If a picture paints a thousand words

This blog is a place for me to work on my photography. My goal is to submit a new picture every day and to get better as the moments go by. I take all pictures with my digital camera. I worked for years with a 35 mm minolta, and this is a learning experience for me. I am afraid that I got lazy and allowed the camera to choose most of the settings for me. This is my journey of learning how to shoot a camera that is not in a program mode. It is harder than I ever imagined. That makes this challenge both a new experience and a joy for me.

Monday, January 31, 2011

Four Peaks - Day 149

I actually enjoy driving down to the valley.  It is a two and a half hour drive each way, and it gives me some alone time.  I love the way the mountain looked on my way down and just had to find a place to stop and take a picture.  I probably love it because there is no snow on it.  There are definitely times when the desert has it's own kind of beauty.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Arnold - Day 148

This is my daughter's dog Arnold.  He is a French Bulldog.  He is a lovable, cuddly, snorting, gentle dog.  He is well loved by all members of the family.  he reminds me of a pot bellied pig we had when my children were all small.  Thankfully, this dog will never be as big as that pig grew up to be!!  You got to love a dog with a tongue that is always sticking out and very big blue eyes!!

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Arnold the Wonder Dog! - Day 147

Here are a few more pictures of Arnold.  I promised my grand daughter that I would post some for her so that she could hang them in her room.  She thinks he is the very best dog ever!



And I must admit, that he is really a very good dog.  

Friday, January 28, 2011

Have a snack, Grammy! - Macro Friday - Day 146

Today, I am linking in for Macro Friday over at Blogging From Bolivia.  Hope to see you there! 
My sweet little grand-daughter made me a "hamburger" when I was down visiting.  She said that I looked hungry!  It was made of Play-Do, so there weren't any calories involved.  Too bad I can't eat like this more often!!

Now that is a hamburger!


And this is one cute little chef!

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Best Day Ever! - Day 145

So, I downloaded some great pictures and my computer crashed.  Hopefully, I will get it up and going again tonight.  Bear with me for a day or two while I get everything fixed.  Hopefully, you won't mind a few more sledding pictures.  It seems to be our favorite thing to do!
Going sledding would not be near as much fun without friends!  We had even more fun in the snow, yes, we took all the neighbors!


I love the look on Anna's face!  Eyes tight shut!  If she doesn't look, than it isn't scary!


This is David, he loved the round sleds.  They would twirl around in the snow on the way to the bottom.  


Anna loved using Mikayla for a sled.  This was so much more fun!


Ever had a day when the sled runs away from you???



I think you are supposed to stay on the sled and not fall off!


Race you to the bottom!  This belly surfing has become extremely catching!


Ready, set, go!!


Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Wordless Wednesday - Day 144

Today, I am linking up over at MMB for Wordless Wednesday.  Hope to see you there!



"But then she's never looked at me that way before". 
-- Beauty and the Beast--

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Miracle - Day 143

This is my little skier!  You can kind of see that from the way she holds herself on the slope.  She learned to ski last year at school and loves all things that resemble that sport every since!



Then she decided that the dogs were missing out, so she took turns sliding down the slope with the dogs in her hands.  I think they even liked it!


Her sister converted her to belly surfing too.  I think the belly's got a bigger workout than the sleds!

Monday, January 24, 2011

Mikayla - Day 142

Mikayla also loves the snow.  But her favorite part of the entire day was that we did not go to the hills alone.  we took our friends.  Since they were younger, Kayla helped take them up and down the hills.  This was their first time down, and you can see that both girls are just a little nervous.



But hey, it was so much fun that she had to go again, and again, and again, and again!


Until she discovered belly surfing!  Then, there was no stopping them.  Here is the surfboard with her human companion!


Now this, was fun!!


Anya - Day 141

My girls love the winter, as long as it means snow, and a snow day from school!!


The hill was so big, that some of the kids had to crawl up instead of climb up.  


But coming down was worth every bit of the effort!!


There is nothing quite like the wind in your hair as you whoosh down the hill.  


I haven't seen this many smiles for  a long time.  We really need to take a break like this more often.  

Jake - Day 140

We took Jake sledding too.  He wanted to go down the big hill with the big kids.  So he did!


He was pretty proud of himself too!


We had such a great day with the grand-kids.  They had so much fun and never a single tear.  

Cole - Day 139

This is my sweet grandson, Cole.  He got to stay at Grammy's house for five whole days.  We had a wonderful time.  And it was even better because of the snow.  Cole has learned to love sledding.


First, he had to go down the hill with Papa.  It was a very scary experience for a boy that doesn't even like the rides at Disneyland!  It took him a while to decide that he was safe with Papa.



I thought his eyes were going to pop right out of his head!


But, he not only went down the first time, he went down again, and again.  He was very proud of the fact that he went down the hill.  


This is my favorite picture, I think it captured the moment so well.  

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Catpaws - Day 138

My parents love Folk Music.  They play many different instruments, but I am attracted to the ones that are very different.  These are some of my favorite ones to dust off and play.  They are called Catpaws and you use them very much like spoons (when they are played as instruments and not as eating utensils!).


Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Wordless Wednesday - Day 137

Riding Down the Mountain!
Today, I am linking up for with I Heart Faces for a distance photo.  This is one of my favorites.
Hope you join us too!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Grandpa's Bear - Day 136

My grandfather was a wood carver.  He hand carved this bear for my mother many years ago.  When my mother passed away, I ended up with the bear.  I love the detail in him.  It is amazing to me that this was carved from a single block of word.  It is amazing that that piece of lumber transformed into this bear.  Whenever I look at it, I am reminded that out of small and simple things, great things can come to pass.



Monday, January 17, 2011

Young Women - Day 135

We now have two young women in our house.  There was a time when they loved all things matching.  They wore the same clothes, the same shoes, the same coats and even played with the same toys.  Today, they are different as can be.  Where one is bold reds and blacks, the other prefers pinks and blues.  Sometimes, I miss the days when they were small and easy to please.  Still, I wouldn't trade these wonderful young women for anything and I can't wait to see the adults that they grow into.



Saturday, January 15, 2011

A New Book Bag - Day 134

I am not crafty, but I also can't stand to throw perfectly good things away.  This is our compromise.  It is made out of a pair of old blue jeans.  I made three, and all the girls love them.  It is nice to recycle and reuse.



The purple belt was her idea, and of course, we all love the hearts on the pockets!


It is actually really sturdy and she carries her school book in it to the bus everyday.  


Oh mom......really????

1000 Cranes - Day 133

My sister lovingly, painstakingly, crafted one-thousand cranes for the day that I got married.  It is supposed to bring my husband and I good luck for all of our lives.  She had to fold these herself (or get others to help her).  It is one of the most thoughtful gifts I have ever received and each year the thousand cranes hang around my Christmas tree like a garland.  They remind me that we all need just a little luck sometimes.



Play Date - Day 132

We have had company all week.  It is one of the reasons that I haven't been able to post this week.  I am exhausted!  Probably not quite as much as they are.  Two pups with nothing to do but play all day.  I think they are going to miss each other when Rocko finally goes home!







Oh yeah, somebody is going to miss you Rocko!