Hometown Christmas Holiday Kickoff

I don't know about anyone else,but for me the Holiday season really begins with our annual Christmas Parade.

I love everything about a parade, School bands, floats, local fire companies and all the holiday cheer that is extended between the parade participants and crowd of onlookers.

And most importantly the arrival of Santa on a horse drawn sleigh !

Over the weekend I was able to attend this years parade with my Mother.

Her first taste of the Holiday season in her new town !!

Then off to a local restaurant for a warm beverage and lunch.

Grand day to help get in the holiday mood.

I used Photobucket3 to collage my photos as I had over 200 and to protect some of the participants identities.

Just thought I would share with you a little taste of my hometown spirit !

Just a Little

Finally settling in after my 5 day trip up to the Mountains of my childhood home.
Something about my trips back home always help to remind me of who I am and why I am influenced so much by my past.
A reconnection so to speak.

The Foliage is in full color and peace is on the lakes as all the campers and boaters have closed up for the season ,heading back to their winter homes.

I took many photos but alas now my camera is only shooting when it wants...I came away with about 4 usable photos and 70 blank. Sooooo disappointed :(
Not sure if it is me ...but have not had much luck in the area of electronics lately!

On the up side I came home to a lovely treat.
Some very pretty cards created by Deanne Burton along with a Card Crafting magazine!
Thanks so much,they are so nice and the magazine has been very helpful.

Came home with some more old Mason jars and am very excited to get going on the labels for them.
Here is one I created for sugar.


Have also been playing around in photo bucket.com with all the new tool options that have been added for photo enhancement.
Here are some photos I have taken that I thought would be fun to convert into cartoons.

Store front porch Scarecrows


Funny Ostrich that let me get as close as possible...what a sport!

Iron shelf that sits next to the old tin building on my property

My Scarecrow

My Flag That's about it for now,Thanks for stopping by :)

Flowers & Light Box Links

It seems to me, here in my little world the Spring & Summer have gone by far to quickly.

June I purchased Doodlebug Chipboard Flower & Vase Project with

the idea that it would make a fun project for my Granddaughter's nursery.

Here it is the end of August and I have now just got around to completing this project!

Where has the time gone to ?

All in all though,I am happy that I finally was able to settle on the colors and it is now completed and will make its way into the baby nursery this weekend.

I have also been surfing the web reading up some tips & tutorials for creating your own light box to photograph your projects and layouts .
I have yet to create one for myself but hope that sometime thru the weekend I may have this project completed.
For now I am testing materials and ideas that will suit my taste & needs.

Here I used foam board using natural light,still to many shadows :) this is just a test for types of materials I would like for my box.

There are some links for you at the bottom of this post if you are interested in giving it ago your self.

http://www.theswitchboards.com/articles_professionalphotos.html

http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/07/how-to-diy-10-macro-photo-studio.html

http://www.ourmedia.org/node/253481

http://photodoto.com/create-your-own-light-box/

http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/how-to-make-a-inexpensive-light-tent/

Thanks for stopping by ..have a happy & safe Holiday :)

Five Random Photos

Text Thursday at the "Sisterhood of Scrap" this week is a Blog Challenge.
Five Random things about yourself or Five Random Photos.

Here are five random photos of art pieces that caught my eye when I paid a visit to Arizona.
Spent a good bit of time visiting art galleries and little shops along the road.
So much color!!
My favorite piece is the lovely lady in the bottom photo.

Working with damaged photos

This photo of my middle son has been one of my favorites of him for years..I love how it captured his fun nature...but alas thru time and those darn magnetic albums they sold us years ago...there is much discoloration and dark spots.

I cleaned it up the best I could in PS,erased some of the worst of the worn spots,turned it into a sketch then an overlay.

Pleased with the look I decided it was still scrapbook material,here is the end result.

Now that I have tried this I feel happy in knowing that some of the worst may still be usable.

Autumn Photo Challenge

Today,is the last day for the Autumn Photo Challenge hosted by

Deanne Burton's "Autumn Photos Blog Spot".

Out of a list of 50 I managed to commit myself to 30..not to bad for a first time challenge.

Still in the infant stages of learning how to become friends with my camera and all that it can do for me ,I thought this would be a good beginning.

I learnt a few thing by the end of this challenge...the most important...make sure I had my camera with me and ready to go...you just never know when a photo op...will reveal itself to you.

As I looked thru the list...I was very excited to try Challenge #5 ,birds flying South.

I live directly under the migrating path of the birds flying down from the North Country and look forward to the sound of their calls to each other as they fly over in search of the many fields and ponds that are located in my area. Here they will rest for a time span as they gather to make the long journey South.

The tricky part of this particular challenge was all in the timing and the weather,they like to pass over my house,very early in the morning under the cover of fog..which is plentiful here in the fall.

Thinking that I may have missed my chance ...I heard them coming from a distance and knew from the sound they where many and would be in pattern.

The Geese were flying low and the sky was clear,with a couple of snaps in a moment I had my shot.

The most challenging for me was #14 dancing leaves..the trees in my yard had reached full color and they where calling for rain...not only did it rain but a wind blew in so strong that I knew my trees would be bare soon...I waited for the rain to take a brief break and was able to catch many shots of the leaves in my yard dancing about.

The photo I submitted for this challenge is my favorite because the leaves seem to be just hanging in the air.

Participating in this challenge has helped me to look at the world around me a little bit closer...little details that you would otherwise overlook ,in a second reveal another side.

I am looking forward to future challenges by Deanne and hope that in time the quality of my shots will improve and I will be able to complete all the photo challenges on the list.

If you would like to see my photos for the Challenge you may view them here.

And if you have the chance check out the participants of this challenge and there interpretations,you may find links to them here .Well done Ladies!!

And a big Thanks to Deanne for taking the time to host this fun and inspiring challenge.

I would recommend anyone to give this a try not only is it fun ,it is a great learning experience.

All My Chips In

The challenge for our last card at the Texas Hold'em Challenge at

the Sisterhood of Scrap is to post a photo and tell you about it.
So I take my chance and toss in all my chips...just like in poker
you take your chances when you go all in.

Now this photo may offend some .....but is a big part of my past...so please no bashing about cruelty to animals....this was another time and is a trade almost not to be found in this day and age.

My father came from a long line of trappers and furriers...due to necessity he was taught as a little boy to help his father hunt, fish and set traps.

No part was left untouched...even the fat was sold to the soap makers and when there was game enough to last them thru the hard winters of the Mountain valleys...the extra meat would go to those with less.

As my father entered his adult years he and a childhood buddy found a market and expanded out into the fur trade guided by my Grandfather's wisdom

The furs were skinned,stretched ,dried and stockpiled for the twice seasonal visits of the buyers who would come up from New York City and down from Montreal, Canada.

I remember how my Grandfather all bundled up with his favorite fox hat, would head out against the bitter cold to the fur house.

Exciting time for all when the buyers were in town.

He would pull up his lawn chair,watching and listening as the haggling began,

ever watchful to make sure they received a fair price for the quality of furs they had graded.

Those times are now just a dim memory as public opinions

have changed about the wearing of fur.

And the characters in this story have left this world and gone on to another place.

But the memories are still alive.