Blue Angels

Today marked the first day of the Holiday In Dixie Air Show. Given the terrible weather of last night, I wasn't sure whether there would be a performance today or not. But the stormy skies of this morning gave way to beautiful, crystal clear, blue skies this afternoon and I went outside with a lawn chair when I heard the zooms overhead. Here are a few photos I snapped (the sky really was this blue---no re-touching was needed at all)!

New Blog

Since I've been gathering photos for the "One Hundred Photos" challenge, I decided that I needed another place to display them. So, join me over at my new blog to see how I'm doing. Since I only have 20 photos so far, I'm thinking that I need to get busy in order to keep on track.

Gotta' go now---I hear the air show beginning at BAFB!!!

Round Robin -- Anything in Threes

It's time for another Round Robin Challenge. I've missed the last couple of challenges because life just gets in the way sometimes, so it's great to be playing again. This time the theme was to capture a trio of photos of the same topic. Be sure to catch the other Robins and their "threes" over here. First up, the duck pond near my house.


Next, some really photogenic preschoolers at the one of the Head Start Centers I serve.

And finally, three shots of the Grancy Graybeard tree that is fluttering in the breeze in my front yard.

Week In The Life

Wow, what a week it has been. It seems like I've been up to my eyeballs in work and I don't see any signs of it letting up any time soon! I began the week with great intentions of taking lots of pictures, but now I'm just trying to jot down a few memories and snap a few photos here and there. After all, this is supposed to document what a typical week is really like, isn't it? Here are few snapshots of my life so far.

Sewing on Sunday night . . . .


IEP Notifications on Monday . . . .


Lunch in my car on Tuesday . . . .


Maypole practice at one of my schools . . . .


. . . and kids and their "pets" at Head Start on Wednesday. . . .


Driving from school to school on Thursday . . . .


And some beautiful flowers in my neighbors yard this afternoon. I LOVE peonies and it's so rare to find them in this area. I think that I may have to plant some!

Take Time . . .

This afternoon, I came straight home after work for a change. I had tons of work to do and decided to re-schedule my home-bound teaching responsibility and do paperwork instead. As I worked away on the computer, Emmi began to bark incessantly at the back door (from the inside). Knowing that could only mean one thing, I reluctantly grabbed my camera and went outside. Sure enough, I caught a glimpse of Penny squeezing back under the fence through a newly dug hole. Of course, it didn't take long until she crawled back under


. . .and she and Emmi began to romp around the yard, yet again!


This is the way most of their fun usually ends---with Emmi like this . . .


. . . and Penny like this.


They were so funny and I was enjoying watching them race around the yard when I noticed these blooming in the small bed on the side of my yard. I planted these years ago, but this is the first time I've ever seen them bloom. And they were beautiful!!!


Turning to watch the dogs, I also noticed these tiny wild strawberries scattered through the grass.

Taking this short break from the computer and my work made me wonder if these blooms have been there each year. I know their bloom time is short and perhaps I just never took the time to notice them . . . I'm grateful that too frisky pups allowed me a break from my work and a chance to breathe deeply and enjoy the beauty outdoors.

Gearing Up

I'm gearing up---ready for the challenge of next week's "Week In The Life" project with Ali Edwards. Yesterday evening I spent a little time picking out paper from my stash and designing some accents to go with the project. I'm going to be making an 8.5" x 11" album and remembered this paper from My Mind's Eye that I purchased a few months back and haven't yet used---perfect for this!


Ali uses a combination of regular page protectors and baseball card protectors and I like that idea, but since I still have some of these photo refill pages for 3.5" x 5" photos, I think I'll use these instead---one for each day.


Finally, I designed some journal cards to use as I jot down thoughts.


These should just fit into the photo slots on the refill pages. Since I haven't done this before, I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted them to say, but decided on a few key phrases. I also made some tags with quotes, phrases and the dates on them that I can use for embellishments.

If you're interested in using these, too, click here to download them in .pdf form right here. Okay---the camera battery is charging, so it looks like I'm almost ready---just gotta' carve out some time each day to jot down memories!

Full Bloom

Here in the South, you know Spring is in full swing when yards are decked out in various shades of pink and white. It usually starts around Easter, when families pose for pictures in public gardens filled with azaleas. This year, they are bursting out in full bloom this week and my front flower bed is filled with coral, pink and white.


My favorites are what I call "Peppermint Azaleas" that were purchased in a grocery store---a greenhouse variety that are not supposed to be able to live outdoors in gardens. But, don't tell mine, because the bush that began in a 4 inch pot is now about 6 feet in diameter and almost as tall. By this weekend, not a leaf will be in sight--hidden by the full blossoms.

I Hope You Love BIrds, Too . . .

My love of birds began many years ago---when I was a very small girl and my mother encouraged us to take notice of and appreciate nature. As I snapped these photos today at the Duck Pond, I thought of her and knew that she would have loved the day, too.

My favorite weather is bird-chirping weather. ~Terri Guillemets


"A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song." -- Chinese Proverb



"Be as a bird perched on a frail branch that she feels bending beneath her, still she sings away all the same, knowing she has wings." -- Victor Hugo


"When I see a bird that walks like a duck and swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck." -- James Whitcomb Riley


"It is not only fine feathers that make fine birds." -- Aesop


"I hope you love birds, too. It is economical. It saves going to Heaven." -- Emily Dickinson