I am thinkin' one was feeling a little down (maybe a sore throat...snort) so her mate came down to keep her company.

So that's it.....my somewhat pink post, mixed in with a little Toby and a little Song-ography.  Hope you are having a great Sunday.  And btw, I finished The Snow Child....very fairy-tale like, easy read, I liked it, but again, I think next February we should be more astute in our choice of reading and not pick something that takes place in Alaska in the winter-time....just sayin.

"Book lovers never go to bed alone."  ~Author Unknown

Until next time.....

Arms Wide Open

I am unwritten, can't read my mind, I'm undefined

I'm just beginning, the pen's in my hand, ending unplanned

No one else can feel it for you

Only you can let it in

No one else, no one else

Can speak the words on your lips

Drench yourself in words unspoken

Live your life with arms wide open

Today is where your book begins

The rest is still unwritten.

What a wonderful compilation of words by Natasha Bedingfield to begin this New Year with Kathy's meme....Songography.  I especially love the line "live your life with arms wide open" and I so subscribe to this approach to living.  Life is so short, why not make it sweet with your arms wide open.
                                                           

And again, I am using my 50mm lens for taking all these shots today...semi macro as above.

And thru a screen (you think I'm going out in that stuff??)  Not today in my bathrobe, however I did shovel the walk with said bathrobe so my kids could do their thing....but I haven't tromped thru the snow....yet.

We have some awful weather ahead of us....snow is still falling and winds are picking up with predictions of windchills up to -50 below 0....oh that thought shivers my timbers.  And...to make it even worse, my granddaughter, Bailey is working today and has chosen to drive home in this....I keep pleading with her to spend the night, but she thinks her business may close tomorrow due to the weather and she wants to be home.  And my granddaughter, Brie is headed back to Iowa State to return to school, driving.....arghhh!! She tells me the roads aren't bad in Iowa and she has emergency numbers just in case something happens. Oh brother, the worrying never ends, first it's your kids, then it's your grands.

Me and the kids are sticking pretty darn close to home....I re-filled the cupboards yesterday and managed to get my car in the garage.  What?  Well, you see when I had to move my sweetie from the Memory Care facility to a nursing home this past summer, I had boxes and boxes of his possessions along with stuff  I had cleared out of my office when I did a re-do this summer, which all ended up where the car was always parked.  But with our grim weather, I really didn't want to leave my darlin' auto out, so I managed to pile, move, and shift stuff  in order to keep her out of the nasties that are comin'.  I could almost here her say..."thank you."

Have a lovely Sunday and I hope wherever you are, whatever your weather you are safe & warm.

"I used to be Snow White, but I drifted."  ~  Mae West

Until next time....

Hitting The Bottom....

"We usually feel emotionally we are hitting bottom but as we hit

the bottom, we fall through a trap door into a bright new world -

the realm of spiritual truth.  Only by moving fully into the 

darkness can we move through it into the light."

~  Shakti Gawain

When I finally felt as if I had hit the bottom as I struggled with caring for both my elderly Mother and my sweetie who was descending further and further into the darkness of dementia, and felt I couldn't do anything more I walked inside my closet, closed the door and cried and screamed silently.  I gave up trying to do it all myself and asked God for that help I so desperately needed.  I needed something beyond myself, and it was then that I began to grow.  

Once I accepted God's help back into my life, I knew that He would be with me with my daily struggles.  I had been angry with God for taking my sweetie from me so early, we had so many years ahead to enjoy together, and that was brought to an end far too quickly.  But that day in the closet, struggling by myself I knew that I needed to let that anger go.  

Life continued to be a struggle, the daily living of a care-giver has tremendous challenges, but I met those challenges and now 5 years later, I feel and see God's blessings through it all.  My Mom did pass away, but she had led a long and fulfilled life, my sweetie is now being well-taken care of in a facility not far from home, and I have a life full of friends, activities, my love of photography, a pleasant home, food on my table, clothes on my back (way too many clothes, I might add) my family who will all be here this week for Thanksgiving, my joyful kids (aka dogs)...life is good and I thank God for all of these blessings and his constant and assuring guidance  And for this I am grateful.  

Until next time.....

Forever Autumn....

Linking up to Kathy's Song-ography today which just happens to be "Forever Autumn" by the Moody Blues....don't know the song, but the title won my heart.  Not that I want Autumn to be forever, but sure would like for it to stick around longer than it does.  By the end of this month, which is flying by I might add like all the rest of the months this past year, all of the leaves will be gone from the trees and nothing but bare limbs remain until April.   So, yes, I would love for Autumn to hang around (hee hee little play on words there, did ya get it??) a little longer than it does.

I can easily hang on a Sunday, sometimes not even getting dressed until maybe sometime in the afternoon, catching up on TV shows, reading....just hangin'.  But not today, I have that new camera that I am lovin' (Nikon D7100) so off I went around the neighborhood.  I drove up and down the streets in the older section of my town, and I wasn't disappointed.  I must say, I am becoming a master at car window photography...

Squirrels are busy gathering their nuts for their winter-time food supply....

Front porches show signs of the season...love how they coordinated their pumpkins and mums with their house colors....

Some really go all out in their Halloween decorations...

Then I did stop and get out of the car at a playground that had a maple tree that was blazing with color. While there I happened to notice the red berries (and you know how I love red berries) that had fallen on the ground and found their way into the cracks of the sidewalks.

Here is the blazing maple tree that I circled the block, came back and parked for.  I had difficulty with getting a good shot of this beauty.  Too many distractions in the background...cars, signs, houses, so this is the best I could come away with...as you can see I was down low and me getting up from a down low position is so not graceful especially in a public place with eyes watching...

It began to get cloudy and the winds picked up so I returned to my car and headed for home.  Then decided to pull into a park that I have never visited to investigate a little, but before I even stopped, I drove by an area filled with dried seed heads.  I saw the flick of yellow and heard their high pitched tweets and knew this would be a favorite spot for finches.  Again, not even getting out of the car, I sat and waited and watched.

Look at these beauties...aren't they just too sweet and all from my car window and my trusty Tamron 18-270 lens....love that lens.  But I am having issues with sizing my images correctly for this blog.  I keep trying new ways, and can't seem to settle on the perfect size.  I don't like the images too small, but I don't want them too large either.  Anyone have any words of wisdom.

And fyi...I have been taping a lot of the new shows and caught up with a couple of them last night.  I have to make some decisions as to what I am going to continue watching, just can't watch them all...anybody got a favorite yet??

Until next time....

The Simplicity of Days

I love this quote....and I definitely think this is exactly what happened to me after I really dug deep into photography.  You just really see everything differently.  Personally I have always been a very visual person, whereas my sweetie could not see the rosebush in front of his face.  But photography has definitely been a re-awakening of the little things, the commonplace things in my life.  I appreciate the simple everyday images that encompass my world.

The simplicity of fresh blueberries purchased at the farmer's market...

Along with the beautiful veggies, purple onions and peppers..

And the additional lucious looking raspberries...

The beauty that I find in my garden....

Bringing that beauty inside....

Discovering that my new favorite annual is the Dragon Wing Begonia....I swear this baby will grow just about anywhere....sun, shade, and no maintenance.  You can't ask for better than that.

Having a ground cover that has these beautiful pink leaves makes me very happy.

And seeing the garden in the morning sunlight is always a bonus...

Even the spent flowers have a beauty in the morning sunlight.

And now joining Kathy's Sunday Song ography with the theme being Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run" I found this old tractor that in it's day was probably born to run all over these midwest farms.

Hope your Sunday is filled with joy and your week brings all good things your way.

Joining Madge at ....

"Don't count the days, make the days count."  ~  Muhammad Ali

Until next time....

Up On A Roof....

Kathy's theme for this week's Song-ography is "Up on the Roof" sung by the legendary, James Taylor...so many ways you could interrupt this, and I would strongly recommend hoping over to her blog to see how other's came up with their interpretations...fun meme.  Join in.

So these would be my interpretations...starting from the top....can you imagine what you could see from this height...the rooftop to the world.  Captured this last night when not sleeping (so what else is new??) 

Then I thought of the story my Mom told me of when she was a little girl and the day she got her first pair of glasses....she scrambled up to the rooftop of the barn and was absolutely amazed at what she could see...it was like a miracle.

And then you wonder about the birds of the field and how they can fly to any rooftop and gaze at the miracles around them...do they appreciate what they can see from the rooftops?

And here is a "just because"....just because you haven't seen a mug from me in awhile, I thought this was especially perfect for a SUNDAY.

I hope you are rejoicing in today and singing from the rooftops....

Joining with Kathy at Song-ography and with Madge and with Stefanie

                                                                



Have a super-duper Sunday.....

Until next time....