Songography (Two of Us) Edition and Scavenger Hunt Sunday - September 29, 2013

I'm back this week and on time for Songography and Scavenger Hunt Sunday.  -  We had a wonderful time at my niece's wedding.  My photo's for both meme's will highlight parts of our trip.

SONGOGRAPHY    -  Please join in the fun.  You can find all the participants on Kathy's blog, (You'll Shoot Your Eye Out) by clicking on the link.

This weeks song:  Two of Us by Aimee Mann.

Click to Enlarge All Photo's.

A view of the highway on our way back home.  If you look up on the top of that rock bluff you will see the Vista house.  - I took this out the front window while hubby was driving.  -  We certainly have shared a lot of memories together & made more with the rest of the family one this trip and back home.

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SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY - You can check out this fun meme on Ashley's blog, Ramblings and Photo's.

This weeks prompts:  Rule of Thirds, Made Me Smile, Lines, Alone and Together.

RULE OF THIRDS:  This is a photography rule and one that should be easy to master but I'm never really sure if I have it right or not. 

My great-nephew, Andrew was the Flower Boy/Ring Bearer at my niece, Krissy's wedding.  Shortly after this photo was taken he was dive bombed by Seagulls who thought he was dropping food on the sand!

MADE ME SMILE:  We spotted a man and his rather large dog while visiting Bonneville Dam on our way home Sunday afternoon.  He let us take some pictures and this one made me smile.  Check out the look in Coleen's eyes.

The dog's name was, Bear and he's an Alaskan Malamute.

LINES:  Spotted this creature in front of the Gift Shop.  I love the colorful lines on it's underbelly and the lines from the board it's crossing.

Turns out this is a, Red Slug also known as Arion Rufus  This thing was at least 3-4 inches long and a good inch wide.

ALONE:  This is one of my favorite images from our trip. 

This is my oldest brother Russell standing all alone looking out at the waves coming in off the ocean just before the wedding started.

TOGETHER:

My niece, Krissy & her new husband, Jeff united "together" in marriage on Saturday, September 21, 2013 -  This wasn't the official ceremony kiss photo but rather one taken after the ceremony and here they decided to rub noses, which I thought was rather cute and sweet.

That's it for this week.  Please stop by both these blogs and visit the other participants.  Thank you for stopping by my blog.  I will do my best to drop by yours and leave comments as time allows.

Random 5 Friday

Hi! - Well my goodness it's been a busy month.  I've missed the last couple of Random 5 Friday so today I thought I'd pop in with a few random thoughts.  Nancy from, A Rural Journal hosts this fun little meme so be sure to pop on over and check it out.



1.  What season is this supposed to be?  According to the calendar Autumn started on Sunday.  According to my Azalea Bush  Spring is here instead.

A few of the buds for next spring decided it was warm enough now for them to mature, open and bloom. - I'd say this bush is just a bit confused.

2.  Wildlife in our neighborhood is interesting to say the least.  Tuesday my mom found a turtle in her front yard!  She brought it inside and put it in her bathtub and then we called around to find out what we should do with it.  Our neighbor had found it a couple of days earlier and put it in a little creek nearby.  Apparently the turtle wasn't happy there and crawled back out.  After checking around we were able to take the turtle to the city park and released it into one of the protected ponds there.

3.  Traveling isn't as easy as it use to be.  I think I'm still recovering from last Friday's trip down to the Oregon Coast and back on Sunday.  Still I'm glad we went.  If we hadn't I might have missed this funny moment.

I'm not sure what was so funny but my niece certainly thought something was funny.

4.  Got caught in a thunderstorm the other night.  I went to the store and it wasn't raining when I went inside.  It started to rain just as I left the store.  Then it turned into a torrential downpour.  I had flip-flops on and no coat.  Thankfully hubby had just got home when I pulled in the driveway and the sweet guy that he is he got me an umbrella so I wouldn't get soaked getting back into the house!

5. I love the cooler temperatures and being able to enjoy a nice hot bowl of chili...my mom's fixing for lunch today.  I know lucky me, I don't have to fix lunch today.  Thanks mom!

Here Comes The Bride

Please note if you are stopping by for my Scavenger Hunt Sunday & Songography Shots to click on the link to be taken to the post.

As promised here are a couple of photos from my niece's wedding on Saturday, September 21st. -  She was married on the beach in Lincoln City, OR.

It turned out to be a perfect day.  No Rain,  Cloudy but patches of Sunshine.  Not to windy either. 

Click to Enlarge:

The happy couple,  Jeff and Krissy Ralph.

The Bridal Party L-R  (Grooms Best Man and Cousin)  Groom-Jeff, Bride-Krissy, Matron of Honor and Sister-Shelby.  Ring Bearer/Flower Boy (Bride's Nephew-Andrew).

More pictures will follow later in the week.

Song-ography - Pink Edition and Scavenger Hunt Sunday - September 22, 2013

Welcome....As you view this I will most likely be on my way back home from attending my niece's wedding on the Oregon Coast. - Pictures will follow after I get back.

In the meantime you get Songography and Scavenger Hunt Sunday. Which are both well worth your time to stop by and check them out.


SONGOGRAPHY

This weeks song,  Pink by Aerosmith.  I was not familiar with this particular song as about the only Aerosmith song I really know is, (Walk This Way) but I did check out the video link Kathy provided....weird is all I can say.

I like to go with a line from the song most of the time for my interpretation so here is my contribution:  (Click to Enlarge)

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SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY:  Click to Enlarge
Disclaimer...these aren't my best work but I wanted to have something for this week and had to hurry to get them photographed before we left on Friday.

This weeks prompts:  Something You Wore, Reflection, Inside Your Fridge, Daily Routine, Morning.

SOMETHING YOU WORE:  I saw my jeans laying on the bed this morning and snapped a photo of them.  I wore them this past week and they are a tad long so I had to roll them up a little.

REFLECTION:  I took this last Sunday night after one of our sudden Thunderstorms had passed through.  We get quite the little mini-lake in our driveway when it rains heavily.

INSIDE YOUR FRIDGE:  This one scared me because our refrigerator is usually a jumbled mess as no one every tries to keep it organized and neat looking.  So instead I got the idea to do the ice cube tray from our freezer .

I converted the photo to BW because it made it more interesting.

DAILY ROUTINE:  Part of our daily routine here is feeding the cats.  This one has to have special food apart from the other cats.

MORNING:  No morning sunrises from this gal as I'm so not a "morning" person.  This was taken though before 9:00 am so it qualifies as morning.

I liked the jet trail running through the sky and the light shining through the tiny holes in the leaves on this tree.

That's it for me.  -  I will do my best to visit all your blogs next week and leave comments.  I may be a little tired after our trip so please know I'll stop by as soon as I can.  Hugs to all.

I'm Still Alive

Just wanted to let you all know I'm still around.  It's been a very busy week here and we are taking a short weekend trip to the Oregon Coast to attend my niece's wedding so I've not been spending much time on the computer.

I will have a post up for Songography and Scavenger Hunt Sunday so be sure to check back over the weekend.

Hugs to all and I promise to get around to visiting your blogs as soon as I can.

Song-ography and SHS - September 15, 2013

Song-ography followed by Scavenger Hunt Sunday.




Please join me as we celebrate, Song-ography brought to you by Kathy from,  You'll Shoot Your Eye Out.

This weeks song:  Something Beautiful by
Need to Breathe.

Click to enlarge photos.

 Consume me like a fire, 'cause I just want something beautiful to touch me.

I went to my archives for this one because this sunset that I capture in early January of this year does indeed look as if the sky is on fire.  It was certainly a beautiful sunset to behold.

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Let's now join Ashley, Ramblings and Photos for this weeks
    Scavenger Hunt Sunday edition.  This weeks prompts are:  Enjoy a Pumpkin Drink, Read a Book, Bake or Eat a Sweet Treat, Animal and Get Artsy.


ENJOY A PUMPKIN DRINK:  I cheated a little for this prompt since I did not have anything pumpkin drink related here and it's to early for Pumpkin drinks in our area.  We are still in the upper 90's temperature wise although it is supposed to drop down considerable this coming week.  Instead I bring you (English Toffee Tea).  It sounded like a "fall" type drink to me.

READ A BOOK:

Coleen reading to Callie-Jo, who looks totally bored by the whole thing.  The great thing is that Coleen actually found a fictional story that she is enjoying reading.  Normally she only reads non-fiction type books so it was a great surprise when she came home from school this past week with this little book about a Gerbil.  (She has 2 Gerbils so I guess that is what caught her attention.)

BAKE OR EAT A SWEET TREAT:

Zucchini Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting baked for Greta's birthday this past Thursday.

ANIMAL:  You probably know what's coming...at our house there is no shortage of animals, especially cats.  Here is one of them.

Mike was shining something up on the ceiling so she would follow it with her eyes and I caught that wonderful cross-eyed look that I so love.  We call her our "wonky-faced" cat.

GET ARTSY:  Hubby complied with my request to do something "artsy" as he worked to clear off our parking strip and get it ready to plant grass.  The debris is from the left-over sticks from the trees we had cut down earlier in the summer.

His masterpiece:

                                                       Have a Nice Day!

Random 5 Friday

It's Friday,  Hip, Hip, Hooray!!!

It's been "one of those weeks" (again).

So now it's time to kick back, relax and enjoy some Random thoughts.


You'll find them over at Nancy's blog,  A Rural Journal.

Here are mine:

1.  This photo was a totally "random" surprise.  I saw a bug on this flower in my garden and snapped a photo.  The bug flew off immediately so I only got the one shot.  I was pleasantly surprised to find upon uploading the photo that this little bug had a, "heart" on it's back.  - Click to enlarge and you'll see the heart better.

2.  League bowling started 2 weeks ago and so far  I "stink" this season.  I'm guessing that I'm just not relaxing and the new changes to the alley's are throwing me off a little.  I hate change.

3.  I admit that I love dance shows like, So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing With The Stars.  One just ended and the other one starts on Monday.  Mindless but fun entertainment. 

4.  It's been a super busy week here.  Had a friend visit on Monday, Tuesday was bowling league, Wednesday I had to take my mom and Coleen shopping for birthday gifts as well as do my own shopping.  Thursday was Greta's birthday and I baked cupcakes, wrapped presents, and we went to dinner and had a little party afterwards.  Fun day but also tiring.

5.  I missed my "naps" this week due to all the activities.  Yes,  I sometimes take naps and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

Have a great weekend.

Songongraphy (I want to Break Free) and Scavenger Hunt Sunday - September 8, 2013

Welcome:  This post will include (Song-ography) and (Scavenger Hunt 
    Sunday)



Won't you join me as we go on a musical journey called,  Song-ography brought to you by the uber talented Kathy, You'll Shoot Your Eye Out.

This weeks song:  I Want To Break Free by Queen.

Click to enlarge photos:

I went through some of my photos and found one of a lone seagull in a clear blue sky that I liked.  To me the soaring bird exudes,  Freedom!
Since the original lacked that pizzazz I wanted I added a cloud texture to the shot that just made it have the perfect feel that I was looking for.

I won't wax philosophical about being "free" but I am sure that all of us have something in our lives that we want to "Break Free" from at one time or another.  I hope whatever it is in your life that you find the freedom that you are seeking.

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Now it's time to join Ashley (Ramblings and Photos) for Scavenger Hunt Sunday.

This weeks prompts:  Labor Day/Work, Phone Call, Pill(s), Up Close and White Space.

 

LABOR DAY:  Okay this photo was actually taken Labor Day weekend and features Coleen on one of the Fair Rides.



PHONE CALL:  For this shot I told Coleen to pretend she was talking on the phone while I took pictures.  She complied and I was snapping away.  After I uploaded the shots I decided to go with this one...



After so long of a time without dialing you get that annoying lady who tells you that if "You'd like to make a call, please hang up and try your call again."  Well she must have came on and Coleen was looking into the receiver and telling her to, "Be Quiet and Go Away".  I thought it was much funnier and cuter then her pretending to talk on the phone so I went with it.

 

PILL:  Pills aren't just for humans:

 

                                     Our kitty, Snickers has to take these.

 

UP CLOSE:  Coleen's Cherry Tomato's.  Check out that tiny one.  It looks fairly large in the photo but it was actually barely the size of her pinkie fingernail.

 

WHITE SPACE:  This one always throws me.  I'm never sure if I've got it right or not.  I'll include the 2 shots I have and you let me know if they qualify for the "White Space" photography idea.

 

 

That's it for this weeks hunt.  I hope you have enjoyed your stay.

Photo Art Friday - Part 2

PAF-Part 1 can be found HERE:


As I was editing and posting my photos last night for Photo Art Friday we had a huge Thunderstorm pass through complete with Thunder, Lightning, High Winds and Rain!  Crazy gal that I am I decided to take some pictures of the storm. 

So with my second post today I am sharing a few of the storm photo's because they of course have "Water" in them.

Clouds rolling in getting ready for the down-pour.  All those specks you see in the photo are leaves, twigs etc...from the high wind that came in with the storm.

This next shot doesn't really have water in it and is rather "blurry" but it's a shot of the tree out back that I park under.  Needless to say I moved the van until after the storm subsided as branches were dropping out of this tree and I didn't want a broken windshield.

The rain has started and Coleen wants to dance in the rain.

It came down pretty heavy for about 15-20 minutes.

After it subside a little I caught some water ripples on the drive-way and played around with the photo on Pic Monkey adding a cloud texture and some color effects.

I also caught this shot of Coleen holding her hand underneath the drain spout on my mom's front porch.  I added Bonnie's texture: Silent Memory to the shot, erased the texture off her hand and then used the Tranquil effect from Pic Monkey and a quote.  (Original will follow).

 

 





 

 

Finally a shot of some of the storm damage just up the street from us.  There were lots of sirens going off during this storm and tons of debris lying around afterwards.