Just A Quote For Friday

Just A Quote For Friday

They may be sleeping in new spaces, but they are still my babies.

"Because things are the way they are, things will not stay the way they are."
Bertolt Brecht

Me Too!

Taking my cue from Alison, I finally caught a train!

Of course, when one is hurtling down the turnpike at 70 m.p.h. in a two ton tin can, one can't worry about things like focus or composition (particularly when one is in the driver's seat).  It is more like "point and pray".  I had several misses in the mix, but I did manage this one:

After cropping, straightening, and sharpening in PhotoShop, I had this:

A fairly respectable shot of # 5 on Rinda's Photography Scavenger Hunt list, a train.

In Search of an Angel

I honestly thought this one would be fairly easy.  I mean ... churches and cemeteries, right? We have no shortage of either around here and I was convinced one or the other would yield a statue of an angel.  But no such luck.  All of our cemeteries have headstones, some elaborate, some plain, but no statues. None.  And the churches?  Nope.  A few of the Catholic church/schools had statues of the Virgin Mary.  Unfortunately she was not sporting the requisite pair of celestial feathered wings.

The angel I finally spotted was at one of those places that sells garden statues. On the side of a highway.  I had to make a special trip back and actually pull off to the side of the road to get this photo, shot through the car window:

So there you have it, # 8 on Rinda's Photo Scavenger Hunt list, a statue of an angel.  And yes, it would have been far simpler to pull out one of the girls' Christmas ornaments (we have several angels among them) and photograph that, but I was determined to get the life-size version that Wikipedia defines as a statue!

Hello Monday/8

Hello Cooler Temps. Actually needed socks today!

Hello Laundry and Grocery Shopping. Still playing catch-up. Didn't finish today. Maybe tomorrow?

Hello Photo Printing. So many projects need updating.

Hello Fibro Fog and Fatigue.  Yes, a family outing will do that to you. Have fun, then pay for it. Still wouldn't miss the fun times!

Hello Healthy Eating.  I have gotten soooooo far off track lately and my weight has jumped to an embarrassing and unacceptable number. Have to reign myself in IMMEDIATELY.

Hello Bloomsburg University. Thursday is Rachel's move in day.  Phase Two of the mega transition is underway this week.  Good-bye to the pile of "stuff" in my living room.

What are you saying hello to this week?

Just A Quote For Friday

Take Twelve - August

Another new take on the Take Twelve prompt - this is all random photos from my morning walks in August.

Hello Monday/7

Hello Normal Work Week. Probably the only one I'll have this month... so I will cherish you as much as I can.

Hello Morning Walks. Still trying to make this a habit. Not happening today though. Resting my back after yesterday's walks!

Hello Care & Share Shops. I have a huge donation and will be so happy to have all the boxes out of my house.

Hello Grocery Shopping. Weekend plans foiled again.

Hello Target. Yes, again.  It will be our forth trip to get all the things Rachel wants/needs for college before move-in day.

Hello Catch-Up. This week I will be trying to get caught up with all my online classes. Looking forward to some play time too!

Just A Quote For Friday

"In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life, -- no disgrace, no calamity (leaving me my eyes), which nature cannot repair. Standing on the bare ground, -- my head bathed by the blithe air and uplifted into infinite space, -- all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eyeball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part and parcel of God." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Still More Scavenger Hunt

#1 A pier.  Ocean City has two famous piers.  This is the private fishing pier. You have to be a member of their club to even get on it.

And this is the music pier.  Concerts, meetings, and other functions are held here.

#20 A swing hanging from a tree.
I was noticing on my walks around town that most of the folks around here use swing sets. Some of them are very elaborate. As in playground worthy. Not so many tree swings.  Then one day I walked on the other side of Seventh Street. Low and behold, not just one, but TWO tree swings in one back yard.  I took this photo from the public sidewalk. I felt like a total creeper... and noticed that cars driving by were slowing down to see what I was up to!  Yes, it is a sleepy little town and people do notice if you are behaving oddly.  After getting this shot, I found about four other tree swings over the next few days!

#13 A library.  Not exactly pretty to look at, but it's ours.  Sarah spent many hours volunteering here during high school.

#12 a trail.  This is the walking/biking trail near my home.  Frequently a part of my daily walks.

More Scavenger Hunt

#17. There is this Church in Ocean City, N.J. with the lovely medallion window and beautiful entrance.

or Trinity Lutheran Church, right here in my home town.  This is the church where my kids attended day care as little ones and after-school care during grade school.  Lots of memories in this building.

#19 an outdoor stairway.  Plenty of these to choose from! I just thought this one was pretty.

#11 A shadow.  An early morning stroll on the beach is a good time for shadow photos.

Another unexpected find.  A string band playing on the Ocean City boardwalk.  My second submission for #7 a person playing a musical instrument.

Scavenger Hunt Link Up Party

I know, I'm fashionably late.  So late, in fact, that I can't add my link to Rinda's list.  :(  But, better late than never, right?  I had planned to get this done BEFORE our trip to D.C. and have it set to auto-post, but three days in the office and lots of shopping, purging, packing, loading, and unloading left me with no time at the computer.  But I'm here, with photos!

#7. A person playing a musical instrument.  The day that we found Sarah's new apartment in the Ballston area of Arlington, VA, there was an open air farmer's market set up in the court yard right in front of her new building and this guy was playing the guitar.  I felt kind of like a creeper getting this pic, but I did it!

#2. A clothesline.  In Ocean City, drying beach towels outside is a common occurrence.  Still, it took me awhile to find a clothesline that wasn't empty!

#16 A Bride.  This one I thought would be really hard for me.  But our first evening in Ocean City, we stumbled across this beach wedding. Right along the boardwalk.  We've been to Ocean City at least a dozen times and this is the first time I've seen a wedding - timing, right?

The bride and groom after the ceremony - headed back into the shop where the procession was staged from.  If you have a beach front wedding in a public location like this, you are going to get gawkers and paparazzi like me snapping your photo I guess!

I have more photos to share, but these will do for now.

Hello Monday/6

Hello Monday.

Hello Exhaustion. Three back to back in-office work days + two days driving to/from DC and moving Sarah into her apartment = one very tired, worn out, hurting, emotionally spent me.

Hello Doctors. Two appointments plus blood work this week. All routine. Although I can think of plenty more exciting ways to kill a few hours!

Hello Laundry. So much catching up to do.

Hello Grocery Shopping.  I really don't like it when the shopping doesn't get accomplished on the weekend!

Hello Contracts.  Three more to revise waiting for my attention.

Hello Cleaning. When did the tornado hit my house?  Must have been when I was at work last week, right?

Hello Transitions. Sarah is moved into her apartment in Arlington and starts her new job today. Now we are shopping/packing/preparing for Rachel's departure in two and a half weeks.

Hello Me Time???  I would really love to create some down-time in this week to rest, rejuvenate, and play a little.

Just A Quote For Friday

One Little Word Blog Hop - August 1st

Hello! Whether you arrived here from Tere's Blog as part of the One Little Word Blog Hop, or you are here because you love me and drop by regularly... Welcome! I love visitors! The One Little Word Blog Hop is a monthly hop run by Margie for members of Ali Edwards' One Little Word class over at Big Picture Classes.

I'm playing catch-up as I didn't have June's assignment done in time for the last month's hop.  The June assignment for One Little Word was to get creative with a page of cards, keeping our word in mind - sort of like a meditative exercise.  I did mine as a full sheet and then cut it down into cards:

I can't say that anything in here has particular meaning or significance with respect to my word - it was just what I was feeling while I was playing.  I'm very happy with the color scheme and the teal on teal stamping, but not thrilled with the finished cards overall


July's Assignment was a similar set of cards, but this time with a theme of music and lyrics that had meaning to you for your chosen word.  Here's what I created:

In this case, I started with a piece of kraft cardstock and decopaged a page of sheet music on top.  The sheet music happens to be a page from the song "I Believe in Music" so even though that isn't obvious, I know it has meaning underneath all the other layers.  I whitewashed the music page with gesso and then added misting in yellows, oranges, and pinks.  It is a very subtle effect, but really looks nice in person.  I also layered on stamping and rub-ons before cutting the cards to size.  Once cut, I then treated the cards individually, inking the edges and deciding which lyrics to use and how to place them.  


Here's a couple of close-ups:

Overall, I was very pleased with the way this month's assignment came out.  Thanks for stopping by and checking it out!  Just so happens I'm the last blog on the hop this month, but feel free to head back to  Margie's blog and check out everyone else's work.

Margie    http://xnomads.typepad.com

Kara    http://iwannabemewhenigrowup.blogspot.com

Monica    http://scrapinspired.com/tag/one-little-word/

Lisa    http://backtoallen.com/category/challenges/one-little-word/

Donna    http://holimess.blogspot.com/

Mrs. Wookie    http://mrswookieswanderings.blogspot.com/

Monica B     http://questtoperfectimperfection.blogspot.com

Ruth        http://suburbansahm.blogspot.com

Naomi    http://poeticaperture.com/

Veronica    www.veronicanorris.typepad.com

Carolina    www.micinnamons.blogspot.com

Cindy    http://seriousplay.typepad.com

Kelly    http://mindingmynest.com

Brighton    www.simplebrighton.com

Nikki    http://www.inkyart.com.au

Amanda    http://scrappnbee.blogspot.com

Tere    http://terecontodomicorazon.blogspot.com/

Cheri    http://cheriandrews.blogspot.com