Feline and Furball Friday -- Socksie in a basket

Socksie is in the clean towel basket on the dryer here. She had been asleep but I caught her stretching and waking up.

Feline and Furball Friday is sponsored by Steven of (sometimes)photoblog. Unfortunately, his cat Pickle is very ill and likely will need to be put to sleep next week, which makes me very sad. Steven will no longer be hosting the meme so this will be my last post to it unless someone else wants to be the host. (Update: According to Steven's blog, Pickle passed away Sunday afternoon.)

Round Robin Photo Challenge -- My Vehicle of Choice

The theme for the Round Robin Photo Challenge today is "My Vehicle of Choice", and my selection of photos is made easy because I have just one vehicle. It is my 2007 Merlot Ford Fusion, which I nicknamed Ruby (but I don't call her that very often). I fell in love with her at the dealership and just had to have her. She has a sunroof that I have never used and a slim and tasteful racing stripe on either side that ends up front with the word "Fusion", as follows.








I have just over 10,000 miles on her, which isn't bad for two years.


















The inside has leather seats that are heated in the wintertime. I still don't know what a lot of the buttons are for. LOL! But I enjoy my little car all the same.


















To see more participating bloggers' vehicles, go to the Round Robin Photo Challenge site. There are directions on how to participate, if you would like to! It's lots of fun!

Feline and Furball Friday -- More hot days

It was another hot day the other day, when I took these pictures. The cats were each reacting in their own chosen way. (I didn't get a shot of Stevie, but Socksie and Silver are above.) It has been cooler the last couple of days but it's supposed to warm up again in the next few days, so we will be hot in this house.

These shots are for Feline and Furball Friday, sponsored by Steven's (sometimes)photoblog. Go there to see the creatures featured.

EMPS #47 -- Patterns

Today is Ellipsis Monday Photo Challenge again, sponsored by Carly at Ellipsis, and the theme is patterns. She wants us to think outside of the box and I have tried to do that, although I'm not sure I've succeeded.
















Above is one of my favorites -- Silver's fur pattern. I could look at it all day! And then it is against the old linoleum on my bedroom floor, which is another interesting pattern. Maybe the two together are outside of the box?




























Above are cross-stitches that I made from patterns, and each has its own special look. I liked the bunnies for the kitchen and for a while I had a double wedding-ring quilt on my bed that I made the similar quilt cross-stitch to go with.
















This is the pattern on a kimono that my sister gave me for my birthday one year. It's great for summer, being a light cotton.
As for the extra credit, Carly wants to know if I have ever photographed items in groups to show a pattern. I believe that I have done so unintentionally, and I'm thinking of sailboats nestling into their moorage slots at piers out at the coast.
She also wants a paragraph about our photography patterns in general. The kimono is fascinating to me because of its fan patterns all over it, and I like the cross-stitch patterns, especially since I can't do cross stitch any more due to my eyes. And Silver's pattern fascinates me, too, because I can't believe the way a cat's stripes grow in so perfectly exactly the same way all the time.
To see the EMPS participant blogs, to to the link in the first sentence above.

Feline and Furball Friday -- Cats on the Bed

It's time for Feline and Furball Friday, sponsored by Steven's (sometimes)photoblog, and this time Silver and Socksie are stretched out on the office bed and all comfy. That was before the painters put film over the air conditioner and the window, making it very hot up here in the office even with a fan going. They haven't discovered that it's much cooler again, now that the film was taken down this afternoon and the air conditioner turned back on, but I expect they will find out soon enough.
Go to Steven's blog at the URL in the first sentence to find out about the cute kitties and furballs playing with us.

EMPS #46 -- Seen in Summer

It's Monday again, and time for Carly's Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot. The theme is "Seen in Summer," and she wants to know what says summer to us. I had several items that I couldn't decide between. She also wanted a paragraph about the photo we posted and I will make my paragraph about the following picture.
I bought two tomato plants at Fred Meyer's at once a couple of months ago, one for the Topsy Turvy planter I had seen advertised and ordered (see the following picture) and one for this planter that I had outside and hadn't planted flowers in this year. The tomato plant has taken off and thrived in the planter and has two little tomatoes growing on it already. I am very happy to see them! Now I just hope that the blackberry eradicator won't accidentally spray them when he comes to spray blackberries on Wednesday. I will think positive about that, though!


















This photo is of a leafed-out tree that has grown volunteer in my back flower patch. I have the Topsy Turvy planter hanging from it since my house is going to be painted.


















These petunias are in a basket that my son J.D. and DIL Kris gave me at my Mother's Day/birthday dinner in May. They have really come along.


















To see more EMPS entries, both from last week (in the post) and this week (in the comments), go to the link in the first paragraph above. It's a fun meme if you would like to participate, too!

Feline and Furball Friday -- Socksie looks aloof

Here is my Socksie, on the office bed, looking aloof, according to my friend Cynthia (known as Philosopher Queen on Flickr). The kitty is just dealing with the heat and the camera, I think.

To see more fun and furry creatures, go to Steven's (sometimes)photoblog. There are some fine animals referenced on varying blogs there.

Round Robin Photo Challenge -- Silence

Today's Round Robin Photo Challenge theme is "Silence" -- surely a challenging subject. I don't believe there is a place where one can find complete silence on this planet. I believe it is all relative; at least, that's how I'm presenting it here.

In the picture below, taken outside my house on the road, it was almost totally silent with no cars traveling by and no machinery running on nearby farms. The only noise was the chirping of a few birds.
















This picture shows how quiet my place is, out here in the country -- at least the day I took this picture, before the sanding for the painting started in.
















Another source of silence is when my TV is turned off. There are still things running in the house, such as the air conditioners that are needed right now, but it is very quiet without the TV going.


















Cats are the proverbial quiet animal. Here is Stevie, sleeping in her silent spot, the bathroom.


















Then there is Silver, also a very silent guy unless he's meowing to go outside. Up here on the office bed, he is quietly enjoying the cool air from the air conditioner.


















This wasn't an easy challenge and I don't know if I did it right. It will be interesting to see what the other bloggers who participated in the challenge came up with. Go to the link in the first sentence to find out! (BTW, I've learned you can click on the pictures to enlarge them.)

EMPS #45 -- Black and Blue

Carly of the blog Ellipsis sponsors the Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot, and today's theme is "Black and Blue." It can include photographs of black and/or blue things or items that make us emotionally blue.

My first photo is of a little cat who makes me anything but feeling blue -- he is such a sweet guy and lots of fun to have around. He is black with silver and I have pictured him on a blue tablecloth so that is my first black and blue item.


















My second black and blue shot is of a black photo album, which contains pictures of my late husband Steve, sitting on the same blue tablecloth.


















Since I am always curious about what is in photo albums, I thought you might be, too, so I included the first page of the album. It has lots of blue on it!


















For extra credit, Carly wanted to know which is our favorite color and why, and how it affects our choices for photography. I'd have to say that bright, primary colors are my favorite -- blue, green, red and yellow. When I have the opportunity to photograph something in those colors it makes me happy. I noticed my mood lifting when I took the picture of the first page of Steve's album, for instance.

If you would like to learn more about this photo challenge, head on over to Carly's blog as linked above. You will find links to last week's challenge posted and to this week's in the comments.

Feline and Furball Friday -- Just being a good Socksie

Here it is Friday again, and time for Feline and Furball Friday, sponsored by Steven's (sometimes)photoblog. My shot is one taken last week, of Socksie just being as good as she ever is, sitting next to my recliner and possibly even posing for the camera.

To see more neat animals, go to the link above for Steven's blog.