Thursday, June 30, 2011

181/365 Treads

I like tires.  I really do.  I like that they are on my vehicle which takes me places I need to go.  But I don't like buying new ones, especially when I go to get an oil change and come home with two new tires I wasn't planning on.  Oh well, I guess no one is ever happy when a tire purchase is part of his/her day!

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

179/365 Vacation Bible School

This week is the week of vacation bible school at my church.  A little birdie told a VBS director that I like to make mosaics, so when they planned to do a mosaic craft, they asked if I would help.  And I am glad to do it.  The 4th and 5th grade girls (about 40 of them) had a blast gluing the little tiles onto the crosses.  They did a really good job.  And tomorrow we grout!

Monday, June 27, 2011

178/365 Rusty

Just a rusty pail in the backyard. (added texture 84 by ellenvd on flickr).

Sunday, June 26, 2011

177/365 All Hail

My son's piano teacher came over today for my son's lesson.  His car suffered some significant damage in last week's hailstorm, so I took a picture of it.  At first, the pictures were looking pretty boring.  Then I got an angle that looked kind of cool.  The tree in my yard was reflecting in the hood and at a certain angle, these swirls showed up.  It kind of reminds me of Van Gogh's Starry Night.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

176/365 Prepping

Vacation bible school is happening at our church next week.  I'm helping with one of the crafts.  Today I was cutting up some shirts to be used as rags.

Friday, June 24, 2011

175/365 Mixed or Separate?

Some people like to mix up their side dishes, like rice and peas, potatoes and corn, etc.  Others can't stand to have one food touch the other.  Me?  I'm a mixer.  What about you?

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

172/365 Summer "Activity"

My son is loving having extra time during summer to play computer games.   

Monday, June 20, 2011

171/365 Summer Daisies

These little dahlberg daisies look so dainty, but don't let looks deceive you.  These little flowers can take our Texas heat.  They actually start growing better when it gets really hot.  (I was going for really shallow depth of field, but still had trouble getting sharp focus where I wanted it.)

Sunday, June 19, 2011

170/365 Best Gift Ever

The boys washed their dad's truck today, inside and out, as their Father's Day gift to him.  (oops, I should have fixed the flag before I took the photo!)

Saturday, June 18, 2011

169/365 Mashed

Tonight's dinner was meatloaf, mashed potatoes with gravy and fresh green beans.  Normally this is considered comfort food eaten in January or February, not in June.  But I'm pretending that it's not 104 degrees outside!

Friday, June 17, 2011

168/365 Fence Friday

I had a hard time choosing my photo today.  I had a couple I liked but they were very different.  The one with the U.S. flag won!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

167/365 Giddyup

These are Dala horses that came from the Dalarna region of Sweden.  One is from a trip I took in 1985, the other belonged to Gary's parents, who also visited there.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

166/365 Mosaic Swirl

I was uninspired today, so just started playing with the camera.  This time I zoomed and attempted a swirl.  That's the part that I have trouble with.  Got the start of one.  And I wish I'd tried it earlier in the day when there was more light.  This is actually a mosaic turtle that I have in the backyard.  You can see a hint of the texture on the right.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

165/365 Toys

Our dog has lots of dog "stuff".  From front to back, rawhide bone, squeaky monkey toy (his fave), fuzzy squeaky weasel toy, rawhide bone, pillow.  You'd think we had a toddler!  There is lots of noise in this photo, due to the low light.

Monday, June 13, 2011

164/365 Summer Evening

I don't know the real name of this plant, but we used to call these cattails.  I have memories of them at the Colorado River (the one that is the California/Arizona border), where my family spent a lot of time during the summers.  But these are here in Flower Mound, TX.  Technically, it's not summer yet, but it sure has felt like it around here with temps just above 100 degrees. But this evening it cooled off a bit and there was a breeze as I walked around this park and pond.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

163/365 Stomp

Had fun tonight seeing Stomp at Fair Park Music Hall.  This is the stage before the show.  The performers actually played on everything you see here, and then some.   We thoroughly enjoyed it!

Saturday, June 11, 2011

162/365 Congratulating the Graduate

Our friend's son, Adam, graduated from high school today.  Congratulations Adam!

Friday, June 10, 2011

161/365 Path

This is the walkway to our front door.  I really need to pull those couple of weeds up there.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

160/365 Smokin'

Actually the smoke isn't showing in this picture, but these were indeed smokin'.  This was dinner tonight.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

159/365 MDF Heaven

This is the place I go to buy MDF crosses.  They have all shapes and sizes.  They have other shapes as well, but mostly crosses.  I found them on Etsy, but then learned that their shop is only 15 minutes from my house!  For anyone interested, you can find the shop on Etsy.  Name is Mr. Woody.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

158/365 Old Fashioned

Some say that zinnias are old fashioned flowers.  The zinnia was indeed my dad's favorite flower.  There are new varieties that are popular today, but I like the tall ones that are started from seeds.  These are in my backyard.  I've been playing in Photoshop Elements.  On this, I just changed the blend mode to soft light.  Gave it a bit of a punch that I like.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Sunday, June 5, 2011

156/365 My Feathered Friends

Tonight when the sprinkler system came on, the birds came out!  They were so cute, playing in the puddles created and even standing where they could get sprayed.  So some like a bath; some like a shower.  I had a blast watching them.  I know where I'm going to be at 7 p.m. when I'm home.  This little guy had just had a bit of a shower before he flew off.  (added texture45 by ellenvd on flickr)

Friday, June 3, 2011

154/365 So It Begins

These are some of the kids at marching band practice.  Just a taste for them of what's to come in the fall.  I love marching band season and am looking forward to it.  This is not the greatest shot.  I wanted to get out of my car, lie down on the ground and take a photo of their feet.  But there weren't a lot of parents around when I was there, that I could blend in with, so I decided not to embarrass my son.  This photo depicts two aspects of marching band practice - sun and pavement!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

153/365 Tubular

I love these coreopsis plants.  We have two of them in the front yard.  I like how the petals are tubular.  This evening when I was taking photos in the front yard, I was laying on my belly in the grass, and wouldn't you know it, the sprinklers came on!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

152/365 21-Cannon Salute

I didn't take a new photo today, but instead am sharing another one that I took at the Memorial Day service at the Dallas Fort Worth National Cemetery.  The 21-cannon salute was very impressive.