Turkey Claus Came!

Yes, he came! And, he brought me and Chris 4th row tickets to the Cirque du Soleil Alegria show! What a show! I love Cirque and this show did not disappoint. This was the perfect gift for us and what a kick start for the holiday season!

Visions of Sugar Plums....

DH, DS and I visited our town's Natural History Museum if for no other reason than to see the gingerbread exhibit. I have to say, I was a bit disappointed in that I thought there would be lots more. Our town has some very well known chefs and for them not to exhibit was a let down. BUT....there were some great exhibits. My chef hat is off to those who baked and created!!

First off, a wonderful surprise to see DS' high school made up into a confection! His school celebrated it's 225th anniversary last year. This school was originally a military academy after the civil war and was chartered in 1783. It is the 3rd oldest existing public school in the US and the oldest in the south. President George Washington attended the graduation ceremonies in 1791.

Next up are pictures of the tied First Place winners. They were outstanding. The imagination and design was so there!
The first couple of pictures are of our town's Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church. This gingerbread church was awesome. So much detail!


And last but not least was a great display of a city street showing First National Bank of Waynesboro, a little town south of here. This "house" gave you peek inside! Too cute!!

Hope you are getting into the holiday spirit. It's approaching so fast!

It's a Girl!

Meet Maddie, our new 6 lb fur-baby. She found Corbin at the bus stop a couple of months ago and then managed to find out where he lived and was waiting on our door step late Sunday evening. We made her a little bed in our utility room and she's decided she likes it here. She was checked out at the vet this morning and she's healthy and can now be introduced to her big brother Zoe - this should be very interesting! Hopefully, there won't be too much hissing and such. She's a cutie and loves to play with toys! We'll have plenty of kitty entertainment, for sure!

Spooky Greetings from the Beach

Just wanted to pop in and let everyone know that I'm alive and well. The back is much better and getting stronger each day. Our family took a mini get away to the beach this weekend to relax and just try to get away from the cares of life. We've been hit with a lot of hardships in the last couple of months so this little trip was badly needed.

Of course, with Saturday being Halloween, it was only appropriate that we get a photo of us celebrating Halloween beach-style. Even the ghouls and goblins hang out on the beach getting rested before the big haunt at midnight!

Hope your Halloween was spooktacular!

FYI on Me

Just wanted to let everyone know that I will be away for a while. I have hurt my back pretty bad and I'm on bed rest until. Don't know at this point if I have blown a disc or not.

So, if you have sent an email or tried to get in touch with me, this is the reason I haven't responded.

I will post an update when I get some news.

Hugs!

Hanging with the Deltas

Prairie Schooler's Christmas Eve - In Progress
32 ct. Sage Jobelan

I had a FABULOUS weekend hanging out with my Delta sisters - LOL! Five of us took a road trip to the North Georgia Mountains to meet up with a friend we haven't seen since February. It was a fun, relaxing weekend just hanging out and stitching away. I don't think I have ever gotten so much stitching done in a weekend, especially while laughing my head off!

Thanks Kathy, Theresa, Lorrie, Karin and Ann for giving me a great weekend away! Love you guys!

White Water Rafting Weekend!

Edited to add: Additional photos can be seen at www.fishcampfellowship.blogspot.com . Sorry, they are not that great. My disposable camera took a beating and dunking in my fanny pack!

Corbin and I had a wonderful time white water rafting down the Chattooga this past Saturday. We went with our church's youth group and it was so exciting. This is the 2nd time I have been and it was a bit harder this time because the water level was so low due to the lack of rain. We really had to work to get around rocks and to get unstuck sometimes.
I will try to get some photos posted later this week that I took with my disposable camera. Hopefully, they will turn out ok since my camera did get a little wet.
In the mean time, you can view our professional photos online:
www.whetstonephoto.com
Click on Chattooga River
Under Recent Photos - Click on 9-12-09 10.15
Then Click Continue
Click on Page 2
My photos start with the 4th photo on the top row (Photos 29-38). Looking at the photo, I am on the right on the back row.
Corbin's photos start with the next series (Photos 39-53). Looking at the photo, he's on the left on the back row (red shorts). As you will be able to see, his raft did not survive the drop!
Photo 79 is our group.
And don't forget to check out photos 94 and 103. This is where Corbin and I jumped off one of those big rocks into the roaring water where we just dropped off in our rafts.
If you have never done this, it is a blast!

PS Santa Update

Here's a little update on my PS Santa progress. I was able to get a "couple" of stitches in it this past Saturday while visiting my good buddy, Kathy. (Thank you Kathy for a wonderful time!). I do have to say, I don't really care for stitching on evenweave. I actually find it harder to stitch on than linen, weird, huh? But, finding a linen the same color as Sage Jobelan would be a challenge. So, I'll continue on and get it finished before the clock strikes midnight Christmas Eve!

Sorry about the "wonky" linen photo. I think you can click on the photo to get a much better view.

A Halloween XStitch Finish

By the looks of stores, Halloween is just around the corner! So, I thought I had better go ahead and get a jump on a Halloween stitching project AND finish it. This is a pattern in the Blackbird Design's book called, Trix or Treats, that was released a couple of years ago. It is stitched on WDW 30 count Mocha linen - which I absolutely LOVE! This fabric is so nice and I wish the photo could show you just how lovely the color is. It was such a fun piece to stitch since it was all stitched in DMC 310 (black).

Hope you have a fun Halloween project kitted and ready for a needle and thread!

Here's my next project....stay tuned!

Cottage Critter Picture - Part 2

Well, it's not "technically" a "critter" but it's one of those encounters that make you fully appreciate the beauty of God's creations. I don't know if the dragonfly really has a purpose other than to be admired and photographed by me! LOL! I wish you could see the beautiful blue color he has. Of course, he had to be in the direct sun (I guess he realized this was his spotlight moment).

Cottage Critter Picture

Finally!! I have been trying to get a picture of my fox, here at work, for what seems like forever. For two years, a fox has had her babies on the property and every once in a while, I will see the mama scurry across the yard. Today, I got so lucky and got a picture while she was sitting up on these concrete blocks. The picture is not that great but I got it none-the-less!

Scrap Progress - July '09

I thought I would share some recent scrapbook pages that I have completed. Enjoy!!

This one plays tribute to the infamous DMV! Corbin is getting his learner's permit.

This one shows Chris and Corbin making caramel apples one fall day.

Pumpkins, Skeletons and Bats - Oh My!

He's still mine after 19+ years!

Rockin'!

A Scrap-tastic Weekend!

I got to spend the weekend in Columbia with my friends scrappin' away at The Stamping Place. We had a wonderful time - as usual. I didn't get as much done as I would have liked but that's ok. Just spending time with friends is a big part of the trip anyway. It could be the fact that there were no cheese puffs - gotta have cheese puffs when you scrap!! LOL!

Here are a few pictures, compliments of Cindy from the Stamping Place:

Here I am posing for the camera. So happy to be away from work, relaxing with my glue, scissors and paper!

Here's Irene, my table buddy! Irene can really "produce"!

And last, but not least, is my good buddy Renee and her Mom. Renee is my blast from the past - when scrapbooking wasn't even cool

Thomas the Turkey Update

The 4th of July is just around the corner and I'm so glad. I'm ready to kick back with some Bar-B-Q, my stitching, my scrapbooking and who knows what else! I'm just ready to enjoy the time off from work.

Here's an update on Thomas. He now has a couple of tail feathers so at least he's not going to topple over. He's also standing on solid ground and that's always a plus! LOL! I don't have much more to do so I may actually get him finished over the holiday weekend.
I am also reading Janet Evanovich's newest release in the Stephanie Plum series, Finger Lickin Fifteen. I got really lucky this time and was the first person on the "sign-up" sheet at the library. That has never happened before!! The book, so far, is good. A little predictable but that's what makes these books so enjoyable. I have to say, Chapter 13 is my favorite thus far. I always find myself laughing out loud whenever the characters are gathered together at Stephanie's parents home for dinner.

This past Saturday was my one year anniversary in blogville. I never would have thought I would still be here posting and sharing photos a year later. I don't have many followers but I enjoy documenting details and keeping this record for reference. It makes me happy and that's all that counts!

If I don't post again before the holiday, I wish everyone a wonderful 4th of July. Reflect on your freedoms that we all take for granted and remember our troops. Most of all, God bless America!

Yummy-licious!

Have you tried these?! They are so good! They are the limited edition strawberry/peanut butter flavored M&Ms introduced for the new Transformers movie that came out yesterday. When I first heard of this flavor combination, I was sure it would taste awful but I have to say, it's one of my favorite new flavor releases to date. So, grab a bag and try them! Yummy!

Thomas Update

Just thought I would share my progress on Thomas. He finally has an eye and some feet! He's been really fun to stitch even though I had a moment of panic with him. I "assumed" he was going to be a finished size of 5x7. Well, it dawned on me that in order for him to be 5x7, he has to be stitched on 36 ct. Guess what? I'm stitching him on 28 ct. Panic set in! Luckily, I DID use the stitch count when figuring my 28 ct fabric and he'll be just fine. A little larger than 5x7 but that's ok too!
"Thomas" by Notforgotten Farms
28ct. Natural Pearl Linen

A XStitch Finish for Me!

It's been a while since I posted so here I am - with a xstitch finish! I know, I know, it's been FOREVER since I stitched but once the bug gets you, you have no choice. I dug through my stash and came out with my La D Da Mocking Bird piece. It's funny, when you are stitching on something, you think you will never finish it, you put it away and when you finally get back to it, you realize you didn't have that much left to do after all.



After finishing the Mocking Bird this weekend, I decided to start something NEW - Thomas by Notforgotten Farms. I got this pattern from my friend Lorrie when I was in Fripp and didn't realize it only finishes to a 5x7 size - just perfect for me!

I couldn't find a better picture on-line for this pattern but trust me, the colors are much nicer!

Enjoy!

Last Photo Class but.....

it's not completely over. Sunday is the "test photo shoot" and what an exciting day it will be. We will take all of the information we have learned in class PLUS the mini sessions we had on portraits and apply those skills in Sally's studio. She will have her lights and cameras set up and we will use all of her equipment to take portraits of the model we bring. To give you a little background, after each class, we were given instruction on taking portraits. The dos and don'ts, how to make adjustments for people of different weights, male and female, etc. In one class, we had to line up and photograph a model. Sounds easy? No! We had to take a photo that was different from ones that were previously taken using the portrait information we were given. I now have a REAL appreciation for photographers. After our portrait session, we are heading to a nearby semi-private park to do some outdoor photos. We are suppose to have great weather this weekend so I'm really looking forward to this last opportunity with Sally.

Last night we learned the difference between shooting photos in RAW vs. JPEG. This was a lot of information to process and I don't know if I'm completely sold on shooting exclusively in RAW. But, knowing the pros of shooting RAW, I will use it if that once in a life time photo opportunity arises.

We also finished up on Composition. Composition is an art and it is so easy to get lost in the photo moment that you break one of the composition rules. Composition is made up of leading lines, body positions, angles, diagonal photo positioning, frames, textures, etc. One of my weaknesses is leading lines. I have them in most of my photos but have since discovered, some of my leading lines need work.

Before I get too long winded, I thought I would share some photos from a shoot I did this past weekend with my son. This was a weird shoot in that we would get to the location and it would start raining. We would go back home and the sun would come out. Finally, we got a small window of opportunity and took advantage of it.....






This one has a bad leading line going straight through the head! Arggg! But I still like it!


And this is the photo I NAILED!! I got nearly perfect composition on this one!


One of the most important things I learned was to always print your photos. Your computer monitor does not show exposure levels correctly. I had a couple of photos from this shoot that were overexposed by a couple of stops. This was not discovered until I got the photos back from the lab. Also, printing your photos helps you to not only see the mistakes but to also train your eye to see the settings the photos were taken in. Trained photographers are challenged to take repeat photos by only looking at a photo. In other words, can you take the same photo months from now by only looking at the photo and not using your camera's history?

I hope you have enjoyed my photo learning adventure. I'll hopefully be back next week with some "test" photos. Wish me luck!

It's Friday!

I do love Fridays. Not as much as Saturdays and Sundays but it's a great day none the less.

Another photo class last night and we are really "getting it". It's hard to believe we only have one more class before our photo shoot (mini test). Last night we talked about ISOs and how the combinations of aperture, shutter speeds and ISOs make up different photo results. It's an art but getting away from the automatic modes on your camera to manual settings makes such a big impact. I've gotten some great feedback on some photos that I have brought in for review. There's just so much to think about when you look at the image in your view finder. Anywho, I promised I would share some photos from Monday's class.....

These photos focused on shutter speed and we were asked to photograph running/dripping water. I struggled getting these photos because of the weather. We have had very windy conditions, cloudy skies, sunny skies breaking in every so often...you get the picture (no pun intended - LOL). Not the best conditions for taking photos with a slow shutter speed.

The photo below:
Shutter Speed: 1/10
Aperture: 27
Manual Mode
ISO 800
This is a great photo because I was able to capture the blurring of the water with a slow shutter speed, with the wind blowing AND it was taken without a tripod. Any photo taken slower than 1/60 runs the risk of camera shake without a tripod.



The photo below:
Shutter Speed: 1/4000
Aperture: 4.0
Manual Mode
ISO 800
This photo was taken with a fast shutter speed so I was able to "freeze" the water droplets.



(pictures were taken at St Mary's on the Hill Catholic Church)

This week's homework will consist of taking photos in different ISOs with different settings. We want to achieve noise in our photos and then adjust the settings to avoid as much noise as possible.

Fun? You betcha!

Another Photo Class Update

Photo classes continue and I'm still having fun. I haven't given up and I really believe I'm taking better pictures from the information I've been taught. I've even put the point and shoot away and have started using the BIG camera - LOL!

In Thursday's class, we learned about aperture. This is probably one of the hardest subjects to learn in photography. The rules are backwards, there's math and it's just one of those "procedures" you learn with practice. Our homework assignment for the weekend was to take photos of a single subject and take the photos changing only the aperture. Other settings, that we have not yet covered in class, were set on our cameras.

I went out Sunday and took these photos of a rose at the local university.....

Aperture: 1.4
Exposure: AV

Aperture: 5.6
Exposure: AV

Aperture: 16
Exposure: AV

These are just a few of the photos I took using a aperture range of 1.4 to 22. See the different effects you get using different aperture settings? Aperture gives you that nice blurred background vs. a sharp image based on the amount of light coming into the camera. Fun!!

Last night's class discussed shutter speed and I'll be back later this week with homework photos.

Enjoy!

Apple Photo Update

Just wanted to let everyone know that you can look at the submitted photos from class on Sally Kolar's website . Just look for her Recent Blog Posts (bottom right hand corner) and click on the one titled "Photography Class Photos from the Scrap Shack". You can even vote on your favorite for the "picture of the week". There are only a few showing right now but I'm sure more will be posted through out the day.

A Tuesday Update....

Well, it's been a while since I've posted so I thought it best I show up and say hello.

Last night was the first night of my photography class and it was really fun. I took the Canon Digital Rebel XTI and my Canon Powershot A540 and actually had better luck with my point and shoot. I guess it's just I'm more comfortable with mine. Plus, I don't need to try and learn a new camera while I'm trying to learn the techniques. We had a mini photo shoot session at the end of class with an apple to get a little one-on-one advice. We took our apples home (homework!!) and we have to submit two photos with our apple before the next class.

Here are the photos I'm submitting:



Can't wait to get "critiqued"!

Photography 101

I am so excited! I have signed up for a Photography class at my local scrapbook store. It is being taught by a great photographer, Sally Kolar . The classes start in a couple of weeks and I am hoping to gain the skills needed to capture those photos in less than ideal settings. Lord knows, F-Stops, ISOs, to flash or not flash, confuse me to no end! The classes end with a photo field trip to test out our newly acquired skills. Wish me luck!

Ponder on this.....

We all truly understand that the economy is pretty bad at the moment. Businesses are cutting back on their spending and are doing what is necessary to keep the financial records in check. I agree with doing what needs to be done but really.......does giving me more than one packet of ketchup for a super size fry the answer?!!! Even when you ask for "extra ketchup" you only get another packet. It's a little crazy, in my opinion. So, I am now being very specific with my order. I want a super size fry with eight packets of ketchup! I really don't think that my extra ketchup packets are going to cause hamburger joints to go out of business. Now, to make the story even more crazy.....I go to the same hamburger joint drive thru every Friday morning for hotcakes. A little treat - I deserve it. Anywho, guess how many TUBS of syrup I get? TWO!! That's enough syrup to put me in sugar overdrive! I don't even need 1/2 of one tub! And surely, it cost more to manufacture TUBS of syrup vs. PACKETS of ketchup. It just has to!


Just a little something to ponder on the next time you are in that favorite fast food drive thru.....
Happy Friday!

Remember Me?

Yes, I'm still here. It's been awhile, hasn't it? Work has had me tied up where I couldn't see up from down but.....I did manage to get away for a little vacation to Myrtle Beach. The weather was a bit weird. One day it was sunny and warm and the next, freezing cold with winds blowing around 30mph. We had a great time. Probably one of the best vacations we've had since we went to Colorado last year. We didn't have any plans - just do what feels right when the moment strikes!

Here's a couple of photos:

A girl could get use to this view!


And this view isn't all that bad either!


When you get cold weather, deal with it! LOL!


I'm ready to go back - now!!