Weekly Header Challenge - Why Are You Taking a Picture of THAT?

It's time for the Weekly Header Challenge!

"Headbanger" Participants

Craver VII 

Fishing Guy 

Katney 

Imac 

Lew

I'm joining in the group above for this weekly challenge.

Click on the other participants' blogs to see

what they've come up with!

Theme ~ Why Are You Taking a Picture of THAT?

Chosen by Kathy.

Invariably, when I would take an "odd" picture, a family member would ask me, "Mom (Honey), why are you taking a picture of that?"  When someone would see me lying on the ground, he'd ask, "What are you doing?"  It's either sad, or funny, that that no longer happens.  Most of the time my odd shots don't even elicit an eye roll.  :)

Here's my header image, uncropped:

So, I was making spaghetti sauce, and wanted to take pictures of Danny smashing up the whole tomatoes (we Italians do this by hand), but by the time I got my gear out, he was done.  Except for his tomato-y hand.  So I took a picture of it.

Here are some more really random "Why did she...?" shots.

I picked some basil from my garden, and put the unused stems in water.  This one rooted.  So I took a picture of it.

Then I planted it, of course!

Yes, sticks on my family room floor...

But I turned them into this for Christmas decor last year:

I took this image for a client's website.

Every six months I take a picture of our truck.  Pretty random, huh?  Not really--that "bookoo" sticker gives me free membership for its online "yard sale" selling website.  To keep my membership free, I have to upload a picture of their sticker on my vehicle every six months.

This last image should be self-explanatory.  I was so tickled I took a picture.  Now everyone knows the truth!  ;)

Have a beautiful Wednesday, friends!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Weekly Header Challenge - Underground

It's time for the Weekly Header Challenge!

"Headbanger" Participants

Craver VII 

Fishing Guy 

Katney 

Imac 

Lew

I'm joining in the group above for this weekly challenge.

Click on the other participants' blogs to see

what they've come up with!

Theme ~ Underground

Chosen by Lew.

Well, was this a tough theme!  I tried to think of things that are underground, or if I've ever been underground.  And the latter was the basis for most of my pictures.  For one beautiful week, I went underground frequently--and that was in Paris, whenever we rode the Métro.  And I took some pictures to prove it! The full image of my header:

The picture above is one of the first pictures I took on our anniversary trip to Paris.  Shot rather stealthily, it's at a cockeyed angle, but I like the feel of it with the curved walls, the lone Métro rider in red in the background, and the track disappearing into the tunnel. Here's one of the many entrances to the Métro.

One of our last Métro rides was on a Friday night, after visiting the Arc de Triomphe.  This was another "shot from the hip."

And this is our very last time riding the Métro, leaving the station to head back to our appartement to pack what we could and catch some sleep before our very early morning departure for the airport.

How about a recent Underground picture?  We do have a basement, which is underground!  Far less interesting than the Paris Métro, but hey, it fits the theme and this was just several days ago!

That's oregano from my garden, hanging to dry in front of our hot water heater and furnace, among all the pipes and "guts" of our hosue.  And that's thyme hanging down real low there, also from my garden.  Once these herbs are dry, I'll remove the leaves, crush and store them, then harvest some more.  I have tons of oregano to keep me busy all summer!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine
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Weekly Header Challenge - The Sun

It's time for the Weekly Header Challenge!

"Headbanger" Participants

Craver VII 

Fishing Guy 

Katney 

Imac 

Lew

I'm joining in the group above for this weekly challenge.

Click on the other participants' blogs to see

what they've come up with!

Theme ~ The Sun

Chosen by me.

First, my thoughts behind the theme choice...  Since you really can't take pictures of the sun--with our DSLR cameras, anyway--I really wanted to share images that show the sun's effects.  Meaning--I can tell that the sun was shining, or I can see the sun's rays, or its effects on my subject.  And I found it a tad difficult to find good images.  Here are the ones I chose; first, my full header image:

This is my baby squash plant (it no longer looks this way; they grow quickly!).  The sun was behind it, illuminating the leaf's veins.  You can even see the shadow of the stem at about the 5:00 mark, if it were a clock.  I love how it looks like it's glowing.  Later this autumn, we will be glowing as we eat the yummy squash we'll get!

Another view of the sun on my squash.

These next two images are some of my favorites, as far as the sun is concerned.  They were taken at WIU at Jacob's college graduation; don't you love the lilacs' color and scent?  I do.  In this first image you can see some of the glow of the sun.  I decided I wanted a sun star, so I moved around until I could make that happen.

To get the defined rays--and I shoot on manual--set the f-stop number as high as you can on your camera.  This results in a very small aperture.  (Small aperture = high f-stop number.)  The small aperture, combined with a slower shutter speed, allows more light into the camera lens, and results in a sun star!  My shutter speed is 1/160 second in the below--slow enough to get a proper exposure on the flowers (any faster and they'd be in shadow).  And that's the technical how-to for sunstars!

I love the below, since it shows the sun's light more subtly on the flowers.  You can see the illumination, and how the sun rolls off the yellow petals  and into shadow.

Here's a bright, sunny day atop the tower that houses the Millenium Carillon in Naperville.  I caught a bird flying by, too!

The sun was not our friend for this late afternoon wedding.  It shone directly into our faces for the whole ceremony, and I'm sure the photographers were challenged to take good pictures of the bride and groom.  (It was a beautiful wedding, though!)

At said wedding, I tried to take a selfie as we waited to enter the reception hall.  We're too close to the lens to be in good focus, and the sun was shining in.  But it's cute nonetheless.  :)

Two more sun stars to brighten your day.  This first one is a building at the University of Illinois (Champaign/Urbana).

And my final sun star is within the tower that houses the Millenium Carillon.  Perfect time of day, sun shining through the building--rather cool!

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Weekly Header Challenge - Bottles

It's time for the Weekly Header Challenge!

"Headbanger" Participants

Craver VII 

Fishing Guy 

Katney 

Imac 

Lew

I'm joining in the group above for this weekly challenge.

Click on the other participants' blogs to see

what they've come up with!

Theme ~ Bottles

Chosen by Mac.

My first thought upon seeing the theme this week was:  Bottles of Beer.  Which leads to that song about beer on the wall...  Oh, sorry, I won't sing it!  Actually, my two brothers are beer connoisseurs, and I've been known to try a sip or two of some of their favorites.  I guess it's an acquired taste, but there are a few that I like.  :)

Since I'm not a beer drinker, I don't have any pictures of those kinds of bottles--though I can recall a picture My dad took of me standing with my brothers, where they handed me their beer bottles...  Picture innocent me, holding some beer bottles by the necks, and my two brothers standing "innocently" on either side of me...  I suppose it could be a blackmail picture!

Fernando and I occasionally drink wine, and I happen to have a few pictures of wine bottles.  Here is the full image from my cropped header:

These two images, above and below, were taken for a client at her business' Christmas party.  Wine for the food table (below), and champagne for celebrating (above).

Wine can also be a good housewarming gift; here is a bottle we brought to my parents on move-in day to their brand new home.

He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, 

And vegetation for the labor of man, 

So that he may bring forth food from the earth, 

And wine which makes man’s heart glad.

Psalm 104:14-15a NASB

I have a favorite bottled drink, actually, and it is a real treat to have one of these!

I love Izze sodas!  They are made with natural ingredients, and I can enjoy them without having to worry about the chemicals and un-natural ingredients in those other brands.  :)

I can think of another very sweet pourable liquid--my cousin Tom's syrup.  He owns a very special piece of property in upstate New York (Adirondacks), on which he does maple sugaring and produces syrup.  He has a faithful Illinois customer base, and I take orders from friends for this tasty all-natural treat.  Those are gallons, by the way!  (I supposed those would be jugs, not bottles...)

Since the syrup must be refrigerated once it's opened, we pour ours into smaller glass bottles and use those at the table.  Here is Thomas enjoying some homemade Belgian waffles.  (My mouth is watering now...)

One other bottled kind of yummy is my double-strength vanilla extract from Penzey's Spices.  Below, I'm using some old vanilla extract bottles to make my own vanilla!  (Which turned out pretty good, by the way!)

I make homemade salad dressings, which are requested for the Christmas table with family.  Here are a couple of images from last Christmas with the requested dressings.  I store my dressings in cleaned-out Trader Joe's enchilada bottles, lol.

Bottles of bubble bath and bath salts are welcome for a long soak in the tub!

I bought the below decorative bottles cheaply through eBay (the one on the right is missing its cap).  This is our master bath, and there's a wide window above the soaking tub.  The cranberry-colored perfume bottles go well with my decor.

Finally, two of the most expensive bottles we've ever purchased were these below.  We had a layover at the Helsinki, Finland airport while we waited for our flight back to O'Hare, and Fernando used up our euros by purchasing these two very special bottles!

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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