Shutter School Macro Mode

Macro Mode--you know that setting on your camera that has the little flower? Even the most basic "point and shoot" cameras usually have it. The lesson at Shutter School right now focuses on using the macro mode to shoot really great pictures. I have to say, this is my favorite thing right now---I love getting really close to interesting objects. Seems that flowers are the most colorful right now, but the other day, I captured yet another dragonfly out front on the lantana bush. I love the way the macro mode was able to capture even the tiny veins in his wings, so intricate and beautiful. If you want to give it a try, hop on over the Shutter School website to pick up a few helpful hints and then post some of your photos on the Flickr site.

A Little Bit Of Bling

"There are no mistakes in lace, just misdirected threads that present a new challenge."--Barbara Bulgarelli

I know that the Macro Challenge was over yesterday, but I had one more picture that I took that I thought I'd post (well, actually a couple that are related to the same project). These are the little vintage buttons (about 1/2") that I picked up in Warrenton last month, as well as some tiny tatted pieces that were very delicate and nice.
My mother was able to tat----I remember her buying tatting shuttles on year when my grandmother (her mom) was visiting us. We sat out in the sun room and Mother told us that she wanted us to all learn to tat. Sounded like fun to us, so we began. She had purchased leaflets with directions for each of us and we all started working with the thread and shuttles. A few hours later, Grandma and I threw our shuttles aside, completely frustrated by our inability to make the tiny knots and patterns. Meanwhile, my mother was working on a long row of intricate little loops. Mother continued to tat from time to time and was able to produce some pretty edgings that she used on pillows, towels, etc. So, when I saw these little medallions, I completely appreciated the time and skill involved.

Anyway, I know that Callie doesn't usually go for much sparkle and frou-frou, but with a little bit of silk ribbon, I think these tiny touches of bling might be just right for her bridal toes!

Robin or Sparrow?

"I sing because I’m happy,
I sing because I’m free,
For His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me." --Gospel hymn by Civilla D. Martin

This is the final day of the Macro Challenge and I love this last picture. This afternoon, I was returning to my office after several IEP conferences in a row and one very difficult behavior session with a child. I was feeling rather "worn out" as I pulled my cart full of paperwork with my laptop perched precariously atop it. As I walked through the parking lot, I passed behind the dumpster to go in a "side" gate. And right in front of me I saw this:

a very tiny bird's egg.

I stooped to look at it closer. The way it was laying, at first I wasn't sure if it was broken or not, but when I turned it over, I saw that a tiny baby bird must have vacated it recently. I scooped it up, placed it in my sunglasses case and carefully put it in my purse to take home.

Funny how something so small and so simple can fill your heart with joy.

New Again??

"Everything old is new again." --Unknown

Well, I decided to take a look at my wedding shoes in an effort to begin their transformation into Callie's wedding shoes. I must admit that upon really examining them this evening, I have some work ahead of me. The shoes are 25 years old, so I guess I should be really glad that the leather is still in really good shape--no obvious yellowing or scratches on the white shoes. Now the insides are a different story. The fabric lining is discolored with age stains and the elastic strap has yellowed a good bit, so it has to go.

I searched online looking for ideas to embellish the toes of the shoes. Surprisingly, I could find absolutely nothing helpful in this area. I found several shops offering bridal flat shoes that were embellished with sequins and flowers, but they just seem so tacky to me. Not what I have envisioned at all. And absolutely no DIY advice or instructions. So, I'm going to see if I can bring the vision that is floating around in my head to life on my own.

While antique shopping in Warrenton last month, I found this great antique button vendor. Of course, I could have stayed there all day long---gazing at and touching all the buttons. But, I managed to walk out of there with only a small purchase---some great vintage buttons. I just love them! They are so dainty and pretty. Surely I can transform these slippers into something suitable for a new bride's feet.

Imagine

"What God intended for you goes far beyond anything you can imagine." --Oprah Winfrey


Imagine. . . . Wow, I could get lost in that thought. In fact, I do---fairly regularly. Today, I am imagining a program at our church that teaches literacy to adults from our neighborhood.

It all started with a simple "Can I ask you a question?" from one of the students in my Sunday School class. I teach a class for mentally challenged adults and yesterday only one student was there. "L" is a wonderful lady who lives in the neighborhood and manages her own apartment. She has just enrolled in adult literacy classes at Centenary College and is so proud to be going. Once before she attended the classes for a while, but eventually stopped going for some reason. "L" has explained to me several time previously that she "can't read too good" and I can tell that it is a source of embarrassment for her. Yesterday she explained to me that she needs her teenage daughter to help her study, but she hasn't been around very much, so she is struggling because the list of words is so long. After talking to her for a while, I proposed the idea of working with her on her word lists in the extra time between Sunday School and Worship each week (usually about 30-45 minutes) and she seemed really excited about the idea. I suggested that she get her daughter to call me with the list of words and I would make some study aids that she could use at home.

Then, last night "L" called me. She said that her daughter hadn't been home yet, and she couldn't read the list to me, but she could spell them to me. And so she did. All 62 of them!! I quickly discovered that the "words" were actually bits of words in most cases---three letter combinations with short vowels. And she can't read any of them yet. And is desperate to learn!

So, now I imagine a program where I can help her---and others like her---learn to read.

April Showers

April showers bring May flowers." --Unknown

Well, almost anyway. Actually the April showers we've had lately have brought April flowers. We had a few showers today--nothing hard or stormy, but instead rather drippy and drizzly. And the flowers have already arrived, as they always do. But, they seem to be especially beautiful this year! These are some that return every year to my backyard. I don't know where they came from; they just appeared in the very back of my yard many years ago.
Near one of our busiest interesections, the city planted wildflowers a few years ago. Of course, that area is a "no mow" zone for a couple of months in the spring and for a while there, things were looking mighty scraggly. But, now, Oh My Goodness! The wildflowers are amazing---the prettiest that I ever remember. Since they are planted on a hill that separates the road from a run-down neighborhood, the poppies and other flowers most certainly bring a smile to passing motorists (they do to me, anyway) in an area that rarely receives one otherwise. Maybe it brings hope to those that live there, too---a place of beauty in the midst of their personal struggles and chaos.

Souper Saturday

"Good soup is one of the prime ingredients of good living. For soup can do more to lift the spirits and stimulate the appetite than any other one dish." ---Louis P. DeGouy

Today is "Souper Saturday" at my church. Noel is located in a historical neighborhood in Shreveport. But, over the years, the area that was once the heart of the city has become a transitional area filled with rental houses and lower-income residents. Many of the people living in the area are elderly or disabled in some way and have their meals delivered to them by "Meals on Wheels". This is a great service, but it doesn't deliver food at all on weekends. That's where our church comes in. On the last Saturday of each month, we deliver soup to residents who otherwise might not have a nutritious meal for the weekend---Souper Saturday.
It's a relatively easy job--One person volunteers to cook a big pot of soup (we actually make homemade soup--not Campbell's in a can) and the rest of us show up on Saturday morning about 9:30 and deliver it to 50-60 nearby residents.

Lately, Cindy and I have been delivering to a large subsidized high-rise housing project that is across town. The first time we went there, be both forgot our reading glasses, so we spent as much time laughing about straining to see as we did actually delivering the soup. Today, things went quite smoothly---everything delivered in less than 45 minutes. We enjoyed seeing Miss Lillian, who comes to the door dressed in a pretty floral dress each time and always brightens our day more than we could possibly brighten hers. And then there is Mr. Frank---after delivering to him, we remembered that the office had instructed us to leave his there for him to pick up because he sometimes surprises visitors by greeting them in his birthday suit!! (note to self----read the fine print on the list!!!). Fortunately, he stayed behind his door as he opened it to us and all was well.

It was a good morning! After delivering soup to one elderly lady, the door was closed and she began talking to the woman who was there to help her make a grocery list. As we waited for her next door neighbor come to the door, we could hear her tell how much she likes to have the soup ladies come and how they always bring her soup on her birthday! Now, I have no idea when her birthday is, but apparently it made her feel like she was having a special day!! . . . and that makes it worthwhile.

Forgetting

“The existence of forgetting has never been proved: we only know that some things do not come to our mind when we want them to”--Unknown

Well, I think I jinxed myself Thursday---being so proud of how I've posted so many days in a row. Then, yesterday, I forgot!! Horrors!! So, here I am today, posting twice to make up for it.

These are some of the late blooming azaleas in my backyard. These pretty white azaleas are around my deck.
But on one of the bushes, there are these few pink blooms. Where did they come from?? And on the white azalea bush!