Part of Old Pasadena

I took this photograph in Pasadena, CA, early in the morning at the Pasadena City Hall. There is also a beautiful church right next door. This is really a composite of two photographs. I am very happy with the results. Using Photoshop really enhanced this photo. I have been watching a lot of my lynda.com videos on creativity in your photography. I have seen some things I wanted to try here and they seemed to work!

A beautiful part of Pasadena…

I was born in Pasadena and my family lived there for many years. If it were not hot and smoggy there, Willie and I would probably live there now! But we are very happy where we are. Pasadena is a beautiful city and holds many great memories for me. Willie was even going to school at PCC (Pasadena City College) when we met! Well, this concludes another month of photos on my quest for 365. Please stay tuned for more!

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Do You Have a Junk Drawer?

Well, you can’t say this isn’t different!  Do you have a junk drawer? This is ours, and, as you can tell, it has not been cleaned out for a long, long time. I am afraid to put my hands in there! You can see a lot of the places we have been, and items we horde. Need a plate hanger or a popsicle stick? How about some shoelaces or an old cereal coupon? It is all right here taking up precious space in our kitchen!

Anything you need…?

What does your junk drawer look like? I bet it doesn’t look like ours. It is another beautiful day here in Huntington Beach. Check out the HB Web Cam and you can see how great it is! We are going to dinner at some friends Saturday night. Carol is going to let me know how the dog training is going. They got a trainer for their border terrier Ali. I am looking forward to the evening. Also, one of my classes begins Saturday morning. I am hoping we will be able to see Larry and Shelley this week-end. Until tomorrow…

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Morning Shadows

While feeding Kyla and Donnan this morning, I was looking around the patio. There I saw, what I thought, were some great shadows created by the patio furniture. I went into the house and got my camera. Both dogs were very interested in what I was doing and wanted their picture taken also. I am happy with the outcome of this photograph. I like the shadows (of course) and the few leaves that blew onto the patio.

A sunny morning on the patio…

The weather is warm and windy today. It seems like it changes from day to day. This has been a very odd winter so far.  We watched Mamma Mia! the other night. Neither of us liked it. It did have location going for it, which was gorgeous, but that is the only thing. Willie took us out for a seafood dinner last night. It was delicious and we had a very nice evening. What will I photograph today and where will I be?

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A Find at the Junk Yard

There are times when I like to look for “different” kinds of things to photograph. I think this qualifies as one of those photographs. It is an old wooden box full of starters from all kinds of automobiles (mostly foreign). Does it look like a fine art photograph to you? Now that I am feeling better, I will be out there doing more photographing of new and exciting things. I have a good array of photos this month, but next month will be better.

A greasy old box of engine parts…

My post is late today because I was out in Riverside. I met my friend who lives in Palm Springs and we had a great two hours together.  We talked and laughed and did a lot of catching up.  Willie is a little annoyed at me because I didn’t take one picture while there. I was supposed to get the waitress to take our picture but I forgot. He said that is “really great for one good photographer.” Oh, well – it is difficult to keep everyone happy all of the time!

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Bali Quilting Fabrics

I have been thinking a lot about my quilting recently. I have a cupboard in the garage where I keep all of my supplies. I was out there yesterday digging around and came across these beautiful bali fabrics.  I have a complete rainbow, more than I show here. It really makes me want to get back to quilting. Like most quilters, I have several projects started that I need to get back to. Where do I start?

Beautiful bali fabrics…

It was a beautiful day yesterday and it is starting out great today. I am finally feeling better and looking forward to seeing Cheryl tomorrow. I am really looking forward to school starting next week. I have enjoyed my time off and of course, I wish I had accomplished more. My life needs to become better organized. So I can work, due my photography, quilting, school, etc. I think a housekeeper/maid would help! Sounds good to me!

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Watching Over Someone Special

Willie and I decided to get out of the house and take some photographs. We ended up at a cemetery, of all places, and walked around some. I came across this sculpture looking over a grave and thought it was very pretty. It came out very nicely and I hope you like it too. It was on a young child’s grave. The lady is looking over the child protecting and taking care of it. I hope the family sees the photograph and likes it.

A beautiful guardian to watch over me…

Again, it is a photo of someone else’s artwork, but I like it and wanted to share it. I will work on getting more creative. I finally felt a little better yesterday so that was good. I am meeting an old friend on Wednesday for lunch and I am looking forward to it very much. We first met in the third grade and she stood up for me at my wedding. It will be wonderful to spend time with her and catch up. Nothing else new today – look for a new photograph from me tomorrow.

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“The Scream” by Edvard Munch

I will begin this post with a disclaimer: I had nothing to do with the creation of this image. I have a copy of this poster hanging in my computer room. I bought it to represent my frustration working in that room. I love it! Well, I chose to photograph this part of it to express how I felt in the middle of the night. My stomach was hurting so much and it felt like it was on fire! Nothing was working! I finally took a pain pill and was able to go to sleep. I guess I should go to the doctor.

This is me last night…

The sun is out and it is a beautiful day today. Because of that pill I took I slept rather late this Sunday morning. Willie took care of the dogs and let me sleep. He is so wonderful and I love him so! There is one more week until school starts. Next Saturday morning, and for five more, I am taking a class on travel photography. Then the following week my two other classes start. I will be busy, but I like it that way! Until tomorrow…

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A Lot of Rain Clouds

It rained most of the day yesterday. It was not a hard, torrential rain but just a steady rain most of the day. The sun finally poked through as it was starting to go down in the western sky. I went outside to see what was going on and took this photograph. The sun is peeking through a cloud and creating quite a silhouette with the houses and trees in the area. Not long after I took this photo, I was in the backyard with the dogs and the sky was very pink and blue with white fluffy clouds.  It is hard to believe that it could change so fast. It looks ominous here and than it all changes to cotton candy!

An ominous dark sky…

I do not think it is supposed to rain today – at least not yet.  I am hoping we can take the dogs to the park. I got a new book I ordered from Amazon. It is called Art & Design in Photoshop by Steve Caplin. When I went to school we were taught that you underline book titles – now they are italicized. Anyway, it deals a lot with design and typography which is important. I have not tried any of the exercises yet, but I have gone through the book and it looks good. I just use Photoshop for my photography but this delves more into graphic design without using Illustrator. There is so much to be learned and so little time…

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In My Backyard

I guess the month would not be complete without a photo of something from my backyard here in Huntington Beach. I have been watching this plant and waiting for some flowers to bloom so I could take a photograph of it. They look like little orange bells dangling and they are so very pretty. I asked Willie where the plant came from and he said he grew it from a small clipping he “found” somewhere. It has grown quite tall. I wonder what it is that it would bloom this time of year?

Pretty little bells…

We woke up to rain this morning. The weather changes so fast around here! It looks like there could be some new snow up in the mountains by this week-end too. It feels like a day to stay in and maybe do some cooking. There is a chocolate cake recipe I have been wanting to try and also a split pea soup recipe. This will only happen if I have all of the ingredients! If anyone out there knows that this succulent is, please let me know!

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No Apricot-Pineapple in Sight

The main reason we went to Knott’s Berry Farm a few weeks ago was to get some jam and meat relish. Well, we now have no more reason to ever go there again. They no longer carry, thanks to Con Agra, the meat relish or apricot-pineapple jam. I was so unhappy and disappointed! All these jars of preserves and no apricot-pineapple in sight! Such a minor thing, but it is something I have liked since my childhood – a long time ago.

Rows and rows of preserves…

My stomach is still bothering me and I was unable to go anywhere yesterday. Hopefully I will be able to go out today and do some photography. It was fun taking the photos at Knott’s Berry Farm and Willie and I had a good time walking around. But, I always have a good time when I am with Willie. It looks like Carol and Bill have found a trainer for their dogs. I am anxious to hear how it goes. I am still looking so we are not ready to begin. I will wait to see what this trainer does for them. I guess that is it for now.  Until tomorrow…

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A Rose of Fuchsia Color

I could not let a month of photographs go by without a gorgeous rose. There are not a lot of roses in our front yard now, but this one was smart enough to bloom. My stomach was bothering me alot yesterday so I did not go to the park with Willie and the dogs. I decided to stay close to home to take my photograph for today. I love the colors.

Fuchsia is a beautiful color for a rose…

It is kind of a dreary day today. We may get some rain by tomorrow. It is a sad day because my mother died one year ago. I wanted to go to the cemetary today but I don’t know why – she is not there. I can visit and speak with her anywhere. Not a day goes by that I do not think of her or speak to her. The last four years of her life we communicated on a daily basis and she became very dependent on me. I still miss her and love her very much. Hopefully my stomach will feel better tomorrow and it will be a better day.

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Surf City Winter Sunset

It is winter here in Surf City, alias Huntington Beach, but you would hardly know it by all the people at the beach. I was able to get this very late afternoon shot without anyone in it. The sun glowing on the water is so pretty. It looks very silvery. Notice the rock on the sand that has the sun reflecting on it. There were many sea gulls flying around, but none of them made it into my photograph. I like the photo and I hope you do also.

Silvery, reflective sunset on the beach…

It is fun going down to the ocean. It always looks so different from one day to another, but it is always intimidating to me. I am not a water person – it frightens me.  I am fully recovered from my birthday celebration and my special dinner Willie made for us. I have a few appointments today and then I will be back home. I want to take Donnan to the park for a walk. I hope Willie and Kyla will go with us. My week has been from the mountain snow to the desert to the beach – what a life!

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One Last Look at Las Vegas

I took this photo in downtown Las Vegas.  It is a fun place to be! It is called The Fremont Street Experience - a very popular place to be on any night. I really like seeing the older casinos there, especially the Golden Nugget. If you have never been to Las Vegas, it is quite an experience. You do not have to gamble or go to see shows to have a good time. There is so much to do!

The lady of Glitter Gulch…

Sunday was my birthday and it was a nice day. Very warm here in Huntington Beach. I just relaxed and didn’t do much. Larry came by in the morning. We finally got to see the photos from Scotland. They were very good and oh so beautiful. What a great trip they had! Willie fixed us dinner last night – it was delicious. We had steak, baked potato, sauteed mushrooms and an ice cream sandwich for dessert. What more could I have asked for?

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On the Road Again!

Here we are on our way home from Las Vegas. The desert was beautiful today and I hope you can see a little of the beauty that we saw.  I particularly liked this photograph because of the range of colors staggered in the mountains. The shadows create a lot of texture on the mountains. We are driving south on Interstate 15 just north of Barstow. The temperature was in the low 70’s and it was so clear but the sun felt very hot shining down. These are the actual colors – no Photoshop!

The California desert…

Don’t I have a wonderful son and daughter-in-law to have given me this great birthday present? It was so very thoughtful and I will remember it forever! Willie did a good job taking care of the dogs while I was gone. Everyone was very happy to see me come home, even though I was only gone a little over 24 hours! I am very tired. Larry and I were up ’till 3:00 in the morning and then we had to get up and get ready to check out by 11:00. He did all of the driving so that was great too! Well, what will I do next? Check back and find out!

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Welcome to Las Vegas!

What a night we had! I took this photo through the window in  the hotel room at the Tropicana Hotel. You can see the front tower of the Tropicana, New York New York Hotel and its roller coaster, part of the Monte Carlo and the MGM Grand Hotel. Isn’t the sky beautiful? There is also an airplane in the sky. It is all so colorful! Barry Manilow was absolutely fabulous! It was such a great show and Larry really enjoyed it too. The rest of the evening was great. We did a lot of talking, bonding and some drinking!

Fabulous Las Vegas…!

Sorry my post is late.  It is now Saturday evening and I was unable to use my computer on the trip to post this photo. The weather was very nice. Last week-end the mountains, this week-end the desert, now the beach! What kind of life is this? If you are at all a Barry Manilow fan and have a chance to see him in person, go for it! You will not be disappointed! I was dancing, jumping and waving my glow stick!

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A Little Rat Terrier

Let me introduce a cute little rat terrier I photographed named Trigger. I took a lot of photos of him at Central Park and had a lot of fun rolling on the ground trying to keep up with him. He is a little guy with a lot of energy! He lives with a very nice family including a little 4 year old girl who is just as active and has as much energy as him! It was a fun afternoon. I don’t know how I was lucky enough to get this photo with him sitting still and looking right at me!

Isn’t he a little cutey…?

This afternoon begins my special week-end.  It is my birthday on Sunday and Larry is taking me to Las Vegas to see Barry Manilow! It will just be the two of us and it was all his idea. Isn’t he the best son ever? It is a four hour drive and the show is at 8:00 P.M. We will come home on Saturday afternoon. Willie and I used to go once or twice a year, but it has been about four years since we last went to Las Vegas. My next post may be late so please don’t hold it against me!

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