nature's color blocking

I walked outside in the wee hours of the morning this morning and saw this beautiful collision of blues, purples and golds. Just wanted to share...

flickr favorites {b/w}

1. Untitled, 2. brushes, 3. Happy Anniversary to my love..., 4. scrambled, 5. Music for the Soul, 6. Rainy days and Mondays..., 7. Puddle Play, 8. Untitled, 9. 31

priceless

I ran across this image last night while I was editing some pics. It was taken back in August of last year. It may not seem that precious to the average person, but to me it's priceless. I can just hear his little voice making flying noises and saying "to infinity and beyond!" Definitely my favorite kind of photos.

continuing education

I've been learning to make calendars in one of my online classes. Here's a little sneak peak at my first attempt for January. PS. Photoshop is an amazing program. If you have it, but don't know much about it, I recommend taking a class or two to help you unlock one of its zillion (yes, zillion is a word) awesome features. I can't tell you how much I've learned about that amazing program, and I've barely scratched the surface. 

december… {instagram edition}

December came with a little surprise, in the form of my daughter, her husband and my two sweet grandsons moving in with us for a couple of weeks. A little delay in the completion of their new home meant two weeks of fun for me. Some of my normal December activities were put on hold (such as blogging) and quality time with my grandkids was put at the top of the priority list. Although several of us caught a little flu bug, I wouldn't have changed a thing. We were blessed to have all of our immediate family in home for Christmas Eve and for a short time on Christmas day. Nothing means more to me than that. As far as I'm concerned, it was the perfect Christmas. We would normally take off for the cabin the day after Christmas, but with the new home and a snow cat that needs a little repair work, we will welcome in the new year at home this year. May your 2014 be filled with joy and happiness. 

november… {instagram edition}

Whew… life has been so busy for the past couple of weeks that my blogging has gone out the window. Pardon me while I play a little catch up. During November, I concentrated on all of the things I am thankful for. They included family and friends, hobbies, good food and travel. I spent the Thanksgiving holiday away from home this year and enjoyed seeing my extended family. I said goodbye to the last of my summer flowers and hello to gorgeous autumn leaves. I enjoyed the first snow run of the season and, of course, spent a great deal of time with my camera and my guitar. I also hosted our family book club and celebrated my mom's 79th b-day. It's a week into December already and there is no sign of slowing in my daily schedule. I'm hoping to squeeze in a few posts here and there throughout the month, but I'm making no promises. Until next time...

flickr favorites {red and teal}

1. the little ones, 2. love the fin, 3. farm fresh, 4. life is too short to wear boring clothes, 5. when I am old I will wear purple ;D, 6. Di fronte alla chiesa, 7. #15 Music, 8. ~, 9. A scarlet foursome

guilty as charged

I I would so be one of these two maniacs with the camera phone. I need help...

picture gratitude

I'm doing a '30 Days of Gratitude' project with my photo group for the entire month of November.  Each day we take a photo of something we are grateful for. I really wanted to think out of the box on this, so I have chosen to photograph things that are a little out-of-the-ordinary. Things that I tend to take for granted every day of my life. I've also chosen to do my project on IG. But, I wanted to share yesterday's installment in the hopes that you might join me. It's not too late to start. Take a picture each day, post it on IG, your blog or Flickr, or don't post it at all. The choice is yours. Perhaps you'll just want to print out the photos and hang them up somewhere as a reminder of how blessed you are. It's a great little exercise to do this time a year when our thoughts are more centered on being thankful.  

october… {instagram edition}

I say this every month, but the month of October has truly flown by! Highlights included a trip to the pumpkin patch, the debut of my new road bike and a very fun night with the gals at the RSL game. I watched general conference, nursed a two-week cold and said a special prayer for the husband of a friend. I made lots of soup and used as many fresh apples as possible. Thanks Mike and Brandon for the apples!! I decked the house and yard out with autumn decor. and spent a little in-between time with my grandsons. I also managed to squeeze in a new video class, which I am loving. The autumn leaves are now falling rapidly off the trees and the weather is starting to get a little colder. Next week, we will turn our clocks back and the official start to the holiday shopping season will begin. Just thinking about it makes me a little tired, but even more excited. 

flickr favorites {autumn}

1. Hopeful, 2. Golden moment, 3. In the Kitchen..., 4. Golden drape, 5. Untitled, 6. Hello fall goodbye summer, 7. box of summery deliciousness, 8. 118:365 Two pears, 9. we love macs

bottling up summer

We took out the last of the summer flowers over the weekend, which marks the official end of my fresh, flower-filled vases and my cheery bedside decor. Don't get me wrong, I love Autumn, but I'm going to miss going outside and picking a fresh bouquet every few days. If only I could figure out a way to bottle up a little bit of that summer sunshine and those gorgeous flowers to enjoy over the upcoming winter months. I did manage to bottle a little bit with this new photo technique I tried today. I've been practicing using the double exposure setting on my camera, and I think I'm getting the hang of it. The above photo was actually one photo of two different things... a little hard to explain, but fun to do. I'll be posting a few more pics like this in the not-so-distant future. Happy Monday.

going for gold

They're looking for the color gold this week over at 52 photos project. I took this while in St. George a couple of weeks ago.I caught the sun just rising over the hilltop in the early morning hours. I managed to catch a little sun flare while I was at it, which is always a bonus. There's nothing quite like the colors of autumn.

september... {instagram} edition

This month was jam-packed with all kinds of fun. I spent a week in St. George with good friends hiking, biking, swimming, playing tennis and just generally enjoying the warm sunshine and some good laughs. Back at home, the weather turned a little cooler which meant a little baking and lots of homemade soup. We spent Labor Day with family and enjoyed plenty of rain throughout the month. I spent the last week of September 'under the weather' which made the month slip by even faster than usual. October brings yard clean-up and, hopefully, a return to full health.  

while i was away

I just returned from a week of fun-filled adventure in the southern part of the state. The weather there was borderline hot and there was plenty of sunshine. Saturday night, I returned to cooler temperatures, an over-grown garden, color-changing leaves on my trees and annual flowers that are ready to be removed. Yep, Autumn is here alright. This week will most likely be filled with yard work, yard work and more yard work. My pumpkins are ripening nicely and should be ready to set out on the porch next week. As much as I dread the initial work, I really do love it when the yard is all cleaned up and everything is stored away until Spring. I'm starting to notice all kinds of good soup recipes on Pinterest and I'm getting the bug to do some serious baking and some quilting. It's funny how the change of seasons does that to me. I'm also looking forward to the warm colors that Autumn brings to the sky and the landscape. This is one of my favorite times of year to get out and take loads of pictures. The photo above was taken a few days ago at sunrise. I think it's the perfect image to welcome the new season.

crazy about candids

I'm not a photographer. I have never claimed to be. I don't like posed, set-up shots.... especially of people. I'm more the candid, spur-of-the-moment type shutterbug enthusiast. So, when I was asked to take some pics of this irresistible family, I had to say yes. Besides, they just happen to be family. And, let's be honest, who can say 'NO' to family?? Britt had some ideas about what she wanted. She had collected ideas from Pinterest and knew the look she was going for. However, as is usually the case, things don't always go as planned. We started out good, but then things got a little silly. Which is exactly how I like it, because then the REAL shots happen. If you ask me, nobody should go into a photo shoot with any preconceived ideas about what they want. Just let whatever is natural for your family happen. Bring a few cute props and just cut the kids loose. The best shots aren't planned, they are captured moments that are genuine and have real emotion involved. Yep, those are the kind of photos I like. Above is just a sampling of a few of the funny moments captured that day. Cute little family, don't you think? 

august... {instagram} edition

As August is drawing to a close, I have realized just how little I have blogged this month. It's not that there hasn't been anything to blog about. Just the opposite, actually. My new grandson arrived this month, I attended a movie premier, a thousand bridal showers (okay, I might be exaggerating a bit), made a cute little baby quilt, baked for my book club and had my oldest grandson over for his first sleepover at grammie's house. I've been enjoying the bounteous harvest of my summer garden and started back up with guitar lessons after taking the month of July off for family time. This past week, I've been smelling a touch of fall in the air on my early morning runs and have noticed the geese are already flying south for the winter. I'm predicting an earlier winter this year, but I intend to enjoy the beautiful autumn season for as long as I can. September starts tomorrow, and with it comes the beautiful changing leaves, cooler temperatures and canning season. Farewell August 2013...

got the blues

This week has been fun. I've been searching for blue for my photography group color challenge. I managed to get some really fun shots and tried to shoot still life, architecture, people and nature. This week wraps up our color challenge, but I'm hoping we will continue in the fall with some darker colors like brown and gray. 

flickr favorites {neutrals}

1. seachange 4, 2. basket, 3. Meet Me In San Francisco (Black and White Edition), 4. stay little, my boy, 5. The foggy one..., 6. Bowl with eggs, 7. 50 Shades of Grey, 8. on the road, 9. cruisin'...

Just wanted to start out the week by sharing a few of the beautiful neutral shots that have been catching my eye lately on Flickr. I can't get enough of them. So soothing. Enjoy.

july.... {instagram edition}

The month of July can be summed up with one word. HOT!! I can't remember a hotter July in recent years. With all of the heat, it was nice to get up to the cabin over the 4th. Tate had his 3rd birthday and Mike turned 29. We celebrated it by going out for Japanese food. The garden veggies are starting to come on. It was a good month for cucumbers, onions and fresh corn. Peaches have been out of this world this year. Our family book club chose 'Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt' this month and it was wonderful. I spent a great deal of time editing photos over the last few weeks, and did a little photo shoot for the Griffin family. As I look forward to August, I'm anticipating cooler temps, and even more exciting, the arrival of my new grandson! Stay tuned....