Sunday Stills - Black and White with a Twist

Converting with a twist a color photo to black and white. Using my recent flowers and plant pictures I chosed one red rose turned black and white...



and one brown dead camilla turned twisted black and white.

Sunday Stills - Plants and Flowers

Sunday's challenge is Plants and Flowers. I visisted Descanso Gardens in the foothills of California with a friend of mine. She's teaching me how to use my camera. We spent a good five hours on a really nice, cool California Saturday.















You can participate in Sunday Stills here.

My Interpretation of Springsteen's Thunder Road

This morning I was driving to work like I do Tuesday thru Friday. As always I have music on and I sing along to the sounds of music and traffic. Bruce Springsteen's Thunder Road came on. A song I've sung since it was first release. This song was the national anthem of it's time. As I sung along with the song I seem to digest them differently this morning.

"The screen door slams
Mary's dress waves
Like a vision she dances across the porch
As the radio plays
Roy Orbison singing for the lonely
Hey that's me and I want you only
Don't turn me home again
I just can't face myself alone again
Don't run back inside
darling you know just what I'm here for
So you're scared and you're thinking
That maybe we ain't that young anymore
Show a little faith, there's magic in the night
You ain't a beauty, but hey you're alright
Oh and that's alright with me"

"Except roll down the window
And let the wind blow back your hair
Well the night's busting open
These two lanes will take us anywhere
We got one last chance to make it real
To trade in these wings on some wheels
Climb in back Heaven's waiting DOWN ON the tracks"

Well I got this guitar
And I learned how to make it talk
And my car's out back
If you're ready to take that long walk
From your front porch to my front seat
The door's open but the ride it ain't free
And I know you're lonely
For words that I ain't spoken
But tonight we'll be free
All the promises'll be broken
There were ghosts in the eyes Of all the boys you sent away
They haunt this dusty beach road In the skeleton frames of burned out Chevrolets

They scream your name at night in the street
Your graduation gown lies in rags at their feet
And in the lonely cool before dawn
You hear their engines roaring on
But when you get to the porch they're gone
On the wind, so Mary climb in
It's a town full of losers
And I'm pulling out of here to win"

After the song was over I asked myself, "What does that song mean to me?"

I came up with one word--Certainty. I believe that this is a song of Certainty. Certainty of knowing that what lies down that road is the thing that will make your dreams come true. That's why this song touched so many young kids at the time, and still does. It captured the wildness that stirred in your heart and it gave it a song that explained everything you yearned for when you were young.

It made me think of my youth; my dreams and the passions that I had when I was young, and it made me sad now, not finding myself standing before an unknown road and just wanting to chase the dreams I want to come true.

Sunday Stills - Religion

I've always loved wandering thru an old cemetery so this week's challenge is right up my alley -- or shall I say gravestone.
These were taken at a Catholic Cemetery called Evergreen in Los Angeles







These pictures were taken at a yearly event called "Day of the Dead" which takes place on November 1st -- or All Soul's Day. All Soul's Day is celebrated amongst the Catholic people and it's a ceremony where the living honor those who have passed away.

First Try at Sunday Stills

Okay this is my first try at Sunday Stills
You can join all of us every Sunday and take on the challenge!

I found Red at the local Target Store.

Reflections of Tee - April 6, 2009

A California Sunday Day

Saturday Morning - March 21, 2009

I spent some time on Saturday practicing with my new camera. My faithful pups are always around me thus, they are my test subjects.

Talker is always watching and waiting. He runs around the yard and will suddenly stop and stare at a bird in the feeder or listen to a rustle in the tree.


Savannah is a watcher who is constantly in a state of contemplative thought.


Talker's Nose


A touch of spring in my backyard.


Savannah's Tail

Where Have I Been?

:) in case anyone is asking...I've been busy at work and it's kept me away from here.

Hubby and I just got back from visiting friends from Prescott and that was a wonderful get away. We thoroughly enjoyed their company and just getting away from California was much needed. Rough spots? We traveled on a 12 seater plane and I can't handle a jumpy flight. Yuck.

I got a new camera. It's a Rebel and I'm trying to learn how to use it. I took it to Prescott and kept it on automatic just to be safe. We attended a Dodgers Spring Training game and have about 200 pictures of baseball player's backs. My husband is a big Dodger fan and apparently shots of their backs is still a thrill.

Anyhoo..I hope to start posting some new pictures and getting some writing in real soon. As once said, "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans".

Savannah's 6th Birthday

Today my precious Savannah turns 6 year old. We had her since she was 7 months old. We were looking for a playmate for Talker and for someone to keep him company. I wanted another basenji but my husband was afraid we'd have to go through all the trouble we had with Talker all over again. Another basenji was not on his list. One afternoon we were having a basenji play date and my friend brought her female basenji and her new male. He was 6 months old. She told me that Talker's sister had Taj and there was one female that was available. Seeing Talker and Taj play was so adorable that it just pulled on my husbands heartstrings and he said, "go get our girl".

My step son Quinn and I traveled back to Joshua Tree to meet the little girl. She was so cute and she wiggled and ran around giving us her silent greeting. We brought her home and Savannah slept on Quinn's lap all the way home.

When my husband came home from work that afternoon, Savannah was sooo scared of him that seeing her run from him broke my heart as well as his. He thought she would never trust him. But she did.

Savannah is only about 15 inches high. She's small in size but her presence is always known in the house. She watches everything. She has her favorite spots on the couch. She's quiet in her studies of what goes on around her.

My biggest fear about bringing her home was that I would not have enough love inside of me to spare for her. I love Talker so much that I thought that I would never be able to share some of that love with her. My biggest discovery is that I do have more than enough love to give her.

I love our moments together and I study her just as much as she studies me. There is a song that I always hear in my head when I watch Savannah and it's by Keith Whitley called "When You Say Nothing at All"

"It's amazing how you can speak right to my heart
Without saying a word you can light up the dark
Try as I may I could never explain
What I hear when you don't say a thing

The smile on your face
Lets me know that you need me
There's a truth in your eyes
Saying you'll never leave me
The touch of your hand
Says you'll catch me if ever I fall
You say it best
When you say nothing at all"

She gives me joy when she wakes up in the morning. She makes me laugh how she can snore with her eyes open. She makes me love her so much for making my husband so happy when he sees her at the door doing her little wiggle butt dance. She is our pleasure and she is my precious little girl. Savannah aka Banners (and a whole list of nicknames my husband has given her) Happy Birthday my little Sunshine.

Will 2009 Be a Happy New Year?

Well it's 2009 and time to set our goals and break our resolutions. Will 2009 turn out to be a happy new year? I hope so.

My resolution: I'm going to really, really set my mind on getting myself healthy and in shape. I have the BIG 50 staring me right in the face. In six months I'll turn 50 and I'm setting that number as my target goal to get in shape. That's the number 1 resolution. Resolution No. 2 is to be a good wife and partner to my husband. I'm going to become a better listerner. I'm going to be, as Dr. Laura always says, be your husband's girlfriend. I'm also going to take care of him more than I do now--which is not much. We're both setting our minds to getting in shape so we'll work together on that resolution.

Resolution No. 3 - No drinking until my birthday week. That's part of the getting in shape, but it's also just a personal goal of mine. Hubby and I spend too much time going out and spending money drinking and I really want stop throwing money and time away. I'm going to have to be more creative with friends who want to meet us for a drink and offer up some other suggestions. That might be difficult with them, but I can at least start with my husband and we can find other things to do on Sunday afternoon. He's a real sports fan so having beers and watching the games with others is what he likes to do. This might be difficult to change but I'll try. At least if I'm with him I'm not going to drink. I'll just read my book and have a diet coke.

Resolution No. 4 - Get a hobby. I already make candles which I enjoy but I want to do something else. Now that I'm reading other people's blogs, I'm really enjoying everyone's photographs and I want to do something more with the camera. If I can I'm going to see about upgrading my camera to an SLR. Maybe I can find a good deal on Ebay.

Resolution No. 5 - I want to also donate some of my time and do volunteer work.

Resolution No. 6 - Drive the speed limit. I'm always driving too fast on the freeway; especially in the morning. I'm going to get up earlier and drive slower.

Well that's what I have so far. I'll add more as I go.