April 2012, Photo-a-day photo challenge

Normally, I would try to add each day's photo one day at a time; however, since I didn't get into this photo-a-day challenge until the 25th, I am going to put all of April up together.   I don't know how I'm going to add the other Month's daily photos challenges.  However, if you don't find the additions here on this blog, then it is safe to say that I added them onto my regular photo blog.  The reason I'm having trouble with where I should put the daily contest photos is that I usually just try to take photos of things that interest me, completely apart from any structure or demands.   I'll figure it out eventually.

Anyway, what is below is the 25APR12 photo and the 30APR12 photo.

25APR12-Looking Down.  My new hibiscus on the right side of the carport.

 26APR12-Black and White.  The stove in my unit at Silverleaf Seaside Resort.

 27APR12-Someplace I went (to Indian Beach, Galveston Island, Texas.  This was the only place I could see any kind of sunset on Friday)

27APR12A-1 p.m. This photo and the next one were the Saturday photo.  I asked several people in my kayak friends if they would tell me when it was 1 p.m.  So--at two different times--two different people told me it was 1 p.m.  I took a photo each time.  The one above was when we were getting ready to go back to our starting point.

27APR12B-1 p.m.  I was finishing up my watercolor painting at this particular 1 p.m. moment.  Those are my feet (duh!)  I was trying to get the painting and equipment, too, but this camera doesn't have a way to view your photo before you take it, as it is a single use camera you get from the store.

29APR12-Circle.  They are circles.  But half of them are underground.

30APR12-Something that makes me sad.  My container of Mary's fiesta crackers is half empty!  That makes me sad!

Contest! Please vote...

in my photo contest, located here.   Those who chose what turns out to be the winning contest will win a free print of the winning photo!
Thanks, y'all!
Vote by making a comment on the blog!

Simple Woman's Daybook: 25APR12

Simple Woman's Daybook:25APR12
FOR TODAY:
Outside my window...I hear the cars passing by on the highway.
I am thinking...that I still  have a lot to do in order to be ready tomorrow morning.
I am thankful for...all the blessings I have in the form of friends who support and love me and put sad faces on my facebook when I don't feel well.
From the learning rooms...painting is my newest thing I'm learning.
From the kitchen...i made blackberry cobbler the other day.  Does that count?  It was DEE licious!
I am wearing..grey cut-off sweat pants and a really old Southwest Texas State University shirt. It is faded and has a few holes, but at least it has the name of the school right, yeah?
I am creating...this week, it was jewelry as one of my 'Pay It Forward' gifts.
I am reading...a book about two kids who grow up and become decent human beings. (what a description!)

I am wishing...and hoping and thinking and praying and planning and dreaming his kisses will staaaarrrttt!  had to do it y'all.  Don't forget to sing it out really LOUDLY
I am hearing...the ticking of the clock on the wall.

Around the house...Pop is asleep.  I have a pile of clothes on the couch I need to fold and pack.  The kitchen is clean except for the floor and I'm one weary puppy gal!
A few plans for the rest of the week: I am going to do whatever I want from tomorrow morning at 9 or so 'til Sunday at 5 p.m.   I'm REALLY looking forward to this time off!  I think I'll have three bubble baths! <3


a recent picture of me.  Those glasses!  But if I didn't have the string, i'd lose them 22 times a day!

I got my new...

telephoto lens!!  I'm  so excited!  I'm even  more excited cos tomorrow is the beginning of my annual 3.5 day holiday and I have it in time to hopefully capture many lovely, lovely shots whilst I am out and about in Galveston, TX.

Okay, here is a photo of the window with the regular lens dialed all the way back to normal.

This is a photo of the new telephoto lens zoomed all the way up!  Look how much it zooms forward!  I'm looking forward to be able to capture some wildlife shots here on Pop's property with the new lens!

And finally, I zoomed all the way up and took this sample photo of a wall hanging all the way across the room!  It is at least 12 feet away!   And, if you notice, it takes pretty clear photos, even zoomed all the way up!  YAY!  hey, did I say YAY? Well, then, let me say YAY!!!!! <3

I took the liberty of demostrating the total awesomeness of my new lens in the photos below!

I just love it when...

...complete strangers presume to tell me what I am thinking or what I REALLY meant or what my motivations are.   It is really cool. (NOT)

Wild Flowers on Pop's property

So Purty!

some thoughts on citizenship and the president

These are just some things I’ve been considering.  I’m not claiming to know anything about anything, really.  Please no flames!

Recently, I’ve been reading articles saying that one of the president’s lawyers admitted that his birth certificate document had been faked to appease his naysayers in this nation.   I was intrigued, especially after I noticed that none of the ‘big’ news companies had run any stories about it, even Fox, who would surely have been on that like white on rice, if it had been made public. (No offense to Fox, by the way.  I’m much more in line with their ideologies than with MSNBC and the like.)  I just decided to look up what the laws about citizenship were.  I found the following information on the website of a law group which specializes in immigration law. 

 “The rules changed again for people born between December 23, 1952, and November 13, 1986. When one parent was a U.S. citizen and the other a foreign national, the U.S. citizen parent must have resided in the U.S. for a total of 10 years prior to the birth of the child, with five of the years after the age of 14. Children born out of wedlock to a U.S. citizen mother were U.S. citizens if the mother was a resident in the U.S. for a period of one year prior to the birth of the child. Children born out of wedlock to a U.S. citizen father acquired U.S. citizenship only if legitimated before turning 21.”

If Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, this is all a moot point.  However, if Barack Obama was born elsewhere, his mother did not meet the ‘five years after the age of 14’ rule.

And additionally, if he actually did cause a forgery to be made of his birth certificate—whether or not he is a natural born citizen—he has broken the law and should be prosecuted.

Another thought:  I wouldn’t put it past him to purposefully provide fodder on this debate as to whether or not he is a natural born citizen--by not providing reasonable proof in a decent time frame, as honest people would do--because he wanted to fuel the war between the two opposing political sides. 

http://www.ranchodlaw.com/other-visas/citizenship-and-residency/

http://www.biography.com/people/barack-obama-12782369

http://www.biography.com/people/ann-dunham-434238

Woodville Brookshire's

This particular Brookshire Brother's grocery store always has a beautiful sky above it!  Each time I've gone to do the Conoco audit, the sky was amazing.  The one just below was from 10MAR12 and the more colorful one on the bottom was taken on 10DEC11.  

06MAR12

I'm not even kidding when I say these four photos were taken within a one minute period.  I just turned to the four directions.  I found it kind of amazing that the skies--just above our house--were so different!

Snow White

Snow White got a new 'dress'!  It is really a very safe collar which is mesh and stops her from choking herself when we walk.  Also, it allows her to be with us out on the porch without allowing her to run off into the street and possibly get hit.   We like it now that she can join us!  Here are some pictures of her playing with an orange!

I found these photos of Snow playing in a folder in my computer.  They are from December.  Can't figure out why I didn't post 'em before now. I'm actually find a lot of photos from the Autumn which have just been lurking on my computer accomplishing nothing of worth.

Lake O' The Woods

I had a pretty nice time at my mini-vacation up in Tyler.  It was too short and I didn't sleep overly well, but I got to spend a day and a half with people whom I adore.  It was awesome, really.  I'll write blogs about the fun, but--in this blog--I wanted to show you the cabin where I stayed.  This is a  front view of the cabin.

This is the view as you walk into the cabin.  You see the living room and part of the kitchen.

The view of the living room from the kitchen.

A view of the living room from the loft bedroom.

A photo of the wall decoration in the living room.

                                                                   

A view of the kitchen from the bathroom.

The kitchen from the living room.

The wall decoration in the dining room/kitchen.

A  view of the loft bedroom from down in the living room.

Loft view from the top of the stairs.

The closet!  How interesting, yeah?  You can also see the closet in the photograph above

 just to the left of the bed furthest from the "door".   It was just such a novel way to do a closet.  And I guess it saves some money.  No wood for doors or walls of a wooden cabinet--just a pole and some hangers!

  This view is of the other side of the loft bedroom--that tiny short area behind the 'closet'

The view of the bathroom from the door to the bedroom.

The view from the kitchen.

 

The next three are of the bathtub area.  One thing I thought was rather interesting about this cabin is that--while it can sleep up to six--there is only one bathroom!  I could never bring my parents and sisters here for Christmas cos we'd go crazy with only one bathroom!  I did not enjoy the mirrors on every wall, but someone mentioned to me that they thought the purpose was to make the bathroom look larger, and I guess it did.  Another fascinating aspect is the shower head.  It doesn't come at you at an angle like most showers, but, instead, straight down on ya.  I tried to get some photos which would illustrate that fact.  I wanted y'all to get a feeling of how this place looked.

The wall decoration in the bathroom.  Strangely enough--on my way home yesterday--I passed a Trout River or a Trout Lake somewhere near Kirbyville, I think.

The bedroom from the bathroom door.

The bedroom from the living room door.

The bedroom from the bed.  Notice that they have a similar type of closet!  This time, they put a board instead of just a rod cos the board stores the linens.  Such a basically efficient way to do things!

The wall art in the bedroom.  They sure do keep to the rustic theme, don't they?

The view of the parking lot of our little set of cabins, as I was leaving Sunday a.m.