Ponderings of the day

My husband kind of upset me today. I had planned my day in advance, which I do almost nightly. My day was going to be to go to see Aunt Helen and then come home and mow if it wasn't too wet. So this morning, DH said to me, "If you're so inclined, you could mow the yard." Well, I don't like that! To me that was an insult - I'm sure he didn't mean it that way, but that's what I think when he starts saying things like "If you're so inclined..." Well, I went to Fairfield to see Aunt Helen and then I came home and mowed, but tonight when he gets home, I guess I'd better tell him that I don't like that phrase. He can just say something like, "I put gas in the lawnmower in case you get a chance to mow." Doesn't that sound nicer? It's terrible when that's the only fault he has - just his choice of phrases!!

I thought I'd share some of my abstract nature art today. This is bark from a tree that I thought looked a lot like a lava field might. My instructor really liked it.

This one is a leaf from a rhododendron which I love the texture of. I cropped this one after I had completed the class.

Here is a picture of a daffodil center very close and personal. I like it a lot. I think the colors in it are pretty cool.I cropped and manipulated this one in photoshop CS2 after my class was over. I used auto color and this is what it came out like. This is a picture of the bright purple rhododendron that is in the corners of the leaf picture. Look how transparent that flower is. It almost looks like it has silica on it. That's all for today. Dave and I are taking the 56 Chevy out to a cruise tonight. Anyway he plans to be home in time for it - it starts at 6:00. Tomorrow, Bryan and Deanna are coming here and tomorrow night is the Hawaiian luau murder mystery so I may not get to blog tomorrow. See ya!

Too Busy To Blog!

I was too busy yesterday to blog! I had card club at Precious Memories Scrapbooking in the morning, rushed home and slammed my lunch. After lunch I went to the cemetery and took some photographs for Lesson #11! At 1:00 I picked up Bob & Ann and we went to Fairfield to take Aunt Helen to the doctor's office. Since the new hospital is now open and the clinics are attached to the new hospital, we took her there for her appointment. The clinic hasn't moved yet - not until about May 18th! Good thing we didn't get her out of the car! So we jumped back in the car, hurried over to Maple where the old clinic is, got her out of the car (we were late by now!) and sat down to wait! Ann & I went in with Aunt Helen to visit with the doctor while Bob sat in the waiting room taking care of mounds of paperwork! Anyway, she got a clean bill of health - not bad for a 102-year-old! All of this took about 2.5 hours! We didn't get home until 5:00 and I had a card class at 6:00, so I slammed down some supper and went to my class! When I got home at 8:30 last night, I was just pooped! Here's one of the cool pix I got for my macro lesson (close-up photography). I think it's pretty cool!

Today's not been quite so busy, although I did mow the lawn and take my husband his lunch! We're hoping for rain tomorrow so we can go to Des Moines.

Small Animal Safari

Okay, as promised, here are the pictures I submitted from my small animal safari! This first one is a little baby rooster - isn't he cute!

The second one is of a fish in an aquarium here in town. Talk about something hard to photograph. I took about 150 pictures of fish in the aquarium and almost every one of them had some kind of glare (overhead lights) or a window showing from the back of the tank. Didn't even think of all of that. I did watch for obvious glares, but didn't consider that I was getting the back of the tank in my pictures....duh! Anyway, here's one that turned out.

This third one is of a dog named Hannah - she was "guarding" the cattle that I took pictures of a week or so ago. Doesn't she just look like she's smiling for the camera?

Today I went out to get some bird pictures. I am really happy because I got a bunch of good bird pictures! I took pictures at my brother's house (he's got bird feeders) and some at the park, where there are all kinds of ducks and geese. I've still got to get a picture of a bird in flight before I can post them though, so that will be another day....

I'm Having a Pity Party!

Today is a very boring day. Dave worked late last night - didn't get home until about 11:30 PM and left again this morning about 6:00 or so. I hate having to spend Saturdays without him! I'm afraid that my party is going to last a while too...planting season is just starting! I could do what my friend does - retail therapy - however, I don't particularly like to shop, so I guess I'll just stay here and find something to do.

It's supposed to be really nice out this afternoon, so I'm planning to sit outside and wait for Mrs. Squirrel so I can take her picture. Speaking of pictures, here's the picture that I spoke of yesterday of Bill the bull. The farmer said he was named after our former President. I didn't really appreciate that, but he's kind of unique. He's huge, plus his ears were frozen off, so his little ears give him a unique look! He almost looks like he has some buffalo in him, but it's just the ears!

Today's one of those days when I sure wish I had a dog! I wouldn't be quite so bored if I had a dog asking for my attention. I'm sure Sudi & Howard would be happy to loan me Missy! I took several pictures of Missy the other day; unfortunately, I chose to take them in their sun room and she's a little washed out. I'll figure out those f-stop settings and try again. I'm working on altering one of them on Photoshop, but I'm not ready to show it yet. Stay tuned...

Large Animal Safari!

I decided that I should share a picture or two from my "large animal safari" on Thursday. Here's a picture of the llama that we found - he's kind of scary, I think. I keep calling him a he, but I really don't know, it might have been a she!! Either way, I don't think he/she appreciated having his/her picture taken!

This shot is probably my favorite. Both mother and daughter were very cooperative...I got lots of good pictures of them. I also have a picture of a big, black rent-a-bull called Bill that I still need to crop. Maybe I can share it tomorrow!
The last picture I turned in for my class was this little pony. He was just so bored having his picture taken. To me, he looks like he needs a hug!

My instructor said these were good photos with a good focus on their eyes. I think he would also like me to vary my photos a bit - maybe have some full-body shots. Oh well, that's why I'm taking the class - to improve on my content and composition.

Our assignment for the lesson released today is to photograph 3 different small animals like a dog, a fish in an aquarium, and a spider or snake or something in the woods. I don't think I'll be doing the spider or snake. I may try to get a picture of Mrs. Squirrel here in our yard, but I'm not into critters! Stay tuned for results from my "small animal safari!"

Gorgeous Bedroom Paint

Here it is Thursday already - where did this week go? Yesterday Scott was here to paint our bedroom - at least 3/4 of it! We still have to remove the wallpaper from the 4th wall - yuk! We do have a good start on it though. Back to the painting - it is gorgeous! I had choir practice last night, so while I was gone Dave put the room back together and cleaned up. He even hung the curtains! He's such a good guy! I hated to go to sleep, it was so pretty in there! Now we have to get super busy this weekend and remove the rest of the wallpaper. First, though, we have to move the bed away from the wall. It's a Tempurpedic with the base that raises at the head and/or the foot and IT'S HEEAAVVYYY! Thank goodness it comes in two parts. When we bought it, I tried to carry one end of each piece up the stairs - no way! I couldn't even lift the base!! We'll probably have to call in some help for a little while. Dave thinks we can just pull it away from the wall - I don't think so...and I'm usually right! (lol)

As for my quandry on what pictures to take (see yesterday's post), Dave reminded me that two people in our area raise elk - they would probably make cool subjects for pictures. I'll have to call to see if I can get permission to take their photos! Other than that, I'm sure I can find some horses or cows along the way to Fairfield. I'm going over to visit Aunt Helen today, and have lunch with Howard, Sudi and Walter! Hope Aunt Helen is having a good day. It's such a bummer when she's "not with me". I feel so bad for her because she's clearly living in the past. I'll let you know how it went! More later...

I'm In A Quandry

The digital photography class that I'm taking has an assignment this week of taking pictures of 3 large animals...now, the closest zoo is 100 miles away and we don't exactly live in a rural area. I don't have a clue what subjects I'm going to use for this assignment. I can use a large dog, so I guess I'll ask my friends if I can take pictures of Missy, a black lab. Then, perhaps I can go out to sylfarm and get a picture of a hog...that would be two subjects. I could probably get a picture of a horse or a cow, hmmm? I'd like it to be a little warmer before I venture out to get these pictures though. It's not much fun waiting for the right shot when the wind is blowing 30 mph and it's only 54 outside. I'll probably take my camera with me tomorrow when I go to Fairfield. How about it - is Missy up for having her picture taken?

Today I've been working on getting caught up - my desk is beginning to look much better! I think I've finally got all the P.E.O. paperwork put in its proper place, as well as all my Beta Sigma Phi stuff. I've gotten the cards out to the grandkids and I have cards ready to mail to Dave's brother and our niece who just had a baby. I've even got all the bills paid and updated by facebook page!

My Friday!

Yesterday was sure a fun day! I met 11 other ladies at 8:15 AM and went to Mt Pleasant to tour the P.E.O. memorial rooms at Iowa Wesleyan. They have lots of artifacts and period furniture from the 1860's when 7 women from Iowa Wesleyan started P.E.O. It was a very informative tour. After touring the P.E.O. rooms, we went to the Harlan-Lincoln home which is basically on the IW campus. It was the home of Senator Harlan whose daughter married Abraham Lincoln's son Robert Todd Lincoln. Again they had a lot of artifacts from both families - the Harlans and the Lincolns, including a piece of the coat that President Lincoln was wearing when he was assassinated and one of Mary Todd Lincoln's mourning veils. After these two interesting tours, we went to a fellow P.E.O. sister's home where she and a couple other P.E.O. sisters served us a wonderful meal. Following lunch we were treated to a tour of her home which is absolutely beautiful. When we finally left there we were running a little behind! We went to the Old Threshers grounds for our next two tours. The first was of their doll room. They were given over 400 dolls by a gentleman whose wife had collected dolls. She wanted her babies to stay together in one place! When they got the dolls, they were in something like 54 boxes with each doll wrapped in bubble wrap and plastic bread wrappers. Now most of the dolls have been cleaned up and catalogued. It is a beautiful collection - from china head dolls to Barbies! They have one French doll there worth over $8,000! After the dolls, we went to our last tour, which again was on the Old Threshers Grounds - The Theater Museum. Here they have a wonderful display of curtains from the opera houses around the country, as well as musical instruments, scripts, costumes, handbills, tickets - everything from the old tent shows and traveling acting troups. They have a lot of information about the old Toby and Susie actors and skits. It was a fascinating day! After I got home, I talked Dave into going downtown to the river to take a few water shots for my class. Here is just one of them. I'm still awaiting my instructor's comments. I went down this morning to get some morning shots, but actually they look just about the same. Anyway, I think I was able to capture the power of the water pretty well. If I had a DSLR camera with lots of settings (more money!!) I would have been able to get the water to look like strands of silk. My camera has some settings on it for changing the shutter speed, but I don't think it's ever going to get the water to look like silk! I'll keep trying though!

Rose Pictures

Part of our assignment last week was to take pictures of flowers in nature. Well, spring is maybe here on the calendar, but it's snowing/raining/sleeting again today, so I'm not going outside to take pictures of my neighbor's crocus!! So our instructor suggested that we buy some flowers and take pictures of them. So, here's one of my pictures. I really like this. It's taken with no flash and light coming in the window from behind the rose. It's a pink rose, believe it or not! Anyway, I like the effect and the colors. My instructor didn't comment on it other than to say he really liked my second rose shot better.

Here's the second rose shot. His comments indicated he liked the soft colors and the contrast with the woodgrain.

I like this shot, too, but I thought the other one had more artistic character. Oh well, what do I know!? I guess that's why I'm taking the class!!

Bunny Card

Now this is a cute card...I CASE'd it (copy and share everything) from someone on www.splitcoaststampers.com - actually it's a combination of a couple of different bunnies I saw on there. SCS is a wonderful website for those of us who like to make cards - there are lots of ideas! This will go to one of my granddaughters, since it's definitely a little girl bunny!
Tomorrow I'm showing a group of ladies how I made this card and 2 others. I'll share the others later - maybe tomorrow. Should be lots of fun. These ladies are such avid card-makers that it's fun to share something with them.
Right now, since the sun is shining, I'm going to try to get a couple of landscape pictures for my class. I still haven't done that! More later...

Circles in Nature

One of our assignments last week was to take a picture of circles in nature, if we could find any. These are the ones I found. I think it's funny how they almost look like a face of some creature. Our lessons this week are to take pictures of flowers and trees AND 3 landscape pictures. I can't even think of where I'm going to go to get landscape pictures...or for that matter, flower pictures! Our instructor suggested we either go to a local florist or greenhouse, or go buy a bouquet of mixed flowers and bring them home to shoot them. I guess I'll probably have to do that! I do have a question for those of you out there were read this: Are we north of Washington DC, or south of it. I've always figured we were south of DC, but the news has been showing pictures of the cherry trees blooming in DC - we don't have trees blooming here. I guess I'll have to get out an atlas!

Dave broke his glasses last night and he's running around on this gray, gray day with his sunglasses on. He looks pretty funny! He has another pair of glasses, but we can't find them anywhere! The glasses he broke are titanium frames, so we didn't think they could possibly break - so much for that theory! Gotta run...more later....

Sunset in Iowa

I've been taking this online course from www.ed2go.com - it's photographing nature with your digital camera. The last assignment was to take a picture of the sun at either sunrise or sunset. Well...first of all, we haven't have sunshine for several days now. Secondly, anyone who knows me knows that I don't do sunrise! So, tonight I was finally able to get a picture of the sun setting over a farm. I think it's pretty good - we'll see what my instructor says. The next lesson's assignment is to take 3 landscape pictures, keeping in mind point of view and aperture openings. This is starting to get a little complicated!

It's 9:31 and I just got home from choir practice about 20 minutes ago. DH just drove in the driveway...he's been at work since 7:00 this morning. I think he's burning the candle at both ends! Gotta run - more tomorrow!

Watercolor Cards

Yesterday, in between sitting outside in the sun and working on our taxes, I put together these cards. They are both stamped with the same stamp from SU and I used the watercolor technique on them. They both have a SU top note behind the flowers (one is a decorative paper from DCWV and the other is white paper, Cuttlebugged, and chalked with pinks, purples, and a touch of yellow). I think they're both beautiful!

I said I was sitting outside in the sun yesterday, well today there is no sun! Yesterday we set a record with 79 degrees - today it's 48! I got up this morning, put on shorts and a sweatshirt - that wasn't smart! It's cold in this house today! I guess I'll have to put on long pants again before I go out this afternoon.

Yesterday I said I would put an update on here about the election of officers at last night's meeting. Someone else agreed to take the Presidency! I am so happy! I was getting overwhelmed - just too many things to keep straight! Today my online ed2go class started. I'm taking a class called Photographing Nature with Your Digital Camera. Hopefully you'll see some cool pix as I complete my assignments. My assignment for this lesson is to shoot 3 nature photos, focusing on a particular detail that I've never noticed before. I think I'll wait until it's a little warmer outside to go looking for nature! Stay tuned...

Fun, Fun, Fun!

This is another hobby of mine! DH and I have a love of classic cars! Fortunately (unfortunately??) we don't own all of these cars now, but I took pictures of our cars, past and present, and made them into a collage with Photoshop - another thing I like to do! Trying to get just the right image of the car and adding embellishments is really a challenge, but a lot of fun! One of my BF's and I both play around with Photoshop and have created some wonderful images. This is just one of which I'm proud!

Yesterday was a good day! I was able to visit with all of my aunts and attend a luncheon with several of my high school classmates. I think there were 15 of us classmates, plus spouses and guests. We spent 2 1/2 hours just chatting! Couldn't believe how time flew - it's always fun when old friends get together! There were several of our classmates who didn't attend, so our goal will be to get some of them at the next one!