Day 66 - 3/7/2011

Margaret Payne

Margaret is in my singles Sunday School class, but we've know each other for a long, long time.  We knew each other back in the day when we were newlyweds with small children.  We went to the same church and played softball together.  She was one of the ladies on the team who actually played good ball.  I, on the otherhand, played right field because I couldn't do much but back up first base.  I occassionally hit the ball or managed to get a walk to first base, but I could not for the life of me catch a fly ball.  If someone was choosing up their team, I would probably have been the last one chosen.  lol  Although I enjoyed playing, playing softball just wasn't my thing.  We ran back into each other years later at our current church.  Many things have changed in our lives but not our friendship.

Since we both needed to have our cars worked on, we decided to get up on the Monday of Mardi Gras break to take care of car repairs.  We sat waiting on our cars for several hours then went to eat lunch together at the Tiny Diny (a great eating establishment that serves home-cooked meals).  It was nice to have a friend to chat with while I waited.  Thanks, Margaret, for the company and for your many years of friendship!

Day 65 - 3/6/2011

Azalea blossom

In my previous post, I said that I didn't take any photos on Sunday.  Actually that's not true, when I began to look through the few pictures that I had taken, I saw that I had taken two photos of a female cardinal. And although she really was that far away from me, my point-and-shoot camera just didn't have the capacity to capture a good shot of her.  I tried to crop the shot, but the photo began to get out of focus.  So, I grabbed a photo from last week that I had taken and didn't use.

I played around with the photo in post-editing until I got a look that I was okay with.  The original shot wasn't anything to write home about.  The azalea bushes were just beginning to bloom and so there were only a few blooms on the bushes.  I leaned over to capture this shot.  I had hoped the single blossom would stand out, but it didn't.  So, I went into Photoscape and started playing around with it--resizing it, brightening it, making the colors richer . . .  I don't recall all that I did in the editing process, but this is the finished product.  I never did accomplish exactly what I wanted, but in the end, it came out okay.

Thank goodness for those days when we are photo hounds and have some photos in reserve!  In the beginning I didn't think I would need "reserve photos," but life happens and photgraphy is a wonderful tool to capture those moments, but it is only a wonderful hobby!

Day 64 - 3/5/2011

Loropetalum

Friday evening began a four-day weekend.  One would think that I would have had lots of time for taking pictures and visiting other blogs, but that just hasn't been the case.  It seems as though I have kept the roads hot since I have been off. 

On Saturday, I did some shopping and cooked a meal for my daughter and her family since they just came home from the hospital on Friday.  They were tired of eating fast food, so I made them a homemade chicken pot pie.  I brought it over and spent some time with my daughter and granddaughter (my son-in-law was sacked out--he hasn't been feeling well for a while).  Sunday was filled with church activities and visiting my mother at the nursing home and another Sunday School member who broke her leg in four places.  She is in a rehab center across the bay. By the time I got home I realized that although I had plenty of photo opps that day, I don't think I had even taken my camera out of the case. 

Sunday was also a sad day for those in my Sunday School class and church family.  Bobby Shaw, a leader in my Sunday School class was found dead at his home.  We were all saddened by the loss of our friend.  Many of us went out to lunch together just to be together.  Perhaps that's another reason why I never even thought about my camera.  My mother didn't recognize me when she first saw me either.  Somehow, it just didn't feel like a camera day.

Over half of Monday was spent at the auto mechanics getting my car repaired.  I did remember to take a pic or two there, which I will post for Monday.  So, I've got a lot of catching up to do, although I might have to do it a little along.  I enjoy looking at your photos and want to, as time permits, go back through what I've missed and see what you have been photographing.

Thank you so much for your comments on my work.  You have been so encouraging to me as I try to hone my skills and have fun taking pictures.

Day 63 - 3/4/2011

ground covering (not sure if it has a specific name)

No matter where I look about my yard or on the campus at SHC, everything is beginning to bloom.  My eyes behold such beauty in the variety of colors and shapes of all of the flowers that come from the trees, bushes, and even the ground covering of God's beautiful creation.

Day 62 - 3/3/2011

Toothbrush blossom?

While walking back from lunch on Thursday, a co-worker and I noticed the strangest thing--most of the pansies in this flower planter had been pulled up and the ones that remained were beginning to wither.  Of course, that wasn't the strange part.  We looked down to notice that in the planter the soil seemed to be sprouting a toothbrush.  Yep, you heard right. My co-worker, knowing that I snap pictures of anything that is standing still said to me, you should take a picture of that; where's your camera?  Well, because I rarely, if never, leave home without out, I pulled my camera out of the pouch and begin taking pictures.  So, there you have it.  We are now growing toothbrushes.  lol

You never know what students will do or where they will put things.  I wish they had planted some money!  I could have used a couple hundred bucks!!!  lol

Day 61 - 3/2/2011



Nonna and her precious granddaughter, Kellyanne Elizabeth

Many months back friends begin to ask me what grandmother name I wanted to be called--it seems there's quite a variety these days.  Well, I really hadn't thought much about it.  I knew that I didn't want to be called Ma-maw, since my my kids called my mother Ma-Maw and I called my dad's mother Mamaw.  My children called their dad's mother Nanny, but somehow that just didn't seem to fit me.  I don't know exactly why, but perhaps it was because I just didn't feel that I could ever fill Nanny's shoes.  She was quite a woman!  Not that the other grandmothers weren't; it's just that Nanny really had a way with my children. Okay, so I knew the names I didn't want to be called, but I still had to decided what I wanted my grandchildren to call me.

I had heard some of my friends being called  Mimi, Cici, Gigi, Nanna (short a sound), & Nana (nah-nah), and perhaps a few names that I just can't recall at the moment.  But the name that stuck out to me came from one of my co-workers who is Italian.   Her grandchildren call her Nonna, which is Italian for grandmother.  I just love to here her say, Nonna (no - nah)--of course, it might sound so lovely because of her beautiful Italitan accent.  Anyway, I liked it so much, that I chose to be called Nonna myself.  Besides, I've always liked to be different than everyone else.  Seems like I knew a lot of Mimi's and Nanna's. But, a lot will depend on what Miss Kellyanne and Mr. Lachlan can and will say.  Whatever they choose, I know that I will love it.  I'm so very proud to be a grandmother, however they choose to say it!

God has blessed me with two precious grandchildren.  This is a picture of me with Kellyanne.  Obviously, I didn't take it.  My daughter Kelly took it. But I thought it was too special for it not to be my photo of the day.   I hope soon to post a photo of me and Lachlan, Clint's son.  His birthday is coming up later this month and, just maybe, we will get to take a road trip for his birthday.

Well, it's nite nite for this grandmother!  I know that I'm behind on visiting all of my 365 neighbors' blogs, but I hope to visit each of your sites over the next couple of days.

Goodnight and God Bless you,
Nonna (aka, Cheryl)

Day 60 - 3/1/11

Kellyanne Elizabeth Moody

Born March 1, 2011, at 11:26 p.m. at Providence Hospital.  She weighed 8 lbs & 11 ozs.; 21 & 1/2 inches long.  I am not real sure that I took this picture, but I did crop it so that it was all about her.

Bill Moody & daughter Kellyanne

After mother and father had a little bonding time with Miss Kellyanne, we got to go to the room to visit with the family.  We entered the room to find the proud daddy holding his little girl.  What a sweet moment.  Then we all took turns holding her.  I think I left the hospital sometime around 2ish.  Was I a tired puppy today!

Kelly Kirkland Moody and daughter Kellyanne

After everyone had taken a turn loving on our sweet girl, we gave her back to her momma for a little bit.  Just as we were all getting ready to leave the nurse game to get her to take her to her warm bed in the nursery for a while.   Momma gave her little angel a kiss before she gave her to the nurse.

What a long day we all had, especially Kelly!  But when it was all over, we had a precious little girl--a wonderful gift from God.  Thank you Lord for Kellyanne Elizabeth Moody!

I feel so blessed that God has given me two great children, a wonderful son-in-law, and now two precious grandchildren--all whom I love dearly!  It just doesn't get any better than that!!!