Adventures.... through pictures!

Last weekend the "special other" and I visited a local nature preserve. It was really rustic for an area in the midst of a huge city such as Dallas; complete with thriving poison ivy, posted warnings about feral inhabitants, and poisonous snakes! It is in a hilly section of town and maintained by the Audubon Society. At one time it was operated by the City of Dallas parks department, but I can fully appreciate the reasoning behind the city letting an organization better suited take over its management. There are approximately 8 nature trails of varying distance and intensity. We opted for the "easy to moderate" path of slightly more than one mile. Either we are too old for this type activity, or the person who designated the rating has a cruel sense of humor! The path was steep up-and-down in the slippery clay soil upon which Dallas is built. Parts of the path were under water from rains of a several days prior to our visit. In fact, some of the paths seemed to be nothing more than the usual run-off path after heavy rains. There were times when a choice had to be made - walk in the water-covered path and get your shoes wet, or walk in the poison ivy but keep the shoes dry. I chose ruin the shoes because I have had one too many tangles with poison ivy in my life. I can spot that stuff a mile away! The picture below is from the preserve. At one spot along the path there was an observation tower we climbed for a view. Hence the picture of the lake. While on the trail we had no idea we were near a lake; the brush was so thick we were only aware of the mosquitoes, plant life, and the mud!

The next day I was out and about in the neighborhood and happened to have my camera with me. There is a house along my walk route that has an incredible display of natural wildflowers. I took quite a few pictures of the various species. Here is a favorite.

Later in the afternoon I was again practicing with the camera at Harry's house and took this picture of the rosebud. Lovely!!

Yesterday we took a road trip. We drove to a community about 90 miles NNW of Dallas, nearly in Oklahoma. The town is Muenster, Texas and it was their annual Germanfest weekend. The town claims about 1550 residents and is a wonder to visit. The small downtown square resembles the buildings one might find in a German village. The grocery store boasts ...rightfully so... a German meat and cheese market, filled with all manner of "wurst und kase" (translated to "sausage and cheese" for the non-Deutsch folk). The local restaurants feature German fare and each had booths of their specialties available on the festival grounds, including strudel from the local Konditorei und Bäckerei (confection shop and bakery). We listened to good old-fashioned German polkas and waltzes, not to mention a Chicken Tanz (dance) or two. Food was excellent, beer was flowing, weather was perfect, traveling companion his usual enjoyable self.

We ended the day by deciding to attend the anticipatory Mass at the local Catholic church, Sacred Heart, at 5:00 p.m. The rectory is directly adjacent to the sanctuary and is the charming house in the picture below.

The day was declared a "good adventure". Amazingly, it was mutually agreed the best part was attending Mass in the small German Catholic community. (You'd have to be Harry or me to understand!!) We decided that in the future when we travel to a small community for a day trip we will investigate the Mass schedule for the particular church in that town. Sounds like another adventure to add to the list!!!

Until another time......

Round and Round

I am on a merry-go-round and it is refusing to stop...or even slow down!

When I have a few moments to spare... to actually relax... I will post some new pictures and update on my sewing progress.

Until I catch my breath.....

What I've been doing.....

Click on the pictures for close-up views! This was too much fun......

No Time for F-U-N...almost

Today I started a new (second) job. There are a myriad of reasons why this additional job became necessary, but rather than expound from that perspective, let me just say that I LOVE what I am doing!!

I have become a retail merchandiser. I am one of those ladies (or men) you see in a store who are rearranging and restocking vendor items.... greetings cards, magazines, books, etc. I am servicing the Disney DVD accounts in various stores around my neighborhood.

Last week I did my new hire training and this week I am doing my field training.

There are very few things to dislike about this job. The biggest adjustment seems to be one of remembering all the details about what paperwork needs to be completed where and when. The accounts are all within a few miles of my house so there is little to no time spent behind a wheel getting from account to account. In some instances one shopping center houses multiple accounts on my list, making the drive even less a factor. (Worth a great deal in these days of exorbitant gasoline prices!)

Other than that, I am so used to having my afternoons free that now it seems I am having to relearn how to budget my spare time so as to squeeze in all my personal chores.

Sewing?? What is that????

Until I get more coordinated with juggling all these new tasks.....

It was a wonderful day.....

Yesterday was a wonderful day! It was my 53rd birthday and I had gotten it into my head by the time April 4 rolled around that it was going to be a lousy day with little or no celebration. I won't go into why I felt this way, but I was pleasantly surprised when it became one of the best birthdays in recent memory.

The bouquet of flowers above was courtesy of my sister. She showed up at my door in the afternoon with flowers and a beautiful purple butterfly balloon. When I was saying goodbye to her and walking her out to her car, the mail arrived and I received the next installment of a Christmas Block-of-the-Month (BOM). This was a shock because I just received the 2 previous months late in March.

While at the office in the morning I was presented with a large, wrapped box. Inside I found a portable "boombox" CD player. I wanted one of these to use when I am sitting by the pool, working in the yard, or heck... even working in my sewing room since it has no radio, television, or stereo.

Late in the day Friday I finally received a FedEx package for which I was waiting.... the main reason I was feeling glued to the house and unable to go about my usual business.

Went to Happy Hour and dinner at On the Border. The weather was gorgeous and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to enjoy margaritas.... mixed berry and then peach!!

Once dinner was over we went to the home of the "special other" in my life. He brought out another, almost-as-large-as-the-first-package box that surprised the daylights out of me. Inside was the lovely Jim Shore angel shown below. This gift made me feel very fortunate to have this man in my life. He understands that many quilters are fond of Jim Shore because of his incorporation of block patterns into his creations.

I am thrilled with the way this photo turned out. It is exactly the look I've been trying to achieve. When I take a close up I want the rest of the background to be little more than a dark blur. I don't know how I did it, but I succeeded!! LOL

After we watched a movie on television at the "special other's" house, he disappeared for a bit. I was shocked when he came out of the laundry room with a birthday cake..... not just any cake... but a frozen, ice cream cake!!! (He knows I am not much of a cake person).

It was a wonderful day and I was forced to resolve I better start being more appreciative of some of the people in my life... or else!!

Until I come back down to earth.....

Happy APRIL 4TH

I've been meaning to update this blog for several days. Time has continued to march on despite my wish for it to slow down.

I bought myself a new camera and have been devoting time to getting acquainted with it. I am reading books and manuals and websites. I am doing online tutorials. I am studying photographs taken at various settings and trying to discern the affects (and techniques) of the differing lenses and corresponding settings.

The main reason I bought the camera was so I could take pictures of quilts. I get frustrated that my point-and-shoot camera can't squeeze everything into the shot. I am maddened when I want to show quilting details and get nothing but a blur because the camera doesn't like close-ups. Never again. Now the frustration comes from the sense of overwhelm I feel as I try to digest and absorb all the new terminology.

That out of the way, here is a photo essay (of sorts) showing what I've accomplished with the camera thus far.

This is a picture taken with my old HP Photosmart.

This was taken with the new digital SLR camera. The main difference is that the entire quilt is now in the frame rather than "chopped off" along the borders.

Here is the camera I got:

I wish everyone a terrific weekend. I am headed outdoors to enjoy the few rays of sunshine we've been afforded today. Maybe I will take some pictures of some flowers... or some bugs. As far as photography goes, I can tell I am fascinated by the micro world. I think its a holdover from my days of being fond of microscopes!

Until I get the hang of things......