Tangles

November 15

Today we have another photo post for your viewing pleasure.  This little bird is not very colorful, but still can give a lot of entertainment value if your eyes are sharp.  The Bushtits love our Hibiscus tree and help keep the insect population under control.  These birds are also extremely hard to photograph--they are tiny and never stop moving while on the hunt for something to eat.  I have seen as many as 20-30 birds on the tree at one time.  Another interesting fact is that they will often hang upside down to get a better angle on the insect population.

The last photo is a closeup of one of the Hibiscus blossoms.

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November 14

Today was a day that I had already planned to post at least one old family photo.  This has been an ongoing project after my aunt passed lots of photos on to me this summer.  I'm not sure what the next step will be, but it's been fun looking back.

This morning, I found a link to a great new online digital publication centered around genealogy and older photos.  The blog, Shades of the Departed is now publishing Shades of the Departed-the Magazine.  I really enjoyed this first issue and look forward to December's articles and photographs.  The article about the 1930 US Census makes the entire issue worthwhile.  Lots of interesting tips for adding more meat to the story of your family history.  Some special issues are also planned for the coming months.

Here's one of the photos that was already planned for my post.  This will probably be a regular feature in the future.  I do have a genealogy blog, but have not kept it updated.  Maybe Shades-the Magazine will keep me inspired.

That's my great-grandmother, Ella E. Rohrbough Cutright on the far right.  Ella died in 1909 and her husband Ralph Cutright, later married his late wife's sister, Byrd.  Byrd Rohrbough Cutright is third from the left in this photo.

Friday the 13th

Are you superstitious and worrying about Friday the 13th?  I never have been and so far, today was a pretty good day.  The afternoon dragged a bit until it was time to leave the office, but the morning went by pretty quickly.  Oh, and today was payday, too.  No bad luck there, right?

Today's photo was taken at lunchtime in the parking lot at work.  The sky was very blue and the clouds took on an interesting arrangement.

 

November 12

Today's prompt in the Blogging for Scrapbookers class included lots of ideas for starting themed series of blog posts as a quick way to make a post when you are rushed for time.

I've decided to try what I'm going to call Typical Thursday.  These will be quick posts with a photo from indoors or outdoors here at home.  Today's photo was taken on the patio and features one of my favorite succulent plants.  It has a great fuzzy texture.  Unfortunately, I can't give you the exact name of the plant--our local nursery center labels their succulent plants with a generic label that says it's a succulent.

Wish me luck on remembering next Thursday!

November 11

Today, I received my latest order of beans from Rancho Gordo.  This company could easily have been included in my favorite things from last week.  I read about Rancho Gordo on a blog and placed my first order that day.  These are heirloom beans that you can't find in just any grocery store.  This page on the web site describes the beans and how the company started much better than I can tonight.

My favorites are the Christmas Limas and the Good Mother Stallard beans.  They are so fresh and easy to cook that anyone can fix a yummy bowl of beans.  As a 14-year vegetarian, beans are an important part of my diet and Rancho Gordo beans are the best!

November 10

Today's photo is not the greatest due to the fact that the hat is black and it was too late in the day for good natural lighting.  I had to use flash to get anything close to a decent picture.

The hat will be donated to Ship Support.  This organization has been active since October, 2001 and sends donated items to deployed troops.  If you would like more information, there is a Ship Support Yahoo Group to keep up to date on what the troops need.  Currently, the push in on for more 100% wool hats for soldiers in Afghanistan.

The pattern that I used is one of my favorites, the Waffle Hat by Gail Bable.  I have made this one so many times that I don't need to use the pattern.  It makes me sad to think that our deployed soldiers have to depend on donations for something as basic as a warm hat or scarf.

November 9

I have taking a photo every day since January 1 of this year.  I tried Project 365 in 2008, but only lasted until April.  As soon as I missed a day, I stopped keeping track.  This year, I didn't let it bother me too much when I missed a day.  So far, it has only happened two times.  The first was in June on the day we left for vacation.  I took so many photos on that 2 week trip and can't believe I forgot to take one on the first day.  The second missed day was just last month and I have no idea what happened--guess it was just a forgotten day.

Some days it is a real stretch to come up with a photo subject.  In looking back over the last 10+ months of photos, there are several repeating themes.  Lots of flowers, birds, sunrise at work, and food shots happened.  I also documented just about every rainy day.

Here is a small gallery of some representative photos from 2009. Yes, I did take a photo when the new Trader Joe's opened and when we had new tile installed in the kitchen.  The last photo was taken at Huntington Beach Central Park.

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November 8

I was not feeling at all inspired about today's post.  There are several things in my list of topics, but nothing really jumped up and said "today is my day to be written about". But I just received an email response regarding a hit on one of the bills I registered at Where's George.  Someone in New York just made a note about finding a $5.00 bill that I registered there in July, 2005.  That's 4 years, 115 day ago!  I have not had very many bills found and have never found one myself, so it is always a thrill to get that email. 

For today's photo, I chose one of my best hummingbird shots.  

November 7

Today's post will a short one.  I did lots of errands this morning, made pizzas almost from scratch and pin-basted my Quilts For Kids quilt top.  I don't have enough energy left to write more tonight--maybe tomorrow.

This photo was taken yesterday after work and somehow managed to be in focus.  Let's enjoy a dandelion. Just don't dwell on the ugly soaker hose in the background, o.k.?

November 6

Today's lesson in Blogging for Scrapbookers gave lots of ideas for taking photos of everyday life at home.  I have a hard time finding good indoor photo locations and usually take pictures of my finished knitting projects and yarn stash outside on the patio.  This time of year, though, it gets dark too early for after-work photo taking.  That means that new photos will have to wait until tomorrow.

Here are a few older photos taken in my favorite indoor spot.  I use the bed in the east-facing spare bedroom and cover it with a little whole-cloth muslin quilt that I made many years ago.  The neutral background works in every situation and the lighting is nice and bright during the day. The second best indoor spot is in the kitchen but the background is not the greatest.

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