young-eclectic-encounters

Groundhog's Day

2012-02-02T20:10:00.000-05:00

Although this is Groundhog's Day, we here in Griffin don't need a groundhog to tell us that spring will be early this year. These photos were taken today and it would appear that spring has already arrived.

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Morning fun

2012-02-01T14:52:00.000-05:00

Fun Sunrise

We've had lots of nice to spectacular sunrises lately so this morning with it's nice sunrise I decided to play with my camera features. This is the fisheye feature. Since I have a bridge camera not a DSLR and am unable to change lens this is only an effect that is built into the camera. It's kind of fun.

View from the other side

One of the things I have noticed more this winter is the wonderful shadows and light patterns that are present with the sun low on the horizon. This was taken this morning facing west as the sky in the east was losing color. I think this is just as pretty a skyscape as the sunrises.

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Morning in the country

2012-01-31T15:12:00.000-05:00

This mornings sunrise

Living out in the country has it's advantages and it's drawbacks; while I get to view wonderful wonderful scenery and sunrises like these, it also means having a persnickety Internet. My cell service is a little on the erratic side, too. If we are lucky we get one bar. It's not unusual to go outside and see a neighbor outside on their porch trying to get better reception. Personally I think the view is worth it although it sometimes keeps me from posting and just plain being on the Internet.

Rise and shine

My second problem with posting recently is the little understood or acknowledged problem with Fibromyalsia. One of the theories of what Fibromyalsia is; is that it is a problem with the bodies electrical system. In one of the books I've read on Fibromyalsia talks about how one lady complained to her doctor about how she seemed to affect the lighting around her. Her doctor dismissed it as her imagination till her left the office right after her and saw the street light dim as she walked under it. Apparently people who have this disease also have problems with electronic watches and computers. Personally I have gone through 4 watches in 7 weeks, had the lights lights dim in the bathroom, and had and still have freaky, flaky computer problems. The last has been a really big problem in this last week- sometimes I can get the Internet, sometimes not and this is over and above the Internet problems from living in the boonies- sometimes I can't open any of my programs. Grrrr....

I hope you

Enjoy

this country morning as much as I did.

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Movement- Thematic Photography #180

2012-01-26T19:47:00.001-05:00

Homing in

This weeks theme for Carmi's writteninc is Movement. Even though the skateboarders I posted a couple of days ago where my first concentrated effort on capturing action shots; in going through my photos I saw that I had indeed captured some movement in my photos. These shots were mostly accidental in their capture. This bird is a good example; I was shooting birds at the feeder on my front porch and just happened to click the shutter at the right time.

Jogging ponytail

This photo was another case of being in the right place. We used to have joggers who would use our sub-division and it's cul-de-sacs as a track to run on. I was outside taking photos when this jogger ran by with her ponytail swinging as she jogged. I liked watching the ponytail and snapped this shot.

Blowing in the wind

This photo was on purpose. I had been out walking the dog on this blustery day and decided to try to capture the movement of the wind in the leaves. I set my camera on the my tripod so the branches would be clear and steady; I then slowed down my shutter speed. I really liked the results. Instead of a crisp capture of a moment in time; I think I was able to capture the essence of the wind.

For more interpretations on this theme go to writteninc.

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Serendipity-Looking back

2012-01-23T12:09:00.000-05:00

Sunset in July

Every cloud has a silver lining or in this case a colorful one. Just because I am down and out with a broken foot does not mean that I can't find something to enjoy. In this case I am going back through some of my older photographs and editing them. This is turning out to be a delightful activity for me. I am finding new favorites and am enjoying seeing some of the progress I have made as a photographer. Even with this broken foot there is Serendipity if I but choose to find and follow it.

Early Morning Light

I am using the theme of Glow from Carmi's WrittenInc to show off some of my photos that I am editing.

Explosion of fall colors

Hope you

Enjoy

this as much as I have

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Life as I see it

2012-01-21T21:47:00.000-05:00

"but maddest of all is to see life as it is and not as it should be."

Don Quixote from Man of LaMancha

Even though I really like the movie and story of

Don Quixote, the Man of LaMancha, and his madness that refuses to let him see anything but the good and how he managed to change lives because of it; there are times when it helps to see life as is it. This is how I'm going to see life for the next month or so, with my feet up and in a walking boot. I broke my foot yesterday. It was a stress fracture. It seems that in spite of the fact that I have been feeling better and doing more than I have been able to do for quite awhile; I need to keep in mind that my body is still fragile. Sometimes it helps to keep in mind the realities of your life so you can take care of yourself and not get hurt. However in spite of my setback I still believe that you should concentrate on how life should be, can be or is going to be. Because of this belief I'm going to show you photos I took Wednesday when I was feeling good. I arrived early for a doctor's visit and so I went to the walking park at the hospital. Where I went for a walk and to take pictures

It is a pretty little park, that is a delight to visit. I like going there when I have a doctors appointment at the hospital. It always lifts my spirits to see this kind of beauty next to a place of healing. This is the park where I took the photo that I edited and turned into my avatar.

Enjoy

♥♥♥Johnina♥♥♥

BTW: The DVD of the movie Man of LaMancha is available through Amazon; just go to the Amazon search button on the top right of this blog and type in Man of LaMancha. It always amazes me at all the things you can find there.

Growth of a photographer

2012-01-16T20:06:00.000-05:00

Ready,set .....

Photography has given me many benefits. I now see the beauty and wonder of the world through my camera lens. This helps lift my spirits and has gotten me through some pretty tough times. But it has also helped in my personal growth.

Today between Physical therapy and two doctors appointments, I had some time to spend so I went to the local city park. I intended to just take photos of the grounds, which I did, but while I was there I happened to see these two young men out on the Skateboard Park.

When I first started taking photos, I took pictures around my house due to my shyness. I learned to overcome that shyness and started to take photos in the nieghborhood. I graduated from that to taking pictures from my car. Then on to taking photos in the city and in stangers yards. I started meeting and talking to total strangers and I found this delightful. However I had not introduced myself as a photographer until today.

Today when I saw these young men, I saw an oppurtunity to practice some action shots. So I introduced myself (something I had not done before) and asked if they minded if I practiced my Photography skills on them. They were delighted.

After I was finished I gave them one of my info cards and told them about my blog. They were excited about being included on my blog and having thier skateboarding on the web. I hope they do indeed check out my blog and maybe leave a comment.

Photography has changed my life: enriching it in so many ways. I have grown in many ways not just in skills, but on a very personal level. I am expanding my world and enjoying life on an entirely different level. And just like I have learned to see the beauty in the world I photograph, I now see myself in new ways .

ENJOY

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Bad Dogs and Leash Laws

2012-01-15T19:39:00.000-05:00

This critter is the main reason why I have been missing from the web for the last week or so. I live out in the county where there is no leash law. Dogs are allowed to roam as they please. They are only required to have a collar and rabies tags. My neighbor got a puppy about a year ago and sometimes lets him loose. Consequently there are times when I walk out my door only to get this greeting. This was taken while I am still on my front porch. This photo was also taken last fall and the dog is now bigger and meaner.

Anyway about a little over a week ago I checked for the dog (something I don't feel like I should have to do) and since he was nowhere to be seen and the owner's car was not there; I went outside with my dog, Rascal. Rascal was a proper puppy and on a leash. Unfortunately this dog and another of the neighbors dogs came around the side of the house and came after Rascal and me; both of them barking and growling. I was able to control my dog as he was on a leash, but in doing so I wrenched my arms and shoulder, sprained my knee and sprained my fingers. I was able to keep my dog from getting hurt, however Tom had to come out to chase the dogs away. He heard the dogs and came to my rescue, for which I was very grateful. I ended up in the ER from all the jerking around (I only had strains and muscle pulls but by the next day I felt like I'd been beat all over. I hurt all over. This also caused a fibromyalsia flare which just added to the pain. I was unable to lift my laptop, set it on my lap or type without pain so no blogging, no facebook and little visiting of other blogs.

Spalding county used to be made up of farms and houses on acrages where the lack of leash laws made sense. This is no longer the case. I guess I am going to have to get politically active and try to get the county commissioners to change the leash laws. I now have a couple of movies of the dog (the photo is one frame from one of them) and medical bills to show them. Wish me luck.

Johnina

Abstract Photography Contest

2012-01-05T21:12:00.001-05:00

My Abstract Art Contest entry on MyShutterSpace

I belong to MyShutterSpace a great photo sharing site- my favorite. Last sunday I decided to enter the contest in the Abstract photography group (they have a wide variety of groups to join). The contest was to photograph a common household object but to focus in on the color and texture, so I searched for something interesting to photograph. I found my knife set in its butcher block holder; took lots of pics from different angles and different lighting. Got one I really liked and then inverted the colors to come up with the above photo. Some of the other photos are below.

Abstract Knives

It always amazes me what a difference the lighting makes in shadows and even in the coloring; which shows up in these photos.

BTW: I got second place; there was not many entries but; hey, second place is still second place.

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Winter Sky Part 2

2011-12-29T22:19:00.000-05:00

Winter sky- Clouds and contrails

More winter sky pics

Winter Sky through the trees

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Winter Sun

2011-12-28T16:57:00.000-05:00

Winter Sun- Christmas Star

This was taken a couple of days before Christmas when then winter sun was high in the sky and there were wonderful cloud formations being criss-crossed across the sky by contrails. When Tom saw it he said "It's a Christmas Star". After all the star that shone on Christmas night lit the night with the light of noon day. The sun with its light rays fanning out does indeed remind me of what that star may have looked like.

In reality it is the winter sun; shown at noon and as high as it goes in the sky. I am endlessly amazed and facscinated by the way light effects the way we see our world. This day was bright and cheery and because of the rain the day before the clouds were amazing in their shapes. Added to that the fact that we live south of the Atlanta Airport and the heavy holiday trafic with the contrails the jets left behind made for phenomenal sky panaramas.

Enjoy
☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Christmas sunrise: Off the beaten path

2011-12-25T09:53:00.000-05:00

Christmas sunrise

For those of you who where up at the crack of dawn, but where occupied with kids and gifts and those who got to sleep in here is this Christmas morning's sunrise.

This was taken from the woods behind my house because of this:

Christmas in the woods

We have a neighbor who decorates one of the pine trees in the woods and although they can't be seen in this photo it is complete with shiny glass ornaments.

This year they added a table and chairs

and Rudolph

Enjoy

Merry

Christmas

♥♥♥Johnina♥♥♥

Christmas Georgia Style

2011-12-23T22:45:00.002-05:00

Christmas Georgia Style

What a beautiful day we had today; sunny and almost 70 degrees. All the photos in this post were taken today with bare trees, flowers, green grass and Christmas decorations.

Flowering bushes and Christmas decorations

One of the nice things about living in Georgia is we have some kind of flowers blooming all year round

December roses greeting Hospital visitors

Enjoy
☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

LOL Christmas- Greeting or Warning

2011-12-21T16:00:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas, my dog might eat your face.

Emily had her tonsils taken out this morning. How's that for a Christmas present? Come home from college for Christmas and have to have your tonsils removed. Boo Hiss. Poor baby. But while she was sleeping I was trying to do something quiet and came across this photo. Hope you

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺

See the Beauty: Moon at Sunrise

2011-12-17T18:34:00.000-05:00

Moon at sunrise December 2011

Yesterdays' sunrise, a beautiful start to a busy day.

Art edit of Moon at sunrise December 2011

And a fun photo to play with

Enjoy

♥♥♥Johnina♥♥♥

LOL Christmas Geek humor

2011-12-15T21:40:00.001-05:00

If you are a geek; you'll laugh. If you don't understand this, grab the nearest geek to explain it.

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

BTW: Our Internet has been persnickety so I haven't been able to post, hopefully it is fixed and I will be able post more.

Christmas lights- Just having fun

2011-12-08T23:20:00.001-05:00

Just having fun with Christmas lights

Yesterday I had to pick up Tom from work (we are still down to one car for the two of us) and after running errands and starting physical therapy, I was exhausted. I was also sitting in the car bored and waiting; but I had my camera soooo.. I tried to take pictures of the Christmas lights around the houses across the street. Unfortunately due to the fact that it was dark outside in order to take photos the shutter speed has to be slow which makes it hard to focus and hold the camera still enough, long enough to get a crisp photo. See photo to the left. Since I was so tired I did not bring a tripod (I was simply to tired to mess with it) I decided to just have some fun with the lights by purposely moving my camera. The collage at the top of this post is a collection of the abstract photos I got. All the editing I did was to crop the pictures and then make a collage. They are kind of strange, but I think they are kind of cool and best of all they were fun to do at a time when I need a little fun in my life.

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Old Red Barn- Seeing Red

2011-12-06T23:30:00.001-05:00

Old Red Barn

I have a son-in-law who loves photos of red barns and I came across this one and thought he might like it for Christmas. What do you think?

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

BTW: This also goes along with Written-incs theme of the week Seeing Red. To see great blogs that have taken on this theme click on the above link and take a look at the comments for directions to some wonderful post listings.

I'm back- sort of...

2011-12-05T17:35:00.001-05:00

A little off balance

Even though I have been home from the hospital for a while now; I am still feeling like the shed in this photo. While the photo and world is straight, I am like the shed- off balance and a little worse for wear, but there is new growth in spite of all difficulties.

After all the tests and several days in the hospital the doctors (I saw 4 different doctors while I was there) decided that I had a virus. I was reminded by multiple heath professionals and not just the doctors, that viruses can make you every bit as sick as a bacterial infection and there is less that can be done medically for you. All they can do is lessen the symptoms and give your body the support it needs to survive it.

This is what they did, but due to my multiple heath problems this was quite the balancing act. My recuperation also turned out to also be quite the ordeal, maybe worse than the virus itself. I have Addisons which means I do not make the hormones that help one's body cope with stress or the hormones that help one recover from stress. Even though I was over the virus and at home I continued to deteriorate. I got so weak at one point that walking the few steps from my recliner to the DVD's and the player was not going to happen. My body forced me to rest and do nothing but take care of myself.

I very much missed the fellowship I get on web and most other things, too. My art, reading, cooking, gardening just about everything took a backseat to just plain resting and recovering.

HOWEVER, I am now starting to gain strenght instead of lose it and am working myself back into life again. Carmi put up a quote on his blog a couple of weeks ago that is especially applicable to me now and my husband also found it and printed it up for me. Apparently I really needed to hear it and be reminded of it. It goes like this

"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow."

Mary Anne Radmacher

While some days this was about all I could do, as I am getting better I am going to try to start posting again even if it is just to show you the beauty of my life with my photos.

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Fire in the Sky

2011-11-15T20:18:00.001-05:00

This is the first picture I took after getting home from the hospital. Tom pointed out to me the way the morning light lit up the trees.

So very different from light at any other time of the day. Add to that the trees still in shadow and you get really dramatic skylines.

I took these propped up against my house. This trip to the hospital combined with all my medical problems have made made for a more dramatic recovery. I am really struggling to gain back my life this time and have decided that I need to take a break and just rest and recover, so I'm taking a few days off and will be back in week or so.

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Frosted work in progress

2011-11-12T10:48:00.001-05:00

Jeremy's car is down and out and Tom is helping with the repairs (actually doing most of the work). This has left us with a car and parts in the front yard just waiting to be frosted in the morning. I am fascinated by frost and the reflections and shadows that it produces so on this cold frosty morning I took advantage of the still car and parts to capture some of the delights that frost exhibits. The hairy tires, the twinkle of light caught, the ragged shadow, the landscape reflection in the melting frost as the cold and the new warmth of the day come together.

Until yesterday I hadn't taken any photos in a week and have missed capturing and focusing on this wonderful world we all inhabit. Even with being at home I am still struggling to recover (I've lost over 10 pounds in just the last couple of days, not healthy :c) but I am grateful for my ability to see and share in this world.

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Home again AEDM day 9

2011-11-09T21:45:00.000-05:00

Home again- Home again- jiggity jig This little nursery rhyme keeps going through my head. I am so glad to be home. The Internet at the hospital worked real well for the first days of my hospital stay, Monday night it started to get flaky, and Tuesday I got warnings about possible damage to my computer, so no more Internet for me. It did give me a chance to do some sketching. I really needed the distraction and for me drawing is a real good distraction. I am always amazed at how exhausting being discharged from the hospital is and how wonderful it is to be home. There are so many things that are so much nicer at home. Little things that in your day to day life you take for granted. They would not let me shower at he hospital for fear of my getting my IV wet, so coming home and taking a nice long hot shower was sheer heaven. I now have my familiar chair and my dogs at my feet. Then add family and the familiar rhythms that go with daily life and wonderful, wonderful feelings.

Hope you enjoy seeing my little doodles, Creative Every Day has it right that fitting art and creativity in your life can greatly enhance your life. I'm glad to have committed to do some art everyday even with difficulties to overcome and in overcoming the difficulties getting the blessing. Enjoy ☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

AEDM Day 7- Red leaf- 400th post

2011-11-07T22:11:00.003-05:00

Wow i was surprised when I looked at my stats for this blog to realize this is my 400th post.

I also realized today that when I signed up to do Art Every Day Month yesterday that since I am in the hospital I don't have access to my scanner so I could post my artwork. However there are other types of artwork that I can create because I do have my computer and my photos.

I had signed up to do a new note card swap on Swap-bot which was a scavenger hunt for three themes on three cards. The themes are leaves, red and nostalgia, so I went on a scavenger hunt through my photos to turn into cards. I have a purchased Georgia O'Keefe (love her art) card with one of her leaf paintings on it which I will send, but in going through my photos I found this wonderful red leaf photo to edit.

I edited it to look more like a note card drawing and that edit is on the top of this post.

I also found this photo which fits the nostalgia theme, it was already edited, but one that I love.

Or maybe I'll send this one- which I also edited earlier but love the way it turned out. What do you think?

When I get home I will be able to print them on textured or lightly patterned card stock to finish this art project.

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Help Wanted- written inc #169

2011-11-06T14:25:00.002-05:00

Carmi has come up with a wonderful theme this week and though I am a little late I still would like to post a blog on that theme. The theme is bricks and mortar and as you can hopefully see I love older brick buildings and the architectural details that often accompany them.
The reason for the help wanted is because there is a local magazine that is looking for photos of local culture to publish. The magazine Kitchen Drawer does an excellent job of promoting local events and businesses; in building a sense of community. I have lived in the Griffin area for longer than I lived anywhere else in my life and have come to love living in the area and this town and would like to contribute to that sense of community. The extra money might be nice but that is not the main reason for my wanting to contribute to this magazine. I have tried in this collage to not only show the building postcard style but to show the greater personality that only focusing on the details and different views can show, the collage does need some tweaking and for that I am asking for help. I know the title needs fixing for sure but don't know exactly how to fix it. Suggestions from all on the whole collage would be appreciated. If you click on the photo you should be able to get a larger view. This would be printed on at an 8x10 size format for the magazine.
Thanks for visiting and any suggestions

Enjoy
☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Congratulations Frog on a Pumpkin

2011-11-05T11:22:00.000-04:00

Frog on a pumpkin has demonstrated that which I have read about the economy and that is that small businesses on blogs and the Internet are the ones that are growing and beginning to thrive. They got to do a graveyard scene at the Playboy Mansion; while this is not a place I would visit, it is a great venue for them to show off their considerable talent. It seems odd that Internet craft and art blogs sites are the ones that are taking off, until I thought about it. And I've come to the conclusion that since there is no longer the need to only go to craft and art fairs to get what you want; an Internet search will find it. If you can afford the shipping you can purchase from almost anywhere in the world.
I need to stop getting distracted and work on getting my photography website up an growing.

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina ☺☺☺

PS please excuse any errors in this blog. Being sick and in the hospital makes it hard to think. I've spent an hour getting this one paragraph done (I keep hitting the wrong keys, too, thank goodness for spell check) and I'm now ready to go to sleep

In the hospital

2011-11-04T22:16:00.000-04:00

My Mums that still greet me when I come home

Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it”
Helen Keller quote

I haven't posted much this week due to being quite ill. In fact I am now in the hospital.

There is no doubt I am very sick, but from what is in doubt. I've gotten dehydrated from the fever and I am sure once I get hydrated again I will be feeling much better. It is amazing how cruddy just the dehydration can make you feel. Then maybe they can figure out what is causing all this.

I love the above quote and overcome I will.

ENJOY

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Age, race, location- No problem

2011-11-01T20:04:00.001-04:00

What a great gift we have in the Internet-common interest social sites and blogging where we can get to know other people without the usual ways we have of pre-judging others. I have found that I have developed more friendships based more on personality and common interests than the traditional way of meeting and getting know others. My life has been greatly enriched by this. On the Internet there is an anonymity that fosters a diversity of friendships that would not happen face to face. How often do we in the world surrounding us, dismiss possible friendships because that person is not in our age group or race or any other visual cues? How many people would we have never met just because of the distance in where we live? On the Internet unless one's avatar is their photo there are not visual cues to eliminate possible friendships. Your judgement on possibilities of friendship needs to be based on your common interests and the personality that shines through on the blog or website that you are visiting. As I get to know people on the Internet I find myself with much more variety in my friendships and am therefore exposed to a greater variety of ideas and lifestyles. This definitely enriches my life. The diversity added by the lack of distance provided by the Internet is an added bonus. I also find that I am less judgemental in meeting and getting to know others in my home town. I have gained in confidence in approaching others and talking with strangers through my Internet experiences. I had someone quote to me "we are all more alike than we are different" and I am finding this more and more to be true; as I get to know more and more people.
Thank you

Enjoy
☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Great Halloween idea

2011-10-30T02:27:00.002-04:00

Niel Gaiman is one of my favorite authors (Stardust, Coraline, The Graveyard Book, Good Omens and many more) and I came across this wonderful idea that he is promoting. Hope you enjoy the idea and particapate.

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

They make great Christmas gifts, too

Give away #3 Animal stickers

2011-10-29T21:05:00.000-04:00

My computer is back. Yes!! Had to take it back. Boo!! Hiss!! Now I have a computer that works so much better in spite of the frustration of getting it fixed. First I had to take it down because it was s--l--o--w and frustrating, overheating, but put it off cuz I didn't want to be without my computer no matter how frustrating it was getting. Then the touch pad was no longer functioning properly and sometimes the cursor wouldn't move and I would have to restart. Kind of hard to use a computer in that condition so to the Geek Squad it went.

They backed it up, wiped it clean, reinstalled Windows, took it apart and cleaned out the dust and it worked amazing better. However I had to reload programs and then data but could not get my one computer, one use programs to reinstall. Considering this included MS Works and my anti-virus program this was a serious problem. I also tried to reinstall my photos onto my computer and then couldn't pull them up on my editing programs another big problem for me. Back to the Geek Squad again. They were able to fix all these problems and I am now back in business; however I was without a computer that was set up for me for quite a while. I had to borrow a computer to put up the posts for the last week or so. Unfortunately this has slowed down getting my themed sticker sheets out to my winners.

Above is the sheet for SheWhoSeeks; she choose animals as her theme as she like the frog on the bottom of the first sheet of stickers (see my post on Giveaway #3. These photos were taken of critters from my garden and the Atlanta zoo. Hope she enjoys.

The give aways for those I heard back from will be going out Monday as I had to re-install my printer, too and then the ink needs to dry before they can be sent. Helpful tip: when you print in color on an ink jet printer the ink needs to dry and cure for 24 hours before it can even be stacked much less shipped. It has taken longer to do this than I had expected but they are going out as quick as I could get them out

Even though I am still reinstalling programs and getting things set up like I want, I'm back. Thanks for you patience

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Climbing tree

2011-10-28T08:18:00.001-04:00

We are down to one car for three drivers, so in order to get everyone to work I had to be on the road early today. It gave me a wonderful opportunity to photograph the sunrise someplace else besides across the street. This tree stands outside of where my husband works. He loves this tree and would put it in our yard if it was possible. Such a good climbing tree; a young boys climbing fantasy. It also has great character and in the early morning light and combined with the steet lights what a delightfully graphic quality it exudes.

Serendipity strikes again

Have a wonderful day

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Insomnia strikes again

2011-10-25T23:48:00.000-04:00

“See how nature - trees, flowers, grass - grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence...we need silence to be able to touch souls.”

Mother Teresa of Calcutta

A couple of nights ago, I woke in the middle of the night; nothing real unusual about that. Occasionally when this happens I get photo ops that I would normally never get; and this time was one of those times. This particular photo is also thanks to Rascal, who normally sleeps quietly through the night, but this night he had to go, bad, and was whining to go out. There was this wonderful moon outside, just a sliver but the night was so crisp and clear even the dark side was visible. I just had to try to capture that image, through adjusting the aperture and exposure, putting the camera on a tripod and using the delayed timer I was able to capture this photo. Not perfect but pretty good considering I only have a bridge camera.

I wish I had the words to convey the wonderfulness of that night.

Crisp, clean, clear

Air surrounding me-

Profound silence

Blanketing me-

Only an owl

Occasionally

Quietly hooting-

Peace enveloping me.

Wonderful awakening

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Frost on the Pumpkin

2011-10-22T17:09:00.000-04:00

We had our first frost of the fall yesterday. The appearance of the 'frost on the pumpkin'. Since I don't have my pictures and I don't have any pumpkin pictures anyway, I decided to just have some fun and draw a pumpkin for you. It's been a while since I've done any drawing but zentangle; I'm a little rusty. I had fun doing the drawing and experimenting with my watercolor pencils and colored pencils. This is not best work but it is bright and cheerful so I decided to post it anyway.

While I was out walking the dog this morning, yet another frosty morning, I noticed the frost patterns on the roof of my neighbor's house. I thought they were kind of interesting and graphic in nature. I then noticed the roof on my house and how very different mine looked.

Apparently the house next door has some heat leaks in their attic, which caused the patterns on the roof. Our roof was solid in color indicating no leaks. Pay attention here, whether you are a DIY kind of person or not; if you want to know how well your attic insulation is working, go out on a frosty morning and photograph your roof so you know where you need extra insulation. I wish I could hire myself out to the contractors in our area to do this, but I'm sure if I give them this idea, they will just do it themselves.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my frosty mornings from my point of view (I don't have much in the way of editing programs on my husbands computer) even with just basic editing and maybe you can use this idea to help with your heating bills this winter.

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

BTW I did get my computer back today but it is like a brand new computer, no programs but what comes with the computer and no data. It was all backed up on an external harddrive, but I still have to put it back on my computer. They completely wiped my computer and physically took the computer apart to get any dust or whatever from the inside, so basically I do indeed have a new computer. It will however take a little while for me to get it back and up in running so please be patient. ♥Johnina♥

So Sorry

2011-10-20T12:26:00.000-04:00

Once again my computer is down and out and this time my touch pad on my laptop has stopped working correctly which makes the computer a little hard to use. Plus it was overheating, the cord was even overheating and the backup battery was dieing. So into the shop it went. Good timing, my warranty runs out Nov 4. Hopefully all will get fixed quickly and my computer will run better all the way around. My pictures are on my computer so it will be a couple of days before I can finish with the sticker pages for my giveaway. So sorry.

Enjoy

my picture from off my hubbies computer.

be back soon.

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Carlyn's flower stickers

2011-10-18T21:11:00.001-04:00

Carlyn of Crafting with style has gotten back to me and chose the theme of flowers for the 2nd set of stickers she won. I tried to choose a variety of flowers both from my garden and some wild ones. There is even one taken at night using shutter speed to take the photo instead of a flash.

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Sticker winner is:

2011-10-17T12:32:00.000-04:00

These are the stickers to be given away and after the winner lets me know what theme they would like )see http://young-eclectic-encounters.blogspot.com/2011/09/give-away-3-photo-stickers.html. I will be posting their personally selected photo stickers.

Using a random number generator the winner is

Gypsywomen (http://gypsywomanworld.blogspot.com/)

Since I had so many entries I decided to give a second prize and the random number generator picked

Carlyn (http://craftingwithstyle.blogspot.com/)

And since Debra entered more times than anyone else and entered in all three ways; I have decided to give her a third prize

Debra (http://shewhoseeks.blogspot.com/)

Congratulations to all; I'll be contacting you shortly or you can leave a comment here with your chosen theme

Enjoy

♥♥♥Johnina♥♥♥

Feed my soul

2011-10-16T20:53:00.001-04:00

I have had a very tough week and it has been extremely difficult to keep on being just a tad annoyed. It has reached the point were the word ridiculous is applicable to the number of things that have gone wrong for me. One night I started to bed at 7:30 because so many things had gone wrong that day that I just didn't want to continue on that trend, better and easier to just go to bed than to continue on with frustrating mistakes and no accomplishments being made because of them.

Since today was Sunday I decided to slow down and feed my soul. One of the best ways for me to do that is to listen to inspiring music.

This is one of my favorites.

Enjoy

♥♥♥Johnina♥♥♥

Just too cool

2011-10-15T09:26:00.001-04:00

I couldn't believe it when I saw this. What an amazing idea!!! There is a flickr group dedicated to pictures taken by throwing your camera up in the air and hopefully catching it and seeing what kind of photo turns out. Of course this is done with an old camera your don't care about but it is kind of funky an fun to see. Wouldn't they just love this camera ball? This goes on my 'Oh what fun if I could afford it' list.

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺
PS Remember today is the last day to enter my sticker giveaway. See http://young-eclectic-encounters.blogspot.com/2011/09/give-away-3-photo-stickers.html for details.

A New Attitude

2011-10-13T20:52:00.001-04:00

I was angry really angry and probably had every right to be so, but I found that because I was angry and thinking angry thoughts; I was not treating the people I was dealing with very well. I needed to change my thoughts and the way I was talking to myself. So I thought how can I change I am angry to a better way to talk to myself. First I changed to I am annoyed, next I added I am a tad annoyed. Much softer way to think. Isn't tad a wonderful word; I looked it up in the dictionary and it means ' a small or insignificant amount or degree'. I added temporarily to the sentence but that was just to much so I went back to I am a tad annoyed. Much better way to think; it helps put out the fire of my anger and puts things into perspective. It allows me to correct the problem without taking my anger out on those who caused the problem or those who are trying to help me.

I learned these tricks for changing my attitude by changing the way I talk to myself from reading Anthony Robbins ('Unlimited Power') and James Allen ('As a Man Thinketh') and the scriptures- Proverbs 23:7 "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he."

Enjoy your day
☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Learning by doing and a little serendipity

2011-10-12T07:14:00.002-04:00

.It still amazes me when serendipity steps in and blesses your life in unexpected ways. I have been wanting to try my hand at Artist Trading Cards (ATC) and had been looking for a good trading site when I found Swapbot. It turned out that Swapbot not only helps facilitate ATC trades. but other types of arts and crafts trades, also. They also facilitate pen-paling. Not only am I learning about ATC's and thoroughly enjoying it but in seeing how others do their art I am learning new methods and styles. Some of the sponsored swaps even come with tutorials so you can learn and swap of equal value. Some of what I have learned is new and different ways of using my art and sharing the joy it brings me. One of my discovers was in Mail art; in seeing how others did their mail art I took it a step sideways and started using stickers (see photo). I tried different methods and papers but now I use address labels to make my envelope stickers. The 2x4 size Avery (48363) address label is great and so is using the Avery (25395) self adhesive name badges.

. However one of the greatest things I've learned is the art of writing a good letter. There is a knack to it; to make it enjoyable to both you and your reader. In todays world of text messaging and short e-mails, this artform has been largely lost. From recieving and writing letters from those I trade with I am developing that skill. Just like in doing a blog I have learned to express myself better (still learning) by doing and seeing others blogs ( I go back and read my early posts and wow what a difference) With pen paling, writing is on a different level. I am now learning to more effectively communicate with others and especially my grandchildren, Since my grandchildren are growing up, living far away and most are in school, writing can now be a way to establish ties with them. What a potential blessing this is; all because I joined Swapbot . You just never know what blessings can come from seemingly little events in your life. SERENDIPITY at work.

On top of the things I am learning I am also gaining in friendships, double blessings.

The photos are what I have sent on recent swaps. The top one is 3 different swaps with 7 different people. The bottom photo is a swap, Stuff an 6x9 envelope. One of the nice things about this kind of swap in I can thin down my art supplies of excess and know it will be appreciated. A new way of the old trading system.

Fun, fun

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Moonlight in daylight

2011-10-09T22:44:00.000-04:00

These pictures were taken tonight just before sunset. I still think it is odd to see the moon during the day even though I have seen it many times. Tonight though I was fascinated by the moon being on the horizon and the clouds were creating interesting shadows on the moon.

For some reason It reminded me of the children's poem Bed in Summer by Robert Louis Stevenson. Don't know why exactly, maybe because it seems odd to see the moon in the day to me, much like the child's question in this poem.

Robert Louis Stevenson

Bed in Summer

From Child's Garden of Verses

In winter I get up at night

And dress by yellow candle-light.

In summer quite the other way,

I have to go to bed by day.

I have to go to bed and see

The birds still hopping on the tree,

Or hear the grown-up people's feet

Still going past me in the street.

And does it not seem hard to you,

When all the sky is clear and blue,

And I should like so much to play,

To have to go to bed by day?

Another Moonlight in Daylight photo taken tonight.

Have a good evening and good night

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Eye in the Sky

2011-10-08T22:46:00.002-04:00

This cloud formation reminds me so much of a friendly version of the eye from Lord of the Rings. I was so glad that I had my camera with me this morning and all ready to shot when I saw this as I am a big fan of Lord of the Rings
I really loved the books and the movie did a wonderful job of portraying the characters and the vision of the books. When we first bought a copy of the Fellowship of the Ring it was on VHS tape; we didn't own a DVD player yet. Then we bought it on DVD. Although we have yet to get Blu-ray player, the movie has been recently re-released on Blu ray, so I guess we will have to buy that version in the not to distant future. This is one of those rare movies that lived up to the books. I've read the books so much I wore out my first copy that I bought as a teenager. I've read my second copy several times now. This is a true classic that never gets old. As an artist I've also enjoyed the books that depict how they came up with the artwork for the film. I was amazed when I typed in Lord of the Rings on amazon at the number of items available there. Lots to enjoy.
Below is just another sky scene that I took this morning for you to enjoy.

Enjoy
☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

WrittenInc makes you think

2011-10-07T20:24:00.002-04:00

WrittenInc is one of my all time favorite blogs. Carmi posts everyday and he always gives you something to think about. Today's post posed the question of where do you find comfort when the world doesn't seem to offer any? Not only does Carmi give his thoughts but the people who comment are also generous with their answers and it makes reading the comments just as thought provoking as his posts. I left my comment there,

He also does a thematic challenge every week. This is were his followers can post a post from their blogs depicting his theme. This weeks thematic challenge is Autumn.

I don't very often post a special post just for his theme; I have been blogging long enough so I can find a post to fit his theme from past posts and this is acceptable for his challenge.

But as I have recently been reorganizing my photos I have come across lots of autumn photos that I don't think I have shared before so I posted on his weekly theme today. I hope you enjoy them.

Happy Autumn

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

PS click here for information on my latest giveaway. Enter and good luck

ATC's adding texture- Swapbot

2011-10-05T22:14:00.000-04:00

I was doing an Artist trading card for a trade for Swapbot and wanted to add some texture to the background of my zentangle design. I had seen this technique on youtube and thought I would try it.

This is my result:

My photos were not that great, but I think you can get the idea. I love using textured backgrounds with my artwork. I liked the way this turned out but next time I will try using more alcohol. I used a spray bottle because of the small size of this project. I did the first layer in pink and the second layer in purple, because those were favorite colors of my swap partner. As you can see I added a couple of my stickers and of course I can't leave the envelope alone. I don't send out letters or packages without them being decorated anymore.

I also did a mail art swap. I added a letter, two stickers from my photos and blank note cards again using my photos. I send according to my swap partners profiles. This person likes purple, zentangle and realistic frogs. With these swaps; I send to one person and someone else sends to me. This is kinda cool as I get to know more artists this way. I am also learning to use my photos in different ways. I'm now making stickers, envelopes, and note cards. I've got a current swap making postcards, so I'll figure out how best to do those. I have been using my photos for more than printing up and hanging on my walls. I've discovered more ways to enjoy my photos and to share them with others.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing what I have been up to and it helps get your creative juices flowing.

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

PS the give away of my stickers is still in progress scroll down to Giveaway #3 for details and good luck.

Disorganized organization

2011-10-03T18:37:00.003-04:00

A couple of days ago i opened up my computer only to be greeted by the dreaded blue screen. Fortunately I was able to start my computer without any more problems; however It reminded me that I had not backed up my photos for about a month. When I was backing up my files I realized I really needed to organize my photos. Yet another task that I have neglected lately.

When I was going through my photos I discovered some photos I really liked and don't think I've ever posted so just for fun I am posting just this and that photos.

Hope you

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

PS scroll down to enter my latest give away

Give away #3

Tears in my eyes- Thank you

2011-10-02T09:43:00.000-04:00

♥♥♥thank you, thank you, thank you ♥♥♥
(See my last post) This morning I got up and decided to check on Laura's wish list. Surprise, surprise, pick myself up from the floor, more than half her list has been purchased and sent. I have such wonderful family and friends. It truly brought tears of gratitude to my eyes. I don't know who sent what, but Laura will when her packages arrive and I'm sure she will tell me. In the meantime you know who you are and I am humbled and thankful for your generosity.
Love to all
☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Happy 30th Laura

2011-09-30T22:16:00.000-04:00

This is my little, middle girl a long time ago. Whenever my babies have a major point in their lives, it always makes for mixed emotions on my part. It is wonderful to see your children grow into adulthood as fine, decent persons. To see them take new challenges and responsibilities. However I now have 4 of 6 over the age of 30. Oh, how it makes me feel so old. Laura has always had her own special beauty. She is very artistic and musically inclined and has a beautiful singing voice. She has also had her own sense of style, much to the chagrin of her older sister. It's hard to be the middle child. She is turning into a wonderful mother. Both her boys are autistic and are a challenge; to which she is trying to rise to.

Right now she is going through a particularly hard time. She just had to move into an apartment with next to nothing. Starting all over from scratch is never easy and unlike when there is a new marriage or an new baby where you receive gifts to get you started; she has had family and friends help but it is not the same. We have helped as much as we can, but there is so much to reestablishing a household it is amazing what you miss. Her brothers took up some furniture last weekend and went to throw away some trash and realized she did not have a garbage can, just a trash bag in the cabinet (so the boys couldn't get into it). Needless to say a trip to Walmart was made.

Today on her 30th birthday she decided to spurge and get a cake mix to make her own cake, but had to buy a $5 dollar mixer to make it with. She has had a really good attitude about it though and is delighted to have a mixer. She got cookware from us. She is learning to appreciate what most of us take for granted. She even considers them splurges and treats. If you would like to help her out and make her birthday and her life a little easier she does have an Amazon wish list under Laura Frazier but there are lots of them so click here to go directly to her Wish list. Love Amazon because she can have a wish list and have things sent to her without giving out her address. Amazon takes care of the shipping. Remember any orders that goes through my blog; I earn money from. This also helps me to help Laura more. So if you have a personal order go to the amazon icon on the top right hand side of my post and click GO. This takes you to the Amazon home page; then you place your order as you usually do

Check out these eyes, They belong to Laura's youngest, Wyatt. Then check out Laura's baby picture at the top of this post. Amazing
Enjoy your evening
☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Give away #3 Photo Stickers

2011-09-30T12:50:00.002-04:00

I have so enjoyed sharing my art that I have decided to do another giveaway, This time it will be two sheets of stickers with my photos. Since so many of my followers are artists I thought this would be creative way to share my work. Mixed media artists can use them in their art, or they can be used on envelopes for mail art, glued to a magnet or any way the winner wishes to creatively use them.

The photos are 12 to a page which makes them about wallet size. The photo sheet above is one of them and the other one will be a sheet of photos with the choice of theme chosen by the winner. Some ideas might be fall colors, clouds, Christmas, landscapes or whatever strikes the winners fancy. I have lots of photos with lots of different themes so hopefully I can create a set of stickers from their theme. I will post a photo of that sheet when the winner chooses their theme

Rules:

Winner will be chosen on Oct 15

The winner will be chosen using a numbers generator.

Each of the following will count as an entry

1- Leave a comment on any of my posts- please leave a comment on the post itself, you will be automatically entered for each comment

2- Sign up to follow my blog- if you already follow my blog leave a comment on this post

3- List me on your blog as a blog that you follow, then leave a comment telling me so- if you already have me on your blog list just leave a comment on this post

Good luck

and

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Blessed to be busy

2011-09-29T00:02:00.004-04:00

Busy, busy, busy. In the last week or so I have accomplished more than I would normally get done in an entire month (if I was feeling good that is). Sometimes in the pressure of having lots to do in a little time we forget to remember the joy of service and the blessing of having the stamina to accomplice what needs to be done. I captured some of what I have done on my camera, but most of what I have done just doesn't show.

I've been washing the dog every 2-3 days due to his skin infection coming back. This is done on a 70# dog with a water resistant coat. Since it is medicated shampoo; it stays on for an minimum of 10 minutes. then it is rinsed and lotion applied while he is still wet. I then I have to bleach all his bedding and his harness. It really is a big deal and a lot of work

Then Laura had to move with her family and start all over, so I went through all of my basic things (towels, dishes, beds, bedding, dressers, shelves and just about anything and everything you could possibly need). I found what i could but that also meant the dresser, desk and shelves had to be emptied and those things contained therein had to find new homes around our house. Her boys now are sleeping on the beds Laura used when she was little and they have a dresser and desk that Laura also used. I then looked at thrift shops to gather what I could there. Next came Wal-mart and Amazon. Her brothers drove up to her new home and delivered what we had gathered. I've also been gardening in the morning while it is cool. Since Laura wants some houseplants, I have been trimming my container gardens and rooting the trimmings on my kitchen window sill. I also got my winter greens area of my garden ready to plant tomorrow. I've also replanted some of my herbs so they are ready to come inside when we start to get frosts.

I also made up some photos and printed them on magnetic paper to send to the people who I visit from church. I put my name and phone # on them so, if they ever wanted or needs to call me, it would be right there on their fridge.The thing i am most proud of is on the collage at the top. Last year our church's women's organization made totes and filled them with personal products for the local women's shelter. I found then that I really loved making totes and designing not just the look but designing them to suit a specific purpose. When I saw a swap of A Tote and a Note on Swapbot; I jumped at the chance to participate. I really enjoyed this swap and designed this just for my assigned swap buddy. She does cross stitch so I designed the tote to fit. It was large enough to hold a good sized hoop and project book or magazine, but was narrow enough to hold it upright. I included pockets on the inside and out with some long enough for scissors and rulers. I added a clear pencil case so that the threads could be stored and seen there. I also added hooks so the case could easily be taken out and some other hooks to hang things like things like keys on. All this was done with scraps and leftovers from other projects.

Swapbot has been real good for me, allowing me to be creative in multiple ways and I am learning to meet deadlines. If I am ever to go back to school or start my own business this is definitely a skill I need to develop.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing what I have been up to.

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Good Morning- Confusion reigns

2011-09-27T14:24:00.001-04:00

I got up this morning and while I was walking the dog I noticed that the plants seem to be a little cofused as to what season this is.

I saw and photographed all these this morning:

Spring flowers

Cantaloupes ripening on the vine

Summer flowers

Fall leaves

Enjoy

♥♥♥Johnina♥♥♥

If you don't like the weather...

2011-09-23T10:42:00.000-04:00

We've been having cloudy, rainy days for several days now. The weather has been pretty gloomy, but at times the sun breaks through and we get some delightful cloud formationds. These picture were all taken within an hour of rain. There is a saying here that if you don't like the weather just wait 5 minutes it will change. I would really feel bad complaining about the rain and clouds because we desparately need the rain, however the gloom was starting to get to me till I looked up when it wasn't actually raining and saw the teriffic shape of the clouds caused by the weather. My garden is enjoying it; both the plants that are supposed to be there and the weeds. At least it is getting cooler so I can go correct that balance when the rain stops.

Hope you enjoy the clouds, too

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Low blood sugar brain fog

2011-09-22T12:05:00.002-04:00

Personally I find waiting in doctor's offices to be the pits and a tremendous waste of time. However I spend so much time waiting in their offices I have learned to come prepared. I see 15 different doctors all of them specialists, all of which I see every six weeks to every three months, which adds up to a lot of time spent waiting. I know what doctors have a long wait and those that have a good magazine selection. I also know which doctors keep their magazines neat and rotated from the back exam rooms to the main waiting rooms. This morning I had a doctors appointment with a doctor with a long wait time (he spends whatever time is necessary with each patient, so the wait is worth it). I knew my appointment would be around lunch time, so the magazines would be in the exam rooms, so I came prepared with my Zentangle supplies. Unfortunately because it was lunch time my blood sugar took a big dip to the low side. This doctor is an endocrinologist and in the past he has taken the time to show me how low blood sugar effects brain function. When he catches a patient with low blood sugar he has them do simple math problems. I couldn't even do simple one digit addition. Since the amount of insulin I give myself is determined by doing some quick math this could be a problem.
I can't show you how bad my math skills are so I thought I would show you how low blood sugar effects brain function by showing you the Zentangle that I did today. Some was done with low blood sugar and some with normal blood sugar. I will probably never send this envelope out because of the number of mistakes. There are designs where part is upside down, just random parts, and I had great difficulty keeping the patterns straight (see upper right). All together I had a hard time just concentrating and so it took much longer to do this envelope.
I should learn that when I start making a lot of mistakes, losing things, or just plain get con fused easily; I need to check my blood sugar. This zentagle was a good reminder.
Hope you Enjoy it anyway
☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺
I hope this makes sense; since I am still having trouble thinking.
PS You wouldn't believe how often I edited this post and then put off publishing it till the next day; due to brain fog.

This is why I love Amazon.com

2011-09-20T10:04:00.002-04:00

Going back to my post on what do we owe our pets you might remember my concern over the high cost of medical care for our pets. This is a shampoo that will hopefully keep Rascal's skin infection under control. The bottle on the right came from the vets and cost $50. Since Rascal needs to be bathed with this shampoo twice a week, minimum, for the rest of his life, the cost could quickly add up for this one medicine alone. I decided to look elsewhere to see if I could get it cheaper elsewhere. I checked out 1-800PetMeds and did find it for $28 on sale plus shipping. Better but still quite expensive and shipping was expensive, too. I didn't think Amazon would have it but decided to try it anyway. Wow they had it for $12 plus shipping, which turned out to be minimal.

It came from one of their independent dealers, which is why it had shipping charges. I ordered on Saturday and received it yesterday (Monday). Wow priority mail without extra charges. Amazon does an excellent job of monitoring their independent dealers so they can be trusted. As you can see from the pictures the medications are exactly the same except the one from the vet has a prescription label. The expiration dates are even the same so I didn't get old stock the dealer was trying to get rid of. Great prices, great service, and easy to use. When you decide to use Amazon please go through my blog. Use the tab on the upper right and you can just click on go and it will take you straight to Amazon. They have a terrific associate program where I earn a percentage of the sales that go through my site and all it costs you is an extra mouse click to go to my blog first. Save and

ENJOY

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Got to walk the dog

2011-09-18T17:05:00.003-04:00

I got my flu shot last Friday. I know that since the shot does not contain the live virus that it is not supposed to cause any reaction or flu symptoms; it did with me. every year when I get the shot; I get the symptoms. They may be less then getting the actual flu, but they still make me feel cruddy. Aches, chills, fever (100.6) and high blood sugar, (all signs of illness) but when you own a dog, no matter how you feel, the dog still needs to be walked. Tom normally does this for me when I don't feel well, but he wasn't around, so we went for a walk.

I decided since I was outside anyway I would bring my camera to catch the last of the summer color. I have taught Rascal to hold still on command when we walk and that is what he is doing in the picture above. Good dog!

This is the space for my garden in the making. This year we put up this hanging space for my tomatoes. Put up hangers for my Nasturtiums and put a raised space underneath for my squash and cucumbers. It is in the middle of this photo (click on picture to enlarge). Eventually there will be other spaces with walkways and raised spaces, so I can garden in spite of my handicaps. Little by little as we get the time, energy and money it will be added to. Fortunately we live in the south where you can garden almost all year long. Summer is actually the hardest time to garden here due to the heat, so more progress will be made now that the temperature has dropped. Eventually there will be flowers, herbs, vegetables and a picnic table in this spot.

One last photo of the filterd sunshine in the woods across the street from me. Rascal and I walk by it every day.

Hope you enjoyed my walk as much as I did.

Enjoy your day

♥☺♥Johnina♥☺♥

Autistic Grandchilden - http://www.autismspeaks.org/

2011-09-17T11:13:00.003-04:00

These picture epitomise the symptoms of autism. There are a couple behaviors shown in the picture above that are very typical of an autistic child, First and foremost is the fact that even though they are are playing together; they are also each doing their own separate activies. There is no social interaction.

When I was growing up and my siblings and I all faced abuse, we still faced it separately. My phrase for it is 'We were all in it together, separately.' How much better it would have been growing up if my siblings an I could have talked and worked together, but alas it was not to be. We still do not discuss it. It makes for great loneliness, feelings of self questioning and doubt without that social interaction. While my siblings could have had that interaction, due to the abuse it never happened. With autism that social interaction is missing; it is part of the autism condition. How very sad to go through life, to be an insular individual devoid of the comfort of human interaction.

This lack of interaction is again shown in the fact that autistic children lack interaction with their playthings, also. Instead of playing with their toys and having them interact; they line them up. Notice that Wyatt is lining up the crayons while Hayden is coloring. Hayden has been in therapy and Laura has worked hard in encouraging some kind of interaction, but when Hayden was little he often lined up he toys and heaven forbid you moved them. It was meltdown time. Now he can interact with his toys sometimes with great enthusiasum.

There is great hope in the research and therapies now. I believe every person has their own special set of talents and gifts, but autistic children need extra help in coping and developing social skills so that their own personal talents can show and shine.

For more information on autism please go to http://www.autismspeaks.org/.

If you go through this website to Amazon I have a wish list under my name Johnina Young and under my wish list Autism look for items that help with autism if you would like to learn more or would like to help me help my grandchildren. Or you can go to the Amazon link or my wish list on my sidebar. I have checked these books out at the library when they were available so I know most of them to be helpful and informative.

ENJOY

♥♥♥Johnina♥♥♥

Art swap revisited

2011-09-16T21:54:00.000-04:00

This is the mail art that I received today. What a fun collage. What a delightful surprise that it came from Brazil. Of all the foreign countries I could gotten Brazil was perfect. My son sent two years on a mission in Brazil and speaks, reads, and writes in fluent Portuguese so no translation problems.

I also got lots of loot and since I have been thinking of doing some mixed media art, these will be a great start.

These are a few of my favorites. I love the little skelanimals, so halloweeny. I delight in haloween decorations, books, and crafts. To show my eclectic side I also love bookmarks and collect them; I also love Shakespeare and getting a bookmark of Shakespeare and in Portuguese is just to cool.

This is what I sent out this morning on the swap 'Send a letter, get a letter' off of Swapbot. The sticker on the envelope and the sticker sheet I sent are all made from my photos. All of the other items came from suggestions on my partner's profile and of course the Halloween theme paper came from my love of Halloween.

This has turned out to be lots of fun for me and I hope you

ENJOY

♥♥♥Johnina♥♥♥

PS: there was no entries and therefore no winner of my second giveaway so i am going back to the rules of the first giveaway (I had 60 something entries), but would like some ideas of what to give away. More mail art, stickers of my photos, photos of mine with magnetic backing, a print of one of my photos (suggestions please) or any other craft that I could produce. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Art swaps

2011-09-14T17:11:00.001-04:00

Once upon a time there was a little girl who loved to color. She loved to turn the black and white paper bright with color. She colored carefully; making sure that all her strokes were straight up and down and always kept within the lines. However she never showed her pictures to anyone; as there was always some kind of mistake. Sometimes the crayon would slip a little and venture outside the lines or maybe the strokes were not quite straight up and down or a little space left uncovered. So in spite of her love of the bright colors; she kept the books to herself never showing them to anyone. It wasn't as if it would have done any good the books wouldn't have been shown off any way. There were no pictures on the refrigerator at her house. She continued to learn on her own; always in the privacy of her room. She learned to fill in with circles so the stroke marks wouldn't show up as much. Up and down strokes just didn't look right. She then discovered how to curve her strokes to follow the lines of the drawing. Experimenting with combining markers and crayons came next and she became more and more pleased with her finished pictures. However she still kept them to herself, hiding them. Hiding them because of the little gremlins who were developing inside her; telling her of her mistakes and telling her that her improvements were really failings because she should have known better. Then she learned how to paint and a whole new adventure started for her; it was short lived but a step in the right direction. One day she showed the paintings to her teacher who put them on the bulletin board and soon she had her own spot to display her paintings. With a new teacher and a new year this stopped and she went back to keeping her art work to herself. Once again hiding what she was learning. This went on for years, while her little gremlins inside kept pointing out her mistakes and asking why try, if there was always mistakes and never acknowledging the progress being made. Soon she was doing less and less art. But the artist inside her kept trying to sneak out past the gremlins, sometimes succeeding, sometimes not. As she got better and better she started to be noticed for her art. Sometimes the artist inside would make it past the gremlins and she would share and be accepted. After years and years of this now as a grandmother she is learning to love to share her art even in it's imperfection. She is still learning not to listen to those little gremlins. Instead she is learning to listen to the pleasure it brings to her to share, the compliments and pleasure she sees as others enjoy her work and the small voice that tells her she is making progress.

In case you couldn't tell that little girl was me and sharing my art now brings me great joy both on the Internet and in person. I recently found an art swap site (http://www.swap-bot.com/) that I have joined. It is free and they have various avenues in which to share your artwork. Some are for newbies and some are for more experienced individuals for which you must qualify just by doing a good job of keeping your commitments. I picked a mail art swap and the above is the envelope that I did. They also asked to include something in the envelope, since I am best known for my photography I sent a photo with a letter.

I am looking forward to receiving mail art from the person assigned to me. I plan on doing more swaps and maybe you would like to join me and know the pleasure of sharing in a new way.

Enjoy

♥♥♥Johnina♥♥♥

Update Give away #2

2011-09-14T10:41:00.000-04:00

So far i have not recieved any entries for my give away of the book Creative Awakenings. As blogger comments are not always reliable and if you have entered; please e-mail me at johninayoung@yahoo.com. If you would still like to enter see my post Give away #2. The deadline is still tomorrow, Sept. 15.

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Give away #1 revisited

2011-09-12T20:40:00.000-04:00

This is going to be short and sweet. I gave myself my IVIG last night which always leaves me achy and then I had physical therapy first thing this morning. Big mistake. I hurt. With the help of my husband; I did however get my act together enough to get the first giveaway gathered together and mailed.

I hardly ever delete my photos no matter how bad they are. The background for the CD and cover is a very badly out of focus photo of a Nasturtium. I think it made a great background; much better than a solid color. Going to the post office after my afternoon Doctor appointment (long day) turned out to be a pleasant experience. The winner lives in Thailand so I had to deal with international mail; which I haven't done since my son served a 2 year mission in Brazil several years ago. The postal worker was very helpful and because it was international mail it took longer to mail it. While I was filling out the paperwork this delightful postal worker and I had an interesting conversation on mail art and the photo I had placed on the envelope. Even with as tired and in pain as I was, this discussion lifted my spirits and made me glad that I have decided to share my art with others. Not so long ago I would not have felt that my art work was worth sharing much less believed it would bring pleasure to other people's lives. Even at 55 I am learning and growing not just in my artist endeavors but also personally. Once again serendipity brings joy into my life.

Enjoy

♥☺♥Johnina♥☺♥

Roof fog

2011-09-10T10:20:00.001-04:00

Cool nights, high humitity, dark roof, bright morning sunshine: Combine all of these and what do you get- roof fog.

Enjoy

♥♥♥Johnina♥♥♥

Oh no- fall begins in Georgia

2011-09-08T21:59:00.000-04:00

In the last couple of days it has become obvious that autumn is getting a head start this year in Georgia. In the last couple of days I've had to locate my jacket, turn off the air conditioner because the house was to cold with it on, and this morning I was able to open the windows so I could check out the heater and make sure it worked. Every year when it starts to get cool at night we turn on the heat to make sure it works and to make sure any dust accumulated in the system during the summer is gone. I hate that first time start up smell. I would also be very unhappy if we needed it one night and it didn't work. We've lived in this house for over 20 years now with the same heat pump. The last time we had to have the air-conditioner part of it fixed, we were told they don't even make parts for our heat pump anymore. Happy to say it works wonderfully. I really don't want to have to replace it right now.

I am enjoying the cooler weather especially in the morning when I walk the dog and work in the garden. I am really getting excited about planting my fall perennials, clearing out and changing around my gardens. I am not looking forward to the leaves falling and this has already started.

This picture was taken in my front yard this morning. Amazingly the photo above is the same photo as the photo at the top of this post. I am still learning the nuances of Photoscape and having lots of fun. I have been organizing my photos and in doing so I have discovered that I do not feel that a photo is finished until I either put a frame around it or do some kind of art editing to it. Discovery # 1 in my journey to decide what direction to take my art.

Please remember the giveaway of the book Creative Awakenings. I am working on my journal and will shortly have some photos of my progress. Click here for details.

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Zentangle Everywhere

2011-09-07T22:40:00.003-04:00

This another book I got for my birthday. Didn't have to ask for it; it was on my Amazon wish list. Yoga for your Brain is a fun little book with lots of zentangle designs in it. I do my doodling and zentangle on envelopes instead of my sketchbook, so I can share them. After I went through this book this is the first envelope I did. It was fun to do. Although it was not perfect it was still bright and cheerful to send. I send out quite a few cards with my photos in them. While the person who received the cards may have enjoyed the photos I decided that doing art on the outside let more people enjoy the cards I sent out. Years ago I would do some art on my envelopes that I sent to the kids and grandkids, but had stopped as I put a lot of effort into the finished picture on the envelope so that I was not sending out as much mail. Now using envelopes instead of my sketchbook; I may not send out my most perfect more elaborate artwork but it is always bright and cheerful and fun for me to do.

This book also pointed out all the zentangle designs all around me. It gave me a new perspective on some of the photos I was taking and using them in another art form. Suddenly the close-ups of architectural details that I had been taking were giving me ideas to use in this new (to me) art form. I think this really came home to me when I saw Kung Fu Panda 2 with the grandchildren. This movie start out in Zentangle style, but all through it is ideas in the background for zentangle designs

Look at the windows, columns, floors and ceilings and all kinds of other archetecual details for amazing designs.

I've also found some pretty amazing blogs and websites with zentagle and doodle designs in them.

http://lifeimitatesdoodles.blogspot.com/

Draw, Doodle and Decorate

The Daily Doodle

http://balzerdesigns.typepad.com/balzer_designs/

Terri's Tangles

ENJOY

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

PS to participate in my give away please click here

Good thing he's cute- What do we owe our pets?

2011-09-06T23:12:00.000-04:00

I must admit at the very start of this post that I have very mixed feelings about this subject. While ideally when you get a pet it should be with keeping them for their lifetime in mind. Keeping them well taken care of , well socialized (I have a thing against dogs who are chained or left in a pen 24/7) and healthy. Most pets are social animals and need the love and attention from their owners. Why have a pet if not for companionship? I could do a whole post on people who neglect their pets but that is not what this post about.

What about those who love their pets and do indeed take care of them, but due to circumstances or a change of circumstances the pet no longer fits in with your life?

I've had to find homes for dogs that my children have owned but due to a move had to give up their dogs. So far I have been lucky in placing these dogs in good homes.

However I picked up an abandoned dog (not a subject to get me started on) only to find out that all the shelters were full, due to people surrendering their dogs due to the economy. One large no-kill shelter in Atlanta was turning away 80 dogs a day. I have something of a different problem. I rescued Rascal from a shelter 5 years ago; a healthy older puppy and he has been my companion ever since.He sits at my feet or lays down in the same room as me. he's well house trained and lets me know when he needs to go out. He goes in the car with me, loves to go bye-bye (top pic). I take him with me whenever the weather will allow. He walks well on a leash and I have even taught him to be still so I can stop and take photos.

He has been a real blessing in my life as I am sometimes housebound and he keeps me company. However he does have expensive recurring medical problems. He has allergies and because he scratches he gets infections. At one time he lost most of his hair and his skin was so raw it would oozed blood. We took him to the vet and spent a small fortune in veterinarian bills. He did stay healthy for about a year but a couple of months ago it started all over again. In the last

couple of months his bills are coming up on $1,000. That does not include the shots he still needs, but has been to sick to get. As you can see there are times when he really does not feel good, which makes me sad. Poor baby. We thought he was all better but a couple of days ago he started itching again and losing his fur. I really could not afford his bills so far, but starting all over and his bills could swamp me financially. Personally I could think of a lot of things that would help me for the money I have spent on him.

Do I owe him another round of bills and his being miserable; especially since the vet says this will probably continue off and on for the rest of his life? Should I continue to go deeper in debt? Is it fair to him to have him miserable just so I can enjoy his company? Do I try to find him another home with someone who can afford his vet bills? Would that even be possible given the shelter situation? He is very attached to me so would he even adjust to a new home? He really is a good dog and has been well trained and socialized. See how patiently he waits for his food. I would miss him terribly. I'm afraid that humanely euthanizing him will be my best option, but how very sad that would make me. So many questions to consider and are any of the solutions the 'right' one? Is there even a 'right' answer? I don't know; all I know is I want to do the best I can.

What do you think we owe our pets; who depend on us for their all?

♥♥♥Johnina♥♥♥

Race cars at Wal-mart

2011-09-04T15:43:00.003-04:00

Since we live so close to the Atlanta Motor Speedway; race car driving is a big deal here. With the big race over the weekend our Wal-mart joined in the hoopla. These are the cars that were outside Wal-Mart. These cars I can see how they got there and it was fun to see them, but they were not the shock of seeing the car in the produce section from yesterdays post. This one is just what it says on the side 'Offical Pace Car" for the race. The next two photos are cars that are in the race as was the car in the produce section.

I was not the only one taking photos

There were lots of security just watching out for these cars. I would imagine they are worth lots and lots of money. I'm also sure that since they also keep them in showroom shape and race ready so they don't want anyone messing with them.

Crowd control and enjoyment. They had a car (the orange one) that you could get into and see what it would be like to sit in the drivers seat. Vroom,Vroom. The security people tended to be very nice and friendly. I even had a discussion with them on what kind of camera they should get.

These cars were also more then they first appeared all kinds of safety equipment and computers and electronics

And of course there was all the inevitable hype and advertising to go with it, but it did serve to give the store kind of a festival feel to it. Our Wal-Mart quite often has activities and fundraisers outside the store just like the car set-up. They allow groups to set up tents to sell cookies or doughnuts and sometimes full scale Bar-b-ques for fundraisers. For years our scout troop wrapped Christmas presents there and my boys were always able to pay for their summer camp from that one fundraiser.

Hope your enjoyed my shopping trip

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

PS while you are here scroll down and check out my latest give-away

Look what I found in the produce section

2011-09-04T01:30:00.001-04:00

I follow the blog http://writteninc.blogspot.com/ and each week Carmi comes up with a theme for the week. Anyone can participate simply by leaving a comment on his site with a link to a past or present post relating to the theme. I have found many interesting sites by going to these sites to take a peek at their interpretation of the theme. This weeks theme is SHOPPING.

So when I stopped by Wal-Mart; having forgotten that this was Labor day weekend and hence the race at the Atlanta Motor Speedway; I was surprised to see this car in the produce section.

We are just down the road from the Speedway and the races are a BIG deal here. Lots of to do about the races; lots of people, lots of opportunities to meet the drivers and see the cars up-close. This is an actual car that will be driven in the race.

There is also lots of hype and advertising. Racing runs on advertising all you have to do is look at the cars and drivers to tell that. Our local Wal-Mart joins in that advertising frenzy. This is just a quick sample of the cars and photos I was able to take. There will be more posted later today.

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Give away #2 Creative Awakenings

2011-09-01T22:40:00.006-04:00

This is the book to be given away

I received this book for my birthday and it is wonderful. Soooo I decided to share it with my friends, for my second give away. This last birthday was the big double nickel and with all the changes and challenges of late; I am feeling a little at a loss as to what direction to take my life. When I was younger I wanted to go into psychology and become a therapist. This developed into wanting to do art therapy with abused children. I have always had a creative bent, but with raising six kids; time and money were at a premium so my dreams got put on hold. It literally took years of birthdays and Christmas's to gather brushes, paints and canvases for my first paintings. I did sew and quilt for my family which did give me a creative outlet, but the kids always came first. I had plenty of plans for when I became an empty nester. Unfortunately as an empty nester my health severely limits what I can do. I'm learning not to put my dreams on hold anymore; especially after Emily has been so sick, I realized nobody is guaranteed a tomorrow to make their dreams come true. My problem is what direction do I want to take my life. I know it will involve blogging as I have come to love this form of self expression and the friendships I have gained. I can't do everything that I want to do; my body just won't allow that any more, so this book is perfect for where I am right now. Hopefully to give some direction to my endeavors. I have read Creative Awakenings pretty well all the way through and what it does is take you through the process of discovering yourself and your dreams through art and words. Once a month you do a piece of art and everyday you look at it and contemplate what it is trying to tell you. You can add to the art as the month goes by changing and considering. I will be posting this once a month and would like anyone out there to join me in my new encounter with myself and maybe discover some things about yourself in the process. All you need is this book, a 9x12 sketchbook (mine is one for Mixed Media) and art supplies of your choice. I am able to offer this as I have become an Amazon Associate and this prize will be sent to the winner by Amazon. I chose Amazon as an income choice for several reasons 1-I can choose just exactly what is advertised; only those things that I fully recommend as I have found what is advertised has brought help or pleasure into my life. 2-All it takes to help me out is to click on the advertised items or if you order from Amazon for other items you can help me out by going to the Amazon box in the top right of my blog and fill out your category or just hit GO and it takes you to Amazon. I then get credit for your sales without it costing you anything but an extra mouse click to get to my site. Please remember me anytime you order from Amazon as this is how I can get my art supplies, instructive books, give aways and other wishes. 3-Amazon has great prices, quite often cheaper than Wal-Mart, excellent service and an amazing selection of merchandise. 4-Amazon has a great wish list policy. Everyone can create a wish list, anyone can order for you as a gift and Amazon will ship it without giving your address to the sender. Cool, huh. I have several wish lists on Amazon and that is how I received my book. All these reasons are why I am using Amazon as my giveaway provider.

Rules

1- Going through my website; click on the Amazon box on upper right, set up a wish list with Creative Awakenings on it, or if you choose to buy the book now and join me in starting to use it, just choose another item of the same price.

2- Leave a comment letting me know that you have a wish list and then preferably let me know what you like about my blog or how I can improve it. You could also let me know by sending me an e-mail at johninayoung@yahoo.com. Any comment left after I have received a comment on your wish list; will count as an additional entry.

3- This time I am going to try a random number generator so I don't have to worry about making sure I have mixed the entries enough or any other worries about it being fair.
4- Deadline is September 15

Good luck

and

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

And the winner is...

2011-08-31T10:28:00.000-04:00

First I would like to thank all those who participated in my give away. I have met some wonderful people in the last few weeks and have seen and felt the support of my longtime Internet friends. This give away came at both a good time and a bad time. It was good in that while I was under trying times; I felt the support along the way. It was bad in that I was not able to comment back or keep track of my friends. I do want you to know that that the support and new friends are very much appreciated.

The winner turned out to be Lolit. She was only entered once which just goes to show the luck involved; she is however a long time Internet friend of mine and we communicate over several sites. Facebook & My Shutter Space

Congratulations Lolit

I'll be contacting you soon

I've also decided to do another give away; there will be details tomorrow

Have a great day!!!

Enjoy

♥♥♥Johnina♥♥♥

Making the most of mistakes

2011-08-31T00:27:00.003-04:00

“I begin with an idea and then it becomes something else.”

Pablo Picasso quote

Today while I was going out the door to take some pictures I accidently took a photo as I was turning to go out. I didn't realize I had done it until I downloaded my photos of the day.

I liked the movement in the photos so I just played with them. As you can see my mistakes became artistic renderings. I was pleased; what do you think?

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺
PS remember the giveaway mail art will be awarded later this morning

Ding, Dong the glitch is gone...

2011-08-29T23:02:00.001-04:00

the wicked glitch is gone. I've got my computer back and it is working so much better. Hooray! for the Geek Squad. Just in case you don't recognize the parody in the title; your really need to get hold of the Wizard of Oz DVD. One of the all time greatest classic movies ever.
Anyway my computer's working better. My new programs are installed and I have two new editing programs to play with. I'm so excited.
Emily is going great. The doctor is very pleased with her recovery. She spent last week learning how to teach freshman English. She said that instead of sprinkling them with knowledge; they used a fire hose. This week she starts working on her Masters degree and teaching freshman English class on her own. Well, sort of on her own; BYU provides plenty of support and their attitude is you are here to get your Master's degree and teaching comes second. She has also found a study buddy who is doing the same thing and they have agreed to help each other. Good deal for her.

I have recovered from the stress of the last couple of weeks. Due to the fact that I have Addison's disease; it takes me a long time to recoup. Having Addison's means my body does not make the hormones necessary to cope with stress be it good or bad. It has caused my electrolytes to go kind of haywire, my blood pressure to drop dramatically and just those two things can make anybody so weak that walking more than a few steps makes them feel like they are going to fall on their face. There is so much more to what the stress hormones do that sometimes I do get discouraged. Even with all my varied health problems this is the worst and makes the stress of my other problems so very much more complicated. This is an orphan disease which means there are not enough people with it to warrant research. It's the pits.
However I am learning to deal with it better and better. Not near as many hospital visits as I am learning to deal with it at home and I have a PA who is helping me through the process of learning to deal. How grateful I am for modern medicine.
Between Emily and I we have truly learned the miracle of modern medicine and a miracle it has been in our lives lately. Add to that the prayers and support from those around us and our lives have been so very richly blessed.
We are both alive and able to continue to see the beauty in this world in which we live.

Enjoy

♥♥♥Johnina♥♥♥

PS remember to come back tomorrow for the drawing of my mail art giveaway- there is still time to enter- see the post Giveaway #1 Mail art

Bright new day

2011-08-26T19:28:00.001-04:00

Hoping for a bright new day. I just got home from taking my computer down to the Geek Squad at Best Buy. When I got home the first priority was to walk the dog and when I looked up this is the sky I saw. I love it when the sun shines through the clouds like this, It always cheers me up. I always really dislike leaving my computer but it was not allowing me to download my new photo-editing program that I received for my birthday sooo since I have the insurance that covers such things to the Geek Squad I went. Since my computer was also running slow again they suggested a complete check-up. My insurance also covers this, love insurance, love the Geek Squad and Best Buy. Between Emily and I the insurance has more than paid for itself. I still hate leaving my computer though because all my pictures are on my computer. However I had not erased my pics from my camera so I still had 475 photos on my card in my camera. Went to download the program that allows me download my photos only to find that the CD was cracked. I went to http://www.canon.com/ to see if there was anything I could do. I fully expected to have to leave an E-mail and hope for an E-mail back. Surprise, surprise they have a toll-free number with real people, really helpful people and the person I talked to patiently walked me through the process of getting my photos downloaded. I was even more impressed when I found out the are headquartered in Virginia in the path of the hurricane and they were still quick and patient and helpful. Certainly improved my opinion of Canon. All in all this is the best experience I've had when my computer has been down and out, so I will still be able to post. Maybe when my computer comes back it will work better and I will indeed have a bright new day.

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Soul survivor

2011-08-25T11:06:00.000-04:00

I read many wonderful blogs and have moved my list to the bottom of my blog to give more room and info on the blogs that I follow.
I just read a post that touched my soul deeply
http://chrisalba-enchantedoak.blogspot.com/2011/08/war-wounds.html
Read it but keep the kleenex nearby.

Enjoy

♥♥♥Johnina♥♥♥

Rose garden

2011-08-24T11:24:00.001-04:00

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“One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon-instead of enjoying the roses blooming outside our windows today.”

Dale Carnegie quotes (American lecturer, author, 1888-1955)

Serendipity at work on this photo.

When I saw my roses with the dew still on them and the sun shining down on them; i just had to go out to photograph them. When I go out to take photos I almost always try different angles to get different compositions in hopes of a WOW shot. The first picture I took was alright but then I noticed the window in the background so I moved around a little bit so the roses framed the window. When I saw the photo on downloading; I knew I had a photo worth posting. I then went on a search for a quote to go with it. I used http://en.thinkexist.com/ and simply typed in the word roses and just a couple of quotes down was the quote I used above. Perfect for my photo! I am so glad that I listened to that small voice of intuition and followed it. When I listen and follow my intuition my day always goes better, more joyously as serendipity takes over.

Enjoy

♥♥♥Johnina♥♥♥

Morning Glories

2011-08-23T22:13:00.001-04:00

A good garden may have some weeds”

Thomas Fuller quotes (British Clergyman and Writer, one of the most prolific authors of the 17th century. 1608-1661)

Sometimes there is a fine line between flowers and weeds and sometimes it is hard to tell the difference. Some of my herb plants look like weeds but they are wonderful smelling and tasting and add so much pleasure to the other senses. Some weeds are beautiful and add vibrance to the landscape, but choke out the useful plants.

Even though these Morning Glories are really pretty flowers they are none the less a weed here in Georgia. They are so invasive that they will choke out all other plants, useful or not.

As you can see from this photo of my veggie garden the Morning Glories have indeed taken over. This picture is simply the same picture as the one at the beginning of this post just taken from a different angle where the weediest shows.

I was just going to post the top photo with a short quote on flowers and weeds, but in seeing these two pictures and remembering why I started this blog in the first place I expanded this post to use my photos as a way to show about my survival of all the things that I have been through, both the abuse of my younger years and the struggles with health problems of my more recent years. As a way of expressing what it means to me, what I've learned and how I've learned to see the beauty in spite of the struggles.

Growing up in my household meant living with the unwritten rule of 'Make it look good to the world'. Much like the top photo only the good was to be seen. It was incredibly hard work and those who knew me as a child never knew of the abuse that went on behind closed doors and most still don't know unless they read this post of course.

Then there is the second picture that was just taken from a different angle that shows how this beautiful covering is in reality strangling and taking over the garden. That beautiful covering that masked the problems and kept me from growing, being productive and getting the sunshine, the help, I so desperately needed.

In spite of the struggles I have learned to see the beauty of the things that I learned, the strength that I have gained and the gratitude for being alive.

Since I got a late start on my garden; I have planted some Morning Glories on purpose in my front garden because they are pretty and fast growing and will cover my trellis quickly. I was cautious when I planted them, planting them in a pot and setting it on plastic. I have indeed conquered the weed; tamed it using what I have learned and am enjoying the beauty that it can provide.

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

PS please remember the giveaway and check it out and enter.

Old man winter

2011-08-21T15:17:00.000-04:00

Looks like ol' man winter is on his way

Middle of August- in Georgia and Tom pointed this tree out to me this morning

in autumn yellows and oranges. On the way to church I noticed that it wasn't just one tree in my backyard; there are trees all over town that are already turning colors. Usually I am able to show off my spring photos earlier than most and am usually late with posting fall photos because of living in the south. I certainly hope this is not a portent of an early winter.

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Giveaway#1- Mail art

2011-08-17T21:53:00.005-04:00

This birthday has been full of ups and downs, but mostly good and we are still celebrating, still getting presents and the grandkids wanted to to celebrate Grammies birthday too. So tonight we had pizza (more about that later) and a birthday cake that Hayden helped me pick out. We went to Wal-Mart and I showed Hayden all kinds of flavors of cake and he kept saying 'no, birthday cake' until we got to the funfetti cake mix and he got all excited ' birthday cake, birthday cake' so we had funfetti cake tonight.

With all that I have recieved, Emily's recovery (still in progress), lots of birthday wishes (never had so many), grandchildren here; I decicded to give something back.

I've been doing lots of mail art lately. Instead of doing my my artwork in a sketchbook, I do it on envelopes. That way it can be enjoyed by many more people and not just stuck in a book to hardly be looked at. The postal workers love to see me, they just love the brightly colored envelopes. So to spread this idea around I am giving away a cd with the jpeg images of these 5 envelopes for someone to win and use. They are designed for 6x9 envelopes.

Rules

This is going to be a random drawing.

If you win you may use the cd to print out your own envelopes as long as you leave my blog address and copyrights on the image.

These are my designs so you may use the cd for personal use only, no commercial use allowed. The contest runs from now till Aug 30.

How to enter:

There are three ways to enter

1.Sign up to Follow my blog- those who already follow my blog are automatically entered.

2. Leave a comment- not just please enter me in your contest- I want to know what you like or dislike about my blog or how it could be improved. Leave as comment or e-mail me. Each comment is one entry.

3. If you have a blog with a blog list that you follow and you like my blog, please add me to your list then leave a comment or e-mail me to let me know.

Have fun and thanks for making my birthday so wonderful!!!

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Washington's Waterloo

2011-08-16T00:19:00.001-04:00

You might be wondering why my post titled Washington's Waterloo starts out with a photo of my daughter Emily. Well, Washington's last battle that he lost was a throat infection from which he died. Well Emily has the same kind of infection that he did. She has been in and out of the hospital since last Thurs. The doctor told her that if it wasn't for modern antibiotics she probably would have died. Personally I think prayers and the well wishes of her friends and mine and a priesthood blessing had much to do with her getting better.

She was extra ordinarily sick and it came on strong and hard and fast. What started out as a sore throat at the beginning of the week and turned into a life-threatening infection by Thurs. She went to urgent care who sent her to the ER. They admitted her put her on antibiotics, steroids, and morphine and put her in isolation and the waiting game began. Where they going to do dangerous and possibly life changing surgery, see if just the antibiotics worked or something in between? She did improve on the antibiotics and they sent here home Sunday morning only for her to deteriorate and end up back in the ER that night. Different hospital- different doctor who lanced the abscess and drained it. Emily said it was really gross all that pus being pulled out of the abscess in her throat, but she is now on the mend and home again. Her cousin John turned into an angel as far as she is concerned for his concern and help even though he had many kids at his house including a six week old baby. She has had many people help her and pray for her including people she did not even know.

As her Mom and being a continent away (she lives and goes to school in Utah and we live in Georgia) I can't think of words of thanks for her recovery and those who helped make it happen. She is still going to need help for awhile and I would again ask for prayers on her behalf, prayers of thanks and prayers for those who are helping her so they will not get sick and they will know the spirit of joy in her service.

As her mother I have once again learned that you can't ever take for granted the ones you love.

Lolit posted this on her facebook wall and how true it is:

'There are 5 things in life you cannot recover:

A stone... after it's thrown. A word... after it is said.

An occasion... after it's missed.

...The time... after it's gone. A person... after they die.
Life is short. Break the rules. Forgive quickly. Kiss slowly. Love truly. Laugh uncontrollably and never regret anything that made you smile.
Enjoy Life!!!!'

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Moonlight tonight

2011-08-14T00:13:00.001-04:00

These pictures were taken tonght because the moon was so beautiful shining through the trees and I wanted you to see them so I only did a quick edit. I cropped and signed them.

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Having fun with Photoscape

2011-08-11T11:00:00.001-04:00

See yesterdays blog to view the originals

These were done on Photoscape which I downloaded from www.cnet.com

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

www.cnet.com

Beautiful Morning- Lights and Shadows

2011-08-10T21:53:00.001-04:00

Beautiful morning

sun shining

through the

still darkened woods,

peaceful noise

birds singing,

owls hooting,

frogs croaking,

crickets chirping,

warm

not yet hot

pleasant

brilliant green

against

dark green

many patterns

On my walk this morning

thinking about the people

who have come into my life

and changed my life

I spyed the beautiful patterns

on the leaves

each with it's own

individual beauty

that shines through-

the shadows of those around

changing and making

more and more

patterns

enhancing beauty-

How much we are

like these leaves

each with our own

patterns and scars and shapes

with our beauty enhanced

by those around us.

ENJOY

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

New Dazzler Blanketflower

2011-08-06T12:06:00.000-04:00

I planted seeds for the blanketflowers from a package that was labeled as having assorted colors, but I never expected to get such a pretty pale yellow from it.

What a delightful surprise- I guess I'll just have to plant all the seeds to see what colors come up.

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Diversity

2011-08-04T23:59:00.002-04:00

I saw this Quote in a doctor's exam room. He has a different inspirational Quote framed in each of his exam rooms. This little touch to the exam rooms makes for a more relaxed atmoshere. I like it, great idea. I put this quote with a bouquet of flowers because the beauty of the bouquet is in it's diversity

ENJOY

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Serendipity sunrise

2011-08-03T07:18:00.002-04:00

I was reading one of my favorite blogs last night and Max http://ladunata.blogspot.com/2011/08/fire-that-burns-in-my-soul.html

had posted some gorgeous red sunsets like they sometimes get in the mountains and it reminded me of the sunsets I used to see while I was at BYU. Sometimes especially in the winter the whole world turns pink from the reflection of the sky off the mountains and the snow. It made me very homesick for those mountains.

This morning I got up early and lo and behold the sun was rising and the whole world was pink. So wonderful and it did my heart good to see it. My camera didn't quite capture the true beauty of seeing the world through rose colored glasses, but it still took a pretty sunrise photo.

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Play to learn~Insight #2

2011-08-02T00:41:00.003-04:00

This post in in response to the comment made by Janet http://jkbees.blogspot.com/ on my last post. She said that she wasn't very good at photoshop; well I didn't start out doing very well with photo-editing. I still don't own photoshop most of my photo-editing is done with free software and then I just played with the programs to see what each would do. I had lots of fun learning because I was just playing and on the computer if I didn't like what the program just did I was able to hit Undo and it went back to what I had before. Some programs will Undo for quite a few steps till you get back to your original photo. No money spent just play time and everyone needs to spend some playtime sometimes.This is the original photo and while I liked the flower I did not like the background so I cropped it in a square to hide as much as possible.

So far I have tried many different programs but my favorites are Picasa which is a good basic editor, but it is just a basic editor, just google it to get the download. Go to http://www.picasa.google.com/

the second picture was done on picasa.

Next in line is picnik at http://www.picnik.com/ for download. you can get there from Picasa but I find it is more convenient to go through picnik after saving in picasa if you used it. Picnik is a really fun program that does not take up computer memory as it stays on the Internet and the free version shows all the steps you took on the last 5 edits you do. They also have a pay for service which adds to the basic program including keeping track of all your editing steps for all the photos that you edit. These next pictures were done in picnik.

Layered with star background

Hypnotic effect

Next is Photoscape which can easily be downloaded from http://www.cnet.com/. I usually go through them as they check for virus, etc. and the download is easy. This program has a little more finesse to it, especially when it comes to tweaking your colors and they do it on two different levels of skill. Plus cnet has lots of other programs to try free, free to try, and purchase. This next picture was done in photoscape.

Color adjusted, selected Region out of focus- pixelated

Region out of focus- zoom

The last program to get is gimp which I also downloaded from http://www.cnet.com/ This is the only website I would recommend downloading gimp from there are many listings for downloaded gimp and I tried a couple and had some really horrid experiences until I found it on cnet. Then I had no problem. This is the closest free program I have found to photoshop. There are also plug-ins like photoshop available for it. It is however the hardest of the different programs that I have recommended and I am still learning about it. There are you-tube instructions available and also books. see amazon though my website for gimp books. Search Amazon.com for gimp books. I use it for all kinds of more complicated operations like removing power lines. I did not edit with gimp this time due to time constraints. Between these programs I find that I can do pretty much all the editing that I want to do.

I hope you will try some of these programs you have nothing to lose and a lot of fun and learning to gain

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Insights

2011-07-27T22:31:00.002-04:00

Until I took my little stroll around the neighborhood I did nor realize that these evergreen trees had flowers. A new insight from taking the time to really look around me. When I am looking for fun things to photograph I tend to look a little closer, look from different angles and different distances therefore I get new insights on the world around me. If you look at yesterdays pictures you will see more of the tree. Then I just had fun with the close-up and wanted to give you some insight into how I came up with my art edit.

First I adjusted the color to make them brighter as I was shooting in the full sun the colors were a little washed out.

I then made the photo that zooms out making the colors radiate out. Next I wanted to add some texture to the photo to add more interest so I added the glasstile effect. I looked at it for a while and decided that there were too many big blocks with basically the same color so I went to another program and

I layered with a solar system background, but I decided that the photo was now too static so I zoomed it one more time leaving the center as the sky to ground the picture. I recropped it so that the blocks would be more even; added a couple of sets of borders and like any artist I added my name (signature). Then I hit Save. I wish I had saved more of the steps to give you more insight but I wasn't thinking about this post when I was editing. Sigh

Enjoy

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Welcome Home

2011-07-26T23:12:00.001-04:00

I'm feeling much better now. However I am trying to catch up on what was left undone while I was not up to doing much. This seems to be a constant theme of my life. I am on an upward spiral this time not a downward one, so I am recuperating faster and getting more done when I do feel better. Hooray! Hooray! Right now I am also researching how to do more to improve my health. The better I feel the more I can do to make myself feel even better so now I am deciding on my next step. Since my herbal teas seem to be helping so much I am researching herbs and what they help with. I am trying to find a good reference book on how to use and maybe grow the herbs. I've been checking books out of the library in hopes of finding one without spending a lot of money on books that may not fit my needs. If anyone knows of a good book or a good blog on herbs and natural healing I would appreciate it if you would leave a comment or e-mail me (see Hi this is me page above)
Since I was feeling better I edited some of the front door gardens and mailboxes that welcome home the people in my neighborhood. I love my front door garden and the colorful, cheerful greetings they give to me and have started to notice those around me and take photos of them. These pictures were taken just a few days ago as I walked around my neighborhood.

ENJOY ☺☺☺ Johnina☺☺☺

Shoot for the Moon

2011-07-24T00:42:00.000-04:00

I've had a couple of busy then bad days. I was feeling better and think i kind of overdid, I still have a problem with learning to pace myself, but when I feel good I want to accomplish all those things that I haven't gotten around to due to my health so I overdo. Friday was a particularly good day and I got a lot accomplished, dog to the vet, physical therapy, shopping, photo taking more than usual but didn't take extra steroids to compensate for the extra stress. Mistake, mistake. When that happens I tend to sleep all the next day, which is pretty much happened.

On top of that Jeremy came home from scout camp where he was one of the leaders, while this was real nice, he also brought home a bug of some kind and we were both sick today. So sleep is what I accomplished today.

I did wake up long enough to eat and then was awake enough to watch the movie 'Secretariat'. A movie that really moved me. Here was an ordinary women with a dream to help her family and through all her trials including thinking that instead of helping her family she was losing them due to her absence, but in the end she teaches them so much more. She taught them about following your own dreams, perseverance and other great character traits. Sometimes I feel so bad about my health problems and how they have taken me away from my family, both in down time and the time I have to spend to take care of myself, but my family has learned many character traits from my trails that they would not have learned otherwise.
I've seen this movie once before but this time it struck me that she would not have made her dreams come true if it wasn't for the support system of friends and co-workers who turned into friends with which she picked and surrounded herself with. I too have had and still have a support system for which I am extremely thankful for. Without them I would not have been as successful as I have been. This time the movie moved me to tears at her and her support system and their triumph. Even though I was a junior and senior in high school (which really dates me) I was still right there with them at the triumphs and disappointments along the way even though I knew how it all turned out, because this time I understood the feelings that was happening in the film. What a difference it made.
Anyway it reminded me of the moon picture and the quote as she shot for the moon and made it then went even further to reach the stars. Not just in the triumph of her horse but the triumph of her spirit and the difference she made in so many people's lives.
Enjoy
☺☺☺Johnina ☺☺☺

Inspiring post

2011-07-20T21:27:00.005-04:00

Found this post with great wisdom in it- have a look
http://elena-myquest.blogspot.com/2011/07/let-go.html
Enjoy
☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Welcome Home

2011-07-20T11:45:00.004-04:00

This morning I went out and walked around the neighborhood and took pictures especially of the mailboxes and front door gardens. The things that welcome us home. While I was out one of my neighbors was sitting on his porch and came out to ask what I was doing. It is nice to live in a neighborhood where people still sit on their porches and care enough to question unusual behavior. It makes me feel safer.

I went out this morning at my husbands suggestion. He walks the dogs first thing in the morning and let me know even though it was warm at least the humidity was down. Amazingly I even felt good enough to go. After I did what needed to do in the garden I had to come back in and use the old ice packs, but that doesn't take away from the pleasure of my walk. It wasn't but a couple of weeks ago that due to the siezures that walk would have been impossible. It may not have a very long walk but it is longer than I have walked in a very long time. Progress-Hooray

ENJOY

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺

Morning Light

2011-07-18T08:27:00.006-04:00

"This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." ~Psalms 118:24

No matter what form your diety takes or what kind of day it is we should all rejoice in the day that we have; love life, be grateful for it and enjoy the beauty thereof.

ENJOY

☺☺☺Johnina☺☺☺