2nd post today!

Another capture from my walk this morning.  I'm going to have to take my tripod with me to get these good and clear.  It wasn't windy this am but my hands shake too much to hold it steady.  It would really be bad if my camera didn't have image stabilization built into the body.  Maybe I should inquire if it could be built into this old body of mine...LOL

And, since I'm on a row...might as well post another shot.  I climbed a fence yesterday to pick some of these to bring home with me.  Too bad they didn't like the vase of water I put them in...they are pretty wilted today.  :(

That's all folks!

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Once in a Blue Moon

I'm going to be posting quite a few images today, so be sure and scroll down...I'm on a row for some reason!

I was heading out for my walk this morning and noticed the moon and remembered that the weather man said it was a Blue Moon and we wouldn't see it again until 2015, so I headed back in the house for my camera.  I never realized how fast the moon goes down until I was trying to 'catch' it...LOL...I was walking as fast as my legs would move to see if I could capture it without all the poles and wires in the image but it was sinking way too fast and this was my best shot of all of them.  As you can see, the poles and wires are all still there.  I thought if I could get down to the railroad tracks, I could catch it without any man made junk, should have jumped in the car instead...

A Blue Moon is not Blue...its only called a Blue Moon because it only happens once in a while...thus the phrase, 'Once in a Blue Moon".  It happens when we have two full moons in one month.  Our first full moon was on August 1 and the second was today..August 31st...which just happens to be my 33rd wedding anniversary...guess its a Blue Moon just for Bill and I.

This first image is NOT mine but an awesome capture I found when researching the Blue Moon.  The photographer was Sid Vedula and he took it in Texas on August 1, 2012. 

This is my image...not nearly as dramatic!  I'm right sure no one will be posting and talking about my take on the Blue Moon!  LOL

Now, since I had my trusty camera with me on my walk, I also captured something else that you don't see on an every day occurrence.  This next couple of images are shots of Hurricane Isaac as it breaches our southern skies.  We are suppose to see some of the rain from him by early afternoon but not the deluge of rain that Arkansas and Louisiana received. Worse case scenario, we will get a couple inches....and at a time when we would have welcomed a lot more.  Oh, well, (sigh) we will take what we can get.  I had my wide angle lens but needed a whole lot wider.  I would have loved to have captured the whole view of this encroaching storm.  Just like the weather services were showing the circular shape of the Hurricane, the cloud bank was circular too. The storm is no longer classified as a Hurricane, its not even a Tropical Storm anymore.  It's been downgraded to a Tropical depression, so we will not get the winds out of it. That is a good thing!  I find it intriguing that a Hurricane almost 1000 miles away, can still have some punch left once it comes that far inland. How tiny we are in this vast universe! I feel a great deal of sympathy for those folks in New Orleans....I'm afraid this would have been the last straw for me...I'd be packing up and moving OUT of the flood plain. 

The right side and then the left side...just make believe that they are connected in the middle...LOL.  It really was an awesome sight and I was glad I was out there to see it coming in.  It's completely cloudy now...

And now, since this is my anniversary, its only fitting that I share the card I made for that guy that still makes my heart beat faster.  I used Black and White to keep it toned down for a guy but it still came out a bit too 'pretty'.  He thought it was awesome, of course.  

Paper is from KCompany..red heart is a cut from my Silhouette...(yep, I finally got it out of the box!), the twine is from Wally World, font is Mr. Sheffield (love it) and the sheet music is from the Graphic Fairy.  I used a border punch on it and backed it with red card stock. 

That's all for today...will post some more images this weekend, if I have time!  Bill is on call and if we get rain, he'll have to work...ugh!

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The Wizard of Oz

I warned you about the horrible photo, right?   LOL.....you can't see her very well but that is Amanda on the back row in the yellow circle.  I love watching the little bitty kids perform...they are just too cute!  See the little girl on the right hand side leaning out?  She was the star of the little kids....cute as a button!
Be sure and click on the photo to make it larger...much easier on the eyes...

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A Study in Green

Love this color.... I really think green is my favorite color in any shade.  This was part of the bouquet that Amanda got during her dance recital.  She did a wonderful job of dancing...she is quite a natural.

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The Robins in my Yard

The robins have really enjoyed the birdbath this year.  Since its so dry here, I have to put clean water in it every day.  On this particular day, I was running the sprinkler to give the rose bushes some water and they loved playing in it.  I sat on the deck and watched their antics for quite a while.

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Dancing in the Rain

I sure do wish that were true...LOL....but, alas, we still have not seen any moisture coming from the sky.  I don't know how or why my flowers are doing as good as they are but they all still look good.  They've survived on chlorine water since I put them in the pots.  I've been busy this week doing some belated Spring cleaning.  Since I spent so much time at mom's this past Spring and cleaned so much at her house, I've just not felt like cleaning my own.  But, I finally got started this week.  It will take me all week cause I just get one room done a day.  So far, I've got the craft/laundry room and living room done.  Plan on working on the bedrooms tomorrow. 
Anyway, why cleaning and organizing the craft room, I came across this saying and decided it was time to put it up.  I purchased it when I remodeled the craft room but never got around to putting it up. 
This image makes it look like I put it up crooked but trust me, its straight.  I had to step outside to get a shot of it and with my wide angle lens and side view, it makes the lines look crooked.  This purchase was made long before I purchased a cutting machine.  I gave way too much for it but love it on the wall.  I could have made it a whole lot cheaper...LOL...

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My daughter is 40!

Where did the time go?  It seems like only yesterday that I watched her take her first step.  Then she was driving my car.  Before I knew it she was graduating from high school.  Now, look at her!  She is making me old!!!  Before I turned 21, I didn't think the years would ever go by and now I can't get them to slow down.  I've been retired for 7 months now but it only seems like a few weeks.  I'm not complaining, just wishing my life would slow down just a bit.  I think I know now why folks say you are busier in retirement than you were when you worked...its not busier, its just that the day is gone before you can blink your eyes.  Anyway, enough rambling....here is the birthday card I made her.

 

Everything was just odds and ends that I had in my stash.  The circles at the bottom were from this lovely book of paper that I got with my Cardmaking and Papercraft magazine.  I think I've told you that its my favorite magazine and it comes from the UK.  I get it once a month and every time it comes with a little something in the package.  I've got quite a few stamps, some glue pens, some water colors and this past month, we got this lovely book of paper by Raspberry Road Designs.  It has 48 different papers in it that I like and will be using quite a bit of it.  Each issue also has a few half sheets inside the magazine too.  

Do you recognize the Happy Birthday banner?  Yep, its the same one I used on other cards.  I printed a whole sheet of them off so I'd have them ready, especially when I've procrastinated too long and need to do the card in a hurry. 

My dictionary and old book pages are pretty fragile so I sprayed them with Triple Thick Gloss Spray to stiffen them up.  I need to look for Matte finish because the gloss makes them a bit too shiny for my taste. 

Next up is the Sliding Message box that I made before.  This was a real pain!  I didn't get it done in time to take to her for her birthday dinner but told her I was making it and she would get it a bit late.  (Since she never remembers my birthday,  she couldn't exactly complain...LOL).  I would have had it done but I had computer issues on Sunday and worked on it till almost 10pm on Sunday night.  I still don't have it fixed right but it works for now.  I was back up at 3am working on the computer again, just to get my internet back.  I had to go online to get the instructions for the box. I now have the instructions printed out...LOL

This uses some more paper from the Raspberry Road paper book and all the cardstock is from PaperTrey Inc.  The butterfly is by K&Company. I used an earring for the knob on this one...it has a big, flat back so I was able to hot glue it to the box and it makes it much studier when pulling on it. I'm still having trouble with the opening of the box...I think I wrap my outer wrap too tight.  I'm going to be making another one in the next day or two and hopefully, it works better.  It's not that this one doesn't work, but you have to be careful when pulling it open or it will break the plastic slide. Sorry...I'm rambling again!  And yes, the butterfly does match the ribbon but for some reason, I can not take a picture and have it in true colors. 

and the inside....

Have a great day!

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Cirsium horridulum Michaux

Otherwise known as road side Purple Thistle.  I love it when its blooming and even when the blooms are gone and all that is left is the 'cob'.  I took this early in the year and just now getting around to sharing it.  The frame is an action that Mark (from Proud Photography) shared with me a few years ago.  I always have a heck of a time running it right.  You have to imput the sizes and I never get it right..or I get the mat color wrong.   Anyway, need to get back to work on Jerri Ann's card...

BTW...check this image out on the practice blog....I LOVE the image size there!!


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Digging up an old Photo

LOL.....maybe my brain just hasn't recuperated from the grands yet but I kind of like how this turned out.  I'm not even sure how I got to this or even why I was leaning toward this look.  This is a jar of Pee Gee hydrangea that is in bloom right now and I spent the better part of the morning trying to get a good shot of it. I'm thinking I need to start fertilizing the Hydrangea's so they have bigger blooms.  They bloom OK, just not too big.  When I go to the nursery, their blooms are as big as my head and I do good to get them to the size of my fist.  Next spring, I'll give them a good dose of fertilizer and see if that helps.

I've got to get my butt in gear and get a card made for Jerri Ann.  She turns 40 on Monday!!!  I can't believe I have a 40 year old daughter, plus a 40 year old son and a 40 year old daughter-in-law...where has the time gone???
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Rain....too little, too late..but

This looked great when it started....looked like it might be set in for a long while but alas....it wasn't to be.  We got a whole sum of .2 and we are celebrating getting that!  I went to Macon with Jerri Ann to the doctor around noon yesterday and we drove in pouring down rain from Chillicothe to Macon, over an hour of driving.  We got back home to an empty rain gauge.  I'm thinking I can get by with an inch rain gauge now...no use having a 5 or 6 inch gauge.  That green grass you can see peeking through the rails?  It's cost me a fortune to keep this year.  The sprinklers run every night for 4 hours and its still not lush green but at least its not as brown as the side or back yard.  We have another 30% chance for rain on Sunday but I'm not holding my breath.  At least its a bunch cooler for the next day or two.  Only 84 today and 82 tomorrow with a morning low of 58.  Makes my morning walk so much more pleasant!
We wouldn't be in such dire conditions if we hadn't been super dry last summer, fall and winter and then we only got a few inches in the Spring.  Not nearly enough to build our reserve back up.  Oh, well, I'm sure it will start raining one of these days and probably not shut off.

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Sliding Candy Box

I made this back in June for the gal that does my nails.  I had a awful time figuring out the sliding mechanism but it finally worked out as long as you held your breath right when opening it...LOL....I used this tutorial to make the box...slider box  and here is the You tube video for it too....video
Once its completely assembled you slide the drawer out and the message comes out the other side at the same time.   She loved it!  Something decorative but not too costly for gift giving.  I just filled the drawer with Hershey's nuggets. 

I found that the plastic bags are too easy to stretch and got it to work much better with waxed paper but I was completely out of my awesome Scor Tape and didn't have anything that would stick good to the wax paper.   Thus, I had to use the plastic bag and it didn't open as easily with it.

All the paper is some from my stash...cut mostly on my Cricut with Sure Cuts a Lot.


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Purple Coneflower 2012

Another shot taken awhile back.  I have more to post, just need to get them edited. 

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Queen Anne's Lace 2012

I've had this image taken since before the 4th and just now got around to posting it.  For one, I had to move a ton of picture files to the external so I could have room to upload off my camera.  I had 6 compact flash cards full, waiting for space to upload. I still need to do some massive organizing but I did get most of them moved. It took over 36 hours to move them wirelessly...LOL...

It seems like this is the only flower blooming in this desert that we are now residing in.  Still no rain and temps at or in the 100's.  We are beyond burned up!  If this doesn't break, most of the cattle will be sold because of no water left in the ponds.  The corn is already being cut for silage or just mowed down.  The beans are iffy right now....if we get rain and have a late frost, they might produce.  Most of the farmers have their fingers crossed for the bean crop.  Those farmers that have stored corn are going to come out smelling like a rose but those smaller farmers won't be as lucky.  Our friends son doesn't have stored corn but he does carry insurance and that will help them out.

Don't laugh...its been so long since I posted that I had to read the instructions first!


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