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, February 5, 2012

Friday, February 3, 2012

Having Fun!


"Flying is the second best thrill to cheerleaders; being caught is the first."

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Three Cousins


If you haven't time to respond to a tug at your pants leg, your schedule is too crowded. ~Robert Brault

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Help me Grammy! I need out!!


All the best stories are but one story in reality - the story of escape. It is the only thing which interests us all and at all times, how to escape.
A. C. Benson

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Amazing Color

This took some doing.  Again, it is SOOC without any alteration.  It was a beautiful moment.  I must admit, I am learning to love the winters, with all the beautiful color of the sky. 


"One of the most satisfying experiences I know is fully to appreciate an individual in the same way I appreciate a sunset. When I look at a sunset...I don't find myself saying, 'Soften the orange a litle more on the right hand corner, and put a bit more purple along the base, and use a little more pink in the cloud color...' I don't try to control a sunset. I watch it with awe as it unfolds."  Carl R. Rogers 

I am linking this week to Simple things Sundays.  Hope to see you there.  

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Amazing Morning

Straight out of the front door, and no adjustments to the camera.



Nothing is more beautiful than the loveliness of the woods before sunrise.
George Washington Carver

Friday, January 27, 2012

Starting a Little Young


The longest journey begins with a single step, not with a turn of the ignition key.  ~Edward Abbey

The Puzzle

The girls got this for each other for Christmas.  We spent a day or two putting it all together.  They had a wonderful time doing it too.  Surprisingly, they enjoyed that more than eating dinner at the table!  (Hence, we had to eat dinner on TV trays for the duration)


Our whole life is solving puzzles.
Erno Rubik

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

I Love Family


I don't care how poor a man is; 
if he has family, he's rich. 
 ~Dan Wilcox and Thad Mumford~

Monday, January 23, 2012

A Really Good Time!

Who would have thought that things with so much bounce, would have so much appeal to the kids!!  All I know is that mine had a wonderful day!

Play energizes us and enlivens us.
It eases our burdens.
It renews our natural sense of optimism
and opens us up to new possibilities.
Stuart Brown, MD

Life must be lived as play.
Plato

Play gives children a chance to practice
what they are learning.
Fred Rogers

People tend to forget that play is serious.
David Hockney

You can discover more about a person
in an hour of play
than in a year of conversation.
Plato

Creative people are curious, flexible, persistent,
and independent with a tremendous spirit
of adventure and a love of play.
Henri Matisse


Sunday, January 22, 2012

Power in the Wind


A certain amount of opposition is a great help to a man. 
Kites rise against, not with, the wind.
Lewis Mumford


Saturday, January 21, 2012

The Hawks

Driving down the freeway in Missouri, these were everywhere.  They were quite shy though and when we would stop to take pictures, they would fly off before I could even get the window down on the car.    I wish I could have gotten a picture that accurately depicted the beauty that was theirs.  


Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark.
Rabindranath Tagore

Friday, January 20, 2012

Penguins are amazing!


Feelings of worth can flourish only in an atmosphere where individual differences are appreciated, mistakes are tolerated, communication is open, and rules are flexible - the kind of atmosphere that is found in a nurturing family.
Virginia Satir

 






I believe that we are here for each other, not against each other. Everything comes from an understanding that you are a gift in my life - whoever you are, whatever our differences.
John Denver


The Things I See


“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” – Jawaharial Nehru

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

For the Beauty of the Sky


I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in.
 ~George Washington Carver


Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. ~John Muir


God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars. ~Author unknown, commonly attributed to Martin Luther

For the Beauty of the Earth


The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all our lives.
Albert Einstein



It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.
Maya Angelou


How strange that Nature does not knock, 
and yet does not intrude!
 ~Emily Dickinson, letter to Mrs. J.S. Cooper, 1880

Monday, January 16, 2012

Sunset

Sometimes, you just get a blessing.  
This was mine.  
Isn't it beautiful?


Softly the evening came. The sun from the western horizon
Like a magician extended his golden wand o'er the landscape;
Twinkling vapors arose; and sky and water and forest
Seemed all on fire at the touch, and melted and mingled together.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Desert in White


"Your mind cannot possibly understand God. 
Your heart already knows."   Emmanuel


As a matter of fact, an ordinary desert supports a much greater variety of plants than does either a forest or a prairie.
Ellsworth Huntington



Too much good fortune can make you smug and unaware. Happiness should be like an oasis, the greener for the desert that surrounds it.
Rachel Field

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Hair Do's

We had to have a day for girls!  This consisted of painting fingernails, and braiding hair.  
Oh, the things we do for beauty!





I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles.

Audrey Hepburn

Friday, January 13, 2012

The Reading Place

My Grand-daughters received a reading nook for Christmas.  It was amazing!!  They (of course) loved it!


“He that loves a book will never want a faithful friend, a wholesome counselor, a cheerful companion, an effectual comforter. By study, by reading, by thinking, one may innocently divert and pleasantly entertain himself, as in all weathers, as in all fortunes.” 
- Barrow



“The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” 
- Dr. Seuss, "I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!"

Thursday, January 12, 2012

I got Shoes!!

I totally loved this moment.  I have never seen a young lady so excited about a pair of shoes.  These by far were the most favorite present.  She loved them and wore them everywhere.  


“I never wear flats. My shoes are so high that sometimes when I step out of them, people look around in confusion and ask, "Where'd she go?" and I have to say, "I'm down here.” 
― Marian Keyes


“For women, shoes are the most important. Good shoes take you good places.” 
― Seo Min Hyun