68-72/365

I think my life is starting to slow down. Mom's doing well and learning to do so much for herself now. She has PT coming to her house 3 days a week. Her dr. seems pleased w/ her progress.

This week's theme is "something old" and here are the rest of my photos for the week.

68/365

My mammaw's china. When we were cleaning out her house so we could move in, we found 2 big boxes full. Never used. No one knew she had it. She did have probably an 8 piece setting of it that she did use for everyday. Knowing her, she kept the other packed away to replace broken ones. I would love to know the story behind how she acquired it. I've researched it and it was made in the late 40's/early 50's...around the time mom was born.

Each violet peeps from its dwelling to gaze at the bright stars above.

69/365

My mammaw's earrings.

She gave them to me when I was 16 & I wore them religiously, even though they were clip-ons and did dreadful things to my ears. I was going through my Madonna material girl, rhinestone & lace phase. It tickled her that I loved them so though she had a hard time believing I "actually wore those old things". The doily was made by either she or my great-grandmother. I'm fortunate to have a bag full of these little jewels that they made.

70/365

This was a ring I wore when I was little. I think it was an Easter gift.

No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.

71/365

DH & I are rock hounds. Not so much now as we were when we were younger but we still get out & go for a hike occasionally, looking down for a glimmer of flint all the while. Here are some treasures from our most recent finds.

When you're riding in a time machine way far into the future, don't stick your elbow out the window, or it'll turn into a fossil.

72/365

One of Mammaw's old canning jars, filled with her buttons, sitting on one of her doilies with keys that unlock secret places that I've yet to find.

She left pieces of her life behind her everywhere she went.

67/365 You had me at hello

This is my first camera. My dad first placed it in my hands when I was about 8 years old. He began trying to teach me about aperture and shutter speed but I was impatient & it was all over my head. The lessons turned into aperture on "A" (which I assume was automatic? not sure) and I'd turn the shutter ring "until the black line is in the middle". Of course, no auto focus on this thing but I love the way it did focus. You'd have "double" of something until it was in focus and it became one. I might could handle manual focus today if it acted that way instead of blurry to clear.

I carried the camera to Disney World on a band trip when I was 12. As I was getting off of Space Mountain, the camera slipped out of my hands and the flash (yep, I had the flash too!) popped away from the camera & I realized the hot shoe was broken. I was soooo afraid to show him. But, he never raised his voice and a week or so later, he gave it to me. At first, I thought it was to remind me of what I'd done but later, I realized that he knew I had a love for photography and he had gotten a better camera so he passed the other on to me. In fact, I think that he was secretly thrilled that I'd broken it because of the upgrade to the Canon AE1. *L*

66/365 Something old

LOVE this week's theme. Something old. The other group's theme is sun which is good because it has decided to make an appearance this week! Maybe I'll get lots of shots for both.

Today, it's only "old" though.

We live in what was once my grandmother's house, which was built in the late 30's or early 40's. This doorknob is on our bedroom (once was my mom's) door. When I was little, I always thought it was a huge diamond. I'd go into mom's old room, pretending it was a palace (where else would you find a door w/ a diamond for a doorknob), playing dress-up in her old can-can crinoline slips- they make great princess dresses, and snooping around for other "treasures".

I took several shots trying to "get it right" and those can be seen on my flickr but this is my favorite.

What we remember from childhood we remember forever - permanent ghosts, stamped, inked, imprinted, eternally seen. ~Cynthia Ozick

65/365

Last for my color accent theme.

Our annual chicken & egg festival is coming up and they have a photo contest. I've missed the deadline every year for some reason or other & want to enter this time. I am trying really hard to get a nice "portrait" of a chicken. Chickens are NOT great models. Here's one I won't be entering but I thought had good accent color.

When arguing with a chicken, a grain of corn is always wrong.

59-64 of 365

I've neglected my poor blog but I'm not giving up. *L*

My mom had her surgery & is doing well. Will start PT on Monday. She ended up w/ a "ball" replacement.

I'm learning a lot about patience. I'm doing a lot of tongue biting. I know she's in pain & I try to remember that it is the pain talking. I'm learning to be a hairdresser. I now know why God gave me all boys. I was born w/o the "do hair" gene & any girl children offspring would've suffered, most likely w/ boy cuts. I haven't learned to "tease" hair yet. I just don't get it. Curl it w/ a curling iron, hold it up a bit while spritzing w/ hair spray...THAT'S teasing to me. *L*

This week's themes are "color accent" & winter...

We did have a snow event so I have one snow pic for winter...

Thankfully, spring appears to be peeking through.

Now, for my color accent shots:

I'm not crazy about any of these. This has been a tough one for me.

My new Nikes

Mandarin on teal

What's up, Buttercup?

Buttercup, Take Two

60/30/10

Helen, a lovely lady in our little group, mentioned the 60/30/10 color accent rule for interior design. This is an attempt at that.

Ted's sister, Tallulah, in blue

Stress is when you wake up screaming and you realize you haven't fallen asleep yet.

54-58/365

Things are crazy around here.

First, my mom...we've been running back and forth to Dr.'s, CT scans, Pre-admissions testing, etc. until we're both frazzled. Turns out she kinda shattered the bone under her shoulder. The surgeon is thinking "ball" replacement. I really liked him and think she did too. We've heard nothing but good things about him and she's even okay w/ going into the hospital she didn't want to use. She's having surgery Monday morning so any +++ thoughts are appreciated.

My middling has been having dizzy spells for the past few months. DH & I didn't realize how often he's having them but have found out, it's a lot. We carried him to the family dr. last week. He was thinking possibly seizures. Freaked this poor mama out! He referred him to a neurologist who quickly said "not seizures" and referred him to a cardiologist. He did a complete blood panel, ekg, echocardiogram and has a tilt-table test scheduled for next week. Middling's blood pressure is always low so I'm guessing that has a lot to do with it. But hopefully, we'll know more after next week.

Middling also had a trip to Huntsville to the news station again for more training. Nothing exciting this week. I don't think I blogged about his last training session. He got to help cover a shooting at a college...made the national news so you may have heard about it. Not a typical training session for sure but he got a real dose of reality. Last night, he got to cover a rodeo and have a normal night. DH dropped him off at the station & then came back & got us (after mom's testing & younger's school got out) & we went & hung out at the mall for a while.

Ok, enough about me.

On to my missed photos. Just a reminder that this week's topics are catch lights & affection.

I think I covered them both with each shot! ;)

#54

#55

#56

#57

And last but not least...

#58 Don'cha just love that face?

In a world where everyone seems to be larger and louder than yourself, it is very comforting to have a small, quiet companion. ~Peter Gray

53/365

Life is getting hectic. My mom fell last week & broke her arm right below her shoulder. She was to have surgery Wednesday but when we went in to talk to her dr., we found that the CT scan showed more damage than originally thought. He doesn't want to do the surgery & recommended a shoulder specialist in another town. She REALLY dislikes one of the hospitals in this other town & is freaking at the thought of having to have surgery there. Her dr assures her though that the specialist IS the go to guy for shoulders. We go see him tomorrow & will hopefully have a surgery date tomorrow.

It's turning gloomy and gray again. I throughly enjoyed the 2 days of spring we had. I know it'll be here again soon.

Ok, now for my photo. Ted again. New location. Nice catchlights. Pure affection.

Anyone who has looked a teddy bear in the face will recognize the friendly twinkle in his knowing look.