Thankful Thursday

Every Thursday I share what I'm thankful for.  Sometimes it's a serious or big thing, and sometimes it's a goofy or small thing.  I believe that no matter what is going on in our lives, there is always something to be thankful for.  Always.

I was out of town a couple of days this week to visit my granddaughter, Shylee.  It had been about six weeks since the last time I saw her and I was going through withdrawals!  I'm thankful I can just pick up and go see her when I want to.  And of course I'm always thankful for any time I can spend with her and her mommy even if she did tell me I am an old lady!  

I'm also thankful for
     *  my new working dishwasher
     *  people who inspire me
     *  built-in bluetooth in the car
     *  Annie dog's excitement to see me when I came home

What are you thankful for today?

xo Annette xo

Focus On Life~Week 8~Monochromatic

Here is the prompt from Sally this week:

Monochromatic photos tell a story, evoke emotion and uncovers the soul with the simple contrast of one color.Monochromatic photos enable the viewer to see a deeper meaning behind what may be concealed by multiple colors. This week look deeper through the lens to the story your photo captures and then process it to one color!  Or be daring and shoot in B&W (monochrome).

Several months ago, I was taking pictures and somehow ended up in black and white mode.  I figured out how to get out of it but never did figure out how to get back in it.  So Sally's assignment this week forced me to find my camera's owner's manual.  I learned all kinds of new things!

Since I still had flowers left from last week, I decided to use them as my subject.

The next two photos were were edited in PicMonkey in Cross Process.  One in blue and the other in red.

See the other great monochrome photographs at The Studio Sublime.

I hope you're having a wonderful weekend!

xo Annette xo

Thankful Thursday

Every Thursday I share what I'm thankful for.  Sometimes it's a serious or big thing, and sometimes it's a goofy or small thing.  I believe that no matter what is going on in our lives, there is always something to be thankful for.  Always.

Do you think I'm crazy to be thankful for a dandelion?  It's not that I'm thankful for the weed so much as I'm thankful for some color in the yard.  This has been the coldest, grayest winter we've had in a while.  We haven't had any snow except for dustings here and there, but the temperatures have been colder than normal and the sun has been on an extended vacation.  So I'm thankful for color anywhere I can find it!

I'm also thankful for
     *  longer days
     *  a Cpap mask that works and a good night's sleep
     *  a little chocolate Hershey kiss
     *  a hot shower
     *  being able to look up anything on the internet

What are you thankful for today?

Have a wonderful Thursday!

xo Annette xo

Wordless Wednesday

It was a gray gloomy day and the red paint on the old barn seemed to pop in the grayness.  I find myself drawn to old barns and buildings.  I need to stop more often and take pictures of them.  Not so wordless today.  Sorry about that!

Happy Wednesday!

xo Annette xo

I Heart Macro

Bright happy blooms for these cold gray days.

I'm joining Lori at Studio Waterstone for I Heart Macro.

I hope you're having a lovely weekend!

xo Annette xo

Focus On Life~Week 7~Flowers

This week's prompt from Sally is flowers.  We're to take a moment to enjoy the beauty of flowers.

I love flowers.  I don't know anyone who doesn't really.  Whether they're growing wild in a field, well manicured in a garden, or sold in a grocery store, I could marvel at their beauty for hours.

Michael gave me this miniature orchid for Valentine's Day.  I've never seen a miniature one, and I've never had an orchid either.  It is so small and beautiful and delicate.  I hope I can keep it alive!

You can see many other beautiful flowers at Sally's blog, The Studio Sublime.

What is your favorite flower?

Happy Saturday!

xo Annette xo

Thankful Thursday

Every Thursday I share what I'm thankful for.  Sometimes it's a serious or big thing, and sometimes it's a goofy or small thing.  I believe that no matter what is going on in our lives, there is always something to be thankful for.  Always.

source

Three years ago I had a sleep study done to see if I had sleep apnea.  Turns out I did, so I've been sleeping every night with my Cpap mask and machine.  (The one shown is not the one I have.  Couldn't find mine)

Even though I now get a good nights sleep and feel rested more often than not, I've never liked sleeping with it.  It's just cumbersome and in the way and took a long time to get used to.  Last weekend I was replacing some of the parts and realized that I had thrown away the whole frame that connects everything together.  But I threw it away in the morning and now it was bedtime.  And the kitchen trash was now tied up and outside.  And there is no customer service for orders until after the weekend.  So I've been sleeping without it except I'm not really sleeping.  I have felt like a zombie all week and it made me realize just how thankful I am for this Darth Vader like contraption!  

I'm also thankful for 

     *  all the Valentines in my life

     *  the weather channel 

     *  TV shows with no commercials

     *  the creative people who inspire me

     *  warm socks on a cold morning

What are you thankful for today?

Happy Valentine's Day!

xo Annette xo

I Started A Second Blog

I can't believe I did it again!  I started a second blog, This Journey To Health and Wellness, to document the road to transformation (my word for 2013).   I have a lot to say on the subject, and I didn't want it to take over this blog.

I'm still working on it, so it will probably undergo several changes until I'm satisfied with it.  It's always a challenge to get it just right!

I hope you will pop over there and give it a look.  You are welcome to follow me too and let me know what you think.

Thank you all so much for your support and encouragement!!

xo Annette xo

Focus on Life~Week 6~Feel the Love

This weeks prompt from Sally is "feel the love".  Sally says to feel the love that the universe is trying to show us everyday.

When I first read the prompt, my mind filled with all kinds of ways I see love and how to portray it in a photograph.  The problem was narrowing it down to just one idea.  No matter what I decided on though, I kept going back to one idea in particular.  A cross.  It is to me, the symbol of perfect, unconditional, forgiving love.

You can visit Sally's blog, The Studio Sublime, to see how others feel the love.

Last week, several readers asked me how I did the shaped bokeh, or to write a tutorial.  There are many excellent tutorials out there that are better than I could write. Here are a few links.

How to make your own bokeh shapes from How About Orange
How to make shaped bokeh from I Heart Faces
Create your own bokeh from DIY Photography

I do hope you give it a try and let me know how it goes!

xo Annette xo

It Was Wonderful and It Was Awful

It has been close to a year and a half since the last time I went to my favorite antique mall.  My favorite bloggers have been thrifting and junking and flea marketing and antiquing while I oohed and aahed and drooled over their fabulous finds.  I was thrilled when they scored magnificent treasures, but I longed to go and score my own booty too.

While visiting my daughter a couple of weeks ago, my knee was feeling pretty good, so we decided to hit the antique mall.  It was wonderful and awful at the same time!  Wonderful to be among the beautiful old things again and awful because I just couldn't walk and stand very long.  With a lot of stopping and sitting and resting,  I made it through about two thirds of the first floor.  It was wonderful because I could do that much and awful because I couldn't do it all.

I did score my own treasure in just two thirds of one floor though!  Those little pink bows all around the teacup and saucer just endeared themselves to me.  I couldn't leave it on the shelf.  Maybe I'll give it to Shylee when she is older.  And then there was the lace.  A big bag full of beautiful cotton, crocheted, and assorted laces and trims.  Even three adorable garden glove appliques.  Wouldn't they be perfect on a gardening apron?  The last find was a bag of vintage embroidery transfers.  I was so very excited to find these because they are the first ones I've found.  If my knee had cooperated, I would have done a happy dance right there in the booth.

It was wonderful to be in the antique mall and find wonderful treasures again.  It was awful because I know there was more to find, lol.   However, it was very good for the soul!

What have you experienced lately that was wonderful?  Or awful?

Happy Friday!

xo Annette xo

Thankful Thursday

Every Thursday I share what I'm thankful for.  Sometimes it's a serious or big thing, and sometimes it's a goofy or small thing.  I believe that no matter what is going on in our lives, there is always something to be thankful for.  Always.

In this post, I used the Christmas tree lights to play with the camera, creating shaped bokeh.  I was mad at Michael for not putting away the tree, but his procrastination allowed me to play.  I'm thankful he still hasn't put it away, because I got to play some more!

I'm also thankful for

     *  the hometown Super bowl victory

     *  my night-light 

     *  freshly laundered bed linens

     *  hot chocolate with marshmallows

     *  the desire to learn new things

What are you thankful for today?

xo Annette xo

Wordless Wednesday

I thought the sea grass looked like strands of gold in the setting sun .

Happy Wednesday!

xo Annette xo

I Heart Macro

This is a pottery platter my husband gave me for Christmas.  It reminds me of embroidered denim and I just love it.  It was sitting on the counter just begging to be photographed!

I'm joining Lori at Studio Waterstone for I Heart Macro.

I hope you're having a splendid Sunday!

xo Annette xo

Focus On Life~Week 5~Capture Our Hearts

This week's prompt from Sally was to capture hearts.  Everywhere you look this time of year there are hearts. I really wanted to go on the hunt outside for hearts in unexpected places, but it was just too cold. So I tried something I have wanted to for a long time.  I made a cover for the camera lens with a heart shape cut out so I could make heart bokeh!  You have to have lights for this and it just so happens the Christmas tree is still up.  The ornaments have long been packed away, but I've been waiting on Michael to take the tree down.  It's too tall and too big around for me to take it apart.  Let's just say I can't be mad at him anymore, because I was thrilled to have the little lights for this.

I even played in Picmonkey coming up with different effects and loved the bright red background and the heart in the middle that turned red.  Now I'm tempted to leave the tree up to play with different shapes!

You can visit Sally's blog, The Studio Sublime, to see other hearts that were captured this week.

Have a wonderful weekend!

xo Annette xo