April 30, 2010 Reflections on my yard

The weather this week has been wonderful. Cool mornings and warm, pleasant afternoons are beautiful reminders that God is in His heaven and all is right with the world. So I took pictures of all the things I like in my yard. The pine tree that has not succumbed to the tornado winds that have buffeted it in the 40 years it has been here. The brick path has been here that long, too. The other trees were probably here before that. I love watching the things in my change with the seasons; it does remind me that there is a time for everything.

April 29, 2010 Sweet Sights

I saw these lovely Gerbera daisies as I waited in line at the TCBY on McFarland Blvd. on Thursday afternoon after I got home from work. I wanted a chocolate waffle cone, but had to settle for strawberry since they were out of chocolate. Even so, this little treat of seeing the flowers and licking my strawberry cone made me a happy camper, black boot and all.

April 28, 2010 Looking Up

These trees are all around my house. I really appreciate them when I visit other people who live in newer subdivisions where all the trees are shorter than me. It is amazing to watch these trees go from stark, bleak branches in the winter to green beings with leafy arms in the spring. It usually takes just one good warm week and a good rain and then BOOM, here comes the green. So here is a picture of my perspective as I looked up at the trees in my yard.

April 27, 2010 Up Close Clover

I took this picture to get the image of the clover flowers. I used to sit in my grandmothers' yards and pick those flowers, carefully split the stems but not all the way, and string them together into rings for crowns, necklaces, and bracelets. I loved playing pretend with my cousins and siblings during summers at my grandparents' houses. I wonder. . . do kids do this anymore? I hope so. I think I need to teach this skill to Hallie Grace.

April 26, 2010 Sundown

Sundown, ya better take care. . . with props to Gordon Lightfoot. This picture was taken in my yard at about 5:00 pm. I love daylight savings time! I also liked the way the sun looked in the picture through the spring green of the trees.

April 25, 2010 The smell of spring

Honeysuckle vines are blooming in our yard! I love their smell, not too overwhelming, and a bit sweet. This smell really reminds me of spring. Mmmmmm, ahhh, breathe it in!

April 24, 2010 Snowball Bush

We went to see Jenny and Grannie today in Rome, GA. We stayed at our usual place at the Hampton Inn. The entrance had a beautiful snowball bush or hydrangea in other parts of the country! I didn't have my camera so I had to take it with my Blackberry, so the quality isn't very good.

April 23, 2010 Repetition

Today's Daily Shoot was to find repetition. I took a picture on the porch of Bibb Graves as I was waiting on my buddies to pick me up for lunch. The repetition of the bricks in an interesting pattern were begging to be shot, so I did.

April 22, 2010 Photo that shows new life

Here is a picture of a very interesting tree on the UWA campus near Bibb Graves Hall. It looks like snow or icicles hanging from the branches. I took the picture one day after lunch when I was hobbling back into the building.

April 21, 2010 Missing in Action

This is actually yesterday's daily shoot challenge. It was to take a picture of something that was missing so I took a picture of my desk in my office without my computer or printer. They were moved out into our office reception area so I could get up to the desk in a wheelchair because my office is too small to get the wheelchair in it. So here is my messy desk without the computer.

April 20, 2010 UWA Keychain

This is my lucky UWA keychain. I bought it last year in the spring after I was given the chance to teach summer school and to work the BEST program. I carried it last spring and all summer even to my interview. And, apparently it works! I got the job and am now a full-fledged member of the UWA family. And that is what make my life and job so good right now!

April 19, 2010 Metal Monday

Here is my inspired collage from the Metal Monday daily shoot challenge. All of these metallic things were in or on my desk at work. So we have the copper pennies, the silver paper clips, and the brass keys.

April 16, 2010 LHS

I had to borrow this picture from the Sumter County Schools web page, but I was at Livingston High School delivering professional development about how to create independent readers and how to encourage ongoing vocabulary development all day on Friday.

April 15, 2010 Gin Phillips at the Black Belt Symposium

Today was the beginning of the Sucarnochee Folk Festival in Livingston and I attended the luncheon for the Black Belt Symposium to hear Gin Phillips talk about her book, The Well and the Mine, and to hear her give advice to writers. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Ms. Phillips and am eager to get a copy of her book. She read several selections from it and I was enthralled with the way she recreated the atmosphere of 1930s Carbon Hill, Alabama. So here is a picture of her reading to us.

April 14, 2010 Night

So tonight I drove Gus to the grocery store and was left in the truck with my camera. I am so glad that Gus has always reminded me to have my camera with me at all times because you can't take the picture if you have no camera. Here is the picture from that adventure.

April 13, 2010 Bibb Graves-A new angle

Today's picture was taken as I was balancing on one leg and had the camera on the car door. Lee had gone inside to get the wheelchair for me and I just thought the light on the front of Bibb Graves was beautiful. I had to go with the odd angle because I couldn't let go of the car to straighten the camera, but I think the angle works, too.

April 12, 2010 Morning light

This was the way the trees looked this morning when Gus and I were getting ready to head to Livingston for a professional development session. The sun was just coming up (it was way earlier than I usually go to Livingston) and it hit the trees in a cool way.

April 11, 2010 A twist on the Daily Shoot

The daily shoot challenge today was to take a picture of a bird. Now you would think that since my chair where I spend most of my time at home is beside a 5 x 8 picture window that I could snap a picture of the birds that are outside. I tried and failed at this. So, I chose to go for a winged creature instead of a bird. This big ol' Luna Moth settled on the window by my elbow and ever so carefully did I get the camera and turn off the flash to get this picture. Not as cool as a picture of a bird, but it has its merits.

April 10, 2010 The gray gravel drive

While not exactly the yellow brick road, our driveway has become for me the path out into the world again. I can drive, yes, but when I get somewhere, I can't get out of the car without help. And, oh yeah, can I ride, and then I can usually get out of the car by myself. Just getting out of the house and going back to work, to the store, to dinner, or even to the laundry has made me a happy camper.

April 9, 2010 Handicapped Parking--Whole New World

This is a shot of the handicapped parking place in front of our local Barnes and Noble where I can hobble up the ramp with my walker and my broken leg. It also happens to be right in front of the coffee shop. Gus and I have been in a couple of times and it is so nice to have a ramp to use. I never knew how important handicapped parking is to those who need it. I have noticed that there are some places that have them but don't have a ramp that is easy to use or that other parking places block. It's amazing what you notice when YOU are the one who needs the accommodations.

April 8, 2010 Awesome Azaleas

These azaleas bloom every spring in our driveway. Earlier this week Gus and I were wondering if they were going to bloom and by today, they had burst into awesome blossoms. They are a gorgeous way to welcome spring and April, too!

April 7, 2010 Wisteria Wow

We don't have many flowers blooming in our yard in particular, but we do live in a neighborhood with lots of trees and azaleas and other wonderful blooms. Here is some wisteria that is sort of in our yard and in our neighbor's yard. It lets me know SPRING has SPRUNG!

April 6, 2010 Blue

Not that I was blue on Tuesday,but here is a pic of the blue, blue sky. I was actually very happy because I went back to work and taught my classes. It was so great to be back at work this week.

April 5, 2010 HGH's House Tour

We celebrated Mom's birthday last night and Easter at Lindy's. I took the wheelchair so I was able to get around a bit better than my first visit to their new house. BUT while I could roll down the hall to see Luke's and Eli's room, I couldn't get upstairs to Hallie Grace's. Sooo I gave her my camera with refreshed batteries and asked her to give me the tour of upstairs, so she did. Here is the collage.

April 4, 2010 Easter at Canterbury

I got to go to church on Easter and was able to watch the big kids hide eggs for the little kids and take a few pics before my camera batteries were exhausted. (I am not kidding, that is what my camera said when it died!) So here is a great shot of Matteo in his blue seersucker jacket and pants.

April 3, 2010 Easter's Almost Here

I liked this display of Easter stuff at Barnes and Noble so I shot this picture. I remember lots of Easter Egg hunts from my childhood, but perhaps the most fun was when Lee was a sophomore at Alabama and Lindy and I were teaching. We went to church together at Canterbury and then took some spring pictures on the Quad and around campus. We probably had lunch together. Then, we went to our apartment where one of us hid eggs in the parking lot and sparse lawn for the other two. We had a great time despite the strange looks from neighbors. Great memory!

April 2, 2010 Fashion that I WON'T be wearing

Hello, I took today's Daily Shoot challenge about photographing something to do with fashion and had a little fun with it. I borrowed a copy of In Style April 2010 from the magazine shelves at my local Barnes and Noble and was photographing ads that appealed to me when I got the idea with help from Gus to take pictures of all the ridiculously high-heeled shoes that I will NEVER be wearing! So here is a collage of the shoes found in the magazine.

April 1, 2010 A favorite poster

This poster hangs in my office and though I haven't seen it in a long time, I am glad to know that it is there. It reminds me that my journey even with the broken leg is exactly where I am supposed to be.