Showing posts with label home improvement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home improvement. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Weekly Header Challenge - Chaos

It's time for the Weekly Header Challenge!

"Headbanger" Participants
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 ~ Chaos

Chosen by me.


So, this week's theme popped into my head, and without a second thought I officially sent it out to our Headbanger group.  Wellll, then I started looking for images.  That was a bit tougher than I realized it would be!  Here are my images for this week's theme.  First, the header, full-size version:


Yes, the motion blur is deliberate.  Settings:  ISO 200, f/6.3, 2-second shutter speed.  I took this image for a photography class, where the weekly lesson was about motion blur.  I had the camera on a tripod so that things would be in focus, and the only blurred objects would be those in motion.  We had friends over, and several of the guys were playing a complicated board game (Settlers of Catan, an awesomely fun game!).  It was pretty messy.  In the midst of that, little Emma came wandering into the frame with my purse slung over her shoulder.  I got the effect I was after--lots of things going on in the image, with the blur showing all the movement, and thus creating the effect of action.  I like the slightly chaotic feel to it.

On to some other images.  When we moved our computer hutch from the family room into the front living room, I snagged a photo of the hodge-podge of wires underneath the desk:


It's pretty scary to me when Danny and Thomas decide to take the computer tower completely apart and clean it out.  What if they don't get everything back to where it's supposed to go??  Look at all those little pieces of real important stuff!!  Aaaggghhh!  However, since you're reading this, you know that the re-assembly was successful.  They're geeks, after all.


Our garage is definitely chaotic, and has been cleaned up since the taking of the below picture.  ;)


I hesitated to show you all the "chaos" in my house from time to time, because, well, messy stuff is rather embarrassing.  So I also included the "after" images, where everything was cleaned up and put back, and is even neater and more organized than before!

The contents of my mud room pantry.

An organized and pretty pantry!

Here's our basement; the food storage area is called our Bomb Shelter.  I don't have a good "after" picture, so you'll have to trust me that it's all neat and tidy.  That's why I take these before pictures, y'know.


The boys' bathroom--a very scary place.


Ahhh, neat and clean...for about an hour.


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Monday, June 11, 2012

Project 2012 Week 23 -- June 3-9

Project 2012 -- Week 23
June 3 - June 9


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 postnot the main URL of your blog).
3.  Please visit others' links and leave comments; you will receive visits and comments in return!



My Week 23 Photos

As I stated last week, I wanted to make sure I used Ellie a few times before our state homeschool conference began on Wednesday evening; otherwise, I would have no pictures to show you!  And it turned out to be true--I took just one photo of my speaker at the ICHE state homeschool conference.  (I can't believe it's over; it seemed to loom ahead of me, and now poof!  It's over.)

After watering my front yard gardens, I brought Ellie out for a few pictures.  Of course, it's so fun to experiment with depth of field with lilies.   They have such depth!  :)

[155] Asiatic lily (f13)

 [156] Asiatic lily (f4.5)

Here's a somewhat side view of the flower, at f13.  Even though the stamen/anthers/pistil aren't in focus, I think it's my favorite shot.  I love the water droplets.

[157] Asiatic lily

I was happily surprised to see my first purple coneflower flower begin to emerge!  This variety is called powwow wild berry, and it is such a deep, rich purple color.  It's my favorite (but I say that for almost all the flowers in my garden, for one reason or another!)

 [158] Emerging purple coneflower

 [159] The blooming begins

Indoors, Fernando and the guys finished painting our main bathroom.  Then, he hung some towel hooks that I bought--well, let's not share when I bought them.  But they're hung now, and the guys have places for their towels.  We just have the border to hang in this room, and maybe I'll replace the shower curtain (it has yellowed over the years), and then this room will be pretty much complete.

 [160] Hooks in the bathroom

Below is the one picture I took at the ICHE state homeschool convention.  I brought Melinda Boring, from Heads Up Now!, in to speak for most of the workshop slots.  My friend and ICHE assistant Adrianne spoke for one workshop, and Fernando and I spoke for another workshop.  Melinda was a great speaker, really engaging her audience and imparting solid, practical advice and ideas.  Plus, with a name like Boring, she had to be fun!  And we had a lot of fun together over the week/weekend.

[161] ICHE state homeschool conference

I'm thoroughly exhausted from working since Wednesday afternoon, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.  It's such a wonderful feeling to feel goodly tired and knowing that I brought encouragement and hope to families homeschooling (or thinking about homeschooling) their special needs children.  If you're interested, check out the blog I created for homeschooling and special needs!

And now, I rest.  :)


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

Visit my website
Stop by my family blog
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