Saturday, December 31, 2016

Paper Cup......


As a society we do tolerate some conveniences, like paper cups. instead of real dishes.  I do know that one can ask for a mug of coffee but I don't remember to do so.  I drink it at the bookstore and never take it away with me. To be nice to myself, the next time I go to the bookstore and ask for their red cup with coffee in it.

Friday, December 30, 2016

Diminishing Timeline and then 2017......


When we tie the New Year's Day in with the total holiday season, the Christmas season can be stretched out for a while.  A photo that I never posted is being shared today.  That tree has to come down next week and by then most of Christmas will be starting to disappear.  We have a new chair and couch being delivered and the tree needs to be removed definitely.

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Camel Smile......


This camel has a great smile and well made-up eyes.  He could be a movie star.  

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Subtle......


When it comes to having an expression, this hedgehog has none. We purchased it for our neighbor's dog, a terrier named Penny, and the act of buying it caused the cashier to burst into a story about her own dogs. We are dog people, so we didn't mind.  It is just fun to see how different people express their concern about their own dogs when prompted by a dog toy.

We were told that Penny did like her new toy.  She has another dog, a neighbor's dog, visit her almost everyday and the two of them play with the toys.  There is now a newer second one coming over durning the day that visits too. So the house has three dogs scattering everywhere. The third dog is a puppy that looks like a ball of fur with short legs. It runs around at high speed in circles.  Small puppies usually are high energy dogs and this one meets that criteria.

Monday, December 26, 2016

Afterwards........


Commercial cookies are not as good as homemade.  We bought these to share with our Sunday school kids.  One cookie left in the plastic container shows an interesting visual. The reflections from the outside view of the kitchen window adds to the dreamlike quality of the shot.

Saturday, December 24, 2016

Angel Convention......


It is Christmas eve and all the angels have begun to sing.  The collection is large and really has not been added to in numbers for a few years. The variety of them makes a good display.

Friday, December 23, 2016

Angel Sculpture............








This is a centerpiece for our dining room table. The sculpture is made from a mold of an original wood carving.  The colors are all hand painted with such a sensitive detail. The original artist is Jim Shore. I bet there are elves that help paint them as too many of them are sold that Mr. Shore could not keep up with the demand.

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Thursday.....


Two sets of eyes looking out as you view the ornament. The large amount of hand painting on this kind of ornament fascinates me.  I know the people who paint them are not making much money. The bear has somewhat of an expression as it is stuffed in the bag with presents.

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Middle of the Week.....


Multiple ornaments with multiple lights fill in all of the tree with color. The season's chores have kept me very busy today.  I like to sit next to the tree and enjoy in after a hard day of activities.

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Busy Beaks.......


The birds are so busy finding just the right seed for their meal.  The extreme cold really brings in a lot of birds of different kinds.  I have yet to photograph the blue jays, nuthatch or chickadees.  The winds have bothered them all and the three previously mentioned ones grab a seed and fly off so quickly. It takes a lot of skill to get them in a viewfinder.

Monday, December 19, 2016

Sparkle Plenty.......


The reality shows up with the cords of the lights right there in the foreground. On a good day I will return and get those wires in the background. The ornament was a purchase at an after Christmas sale. The applied design suggest that it was not made in this county.  There is a lot of detail in its applied  paints, sequined and fake pearls. I have one other like it on an egg-shaped ornament.

Sunday, December 18, 2016

Sunday......


The  replica diesel engine of the smaller scaled train is colorful with the red and grey markings.  I like the railings that are there depicted just like the  ones on the real engine so the engineer can check out the train without falling off the machine.



The caboose for this engine is fancy with great colors. When researching the purpose of a caboose, I found that it was there to check on the loads in front of it that were being carried by the train.  Also the crew of the train would seek shelter on the caboose while one man was in charge of communicating to the engineer of the status of the shipping cars.  Now that I shared that, it makes me wonder if a passenger train ever had a caboose.  My answer is probably that there was no need for a caboose.

Saturday, December 17, 2016

Ture Red.......Not.


I had to use my photo program to bring out the red of my photo.  It is so exaggerated and I like it.

Bringing you back to reality with this shot also taken at the same time.

Friday, December 16, 2016

Friday's Here......


Being right handed, I rarely take photos on this side of objects.  I noticed that most all of my photos taken showing the left side of an item.  The placement of the mule and goat forced me to shoot from this angle.


The manger scene is up and glowing. The glow is a simple small light bulb that settled to the bottom of the slot.  It actually works better there  than being placed at the top of the slot where I normally place it.

Thursday, December 15, 2016

Feed Me.........


The old feeder was sitting on the porch railing.  I decided to go ahead and put one seed in it for the small birds.  This guy thought it looked like easy picking for free food.

He was persistent and ignored the guy in the window with the camera.  Unfortunately his excitement and energy level  eventually caused him to bash in one of the sides to the feeder. The  breaking caused the seed to all fall out.  I will just have to toss the feeder now.  I have had it for a long time but it would have been nice to have it for a few more years. At this point I can only count 2 of these creatures as all the rest have moved on to other parts of town.

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Caboose........


My smaller scaled train has a neat caboose.  It is a special car that usually was painted red. Before they were eliminated from use on trains they were sometimes painted yellow.

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad


This old caboose looks like it had been made with metal siding as it seems to be rusting away.


This caboose is in better shape.  It has wooden siding on it 

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Blue Bottle Review.....



I really did have a photo with the kitchen sink cropped out of the picture.  With my new system with google controlling my photos I keep having trouble getting the photos downloaded.  I download ok but not all of my pictures get selected and put in the google stash.  I am learning to live with it but where is the photo where I chopped that faucet off the bottom of the shot ? I really should not have to go back twice to be sure that all has made it to the intended file.  

Monday, December 12, 2016

Monday..........


Hand painted ornaments are fun as the assembly line worker who is getting paid 50 cents an hour puts on the teeth and mustache of the soldier.  The person assigned to do the glitter must have glitter and glue all over their clothes by the end of the day.

Sunday, December 11, 2016

Railroad Traffic........

 The old steam engine and the modern diesel engine meet halfway around the tree. Having the tree on the dining room table gives me space to display them with lots of room to spare.

Saturday, December 10, 2016

Waiting in the Box.........


The dining room table is covered with boxes of decorations.  The trains are found and placed on the table ready for the trees to be assembled.  I have had, in the past, problems finding the trains.  I now placed them among the decoration boxes so they are easy to find.

The smaller scaled train is tightly packed ready to be removed to be my pretend railroad through the Christmas season.

Friday, December 9, 2016

Big Red.........


I have been seeing the male cardinal in the yard the past few weeks.  I am sure it is eating berries from the burning bushes.  I have added new bird seed on the tray and he was right there. The sparrow is willing to share. He isn't bothered by the larger bird over his shoulder.

We have had a pair in our yard for a few years but last spring I found a dead male cardinal in the alley.  I really have not seen any others since spring.  To have this one hanging around is really a treat.

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Check it Out.........


I usually don't buy this kind of ornament for my tree but these really did interest me.  I really like the designs on the sides of the glass blown ornaments.  These are not plastic and I really won't knowing buy plastic ornaments.  I am sure some of my larger ornaments are plastic that I have but I really don't intentionally look for them. I do think they give me a great visual for a good photo.

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

It's a Jungle Inside........


The plants are all inside that should be, as it was 14 degrees F. last night.I noticed yesterday that dos vegetation is flatten now because of the continue freezing weather.  The tomato plants are all flattened to the point that by spring I won't have anything to mow over as nothing will be left.

The wooden birds are fun for me to see as it makes it appear more tropical on the plant table. The one plant went into a shock and dropped half of its leaves as it adjusted to the inside environment. They would help make a jungle floor if more things were shedding leaves. I always clean up the leaves after the photo is taken.

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Whirlwind Season..........


Things are so busy that I can't hold my camera still.  Actually the light is so low that the camera was holding open the lens to get enough light for the shot. The teddy bear tree is up and also the angel tree is now completed.


Monday, December 5, 2016

Monday's Image.......


The first real snowfall for us helped to give me some new personal shots for the season. The car shed most of the snow by noon.  As the day warmed up to cause it to slide of off the slick white surface.

Sunday, December 4, 2016

The First One....


As I walked Barney last night it was snowing.  They were just flurries but it apparently picked up in intensity before morning. The snow was a very wet, heavy snow.  It is melting quickly this afternoon.

Saturday, December 3, 2016

Debris......


This really is not a forest floor.  It is my yard with stick debris from the tree removal and a variety of fallen leaves from four different trees.  A mower shoved around in the area would help things out but I think it is too cold for me to mow and mulch.

A bonus photo shows the red leaf from the Bradford pear tree. They are scattered everywhere and make nice color in the worn out yard.

Friday, December 2, 2016

Poinsettia.....


One leaf on our plant is a transitional one.  It never turned red but it didn't stay green either.  The pattern is great with the red and green helping to show off the veins of the leaf. The glow coming through the top leaves is wonderful.

Thursday, December 1, 2016

A Different View......


Hazelnut coffee is a good different kind of coffee to drink.  I like buying some of the flavored coffees but vary them with our using regular traditional coffees. Variety comes with  the mood swing. The  painting on this mug is not a famous work of art but is a replica of what an impressionist might paint. In the old days I would post a mug weekly to share with others on one of my blogs. Life got to be too busy to continue messing with the mugs.

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Clouds Above.........


Looking to the east, the cloud bank that was building eventually brought rain in the area. I follow a group of photographers on Facebook who posts pictures of Iowa and I have become discouraged as to what they are posting.

I am seeing photos like this at right that are on the posts.  They are all concocted by using the special editing commands. The photos can be adjusted to look wonderful with great colors but the photo above really is what I was seeing. The editing programs are wonderful to help crop out unwanted items and to give me the ability to tweet a photo into a better focus. It is good and for that I am so grateful.  When I post a photo to depict Iowa, I do think that it should be pretty close to the real thing.

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Seeing Red........



Leaving the season of Thanksgiving is easy once a poinsettia enters the house.  Our son and daughter-in-law gave us a traditional gift at Thanksgiving. Our son likes to go to the building center and get the black Friday sales and share a red flower with us.

Monday, November 28, 2016

Monday.......


AJ already likes the workings of a steering wheel.  I am certain the he will be at a steering wheel most of life.



AJ likes to help his mom in the kitchen.  At the Science Center there was a farmhouse which had a replica kitchen in it. Kids could pretend to cook and wash dishes. There were replica plastic fruits and vegetables everywhere.




A bonus third photo on my one "photo a day blog."  My son supplied all three photos today on my blog. I thought maybe it would be good journalism to at least show the face of the boy in one of the visuals.

Blurry Blue Cup Day.....

 It is Monday and I am a little blurry eyed today. It is fitting then my blue cup is blurred a little because it is in low light. I was too ...