99/365

Theo of Golden

I belong to a book group that meets once a month.  This is the book we're reading now.  I never heard of it until now.  I've been trying not to buy books (which isn't really working very well) so that I don't have  extra "things" in my house to clean out, or to leave behind for my kiddos to clean out.

I borrowed this book from one of the other members......

If you haven't read this book, get yourself a copy.  It's fantastic.  The writing is wonderful and the story is great.  I'm only halfway through it.  I'm reading it fast and then slow. I want to know what happens but I want it to last.  I have to give it back to the owner but I think I'll purchase my own copy so I can re-read it whenever I want to.  

Rating it from one to ten, it's a 10+++++++, just sayin'.

98/365

Spring Softball Game

This church softball team is conferring before the game begins on a beautiful spring evening.  

They finished their warm-up and are just waiting to see who bats first.

97/365

A Bull Statue

While waiting for the IRS to open, I saw this bull statue. 

So interesting. 

96/365

Colored Circles

I went into a building I've never been in before in Abilene.  I needed to go to the IRS office.  While waiting for it to open after their lunch break I wandered around and saw this circle sculpture.  

Pretty interesting, right?

95/365

Fishing

It was another beautiful early spring day today.  

EASTER

I took a short ride to get out of the house and went to the lake near my place.  There were many folks at the lake fishing and enjoying the day.

I managed to get a pic of this guy without him noticing me.  

94/365

Abandoned Gas Station

On the way into Colorado City there are some abandoned structures.  This one happens to be an old gas station.  On the right corner is what was the office and to the  left of the image there are two overhead doors where work on the cars probably took place.  

93/365

Building in Colorado City

Today was a lovely weather day.  About 70 degrees with a slight wind. 

 By the middle of the afternoon I decided I needed to get out of the house and get some fresh air, so I drove to Colorado City.  I've been there before and taken photos there as well, but I never got this perspective of this abandoned building that might have been a hotel,

About 7.5 years ago I took some images of this structure.  At that time there were signs indicating that the building would be remodeled and refurbished.  So far that hasn't happened.

It's sad to see this structure continue to go to wrack n ruin.  

92/365

Wind Mills

There are several wind mill farms around here.  Today I was out driving the country roads looking for a photo op and I came near to this grouping of wind mills.

It was the only sight I saw on my drive that looked photographically attractive, so I 

made a few images.  Then, since I was near my daughter's house, I stopped there for a few minutes for a visit with mom & dad and the kiddos.

91/365

Hitting the Ball

At the softball game one of our hitters smacked the ball, which you can see on the right side of the image, and ran a few bases.  

It was a good game.

90/365

Coin Toss at Softball Game

This is the 2nd softball game I've attended to watch my church team play.  The two coaches and the ref are looking down at the coin they tossed to determine which team goes to bat first.  

I really love shooting through chain link.  

The church team won tonight. They played really well.  Several of their hits went over the fence for home runs.  It was a good game and great weather.

89/365

Staircase Windows

In another alley in downtown there's a staircase that has these small glazed windows along the wall.  I noticed the broken pane which I had not seen before.  Wonder how it got broken???

88/365

Mushroom Graffiti

In a different location than the eye graffiti, there's this mushroom graffiti.  The artwork I gorgeous, I couldn't resist taking a photo of it.

87/365

Eye Graffiti

In one of the alleys in downtown Abilene there's a blank yellow wooden wall and today I noticed that there's two beautiful graffiti designs on it.  Both are signed, but I can't read the writing.

86/365

White Fire Escape Steps

These fire escape steps are on the side of a bank building and they cast a beautiful shadow on the building in the late afternoon sun.  

85/365

FREE

In downtown Abilene this structure used to be a restaurant, but it's been taken over by I have no idea who or what.  It offers free games on the patio and there's a FREE GAMES sign on the fence enclosing the patio.  The lights on the sign were on but because it was daytime they don't show up too well.

84/365

Abandoned Bank Building

I came across this old abandoned bank building in a small, almost non-existent town about 1.5 hours from Abilene.  The date on the front of the building, which I removed, was 1911.

I wonder how many years the bank was active and how much of a town existed at that time?

83/365

Number 4 at bat

Number 4 hit the ball, you can see it just above the fence line.  

It was a lovely evening and the sun was setting so it wasn't too hot.

82/365

Number 7 at bat

I love taking photos at a ball game.  This was a softball game and I've never been to a softball game before, so it was quite an adventure.  

I think the other team won, but it was still a good time.

81/365

Pre-game huddle

My church has a softball team that seems to play about once a week.  I finally had the chance to attend one of the games with my camera.  This was the pre-game huddle.  The church team wears the purple shirts.

80/365

Downtown Street

As I pulled into the parking spot, I noticed the Texas flag and the sandwich sign belonging to the store on the corner  The light was so pretty I decided to make an image.

79/365

Overhead Door with Sign

This green overhead door has a faded No Parking Sign on it.  There are three doors along the side of the building, but only this one sign that's totally faded.

78/365

Red Brick Building

One of the buildings in downtown Abilene, Texas.

77/365

Water Pipes

These pipes look fairly new and they're located on the side of one of the downtown buildings in Abilene.

 

76/365

Vines on a Wall

In downtown Abilene there's a wall that's part of the raised train station that goes through the town.  Along some of the wall there are vines growing that look really great in summer when all the leaves are out. This particular wall faces one of the two down town parks, giving it a country look in the middle of the town.

75/365

Royal Typewriter

I learned to type on a real typewriter.  From the first day I took typing class in high school I loved the process.  My parents bought me a typewriter and in college I earned money by typing other student's papers.

I found this Royal machine in an antique store in downtown Abilene and the price was so cheap,  it was even in a carrying case.  I couldn't pass it up.

74/365

Indoor Plant

I love this Pothos plant.  It grows under crazy conditions.  There's almost nothing you can do to destroy it, except maybe not giving it any water.  I have some of them growing in dirt, but I love the way this looks growing in a water vase.

73/365

Antique Mall Sign

I pass this antique mall every time I visit my daughter.  I've been inside it once. 

I love to look at antiques, but I'm in the process of getting rid of things, not collecting them, so I don't go inside anymore.

72/365

Red Chair in Alley

A red chair sits alone in an alleyway.

71/365

Branson, MO

Several months ago some of the people from church headed to Branson, MO to see the play

"David".  We stayed for two nights at a bnb, and this was the view from the deck. 

A little different than the view from anywhere in TX that I've seen.

70/365

A Fairbanks Winter

Fairbanks after a heavy snow.

69/365

Happy Face around Dial

In the abandoned Power Plant, this destroyed dial had a happy face painted around it..  

68/365

Decisions, Decisions

One of the coffee shops in town has this bulletin board just inside the front door.  It always has so many flyers for activities.  So many decisions.

67/365

Be the Change

Graffiti on a wall in the abandoned Power Station on the outskirts of Abilene, Texas, with happy faces on the door next to it.

66/365

Broken Warehouse Dials

Broken dials seen at an abandoned power plant.

65/365

Album Covers on Wall

The downtown coffee shop has remodeled and they put these retro album covers on one of the separating walls.  

64/365

Power Plant exterior

This is one side of the exterior of the Power Plant.  

63/365

Old Workplace Kitchen

One of the rooms off the workflow contained these kitchen appliances.  I guess the workers in the place needed to prepare food and eat at some time during their workday.

62/365

Abandoned Power Plant 1

On the edge of Abilene, TX there's an abandoned power plant.  One of the members of our photo club got permission for us to get inside and photograph to our heart's content this morning.  

It was an awesome experience and it was so nice to have something different to photograph for a change. 

It was raining this morning when we got there and kind of cold, but after a  little while it stopped raining and got a little warmer.  There were probably about 15 of us wandering around the facility.

61/365

Bare Tree in Field

On a winter day.  A bare tree in a field of dead grasses.

60/365

Encyclopedia Books

A pile of encyclopedia books seen in an antique store in a small town in Texas.

59/365

Abandoned Old Piano

An abandoned piano seen in the entryway of an abandoned church in the county-side of a small Texas town.

58/365

Curio shelves in an Antique Store

Curio shelves in an antique store in a small town in Texas.

57/365

Abandoned Church

Abandoned church along a country road in rural Texas.

56/365

Giant Jenga

There's an ex-business in downtown Abilene that has an outdoor courtyard that is filled now with free games.  This giant Jenga is on one of the tables and I thought it was pretty interesting so I grabbed a photo of it.

55/365

Ex-bank Graffiti

This structure must have been a bank at one time.  Now it's something else, but one side of the wall is fully painted in bright colors and it faces a parking lot so it can been seen by all who park there.

54/365

Street Address

Walking around town this afternoon, I saw this building with this address.  I've never seen an address like this before and I thought it was interesting.

53/365

Cups for Sale

I saw these cups in a supermarket area today and thought they were so, so, so pretty.  I might have bought some, but I have some mugs already, I never have company and I'm in the process of clearing my house out of anything I don't use regularly.  So, after showing them to my friends, I quickly put them back on the shelf.

 

52/365

Cup Decor Behind the Counter

These decorated cups are on display behind the counter at my fave coffee shop in downtown Abilene, Texas.  Were they decorated by customers or workers?  One of these days I'll ask.

 

51/365

Coffee Shop Decor

My fave coffee shop has remodeled a little and they placed this plant in the corner with the frame in front of it.  What a cute idea.

50/365

Buildings on an old Horse Farm

These are some horse buildings on a horse farm that is no longer in business in upstate NY.

The farm is being maintained as a historic site so the buildings are in good condition.