2012 Project 365 – Week Thirty-Nine

I have been having entirely too much fun using PicMonkey to edit my pictures – why I can include ever so many more when I put them in collages! Of course it takes me twice as long to work on the pictures, so this fad may not last forever. Thank goodness I’m only using the free features – if I were paying for a subscription I probably wouldn’t get my P365 posted until Wednesday!

Saturday, September 22^nd

A very rare (for us) blue jay.

Robin had talked about getting a pill organizer so I had to show her up with my humongous one.

Mator Nation.

The moon!

Sunday, September 23^rd

Our miniature rosebush has just had the best summer & doesn’t show signs of slowing down for fall. Besides this one there are currently around 6 buds getting ready to bloom.

The neighbor’s bird feeder – it’s just as out of control as ours are!

Pinky the geranium.

This squirrel nest blew out of the tree next door – looks comfy, doesn’t it? Heh.

The moon!

Monday, September 24^th   

A cow. Staring at Dr. M.

Lovely flowers which the boy next door grew.

The moon!

Tuesday, September 25^th

The State of the Bug – pretending I’m Marilyn. I had gotten up early to put Velcro rollers in my hair - & this is the result. See how extra bouncy & curly my hair is? Nah, me either. It was a waste of time. Anyone want some Velcro rollers? I’ll ship them to you free!

Dr. M stopped by a local orchard to get some apples for me & saw all sorts of loveliness – including a bulldog in a car. He makes me smile.

Flowers at home and on Dr. M’s commute.

Our crazy volunteer pumpkin plant.

No moon – it was cloudy.

Wednesday, September 26^th   

The moon! (Still cloudy, but it peered out at us for a few minutes).

Thursday, September 27^th        

Seagulls at a local park.

Groundhog!

No moon (cloudy again).

Friday, September 28^th          

Fall in our neck of the woods.

It always amazes me that the little squiggly worm on the left turns into the item on the right (a dish cloth).

Tonight we were supposed to light a candle & pray for a vestry member (they’re on retreat this weekend). I got to pray for my friend Kim!

We enjoyed the fire pit for a little while.

The moon! Not quite full – you’ll see those pictures next week, assuming the cloud cover cooperates.

Go to Sara’s blog here to see the blogs of all the other Project 365 participants. Have a great week!

Most of our photos are taken with a 12 megapixel Nikon D5000 DSLR, using a 55-200mm zoom lens. This is the camera that Dr. M takes with him most days. The Bug uses our new Nikon Coolpix S6200 most of the time. If you’re interested in which camera was used for a particular shot, just ask! 

Fall

Those trees are wearing
mighty fancy dresses
as they sway to their
slumberous rhythm.
My summer was torpor
and sweat running
between middle-aged breasts.
I waited without patience
for the zing of cool
(which just now as I
write this makes me think
of Greatnanny’s Noxzema).
This morning I shivered
and felt a great awakening
readiness stir within me.
But those trees,
tarted up like ladies
on a street corner,
say your money
isn’t good here –
we’re ready for bed.

Short Stories

Someone whose blog I read used to say that she was telling “short stories” when she wanted to just do a list instead of an entire blog post about one thing. I can’t remember who that was – Ellen? Maybe. Anyway, I like the sound of it instead of Monday Miscellany – but you aren’t fooled. What you’re actually getting is Monday Miscellany.

Last night my dad & I discussed how if we weren’t using cordless phones we could see how I (in Ohio) had given him (in NC) my cold, but since we were using cordless phones we didn’t think I could be the culprit. Then he sneezed three times INTO THE PHONE. And this morning I sneezed three times. Coincidence? I think not!

I did stop sneezing & I don’t think I’m getting another cold. I might, however, be getting autumn.

The other night I was tossing & turning full of foreboding about something. It took me a while to get to the root of the matter – I was worried about money. That made me smile & relax because I’m always worried about money – I was relieved that it wasn’t some new bugaboo. I believe that my constant worry in this area is what keeps us solvent, so it’s nice to know that I was on the job.

Remember this hat? 

Titus wanted it (!) so I sent it to her & it had quite a trip. Go here and here and here to check out its adventures. A couple of weeks ago I got some nice gifts in return – here is one of them. 

Thanks Titus!

2012 Project 365 – Week Thirty-Eight

I should be cleaning my house, but I’m working on this post instead. As Bucky cat said when asked to help fold note cards in today’s Get Fuzzy cartoon, “Sorry Robert, I’m not skilled in the ancient art of chore-igami…” So this might be the longest P365 post ever!

Oh, and you should go & check out Dr. M’s latest post if you haven’t already – he uses a lot of pictures that I didn’t use here.

Saturday, September 15^th

Squirrel on a wire – and then NOT on a wire. I love how Dr. M captured him leaping into the tree.

Baby pumpkin! I think it looks like one of the Thompson Twins.

The hummingbirds have been so much fun to watch. I love these pictures of them on the wire, and then of course doing what they mostly do, which is eat.

Sunday, September 16^th

More hummingbird pictures. I must say that Dr. M made an excellent choice with our hanging basket this year – they love the thing.

Dr. M was taking a picture of the vulture, but I’m including it because the sky is so beautiful.

Monday, September 17^th   

A series of pictures where animals stare at Dr. M.

Tuesday, September 18^th

I had a friend at work French braid my hair – it lasted for a couple of hours before my slippery hair slid right out again.

Isn’t this the most gorgeous picture? I think it’s my second favorite of the week (my favorite is on Friday).

Sheep!

More animals staring at Dr. M. Heh.

It’s fall!

Wednesday, September 19^th   

It was 38 degrees when I left for work on Wednesday. 38!! Rude!

More signs of fall & the gorgeous sky…

The feeders have been quite busy.

The lovely moon.

Thursday, September 20^th        

I gave blood today.

Sheep! [Please note the one staring at Dr. M]

Friday, September 21^st          

This squirrel is hilarious. He just stood there watching Dr. M take his picture.

I love this picture of a hawk…

But this is my favorite picture of the week – glorious!

Guard Burro staring at Dr. M.

Downy woodpecker next door.

I was doing my church lady duties by setting up the altar for Sunday. This is the cabinet with all the linens I have to use. Someday I really should do some research to find out what they all mean. I have a cheat sheet telling me what to do with them, but what is a purificator, exactly? Not to mention palls, corporals & lavabo towels… 

Go to Sara’s blog here to see the blogs of all the other Project 365 participants. Have a great week!

Most of our photos are taken with a 12 megapixel Nikon D5000 DSLR, using a 55-200mm zoom lens. This is the camera that Dr. M takes with him most days. The Bug uses our new Nikon Coolpix S6200 most of the time. If you’re interested in which camera was used for a particular shot, just ask! 

Seven More Things...

Robin, at Be Still and Know (a hilarious and Godly woman who I greatly admire for not launching inanimate objects at people who annoy her) has given me the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award. As with many awards, this one requires that I share seven things that you don’t know about me. Like Robin, I’m unsure what in the world is left to share. I have an “I have no shame” label for some blog posts for heaven’s sake. However, there is always something out there if I just think long and hard enough. So here goes:

1. Sometimes, when I’ve stared at the blank piece of paper on my computer screen so long that I think I can count the individual pixels, I will fall into a meditative trance, and in that slightly foggy (yet warm and safe) place I wonder what it means to be so very ordinary and yet unlike any other person I know. There’s no one in the world who really knows what’s going on inside my head – including me. I am as baffled by my preferences & “logic” as the next person.

2. Take today, for example. It’s Blood Drive Day at work! I signed up last week, and today I went along at my appointed time [side note: I tried to go yesterday because I thought it was Thursday already. I was Shocked and Dismayed by yesterday’s Wednesdayness. Sigh.]. I sat on the bus getting my finger pricked & my blood pressure & temperature took and said my Blood Drive Mantra: “Please let my iron be low. Please let my iron be low.” Alas, my iron was NOT low and I proceeded to the Chair Where They STICK A NEEDLE IN YOUR ARM BECAUSE YOU TOLD THEM TO. And it was practically pain free & a total nonevent. My question is this: WHY do I sign up if I don’t really want to give? I’m going to blame my grandmother & my mother for this. Mamaw ate liver for years to boost her iron content so she could give blood. And my mother gave blood even though finding a vein in her arm was like finding a lost contact lens in a gravel parking lot. At night (I speak from experience). These women made sacrifices to give blood, so who am I to let a little needle phobia get in the way of doing A Good Thing. Oh, and I’m going to remember to vote too.

3. It will come as no surprise that I’m a Democrat. I just want to say right here that I actually feel bad for my Republican friends because it’s got to be tough to feel strongly about your political viewpoint and yet they keep giving you these (unkind thought) people to vote for. I know how you feel because I remember some years where I held my nose & voted my convictions instead of the person. Of course, I’d rather you just come over to my side of the aisle instead of holding your nose… Heh.

4. Apathy, lethargy, ennui, droopiness… These are all Close Associates these days. I’ll see 10:00 p.m. approaching and wonder WHERETHEHECKDIDTHELASTFOURHOURSGO? I am seriously considering setting alarms around the house to remind me to do something other than play Words With Friends.

5. I’m pretty sure that I think that kale is just about the nastiest thing I’ve put in my mouth in the last year. However, since I was the one fixing it, I will reserve total judgment. We do have to consider the (non)cook in this instance.

6. The other day I wondered if having a nephew who just graduated from Army basic training means that I can consider myself a part of a Military Family.

7. Periodically I consider not wearing makeup. I’m not sure that anyone else would notice, but boy howdy would I notice! Do I want to scar myself psychologically just because I don’t want to take 5 minutes to slap on some foundation & eye makeup? At this point, the answer is no.

This is the point where I’m supposed to give the award to other people, but I never do. My blog is where awards go to die. On the other hand, I love learning random new things about people, so I challenge each of you to do a post sharing the same kind of riveting details that I just shared with you. No, really, your readership will be thrilled!

Housekeeping Note: Did you know that “casualty” doesn’t mean “killed?” I sure didn’t. So my discussion of Antietam on Monday was slightly skewed – there were 23,000 casualties, which means killed, wounded or captured. Still horrific, though.

Monday is a Day for Links

Today is my dad’s birthday. You can read my birthday poem to him – from two years ago – here. As per usual, even though I have his birthday marked on several calendars, yesterday I was all surprised that the date was already here. So his card will be late. I did wish him a happy birthday on the phone yesterday, and I might call him tonight to sing atrociously (if he’s lucky he won’t be home so he can just delete the message quickly).

I saw on my Today in History widget that today is the day that Joshua A. Norton declared himself Emperor Norton I of the United States in 1859. I spent some time browsing his Wikipedia page – fascinating man! I might have to write a poem about him.

This is also the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam. 23,000 soldiers died that day. That’s a number that’s pretty hard to grasp – but just for example, the town I live in has around 25,000 people in it. I’ve been through the battlefield – today it’s peaceful and green. Hard to imagine that long ago day when the fields were red with the blood of the fallen. And in fact, I actually try to NOT imagine it.

Dr. M posted some nice photos of our Ohio. Some are repeats from my Saturday post, but there are new things too. Reading his post would be a nice antidote to considering Antietam.

I have felt a few murmurings of creative thought. Maybe summer with all its somnolent ways is finally gone. Maybe.