Melli’s September Photo Scavenger Hunt

Posted on October 1, 2009 by Barbara Harper

Melli dreamed up and planned out a Photo Scavenger Hunt. She told us about it a month ago…but somehow time got away from me and I have only been working on it the last few days. And this happens to be one of the busiest weeks in a long time for me with my monthly ladies’ booklet due plus five different medical appointments for three of us (nothing wrong — just catching up with check-ups, eye exams, etc.) . All of that to say…I didn’t find all the items on the list. 😳 I wish I had started earlier. I don’t know if you have to have them all to participate — but I don’t want to waste the photos I do have — so I’ll post what I’ve got and then get my 50 lashes… (Edited to add: I did find more than I thought I would…but that’s one reason this is being posted so late in the day. 🙂 )

1.) Something in flight

2.) A gas pump

Sorry, nothing for this one. I was trying to find a picture of a toy one the kids used to love to play with.

3.) Graffiti … or street art

4.) Soap or soapy

5.) An herb

6.) Something vinyl

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7.) A bottle of perfume/cologne

Pretty uncreative here — Jim doesn’t care for perfumes or cologne and most of them give me a headache, so I just got a picture at a store. These caught my eye because I used to wear this in high school. I almost bought it just to see if it smelled like I remembered and wouldn’t bother me, but figured that would be a waste. I would have loved to have found one of those old-fashioned atomizer bottles.

8.) Snazzy Shoes

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Another store photo — all of our shoes are pretty basic.

9.) A worm

Sorry, nothing for this either. The only ones I saw were dead and shriveled. I was going to go to the children’s or babies’ section on W-Mart to see if there were any toy ones, and I forgot.

10.) A city bus

11.) Something curly

12.) A key

13.) Something cold

14.) Sports Memorabilia

From our school. NOT from me — I am totally unathletic!

15.) A feather/feathers

16.) Something twisted

17.) A hole

18.) A leprechaun

Sorry. Where else was I going to find a leprechaun this time of year? 😀

19.) Something lacy

20.) Something nutty

21.) Sheet music

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22.) A splash

23.) An apple/apples/apple something

24.) A shovel

25.) Something empty.

26.) A triangle

27.) Something purple

28.) Juicy

29.) Noisy

30.) Something sad

Veteran salute at my father-in-law’s funeral. Sad, but poignant and honorable.

I did enjoy this challenge very much. Next time I will start earlier — I like thinking outside the box a little bit and taking time to find something interesting or unique. I was very pleased with a few of these. Some are new just today! Some are from years ago.

It may be later tonight or even the weekend before I am able to visit the other participants, but you can find links to them at Melli‘s.

The visible teaches of the Invisible

Posted on May 23, 2009 by Barbara Harper

“For the invisible things of him…

…from the creation of the world…

…are clearly seen…

…being understood by the things that are made…

…even his eternal power and Godhead…Romans 1:20a.

(All photos except the last two are from the morguefile.)

This is my Father’s world, and to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings the music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world: I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
His hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father’s world, the birds their carols raise,
The morning light, the lily white, declare their Maker’s praise.
This is my Father’s world: He shines in all that’s fair;
In the rustling grass I hear Him pass;
He speaks to me everywhere.

This is my Father’s world. O let me ne’er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world: the battle is not done:
Jesus Who died shall be satisfied,
And earth and Heav’n be one.

~ Maltbie D. Babcock, 1901

Blue Monday

Posted on March 2, 2009 by Barbara Harper

Smiling Sally hosts a Blue Monday in which we can post about anything blue — pretty, ugly, serious or funny — and then link up to other Blue Monday participants.

I didn’t think I had anything for this Blue Monday, until I looked out the front door, and thought the blue skies behind the snowy trees looked so pretty.

Following up from last night’s post, my middle son’s university classes were canceled til 1:00 and an important rehearsal postponed. I found out he does actually have a couple more allowed absences but was wanting to save them in case he actually got sick. 🙂 But he’s not planing on going in — the highway between here and there is cluttered with accidents. And we’re postponing the ladies’ meeting til tomorrow night as well. It’s not actually due to get much warmer, but Thursday, when it’s supposed to get into the 60s, doesn’t work for one of the hostesses. And next week we’re having revival services, so if it doesn’t work out for tomorrow, we’ll have to push it back to the following week.

And I mentioned how odd it was to hear thunder and see lightning during a snowfall: I guess there is such a phenomenon as thundersnow. I’d never heard of it before, but the weather guys were all excited talking about it last night.

I thought it was kind of funny that in our ladies’ booklet for March I included a few quotes about spring, since spring “officially” begins later in the month — and then we have 5 inches of snow! One of the quotes attributed to Mark Twain seemed apropos:

“But [the weather] gets through more business in spring than in any other season. In the spring I have counted one hundred and thirty-six different kinds of weather inside of four and twenty hours.”

Here are a couple more March quotes for you:

“Springtime is the land awakening.
The March winds are the morning yawn.”

“March is a tomboy with tousled hair, a mischievous smile, mud on her shoes and a laugh in her voice.”
– Hal Borland

Wordless Wednesday

Posted on June 4, 2008 by Barbara Harper

More Wordless Wednesdays can be found at 5 Minutes for Mom and the WW hub.

Senior portraits

Posted on September 20, 2007 by Barbara Harper

A few days ago Dawn at 4:53 am, one of my must-reads, posted a challenge from new-to-me Donna at Quiet Life to publish our senior portraits.

I thought that would be fun, though, after getting these out to look at, I realized they’re not really my favorite photos. I think my smile looks kind of smarmy and I look kind of snobbish in them — though I hope I wasn’t really that way! Our Christian school was very small, and they sent us to a portrait studio for these pictures. I should have gone with some other people and made it a fun and relaxed time. As it was I felt uncomfortable and unsure of myself. These are the only two shots in which I was smiling.

These are from 1975:

Yes, Dawn, I do remember the drapes. Unfortunately they used these fluffy pink off-the-shoulder ones for us. It just looks…wrong. Another girl came back with photos of herself wearing a blue velvet drape — I think she and her mom told the photographer they didn’t like the pink fluff and asked if there were any other options. I wish I had known there were! But I’ve never worn anything off-the-shoulder and just didn’t like it at all.

I’d love to see your senior portrait! Let me know if you post one.

Wordless Wednesday

Posted on July 17, 2007 by Barbara Harper

(Photo taken by my husband, Jim at Callaway Gardens Butterfly Conservatory)

See more Wordless Wednesday entries at 5 Minutes For Mom and the Wordless Wednesday Hub.

Wordless Wednesday

Posted on July 10, 2007 by Barbara Harper

See more Wordless Wednesdays at 5 Minutes For Mom and the Wordless Wednesday Hub.

I see from some of the comments maybe a word of explanation is in order. 🙂 This was taken several years ago at Callaway Gardens Butterfly Center in Georgia. This is a case with several cocoons (or chrysalises? I always get them mixed up). I like this picture not only because they are beautiful (I never knew they could be shiny) but also because I think my husband’s reflection in the glass of the case is neat.

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt: Cooked/Cooking

Posted on May 19, 2007 by Barbara Harper

Theme: Cooked/Cooking | Become a Photo Hunter | View Blogroll

This is Jim, Master Griller. 🙂 You can see part of Suzie, the dog, to the left waiting for her portion.

Jeremy and Jason several years ago helping to make Christmas cookies:

And Jesse, making a “rainbow cake” for a contest. Our church has “family camp” on Wednesday nights during the summer, with a fellowship afterward with different types of foods each week. On certain nights, like cake or pie nights, there is a contest for different age levels, and this was Jesse’s entry for the kids’ division. If I remember, you just make a regular yellow cake mix, then divide it into 3 parts and put different food coloring into each bowl; then pour each bowl into a bundt pan, and as it rises and bakes it looks like a rainbow. I am not sure why Jesse’s expression is such as it is. Maybe he is protecting his creation from predators before the contest. 🙂

And with my hands in the middle picture and me in the background in the picture above, there you have the whole family cooking.

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt: Rare

Posted on April 27, 2007 by Barbara Harper

Theme: Rare | Become a Photo Hunter | View Blogroll

I really thought I was going to have to sit this one out, because I just could not think of anything rare that I owned or had a picture of. Then I thought of this picture of my husband and I on our 25th wedding anniversary a year and a half ago. It’s rare because we don’t have many pictures of the two of us together, but what makes it more rare is that — this moment never actually happened. 🙂

We had gone to stay at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC for our anniversary and went to visit the Biltmore House. My husband had grabbed batteries for the camera as we were getting ready to go but discovered, as we were trying to set this picture up at the Biltmore House, that the batteries were in fact old, almost dead ones. We only had enough “juice” to take two pictures. In one I was looking away, in the other he was. So, when we got back, I asked my oldest son, proficient in all things related to the computer, if he could Photoshop the two images — and he did. Pretty cool, huh?

Wordless Wednesday: Jesse

Posted on April 25, 2007 by Barbara Harper

Forgive me for being not-so-wordless today. 🙂 This is one of my all-time favorite pictures of Jesse from about eleven years ago, and I just rediscovered it while looking for another picture a few days ago.

This may sound strange, but, even though I love the young man he is becoming, there are times I still miss this little guy.

See more Wordless Wednesday photos at 5 Minutes For Mom and the Wordless Wednesday Hub.