She said WHAT????

Today Cori was sitting outside looking at all the things we've brought home from the beach lately. She asked Cali if she'd like to make some fairy houses with her. As she spoke about the project she picked up this little clam shell and questioned what it might be used for.

All about the same time, Cori said "A couch." I said "a bed." And Cali called out, "I know! A COFFIN!"

Hmmm. have you ever heard of a fairy coffin??

Wordless Wednesday 08-18

"Cause I am rarely wordless-
Here in Alaska, at least on the peninsula we have had 32 consecutive days of rain. Today, we finally saw some sunshine! I asked Cali to go out to our picnic table and sort some of the items we've gathered at the beach lately so they could dry out. I came out to check on her and found her in my beaver ear muffs. It was a beautiful 65 degrees, and the sunniest day we've had in 32 days!! She was worried her ears would get chilled. ;)

I am proud of this one

Not too long ago I went to a party. While there, I was popping off a bottle cop and decided I like the look of it and stashed it in my pocket. The friend saw me and laughed. We chatted a little about it and I told her I wasn't sure what I'd do with it but if she saved them for me, I was sure I'd come up with something. So far I haven't done anything with those, mostly because I think I need more, but I'll get around to it!

Before I left the party, I also managed to salvage a glass bottle from the trash. Again, the teasing began and again, I wasn't really sure what I'd do with it but I knew I'd think of something.

This friend has had a bit of a rough year, losing her husband to leukemia. Her second child is leaving for college and she turned 50. (That's not a bad thing but big news just the same.)

When I left with the bottle I decided I would make her something and leave it for her on the porch and see if she recognized it in it's new state. I finally finished it last night and here it is.

This started as a bottle of Chambord. The cap is a heavy metal cap in the shape of a crown. Amongst my friends, when a woman turns 50, she's becomes the queen! So I imagined that crown as the queen's crown.

I decided to drill a small hole in it and use it as a charm.

I debated last night as to what kind of flower to put in the vase. In the end, I gather twigs and sticks from the beach. And made my own, quilled flowers that I attached with hot-glue.

I love it's simplicity. I adore the fact that I made something lovely, in my own opinion I suppose, from the trash and kept one thing from the landfill. And I feel as though I truly expressed the philosophy I live by.


~for every person, every moment, every thing, there is a purpose~

*Edit-
Look... how lucky am I?

Yep, 1st place and Division champion. :)

Pretty Cool I'd say. What I love most is what the judge had to say.
"This is a very visually strong piece. The asymmetry relationship between bottle and branch is beautiful!"
Awww, isn't that sweet! :) Course I may have been the only person in my division for all I know but the ribbon is pretty. HA!

She said WHAT????

Today while I was taking a shower Cali rambled in asking me about shots. She knew she had to get one and was a little concerned. I said, " Don't worry about it. We'll go there, 'bing, bing', you'll be done!"
Obviously very frustrated, she said, "MOM, I'M ONLY SUPPOSED TO GET 1 SHOT!"

I wanted to finish my shower and really didn't want her stressing over it. I said,  "Right Cali, 1 shot! Now let me finish my shower!"

She said, "But you said, BING, BING!"

Evidently, two bings, two shots!  :)

amongst friends #42

Purple

~Remember to click on the photo twice to make it as large as it can be to get a better look~

Isn't it funny how a lot of the pictures this week are a compilation of all things purple? Very fun! I took several pictures this week for purple but in the end decided I loved the simplicity of this photo best.  Unlike some other colors we've done, I think some people struggled with purple more. Who knew such a royal color would pose problems.

I have been busy working on more themes for the upcoming weeks. If you have any ideas I'd love the hear them. These themes should be more vague as we want to see how you connect to it rather than asking for something specific.

Be sure to head back to past pictures if you are interested in what the pictures entail or how the photographer was connecting to the theme.  I often find the stories interesting.

Next week the theme is Nature. It should be easy enough for anyone to try. I hope you will. Until then...

amongst friends #41

Square~

*Edit-

Christie- The Blue angels

Sandy- I think this is a tool used for sewing/ quilting. I wish I knew more because i I did, I'd likely know how to sew. :)

Karen- A square knot. I really loved this picture. It was one of my favorite this week.

Kelly- a square, a tool. I think there were women involved in our challenge who didn't know what this was. And I think Kelly uses hers often! Go Kelly!

Jocelyn- Love the hopscotch idea. Very creative!

Cassi- She took this looking into her cheeze-it box. Also one of my favorites this week. And it was completely her own idea!

Joanne- A post-it note. Again, very creative and unique!

Jenny- A poster with lots of squares and extra points for the Ireland connection. :) I am Irish you know!

There are some great contributions this week. Everyone is thinking outside the box and the creative juices are flowing. My children often participate and I was pretty impressed with Cassi's photo this week. Can you tell what it is? Original, don't you think? I've personally shared a lot of photos recently of the Blue Angels but I saved this picture because I was amazed when I took it just how perfectly square they were aligned all while going so very fast.

Next week the theme is 'purple'. Consider joining in and start looking for something to take a picture of. Do you have any ideas? Also coming up is 'beverage' and 'nature'. Start thinkin!  :)

amongst friends #40

You Pick~

~Be sure to click on the picture above twice 

in order to see it in it's largest view.~

*I am having a few issues with collaging the photos as we add more and more players. I will be playing with the layout until I can get it right. For now, this is what worked best. Sorry for any edges being cut off. :(

*Edit-
Christie- I just loved this picture of Cori. She is a quirky girl and here I captured it. It was a bonus that she happened to 'pick' something which went along with the theme.

Frank- I think this is a snapshot into his daily life. God bless him and everyone that does what he does!

Kelly- This is an upside down mailbox she happened upon. Not sure if it was a prank against the family or a quirky trick on the postman.

Jenny- Playing footsies, with her man.

Karen- Awesome photo taken in her backyard. How lucky to have a manatee in your own backyard!

Joanne- She wanted to tell you:

"Our beloved Ms. Carolyn is 101!


If you ever have the opportunity to befriend someone as gracious as Ms. Carolyn you will know you have been blessed.


Ms. Carolyn is from Ft. Mitchell, AL where she has resided for almost 80 years.


She lives by herself and remains independent as ever.


She is active in the community and church, and loves to bake and cook for others.


She has many friends who check on her and assist her to get to her appointments, buy groceries and to get her hair done!


We all love her and admire her determination to never give up."

Jocelyn- I LOVE this photo. It reminds me old school Brooklyn, NY. It could have been a clip from an old movie.

Sandy- a beautiful shot of a swan. Love it!
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The theme this week was open for your own choosing. I just realized however that my picture goes with the theme literally. :)

After seeing the photos, I kind of found it interesting that the pictures very much represented the person contributing and the direction their photos often go.

I wondered if you would see it too so I left the credits off each individual photo and thought I'd ask if you can tell who took each photo. Some will be obvious but it's the others I'm curious about. So try it, who do you think took each photo?

The next 4 themes are:
square
purple
nature
beverage

Get your cameras out and start thinking about your contribution. We'd love to have you join in.