Monday, August 31, 2009

Photos! A birthday, county fair and more

Someone had a birthday. This is a two part post in one post! Enjoy the photos, then I wrote something farther down and added more photos.





Finally, I am able to get some photos online! This past week was so busy. There was a lot of major news, locally, state and nationally. Without writing a bunch, just quick captions by my photos. Enjoy!
A winning melon at the county fair. (Don't know who entered it, no name on it!)

My youngest son got 6th place on a drawing he did ages ago in high school.

K. got a 3rd on a photo she shot last summer of MM!

And isn't this one darling? Can't remember who entered it.

A photographer friend, Shirley Helton, entered this cute pic!

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Serendipity

“Only he can understand what a farm is, what a country is, who shall have sacrificed part of himself to his farm or country, fought to save it, struggled to make it beautiful. Only then will the love of farm or country fill his heart.”
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900-1944)

I feel I'm on the brink of something positive, life altering. Get a cup of coffee or something cold to drink. This might take a minute to read since I must explain why that quote is there and where I'm going with it. The other day I was at the book store and saw a book by Paulo Coelho and almost bought it. I knew it was the author of The Alchemist but I couldn't remember why it was so memorable. I haven't read The Alchemist, but knew there was a reason why it should be familiar.
Then yesterday, after I got my computer back on, I was looking for inspiration. I ended up going to Jennifer J. Parker's blog to see what she's been up to lately. And then later, I ended up on some other photographer's blog, who had a reference to The Little Prince.
Years ago, when I first met Jennifer, she was selling her studio and I interviewed her about her plans. Jennifer doesn't just sit there and answer questions. In fact, all I had to do was listen. She's quite the compelling storyteller and I was fascinated by all that she had to say. She talked about how The Little Prince and The Alchemist have played roles in her life decisions. The correlation between the books and things she's accomplished. At that time, I also had some decisions to make, but they weren't the ones I planned on, but I rolled with it. Three years later, again my work plans changed, partly something I wanted and yet, not a full transition. Again, I met with Jennifer for a story and she filled me in on the previous three years of her life.
She talked quite a bit about The Alchemist and how it seemed to be consistent in her life. A year or so went by and I ran into Jennifer again and of course, more changes of interest. This time she really used the word Serendipity and her words from that meeting have stayed with me. I always keep thinking about some of the things she's said and I try to use that in a directive motion for my life.
I know this all seems vague, but the idea is that so many people are always looking for the big picture when it's the smaller things that may set your life in motion. This morning I sat down and noticed I had a new Twitter follower.
What amazed me was that this Twitterer? "Light Stalking" has almost 10 followers and follows more than 10,000 people. That's not by chance and it's serendipitous to find that it's for photography tutorials, landscapes and such.
That's what I've always loved doing, always! Outdoor Photographer Magazine was the very first photography magazine I read, back in the late 80s.
But it takes a lot of money and equipment to be able to go shoot the big landscapes. Money because it takes time to travel. Well, working a regular full time job trying to make ends meet, I don't foresee that happening anytime soon, traveling to the Arches in Utah or other great vistas of America. That's OK. That day will come, hopefully next year's vacation.
Let me get back to where I'm going here. So I go and check out Light Stalking and click to one of the links which takes me to Wisconsin Weekend blog post on the Windy Pixel blog and there's that quote above, with a horse photo by Annie Elmer. I instantly have to write about this, before I've even read the blog entry.
Everyone who follows my blog and such know that I've been busy promoting my Chisholm Trail Cattle Drive book. Doing well, with several sales of it now. Everytime I read that quote I keep thinking of the history of this country and how it was founded by hard workers. The quote also kind of goes along with the photo session I did of MM at the Cooper's farm. That trip to the farm reminded me of how when I first started shooting "landscapes" they consisted of old barns around the country. I got away from that but lately have been wanting to do that again. A lot of this country's history has been dismantled or lost to Mother Nature. I've always wanted to capture it through my photography before it's gone. I also have an advantage as a writer to share its history.
I'm not sure where I'm going with this except because I can't analyze the whole thing. I tend to do that, try to rip things apart until I have an answer. This isn't meant to be analyzed. Whatever will happen is just going to happen. The answers are there in front of my face and will be revealed when the time is right.
If you are wondering about a direction in your life, that's a first step to making your life better. My mom always said that you have to have something to show for your life. That doesn't mean "material things" but something of more intimate value. So leave this blog post with that for thought. It's Sunday and I wrote this entry in bits and pieces over the past two years, so forgive the thought process. It's still in motion! I may come back later and read this and think what was I thinking!!!

Saturday, August 29, 2009

I'm Back!

Lots to post, but right now just a quick hi and to let everyone know I'm 'kind of' back. My photoshop programs are vanished, but I got my computer limping along, just can't resize anything to upload to web.
It's been a busy week and the county free fair was this weekend. I went out there for a little bit one day. I missed taking MM to the fair. That would have been fun, but schedules didn't work out well, I suppose. We did celebrate her 2nd birthday this weekend and it was fun. We had pink and yellow crepe paper all over the patio, balloons, mini cupcakes, a green 'Dora' cake, strawberries, pixie sticks, animal crackers and more. She squealed when she saw her "birthday party." How I ever managed to rack up nearly $80 in 'stuff' and presents, I'll never know. And most of that was at the Dollar Tree...go figure!
Well, I'm still working at getting photos figured out to resize. Any hints?

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Quick announcement

Having major withdrawals. My computer went on the fritz. I'm 'borrowing' the one I gave my son, but his keyboard sucks. I have no idea when I'll be able to get a new computer (DONATIONS gladly accepted..or just have UPS drop off a nice new one with XP...anything but VISTA, not interested in VISTA troubles!)
So, please don't forget me while I'm out of commission. Boohoo. I will be back...I just hope it isn't the year 2013!
Daphne, I got your blog comment! Thanks friend!

Saturday, August 15, 2009

MM's trip to the farm






Now I finally have a blog banner that I really like.
The day started out to be perfect for a drive in the country, and MM and I just went for photos in front of my friend's barn. It's an official Oklahoma Centennial barn and was built in 1907. It's the oldest one in the county and we didn't get there until in the middle of the day, and then the Oklahoma crazy wind started kicking in. So between that and the heat, both of us tired out fast. We made a picnic out of the trip and she got to eat big juicy green grapes while I shot lots of photos.

I remember the first time I shot the Cooper barn. It was during 1998 and I have some awesome black and white photos. There were chickens running around and it was like a day out of my childhood when I would visit a farm in northern California and also visits to my mom's friends who lived in the country after we moved to Oklahoma.
Not much changes in 35-40 years sometimes. That's pretty good in my book.
I've already come up with a creative fall session at the barn for MM. Can't wait til the leaves start changing and falling.
There's a reason for shooting MM's August photos here. Last year, her mom and I shot her photos at another Oklahoma historical site, the W.T. Foreman Prairie House in Duncan. She sure has grown since then. I forgot how fast little ones sprout. I plan to shoot her August photos (since this is her birthday month) each year at some Oklahoma historical location. I've got quite a list that are just in Stephens County. Right off the top of my head, I can think of five years of photos.
Back to our visit to the Cooper farm. I got there and Bettie's husband, George, came to the door. Bettie wasn't there, but I knew she'd show up before I finished. Sure enough, she did and we got to visit for awhile. She's always got a project going and today's story was as interesting as any other time. She's working on a project for the Marlow Redbud Park and a memorial area for veterans. Anything Bettie does always has a purpose. I've known her for 12 years and she has accomplished so much, from helping establish a museum, to getting the median filled with wildflowers just outside of south Marlow and putting on an environmental school.
The barn has been in the Cooper family since it was built on 'lottery land.'
I knew it would be worth the trip. Even if the wind battled us. Hey, that's Oklahoma!
If you like my photos, I'd love to hear a comment!

Monday, August 10, 2009

Some etsy love



OK, it's officially Monday here, so here's my Monday morning post (since I'm going to bed and work is a must tomorrow). It's been a long while since I etsy-shared, but look at this etsy shop, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5889375, please forgive me, but I have the worst time trying to link things in my posts, ?any tips?... anyway, the shop's name is baby bomb and I love, love, love those wooden embroidery hoops with fabric and sometimes she makes felt flowers on them. My mom would have loved the idea, now it's given me some ideas. And yes, I've had a glass of wine, Oklahoma wine, little sweet, but I'll sleep wonderfully. my idea though? I've got some little baby outfits from way back in the day...I'll salvage the material and make some of these. but that means digging into our storage unit to find the hoops that I have packed away. ahhhhhhhh...

Sunday, August 09, 2009

From Auntie to Me me

I'm bored for the moment, so I'd thought I'd write something personal. It's not often I do that, but I figure it's only fair since so many blogs that I read offer wonderful bits of their lives.
I've always and when I say always, I mean ALWAYS, have been Auntie Toni...as in from the day I arrived in this glorious world. You see, my mom, she was a bit older when I came along so there were already grown kids with their own kids, which made me 'auntie'...and while some of them are older then me, I'm still Auntie..that was until my granddaughter came along. Now it's funny because try as we might pick our own 'name' grandkids have another line of thinking and MM has decided that Me-me works well for me, because then she can say to me My-my is home with me-me! Kinda stinking precious cute now isn't it!!!
So, that's all you get from Me-me tonight on the subject of me-me.
Now, I'm back to reading fun blogs like one of my followers (I much prefer the description of 'fan') If you haven't seen Jen and Crystal's Beachy Keen, you need to go check it out! Very fun indeed!
I need to mention my fave blogs and those who read mine, more often! Thanks for reading and please leave some comments love! ;-)

patterns


nothing to say really. except that I have several new photos in my etsy shop, from these items. this one is not in the shop. yet.

Spicing it the morroccan way.





I'm beginning to think everyone has abandoned me here on my blog! Am I in blogland alone or is everyone just trying to soak up the last few days of summer freedom before they head off to school or whatever it is that happens this time of year?
For me, year round, it's work, work and a little bit of photo creativity.
Like these photos. I made morroccan spiced chicken for dinner Saturday and here are the spices I used for it, which I will say, was delightfully delicious. Cinnamon, coriander, sea salt, pepper, cumin, turmeric, cayenne pepper and extra virgin olive oil to create the paste which I thoroughly rubbed the chicken with. Lemon wedges were put all around the chicken on the baking sheet and it cooked for about 45 minutes. It was so moist and full of flavor. I added a couscous with apricots and pine nuts. More yumminess. Also, be sure to check out the two little paintings I scored at the local 'find it' store aka Goodwill. They were only 99 cents each and worth much more. They are beautiful!

And don't forget to read my other blog posts farther down. You might find something you like.

Friday, August 07, 2009

Horse art (click here for the link)




I'm starting with some of the Arabian horses that I've photographed a couple years ago. These are now available for sale. They are 11x14 images on lustre print paper and are $75 each. You can order unsigned prints directly from my shopping cart site at this link: http://tphotos.smugmug.com/gallery/9193495_V2YUU
Or you can arrange a special order through my etsy shop if you want it with a white border and signed and shipped directly from me.
If you order through my smug site, the print will ship directly from the lab to your destination.
I appreciate all my blog readers and fans who follow my work. To see the photos larger, visit the link. It's worth it! I love the detail on these photos, especially the nose one. These are available in boxed greeting cards, blank or a message added. The holidays are coming!

Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Driving South to find gypsy's junk...


On Saturday, my husband and I traveled down to Ardmore. Beautiful country down that way. We didn't have a lot of time since we left so late in the day, but we just wanted to get away alone for our anniversary. Friend Pam at Prairie Rose mentioned this place, but by the time we finished at the antique store on Main Street and found it, they were closed. The outside though was good for some junk-gypsy style photos! I will be posting them on my etsy as blank cards for sale.
If you ever get down that way, be sure to check out Cloverleaf.

Sunday, August 02, 2009

Raspberries and chocolate




I love raspberries. I love all berries, raspberries and blackberries seem to be my favorites. Blueberries and strawberries tie for third place. I remember summers in Sebastopol and picking wild blackberries and raspberries with my nephews. We were all about the same age, since my mom had me when she was 50, and the nephews belonged to an older sister. Those were good childhood memories. We'd fill up on those berries right before dinner and of course, we always got scolded since the berries were on the other side of the fence and belonged to the neighbor. I wonder if children these days get to make those kinds of memories. Of playing around town all day long, going swimming or to the country farm for an afternoon or picking apples off the ground in the local orchard. For us, it was just the way our lives were. I'm not sure that our parents even had to worry as we were gone for hours all day. These days, parents would be careless if their children were out wandering the town for that long. Oh and the only thing that would make this photo 'Perfect' of my childhood memories would be if the chocolate was from San Francisco...you know what kind!