Winter Interlude...

For the next week I will be vacationing in Florida...not sure if there will be any internet access in the house we are renting but I doubt if I will be able to post until I get back...I do plan on taking lots of photos and even bought a back-up battery just for the trip...other than taking pictures I plan to just do what I did on the vacation pictured above...

Toy Texture...

I toyed with idea of joining Theme Thursday yesterday but I still needed some photos for my class...Here the story is not only of texture but of time and memories as the bulldozer is a toy from my daughters' childhood and the dump truck was bought for my grandson...He and his sister enjoy both...

That was fun...I think I may try to participate with Theme Thursday regularly.

Look Up...

My usual walk from a different perspective...

Spaghetti Supper Fundraiser...

My whole family came to my school spaghetti supper last Sunday and GiGi had fun practicing taking flash pictures which she doesn't like to do...

My sister likes spaghetti too...

My mom posed next to the picture I painted because I wouldn't...

I took this picture of my dad with my GiGi's camera and a little help...

I helped my Grammy H buy raffle tickets...

I really wanted my picture taken with my teacher...

It was fun for everyone and the spaghetti was good!

Lollipops and Tissues...

Another great Monday with the grandchildren even though they both have nasty colds.. Mr J was miserable all day...he always wanted a tissue nearby...

.Miss E seems to be on the mend with only an occaisional cough...

Thank goodness for books and videos and lollipops...

I watched another movie on aging that I absolutely loved...This one is a documentary on a choral group of older singers that sings contemporary songs. It is a touching look at some wonderful people...it brought laughs as well as tears...I definitely recommend it...

The lyrics seem to become more important when this group sings...this is just one of many songs they sing...it takes on a new meaning when the singers are elderly...

"I Just Want to be Sedated" by the Clash

Twenty-twenty-twenty-four hours to go
I wanna be sedated
Nothing to do, no where to go, oh
I wanna be sedated

Just get me to the airport, put me on a plane
Hurry hurry hurry, before I go insane
I can't control my fingers, I can't control my brain
Oh no oh oh oh oh

{Refrain}

Just put me in a wheelchair, get me on a plane
Hurry hurry hurry, before I go insane
I can't control my fingers, I can't control my brain
Oh no oh oh oh oh

{Refrain}

Just put me in a wheelchair, get me to the show
Hurry hurry hurry, before I go loco
I can't control my fingers, I can't control my toes
Oh no oh oh oh oh

{Refrain}

Just put me in a wheelchair, get me to the show
Hurry hurry hurry, before I go loco
I can't control my fingers, I can't control my toes
Oh no oh oh oh oh

Ba-ba-baba, baba-ba-baba, I wanna be sedated
Ba-ba-baba, baba-ba-baba, I wanna be sedated
Ba-ba-baba, baba-ba-baba, I wanna be sedated
Ba-ba-baba, baba-ba-baba, I wanna be sedated

Textures...

Photography class was not held this week due to school vacation so I have had quite a bit of time to take pictures for next week's assignment: texture... I'm still working on it but here are a few of the pics I've taken with the theme in mind...

Spring Preview...

One of the best things about going to a flower show is getting a whiff of spring which is just around the corner..We liked the show better than ever this year...

This garden display had geometrical formal beds planted with all kinds of edible greens...

...You can't tell by this picture but this display actually had a thunderstorm with rain and lightning...

Witch hazel was one of my favorite shrubs displayed....this one is a luscious raspberry color...

My favorite garden display incorporated Andrew Goldsworthy type stone work with water features...this was just gorgeous...I love the red twig dogwood too...

The color is odd in some of these pictures because of the lighting at the show...

I just love this moon gate...

I probably took more pictures of piles of stone than I did of flowers...

I think this garden roofed cottage would make a wonderful garden shed in my yard...

One of the exhibits had sand sculptures in the process of being made...I would like to go back later to see how it ended up...

Some of the gardens were very romantic...

...and some were contemplative...

...There were some displays that children would appreciate...

...and some they wouldn't...

I took many photos and tried to learn more about using the available light without using the flash...

...it was a challenge and I do think I learned more about what my camera is capable of...

Now I'm just waiting for spring!

Snow Remnants...

A Patch of Old Snow
by Robert Frost

There's a patch of old snow in a corner

That I should have guessed

Was a blow-away paper the rain

Had brought to rest.

It is speckled with grime as if

Small print overspread it,

The news of a day I've forgotten-

If I ever read it.

..........

Rain last night melted most of the remaining snow leaving a few snow remnants...I love how Frost associates these remnants with memories...

A Low Cal Dinner...

Tonight I needed something lighter for supper...First I sauteed 1 pound sliced mushrooms and a Tbsp of chopped garlic in a little bit of olive oil...

While the mushrooms cooked I sliced a container of grape tomatoes and about a half cup of pitted olives in half...

...then added them to the mushrooms with some dried thyme and sauteed a little longer...


While that cooked I seasoned some fish fillets - I used tilapia...
...the cooked vegetables came out of the pan and the fish went in...sauteed on both sides...

...some fresh basil was chopped and added to the cooked fish...

along with the cooked vegetables...

It was all served with whole wheat penne pasta...

...and yummy olive bread from a bakery.

...well I guess the bread wasn't low cal!