Cactus Alley

We have a quaint little shopping area near the hospital called Cactus Alley. My photo buddy Kathy and I love to eat there. Manna Bread and Wine has the best Strawberry Gazpacho in the summer. Not to mention the to die for Coconut cake.

 iphone, radlab

 iphone, radlab

We had a nice surprise last week. The grapevines that grace the courtyard gave us a show.

They have a lovely little pond too. I'll need to keep this in mind for grand-daughter photos for the future.

We are expecting very cold temperatures by tomorrow. Maybe a little snow will help me get in Christmas mode.

First Bloom

It's Friday Finds at Kim Klassen's Cafe Blog. Come visit and see all the great finds this week. 

My treasure this week was to find my poppies begin to open. This was the first time I had planted some from seed which I harvested from our arboretum. (shhh) 

I was soooo excited to have some of my very own. 

I had to cage them to make it happen. And we are short at least 2 rabbits because of my shelfishness. The pellet gun really needs sighting in.

And one pink poppie survived.

Edited in Radlab.

Birthday Shopping

Let me tell you a story about shopping... For clothes that is.

In my younger days, I would usually wear rather trendy clothing. Being a hairstylist, it was perfect. I don't think I could've done the classic office look. 

I grew up sewing my own clothes and did so as an adult. Now it would cost more to make something than actually buy it.

In the late 80s (I was in my early 30s) I was bit by the quilting bug. I quilted 24-7. Most things I made were wall quilts and even quilted or pieced clothing. Of course all my spare money was being spent on my passion, fabric and gadgets. After a few years of this I noticed my wardrobe was beginning to suffer. And then revelation smacked me upside the head. I realized if I didn't stop and go shopping for clothes I would turn into a replica of our local quilt shop owner. At the time she was about as old as I am right now. She was a very sad picture of fashion with her polyester pants and no-color shirts. Heaven forbid. What a wake up call. I went shopping the next day.

It's still a struggle to go shopping and spend money on clothes when I would rather be spending money on decor, antiques, and iPhone apps. In fact I have to be very much in the mood. It seems lately all I can find that fits is 'old lady' clothes. It's depressing. My mind thinks my body is still a teenager. 

So, since today is my birthday, yesterday I psyched myself up to go shopping. But first, I had breakfast with my photography buddy, Kathy. Then spent nearly 2 hours at the local arboretum doing a self-portrait shoot. I was wishing I had already bought my new clothes. (An excuse to go back.) 

Well I actually hit the jackpot the first shop I visited. Three hours later (I was not in a hurry and I did finally go get a cart), the clerk rang me up. I decided that was enough for one birthday. I had intended to just get some cute T-shirts because that seems to be what I live in these days. But I was most pleasantly surprised to find some great trendy tops, two pair of capris, 3 scarves, 2 Ts, a great white skirt with lace edge for photo shoots. AND A DRESS OF ALL THINGS! I haven't bought a dress in three years, since Kevin got married. (And it makes me look 20 lbs. thinner.)  And of course a few home decor items.

I've never spent that much in one store before for clothing. I decided it would be a good thing to get their credit card and save 10% today. So my dress was free. Ha, yea right.

Then I stopped and got my favorite brownie at Sugarbaker's.

Then off to Longhorn Steakhouse to check out their offerings with the kids and Hallie.
Photo compliments of Kaytie.

It's been a great day.

I'll be linking up with Kim Klassen's Friday Finds.

Good-by, Not

Nearly 2 years ago my friend Cindy decided to start a 'girls only' photo group for more personal support among the girls at our local camera club. A couple months ago the threatening news of her possibly moving clear across the state reared it's ugly head. This wasn't welcome news to us, however it was great news for her family.
This week was our last official meeting. Cindy decided to get all mushy on us and told a story. When she was quite young, her mom took her and her brother to a store and gave them each some money to buy a gift. (It was Cindy's birthday.) Her brother was so excited about his gift for her he couldn't even wait to get out the door to give it to her. It was so beautifully wrapped and she was careful to preserve every piece. As she unwrapped it he told her that he bought it because she was his shining star. At this point she showed us the necklace. Then went on to pull gifts from her purse for each of us and tell us that was how she felt about us. I believe we all had tears in our eyes.

Thank you, my friend. You've been such an inspiration and encouragement to me.

Thank God for FB and other technology. Perhaps we'll do Google Talk or Skype after they get settled in.

All photos processed in RadLab.

Walk and Click -First Snow

We had a nice dusting of snow which can be very rare here. So I took advantage and went for a drive. Less than a mile brings me to sorghum fields and cotton fields with some semblance of stubble to attract the geese. We have bazillions winter over here in the north part of Texas. Armed with my iPhone and 70/300 lens, this is what I captured. (All DSLR photos processed in RadLab.

This lone tree is where I stopped. (iPhone, forgot what I processed this with. Must take better notes)

70-300mm, at 300mm

1/500 sec;   f/10;   ISO 800

As I scoped in my view, I discovered a few interesting things.

70-300mm, at 200mm

1/350 sec;   f/5.6;   ISO 320

iPhone, Picfx, Snapseed, I actually prefer this one.

70-300mm, at 90mm

1/350 sec;   f/4.0;   ISO 320

70-300mm, at 235.0 mm

1/350 sec;   f/5.6;   ISO 250

And right before I left I noticed the tree was full of birds. 

Calamity texture by Kim Klassen.

70-300mm, at 100mm

1/500 sec;   f/4.0;   ISO 100

Yes I most definitely took the blue bottles home with me. (But not because I'm a trash picker-upper)

Can't wait for some more snow!

Linking up with Walk & Click Wednesdays.