Hot and Quiet

Nothing at all going on to blog about lately. It's too hot to do much of anything outside so I've been reading and surfing Flickr looking for good-looking textures and images to use in image manipulation. I've played around some with Photoshop Elements; still trying to get it down pat. I believe that PSE is one of those programs that I will forever be learning something if I continue to use it.

Nelson got some photos of a baby frog (below). We have an above-ground pool in our backyard that we haven't used for about 3 summers now. I've been trying to get Nelson to finish draining it and get rid of it but it's still there. Due to all that stagnant water, we're party central for the neighborhood frogs. Sooo, now we have zillions (okay, maybe not zillions but LOTS) of baby frogs. They must now be getting big enough to get out on their own. My co-worker tells me her granddaughter loves frogs so if Christy reads this, I can send Savvy some anytime you say :-)



God Bless!

Vintage images

For anyone interested in viewing vintage images, I found a fantastic site. It's loaded with Victorian and Edwardian era images. So interesting to browse through and see all these old images. The site is www.cartes.freeuk.com and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. I can easily spend hours there when I should really be doing something else.

It's so hot here that I cannot do much outside; I just can't stand this humidity and high temperature like I could when I was younger. I'm sure some of that is because I am so used to air conditioning but whatever the reason, I'm miserable when I'm outside when it's as hot as it's been lately.

I'm off this entire weekend and plan on relaxing, doing some laundry and I HOPE to work in the craft room and on some photos. My sister and I are planning a 50th anniversary party for our parents. It's not until October 2009 but it will be here before we know it, especially if I keep putting off working on it. I'm gathering images and ideas because we want it to be very special. My parents never ask for anything and I know this party will make both of them very happy. Lord knows they deserve it for staying married for 50 years and putting up with the 3 of us kids for almost that long.

Have a great weekend and hopefully I'll have some new photos to post here soon. God Bless You!

Various Pics

I've been working in Photoshop Elements on photos that we've taken recently and thought I'd share some of them here. No real order to them so here goes:


Our youngest grandchild, Sam. Pic taken Father's Day 2009; isn't he a cutie?!

Sum & Substance Hosta bloom. These hostas get enormous!

A spotted lily that blooms in June for me. This is on a very tall stalk; about 4' tall.

Nelson and I went out riding around Carroll County, MS and found a ranch with a few buffalo. We were lucky enough to catch them right at the fence line so we could get a good shot of them. The biggest male was too fast for us to get a good shot of him; he scared me and Nelson both by running down towards us. Lucky we were on the OTHER side of the barbed wire fence!

An abandoned house in Carroll County, MS

I hope you enjoy the photos; I should work on plenty more that I have in my 'downloaded from camera' folder. I keep putting it off until I end up losing interest in working on the older photos. I admit it. I'm lazy when I'm at home. Work is so very busy right now and by the time I get home I'm just pooped. Too tired to think about doing any kind of 'work'. Plus it's so danged hot right now that I feel zapped of all energy all the time. I do NOT like summer; I'd much rather be cold than hot. Hot flashes have certainly cured me of complaining about the cold haha

Have a blessed week!!

Hummingbird Haven

A few weeks ago our back deck was THE gathering place for neighborhood hummingbirds. Mom lives across the road and she commented that her hummers had suddenly disappeared. I told her I must have stolen them away with better food because we had a dozen or so dining at our place. Last summer was even better; at one time we counted 26 hummers hanging around at one time. We had two feeders up at that time and we could have used two more. Here's a photo of one of our hummers who was visiting about 2 weeks ago.



We also have alot of wasps who've taken up residence. Many more wasps than hummers, in fact. Our hummers seem to have taken off for more interesting locales. I haven't seen any in quite awhile. Nelson said he saw a single hummer last week but I think it may have been wishful thinking on his part. He absolutely LOVES hummingbirds and could sit for hours just watching them. He has a quiet, still nature anyway and he never tires of sitting perfectly still to see how close the hummers will get to him. He's had them get within inches of him and I've never seen him so delighted. Here's one more photo to share; this one of a wasp taking his meal along with the hummingbird.

Bit gets a Bath

Our terrier mix recently got a bath and I got some photos of the process. She does not like a bath but she doesn't fight too bad. Nelson gets into the large garden tub with her to bathe her; that's the only way to get it done without pulling every muscle in your back. Little Bit is our only dog at the moment and she's more like a child than a pet. Blake calls her his 'little sister' because he says we spoil her terribly. I readily admit she gets alot of my attention; as far as I'm concerned she deserves it! She never talks back and is alot easier to deal with than the boys were when they were growing up. Bit is 12 now and it's hard to believe she's been with us that long.

Of course, after her bath it takes forever to get her dry because her fur is so thick. Then it takes major work to get the tub cleaned out due to all the dog hair and dirt caked in it. Bit races through the house and rubs all over the carpet to get dried off which leaves hair all over the carpet. She always smells so good though right after a bath and her fur is so silky. Of course, one trip outside and she smells like a dog again and her fur loses that shiny, silky look. We wait as long as we can and then do it all over again. I'm glad Nelson does it; I don't know if my back could handle it.

When it's warm we sometimes give her the bath outside on the back deck but she's been known to get away from us. She'll immediately run out in the grass and rub around in it trying to dry off. Trial and error has taught us it's easier to bathe her inside in the tub. At least that way, we can close the bathroom doors and keep her confined to that small space.

Busy, busy, busy

Work has been so busy lately that I just have not had time to take any interesting photos or to post. There is nothing going on other than work so I don't have anything good to blog about. I will share a pic of my first double rainbow; I'd never seen one before and it really was spectacular. I hope you enjoy!

Good news

Dad has been in the hospital for over a week and is finally home! Have not done much other than work and try to stay with him some so Mom could have a break. I am so grateful for the Lord's hand in healing Dad well enough for him to leave the hospital. We are so blessed by having wonderful friends and family who kept all of us in their prayers. God is so good!

Work has picked up tremendously over the last couple of weeks; more people are buying cars lately. I deal with the paperwork end of car sales and I have been so very busy. First week of the month is always hectic and this month is no exception. I enjoy my work so much and am so glad I have a job that I like with co-workers I care deeply for.

Nelson went to watch Sara play T-ball tonight in Cleveland and I stayed home because I have to work in the morning. I didn't want to come in late and then get up early for work. I've missed enough sleep this week and hope to get caught up on some of it tonight.

I intended to post these pics right after our vacation but life got crazy. This is a coondog graveyard in Alabama. We saw the sign on the highway and I HAD to check it out. Nelson had been before on one of his work trips to that area and it was well worth the longer than anticipated detour. I count this as one of the highlights of our trip to Alabama.