Scavenger Hunt Sunday - June 30, 2013

Summer has arrived with a bang!  We went from rainy, cool 65 degree weather on Monday to 98 degree weather today with 104 expected for this coming Monday - Talk about a sudden change in climate. 

So let's get started shall we on this week's Scavenger Hunt Sunday.

The prompts this week were:  Tools, Motion, Sweet, Dots and Stripes. - Click to Enlarge photo's.

TOOLS:  -  Caught this shot of hubby last week working with some tools in our back yard area.  He kinda looks a bit weary here me thinks!

MOTION:  You get 2 for this prompt because I liked them both.

My mom's new dog, Pixie running towards me.  Look at her go!

Coleen started her summer swimming lessons this week.  - Look at her go!

SWEET:

Local "sweet" Bing Cherries - Yum!

DOTS:  Our cat, Dottie,  Can you figure out why we named her that?

STRIPES:  Some candy striped petunia's from my garden.  I had a little fun playing around with textures on this photo.

So that's it for me.  -  Coleen is participating this week if you'd like to check out her photo's at  http://creativecoleen.blogspot.com/2013/06/scavenger-hunt-sunday-june-30-2013.html .

Don't forget to check in at Ashley's blog to check out the other participants.

Orange You Glad It's Friday #44

Hi,  Hope you have been having a lovely week.  It's been a weird one (well weather wise that is here)  A lot of rain for several days and then bam the high temps are about to arrive.  It was about 65 here on Monday and by this coming Monday it's expected to be 104 -  Good Grief!

With the chitchat about the weather out of the way it's time to join in with Maria (Life's Sweets and Spices) for Orange You Glad It's Friday. 

I've driven by this a number of times and have always thought...Gee I should get a picture of that but then I never seem to have my camera handy (I know I should carry it with me all the time).  So today I made a special trip just so I could take this picture.

CLICK TO ENLARGE:

Isn't that a snazzy color!  -  You'd certainly be noticed riding this bicycle.  Then again considering the other bikes parked next to it....

You'd probably be noticed riding them as well.

If you haven't yet checked out the post below this one please do as little Pixie is our newest edition and she's sort of a shade of orange too.

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by. 

Welcome Pixie

As many of you know from this post we had to put down my mom's dog, Rusty.  It was a hard choice but one we knew was best for the dog.  -  A few days later I called the local Humane Society to find out if they took donations of left over dog food and they said yes.  So I packed up all the left over food and treats and Coleen and I took them down to the Humane Society on Friday 14th.  While we were there we decided to visit the adoption center and look at the cats and dogs that were available.    Can you tell where this is leading?


We spotted this adorable little dog in one of the cages and she seemed so excited about us being there.  I took a snap shot of her with my phone (not the best phone for picture taking) and then drove back home to show it to my mom.  She thought the dog was cute and so I talked her into going down and seeing it in person.  They told us there that we could take the dog home for a 3 day trial to see how she did and if we wanted to adopt her after the trial we could or we could bring her back with no questions asked.  So off we went with a new little dog.  By Monday we'd decided that she was just so adorable and so sweet that we had to keep her.  So without further ado....let me introduce you to,

Pixie: (Her original name was Fluffy but since the neighbor's cat is named Fluffy and my mom really didn't like that name she picked out the name, Pixie because of her sweet little pixie like face.)  She's a long-haired Chihuahua (mix).  She's very friendly and loves to be held, petted and have her belly rubbed.  Just the right size dog for my mom to handle.  Although you probably won't see many pictures of my mom holding her because my mom hates her picture taken.

We introduced Pixie to Cricket and while Pixie isn't thrilled to be around another dog she does tolerate Cricket and they both get exercise chasing each other around the yard as my mom said we could let them play together in her back yard. For those who don't know my mom lives next door to us so it's easy for the dogs to play together.

Coleen adores Pixie and loves to spend time playing with her and holding her.

We think she makes a wonderful edition to the family.

Tuesday Muse - June 25, 2013

Good Morning (well at least it is here).  It's time to join Nancy (A Rural Journal) for Tuesday Muse.

Here is my entry:

Click to Enlarge:

I processed this using Nancy's Denim Fade Texture.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday - June 23, 2013

Welcome!  -  Let's get started shall we on this weeks Scavenger Hunt Sunday.  The prompts were challenging (at least to me) this week.    Here they are:  Fun, Arts & Crafts, Messy, Blessing and Effort.

Click to Enlarge photo's.


FUN:

Coleen had a lot of fun last night making and sleeping in a little fort area of the living room.  Can you spot her in the photo?

 

 

ARTS & CRAFTS:  Coleen helped me on this one by making a little craft project today.  Here she is with her cotton ball dog which Cuddles is checking out.  Sorry for the bad lighting,  my craft room is horrible to take pictures in.

 



MESSY:

The squirrels are rather "messy" with the peanuts I leave out for them.  Here's some of their left over mess after they've cracked open the peanuts.  You can also spot a little bit of a bird mess on the concrete wall as well.  Thank goodness it wasn't a big mess.

 

BLESSING:  Being able to take a road trip for a few hours today with Coleen and my mom was a blessing and seeing country side like this was also a blessing.

 

 



EFFORT:  This one was the hardest of all for me.  I'm going with a very loose interpretation here so bear with me.  Please note that Coleen actually took this photo for me out the window as we were driving by some of the turbines.

 

On our little excursion out we drove past a wind turbine area and got to see these things up close (man are they huge).  I suppose some believe this is an effort to find a better and cheaper way to generate power then electricity.  Me I just found them fascinating to watch.

 

So that's it for the hunt this week.  Do stop by Ashley's blog (Ramblings and Photos) to check out the other participants. 

Have a great day.

OYGIF#43, Blogger Challenge and Summer time Salad

It's Friday!!! - This week has been busy but I've managed to survive it.  Time for a little weekend fun now.  -  So let's get started by joining Maria for Orange You Glad It's Friday.  

I'm also sharing a link to a card I made and a recipe for a summer picnic salad.  They all contain some shade of orange.

Enjoy!


Yesterday one of the local grocery stores in town had an oldies band playing and also there were some old cars to view outside in the parking lot.  This is one of them and the owner suggested taking Coleen's picture sitting inside the car.

I don't remember what type of a car he said this was but the model year is 1940.
Don't you love those Orange Hubcaps!

Thought I would also share a  picture of a new salad recipe that I recently tried out.  It's from Taste of Home and is called Pretty Picnic Salad.  If you click on the link you will be taken to the recipe.

Here is the card and a link to my other blog  (Faith Artistry) with information on the card.

Have a great weekend.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday - June 16, 2013

Welcome to the hunt,  that is....Scavenger Hunt Sunday. 

Before we get started I want to give a shout out to all the dad's out there.  Even though mine's been gone 15 years I still miss him and will remember him by taking some flowers out to the cemetery today.  To my hubby as well,  Happy Father's Day!!!

This weeks prompts:  Summer, Dance, Laughter, Helper & Water.  Click to Enlarge

SUMMER:  Summer means many different things to people.  One of my favorite things about summer is being able to enjoy Strawberry Shortcake with fresh, local strawberries.  Yum!!!!

DANCE:  Last Sunday the kids did a few special songs complete with motions and this is one of the shots I took of them dancing around on stage.

 

 

LAUGHTER:  This shot could have fit 3 of the prompts all rolled into one but I chose to use it for laughter.

 



HELPER: - You might wonder what this next shot has to do with being a "helper" but I believe nature helps mankind out.

WATER:  Again not what you normally would think of for a water prompt but it works.

Pineapple, Blueberry, Banana sparkling water with fresh blueberries.  Coleen and I enjoy flavored carbonated water and this is one of the many flavors available.

Have a great day and don't forget to spend some time with your dad if you have him around still.  Life is short so cherish the time you have with your parents.

Focusing on Life - Edit Me Challenge

The Focusing on Life blog had an Edit Me Challenge that looked like fun so I thought I would give it a try.  Below is the Original photo and my Edited Version will follow after it.


Please click to enlarge photos:

I first enlarged the original photo and then cropped it.  Next I did a slight color adjustment to give it a more sunny feel.  Then I added a texture from Nancy at A Rural Journal called, NC0607 if you sign up for her Free Texture Newsletter you will receive these in an email.  and one from RHWest Photography called Shake.  Then I used the Orton Effect at about 50%. and added the Dropped Frame.  All textures and effects were done on Pic Monkey.

A little "Dreamy" and a little "Orange"

It's 2-fer Friday here on my blog today.  I'll be showcasing, Orange You Glad It's Friday and after a short hiatus Bonnie, Pixel Dust Photo Art is sharing in the fun of
Photo Art Friday again.

Click to Enlarge the photo's.

First up for Orange You Glad It's Friday:

This is one of my favorite roses.  It's called, Tropical Sunset and has wonderful variegated petals that range from yellow, orange and red tones. I forgot to write down the texture that I used but I believe it is one from Nancy at A Rural Journal.

Next up on Photo Art Friday the theme this time is:  Dreamy or Ethereal.

This is a photo of one of my Clematis plants with textures added and some special effects courtesy of Pic Monkey.  I added a quote as well.  I love how this turned out.

Please drop by both Maria and Bonnie's blogs and check out the great photo's and photo art pieces.  -  Have a wonderful weekend.

Tuesday Muse - Rusty has crossed the Rainbow Bridge

Am Sharing with Nancy for Tuesday Muse.   Today was a sad day as we said good-bye to a faithful friend.  My mom's dog, Rusty was put to rest this afternoon.  He had now crossed the "Rainbow Bridge" and is happy and health once again.   Rusty as a young puppy in 1998 - Wasn't he just the cutest.   Today I took one last picture of him:     Rusty - 1998-2013,  Rest In Peace sweet boy. Rusty was the son of our dogs, Rebel and Angel.  He was 1/2 American Eskimo and 1/2 Chow. His father, Rebel passed away in 2007 at the age of 15 just short actually of his 16th birthday. His mother, Angel passed away in 2011 at the age of 13. His brother Nome passed away a couple of years ago.  They are once again together. My mom picked him out of their first litter of pups and named him Rusty because he was the most orange toned of all 3 pups. My mom has never been much of an animal person but she loved this dog even though he was way to large for her to handle and really play with.  She spoiled him by giving him Vita-Bones and Dog Biscuits every night before she brought him inside for the night.  She always called him, "Rusty-boy" and it was really hard for her today when they came to put him down.  She said her head knew it was the right thing to do but her heart was telling her something different. Rusty was always a very "temperamental" dog.  The Chow in him made him a bit more aggressive type dog then we had hoped he would be.  He wouldn't let hardly anyone near his pen.  He like my mom, Mike, Greta and Myself but not all the time.  At times he would growl and snarl at us and we knew it best to just leave him be.  He could also be so loving and sweet but would never let Coleen near his pen so she knew better then to try and pet him.  He made a very good watch dog around the place so my mom felt safe at night in her house as she brought him in every night unless he was in one of his "moods" and then he stayed outside in his pen. One of my favorite stories about him was the time that a serviceman came to work on the sewer and needed to shut the water off.  I happened to catch him walking down the driveway out of the corner of my eye and I jumped up to warn him that the dog would be there and barking at him.  The faucet was outside his pen but he couldn't get out.  Needless to say I made it to the dog just as the man reached for the faucet and Rusty started snapping, snarling & jumping up on the fence.  The poor man jumped about 2 feet straight in the air and said a bunch of words I can't repeat.  I told him I tried to warn him but was to late.  I'm surprised he didn't have heart failure because Rusty scared him half to death.  It was funny and yet not funny. He always hated the Hot Air Balloon Festival and we could always tell if there were balloons in the air as he could hear them while they were still quite far off and would bark and bark until he was almost hoarse from barking at them.  My mom would always bring him inside so he wouldn't get to agitated.  He was the same way with thunder storms. Rusty in the winter of 2008 when we had a ton of snow on the ground.  Even though it was cold outside he preferred to stay outside then spend the day in the house. In recent weeks he'd been slowing down more and more and slowly started losing interest in even barking at Coleen and wasn't eating hardly at all.  His back legs were getting weaker and weaker and we finally made the choice to say good-bye to him and have him put down.  It was a very hard thing to do but he's at peace now and no longer in any pain. Even though he wasn't the friendliest of dogs we all loved him and he will be missed. Rusty - May of 2012 while he was still healthy.  Thank you for being a faithful friend: Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.   All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind. They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.  You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.   Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....    Author unknown...

Scavenger Hunt Sunday - June 9, 2013

Welcome!   Thanks for stopping by. 
It's time to join in on the weekly fun of Scavenger Hunt Sunday.
Pop by Ashley's Blog (Ramblings and Photos) and join in on the fun. 
This weeks prompts were:  Dishes, Favorite Color, Sun Flare,
Expression and Sticky.  So let's get started.

Click to Enlarge

DISHES:  This one was probably the toughest one for me.  I didn't want to take a picture of dishes in the sink or dishwasher so I had to find something a little more exciting.  Stopped by a local produce and antique store today and spotted these dishes that I thought were interesting.

FAVORITE COLOR:  Self-Explanatory I think.

SUN FLARE:  Had fun with this one and loved how the shot turned out.
View Out the side door of our house.

EXPRESSION:  This one could have been so many things but I just couldn't seem to get the shots I was hoping for and decided this one of Coleen enjoying a strawberry seemed cute.

STICKY:  This one is an "archive" photo but I have been dying to use it every since I took the shot and now I finally have a reason.

 

 

 

I was downtown with Coleen one day and happened upon a tree with Pitch flowing down the trunk.  I love the way the sun created that little glint of light on the glob of pitch.  Which by the way is very sticky and really hard to get off your hands or clothes if you get it on you.



Orange You Glad It's Friday #41 - Could it get any cuter?

Welcome.  Another week is winding down and once again it's time to share along with Maria (Life's Sweet and Spices) for Orange You Glad It's Friday.  I had something totally different picked out to share today and then at the last minute I decided to change photo's.

Last night I stopped by the house where "Fluffy" the cat lives to check in on her and the kittens.  I was able to take a few photo's of them and am sharing one that I took of my favorite kitten from her litter.  She had 4 kittens but this little girl stole my heart.  If I didn't already have 6 cats I would take this one in a heart beat.

Don't those eyes just melt your heart.
Have a great weekend & do stop by and check out the other participants too.