Round Robin - Morning, Noon, Night

Karen Funk Blocher issued today's challenge - Hi, Robins! Our next Challenge, Morning, Noon, And Night, was suggested by Vicki of the blog Maraca. She describes the concept this way:
"Kinda simple, really ... photograph the same thing at different times of the day. It's an experiment in using natural light."

I chose the corner of my garden that has a tangle of plants, a bird bath and bird feeders.

Morning, 6AM

Noon

Night, 10PM

Now, visit all the Robins, and see how they were inspired by this assignment.

Round Robin - Weeds

Kim, who authors the blog, Nekked Lizard Adventures, suggested this topic: Weeds Can Be Beautiful Too!

So, for today, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

A dandelion.

The weeds below are in a vacant lot.

Two days after I took these, they were

cut down.

These are in a neighbors' yard.

Now, visit all the Robins.

Round Robin Challenge: I Made That

This is our challenge from Jennifer Robin of Robin's Woods. This is what she wants:

"I Made That - Something you made, be it food, craft, child, a mess, anything (besides the picture itself!)"

We've all got something we've made! Show and tell time. What have you made? Let's see it, share it and photograph it!

My most recent passion has been making necklaces. I work two ways. I either get an idea, then find the components to make it happen; or I find a component I like and decide how to incorparate it into something I'll love. I don't sell my necklaces, I wear them or give them as gifts. So here's a peek at a small part of my inventory.

Another item I made, over 44 years ago, was my wedding gown. I've been sewing since I was 8, and it was logical that I make the dress for my wedding. Later when my daughters were teenagers, I made all their prom and formal dresses, but when it came time for their weddings, they didn't want to wear mine, or have me make theirs. I was surprised, but happy. Their weddings were wonderful.

Now visit all the Robins, and see what they've made.

Round Robin Challenge: Tiny Things

For this particular Challenge, though, we're going with one that was suggested by, well, me! Way back in September 2007, I came up with the following:

Tiny Things

The idea here is to photograph very small inanimate objects - not details and closeups of larger things, but self-contained little items we see and take for granted. It should be interesting to take the expertise some Robins have with tiny critters, and apply it to objects that can't fly away. And the rest of us have the photographic challenge of learning to focus on the miniature world.


Eight months later, though, I'm thinking it was probably rash of me to exclude tiny living things, or things that were once alive. So if you want to photograph a bee, a beetle or a baby guppy, be my guest!


I'm playing, but I'm out of town, no laptop, so no one will hear from me for the next couple of days. I decided to stick with inanimate objects, and chose the Hats we use when we play Mexican Train. We've been playing for about 8 years, and have developed our own set of house rules, so if you play with us, we'll be glad to teach your how.

Be sure to visit all the Robins.

Round Robin - Norwegian Wood

This weeks' challenge is by Kiva, who authors the blog, "Eclectic Granny." Here is what Kiva says about this challenge...I'm into a Beatles mood this week. Norwegian Wood - take a photo of anything wooden. Merriam Webster defines the word "wooden" as: 1. made or consisting of wood. 2. lacking ease or flexibility, awkwardly stiff (e.g., wooden performer, a wooden speech). A picture of John Wooden or anyone named Wooden qualifies.

I could have shown photos of my home, I have wood everywhere, floors, furniture, decor, etc. My daughters use to despair - "Oh, no, not more wood".

But I decided to show my wooden birdhouses that I picked up on our travels, and my woodpile. Looks like I have enough for one more winter.









Now visit all the Robins.

Round Robin - Variety Show!

This is our assignment this week:


"Photograph something as viewed as an assortment...something that comes in different varieties. For example, it could be a bunch of flowers, or nuts, or crayons, or birds. The sky's the limit!"

I have to admit, when I read assortment, I transposed it to collection. So, today you're getting a favorite collection from me!

I also want to thank Karen, Carley and Steven for doing this wonderful Challenge

This is my collection of autographed baseballs.
Most of them were signed in the '80's,
the most recent was last year.

They are normally kept under my bed, in this box.

Here are some close-ups.
Duke Snyder, Maury Wills, Willie Mays.

Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Fernando Valenzuela and Ernie Banks.

All great guys.

And for VARIETY,

I also have a couple of autographs, that are not on baseballs.

Muhhamad Ali loves me, yes!

Joe Montana doesn't love me, but that's OK.
A footnote, I collected all these autographs, not Bob.

It really is my collection. Unusual, yes.

Here's some humor, from last Saturday's newspaper:

Now, go check all the other Robins.

Round Robin Challenge,

The assignment this week is Your Perfect Scene Captioned.

As soon as I read this week's assignment, I thought of this bridge. I love bridges, and this one is my current favorite. I drive under it each time I go back and forth to San Diego. It's in Fallbrook, the avocado capital of the world, and I don't think it really goes anywhere, just between avacodo farms. I love the clean lines, so I captioned it "Simplicity".

When I was coming back from getting the bridge photo, I saw this hawk soaring over our golf course. It's the best shot of a hawk I've ever taken, so I thought I'd do a two-fer for today, and call it "Freedom".

I hope I'm not breaking too many rules. Be sure to check out all the other Robins.

Round Robin

My favorite place to sit is on our sofa in the living room. It's really comfy, and I can stretch my legs out when I read. Bob sits in the adjacent chair, he reads, too; but he also watches a lot of TV. This arrangement works well for us. I don't watch TV, but we're not isolated from each other this way.



Our garden also has some seating. Right now the stuffed animals are testing to see if the critters will enjoy the arrangement.

Check out the other Robins at Round Robin Photo Challenge.

Round Robin Challenge! - shoes

Shoes, everyone has some, wears some, and knows about 'em. Shoes are the subject of this
Round Robin Challenge! This challenge was dreamed up by Vicki, author of the blog, "Maracas." So, without further ado, here are my shoes.

It's funny, I no longer have the outfits I wore to my daughter's weddings, but I still have the shoes! Amazing!

I wore these pink beauties to Carrie and Ole's wedding. They were married in the Rock Garden at the Los Angeles Police Revolver and Athletic Club, the site for some the 1932 Olympics events, on April 25th, 1992.


It was a beautiful, black and white wedding, set against all the spring California greenery. I couldn't wear black or white, I mean really, so I wore pink, hence, the shoes. While the new couple were on their honeymoon, in Hawaii, the L.A. riots exploded. When they came home, Bob was working (LAPD Detective), and SoCal was under a curfew. When Sharon and I broke curfew to drive from Long Beach to LAX to pick them up, in the dead of night, we weren't stopped, thank God, we were armed. Ya know, ya got to be prepared.

I wore these strappy sandals for Sharon and Marcelo's wedding. They were perfect for the setting.





They were married on January 25th, 1999, in Kauai. Their setting was the Blue Hawaii Wedding Chapel, at the Coco Palm's Hotel. This is the chapel used for Elvis's wedding in the movie Blue Hawaii. They played Hawaiian Love song as Sharon walked down the aisle. The whole family was there. We went on the honeymoon with them, we all stayed in Kauai, then Maui. We had 8 days, with separate rental cars and agendas, I might add.

I think, I've got to get rid of these wedding shoes.

First thing in the morning and last thing at night, I'm in my slippers. Love 'em.



In the summer, I live in Bass sandals. I very my first pair lasted 30 summers. When they gave out I immediately got a new pair. They lasted about a month. We were visiting Carrie in NC, and her new puppy loved 'em, and ate 'em up. Carrie and I immediately went to the nearest Bass outlet store and replaced them, just to be safe, I got two pairs.

For work, I'm all about comfort. I have 4 pair of work shoes that I try to rotate. The Clark's on the right are my favorites; they're 8 years old and on their last legs.

You'll find me most days, whether I pottering around the house and garden, or running around town, in my New Balance Walking shoes. They are usually my choice for Tai Chi class, too. Here they are tucked at the end of my dresser, ready to go.



Last but not least are my cowboy boots. I love 'em. When we retired I had 6 pairs of cowboy boots, but found I wasn't wearing 'em. I donated them to our local charity that supports the food bank. Bob donated his, too. But last year we attended a Country and Western Dance, and figured that was a good reason to get a new pair of boots. One pair each makes more sense than the 8 pairs we had taking up closet space. Boots are big.

I snapped some pic's of Bob's shoes. I can't leave him out.

These are the shoes he needs to ride his bikes. He has a 3rd bike that doesn't require special shoes.

Here's a mosaic of Bob's non-biking shoes.

Round Robin Challenge!

EAT YOUR VEGETABLES is the challenge. Here are the guidelines from The Round Robin Photo Challenges :

Jill, one of our newest members,who authors the blog, "Letting Crazy Take A Spin" recently submitted the idea, and here is what she says..."Anything veggie related. Veggies can be so interesting.

"So, does that mean you should take a photo of yourself eating veggies? No, of course not. But you could photograph one of your very favorite vegetables to have with dinner. Or maybe a lot of vegetables on display, like at the grocery store or market stand. How about your favorite salad? Sure, why not? As long as it is veggie related you will be on track. Even if you HATE vegetables, you can take a picture of the one you hate the most, and then tell us why. LOL. Personally, I love my veggies, and I can think of a thousand different ways this challenge can be done. But first, every once in a while it's a good idea to review the rules a bit, so lets do that now. There are a whole list of reasonable rules, please check 'em out at the link above.

Here are my pic's:

This is my front porch, decked out for autumn.

In case you aren't sure the pumpkins and gourds are vegetables.

As a bonus, this is my fav. vegetable soup:

Toasted Corn Soup
1/2 medium onion, finely diced
1 large carrot, finely diced
1 to 2 ribs celery, finely diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups frozen white corn, thawed
3 cups chicken broth

Heat the oil in a medium size heavy saucepan (preferably nonstick) on high heat. Add the onion and carrot and cook until the onion starts to soften. Stir in the diced celery ribs and corn. Let the mixture cook on high until the pieces start to brown, then stir and continue to brown the vegetables, stirring only when the bottom pieces start to turn color (this should take about 10-12 minutes).

Stir in the chicken broth and heat just until boiling. Serves 4.