Weekly Header Challenge -- Summer is Here!

It's time for the Weekly Header Challenge!

"Headbanger" Participants

Fishing Guy 

Kathy 

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 ~ Summer is Here!

Chosen by me.

June 22 marked the first day of summer, so we know, calendar-wise, that summer is here!  Here are all the ways I love that summer is finally here...

My header image, uncropped:  Diving right in to summer!

Summer is here in all these ways:

Water sports on  Lake Bonaparte...

Ball games...

Fireworks...

Summer flowers...

And harvests from the garden...

Canning adventures...

And food on the grill...

Farmers market...

And festivals for fun...

And finally, sunsets on the lake.

Summer is here!!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Weekly Header Challenge -- Food

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 ~ Food

Chosen by Craver.

Ahhh, food.  If I'm going to eat it, it has to be good food.  If I'm going to make it, it also should look beautiful.  And if I'm going to shoot it, it needs to look beautiful!  Here are my food photos--I made it, I presented it, I shot it.

My most recent new recipe--Flourless Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cake.  Yeah, it was that good.  *drool*

Red Lentil Soup (amazing!).

Four-Cheese Ravioli with fried sage leaves and brown butter sauce.

(I bought the ravioli but made everything else.)

Stack of whole-wheat pancakes with strawberry sauce.  And syrup.

I make my own vanilla with vodka and Madagascar vanilla beans.

Strawberry shortcake.  When no whipping cream is available, use ice cream.

Homemade strawberry preserves, using agar instead of pectin as a thickener.

Fernando grilled it!  Red peppers are from my garden.

One of my one-pound heirloom tomatoes.

Canning my jalapenos (and my garlic).

Butternut squash growing in my garden.

Garden harvest.

Pico de gallo -- fresh salsa with everything from my garden.

I started this blog post with cake, so I'll end it with cake!

Chocolate Cake to the Max.

Merry Christmas!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Weekly Header Challenge - Spring is Coming

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 ~ Spring Is Coming

I needed some color in my life!!  I was happy, to say the least, with this week's theme.  We've had our third worst winter in recorded history here in Chicagoland, and many of us are longing for something other than white, and now, brown.  I was perfectly happy to choose the brightest, most colorful sign of spring that I could find.  Here is my full image, below.

Spring crocuses.

Birds returning to our area are also a welcome sign of spring.

Robin -- the iconic sign of spring.

Swans at a local bird rookery.

Geese at a pond at the end of my street.

For the past several years, the first birds we see as a sign of spring are Mr. and Mrs. Mallard.  They apparently live in our back yard, and our pool is their pond.  I hope they return this year, since our pool was a casualty of the many days of subzero weather.

Other animals emerge in spring, too.

Back to my header--flowers!  Anything green and growing is most welcome by this time of year!

Emerging day lilies.

Buds on a flowering tree.

Daffodils!

Crocus.

Scilla, a spring bulb with little blue/purple flowers.

Strawberry plants.

After the strawberry plants emerge, here is the yummy late spring blessing!

Planted in the autumn, garlic sprouts up in early spring.

Other signs of spring are rain.  The below, from last year, was too much of it.  This street, one of three main north/south arteries through our town, was closed for two or three days.

We found these duck eggs at a local park last spring!

The first day of grilling is an awesome spring day!  The below was our Resurrection Sunday meal; grilling has become a (very short so far) tradition.  If we continue the tradition this year, it's on April 20, so I really hope it won't be our first grilling day of the spring.  :)

Thanks, Lew, for choosing a theme that helps us all remember what we're looking forward to!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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P2012 -- Week 11 -- 3/11-17

Project 2012 -- Week 11

March 11 - March 17

How to Link Up With Us

1.  Click here to read the Project 2012 Guidelines, and to get the code to place in your blog.
2.  Fill out the little form below (insert the URL of your blog post, not the main URL of your blog).
3.  Please visit others' links and leave comments; you will receive visits and comments in return!

My Week 11 Photos

I took some photos for a photography class I'm enrolled in, but didn't use them for the class.  The below image was supposed to be an example of an "S" curve.  I didn't like it for fulfilling the assignment, but I like the shapes and colors.

[71] Fallen leaf

Another "S" curve I didn't use.

 [72] "S" curve

I made the below salad for supper with family.  Yum--and it's so good for me!

[73] Raw kale and avocado salad

After Thomas showed off his jumping skills, Danny wanted in on the action.  Another warm winter day (!!) provided the opportunity for both Danny and Thomas to show off.  Below, Danny did a half-turn in mid-air and landed backwards.  Notice how they're using Dad's plastic sawhorses instead of the glass picnic table!!

[74] Fancy jump

[75] Scrunch up!

Warm winter day = break out the grill!!  (Ribs, chicken, and bratwurst.)

[76] March grilling

Storm clouds rolled in around sunset time, creating a beautiful sky.

[77] Evening storm clouds

I hope you had a great week of shooting!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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