Three Corners~ Traditions

SIGH....is a blog post that starts out with a "sigh" ever any good? I just don't know what it is about the month when it is my turn to pick the theme. Every single time, I have all these great ideas, and they never pan out. This month, I chose the theme of TRADITIONS. I had a vision of a super yummy photo of a roasted turkey from Thanksgiving. Sigh....my MIL roasted and carved the turkey the day before Thanksgiving. Yup.....no picture for me. The month got away from me, and I only picked up my camera less then 10 times the entire month. EEEEKKKK!

So I sit here tonight piecing together a set of three photos that depict TRADITIONS. Bear with me.

The year Sugar Bear was born, began my obsession with sewing holiday outfits for my littlest love. Traditionally, a few weeks, to a month before a special holiday you will find me sewing like a crazy fool. Christmas in particular finds me sewing a bit early, to have an outfit in time for the TRADITIONAL Christmas Card Photo Shoot. This photo is a TEASER. It isn't one I chose for the Christmas Card, and it only gives you a peek at her special Holiday Overalls. I'll be posting a series of these shots later this month.

The following photo needs quite an explanation to really "get" why it speaks of Tradition for me. Growing up, every Thanksgiving was spent at my Aunt and Uncle's house several hours away. It was a BIG DEAL in our family. We arrived Wednesday night, and left late morning on Sunday. Us kids spent the majority of the time in the basement of the 3 story house playing a variety of games, ranging from pool to computer games. I was like a kid in a candy shop. My cousins had all the things I wished I had...mostly a computer, atari, and such. I spent hours and hours playing computer games in that basement.

This Thanksgiving, I found myself at my inlaw's house. After a warm up period, on Sugar's part, she finally began to play with the cousins she doesn't see all that often. They disappeared to the basement. After quite sometime, she came up to tell me about her adventures in Ping Pong, and Video Games (both firsts for her). She smelled of basement, and I was immediately transported to the Thanksgivings of yesteryear. Anyone who has ever spent much time in a basement knows the smell I'm talking about. Damp......musty......and well Basement like. Even though it is not a pleasant smell, I found myself holding Sugar alittle tighter, and breathing deep the linger of my past, making this Thanksgiving more TRADITIONAL than I ever imagined.

Lastly, we have the beginning of a new TRADITION. I'll be sharing this week, of the first time Sugar Bear ever mailed a letter to Santa. It was totally spontaneous, and adorable.

Be sure to checkout Lindy and Jeanette's blogs to see them fine photos of TRADITIONS.

Camera Critters~ Yes Deer!

For a little over a year now, our neighborhood has had three distinguished guests. This mama deer and her twins have made their selves at home. Sugar Bear and I enjoy looking for them every morning as we leave for the day. Usually, we can spot them about 3 times a week grazing under the apple trees, or wandering around the pond near our neighbors house. Sometimes, as we traveled home, we spy them as well. It gives us something to look forward to.

This past hunting season, we were surprised to start seeing them every single day. In fact, they seemed to be living in the fields around our neighborhood. For the first time, they were hunkering down for the night, and not leaving. I was a bit intrigued by this new behavior, and wondered if perhaps mother deer knew her little family would be more safe if they hung around the hood. As we would drive our truck past slowly, the mother deer would never look at us, and would take a statuesque pose. The yearlings would freely move, and seemed to be as taken with watching us, just as we were with them. What a treat it was for Sugar.

In the last week, they have gone back to their previous schedule of being completely unpredictable. This only furthers my speculation, that mother deer is one smart cookie, since hunting season is over.

Photo Hunters~ Metal

WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY back in April, I spent some time wandering around my property, playing with my macro lens. I snapped these two shots of METAL nails in our deck railing. The deck was made nearly 30 years ago, and I just fell in love with how the macro lens accentuated the appearance of the weathered wood, and old METAL.





These two photos quickly became a few of my favorites. The narrow focus gives them so much character. I am glad to finally taken the time to share them.

Have a great weekend! I look forward to seeing lots of METAL on my photo hunt!

Thanksgiving~Mission ImPIEssible!

As an adult, I have certainly enjoyed being part of the Holiday meal process. I find satisfaction in providing some of the delicious traditional foods, and sometimes offer a new item to the must have list. Usually, I am assigned a category. You know.....dessert, salad, bread, etc. This year, when I asked my Mother-in-law what I could bring she simply said, "pumpkin pie!"

Oh dear! I found this troubling on several levels.

A. I do not like pumpkin pie, and bringing something that I do not personally like can be risky.

B. I have never made a pumpkin pie before in my life.

C. I actually do not have a "C", but only "A" and "B" looked stupid.

So, what is an obsessive, weirdo like me to do in a situation like this? Why set forth with a mission to make the best darn pumpkin pie anyone on earth has ever tasted, that's what! Yeah....you know it! I aim high!

To accomplish this task I needed to be prepared. The Internet search began.....after much consideration, I narrowed it down to two recipes. I had previously decided that I wanted to make my own pumpkin puree from scratch. I purchased two small Sugar Pumpkins, cut them in half, sprinkled them with cinnamon, and put them upside down on a cookie sheet. I baked them at 350 for 90 minutes. Oh lordy, did my house smell divine.



Did I forget to mention that I did this all last weekend. You see....I needed to make practice pies, and have a taste test at work. Yes, this is serious business. I proceeded to puree the baked pumpkin, and mixed up the two different recipes. One was a traditional type pie, and one had a pecan strudel on the top. I love pecan pie, so I figured I might be able to trick my mind into thinking it wasn't really pumpkin.

After both pies were baked, I did my own taste test. I found myself astonished to discover that I actually preferred the plain pie to the one with the nuts. I took the two pies to work, fairly certain how the preference would land. I was wrong....so very wrong. It was nearly unanimous in favor of the pie with nuts. Sigh...

Being the complete freak that I am, I just couldn't call it good, and go with the recipe that had the nuts...oh no! I made the decision to combine the best parts of both recipes. Tonight I made my pie. It is sitting in my kitchen taunting me.



The trouble is.....I am dying to know if it tastes as wonderful as I hope it does. I hate that I can't sample it before the big day. EEEEEKKKKK.....will I have succeeded? Will it be the hit, I hope for? Only time will tell.



For this special occasion, I'm pulling out the BIG guns! I'm making real whipped cream for it as well. (another new adventure for me)

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope your meal is everything you hoped it to be, and you take plenty of time to remember the things that give your life purpose. As I always say, "LIFE IS GOOD!"

Wordless Wednesday~Let's Talk Turkey!

P.S Yes, I did make her shirt. What fun it is!!! What fun it is!!!

For more Wordless Wednesday go HERE and HERE!

Camera Critters~ Hello! What's Newt?

Not too long ago, I blogged about Sugar Bear making friends with a little snake last summer while we were camping. She is quite the animal lover. She was quick to find another little creature to examine that day.

I'd like to introduce the Rough Skinned Newt.

Growing up, both Hubby and I recall playing with these little creatures as well. Hubby did inform me that if eaten, these little buggers are quite poisonous. We decided that it was safe to let her play with them as long as she didn't lick them, and we washed her hands thoroughly afterwards.

She was obsessed with them. She caught a total of four of these newts, and named a few of them. Tiger.....and ummmmm....I can't remember. She is asleep right now, or I'd ask her. Sugar has a memory like an elephant. I'm sure she could tell me the names.

As with the snake, I had to remind her a few times that the creature was not a toy, and should just be held, and admired....not flown like a rocket.....

taught a little dance.....

or hung by the neck!

She would do a great job for awhile, then lose her mind for a minute and do something silly. The tail was a bit irresistible at times.

But mostly she just wanted to love them to death.

After reading a bit more about them, I am feeling rather lucky she didn't have a reaction to them. I just know that as a kid neither hubby or I had any trouble, and I am certain we didn't have an obsessed mother scrubbing our hands afterward. I am undecided as to whether I'll ever let her play with them again. Experience tells me it is okay, but WOW what if something really did happen. I shutter even thinking about it.

Have a great Sunday.

Photostory Friday~ Tweet

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

I don't often take photos of birds. It isn't due to the fact that I don't find them photo worthy, because I actually I do. I just find them difficult to photograph. I see birds all the time, but they rarely stay within a good photo distance, as they seem to fear me and my camera. I have taken quite a few bird shots throughout the years, but never really captured one that made me say, "WOW!"

I still haven't, but I chose to share this photo today because it makes me smile. It is important to note that I know virtually NOTHING about birds.....but I do know a CUTE bird when I see one, and this is ONE.DARN.CUTE.BIRD!



I have been smitten with little chubby birds for several years now. I adore them. I don't often see them in real life, but I get giddy over artwork that features such chubby little birds. sigh.....too cute!

Thanks for coming by my blog this week. Have a great weekend!

Busy Busy, But Not Without An Appreciation For Beauty

This is the time of year that I find myself feeling quite fragmented. Work is crazy, my creative juices really start to flow, and I feel the crunch of the up
coming Holidays. I struggle to do all the things I wish to accomplish, and I spread myself too thin. Between digital scrapbooking and sewing, I have been putting blogging on the back burner for about a month now. I find it a tad funny that in the month of November, when many bloggers vow to blog EVERY.SINGLE.DAY, I vowed to blog less. I guess I am just funny like that.

No matter how busy I get, or how hurried I am, I find myself stopping to appreciate the little things. Last week, I walked out of my office to see an amazing sky. I happened to have my camera with me that day (honestly, I rarely have it with me on work days.) I was so pleased to have the opportunity to capture the sky as it quickly changed.

This photo was the first I took that day, at approximately 4:17 PM.

4:17 pm- Loading my truck with some items to donate to Good Will.

4:31 PM Arriving at the Good Will

5:06 After getting the books for Sugar at the Good Will.

Approximately 5:10 pm, while sitting at a red light.

Taken at 5:20 pm, about two blocks from Sugar's daycare/preschool.

I am constantly in complete awe of the beauty that surrounds us. We are so blessed. May I never be too scatter.....too hurried....or too busy to stop and breath in how majestic this earth is.

Wordless WEBBnesday

For more Wordless Wednesday go HERE and HERE!

Reason #239 TV Rots Your Brain

Last week, I slowly crept into Sugar Bear's room hoping to get the chance to watch her sleep for a few seconds before waking her up, and rushing around like a monsters chasing us, to get out of the house on time. I stood over her bed basking in the glow of a child sleeping. It took a sense of that clock monster breathing down my neck to force me to wake the peaceful Sugar. I reached out, and softly rubbed her little back, while quietly saying, "Good Morning, Sugar. Time to wake up."

As if someone had literally yanked her straight up out of her lying position, she shot up, wide eyed, and immediately said, "Mom.....it NEVER dries out!" With a bit of surprise on my face I wondered aloud, "What honey? What never dries out?" Sugar's face was full of wonder when she said, "That stuff....you know...that you can make coins and castles out of!" Gesturing with little hands, "That stuff!" Wide eyed, "IT NEVER DRIES OUT!"

As I scooped up my little honey, I chuckled and said, "Oh....Moon Sand! Are you talking about Moon Sand?" "Yes, Mama....and it never dries out!" she replied with more than a bit of wonderment in her voice.

Sigh......commercials. The poor little honey must have been dreaming about those darn Moon Sand commercials. It is rotting her little brain. Later she mentioned that she would like some Moon Sand for Christmas. I am more than certain I will NOT be getting it for her. Last year, a friend gave her some fancy Foam Dough.



Sugar Bear loves this stuff, and her creativity warms my heart.




She works tirelessly, and I love to observe her intense concentration.




However, it causes some great frustrations for both her and I.
The darn stuff not only sticks to clothes, it doesn't come off the materials that came with it. Forget about getting it off of those feathers....seriously, what a joke.



The biggest pet peeve of mine is the colorful box showing all sorts of fun designs using multiple colors. Are they kidding me? Sugar wants 5 different colors...not the brown mass it will be after making just two of those rainbow creations.



Nope...Moon Sand, and it's amazing ability to "never dry out" will not be under our tree. I'm sure it is FABULOUS stuff, but I seriously don't need another brown mass of chemically altered gunk in my house. Sorry Sugar...



Let's turn off the TV, and read another book.

Photostory Friday~ Strength

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Photography is my strength...yet it is also my weakness. Through my camera's lens I see things I would have otherwise missed. I love the feeling it brings when I pull the camera to my eye, and capture the little things......which somehow turn into the big things.

My mind is reeling these days with the variety of things I wish to accomplish, and the very short time in which I have to do so. I am burning the candle at both ends, and often wrestle through my dreams with repetitive actions from my day. I wake feeling no more rested than I was when my head hit the pillow. Tonight, as I sat at my computer trying to quickly choose a photo to share, my cluttered mind hindered my process. I found myself unable to connect to any one idea. Each photo my eyes scanned across left me uninspired, until I spied this simple photo.



This image was captured last April, yet I hadn't found an opportunity to share it yet. Tonight it spoke to me. "Be strong! One thing leads to another. Take each thing one task at a time, and it will all come together."

Just the words I needed to hear.