Mourning Doves - P52 Week 38

This week's theme for Kent Weakley's Project 52 is Birds/Flying.

I knew that there was no way I was going to get a picture of a bird flying, but I do have this lovely shot of birds on a wire that I took with my iPhone:

The dogs and I pass this field almost everyday on our afternoon walk, and there are almost always mourning doves perched on the electrical wires running along the road side of the field.

Some interesting facts regarding mourning doves:*

--They are one of the most abundant and widespread of all North American birds.

--The leading game bird, with more than 20 million birds shot annually in the U.S. 

--Its ability to sustain its population under such pressure stems from its prolific breeding.

--In warm areas, one pair may raise up to six broods a year.

--The species is generally monogamous, with two squabs (young) per brood.

--Both parents incubate and care for the young.

--They eat almost exclusively seeds, but the young are fed crop milk by their parents.

*source Wikipedia

Hobbies...Where to Even Begin - P52 week 37

The theme for Kent Weakley's Project 52 this week is Hobbies.

Where do I even begin...I have many that I enjoy. Some hobbies come and stay a lifetime, some I dabble in for a little while and then move on. I would say all the ones listed below are here to stay.

1. Photography - I have always been the one behind the camera. In the last few years I have really started to take this hobby seriously. I enjoy learning all I can through workshops, e-courses, and through my own exploration.

2. Writing - This is a rediscovered joy, and I feel goes hand in hand with my photography.

3. Reading - I have always read. To me getting lost inside the story in a book is the best!

4. Cooking - I am a self-taught cook. I love to try new recipes, and get new cookbooks, or find magazines with new recipes in them.

I could list many more, but I feel these truly define who I am.

I'm Back In School - P52 - Week 36

This week's theme for P52 was Back to School and I was finally inspired for this project again...

Now granted the only kid I have in school left three weeks ago and I thought a shot of her empty room might be kind of depressing for you and definitely for me.

So instead I am going to write about my new class that started today. It is an e-course with my favorite teacher Kim Klassen. The class is called Round Trip and it unites the photo editing programs Lightroom and Photoshop. I have dabbled a little bit with both programs, but to get them to work together would be the ultimate for me.

One of my goals for 2012 is to learn Lightroom and now with Kim Klassen's help that will happen.

The best part is I get to take this class in my own newly makeover classroom.

What I Read in August

One of these books I started in August but I didn't finish until September.  I figured I would list it now while it is still fresh in my mind.

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell - Liked - This book was brought to my attention in a recent Sunday sermon. At the time I was just finishing another book and since we had this one at home I decided to read it. I was intrigued by the idea of how we make choices in an instant, in the blink of an eye. The thought of finding out why some people are great decision makers, while others constantly struggle interested me.  Why do some people follow their instincts and win, while others end up stumbling into error?
He also talks about face reading, and how each facial expression means something. I would love to read faces!

The Last Girls by Lee Smith - Liked - The back cover of the book explains the story really well. "The story of four women...Year ago, they were girls, not women - the last generation of American females to be called "girls" - who traveled down the Mississippi River...on a makeshift raft while they were on summer vacation. There were twelve of them on that trip; now there are four, brought together by tragedy. One of the original twelve has died in an automobile accident, and her husband has asked the old friends to re-create the river journey and scatter her ashes at the mouth of the Mississippi."

Resistance by Anita Shreve - Liked - I have enjoyed every one of Anita Shreve's books and this one was no different. The story of Belgian Resistance operations during WWII. It focuses on a downed and wounded American airplane pilot and a Belgium couple that helps people get out of Nazi occupied Belgium. Of course along the way is the story of love, betrayal and death, and finally life after the war.

Happy Reading Everyone!

Porch Makeover

Glen and I spent Labor Day Weekend laboring...but well worth the effort. The porch makeover was #5 on my initial blog post for this blog The Start back in January, and I am SO happy that we did it! The porch has been a dumping ground for odds and ends for the 9 years that we have lived in this house. This year I finally had the vision and desire to change that and make it a "new" well loved space.

It started with moving my writing and computer space out to the porch. I love the openness and the view of the bird feeder, the ducks and the pond out in the  backyard. Whenever I was sitting here writing or typing I would look over at the west wall and I could envision a brown, curved arm, leather sofa sitting in that spot. In my vision I also see Scout curled up in one corner, but don't tell Glen :) So I stuck to my vision and found the sofa last week.  I dropped the painting bomb last week Tuesday and said "I think we should paint the porch this weekend".

Our marriage survived the painting and the porch looks fabulous...

My writing area...

Glen was a frustrated saint for putting up my new light over my writing table...

I still need artwork for the walls, but as I have stated before, I have a fear of commitment to putting things on the walls. The hunt begins for just the right things :)

I did find this adorable little Brownie Junior today at the Antique store, perfect for the top shelf of my bookcase.

Endless Summer - P52 Week 35

The best part of summer is grilling...

Bratwursts and onions. Yum!!