Aspirations

Hello. Happy Flowers, Hearts, & Candy Day. I hope you have had a beautiful day - with or without a sweetheart.

As I mentioned yesterday I spent much of the weekend studying. Today a friend suggested that I take time to do things that are fun & relaxing. I decided to take her advice. I went out with my camera for a while… I posted a couple of the pictures on Andiamo so I won’t repeat them here but I did take another one I thought I would share. It seems kind of cool for the day….

And then there's another photo of the tulip I posted on Andiamo....

But what I really loved doing today was visiting some AMAZING blogs...

My friend, Bonnie has added some beautiful flower and architecture shots since I last raved about her blog here. If you've not visited Bonnie's blog lately you should definitely go back...

Another friend, Mindy, has inspired me greatly as well. Mindy's blog features a lot of the things I love so much... architectural details (especially churches), doors, and flowers.

Today I was reading some of the comments left on Mindy's blog and one of the comments led me to a brand new-to-me favorite. The photography on Pearls & Prose looks like it should grace the pages or covers of magazines. Seriously. Some of the photos were so beautiful they made me want to cry! Lovely colors and simple compositions just wowed me. (Can you tell I was excited to find this new blog? :)

As fantastic as these finds are, I can't wait to see what other blogs I've been missing. If you have blogs that just wow you, would you please tell me about them so that I can follow them too?

Thanks again for visiting. I hope you enjoy the blogs extraordinaire that I've mentioned and that you will come back here and visit again soon.

In my little town...

Hello again,

Yesterday was my first tv-free day. I had plans to attend a Dinner & Hearthscares meet-up with some ladies last night so I decided since I was going to be downtown anyway, I'd just go early and visit the library - get some books to entertain me in place of television.

By now you've probably discovered that I go NOWHERE without my camera and yesterday was certainly no exception. I started off at the James White Fort where the Hearthscares tour would begin. I wanted to purchase my ticket early to save headaches later. The woman @ JWF kindly agreed I could leave my car there for the afternoon. The fort is only about 4 blocks from the eastern edges of downtown Knoxville. It was a beautiful day. So I set off on foot. Here are a few of the things I saw...

In all honesty, I am not sure what this building is used for. It wasn't here when I lived in Knoxville before. I've heard that it's where they hold federal court. And just like my friend Bonnie, I love towers. I think I took pictures of this one from every possible angle and was trying to figure out how to get on some rooftops to capture more.
Rooftops of garages are a good spot for getting skyline views and that is where this photo came from.

You know you're in a sports-loving town when they put basketballs on the roofs. This is the Basketball Hall of Fame. I guess you have to love basketball to want to go there. I don't.

I liked the colors and contrast in this picture. Plus it gives you an idea of the hills. I learned to drive a stick-shift on these roads. Now you understand why I say 'if I can learn to drive a stick-shift, I can do anything'?

This window is so much prettier than the picture shows - I just couldn't get a good angle. I was in a courtyard of the church. There's a courtyard labyrinth there that is open to the public. Have you visited a labyrinth? If not, please find one near you (labyrinthlocator.com) and go - walking a labyrinth is so peaceful.

I love the colors of fall in East Tennessee. Being a city of hills makes photography fun too. These trees are in a parking lot. I love being under the limbs and taking pictures upward. Until I started doing this I had never noticed how the outer leaves change colors while the inner leaves remain green. Interesting how nature works, isn't it?

I have other pictures I'll share at another time but just wanted to spend a few minutes with you - sharing my yesterday. I hope your week went well and that your rapidly approaching weekend will hold lots of fun time doing things you love. I want to hear about your life. Please drop me a line or leave me a comment.

Travel by Proxy (Travelin' Thursday)

Happy Thursday everyone. How's your week going? Is it hot where you are? It's been miserable here, but I guess we have no right to complain since it is August and this is the first really hot spell we have had. It makes me even more grateful for air conditioning though. It also makes me long for a nice cool spot...like Alaska!

I've never been to Alaska but recently Barb's friend Patrick shared some pictures from there (sent to him from a co-worker). I don't know the co-worker's name yet, but I hope to get it so that I can give him/her proper credit. I asked permission & luckily the author of these photos has agreed we can share his/her trip - these pictures are so fantastic I'm living vicariously here! The author's titles were so clever I put them in quotes.

So...to Alaska...

"Triplets"

Barb and I were wondering what brand of bear this is.

Any ideas? Kodiak or Grizzly or...? Whatever it is - I love this family photograph.

"If it itches"

Mama bear giving her cub some expert advice

"Damn bugs"

I've heard the mosquitoes are terrible in Alaska - do mosquitoes bite bears?

Talk about a David & Goliath meeting - LOL

"Checking us out"

Bears have a terrific sense of smell so I bet it's hard to sneak up on a bear.

I would love to know how far away the photographer was and what the zoom was on the camera when these bear photos were taken.

"Beach Baby"

I guess someone felt like having a bit of seafood - or maybe he just wanted to play in the water?

"Wolf Fish"

Uh oh, I don't think this is what the fish had in mind when the wolf invited him to lunch. I know it's all part of the food chain but I still feel bad for the fish. Nevertheless, the picture is spectacular!

"Ya All Invited to Lunch"

I'm not sure who has the most patience for this one - the bear catching his lunch or the photographer catching the pictures. Either way, I think it was worth the wait...

"Come On In"

Back in the old days when cameras used film, photographers said you sometimes had to shoot an entire roll to get one good picture. Although I don't know for sure, I am assuming the photographer is usaing a digital. I would like to know how many shots she/he had to take to get this one. I love it!

Ahhh - I feel like I've been on vacation. And like all good vacations, it left me wanting more! I hope you guys loved the pictures as much as I did. Thanks bunches to the photographer - I felt like I was right there! (Thanks too to Barb & Patrick for getting these pictures to me!)

On to dream of my next vacation....

Dolly & my camera case

Maybe she's dreaming of a fun vacation. Or maybe wishing she were the bear or the wolf catching the fish!!!

Any other guesses what she might be dreaming?

Whatever you're doing - I hope you are able to stay cool. Do you have any clever ways of staying cool or are you like me and just hunker down in an air-conditioned house until the heat passes?

Thanks for stopping by to visit!

Morning musings

I'm so excited! Tomorrow I'm driving to Cincinnati to see my friend Bonnie! I met Bonnie a few years ago at a concert and we've kept in touch via email and myspace. Since that first concert, we've only gotten together a couple of times...the most recent being two years ago in New York City. We're having a slumber party tomorrow night. Slumber parties are as much fun for me now as they were when I was 10! I'll spend Sunday with Bonnie (and hopefully get to see her husband, Rob, and daughter, Macy) before driving on to Knoxville.

It's been a good week. I received a letter from Journey. Her letters are like treasure chests arriving through the mail. She sent me an Artful Blogging magazine, which I'm enjoying tremendously. I'm rationing out the articles, allowing myself only one at a time in order to savor the joy. Journey encourages me to "mine the vein of creativity." I'm trying! What forms of creativity flow through your life? Reading other people's blogs, I'm amazed at the talent that is out there! How lucky we are to live in a time of such technological advances that we're able to see the works of others by the click of a mouse!

Since I'm going to be away from my fur-babies for several days, I've been loading up on pictures of their sweet little faces.

One of Tyler's favorite spots is on the daybed in our guest room. The room gets lots of morning sun and he's content to nap there for hours. Lately he and Toby have been sharing the space! Cats are such nap masters!

Finally a picture of Lacey showing her standing! Doesn't she look like she's wearing boots and walking on her tiptoes? Our vet tech, Rachel, calls Lacey "the ballerina"

Dolly isn't the least bit shy! Just like her namesake, she's lively and bold! (and full-figured LOL)

A moment of silliness...I'm generally only comfortable from the other side of the camera but I decided to take this shot sans make-up and all! Maybe some of Dolly's boldness is rubbing off on me!

Photography is a hobby that I have loved for years but had fallen out of the habit of taking pictures, mainly because I was using a film camera and it just wasn't convenient. Since buying my Olympus digital in October I've rediscovered how much fun it can be to take pictures! I know several of you are saying "I told you so" right about now! You're right!

I do want to begin exploring some other avenues of creativity. I'd love to hear about your's. Please share!