An Awesome View of Life

  A Little Sunshine on the River...   Life is getting a little more hectic now that business is picking up for the year.  These little "field trips" to take photos is such a nice stress reliever.  But having to pick just ONE photo for the day may cancel that out. ha! Once again the Mighty Mississippi called my name.  Living close to the river may have something to do with it as well.  It will probably be my "go to" place to take photos.  I may have to find out just how many photos I can take along the Mississippi River.    

  Archway to a Winter Wonderland...   Today Minnesota has gotten a little rain followed by sleet and then it started to snow.  Big wet flakes.  The perfect kind of snow to head out for a walk in.  ha!  I had a tough time deciding whether to just leave the color alone on this photo or change it to black and white.  There was such a subtle difference color wise but the black and white version had so much more depth. Neither version showed exactly how hard it was snowing though. 

  Light in the darkness...   The lights inside and out drew me to this building.  I didn't have a tripod with me so did my best to hold my camera still until the shutter closed again.  It actually turned out better than I thought it would. More than just about anything I love LIGHT.   This is the old Anoka, Mn Post Office built in 1916.  It is now home to several unique shops and a tea room. 

  The Blue Barn...   Oh how I love barns!  Some of my favorite memories are connected with my grandparent's  barn. And I would love to own a property with a barn more than anything. This one would make the best workshop for my hubby's woodworking.  There could be a corner for me to learn to weld.  And maybe there would even be enough space for my current business.  If you enlarge this photo there is a little blue tricycle, a birdhouse, a bucket of tools, snow shovel, watering can, window and a chair. This little hobby farm is for sale but I couldn't tell you a thing about the house or the rest of the property because I was so enamored with this little blue barn.

  The Mighty Mississippi...   It was so fun to have more than photos of my backyard to choose from today.  But being on a photography field trip causes the dilemma of which photo to use for the day.  This photo was taken from the top of the Coon Rapids Dam. Again it would have been a prettier photo if we had some blue skies and sunshine but unfortunately I have no control over the weather.

Wishing for Spring...     The snowflakes were so huge today.  I know this isn't the most creative photo and I am getting tired of taking photos of my backyard but I truly hate going out in this kind of weather.  These flower pots are waiting for spring so they can be filled with bright, pretty flowers.  I'm also waiting for spring so I can work in my yard and see what new things will be growing. 

    SnowKiting... (click to enlarge)     Facebook was to blame for this photo today.  Lakawa, a company that teaches snowkiting in the winter and kiteboarding when there is less ice on the lakes posted a picture this afternoon.  They were out giving lessons and in the background of their picture was a building I thought I knew. I've been waiting for a chance to have a photo op of the snowkiters so hoped in my car and drove in the direction I thought they were.  When I got close I saw a kite pop up, exactly where I thought they would be. My camera's battery died after three photos but my trusty HTC One X's camera did the trick. A little sunshine would have made these much better photos but... 

(click to enlarge) It takes a village... This is another of my MANY collections.  For some reason I found my header caption totally funny.  I'm not sure why but I laughed for quite awhile about it.  I am always concerned that my whacked sense of humor will get in the way of a good photo. Or a good description of a good photo. When in reality it should enhance ANY photo I take and any story I tell.

  Wishing for...   While grabbing my shoes this morning I saw one of these flip flops. My mind was flooded with memories of the warmth of the sun and sand between my toes.  I'm hoping I captured a little of that in this photo. 

  (click to enlarge)   Cold View of Downtown Minneapolis...   This morning on my way back from the University of Minnesota I stopped to take this photo.  There is a foot bridge that crosses the Mississippi River between the East and West Bank campuses.  With the temperature somewhere in the negative 7 degree range, I got out of my toasty warm car and walked part way out onto this bridge to get my second shot of the city skyline.  You can't take photos with winter gloves on so -- four shots later I hustled back to my car to get out of the cold. When the weather gets warmer and the landscape gets greener -- I'm sure there will be more skyline photos.

  Winter Drab or Bits of Color...   This photo was taken from my kitchen window.  I wasn't really afraid or avoiding going outside to take pictures today, even though it never made it above zero.  The window is just where I saw this scene.  I did go out briefly to take two photos, neither of which made me smile or go "hmmm..."  One of these criteria must be met in order for a photo to be used in my photo journal.    When I first looked at this photo I thought it was rather drab, which winter is here in Minnesota.  Or is it?  But when I flipped the picture to full screen I realized just how much color is in this photo.  Color is there if you look... (You can click on the photo to enlarge it and see the colors for yourself.)

    An Apple a Day...   Well, today I had plans to go on an adventure.  Somewhere super creative and inside out of the wind.  But... So my photos were taken on a quick trip into Home Depot and the grocery store.  This is the last picture I took.  But once it was cropped it made me smile which is usually how I pick my photo of the day. 

Coming and Going...   Footprints in the light snow we got overnight (once again).  The UPS guy delivered early this morning and I thought his footprints would make a good photo.  I also think there are a couple of prints from the family smoker.

It's about time...       Various clocks around my house.  Oh and my hubby's watch.  Not creative??  Hmmm...  

This...     or this?   Another day of not going out and taking pictures so I had to improvise.  And yes I AM posting a picture of myself.  Well, actually TWO of them.  And yes they were strategically taken! ha! I couldn't decide which one I liked better.  I like the one with the flash in the mirror but also like the little pout in the second one.  And now that I've looked at these for awhile I find them to be a little more creative than at first glance or thought. 

One of Many...   My cute collection of mini sewing machines with one of my BIG machines.  I think the three of these little machines actually cost more than the real working machine.

  Crumbs and all...   This is one of my favorite seating areas in my house.  I love that while I am cooking dinner someone is always sitting here either helping or just keeping me company.  And I swear I had all the crumbs wiped off before I took this picture.  And its really strange no matter how hard I try to brush them away they just stay in the picture.  ha!           

Vacation Memories   Seashells and rocks in an antique bowl.  These are from our vacation to Del Ray Beach, FL in 2011. We have a jar full of sand and seashells in our bathroom aswell.  I also have two other baggies full of seashells.  Do I have a problem?  I don't think so, I just love the beaches of Florida and love to bring just a bit of each of them back with me.  ha!    

Pieces of Dreams   Yesterday I posted a picture of a stack of folded fabric that I had used for the past couple of days.  Today my picture is scraps of those same fabrics, entitled "Pieces of Dreams".  My company makes competition suits for bodybuilders, figure, fitness and physique competitors.  These little scraps of fabric represent their dreams in these sports. All their determination to get to the point where they need one of my very little suits to get out there on that stage.

Path to Paradise   This path leads to a peaceful little neighborhood. It also wraps around a wonderful wetland and ends in a city park. The city park is across from a major shopping area but the walk there is splendid.