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Monday, February 28, 2011

San Antonio Car Show (2010)

I first mentioned this last Monday's post. Since I don't have a lot of time today, I decided to process and post a couple more pictures from the San Antonio Car Show. Someday, I will process all of them and then post my favorites. But, for now, you will get sneak peeks.


Cool Car!


Apparently, I was not the only one who like this car. I wonder if his pictures came out? I will have to bug him later and see if any of his came out.

I hope you all will have a great day! I am focusing on scanning in lots of pictures and documents this week and visiting with my mother. I plan to sew a quilt label on her quilt and maybe even do some quilting on Dan's quilt. So, I'm keeping myself busy. But, I am missing my Dan already. I am looking forward to seeing him again Friday night when he comes in.

Friday, February 25, 2011

Link Roundup (and a Letter)


Dear Harry aka Anonymous (and "no-reply"),

How can I answer you directly back if you are “Anonymous” and/or a "no-reply" person? I dislike answering in this manner (on the blog) as it seems so impersonal not to mention you may not receive your answer. However, just this once, I will respond to your question in this manner because the answer may be beneficial to anyone.

Your question was: Can I use part of the information from this blog post right above if I provide a backlink back to this site?

My answer: For the particular post you are referring to, I would appreciate a backlink if you use parts of my post. However, if you just want the links (to information) and none of my writings, then I do not think a backlink is necessary.

This is a tough one – when to use backlinks? If it is personal such as my writings, my photos, my travels, etc., & etc, I would appreciate a backlink and I thank you in advance for using them. Speaking of photos, do not take and use my photos without my permission. Just saying.

For the other generic posts such as the Link Roundups, I do not think a backlink is necessary. After all, those links are just provided for your reading pleasure. If you liked them, feel free to pass them on in any manner you please.

If there is any doubt to whether or not a backlink is needed, use one anyway just to be safe.

Sincerely,

Lee Ann


Hopefully, if any of you desires communication from me, you will make sure to provide a way for me to reply back to you. Otherwise, you may never hear from me. I do not want any of you to think I’m ignoring you. I do try to make an effort to respond to each comment. It makes me sad that I am unable to respond directly to the no-replies and anonymous people.

Moving on.

Linky Loves
  • The Pancake Story. Humor

    {Note: blogger was raised Amish. I follow him because I like reading his stories based on his memories. He doesn’t post often; but, when he does, it’s usually worth reading. He has a book, Growing up Amish, coming out soon that I’m planning to buy. PS. Read the comments too. :-}

  • Simply Beautiful Photos: Moments

  • Drop Biscuits Recipe

    Dan knows these as ‘Poor Man’s Biscuits’. We used unsalted butter, raw sugar, and 2% organic milk. This is very easy and came out well. The biscuits are also very filling. I made these for ‘Biscuits and Sausage Gravy’ last Wednesday night. I want to use the leftover biscuits tonight but haven’t decided on what to make for dinner to go with the rolls. It’s tough because I don’t want too much leftovers seeing that I will be gone for a week. Maybe I’ll just make some honey butter and have these for snacks. Ha!
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.
Joshua 1:9 (NIV)

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Wordy Wednesday



I Iz Hidin Frum U

This is another picture I managed to capture of Chessie on the fly back in January. You can see more here and here. 'Nuff said.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Layer Cake Quilt Along, Block 7 and WIP


I have not sewn or crafted much of late. I have been focusing on household chores and whatnot. I also had a bad case of the 'don't wannas'. I have not even worked on my UFO (Unfinished Objects) challenge this month. Yikes!

Now that things are somewhat under control, I feel like there can be a balance now between "working" and "playing". I am so looking forward to a little more "play" time.

Layer Cake Quilt Along:

I am two blocks behind on the Layer Cake Quilt Along. (Block 8 has been posted and Block 9 is to be posted today.) But, that is okay. Progress is still progress.

When we received the pattern for block 7, I picked out the fabrics and cut them per directions. This was my original choice in the design (use of fabrics). However, I did not like it.
So, I tried switching around the colors of the pinwheels and liked that better. I had to cut four more corner squares (brown) for this arrangement. I now have four extra blue squares. Oh well, c'est la vie! Who knows, I may be able to use the extras in a future block.

Block 7; Completed on 2/18/2011

The lighting was different in the room on this day, which is why the colors are different from the previous pictures. I am rather pleased with the result of this block. I still dislike sewing triangles; but, I am getting a little more comfortable and relaxed dealing with them.

WIP (Work In Progress):

A current WIP is a quilting label to put on my Mother's Maxine quilt. I did not have the time to create one before giving the quilt to her. I barely got the quilt itself done in time for Christmas!

Created on 2/18/2011

I used freezer paper to stabilize the muslin along with a permanent fabric pen. I will be taking this home with me and sewing it onto the back of the quilt while I am there.

Another WIP is a Maxine pillowcase for Mother's birthday which is on Monday. I thought she would like a pillowcase to go with her quilt. I will get started on that today (I hope). I want to get it done as soon as possible because I do need to pack and get ready to go!

As some of you already know, I am going to visit with my Mother and a brother and his family. I am staying for a week as there are some things I would like to do.

Besides sewing the label onto the Maxine quilt, I want to take the time to explore my folk's house and scan in any documents or pictures I find that I think may be of interest to us and the family. Hopefully, this will be the final effort (besides a photo album I have floating around here that I need to find).

I am also taking Dan's quilt with me. (You can find a picture of it here.) This was my February's UFO challenge. Obviously, I am behind with this. I didn't even start it. I know, I know. I am bad. But maybe, I will get some of it done while I am away. We will see.

Monday, February 21, 2011

San Antonio Car Show (2010)


On October 24, 2010, we went to the San Antonio (SA) Car Show that is put out annually by the SA Mustang Club. We just quickly looked at all the old cars and didn't spend a whole lot of time taking pictures. I'm not sure why. I think neither one of us was really feeling it this time around.

So, I never processed the pictures I took at the show - just put them all in a file on this laptop.



I took a quick look at the pictures this morning and discovered that I took a lot of pictures of this one car. I wonder why? Could it be that it was old? Purple? had eyes on the headlights? All three? Ha!

Maybe I'll process all the pictures some day soon. I'm running out of pictorial pictures to post. This winter was very long and cold -- not a lot of places to go and things to do. Hopefully, that will pick up soon now that we have warmer weather.

Heads up: I'm going to be busy the next couple of weeks. This week is packing as I'm going to Mother's for a week. I'll do my best to post my usual Monday, Wednesday, and Friday posts; but, no promises. I hope y'all understand.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Link Roundup


We can go to bed, having earned our night's sleep, but to awaken to a new day is a gift from God. ~Robert Brault
Winning Love:
  • The Crabby Cook Cookbook

    This book finally arrived and, at first glance, it looks wonderful. I've decided that I need to do a review on it soon. I want to read it and make a few recipes. And then, I most likely will give it away IF I can manage to keep it in a pristine condition. Knowing me, the messy cook, I will probably mess it up! In the meantime, you can check out the author’s thecrabbycook.com blog and site.

Linky Love:
  • Fearless Quilting Do's, Don'ts and Tips.
    No one sews in a perfectly straight line. Just do your best, try to keep you seam allowances the same width.
    I wish I had known that! I wouldn’t have been stressing for years! Ha!

  • The Fabric of Life Article about cotton prices (going up)

  • Come To Me and I Will Give You… A To-Do List?! Devotional, Inspirational

  • What is your Birthverse? Mine came up with:
    1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV
    No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
    Thanks to a friend for emailing me the link! It is pretty cool and the verse is timely for me. :-)

  • What's Wrong with Me? Devotional, Inspirational

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

~ Lamentations 3:22-23 ~

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Wordy Wednesday


I finished scanning in all the pictures I brought from my folks house. As I was looking at the older ones, I wondered about some people captured within that moment of time. They are the forgotten ones. Who were they? What were their lives like? What were their names? Are they still alive? What is their story?

I found myself sad that time seems to wipe out the memory of their life – no one remembers who they are. A thought inserted itself in the midst of my reminiscing and contemplations, “But, the Lord remembers”. Yes, He remembers – He is the one that will never forget.

But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me,
the Lord has forgotten me.”

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!

See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are ever before me.

~Isaiah 49:15-16~


Notes:
  1. I believe my dad is third person in the first picture. I suspect that the first person is an uncle (my dad's brother). However, I'm not 100% sure. As for the middle person, I have no clue who he is.

  2. I suspect that is my dad in the second picture based upon
        a) the handwriting on the back (roll over the image) is most likely my dad's and
        b) the kid looks a lot like my dad in another picture I have of him where he is entering 1st grade.

Monday, February 14, 2011

San Antonio Botonical Gardens (Pictures)


I scored a Groupon for a dual/family membership at 50% off to the San Antonio Botanical Garden.

We decided to go check the place out on January 22, 2011 because it was a "dog day". Each dog were allowed into the Gardens for a $5 admission charge which was to be donated to the ADL, ACS, SAHS, and the San Antonio Botanical Society.

We also went last Saturday, February 12th, for the "Chocolate Day" event, which is an educational day for both adults and children. I have to say it was mostly for children; but, the part how chocolate is made along with the actual Cacao seed was very interesting. Also, I was very happy to score not just one; but, two chocolate mint plants.


Chocolate Mint

We discovered a bird blind when we visited during the Chocolate day event. I wished I had a long lens with me though. I don't even own a long lens. However, Dan does. But, he did not have it with him. Anyway, I managed to capture a bird with my macro lens. Not the greatest picture considering it was quite a distance away.


Lesser Goldfinch (?)

I am not sure about the identity of this bird. Maybe this one is an early bird to catch the worm? Ha! Seriously though, if any one of you can positively identify this bird, I would appreciate it so much!

Anyway, I have to say that I was very impressed with the Gardens themselves. The Garden is a lot bigger than I expected. I just hope it can bounce back considering there was two nights of hard freeze early in February. If it does, it should be beautiful in the Spring, Summer, and Fall. This is the place to go if you want exercise, photographic opportunities, and more.

The rest of the pictures below are from the January 22nd outing. I recently figured out how to do rollover images. So, some of the images have rollover capability - just rollover your mouse over the image and you'll see the name sign for the plant. Now that I figured out how to do this, I'll be taking more pictures of signs for places and things. It will make my life a whole lot easier.



Japanese Garden area


Plants within the Tropical Section


One of a variety of Sculptures around the garden







Children's Garden area

One of the many dogs that roamed the Gardens with their owners


Friday, February 11, 2011

Link Roundup


I will write myself into well being ~Nancy Main
I have been fighting a headache most of this week and was pretty sick one day from it. So, I haven't done a whole lot of reading. As a result, this is a short list again.
Lift your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one,
and calls them each by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing.


~ Isaiah 40:26 ~

Thursday, February 10, 2011

On Writing


It is hard to write for others to read; especially, for something to post on a public blog. The biggest problem is I do not know if I really have anything of interest my readers would like to hear about. In other words, are my readers really interested in reading my written doodles?

Another big problem is that much of my writing is journalistic of a personal nature. I love to write. I often write when I am feeling melancholy, deep in thought, meditative, etc., and etc. The hardest part about writing is sharing them with others. You are putting yourself out there, revealing your thoughts, opinions, etc., and etc., at the risk of rejection, ridicule, and more.

My post on the anniversary of my dad’s passing was a written doodle. I had to do some major editing of the original to make it public worthy. And yet, I still had a hard time posting it because it was so personal. I must confess that I do believe that post was a catalyst for me because I am now writing for myself again.

I have always been the weird one in my family. Instead of expressing myself verbally, I wrote. I felt safe. There weren't any chances of misunderstandings occurring. I could fully express myself without getting interrupted by someone else. And, if they took the time to read my written doodles, I felt they would pay attention to what I had to say. Thus, I would have a voice.

I must say that it is tough putting your soul into other peoples’ hands. When I was in eighth or ninth grade, I shared a topical written piece with someone I very much loved and respected. When I mentioned that I wanted to write, I was told not to dream. I was basically informed that writers were like artists, they do not make a lot of money. Instead, I was advised to seek a career that would have a guaranteed income.

That person did not believe in me. I was crushed and set adrift – I did not know what I wanted to do in life. After all, I had thought for several years that I could be a writer. It was the one thing that I felt I could do. I know now it is hard work. But back then, I was a hopeful dreamer. I thought I could be all or nothing.

I did not give myself the chance to pursue my dreams. I suppressed many things that I had interest in simply because it was too “artsy” and would not guarantee me an income. I respected this person’s opinion too much to go against what was said. So, I would write occasionally only for me. It was therapeutic and I rarely shared them with anyone because it revealed too much.

Events occurring the last three years or so changed me from within. I discovered that the dreamer within me still lives. I no longer wish to suppress my dreams. I want to pursue them.

I may never be a professional writer; but, I am writing. My love for the English language is revived. I hope to improve. I may never be a professional photographer; but, I am taking pictures and ever striving, learning, and hoping for the perfect shot. I may never be a professional quilter; but, I do love the creative process. I am enjoying all these endeavors because these are the things I love to do.

I will no longer conform to the dictates of society or people I respect and/or love. I am free to be who I wish to be at any given moment. It is never too late to pursue your dreams, right?


All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them. ~Walt Disney

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Wordy Wednesday



February 6, 2011; San Antonio Rodeo; Swifty Swine event

I love this little girl's hat. I love the fact she was wearing purple. And, I love the rapport the little girl's family had.

This is pretty much the only decent shot I took at the rodeo. I am not much into sporting events (and taking pictures of them). I really do need to learn how to take pictures of fast moving objects though as there were some outlandish rides out there in the carnival area! Some of those rides were downright amazing. By the way, I love to watch the rides; but, you will not catch me on one - not even the Ferris wheel. Ha!

Monday, February 7, 2011

Evidence of Snow


On February 4th, We woke up to a world that had snow - real snow - the type that sticks. Granted, this is nothing compared to the insane snow that my family received up further North. But, this is rare for us. There has not been any measurable amount of snow since 1985. So, this was a big deal.

I bundled up and went out the backyard for the sake of photographing the evidence for posterity sake. I'm glad I did because it all seems like a dream to me now - did it really happen?


Cactus

Aguave Americana

By this time, Dan had come out with a twinkle in his eye and said I should go out front because what was out back was nothing. So, I followed him and discovered a white world.

Street View - East

Street View - West



Poor Dan. He actually had to scrap the ice of the windows. And, after all that work, he could not make into the office. There was a layer of thin ice underneath that snow which made it extremely dangerous. It took him twenty minutes to travel what normally takes him about five minutes. And, he heard on the radio the freeways were closed. So, he turned around and came back home.

I later heard that there were 500+ accidents here in this city alone. He did try again after lunch and made it into the office. The freeways were still closed; although, he did see people out on the freeways. Dan thinks these people snuck in through the barrels and/or someone "unofficial" moved some barrels aside. Anyway, the snow and ice on the roads had melted by this time.

Dandelion. Do you think this sucker will survive two nights of a hard freeze?

I do not know what I did here. It was pure accident. But, I'm loving the look of this picture.
Evidence of a critter running wild in the snow. I wonder what it could have been?

Chessie

This was the only picture I was able to snap of her out there. She was just too cute. When I opened the door, she hesitated and her entire body had the look of "what is that"? She often eagerly goes out; but, not this time. Once she was out on the snow, she was just too funny. She violently shook a paw with every step she took.

If my memory serves me correctly, Chessie has never seen or experienced snow in her entire life. She didn't stay out long as she didn't care for it. But, she was stubborn and stuck it out longer than I expected. I should not have been surprised because she loves being outside.

What about Gracie? She was not having any of it. I even went so far to set her out on it. She was like "no way"! She immediately made a bee line for the door and disappeared. I thought that was funny too!

I hope you enjoyed this. I'm am 100% sure that this is nothing compared to what most of you experienced. But hey, this was great stuff for a person like me who rarely sees snow.