Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot #31 -- Footprints

The theme of Carly's Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot on her blog Ellipsis is "Footprints." Boy, this was a difficult one for me! I guess it hasn't been rainy enough to go out and walk in the mud and track it into the house. There have been times when I have tracked in perfect footprints. LOL! The best I could do was the footprint in the mud of my driveway, above, and it is a little bit difficult to see. The lines on the bottom of my walking shoe are what show up the best.

Carly's question of the week is, "Which is easier to photograph, animals or children?" I would say children, because when they get to a certain age, they will follow directions. Animals just do what they want!

I am looking forward to seeing what the other bloggers do with this theme. To find out, go to the link in the first sentence and check the comments. In the post, you will find last week's participants.

Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot #30 -- Things That Float

My post today for Carly's photo shoot #30, sponsored by her blog Ellipsis, focuses mainly on boats, since they have been a pretty big part of my life. I have loved them since I was a little girl and my grandfather took me to see them along the seawall in Stockton, California. That is my memory, anyway -- which puzzles me because Stockton is inland a ways. Perhaps there are canals that go inland. I should look it up, no? LOL!

Anyway, my first picture is of my late husband Steve and the Lin Wa II, a glass-bottomed boat we took a trip on during a vacation in Hawaii in 1992. It was quite fascinating to see the fish and underwater plants as the diver pointed them out down below.











We were crazy about boating, and owned the following sailboat for quite a few years. It was our favorite place to be on weekends and even sometimes during the week. We had it moored at Astoria, Oregon. I sold it following Steve's passing.















I still like to go out to the Oregon coast when I can and get pictures of boats. Here is a fishing boat coming in at Newport, Oregon, into the Yaquina Bay Harbor.











I have stayed in Astoria, too, on the river, and got a picture of this container ship and other boats from my motel room window. There is generally quite a lot of traffic on the Columbia River at this spot.











As far as the Extra Credit goes, with Carly wanting to see seasonal shots: Some of the boating activity may be seasonal, as there are times in the winter when the boats can't go out due to storms. The commercial activity I photographed above took place in the spring and the fall.

To answer Carly's question about whether, if I got an offer to be a photographer for Playboy or a similar magazine, I would accept it, the answer is a resounding "NO!!"

To see links from last week's EMPS as well as this week's, listed in the comments, go to Carly's blog via the link in the first sentence. There are always interesting blog entries to look at!

Round Robin Photo Challenge -- The Old Place

The theme of the Round Robin Photo Challenge this time is "The Old Place." I have a couple of "old places" to share this time around.

The first is my own house, which was built in, I believe, 1927. It is a little two-story cottage and looks like this:










It was remodeled at various times along the way so the inside doesn't look old.

The second "old place" is the Jesse Settlemier House in the nearby town of Woodburn. It looks like this:
















I toured it one day and it is an interesting house. It has been kept in its early state inside, for the most part. It was built in 1892 by Jesse Settlemier, the founder of Woodburn. It has 14 rooms. Weddings are held here.

For more Round Robin Photo Challenge participants, go to the link in the first sentence. You will also find instructions to play. It's fun!

Feline and Furball Friday -- Socksie on the coffee table

Today is the day for Steven's Feline and Furball Friday, sponsored by his blog, (sometimes)photoblog. I caught this picture of Socksie this morning just as a friend was arriving for breakfast, so it was a quick snap of the shutter to catch her on the coffee table, where she was looking so comfortable.

For more information, go to the link in the first sentence above and you will find links to the participants on his site -- the past ones in the post and present ones in the comments.

Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot -- Winter Meets Spring

Today is Carly's Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot #29, sponsored by her blog, Ellipsis. The theme today is Winter Meets Spring. I had a feeling that this theme might come up either here or on the Round Robin Photo Challenge, where I suggested it during a recent roundup of ideas, so when we had a recent snowstorm, I got the following pictures:
















It's not easy to see the snowflakes on the above daffodils but there are some on them and on the ground around them.

As extra credit, I want to say that the lovely yellow of daffodils such as I have shown are colors that I love in the springtime. They tell me that even if spring isn't here right at this moment, it's just around the corner.

Another picture, below, is of the snowstorm the other day, in which I took the above picture. I think that the big snowflakes are quite visible.
















A question that Carly asked in this post was whether we believed in spirit or ghost photography. I have seen some pretty convincing pictures but I think that they probably result from quirks of lighting or of the camera. In my heart of hearts, I don't really believe in ghosts or spirits that can be photographed.

To go to Carly's blog and see last week's entries, go to the link in the first sentence and they are posted on her blog. This week's blog entries are in the comments. I didn't participate in last week's because the theme was Black and White and my camera doesn't have black and white capacity. If you have a chance to look at them, I'm sure there are wonderful posts, both last week and this week.

Feline and Furball Friday -- Socksie on her perch

I'm a little bit late doing Feline and Furball Friday, but Steven of (sometimes)photoblog, who sponsors the meme, says that's okay. I caught a pic or two of the cats this morning. The one here was taken after Socksie had been playing on the cat perch and she finally settled down to look at me, with her long tail behind her and just the little crook at the end. I thought she looked pretty cute that way.

To see the other participants, both last week and this week, just go to the link in the first sentence and you will find last week's in the body of the blog and this week's in the comments.

Round Robin Photo Challenge -- The Color Purple

This time, the Round Robin Photo Challenge is on the color purple, a theme picked by Vicki of the blog Maraca in a recent suggestion round-up. I don't have a lot of purple, as it is not one of the colors I use or wear often, but I had more than I expected when I went through the house and hunted for items of the color. Here are the ones I found in no particular order, other than the pictures of my grandson, little Alex, which are in purple magnetic frames on my fridge. In the first, Alex was about 2 months old. In the second, he was about 3 or 4. (He is 8 years old now.)


















This huge half coffee cup was given to me by a similarly-cat-loving friend, and it has a purple cat on it. I use it for holding rubber stamps and stamp pads.


















I have been known to scrapbook and have quite a few Creative Memories scrapbooks, although I haven't done it recently. Here are a couple of purple scrapbooks I have made, and they are among my favorite color of scrapbooks.
















This jumper and short-sleeved jacket are lavendar, which to me is in the same family as purple. I bought it a few years ago and have worn it once, I think, but I really like it. The jacket has little umbrellas embroidered on it -- perfect for Oregon!























I have a placemat for each of the grandchildren and here is 3-year-old Emily's, with its teapot containing some purple. It would have to, being for a little girl!

















I went outside to see if there were any purple flowers, as sometimes little ones come up in the early spring, and I found these. I don't know if they are true violets or not but they are pretty.

















Then I went to my Flickr archives and found the following photos, of course featuring purple flowers and my cats.












To see the Round Robin bloggers' work, go to the Round Robin link in the first sentence. They always do great things!

Feline and Furball Friday -- Cover My Eyes

It's not particularly bright in my living room, where Socksie was sleeping as shown above, but she still had to cover her eyes with her paw. I think that is a very cute pose and I love to photograph her when she is in it!

To see more fun animals or to play yourself, go to Steven's (sometimes)photoblog. You may even see some feathered friends!

Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot -- Condiments

Oh yum! I just happened to be eating an item that has my favorite condiment on it for dinner tonight, so I was all ready for Carly's blog Ellipsis and her Monday Photo Shoot #27, which has the theme of condiments this week.

She mentioned mustard, and I love mustard on my turkey hot dogs when I have them for lunch, but this evening I was having a California/Hispanic treat, a chicken chimichanga, and my condiment was going to be something entirely different. Here it is: Pico de Gallo. (I was going to include the light sour cream, but according to Wikipedia it's not technically a condiment.) I have pictured them with the chimichanga, which was fresh out of the microwave. ;-)

















Then, for extra credit, I have piled the condiment on the chimichanga before eating it. First I have dolloped on the light sour cream and then put big spoonfuls of the Pico de Gallo on that.

















In case you haven't heard of Pico de Gallo, which I hadn't until my friend Sheila introduced me to it a couple of weeks ago, it is a fresh salsa made out of the following: tomatoes, onions, jalapeno peppers, cilantro, salt, lemon juice, lime juice, garlic (garlic, water, citric acid). It leaves quite a hot aftertaste in one's mouth that I find enjoyable and delicious. I get it at what Food Network "Good Eats" host Alton Brown calls "my local megamart."

Carly included a question as to whether we like having our pictures taken. To be right honest with you, I don't, and I view it as just a necessity for some uses and occasions, which I embrace with reluctance. The only exception is when I am with my grandchildren and embracing them. ;-)

If you would like to play this game, go to the link above and you will find the instructions on Carly's blog.