It's been a busy week and I'm way behind . .

It's been a very busy week both at work and at home. I did play with some pictures this week but didn't get time to post them until tonight. Last night we made our weekly trip to Menard's to take advantage of items on sale for the Garage/Studio project. Last night we placed the order for the interior doors and flooring for the studio and a countertop for the changing room vanity. The weather is finally starting to improve a little so we can try to get out to start clearing and marking off the corners for the building. If we are lucky this weekend we will get some air in the Bobcat tire and get the battery charged so as soon as the ground dries out enough, I can start clearing the area. Yes, I drive a Bobcat skid steer loader. One of these days I want to drive my son's semi (without the trailer).

Below is just an assortment of some pictures taken in the last week, hope you enjoy them.

38 Weeks and Counting . . .

My daughter is about 38 weeks and counting so she and Matt came down for some more pictures while there was still time to get them. I wanted to get some with the big sisters in them but they were with their dad this weekend, maybe we'll get a chance next weekend. I can't wait to take some newborn pictures in a few weeks. Angie really didn't want her face to show but I posted one anyway. At least I didn't post the one with the REALLY goofy look on her face. (Sorry, Ang, Love ya)

Fire and Ice, Take 2

Last week I tried the fire and ice but wasn't very happy with the results. Today we had some more sloppy snow which results in plenty of icicles. I went out twice to "harvest" the crop to try this again, so here are the results. Not too bad but nothing spectacular either. With any luck, this will be the last of the icicles I see this winter. Come on spring!!!!

A wider crop of the same shot.

Funky Little Purple Thing

I was looking for something to take a picture of that would lighten the mood from yesterday's blog and spotted this funky little purple thing that is sort of a ball but it has an opening. When I first brought it home, my 12 year old grandson decided to put it on his head as a skull cap. You can imagine what that looked like. I have it stretched over a small basketball for the picture but it is extremely soft and stretchy. After the week I had at work I needed a goofy picture for the day to de-stress.

Someday, I'll pick up my brushes again . . .

It's been a very long time since I painted this picture for my best friend. One of these days when I find time, I'll pick up my brushes again. I think my problem is I want to do so many things that there is not enough time to fit them all in. You know that thing called WORK, it just keeps getting in my way and taking up all of my time.

The only reason I have this painting back is my friend suddenly died 2 years ago from a brain aneurysm at age 44. Both Tina and her husband Marty were very close friends for about 25 years (I used to work with both of them). I knew they were meant for each other before they did. Tragically about 6 months after Tina died, Marty was killed in a motorcycle accident. I think of them almost daily but they are together again. So now with this painting hanging in my hallway, I think of them with fond memories.

Prints, Plans and PERMIT

Yes, we finally have our building permit. We had been ordering some of the building materials as they went on sale to save as much as possible on the Garage/Studio project. Everything we had ordered to date could have been cancelled if the permit was not approved, that is, nothing that had to be special ordered. Now that we have the permit in hand, we placed the last large order with all of the special items, such as the 36 foot trusses at about $200 each. No turning back now, not that I would want to. LOL All I ask for is some decent weather in April and the help of a few friends.

Fire and Ice

I have wanted to try this for a while but it didn't turn out like I thought it might (or had hoped). I started saving icicles a few weeks ago and decided to try it tonight. Not much to say about it, maybe if we get more icicles, I'll try it again.

One Month to go . . . .

My daughter is at the 8 month point in her pregnancy and today (Saturday) was the Baby Shower hosted by the other Gamma (this is her first grandbaby) and my son-in-law's cousin. Check out the Diaper "cake" used for a centerpiece. I thought this was a really cute idea. Each diaper was rolled and held together by a pink and white bead bracelet for the guests to take home.

The theme for the nursery is "Baby Looney Toons" thus the design on the cake.

One of the party games was "Bobbing for Nipples" and the only person game to try this was the Daddy-to-be, my SIL Matt. If you can't tell, he's a huge Steeler's fan.

Here is my daughter, Angie, opening the gifts for the baby. She has 2 other daughters but the youngest is over 8 so she had gotten rid of all of her old baby stuff and is starting from scratch.

Just a footnote - I started this post last night, then was suddenly hit with some kind of stomach bug and here I am finishing it 24 hours later. I am feeling somewhat better, but not where I would like to be.

Rain, Rain Go Away

Come again another day. I know others are in the same boat as me right now (wishing we had a boat!). After a few 50-60° days, the snow melts, the ground is saturated, then we get hit with rain, rain and more rain today. Now the wind has kicked up. Fun, fun, fun. Here are pictures I took as I was leaving work. The first one is usually grass between my employer and the candy factory next door. The second one is our back parking lot with several inches of standing (and rising water). I called my husband before I left work and found out the sump pump had quit working and we had several inches of water under the house. So off to my favorite store (Menards for those who don't remember) to buy a new pump. It's plugged in and most of the water is gone now.

I was expecting my road to be flooded when I got home and I was close. The water runs from the field across the road in front of my neighbor's house and was half covering the road 3 hours ago. That spot and several others between my drive and the highway will probably be completely covered in the morning. Could be an interesting drive to work tomorrow. Maybe I need pontoons for my Jeep. I'd better get there a little early, I suspect parking places will be at a premium in the morning.

Antique Plate and Cup, circa early 1900's

The daily challenge in one of my other groups for today was "Antique" so I took a picture of a china plate and cup that is the only thing that my MIL had that belonged to her mother, Catherine. My MIL didn't have the chance to know her mother very well since she died when my MIL was about 10 years old. My husband was an only child and now both of his parents have passed so we have custody of the china pieces that sit front and center in my china hutch. The picture in the background is a copy of Catherine's Nursing graduation picture from somewhere in the 1930's (I think). The pieces are Takito China from somewhere around 1900.

I'm Ready for Spring

I didn't get a picture taken today so I pulled out one I took last summer. Our temperature was in the mid 50's today and tomorrow it's supposed to hit 60°. I am so ready for Spring. What do you say we forget what the groundhog said and start spring now. Anyone want to join me?

Trying Something New

As I sit at my computer, I look out the window and see a full moon looking back. Last night I tried several different lens to try to get a nice close-up of the moon but still don't have the results I am looking for. Tonight, I thought I would try something a little different - shooting through my telescope. To get any sort of clarity, I used the eyepiece with the widest view but when trying to align my P & S with the eyepiece, I would only get part of the moon. To get the picture below, it joined 4 different pictures and cloned the "seams" to make it a single picture. This is still not the photo I am looking for but since I took the time to shoot the pictures, join them, blend it and save it, I figured I might as well post it.

Playing with Shapes and Colors

Today I was playing with "Round" and threw color into the mix. In the first picture, I used a section of dryer vent with the light placed at the end then shot the picture through a blue filter. I did the same shot using a red filter which changed the mood from calm and inviting (like walking into the tunnel would be peaceful) to more like the "gates of hell" feeling so I'm not posting that one.


This next picture also working with "round" and color, I gathered up all of the different spray paint tops that I could find and tried a few variations. It's nothing special, I just liked this one the best.

It's That Time Again, Boogity, Boogity, Boogity, Let's go Racing......

I don't know whether any of you ladies are Nascar fans but the season officially starts tomorrow with the Bud Shootout. I love watching the races and rooting for Kasey Kahne. I just hope he has a better season than the last couple.


If I want this picture to post on 2/6/09, I'd better hit Publish and get to bed (in my Kasey Kahne jammy pants).

Still Playing with Studio Shots

While I still had my black background set up, I looked around for something else to shoot. This is a glass flower from my son's first wedding. The stem is hollow so a real flower can be placed inside the glass one. I took several (on my Flickr photostream) but only uploaded this one to the blog. I think this is my favorite crop.

I also played more with the Calla Lily pictures and cropped and adjusted this one to come up with a pretty good one, but that is just my opinion.

Inspired by Others

Inspired by a photo linked in one of my groups, I thought I would try a similar shot. So here a a couple I did this evening. C&C would be greatly appreciated.

Have you met Toby?

I don't think I have introduced you ladies to Toby. He is just one of the 10 collies we have. We have both the rough and smooth varieties and occasionally we breed a litter of puppies. Toby lives in the house with us. I guess the main reason for that is that he is white and if he lived out in the kennel he probably would not remain white for long.

Now living in the kennel is not too bad, we built a 24' x 30' building just for the dogs. It is heated in the winter and they have outside runs. We also let them out of the runs (for major exercise) where they have about 3 acres of fenced-in backyard to run in. When I said "we" built the kennel, I'm talking about my husband and myself doing the whole thing including floating the concrete. Here is shot while we were still under construction.

Now that we are in our mid to late 50's, we will be recruiting help in doing the garage/studio. Oh, I'll still be out there working, in fact, I will probably do 75% of the studio with my own bare hands, but I'm done floating concrete and won't be 20 feet in the air putting on roofing. I originally got into construction helping my Dad build a house when I was 16 and now I'm known as a "grandma with a toolbelt". What I haven't told you yet is the reason we need to add a garage. You see we already have a 2 car garage but there hasn't been a car in it for years since I took it over as my woodworking shop. This past summer, I added built-in cabinets and workbenches. If you are interested in checking out my shop or some of my projects, here is the link to my set on Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/indiana-shutterbug/sets/72157607221978695/

And The Process Begin . . . .

Last week when the construction lumber and steel siding were on sale, we placed an order at Menards for a delayed delivery in April. As items go on sale, we will add to the order. Tonight I started the paperwork for the building permits for the garage/studio. Later this week Dan will head for town to get our permits and we will officially be under way.

We Splurged a Little Yesterday

My husband has supported my photography since I jumped back in with both feet last year when I got my first DSLR. He is always wanting to find out what I need to be able to do the job right. In fact since he does most of the shopping, he will pick up items that he thinks will make good props in my studio. Well, since we recently got his disability settlement check, I asked him if there was something that HE wanted. Afterall, he deserves a new "toy" once in a while himself, so yesterday we went to the electronic store so find something he wanted (and just in time for the game).

But don't worry, I didn't come out empty handed either, here is my new little toy, an undercabinet/shelf mounted TV/Radio/DVD/CD player. I mounted it under the book shelf in the study to replace the 13 inch that sat on the counter taking up precious real estate.

Sweeping Curves

I was playing around with light reflections on sweeping curves and graceful movement and I chose one of my John Perry seal figurines on driftwood to shoot. Since my name is Cel, it just seemed right for me to collect seals and sea lions. Having collected seals in about every form possible (short of a live one) for close to 40 years I have somewhere around 1000 of them. I have several of the John Perry, in both black and white but chose a white one to shoot against black for a more dramatic effect. I rotated it to capture it from several angles and increased the contrast to make the white (actually more of a cream color) pop more. C & C welcome and very much appreciated.

Even though it's late or actually early on 2/1/09, this is my 1/31/09 posting.