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.

Sunday, July 31, 2011

I Don't Like Water - Day 323


“Take the first step in faith. 
You don’t have to see the whole staircase, 
just take the first step.”
~ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ~


To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment. 
Ralph Waldo Emerson


I think I can, I think I can.”
~ The Little Engine That Could ~

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Swimming - Day 322


Most of us, swimming against the tides of trouble the world knows nothing about, need only a bit of praise or encouragement - and we will make the goal.
Robert Collier 


I've realized that being happy is a choice. You never want to rub anybody the wrong way or not be fun to be around, but you have to be happy. When I get logical and I don't trust my instincts - Thats when I get in trouble.
Angelina Jolie 

Friday, July 29, 2011

Making the Best of Things - Day 321


You've got a lot of choices.  If getting out of bed in the morning is a chore and you're not smiling on a regular basis, try another choice.  ~Steven D. Woodhull

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Hula Hoops - Day 320

I Enjoy Being A Girl!
And just in case you want the instructions to making your own hula hoops, you can find them at my other blog, Pitterle Postings

Little girls
Little girls
Everywhere I turn I can see them
Little girls
Little girls
Night and day
I eat, sleep and breathe them
Some women are dripping with diamonds
Some women are dripping with pearls
Lucky me! Lucky me!
Look at what I'm dripping with
Little Girls!

Life reveals her beauty one precious miracle at a time.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Playing Ball - Day 319

I took the cute grandsons to the fire department to look at the trucks.  Cole discovered the basketball hoop.  It is set for an adult.  The guys all play out here.  While I was watching, this little five-year-old shot seven baskets right through the hoop.  I tried to get a few pictures.  Here is a failure and a success.  I am not sure that I can shoot like that! 


The only difference between a good shot and a bad shot is if it goes in or not.  ~Charles Barkley


"Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game." 
Michael Jordon

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Swinging in the Rain - Day 318

I bought some new hammock swings and they seem to have attracted a few extra guests!  This has become the entertainment of choice for "Grammy's House".  The kids love them and they are getting more than their fair share of use! 


"A perfect summer day
is when the sun is shining,
the breeze is blowing,
the birds are singing,
and the lawn mower is broken." 
James Dent

"God breathes and the beauty of nature is revealed,
You are His most beautiful creation
And I am left breathless."

When I Grow Up - Day 317

When I grow up
What will I be?
I'll close my eyes and see.
One, Two, Three.


"Life is a challenge, meet it."  Mother Theresa

"The purpose of life is a life of purpose."  Robert Byrne

"Only a life lived for others is worth living."  Albert Einstein

Life is change. Growth is optional. Choose wisely

Sunday, July 24, 2011

On Eagle's Wings - Day 316







ON EAGLE'S WINGS Michael Joncas You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord, who abide in His shadow for life, say to the Lord: "My refuge, my rock in whom I trust!" Refrain: And He will raise you up on eagles’ wings, bear you on the breath of dawn, make you to shine like the sun, and hold you in the palm of His hand. The snare of the fowler will never capture you, and famine will bring you no fear: under His wings your refuge, His faithfulness your shield. Refrain: And He will raise you up on eagles’ wings, bear you on the breath of dawn, make you to shine like the sun, and hold you in the palm of His hand. You need not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day; though thousands fall about you, near you it shall not come. Refrain: And He will raise you up on eagles’ wings, bear you on the breath of dawn, make you to shine like the sun, and hold you in the palm of His hand. For to His angels He's given a command to guard you in all of your ways; upon their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. Refrain: And He will raise you up on eagles’ wings, bear you on the breath of dawn, make you to shine like the sun, and hold you in the palm of His hand.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Doing What Grammy Does - Day 315

Took the boys to the fire station to test out their driving skills.  There is nothing quite like a big truck to get this little guy interested.  I think he was pretty impressed!  


You might be a firefighter if the microwave goes off and you run out of the house thinking it was your pager.  ~Author Unknown  (True Story!!)


Courage doesn't always roar.
Sometimes courage is the quiet voice
at the end of the day saying,
"I will try again tomorrow.”
- Mary Anne Radmacher

Friday, July 22, 2011

Macro Friday - Quiet Beauty - Day 314

Joining up today with Blogging From Bolivia for another great Macro Friday.  I found this in the field and loved the way it all went together.  It is amazing how it is possible to find beauty in the strangest places. 


Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful;
for beauty is God's handwriting -
a wayside sacrament. 
Welcome it in every fair face,
in every fair sky,
in every fair flower,
and thank God for it as a cup of blessing. 
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Cousins - Day 313


Cousins are those childhood playmates who grow up to be forever friends. 

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Sweet Baby Lyla - Day 311


Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man.  ~Rabindranath Tagore

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Everybody JUMP! - Day 310

There is nothing quite like a birthday party with the Grandchildren.  It was amazing, and they all said I got the best present ever!!!  Hmmm........ can you guess what it was??







Grammy has the best Birthdays! Day 309


Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.  ~Chili Davis


When I was younger, I could remember anything, whether it had happened or not; but my faculties are decaying now and soon I shall be so I cannot remember any but the things that never happened.  It is sad to go to pieces like this but we all have to do it.  ~Mark Twain

Lou and Moose - Day 308

I gotta love when family comes to visit.  This big crazy dog is actually one that we enjoy (except for the buckets of slobber!)  He does kind of grow on you after awhile, and he is good and has a pretty amazing personality too!


"Whoever said you can't buy happiness forgot little puppies."
Gene Hill


My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am.  ~Author Unknown

Macro Friday - Wild Flower - Day 307

This is my Macro Shot for Blogging From Bolivia for Macro Friday.  I was visiting with family all weekend and did not have a chance to post.  I love these flowers.  They are weeds, they grow everywhere, and they have some evil stickers on them.  But, I did love the way it looked through a macro lens!


What is a weed?  I have heard it said that there are sixty definitions.  For me, a weed is a plant out of place.  ~Donald Culross Peattie


Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them.  ~A.A. Milne

Follow The Trail - Day 306


To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of
children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false
friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a little better;
whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know
even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is the meaning of success.
—RALPH WALDO EMERSON, American essayist, 1803–82

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Summer Music Mikayla - Day 305


"When the power of love
overcomes the love of power,
the world will know peace." 
Jimmy Hendrix


"....regardless of what you play,
the biggest thing is to keep the feel going....." 
Wes Montgomery


"Music is an outburst of the soul." 
Frederick Dulois

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Summer Music - Anya - Day 304


Music] takes us out of the actual and whispers to us dim secrets that startle our wonder as to who we are, and for what, whence, and whereto. - Ralph Waldo Emerson


"Without music, life is a journey through a desert." -- Pat Conroy


After silence,
that which comes nearest
to expressing the inexpressible
is music.  
Aldous Huxley