Life In The Sunshine

New Shoes

2008-03-14T13:03:00.005-04:00

It was nice and warm earlier this week and I started thinking about going to the beach....so of course I must get some new shoes! Sandals..something you can kick off and walk in the surf. I can hardly wait! Can't you just feel that warm ocean breeze?

How about YOU? Even if you dont live near a beach, I'll bet you are seriously thinking about getting out of those heavy winter boots and into something pretty and light!

Be sure you listen to Paolo Nutini singing New Shoes....it's a "catchy" (earworm) song that will stick with you for days!!

The Jesker Award

2008-03-11T22:03:00.003-04:00

I know you love awards Irene.....and this is one you well deserve!!

For Irene who is a great pet lover... .. and for Jesker who is a real trooper. Neither one of you lets life get them down!

Cypress trees along the shore of Palestine Lake

2008-03-04T23:27:00.001-05:00

Azaleas in bloom

2008-03-04T09:53:00.002-05:00

Dogwood tree in bloom

2008-03-02T16:02:00.000-05:00

Have you ever had Mayhaw jelly?

2008-02-26T22:24:00.001-05:00

The Mayhaw bears it's fruit in May, hence the name Mayhaw.

2008-02-26T22:11:00.001-05:00

Olustee Festival...Lake City, Florida

2008-02-16T17:27:00.009-05:00

Today we went to the Olustee Festival ..... it was a sunny day and a big crowd was there to see the parade and craft festival.

The Union and Confederate armies march through the streets

Along with their wives and children.......

whoops....what's he doing here?????

President Lincoln and General Lee made an appearance too.......

Several blocks of craft booths.....

And I know you will LOVE this! An artist doing a mural on the side of the building....he has been consigned to do several in the downtown area.

How do YOU recycle?

2008-02-14T13:17:00.008-05:00

My mother…Lord love her …..was born with a rampant recycling gene! When I was a child she even recycled our Christmas wrapping paper and ribbon….a little pressing with the iron and it was good as new. So today I thought I’d introduce you to my mothers yard. I am constantly amazed by her ingenuity (and sometimes appalled). None the less, her yard is an interesting place to visit between her green thumb and quirky yard art.

An old lamp globe becomes a fancy amber mushroom

Our local weather station......

TV table bath...with waiting area on the side.

Shaded lawn chair feeder with plank seat for squirrels

to sit and crack pecans....birdseed hubcap on side.

Does anyone know what she can do with her old bowling ball???

More CS3......

2008-02-13T23:16:00.005-05:00

Today was lettering and text on a path....the most FUN so far!!

CS3 projects

2008-02-11T23:03:00.000-05:00

Today it is history brushes, art history brushes and filters.....

Another CS3 project

2008-02-07T22:31:00.000-05:00

Another CS3 project using the quick selection tool, quick mask and gradients......

2008-02-04T11:43:00.001-05:00

I haven't been posting here as often because I've been taking a class in Photoshop CS3. I'm hoping it will be helpful in repairing some old family photos....and maybe learning some new "artsy" stuff too! Here is my first attempt at using brushes.......

Groundhog Day

2008-02-02T13:31:00.000-05:00

They dont have groundhogs in Florida...but the old timers here say that when you see leaves coming out on the pecan trees, you can be sure the cold weather is over. Nothing on the pecan trees yet.....but the Redbud trees are blooming and our Date palm is already getting pods so I am hopeful.....

2 Things Challenge - Sign/Post

2008-01-31T12:23:00.000-05:00

Really? Who would want to? Do they really need a sign for this? Actually they do! This is a picture of the spring house at the Stephen Foster Memorial in White Springs. When the Suwannee River rises, this area fills with water.

2 Things Challenge - Foot/Loose

2008-01-17T14:47:00.000-05:00

Here is my "LAME" attempt for the 2 Things Challenge. The song has been like an ear worm for the past 3 days so I desided to just give in to it.......

The Apple Makeover

2008-01-14T21:00:00.001-05:00

My glass apple for Rima's digital makeover.........I used Photoshop4 and applied several filters and a little touch-up paint.

Happiness - Saturday

2008-01-05T16:19:00.000-05:00

This being the last day of Happiness Week...I hope you will each continue to seach for and find it in your lives.....this seemed an appropriate quote:

Celebrate the happiness that friends are always giving,

make every day a holiday and celebrate just living!

~Amanda Bradley~

Happiness - TGIF

2008-01-04T14:53:00.000-05:00

If I regarded my life from the point of view of the pessimist, I should be undone. I should seek in vain for the light that does not visit my eyes and the music that does not ring in my ears. I should beg night and day and never be satisfied. I should sit apart in awful solitude, a prey to fear and despair. But since I consider it a duty to myself and to others to be happy, I escape a misery worse than any physical deprivation. ~ Helen Keller

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WOW, what attitude and determination.....and what a great woman!!

Happiness - Thursday

2008-01-03T11:48:00.000-05:00

Happiness adds and multiplies, as we divide it with others. ~ A. Nielsen

Happiness - Wednesday

2008-01-02T17:01:00.000-05:00

The happiest people seem to be those who have no particular reason for being so, except that they are so. ~ William Ralph Inge

Happiness - Tuesday

2008-01-01T16:10:00.000-05:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

The grand essentials of happiness are:
something to do,
something to love
and something to hope for......Allan K. Chalmers

The pecan trees in my yard are bare now,
except for the Spanish moss.

Happiness - Monday

2007-12-31T20:25:00.000-05:00

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom......Marcel Proust

Happiness - Sunday

2007-12-30T20:04:00.000-05:00

Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family........in another city! George Burns

Tag...you're it!

2007-12-29T20:05:00.000-05:00

A coleous plant from my yard ... with lots of tweaking and filters

I was tagged by Sweet Irene over at Sweet Wood Talking....

Here are the rules:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.

2. Share 5 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.

3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

Some fun (or just plain weird) facts about me:

1) When I was six, I took a wild ride on a cow...courtesy of my older sister.

2) If you look in my wallet, you will find all my dollar bills facing forward (heads up) and arranged by denomination (compulsive, I know)

3) I once ran into the side of a truck....while dashing across the street.

4) A neighbor had me over for supper one evening and fixed armadillo...which I thought was pork chops....until informed otherwise. I never ate there again!

5) I have an extensive elephant collection...all of which are under 3 inches high.

I'm tagging anyone who would like to participate....just leave me a comment so I can go to your blog and read about your (weird) life

Sunshine......

2007-12-27T19:51:00.000-05:00

It has been overcast and gray the past few days and I have really missed the sunshine!
So, today when the sun came out and the temperature warmed,
I couldn't resist spending the afternoon in the yard.

While snapping a few photos of the Camelias

and Seven Sister roses in bloom......

I spotted this guy!!

I bet one of your little men will know his name.....

or be able to make up a good one!!

Two Things Challenge - Tidy/Ends

2007-12-23T16:48:00.000-05:00

I took this photo some time ago in my
husband's barn...

He is actually very tidy...
because even the smallest item has a place....

But tidiness ends as the dust and spiders take over.

Merry Christmas....

2007-12-21T23:24:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas to all my blogging friends.
I hope you and your families have a wonderful holiday!!

For all you shoveling snow this week... our local
paper says we will be in the mid 70's on Christmas
Day...

T'was the night before Christmas and all though our town
No noses were frozen, no snow fluttered down.

No children in flannels were tucked into bed,
They all wore their shorty pajamas instead...

Merry Christmas from Florida!

What is this?

2007-12-12T23:11:00.000-05:00

This picture was taken by a friend who recently returned from a trip
to Amsterdam. I have never seen anything like it in the US. It's a
parking garage for bicycles!

Two Things Challenge.....Holds Value

2007-12-11T18:39:00.000-05:00

Free as a bird.........

I did a lot of thinking about what qualities of life hold value for me...
health, happiness, love, peace ......but none of those would really
matter if I didnt have FREEDOM

Still blooming......

2007-12-06T15:46:00.000-05:00

It's December.....

but little bits of color are still visible around the yard

This one has a Christmas look to it...red and green
might make an interesting mandala....

The Loquat trees are loaded with blooms....and bees

What is this?

2007-11-24T11:19:00.000-05:00

Ask any of your little guys and they will be able to tell you right away what this is!

Two Things Challenge Brash/Luster

2007-11-21T14:33:00.000-05:00

Brash.....aggressively self assertive, hasty

Luster... soft sheen of reflected light, shininess

A perfect description of Bubba, my Boston Terrier

Wheel mandala

2007-11-19T18:36:00.000-05:00

This one is for Bobbie for helping me

with templates!

A little color goes a long way!

2007-11-18T16:32:00.001-05:00

It just amazes me what you can do with a little slice of color...this is from a Purple Heart (Wandering Jew) in my mother's yard. This mandala reminds me of an Indian dream catcher!

Two Things Challenge Intricate/Interlace

2007-11-15T18:03:00.000-05:00

This was a difficult challenge...I just couldn't get the picture of lace out of my head. I ended up taking a picture of one of my sisters crocheted pieces and making a mandala out of it

Mandala #3

2007-11-11T17:58:00.000-05:00

I found this (16 point) mandala template online. I couldn't get it to work like Bobbie's template but finally just duplicated the 4 points (4 times) and turned them into place. I had to do a lot of blending to fix the areas where it did not match up. Does anyone know where I can find some different mandala templates online?

This was done from a sunflower and I am wondering if I would be "cheating" if I copied the center of the sunflower and dropped it into the center of the mandala? I tried it and I really liked the way it looks

.

Mandala....#2

2007-11-10T19:28:00.001-05:00

The pecans are beginning to fall......you can see them
among the spanish moss that hangs heavily in our trees.

Two Things Challenge...Civilization/Nature

2007-11-08T13:33:00.000-05:00

Civilization with all it's advanced knowledge

is still no match for the persistence of nature

Two Things Challenge...Poetic/Prosaic

2007-10-29T22:34:00.000-04:00

My first mandala

2007-10-28T17:07:00.001-04:00

Well wishes going out across the ocean...

2007-10-22T22:36:00.000-04:00

Blog Action Day!

2007-10-15T10:57:00.000-04:00

When one tugs at a single thing in nature,
he finds it attached to the rest of the world....John Muir

A good example of this is the disappearing Gopher Tortoise
known as a wildlife landlord because they share their
burrows with other small animals.

Once a common sight in my neighborhood …..now a rare treat!

Alligator Fest....Lake City

2007-10-13T18:57:00.000-04:00

Scenes from the festival.......

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Cedar Keys Florida

2007-10-07T22:28:00.000-04:00

Not your typical little fishing village.....

Colorful.....and crowded.........

with the biggest lizzards I've ever seen

and it's own manatee

The local wildlife is friendly

especially when you bring food........

and of course the many keys......

Palestine Lake......

2007-09-27T19:28:00.001-04:00

Ocean Pond...

2007-09-23T21:25:00.001-04:00

located in the Osceola National Forest

Another time.....another place

2007-09-21T15:59:00.000-04:00

Hala, my thoughts and prayers are with you....

Suwannee River.....

2007-09-20T19:03:00.000-04:00

A peek into the past

2007-09-18T22:39:00.000-04:00

Somewhere in the US

2007-09-15T20:21:00.001-04:00

Do you know where the Red Palm grows?

Little sprout

2007-09-09T19:56:00.000-04:00

Bubba was not supposed to get over 15 pounds...
because he was the runt of the litter. Now he
weighs in at 30 pounds!!!

Grandma's Garden

2007-09-08T21:26:00.001-04:00

Time.....wasted

2007-09-04T13:47:00.000-04:00

Way Down Upon the Suwannee River

2007-09-03T14:25:00.000-04:00

One of the last old bridges

that crosses the Suwannee River

Suwannee Springs was established sometime around the

Civil War. People came from all over to enjoy the "healing"

spring water. A special railroad was built just to bring

tourists to the springs. At that time there was a hotel,

cabins and a bathhouse.

During the 1920's the last hotel burned down and now

what is left of the springhouse is a favorite place for

locals who still enjoy jumping off the springhouse wall

into the ice cold spring water.

On the other side of the springhouse wall is the Suwannee

River....with it's striking white beach next to the dark

waters of the Suwannee.

You can almost see Tom Sawyer

floating down the river on his raft!!!

Element: Metal.......Day Five

2007-08-31T18:45:00.000-04:00

...........Industrial bling...............

Element: Fire ..... Day Four

2007-08-29T20:03:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to jump in on the fun
with Sheri at The Glass Doorknob

Genie In The Lamp

Off To Steinhatchee

2007-08-27T18:25:00.000-04:00

Where the Steinhatchee River
Meets The Gulf of Mexico

That's where you will find Roy's.....

We don't mind the wait!

Yumm......nuff said!!

The seagulls get our leftovers

Then back to their waiting line...

Digital scrapbook page using PSE 4

2007-08-23T12:26:00.000-04:00

I created everything on this page with PSE 4.....

...

You can buy templates to create this cut up look

which would be a lot less time consuming than doing

it yourself.

...

The brads are fairly simple to make by layering a

yellow dot over a beveled gray dot.

He's so........

2007-08-21T13:32:00.000-04:00

Tol-er-ant
adj... able to withstand harsh treatment or annoyance
n...Bubba

JUST IN........

2007-08-20T20:01:00.000-04:00

Touring Washington DC

2007-08-20T14:50:00.000-04:00

The monuments are awe inspiring !

A place to reflect on those who gave ALL....

The bands inspire patriotism...

Life is very fast paced in DC...

Summertime.......

2007-08-19T19:30:00.000-04:00

The tan has faded, but the memories will last forever...

Palm trees, ocean breeze
Salty air, sunkissed hair
That endless summer
Take me there........

Sister

2007-08-18T18:01:00.001-04:00

It was nice growing up with someone like you...
Someone to lean on, someone to count on...
Someone to tell on! ~Author Unknown

Big sisters are the crab grass in the lawn of life. ~Charles M. Schulz

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More than Santa Claus, your sister knows when you've been bad and good. ~Linda Sunshine

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You keep your past by having sisters. As you get older, they're the only ones who don't get bored if you talk about your memories. ~Deborah Moggach

Dog tricks

2007-08-08T15:15:00.000-04:00

Have a look at the cutest, most well trained doggie around....
TYPE IN a command and see what happens... Sit, roll over, down, stand, sing, dance, jump, shake, fetch, play dead, etc.
And...it's also very cute if you type in a command that's not recognized.
Make sure you type in "kiss" - maybe last!!!

2007-08-03T23:48:00.000-04:00

Secret Recipe

2007-07-22T19:57:00.000-04:00

Troublemaking calf

2007-07-17T16:05:00.001-04:00

We brought home 10 new calves this week and put them in a small holding pen until they get adjusted to their new surroundings. When I heard loud banging noises at the barn, I went to investigate and found a 200 lb calf standing in the feed trough! I guess there's a trouble maker in every crowd!!

2007-07-04T20:13:00.000-04:00

Already mechanically inclined, he spent the afternoon trying to figure out how to turn the tractor into a transformer that would fit in his back pocket!

Vacation in May..

2007-07-01T13:37:00.000-04:00

The Sea, The Sea, The Open Sea!

The blue, the fresh, the ever free

.....

Without a mark, without a bound

It runneth the earth's wide regions round

.....

It plays with the clouds, it mocks the skies

Or like a cradled creature lies,

.....

I'm on the sea, I'm on the sea

I am where I would ever be! ~Barry Cornwall

Your day at the beach.....

2007-05-19T23:23:00.000-04:00

Can't get to the beach but you REALLY want to build a sandcastle? You can build it here
Take a few minutes, sit back, relax and enjoy the sounds of the ocean while you play in the sand!