31/365    

A Knitted Baby Blanket

I love to knit and crochet.  This baby blanket is knitted.  Although it looks grey in the pic, it's really a beautiful deep slate blue.

I always need to be doing something creative while watching TV, so this kind of project is perfect especially once I get the feel for the pattern.  

Several years ago I kept making one baby blanket after another until I had, hmmm maybe 10-12 in reserve.  When I moved I had to give some of them to charities because I didn't want to take all of them with me.  I kept about 6 of my favorites and now I only have three left. Right now I don't know anyone having a baby, so this one and the other two will have to stay in storage for a while longer.

My "thankful" for today:

a dependable car

30/365

Chalk Butterfly

This is an older image from my files, but I reworked it and think it's really cute.  I love the colors the artist used.  It's so fun to see street art, whether on the sidewalk or sides of buildings.  There are so many good artists wandering around. 

I'm so glad I saw this.

Today I'm thankful for:

good friends

29/365

Corner of the Building

Following along with the theme of textures/shadows that I mentioned in the previous post, this brick building corner is a great texture image.  Again, not an especially exciting image for most people, but I love the color grey, I love brick buildings, and there are two shadows across the facade of the building.

As far as selling an image like this, there's just no telling what a buyer is looking for.  I used to be more choosey about the images I offered for sale, but after seeing what people buy (and who knows what they do with the images~~that's not my concern really) I'm more willing to add scenes like this just on the off chance that someone will want it.  

Today I'm thankful for:

all 5 of my grown children being healthy and content

28/365

Yellow Ribbed Siding

I'm sure this isn't a very exciting image for most people but the other day as I was walking around town trying to find some new photo ops (in an area where I think I've photographed at least 30 times in the past couple of years), I came up with the idea to look for textures and shadows.  

This is ribbed siding on the side of a business and I guess the #8 is the address of the business.

It satisfies both texture and shadow so it's a win/win.  

I put my full-res images on a couple of photo sales sites, so I'm actually pretty excited about this image since it would make a great background.  

What can I give thanks for today?

A safe dry place to live in which I feel comforted and peaceful.

27/365

Oxygen Tanks 

These oxygen tanks are behind a protective chain link fence.  There were hundreds of tanks of various sizes and colors stored at this business.

I've seen this place many times before but never thought about making an image of the tanks, and now that I finally did I wonder why I never did before. 

26/365

Numbers

Address numbers on the outside wall of a business downtown.  The sun was at the perfect height (about 3 hours before sunset) to create these beautiful, perfect shadows.  The fact that the numbers are not perfectly aligned makes the image even better I think.

25/365

Shadows

I was walking around downtown today at just the right time of day to capture this beautiful tree shadow on the wall of a business.

I had my grown-up camera with me so it was really fun and easy to get just the right composition.

24/365

Painted Mason Jar

Several years ago I was at a craft fair when I saw this beautifully hand-painted small Mason Jar.  I had no idea what I would do with it, but I bought two because they're so pretty.

I have one displayed on the mantle and I occasionally stuff one or two dollar bills in it, so I guess it's become just a pretty piggy-bank.

23/365

"Waymaker" by Ann Voskamp

I belong to a bookgroup that meets monthly.  We take turns choosing the books.  This is the choice for January picked by another member. I borrowed this copy.

I've read many books that have been super-well-written and fun to read, but I have to say that I don't think I've read one where the writing has been This Compelling, nor the subject matter so Humbling.

It's a brand new book, copyright 2022.  If it wasn't so expensive I'd buy multiple copies and give one to everyone I know.  In lieu of that, I'll just recommend it.

22/365

Hiking Boots

When I lived at the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains some friends and I used to hike once a week and these are the boots I used.  

Now I live in a place that is flat and ugly and the only thing I use them for is mowing the lawn.  They're very comfortable and they keep the prickers from attacking.  

They wait on the patio for the grass to get long enough to mow, and for most of the summer that doesn't happen too often. 

I hold out hope that someday I'll get the chance to use them for hiking again.

21/365

The Interior of the Rotunda of the Capitol Building in Austin, Texas.

 The Texas State Capitol Building is 2nd in size only to the United States Capitol Building in Washington, DC.  It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986.

20/365

Metal Dragonfly

A friend of mine was talking to the property manager of an RV park and while I was waiting, I looked around and saw this house.  It was an ordinary, not very interesting house, but obviously it was a home that someone was proud of.  The side of the house was decorated with about 8 or 9 of these metal dragonflies.  

This was the most interesting one of them all.  It was late afternoon and the light was so pretty and the shadows really added to the effect.  I didn't think about it at the time, but I'm also partial to the color green, so all-in-all this turned out to be a Great Grab Shot.  

Yay for the fact that I had my SLR with me and didn't have to capture this image with my phone camera. which I'm sure would have worked ok, but then I would've been wishing I had the SLR. 

19/365

The Wooten

The Hotel Wooten Apartments is located downtown.  It was constructed in 1930 and was originally just a hotel, but then converted into one and two bedroom apartments in 1963.  

It didn't do well financially while a hotel, but has been at almost full capacity since being converted into apartments.   The building was listed as a Texas Historical Landmark in 2008. 

18/365

The Mill Wine Bar

The Mill, once the home of the Texas Mill and Elevator Company (which opened in 1910), is now a wine bar which serves wine, craft beers and food.  It is an event venue in south downtown Abilene, Texas.

From what I hear, the food is great.  Someday maybe I'll find out for myself.  Until then, I'll have to believe the positive gossip I hear about it.

17/365

Railroad Sign

In the south part of downtown it's practically deserted in late afternoon.  I had the area totally to myself.  I don't think I've ever photographed this sign from this perspective, but I really like it.  

It appears that the warehouse/factory just to the right of the staircase railings hasn't been in use for many, many years, but the building is still intact and has provided me with many photo ops.  The sign and the railroad cars have always been available too.  

16/365

Artwork on the Outside Wall of a Reception Venue

I've photographed this artwork many times before, but I usually isolate the art so you can't see any of the surrounding area.  Today I decided to include some of the reception venue to give the building a little more perspective. 

It was a warm overcast day, so the colors really popped.  The artist, Cal, has done many other artworks on buildings in town.  I like his work.

15/365

Ceiling Fan and Flower Print

I decided to take a short lie-down this afternoon and I was mulling over what to take a photo of for my daily post.  I looked up and thought, "well, why not?"

It's not a very exciting image, but I enjoy having a ceiling fan even though I don't use it much and I totally LOVE the grey, white and black flower artwork.

14/365

Church Building Just Before Dusk

I saw this building about ½ hour before sunset and thought the light was so beautiful.  

I only had my phone camera with me and although it's fine as a small image, I probably can't enlarge it very much without it looking pixelated.  I need to start carrying my Big-Girl-Camera with me all the time. I did that for a while a few years ago, and more often than not I didn't find anything to photograph while I was out, so I stopped taking it with me.  

Maybe I need to rethink that habit.  

12/365

Rotunda at the Texas State Capitol Building in Austin, Texas

11/365

People on line to enter chambers on the second day of Legislative Day at the Texas State Capitol Building in Austin, Texas. 

I took this image with my cell phone's pano function.  I've never tried that before and someone I was talking with showed me a photo she took, so of course, I had to try it.  The pano function elongated the roundness of the floor we were on.  I just think it's so interesting.

10/365

Abandoned Home

Well....it's day 10 of the new year and I've already outdone my posts of last year, when I actually only posted one image in January of the new year and the second image was months later.  

Anyway, I've seen this house before.  It's been like this for at least 3 years and maybe longer.  Wonder what happened to the owners?  Did they pass on?  Did they just get sick of supporting the home financially?  Did they move out of the area?

The houses around it are nice and well taken care of.  No one complains about this eye-sore?  No one cares?  No one wants to be the snitch?

No way to know since I'm not from that neighborhood and don't know anyone to ask.  This is sad though.  It looks like it was a cute house once-upon-a-time.  

9/365

Bee's Wax Candle

I'm trying to minimize the non-essential possessions in my home, because:

1)  the less-is-more philosophy is giving me a lot of peace

&

2)  I don't want my kids to have to Figure-Out-What-To-Do-With-Mom's-Stuff when the time comes.

My environment isn't austere and never will be.  I think a home should be inviting and comforting, not only to the people who live there, but to all who enter for whatever reason.

I love these statues.  The candle is a bee's wax candle that a friend made.  Her husband is a honey farmer and she always has plenty of bee's wax and she kindly gave me several candles the last time I visited.  It's really time to burn it, but I keep forgetting, so right now it's another calming piece of decor in my living room.  

8/365

The Toybox

The toys in the basket are a few that I brought with me when I moved and a few that I purchased at Goodwill after I got here. 

The grandkids don't come here too often, but when they do they head right for the toys.  It's so much fun watching them re-discover the items in the basket.  The toys aren't as creative as the ones they have at home, but when they're done the living room looks like a hurricane swept through.

7/365   Spider Plant

I love indoor plants.  There are a couple that I manage to not only keep alive, but keep healthy.  This is one of them.  

My roommate has three cats who are very persistent at swatting at anything hanging, so I need to keep this one in my bedroom.  I also need to keep my bedroom door shut so they can't get to the plant.  

I'd love to get more plants, but it's basically just throwing money away while the cats are here.

I guess I'll just have to take joy from this one.

6/365

Seen From the Airport Window

I've seen more pretty sun rises and sun sets in the winter in Alaska than I've ever seen anywhere else. This was approximately 3:30 pm.  I love the muted colors of the sky and the snow on the runway.

5/365

Clouds and Blue Sky

Just step outside the door.

4/365

Lunar Ring

As I was looking for the Northern Lights during my last night in a northern location I noticed this ring around the moon.  The sky seemed pretty cloudy and I didn't see any "lights", but this ring was very prominent.  I've never seen such a phenomena before.  

It was a perfect ring around the moon.  I took several photos, one being the complete ring, but I like this one where the moon and the ring are intercepted by the trees.  

This happens where there are ice crystals in the air that reflect the moon's light.  According to the little research I did, it's a pretty common sight.  Considering I've never seen it before, it must not be too common in the lower 48 since this is the first time in my life I've seen such a beautiful sight. 

It didn't last long and a short while later the sky looked

 clear and the ring was gone.

I was in the "right place at the right time" and was so glad I was.

3/365

Northern Lights

I took this image with my new cell phone.  It was tricky~~it was cold and it was difficult to hold the phone steady until it took the pic.  It automatically went into night mode so it was a couple of seconds before the camera clicked.  

The interesting thing is that to the naked eye the sky just looked dark and there was a slight "cloudy" look to the area where the northern lights are, it didn't look green at all, so until someone told me, I thought it was just a clump of clouds.  The camera picked out the color. 

I only found that out about a week ago.  Who knows how many times I missed the lights, not realizing what that "cloudy" area really was.  I have one more night to see the lights and there's no telling if it will be too cloudy or if there will even be a light show.  It changes second-by-second. 

I'm happy I got the images I did.  

2/365

Almost A Full Moon

While looking at the sky for the Aurora Borealis, I turned toward the south and saw this beautiful sight.  I noticed the moon being ⅔ full and was surprised at how quickly the moon waxes and wanes.  

Just a few days ago, Dec 29th, the moon was only ½ full.

Tonight the sky was cloudless and the stars were bright.   The trees are lit by some motion lights in the driveway.  This is another image taken with my phone camera. I'm so impressed with the quality of the images.  That doesn't mean I'll give up my grown-up camera, but there's a saying in photographic circles:

"The best camera you have is the one you have with you". 

(the double watermark was an accident and it's late and I didn't feel like doing the image over)

Hello  2023

1/365

Hand Made Baby Blocks

There might be a new grandbaby in the relatively 

near future (not yet though).  

My last unmarried child married in 2022.   

These blocks are the entire alphabet with a pic for each letter. They take a long time to make so as soon as they announced the wedding date I decided to get a head start on them and have them ready.

There's also a grandson who's getting married later this year, so I guess I should get started on another set. Even though they're time-consuming, I'm happy to make them because it helps me stay busy in the evening when there aren't any meetings to attend.