A NEW PROJECT

I've got a new project: I am painting the interior walls of my house to update the place a bit and give it a fresh look. I am starting with the living room and adjoining dining room... mainly because those are the first rooms I see when I enter the house. I want the walls to cause me to sigh with pleasure and a feeling of relaxation. There is a story behind the colors I've selected.

Several years ago I bought some quilting fabrics for no other reason than "they spoke to me". The colors were atypical of anything I'd normally select, but the name of the collection was Surf and Sand (by Marcus Brothers Fabrics) and that, combined with the colors, created a relaxed feeling in my soul whenever I glanced at the fabrics. I've looked at those colors and fabrics for ages, still feeling the pleasure and waiting for just the right project to come along for their use.

The fabrics are shown below: tans and blues.

Fast forward to present day: it occurred to me that if these fabric colors cause such a peaceful reaction at each glance, those are the colors I need to see in my surroundings. Therefore, based on those colors, I am painting the walls peaceful tones of tan, beige, and light blue.

Below is the current color next to the sample I will use. The color on the left is the existing color and the sample on the right is the color I am applying. The dining room on the far end will be the lightest tan shade in the fabrics and the wall separating the two rooms will be accented with the lightest of the blue colors. My sister says I need to throw in another color to add some pop. She thinks coral will be good. I am thinking perhaps a grape color (since the carpet is that color). The budget is tight so it might not get 'popped' for a while.

I am excited about this change and look forward to the finished project. I am painting the ceiling and the woodwork as well, so it will take some time since I will be doing it by myself. Lots of climbing up and down a ladder is on the horizon but it will be time, energy, and sore muscles well spent! Then I can finally make something with the fabrics.... a throw? a pillow?

Until more progress is made....

THE VISIT

Recently I was afforded the opportunity to take a picture of all three of my sons together. It doesn't happen very often these days, but it was wonderful to see them together.



And here is the REAL picture as it was taken.

I've been playing with Photoshop. Oh the things a person can do when they read the manual!

Until the next post...

AN UNEXPECTED TRIP

On Friday I found myself driving to Houston to pick up my oldest son. He'd been living in the Houston area since last summer and decided that was not working out for him so he asked if I'd drive down to get him and bring him back to Dallas. No problem. However, since H went with me and it was only 45 miles (or so) from where his daughter is going to school, we also made a quick stop in Galveston to visit with her for a short time. The seawall was windy, the waves were high, the beaches were covered with high water. There is still evidence of the destruction from the previous hurricane as is visible by the lack of a structure being supported by the piers.



Pelicans. Lots of pelicans flew overhead as I stood on the seawall.

As we were leaving Galveston for the Texas mainland, the refineries were noted to be operating at full capacity. Usually I am leaving Galveston after dark so I don't get to see all these sights.

Another sight that I usually see after dark. The skyline of downtown Houston. On these jaunts to the coast the majority of pictures I seem to capture are through the windshield. More of Houston. I was mainly just playing with camera settings as we drove through rush hour traffic. H was driving, thank goodness. It took hours to put Houston behind us... literally.

Downtown Houston

Some of the buildings are interesting. However, it is tough to decide which skyline is better: Houston or Dallas.

Near Huntsville, Texas is a giant statue of Sam Houston along the interstate. Sam Houston was one of the founding fathers of Texas government.

Again, usually by the time we are driving past this statue it is well after dark, so it was a treat to capture it in the daylight.

The Texas wildflowers are in full bloom as evidenced by the endless blooms along the highways. The colors are wonderful: yellow, purple, white, blue, pink, orange. Sometimes they are in mixed groups; other times there are only one or 2 colors featured. Regardless, the wildflowers form a continuous border along all the major highways and interstates. Years ago Lady Bird Johnson was instrumental in accomplishing this through her campaign to beautify Texas.

It was a long trip, but my companions were terrific and the scenery was exquisite.

Until the next post...

DID I MENTION....

.... that I *love* trains? Particularly old trains; vintage trains; trains from a simpler era? Consider it mentioned!

This past weekend the area was treated to something special. This train, Union Pacific No. 844, is touring the country. Depending on who you believe, this train resides in Wyoming and makes a journey across the country, stops at various cities and eventually makes a return trip to Wyoming. As for whom you believe, the website says Wyoming. The engineer says Oregon. Either way it is the northwest.

This train has the distinction and honor of being considered the last steam locomotive manufactured. It was put into service in 1944. In my mind this date conjures images of soldiers leaving and then returning home, war supplies being shuttled to and from various locations, and more.

We left the house at 6 a.m. Saturday morning to drive to the Union Pacific rail yard west of downtown Fort Worth, Texas. The train's departure time was scheduled for 8 a.m. so we planned for plenty of time to take photographs.



This is my favorite photo. No idea why.... it simply is.

This photo truly gives an impression of the massive size.

The morning had dawned dreary and overcast. As I was on the west side of the train the morning sun broke through the clouds for but a moment and illuminated the steam in a striking manner. I smiled and snapped this photo.

The train is finally chugging toward its destination. Look at all that stream!! And the sounds!! My, how wonderful the sounds.

This photo struck me as interesting. To see this steam engine of a former day moving against a backdrop of the modern era locomotives was very poignant. Even the rail yard workers were caught up in the moment and took time to admire the mechanical marvel.

Gaining momentum....

This too was a poignant shot. Yesteryear moving toward the modern as the train rolled east toward the skyscrapers of Fort Worth.

With the train departed, the return trek to Dallas afforded some smelling of the roses... or in this case, some photos of the roadside wildflowers. The State Flower of Texas... the Bluebonnet.

This was by accident. As I sat in the flowers I managed to capture the interstate signs pointing to both Dallas and Fort Worth.

Despite the overcast, gray skies in Fort Worth, the sky was cloudless in Dallas.

To complete the morning (we were back home by noon), we stopped at the Dallas Farmer's Market to browse the offerings.

It was no later than 9:30 or 10:00 a.m when we visited the market. As evidenced by the lack of jackets and sweaters, it is a typical spring day in Dallas. Morning lows in the 60s; afternoon highs reaching the upper 70s. In all the years we've been going to the market, we've never eaten breakfast at this outdoor cafe. Perhaps one day.

Later in the evening we went to the Dallas Galleria to see a new aquarium that had been installed earlier in the day with help from my cousin the fish-guru. I'd never taken the camera to the Galleria so I thought I'd at least capture the tank set up. Instead I had fun capturing architecture and patrons.

All in all, it was a good day. Oh, and did I mention I still love trains?

Until the next time...

APRIL

I have not done any adventuring since the photos I shared the end of March. Since that time I've been busy dealing with the raw side of life. Frankly, I'm tired of it. I am all for ruts and the statu quo res erant ante bellum (the original 14th century meaning).

Tomorrow I am planning a short jaunt to photograph a vintage steam locomotive. After that, I will attempt to hunt down some Texas wildflowers to shoot. We'll see how that goes.

Until I get some photos to share...

25% COMPLETE

The year is one fourth of the way behind us. January didn't start on the best of paths. I'd hoped for the subsequent months to be an improvement. That has not been the case.

2010 is quickly shaping itself as one of the worst years on record. Illness, death, legal issues, monetary shortfalls, addictions, unemployment, mechanical failures, disrupted educations, drastic declines in the health of beloved family pets, and more have all contributed in major, powerful ways. And that is just in my immediate family circle.

Perhaps it is prophetic that the remaining three-quarters of the year starts with Easter. After all, Easter signifies redemption, rebirth and renewal. Let's pray that it likewise signifies the end to all the turmoil and upheaval to which we've become so accustomed since January.

Until the next quarter...

SPRINGTIME

Business first: March 20th was the Fifth Anniversary of this blog! I am amazed it has been that many years.

Spring is here. There is no doubt it has arrived. It is visible in many ways; some subtle and some far more obvious.

Went to a Rodeo Parade today in Downtown Mesquite, Texas. Mesquite is basically a suburb of Dallas, but the hometown flavor of a much smaller town still exists. However, parade pictures are parade pictures. Instead I am showing photos taken at the Lake Tawakoni State Park and other points not too far east of Dallas.

The rain-swollen lake sends water pouring over the spillway.

Some cute miniature flowers growing against the base of a tree.

A Great Blue Heron perched atop a birdhouse. Turtles on the log are sunning themselves.

Wood ducks bobbing among the reeds.

New foliage.

Dogwoods starting to bloom!

Until a better day....

[not so] FIRED UP

To say I am disappointed is an understatement. These 2 examples are about the best of over 200 shots. And that certainly isn't saying much. I am going to have to ponder on this one. The pictures look much better in the photo browser than either here or printed on photo paper. In fact, the printed ones look the worst. However, since this was likely the last fire until next winter, I'll have plenty of time to think about how to improve. C'est la vie!

Until I get it right....

READY - AIM - FIRE

I just spent the better part of the evening taking over 200 pictures of burning logs in the fireplace. Last night I realized that I've tried to capture many things digitally, but never a roaring fire. I am really disappointed in the results. I tried countless settings and lenses. I thought I'd have a few decent shots. Or at least more than I actually accomplished. I'll share some tomorrow if I get a chance. First I have to decide if any are worth sharing!

It snowed in Dallas the first day of spring, thus the reason it was cold enough to have a fire. Normally it is far too warm by now to enjoy such a wintry luxury.

Until I make a decision....

GREENHOUSE ORCHIDS

Last Sunday I was afforded the opportunity to visit a local orchid greenhouse. I decided to use the chance to take pictures using a lens other than my usual, trusty telephoto lens. I decided to use the 50mm macro lens exclusively and was not disappointed with the results. I used manual settings, opening the shutter as wide as it would go for the shallowest depth-of-field. The bokeh was amazing, giving the images a soft, delicate background.

Here are but a few examples from my greenhouse outing. Some actually look better when zoomed in because of the detail.

Until the next post...