Weekly Pinterest finds

Last year, or maybe it was the previous year, I gave up my Pinterest account. As I recall, it had to do with ownership of the photos being posted and the legalities of it all, and I sort of got a little freaked out about copyright infringement. And so, in a fit of unease, I deleted my account and all the boards I had so painstakingly worked to create.

If you don't know what Pinterest is, I will just say that it is a place to find inspiration, recipes, ideas, and just about anything. You create boards and 'pin' your finds onto your boards. If you have a Pinterest account and want to follow mine, I've posted a link on the sidebar here.

This week, I re-instated my account with Pinterest and have since found many beautiful things to share with you here, like the images below.

from my 'Beautiful' board

Source: whimsicalwonderlandweddings.com via George on Pinterest

Source: rose-style.tumblr.com via George on Pinterest

from my 'Feathered' board

Source: thefeaturedcreature.com via George on Pinterest

                                                                                        Source: flickr.com via George on Pinterest

from my 'New York, New York' board

                                                                   Source: nowyoureinnewyork.tumblr.com via George on Pinterest

from my 'Classic Portraits' board

Source: piccsy.com via George on Pinterest

       and finally, from my 'Wintertime' board                                                                               

Source: Uploaded by user via George on Pinterest

Hope you like these. I'll try to make this a regular thing.                                                                   

Enjoy your week, all.

A kitty, some birds, and the sunshine

It was a quiet, peaceful weekend without a trace of snow, and my heart goes out to those further north of me who are buried in up to 40 inches of the white stuff.

I would have liked just a little but I did get to see some when I visited family in NJ on Saturday. They had about 3 inches. And just look at this beautiful little kitty. I took my new flash bounce to practice with.

 

Her name is Adele.

 

And she is so affectionate.

 

 

George would love this little cat.

Plus, they would match very nicely.

 

 

* snort *

 

 

I bundled up and sat outside in the dazzlingly beautiful sunshine today, among the flittering birds. Just listening to their calls and the beat of their wings as they flew overhead was pure bliss, as far as I’m concerned.

 

These last two are SOOC (Straight Out of Camera) shots.

 

 

The cardinal hung out in the bush next to me for more than a half hour before he ventured out in the open to get some sunflower seed. The female with him wouldn’t come out from the protection that the bush afforded.

:   :   :

The most impressive thing I saw on the news tonight was the story about the 7th grade California girl who sent her Hello Kitty doll into space, armed with cameras. She was able to get crystal clear footage of the earth that surprised her. With a little help from her dad, and a high-altitude balloon, the little rocket ship soared nearly 100,000 feet into the sky. Below is a video she made for the project, accompanied by music from Fun. (We Are Young). I expect to see more of this group on the Grammy Awards tonight.

 

 

Hope your week is a good one. I’m hoping that mine is, as well.

Oh, what a day

I would not venture to say that today was a good day. It was extremely busy at school. Two people told me I looked ‘tired’. I got much done and by 3 PM was ready for a nap. At the end of the day, I stopped in the ladies room and looked into the mirror as I washed my hands.

I’m sure we’ve all done this – had this image of ourselves only to be surprised at the reflection in the mirror. Had my hair really been this bad all day long? No wonder people were telling me I looked tired. I did look tired. Earlier today, two people patted me on the back and one asked if there was anything he could do to help me.

What the what?

 

Like my friend, Daryl, says . . . I need to snap out of it.

:   :   :

Speaking of snapping – I took the above image from my front door this morning. I was running late (mainly because I wanted to stay in bed in the soft, warm covers and so I did) when I saw this beautiful red glow coming from the living room windows as I walked by. And not only was there the red glow, but purple and blue too. Because I was in a hurry, I grabbed the camera and didn’t change the lens. This was taken hand-held with my 60mm macro lens set to shutter mode as low as it would go to compensate for the lack of light while trying to stay as still as possible to get a sharp picture.

I like that you can see the lights of the houses at the bottom of the hill, too.

:   :   :

Today three packages came in the mail. Two were gifts (thank you, Daryl and Hilary) and one was a purchase I made from Photojojo. On the advice of a friend, I bought a Pop-Up Flash Bounce. It was thirty bucks and well worth the money spent.

 

I know I’ve told you before how much I loathe in-camera flash shots but this changes it up quite nicely for very little money. Per the instructions, I took all of the photos here on manual mode, using my 18-70mm lens, f 3.5, 1/200, adjusting the ISO from 800-2000, as needed.

You also need to up your flash exposure compensation. I took mine up to +1 but I probably could have gone to +3 on a couple of these. Nikon users need to set their cameras to Spot Metering Mode and make sure that the flash is set to TTL metering.

If it sounds like I know what I’m talking about, I only do because I googled how to do some of this. And it was seriously easy.

 

I love how they turned out and will definitely be using this baby the next time I’m forced to take indoor shots with low light.

 

George can’t help thinking that I want to play with him, especially when I’m lying on the floor. He brought me his super squirrel which is one of my favorite toys, too because it’s like a sling shot. (I had the ISO upped too high in the photo above).

 

This one is my favorite. Low light, all the settings above, while using that sweet little pop-up bounce flash. I fiddled with the ISO to get just the right look. Thanks to Beth for telling me about this little tool. You can get it here:

 

Pop-up Flash Bounce from Photojojo

 

:   :   :

ps – going to bed early. I don’t want to look tired tomorrow.

Humble

To begin,

I wrote a post last night that I thought to pull down immediately after I hit publish. It’s not like me to complain, or to write while in an angry mood. But none of our lives are all sweetness and light all the time, and mine isn’t either. I changed my mind about an hour after pressing the publish button, and went back online to pull my post before I went to bed. It already had several comments of support and caring and it was then that I decided to leave it up.

When I came home this afternoon and actually began to read the comments, I was shocked. I still haven’t been able to get to all of them but I want to thank you now. Life isn’t that bad, you know. And I don’t mean to whine. There were people we saw at the hospital today that have it thousands of times worse than my husband does. Yes, he’s disabled but he can walk and talk and care for himself and a number of other things. He’s not in a wheelchair. It’s his brain – his memory, in particular, that’s disabled.

We got a good report today, so we splurged on dinner at the Olive Garden. That’s about as fancy as it gets around here, and when I say AT the Olive Garden, I actually mean FROM the Olive Garden. My husband doesn’t go out to eat.

We chose the $12.95 Italian Meal Deal. You get your choice of soup or salad, an entrée, and one of five Piccoli Dolci (little dessert treats).

 

This is my Dark Chocolate Caramel Cream Dolci.

 

There are approximately six little teaspoons of heaven in this cup.

I apologize for this flagrant display of deliciousness.

But hey – it made me happy.

Happier, anyway.

 

 

I finished reading The Book Thief after we got home today.

:  :  :

QUICK REVIEW ON THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak

I found The Book Thief to be a unique book, with a rather unusual narrator: Death.

Death is a hard-working entity, who travels far and wide delivering souls to their maker. Death isn’t the killer – people die because of any number of things – but it’s Death who you meet in that exact moment in time when your soul departs this earth. Death does not understand humans, but at the same time, shows compassion for them. It is the children’s souls that he carries the most gently, the most tenderly. And it is the good souls who are the ones who sit up and say, ‘here I am. I don’t want to go, but if go I must, well I’m ready’. At times, Death comes across the most interesting human stories, most of which can be found in the unluckiest and unlikeliest places. One of the best of these stories was that of The Book Thief, a young girl who lived in Germany during WWII.

The narrator lets us know in advance that some people in the story will die soon, but it’s the descriptions of what he sees, and the sheer tenacity of the human race that totally captivated me. I really enjoyed this book. It is sad but I feel better for having read it.

:  :  :

Have a beautiful week. Thanks for coming by today.

It is not my fault

 

that you are lonely

that you are bored

that you don’t like what’s for dinner

that you are disabled

that you have nothing to live for

that the only people you talk to are me and your doctors

that you are still alive

 

 

 

It is not my fault.

 

I am only trying to do my best.

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. 

~Abraham Lincoln

 

 

* photo of eagle taken February 10, 2012 by my husband *

No shame

I was so out of sorts yesterday. I have never given a whit as to who wins the Super Bowl, and I’m ashamed to say that although our home team, the Baltimore Ravens, were playing in yesterday’s game ~ I was still not all that excited over it.

I have no shame over this.

The hype is so over-the-top, and after that Go Daddy commercial aired the first time, I buried myself in my book until my husband went to bed and Downton Abbey came on.

Everything seemed to annoy me yesterday and going to the local WalMart at mid-day didn’t help matters any. I would have gone to the regular grocery store, but there were a few things I needed at the big store, which was the only reason I went. I find it irksome that people wear their pajamas and their bedroom slippers in public. And I find it highly annoying when there’s no room to navigate through all the end-caps and displays in the center aisles of this store. My usual cheerfulness was rapidly being replaced by someone I didn’t recognize, so I made a trip to the licorice store on the way home.

It helped somewhat.

I snapped a minimum of photos to share.

 

Heading down the driveway while the sun is shining.

We got an inch of snow on Saturday night.

 

 

And coming back up after shopping, as the clouds began gathering.

 

 

After giving the kitchen window a good cleaning, I took some photos from it. 99% of the bird action is out the breakfast nook windows but we’ve got them covered in plastic to keep in the warmth.

 

 

Today was no better, frankly. But luckily, I don’t seem to stay in this mode for long. Tonight I made bangers and mash for dinner and it was delish, if I must say so. Everyone had seconds, which is always a compliment.

The new season of Smash begins tomorrow night and I’m psyched for that to start again. Downton Abbey is still my favorite, though.

Hoping you all have a good week. We may get a little more snow tonight, which makes me glad. Until next time then ~

Just a perfect day

Today was one of those ordinary days, the kind of day that you learn to appreciate when you come to realize that ordinary days are the stuff of life. I woke to the sun shining and the realization that the only two things on my agenda were to take a walk and to take my vacuum for its yearly service. I completed only one of my goals. But I’m ok with that.

A year ago, I bought the vacuum I’d been lusting over for the past ten years. I had wanted a Miele after reading and hearing so many wonderful things about them. It’s recommended that you service your Miele vacuum once a year, and the way I use mine – well, let’s just say it needed it. And today was the day I’d decided to drop it off in Wilmington and I am being honest when I tell you how much I’ll miss it.

My husband, because he doesn’t get out much, came along for the ride. Our youngest son, who’s still living with us, came as well and we stopped at a Trader Joe’s before coming home. I didn’t buy much. I just wanted to see what a Trader Joe’s actually was, as I’d never been inside one before. (Loved the place).

After we came home and I made lunch, (awesome pizza from Trader Joe’s), I spent the afternoon working on a Shutterfly photo album for my niece. Clouds had begun to come through and although the day had gotten warmer than the 14 degrees it had begun with, it was still too cold to sit outside and take pictures of birds - something I enjoy and that soothes my soul.

 

I took this out the window after we got home and while I waited for the pizza to bake. I believe it’s a song sparrow. And it’s all plumped up to keep itself warm.

 

Birds will plump up their feathers to capture the warm air from their bodies, keeping the cold air at bay.

 

The height of plumping here.

 

And then . . .

 

. . . she was gone.

To me, it was a perfect day in its ordinariness. That is a word. Don’t worry – I checked.

Perfect.

 

I call ‘em like I see ‘em, which is all I can do sometimes.

Thanks for coming by today ~

ps – it’s saturday night and i'm watching a movie on netflix stream called ‘hide away’ with josh lucas. i like it. just saying.

Daybook entry 1-31-13

Outside my window it’s dark and chilly.

I am thinking that I’ve put off paying the monthly bills long enough.

I am thankful that I can pay the monthly bills.

From the kitchen come the sounds of silence. We just finished dinner and I was hoping for dessert.

I am wearing Black jeans from Chico’s, gray lambswool v-neck sweater, a scarf, and a long sleeveless thick knit Ann Taylor sweater.

I am reading The Book Thief. Very interesting.

I am going to get my monthly bills paid in time to watch the last episode of 30 Rock which comes on at 8:00.

I am creating a montage of photographs to share with you after this post.

I am hoping that my husband can get his hearing restored.

I am hearing an annoying commercial about Celebrex.

Around the room are the remnants of George’s last fetch game. I have got to get him to pick up his toys.

One of my favorite things is having my husband make dinner for me.

A few plans for the rest of the week – or rather the weekend, include the possibility of seeing a movie.

Here is picture thought I am sharing.

 

I took these last year at this time on the property where I live with my husband and a dog named George.

How are things in your neck of the woods?

Quick update

I wanted to stop in real quick to let you know the update on George, who had a visit to the vet today. It’s really no big deal – for now, anyway.

Last Wednesday, my husband and I noticed a very small bump on his face. Within four days it had grown to over three times the size and is soft to the touch. My husband, who loves this dog like there’s no tomorrow, was so upset and worried which is why I took the dog to the vet today just to put his mind at ease. He thought it was a tumor.

It appears to be what I suspected, which is an abscess. He’s on a strong antibiotic, and had a shot for the inflammation. We’ll keep an eye on it because it could be due to an old chipped tooth that he has. Chipped teeth are prone to bacterial infections and, although it’s a long shot, it could be that this is the issue.

If it is, they’ll have to put him under and remove the tooth.

 

I had no intention of taking photos and showing you our dog’s lump. That sounds funny, reading this back. But if you look closely, you may notice it in the photo below.

 

Under his eye,, you see where the white fur is, it’s sticking out on the right. He is in no pain at all and is happy and calm.

And he loves riding in the car with the window down as we go up the driveway.

 

We were at Hopkins last week for an issue my husband has been having. He has gone deaf in the one ear where he had the radiation last fall. We’ve been trying to deal with it through a local ENT but it came time to call in the big guns. And luckily, they’re only an hour’s drive away.

I have hope now that some of his hearing can be restored. They said that they see this sort of thing all the time, when people have radiation to the head.

 

On this snow day, which was really an ice morning which eventually warmed up, I made the most delicious potato soup. Seriously, I love this soup. I sprinkled cheese and a little bacon on mine and also some fresh parsley.

Here’s what my husband said about it: “It’s ok, I guess, but bacon is for breakfast.” I told myself that it was creamy and delicious and I thanked myself for making it. The only problem is that it’s not recommended if you’re trying to lose weight. Which is what I should be trying to do. Right now though, I’m into comfort and I’m not going to beat myself up about it.

Perfect Potato Soup

So bottom line – George is ok. Husband is ok. And I have enough soup to last a month.

Thanks for stopping by ~

A cold winter’s day

I am writing this from the comfort of my favorite seat in the house on a cold winter morning as ice falls outside. The schools have all been closed, which means I don’t have to work. The weather will clear up soon and the roads will be fine but for now, I feel snug and warm.

Hot coffee and cold winter mornings are two of the best soul mates who ever did find each other. 

~Terri Guillemets

The frost on the storm windows, taken yesterday morning when the sun rose. I couldn't have gotten the same photo this morning, as there was no sun.

The frost is there, however.

I am blessed to be one of those people who loves wintertime. I’m sure that as I age, I may come to loathe it but I love days like this, for without winter and without longing, the spring would be so much less sweet. At least, that’s how I feel anyway.

I’m taking George to the vet this afternoon. The wee bump that I mentioned the other day has turned into a much larger lump on the side of his face, the white side. It’s probably an abscess but my husband is rather obsessing over it so I’m taking him to the vet today. Not my husband, mind you. The dog.

Downton Abbey last night. Oh, my Lord. I will not say anything more because I won’t spoil it for anyone. But I sat here and bawled.

I went to my niece’s baby shower over the weekend and took lots of photos. At first, I was so dismayed with them. The home where it was held is in Federal Hill, a beautiful and historic section of Baltimore, but the houses are long and narrow. This means that the light comes only from the front and the back of the house and the living room is in the middle. So I had to use the in-camera flash. I really need a better one, but I’m pleased with how the photos are after some edits.





My beautiful niece, Kim. I have many nieces ~ they are all beautiful ~ but this is the first one who is going to have a baby. And I’m so glad. Especially after all that has been so sad.

We had an event at our school yesterday which required most of the faculty and staff to be present, so today is rather a gift. I plan on getting some things done around the house, editing the remainder of the baby shower photos, doing a little grocery shopping once the roads get better, and of course – taking George to the vet.

I spent the morning reading and have finished my book.





I loved this one. I love literature, and gothic tales of mystery, and this story-within-a-story was magically written. I will not do a book review here but the following is from the cover:

Reclusive author Vida Winter, famous for her collection of twelve enchanting stories, has spent the past six decades penning a series of alternate lives for herself. Now old and ailing, she is ready to reveal the truth about her extraordinary existence and the violent and tragic past she has kept secret for so long. Calling on Margaret Lea, a young biographer troubled by her own painful history, Vida disinters the life she meant to bury for good. Margaret is mesmerized by the author’s tale of gothic strangeness – featuring the beautiful and willful Isabelle, the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline, a ghost, a governess, a topiary garden and a devastating fire. Together, Margaret and Vida confront the ghosts that have haunted them while becoming, finally, transformed by the truth themselves.

It is one of the best books I have ever read. It is a bit dark, and the perfect book to read on a cold winter’s day (or night). But it’s time to come to the light ~

So with that, I will bid you adieu. And hope your day goes well.