Kim's Thoughts
Just a few thoughts I feel worthy of jotting down!
Photos of the Day – April 10th
What a gorgeous 70+ degree day it was here in Western NY, today!!! For me, it has been a day of settling back in to the real world after vacation. Megan made sure I got up at our usual time and followed our normal morning routine. Then, I tried out my new treadmill for a little stroll in the bedroom before heading out to run some errands and going to the store to stock up on some groceries. It was also an emotional day – one year ago, today, we lost our Mom! So, I paid a visit at Mt. Albion and had a great chat with her and my Dad.
Mom hated this photo, but it is one of my favorites….because it reminds me of a warm end of summer night we shared at the lake listening to an outdoor concert – memories of happier times together! I love and miss her so much!
Here are the Photos of the Day for April 10, 2017:
# 100 Photo Prompt – Flora:
“Peony Sprouts”
#flora
Not much flora, yet, but lots of buds and sprouts around my yard!!!
# 100 Caught By My Lens:
“Finished Craft Project”
I picked this up, today. I painted it just before I left on vacation and it was glazed and fired while I was gone!
Lenten Photo Challenge – Lent (Day 41) – Forgiveness:
(yeah, I know – Lent is only 40 days long, but the Photo Challenge includes all the Sundays and Easter – which technically are not included in “Lent”)
“C. S. Lewis Quote”
#forgiveness
Ok, so I didn’t photograph this, but I did create it and saved it as a jpeg file…..and, the one I posted on Instagram was a photo of it on the computer screen…..so……I don’t count this as a true “cheat”!!! hehehe
Enjoy what is left of this gorgeous spurt of spring weather before we have some more roller coaster temperatures over the coming days/weeks!
April 2017s Photo Prompts:
Lenten Photo Challenge:
2017 West Coast Adventure
So…..perhaps some of you may have noticed I’ve been missing from my blog for a couple of weeks! I have a good excuse – really! I went on a little adventure!
Here’s the run down….in a nutshell…..with a few “teaser” photos (more will come in the days ahead):
I flew out to San Francisco on March 25th and got on the Grand Princess cruise ship for a West Coast Cruise. The cruise was one week long and made stops at Santa Barbara, Long Beach, San Diego, and Ensenada, Mexico. I enjoyed seven days on a beautiful ship and took some amazing shore excursions. It was wonderful!
A selfie while our ship was passing under the Golden Gate Bridge on the way out to sea!
Then…..when I got off the ship when we returned to San Francisco, I went to a hotel, instead of the airport. I spent five days sightseeing and adding to my sunburn in San Fransciso.
Fisherman’s Wharf
The corner of Haight and Ashbury Streets
Muir Woods
Sonoma and Napa Valley wineries
But, I wasn’t done, there…..I, then, took the Coastal Starlight Train for a 22 hour ride from San Francisco to Seattle. going through upper California, Oregon, and Washington State.
When I got to Seattle, I stayed a couple days and did more sightseeing.
At the top of the Space Needle…..after having brunch in the revolving restaurant
And, at the Pike Place Market!
This can definitely fall into the category of a trip that literally consisted of “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles……and Ships and Boats”!!! I covered a lot of ground – in fact, I covered the entire west coast from top to bottom! I colored in two more states that I had not previously visited – Oregon and Washington – and knocked several things off my bucket lists!!! I can’t wait to share all the details and some of the great photos I took with you all!
I got back home this evening……and I am ready for a good rest! hahaha
Yes, I kept up the Photos of the Day prompts and the Lenten Photos…..but, I only posted them on Instagram and Facebook each day. I will not catch them up on here — some of the photos above were Photos of the Day and the rest will likely show up in other posts I write about my many wonderful adventures over the past two weeks. So, you’ll get to see them – you just won’t necessarily know if they met a specific photo prompt or not! Sorry!
So, now that I’m home, I’ll restart the daily photo posts and watch for the more detailed posts about my great adventure on the west coast!
Photos of the Day – March 24th
Food seems to be the word of the day……
Here are the Photos of the Day for March 24, 2017:
# 83 Photo Prompt – Starts With “N”:
“Nuts and Nougat”
#startswithN #snickers
# 83 Caught By My Lens:
“Supper”
Had a big lunch with friends, so eating light at home, tonight!
Lenten Photo Challenge – Lent (Day 24) – Bread:
#bread
No need for a title…..
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March 2017s Photo Prompts:
Lenten Photo Challenge:
Photos of the Day – March 23
Hectic day……so much to do……so little time!!!
Here are the Photos of the Day for March 23, 2017:
# 82 Photo Prompt – Anything:
“Two Hawks and Some Brave Birds Sharing a Tree”
#anything
# 82 Caught By My Lens:
“Squirrels Love Nuts”
Usually, they stuff them in their cheeks and run off to store them somewhere. But, this guy took them one by one from under my weeping crab apple tree, then climbed to the top of it, and proceeded to break open the shells to eat the peanuts and drop the shells to the ground! He probably ate 6 or 8 that way until he changed his strategy and took some off somewhere else! That’s different!
Lenten Photo Challenge – Lent (Day 23) – Act of Kindness:
“Violets – Gift From a Special Friend”
Remember a couple weeks ago I posted a photo of my little special friend from church and I having a breakfast picnic for Special Friends Day? Well, this is the gift she gave to me on that very special day! ❤
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March 2017s Photo Prompts:
Lenten Photo Challenge:
Photos of the Day – March 22nd
Here are the Photos of the Day for March 22, 2017:
# 81 Photo Prompt – Stripes:
“New Shirt and Pearls”
#stripes
# 81 Caught By My Lens:
“Beer Bread for Choir”
At today’s Lenten Lunch, I happened to mention beer bread and some at the table said they had never heard of it. They all just happen to also be in choir with me and we were scheduled to have our weekly rehearsal this evening. So, I baked a loaf to take to choir for them to try…..it went over really well – barely anything but crumbs left! 🙂
(see recipe below)
Lenten Photo Challenge – Lent (Day 22) – Half Time:
“One-Thirty”
#halftime
Not sure what half time has to do with Lent and wasn’t sure how I would represent it, but this is what I came up with! 🙂
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Beer Bread Recipe
Ingredients:
3 cups self-rising flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 (12oz) can or bottle of beer – room temperature, NOT flat
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix all together.
Fill large loaf pan to only 1/2 full.
Bake for 45 minutes or until knife comes out clean.
Batch makes approximately one loaf.
Best if served warm from the oven.
NOTES:
- Be sure to NOT use cold beer or flat beer.
- Do NOT fill pans more than 1/2 full.
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March 2017s Photo Prompts:
Lenten Photo Challenge:
Photos of the Day – March 21st
Here are the Photos of the Day for March 21, 2017:
# 80 Photo Prompt – Button:
“Plastic Flower”
#button
Lenten Photo Challenge – Lent (Day 21) – Renewal:
“Daffodil Sprouts”
#renewal
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March 2017s Photo Prompts:
Lenten Photo Challenge:
Photos of the Day – March 20th
SPRING HAS SPRUNG!!!!
Here are the Photos of the Day for March 20, 2017:
# 79 Photo Prompt – A Wall:
“Circus, Circus”
#awall
Not quite ready to open for ice cream, but sure is inviting!!!
# 79 Caught By My Lens:
“One Scary Dude”
I was driving down Main St in Batavia this afternoon and THIS caught my eye outside a toy and comic book shop…..and I almost ran into the car in front of me!!!
(just kidding on the second part of that sentence!)
Lenten Photo Challenge – Lent (Day 20) – First Day of Spring:
“Purple Tulips”
#FirstDayOfSpring
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Speaking of tulips…..who is willing to admit they are old enough to remember Tiny Tim and his famous rendition of this song???
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March 2017s Photo Prompts:
Lenten Photo Challenge:
Photos of the Day – March 19th
Hello, there! Are you enjoying the last calendar day of Winter, today? I know I am!!! The calendar dictates that Spring starts tomorrow……now, if Mother Nature will just get on board and cooperate, we’ll be smooth sailing into warmer temps, budding trees, and sprouting flowers! Hey, a girl can dream, can’t she?
Here are the Photos of the Day for March 19. 2017:
# 78 Photo Prompt – Orange:
“Caution: Snow Pile!”
#orange
“Perseverance”
#orange
I went to the Elementary School specifically to get this crayon photo for today’s Photo Prompt – orange! But, driving through the parking lot, I couldn’t resist the warning cones! I got home to see which photo came out better and couldn’t decide on just one…..so, you get both!!! hehehe
# 78 Caught By My Lens:
“Star on Cobblestones”
I drive by this all the time…..for some reason, it reached out and grabbed my attention, today!
Lenten Photo Challenge – Lent (Day 19) – Water:
“Down By The River”
#water
A little cold for John The Baptist to be doing his thing, today, but still a stunning scene!
A beautifully performed song about going down to the river befitting the Lenten season:
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And one that’ll get your feet tapping and your head bouncing….
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March 2017s Photo Prompts:
Lenten Photo Challenge:
Photos of the Day – March 18th
I’ve been doing a lot of crafty things lately…..not crafty, like in devious or deceitful….crafty, like making things with my own two little hands! 😀 I used to do a lot of arts and crafts, but got away from it over the years. Well, now that I’m retired and I have more time to focus on things I really enjoy doing, I’ve slowly gotten back into the swing of doing stuff like that! There is a great shop in our neighboring town, Medina – Brushstrokes Studios, that has bisque ceramics that you can go and paint. I did a few things late last year and have ramped up my efforts a little more so far this year. I’ve made mostly things that I have given away as gifts, but have kept some. I’ve also made some bracelets out of bead kits and I like doing that, too! So…..I’m planning to get even craftier this year! 😉
I’m telling you this because I attended a Paint and Sip Night at Brushstrokes, tonight. They provide the wine to sip while we paint – they have these craft nights every so often and they are always great fun! Tonight’s piece was a star to hang on the wall. I love the way mine turned out and I can not wait to see it after it is glazed and fired! Here is my painted star – before glazing and firing:
It is a teal color with the opposite panels in a white with multi colored speckles (including the same teal flakes) and the little stars were stencils that I painted over and removed, so they will be white against the teal. Cool, huh?
The wine was from The Winery at Marjim Manor – one of my favorite local wineries – and it was very good!
And, these are three bracelets I made a couple days ago!
So, now……here are the Photos of the Day for March 18, 2017:
# 77 Photo Prompt – Daily:
“Soup and Sandwich Lunch”
#daily
A very pleasurable lunch…….today’s treat was Italian Wedding Soup and a BLT on toasted wheatberry bread – YUM!!!
# 77 Caught By My Lens:
“Just a Friendly Tough Guy”
This guy caught my eye as I was driving down Platt Street, today, and gave me a good chuckle! Love him!
Lenten Photo Challenge – Lent (Day 18) – Welcome:
“Standing Invitation to All Birds”
#welcome
In the spring/summer, this is where my oriole and hummingbird feeders hang!
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March 2017s Photo Prompts:
Lenten Photo Challenge:
Photos of the Day – March 17th
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!! Top ‘o the day to ye!!! ‘Tis a grand day for the wee folk, in deed it ’tis. May the leprechauns smile upon you and bless you with the luck of the Irish. May your very own pot ‘o gold be within your reach. And, may you receive many kisses, today, whether you be Irish or not.
I grew up believing I was a large percentage Irish. My father was adopted, so I had no idea how his DNA influenced mine, so I went solely by my mother’s side of the family. My grandmother was 100% English…..so, obviously, that was the biggest portion of my heritage. My grandfather claimed to be a mongrel with the majority Irish, then German, and then just a tad of a couple other ethnicity’s – too minor to mention. So, I always claimed to be English and Irish with some German mixed in with the Irish – just to ensure I had a hot temper. 😀 Last fall, I did the Ancestry DNA thing. No surprise that English was my biggest percentage: 63%. But, from there, I was a little taken aback! The next largest percentage is Western European (German, etc): 14%. And, I discovered I am only 6% Irish……and, the biggest surprise was I’m an equal percentage Italian – 6%, as well! Then, there are little bits of the other European and surrounding areas in small percentages. I suppose, my father’s DNA is what skewed things, but just how, I’m not sure. So……I’m not as Irish as I thought……but, then again, on St. Paddy’s Day, EVERYONE is a little Irish, right?
Here are the Photos of the Day for March 17, 2017:
# 76 Photo Prompt – Off Centre:
“OCD Nightmare”
#offcentre
Yeah, I know – it is centered over the doors, but it is still not centered in the space it occupies!!!
# 76 Caught By My Lens:
“Morning Visitor”
“And His Friend”
Lenten Photo Challenge – Lent (Day 17) – St. Patrick’s Day:
“Shamrocks – Luck of the Irish”
#stpatricksday
“Green Roses”
“Irish Butter? Who Knew?”
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March 2017s Photo Prompts:
Lenten Photo Challenge:
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