A New Adventure

Hydrangeas blooming in the backyard

Hmm, I am sitting here on my kitchen stool, staring into the computer screen, wondering what I am going to write that would be of interest to anyone. I don't want to discuss politics, Lord help us....I don't want to ponder on the recent horrific shootings, or the two little ones who wavered off the path and came face to face with danger.

I don't want to talk about how lonely I have become since Bailey left, it was that extra life and vitality that young people bring that I miss.

I don't want to talk about my sweetie and how difficult it was yesterday (Father's Day) to remember him before Alzheimer's took him and left an empty shell and how he used to say "I don't want anything except a little love and affection" when asked what he wanted for "Father's Day".  Me, on the other hand would have a list when it came to "Mother's Day" or birthday, or Christmas.

Tiny bouquet from backyard flowers

So my chin is dragging a wee bit and it's hot outside, and we could use another good rain. But I do have events coming that will help with that chin dragging.  This weekend beginning Thursday, "Out of Chicago" Photography event is scheduled. Way back in January when it first hit my email inbox I decided to take part and register. It was a healthy chunk of money but I told myself it was a belated Christmas present to myself. (I can always come up with some logical reason to spend money). So Thursday from 8-3 I am attending an all-day event with Bryan Peterson. On Friday I have a one-on-one with Matt Kloskowski to critique my photography (scary thought), a kick-off talk and an evening photowalk.  Saturday is filled with different classes from street photography to flower macro photography. Sunday is another photowalk and a couple of other classes. So. as I said this should bring my chin dragging up. I have never done anything like this, so it will be a new adventure.

The back porch

Eleanor Roosevelt said "Do one thing everyday that scares you." 

 I know I don't do something everyday that scares me, but this new adventure does. 

Until next time.....

Small Gifts

Yesterday was a beautiful day, as was the day before and the day before that. A little on the cool side and with the breezes out of the north, I felt a chill envelop my body. I know, this is June, but when those north winds blow, it gets mighty chilly in my house. In the summertime I get no direct sun in any windows or doors in my humble abode. Now normally that would be a good thing, until you get that chill in June and there is no warming sunlight. I came mighty close to turning the heat back on, and then I thought, what?? this is June.

I started shivering about 7:30 PM. When I get this cold the only way I seem to be able to warm the body is to 1) either climb in a hot tub or 2) a hot shower. I opted for the hot shower, standing there letting the hottest water flow over my body until the water almost ran cold, I finally stopped shivering. My body was aching and then it was about that time I thought, NO, I can't be getting sick. Chills, aching bones = flu. I swallowed down 3 Advils,  crawled into bed, under the warm covers and drifted off to sleep.

About 10:15 the phone rang?  Who calls at 10:15, except "bad news".  By the time I reached for the phone it stopped ringing, and then I heard my I-phone message alert. The phone rang a second time. Now my heart was banging in my chest, obviously thinking something had happened to my sweetie.
I reached for the phone with trembling hands....it was Bailey. All was fine. I had left the garage door open with the light on. My good neighbor across the street had tried to reach me via my cell phone, but I don't take my cell phone to bed with me. When she couldn't reach me, she texted Bailey (off in Champaigne, IL for work). So to make a long story a little shorter, it took my neighbor right across the street to contact Bailey in Champaigne, IL to notify me that the garage door was open. I love neighbors who care. Thank goodness we live in a very safe neighborhood, but it is not a good idea to leave your garage door wide open with the light on. It's like inviting someone in to "shop" around.

By the time the garage door was closed and my heart calmed down, I realized I felt better. So the flu passed me by (thank goodness, who wants to be sick in June??).

The moral of this story is, take hot showers and have good neighbors!!

"We pray for the big things and forget to give thanks for the ordinary, small (and yet really not small) gifts.  ~  Dietrich Bohnoefer

Dropped A Few More Coins

My poor Bailey (granddaughter who has been living with me since August) is still waiting to hear if she has been accepted into a new job she interviewed for over a month ago.  The job, if she gets it, would mean a move to Omaha, NB, which means ofcourse, I will lose my roommate of nearly a year. I know she really wants to move on with her life, and I want that for her too, but damn I'm gonna miss her.  After living alone for 4 years, new life was brought into my tiny little domain, new life with Bailey and with Boone (her kitten, I relented and let her buy). I will miss our TV watching together, our shopping trips, our runs to our favorite frozen yogurt place, but time and life moves on.

Right now she is headed to Champagne, IL to assist a store in need, so I really think this is the end of her life with Nana. Sob! On the positive side, I get a closet back. Deanna, it sounds like you need a good clean-out of your walk-in closet (translated means large) if you need an overflow closet.  It's on my list of "to do's".  Enough about cleaning, it's summer. So, after dropping her off at the car rental place I headed over to a favorite garden center. Uh oh, I did it again, dropped a few more coins and brought home more bloomin' beauties. And caught a glimpse of an early season butterfly.

Must get outdoors to plant those beauties I brought home. Hope your day is glorious!!

"Life is full of miracles, but they're not always the ones we pray for."  ~  Eve Arden

Linking to Kim at Little Things Thursday and TexWiseGirl for her Good Fences

Until next time,

Some Random Friday Facts....

Another dreaded day under the belt....today I had to return to Lincolnshire to gather the rest of my sweetie's clothes, furniture and personal belongings.  My son-in-law Sam rented a small u-haul truck to carry the furniture back to his house in waiting for my grand-daughter, Brie to take it to school with her when she returns in August.  She has rented an apartment, and ofcourse furniture is needed, so the timing was perfect. When he moved into Lincolnshire 2 years ago, I purchased brand-new bedroom furniture, bed, mattress, night-stand, and large dresser with mirror, along with chairs & lamps.  He doesn't need any of that where he is now...it is all provided, so what better way to use it than to furnish Brie's new apartment.

After another tearful goodbye I headed out to the country to find the peace that it always brings me.  This I will definitely miss since moving him to town, I will no longer have these drives to look forward to...

The Queen Anne's Lace is blooming.....

As I drove, I turned down a road that I had driven on about a month or so ago, but that day it was foggy and rainy....today was sunny and hot.  Things always look different when the sun is shining so I drove over this familiar road and stopped to take a picture of the fence post and then the barn.

As I was taking pictures I could see a man walking across the field toward me, obviously on his way to speak to me.  My first instinct was to turn and get back in the car and drive away....but I thought, heh, I am not doing anything wrong, I am standing in the road, not on anybody's property....and what the heck, I am taking pictures of a fence post, for goodness sake.

Well, sure enough his first words were..."can I help you"...no, just taking pictures, is there anything wrong? "well, just wondering why you are taking pictures of my boss's house"....oh, I am not taking pictures of the house, I am taking pictures of the fence post.   "Fence posts huh?, well we get a little suspicious out here when someone drives up on these quiet roads and starts taking pictures"....I then explain to him about visiting my husband and then finding solace in driving thru the country after these visits and taking pictures. And then I mentioned that I had been on this same road about a month prior, in the rain and had taken a picture of the old barn in the rain & mist.  "Oh," he says, "I am taking that old barn apart and re-finishing a basement with the barnwood."  If you have the picture I would really appreciate a copy of it, and any that you might take today. Not only would I like the picture but the new and old owners would really appreciate it as well."   

Today....

Last month....(look at the difference in the height of the corn.  I measured it today and it was at least 7 feet tall)

Just proves that a smile and a friendly word can turn someone's suspicions around really quickly.  I now know his name, and have his email.  Pictures are on the way.

Also on the way home I stopped by one of my favorite garden centers.  They were loaded with beautiful flowers to freshen up the pots that have become a little tattered....I have a couple that definitely needed some fresh new flowers.  Between barns & a stop at the garden center, my mood definitely lightened.

Now who wouldn't feel better after a stop here.

Bookclub met tonight....our book this month was "The Light Between Oceans" by M. L. Stedman....definitely a thumbs up for me.

And a couple of pics from the photo shoot on Wednesday....great family, good shots, perfect day.

Joining Nancy, Madge, Maria and Kristi..

Tending Our Inner Garden

Gardening is a soul-feeding activity for many of us.  We nurture and care for our flowers, vegetables and trees by watering, weeding and feeding them.  And very often talk to them.

Studies done using special slow-motion photography demonstrate that plants react differently depending on how they are spoken to.  When spoken to in a soft and soothing manner, the energy around a plant expands and brightens, and the plants actually lean toward the speaker.  However, if threatened or spoken to harshly, the colors around it darken and it leans away from the "perceived" threat.

What kind of gardener are we to our inner gardens?  Do we cultivate kindly?  Do we prune with patience and encourage and appreciate our flowering.  Each of us is unique and beautiful, worthy of our finest care.  If we take that care, and soak in the sensation of being nurtured and encouraged to grow we will be as beautiful as the gardens we care for.

Take some time to tend to your gardens, both of them.

Until next time....

Harmony

Yesterday morning began Women on Wednesday's (WOW) 5th year together.  There is nothing more beautiful than women gathering to dig deeper into our spirituality together.  "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World" is the subject of our Bible study this fall.  If you are not familiar with Mary and Martha the story is rather short, but it speaks volumes.  If you have a chance, read Luke 10:38-42, 5 short verses that introduce us to the tale of two sisters and then tell me if you are a "Martha" or a "Mary".  Five short verses reveal so much about ourselves and during this study we will learn to balance our Martha with our Mary to live a more harmonious life.

And speaking of harmony...there is nothing more harmonious than a walk through my favorite garden center on a September afternoon.

There were yellows.....

And pinks....even the bugs are coordinated

An orange...

Reds...

And finally Jiminy Cricket...

O Christ, do not give me tasks equal to my powers,

but give me powers equal to my tasks, 

for I want to be stretched by things too great for me.

I want to grow through the greatness of my tasks,

but I shall need your help for the growing.

~  E. Stanley Jones

Linking with Deb's This or That Thursday, Leanne's Flower Art Friday and Nancy's Rural Thursday, Misty at Camera Critters and Walk & Click Wednesdays.....

Until next time....

August 10th - The August Break - Flowers on the Porch

Wow, I really did take an August break yesterday....I didn't even post.  But I was busy with photos...busy editing, gathering and having fun with all the images I took at last Saturday's Family Reunion Photo Shoot. What a great time and a great family.  They made my first "official" shoot a truly wonderful experience.

And today I am back again, finishing up the editing so I can present this fine family with some really fine photos of their wonderful day.  But....before I get back to business, I wanted to post one little pic.  Yesterday we had a cool front move thru and today is glorious with the sun shining and temps in the 70's....yes the 70's.  I wandered around the back-yard and clipped a couple of flowers to sit on the back porch while I enjoy this marvelous weather.

God is good!!

PS...to see just a little more of me, please hop over to my collaborative blog, Focusing On Life, where I am musing on "taking a ride in the country".

Linking to Leanne's Flower Art Friday....

"Each of my days are miracles.  I won't waste my day; I won't throw away a miracle."  

     ~  Kelly Vicstrom

Until next time....

Too Much Squawking!!

As my English friends would say, "it's bloody hot", as I would say, "it's hot as hell".  I ran errands and shopped most of the day. In between stops I would glance at the temperature gauge which would show me it was either 101 or 102 outside.  I grew up in weather like this in Texas, but it was supposed to be that hot there, not here.  


Oh stop....it sure doesn't do any good to complain about it.  Just be grateful that you have an air-conditioned car to drive and an air conditioned house to live in and I am...but I have to say it just one more time....it's hot.  OK I'm done.  


Along with being hot (oh, sorry, I said it again), I am excited beyond belief.  This morning a sweet friend of mine, who follows my blog, (that makes her doubly sweet) called and asked me to be the photographer for a family reunion they are having in a couple of weeks.  About 50 people are gathering to celebrate the life of her husband's father & mother while they are both still living.  She asked me to come and shoot the celebration, both posed and candid shots.  Oh I am ecstatic...so much to think about, so much to plan for.  I am giddy.  OK, Deanna take a deep breath.  


Anyway, needed to share that.  And I am just about ready to start printing all of my postcards for Kat's postcard swap then off to the post-office to get them mailed.  Not like waiting until the last minute.  And I gotta admit the hardest thing about this swap is deciding which image(s) to use.  


Prompt Addicts (flickr group) theme this week is bokeh...here is today's entry...my Limelight Hydrangea is just coming into bloom, and I love all this pretty sun-lit bokeh in the background.

My pink hydrangeas are blooming again after the first 40+ blooms pretty much fried due to the heat, hopefully these will last a little longer, but not if we continue to have 100 + degree days. There I go again, talking about the heat.  But looking ahead, the temps are supposed to be in the 80's for the rest of the week, maybe you won't have to listen to me squawk anymore.

I have never messed around with the filters in Photoshop Elements, but I did with this...kinda of a neat look.

"As I grow to understand life less and less, I learn to love it more and more."  ~  Jules Renard

Until next time....