Saturday, May 31, 2014

Smile 61/100 Apricots

Picked these guys up at the grocery store the other day, and while they aren't perfect looking, they were terrific tasting.

Apricots aren't something I get to eat often. On occasion I find them dried and enjoy them that way as well, but it seems like they are pretty hard to find fresh.

The smell and taste of them bring back a very specific memory for me. My great grandfather had an apricot tree growing in his backyard in So Cal when I was a kid and when I eat them, it reminds me specifically of visiting him and my Nana, the coolness of their backyard with the shade of the fruit trees and just being a kid and not really having a care in the world.

I took this picture in our kitchen with my Fuji Finepix f50, with no flash but macro enabled. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color, light and added the fuzzy border.
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Five Years Ago on In My Words...My Memory Board

Friday, May 30, 2014

Smile 60/100 HotRod

This is my uncle's hot rod. The body (and frame, I am assuming) was found about 8 years ago in a huge blackberry bush, and it was just a huge chunk of metal with surface rust all over it.

He has been working on it ever since. First time I saw it on the road was for a bbq we had at a state park for one of my "aunts" which was probably a couple of years ago.

It is a 1932 Chrysler 3 window coupe and he has it "hotrodded" out. He says that he still needs to work on the interior some but it is a beauty to see parked in the driveway. On this occasion, it was sitting in the driveway of my other uncle's house while we were having a little family get together and the sunlight on the beautiful paint job was just too much for me to pass up.

I took this picture with my Fuji Finepix f50 in the afternoon sun. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color, light and then to add the fuzzy border.
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Nine Years Ago on In My Words...Nascar Education

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Smile 59/100 Vanity

These are the new vanity lights for the two bathrooms. Still trying to get rid of the brass all over this house, and this is one of the steps.

The old vanity lights all work, so if we don't install the old ones in a family member's house, I'll make sure they go to ReStore so someone else can use them and they don't end up in a landfill.

I had a giftcard from Lowe's and our discount we get normally so they really didn't cost us too much, which is nice since the budget is super tight these days.

Now there is the issue of installing them. I want to do it right away but since both bathrooms are on the list to be painted and the mirrors all have to be moved around, it might be a while before they get installed. We'll see.

I took this picture in our entry way with my Fuji Finepix f50 with no flash. I edited in GIMP 2.6 for color, light and to add a fuzzy border.
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Seven Years Ago on In My Words...Mum Lights

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Smile 58/100 Starts

I am probably crazy to be trying to do a garden this year considering the drought we are in and the fact that I might not be able to water them...but it seems everyone else is doing it and it makes me want to do it too....LOL.

If nothing else, I hope to have tomatoes. These starts are two different cucumbers, one zucchini, and two different tomatoes. They cost me a total of 5 bucks, so I am thinking even if I kill them, it won't cost me much.

I picked up 6 cu ft of organic garden soil, so I just need to get the two beds I can use for a garden set up and that means getting off my lazy butt and just doing it. I am not sure what my slacking is about, but it needs to stop.

I took this picture in our kitchen with my Fuji Finepix f50, no flash but with macro on. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color, light and then added the fuzzy border.
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Six Years Ago on In My Words...Yardwork Kick Butt

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Smile 57/100 Finally

I am finally reading the entire Harry Potter series after having watched all the movies a few years ago.

I am in the middle of the fifth book but have been waiting for a while to get the 4th movie from the library. Apparently the one I had on hold was lost and instead of it just dropping to the next one, the hold just deleted itself. So I requested it again and it came in rather quickly.

So I am planning to get this one in while eating sometime this week since we only have DVDs for a week. And hopefully the 5th one will come in soon and I'll have the book finished so I can watch it.

I took this picture with my Fuji Finepix f50 with no flash but the macro turned on. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color, light and then added the fuzzy border.
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Earlier This Year on In My Words...Dances With Wolves and More

Monday, May 26, 2014

Smile 56/100 Fruit

So excited to find some yummy fresh fruit to binge on...I have been waiting for the blueberries especially. I have been having to do frozen and dried ones through the winter.

This option really made me gleeful! In fact, I think I am going to have some now.

I took this picture with my Fuji Finepix f50, with no flash but with the macro turned on. I edited the image in GIMP 2.6 for color, light and then added the fuzzy border, as usual...LOL.
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Five Years Ago on In My Words...Fruit Bats Galore

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Smile 55/100 Music

I have been wanting to get us a wireless speaker that we could use for the pool deck or outside when doing yard work that would have decent sound without being huge.

This JBL Charge seems to be just the ticket. I used a few gift cards from Amazon and bought this baby. It does everything I have wanted and am very happy with the purchase.

I highly recommend this baby if you are looking for some portable music you can share while not spending a ton of money. It sync'd with my 7th gen Nano with no problem.

I took this picture with my Fuji Finepix f50 with no flash and but macro turned on. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color and light and then added the fuzzy border.
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Nine Years Ago on In My Words...Led Zeppelin

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Smile 54/100 Splurge

Background: I don't eat a lot of bread these days so I don't buy bread for the house and if I have a hankering for a sandwich, I try to go some place healthy to get my sandwich so I know that the bread, meat and cheese isn't full of chemicals.

I was at our local co-op today getting a sandwich. I knew I might want some kind of "side item" with the sandwich so I went iinto the grocery side to see what options they had and I found these guys.

They are super yummy which makes it completely impossible to stop eating them but otherwise they are an awesome find. Give them a try sometime, if you are a lover of pepper jack cheese (which is kind of what these taste like).

I took this picture with my Fuji Finepix f50 with no flash but with the macro turned on. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color and light balance and then added a fuzzy border.
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Seven Years Ago on In My Words...Everyday Humdrum

Friday, May 23, 2014

Smile 53/100 Bald Eagle

I am pretty sure these are the first bald eagles I have seen that weren't in captivity or in Alaska.

These guys were hanging out  along some fields that were getting watered at the top of the hill going up to my FIL's house.

We looked for them on our way out but ended up only seeing them on our way back. Must have been the time of day that did it.

I took this picture with my Fuji Finepix f50 with no flash. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color, light, and then added the fuzzy border.
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Three Years Ago on In My Words...WC Rufus

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Smile 52/100 Bumble

This happy little bumblebee was in my FIL's greenhouse when we were visiting. You can't really see it in the image but his legs are covered in pollen he had picked up on his busy day of visiting flowers.

His location, even though at a high elevation, seems to do well for all the plant life he is able to get going and keep going throughout the season.

I took this picture with my Fuji Finepix f50 with no flash but with the macro enabled. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color, light and then added the fuzzy border.
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Four Years Ago on In My Words...PC Rebuild Part One

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Smile 51/100 Laab Muu

One of  my favorite Thai dishes to make. Normally this would have khao neow (sticky rice) with it, but I do this version when I am trying to limit my calorie intake.

This can be made with ground chicken as well but I happened to have ground pork in the fridge so that was the decision maker.

It is really hard to stop eating this...but I am better at limiting myself to one serving...LOL

I took this picture in our kitchen with the flash turned on using my Fuji Finepix f50. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color, light and then added the fuzzy border.
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Six Years Ago on In My Words...Bunco Success

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Smile 50/100 View

Bailey loves this window...there is a dent in the cushion from her enthusiastic window watching. She has access to outside, but seems to prefer to check things out from behind the glass.

This is my aunt and uncle's cat that I house sit for when they are out of town. She is super sweet, and has them fully trained as all cats do to their owners...LOL.

I was over the other day, helping my aunt organize some stuff and I just couldn't pass up this nicely framed shot. I took a closer one of her that really accentuated the hefty rear end she totes around but thought I would spare her the grief of having that one posted on the Internet.

I took this picture in the afternoon light, with no flash on my Fuji Finepix f50. I then edited in GIMP 2.6 for color and light balance and then added a fuzzy border.
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Seven Years Ago on In My Words...Packing Tape Monster

The Drinkable Book

I saw this, this morning and was pretty impressed. I am hoping that this will help the countries that have water problems around the world. I am glad that expense is one of the things that has been covered in the production of this filter because we all know how to make great filters, but to make great filters that are economical is key.

I think we might get one or two just for our own emergency kit.


Let's hope this makes a change.
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Five Years Ago on In My Words...Making a Cup of Coffee

Monday, May 19, 2014

Smile 49/100 Peacock

On our trip to Dad's, we thought we might get a glimpse of the peacocks, but alas, they were a bit shy to strangers.

So I took a picture of one of these beautiful tail feathers that they had in a vase in the house.

I love how they look like eyes, which I think is the point. I just love how it looks like it is watching you...LOL

I took this picture with my Fuji Finepix f50, in the afternoon light. No flash, but the macro was enabled. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 to balance color, and light. I then added a fuzzy border to it.
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Four Years Ago on In My Words...Kijimuna Attack

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Smile 48/100 Dianthus

These guys are on an amazing plant that I transplanted from my SIL's garden before they moved.

This is a huge plant, and it is really happy in the spot I put it. It is currently about 2 feet tall which is bigger than any other dianthus I have seen.

Obviously it is a different version, and that is cool. We have a small version of another type in the bed near the house but I think it doesn't get enough sun to really do its full thing.

I took this picture with my Fuji Finepix f50 with no flash but with the macro enabled. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color, light and then added the fuzzy border.
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Six Years Ago on In My Words...Ouch

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Smile 47/100 Green Eye

Mom picked this beauty up for me while we were checking out the city wide yard sales last week.

It is so pretty and I have a couple pairs of earrings that go with it (since green is one of my favs so I have lots of green stuff). I wore it the other day and it sits perfectly.

I can't believe she found such a pretty piece that looks practically brand new at one of the yard sales.

I took this picture with my Fuji Finepix f50 with no flash in our livingroom (obviously in my hand). I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color, light and then added the fuzzy border.
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Nine Years Ago on In My Words...It's Here

Friday, May 16, 2014

Smile 46/100 Music

Long overdue, I finally used a couple of Amazon giftcards and got a new Nano.

This one is 7th generation and has a few bells and whistles that my old one doesn't have. It also has 16GB of memory so even with all the music I want to put on it, it barely made a dent in it.

I cleaned up my old one and put some favs on it, and plan to use it in the car with my broadcaster. With the CD player out of commisision right now, it is a nice option for music that isn't radio. This one will be my everyday use one, as well as the one I use for workouts. So far, I am loving it.

I am looking at getting a decent little bluetooth speaker so we can play music outside when we want, like up near the pool once I get the table fixed up.

I took this picture in our livingroom in the morning light with no flash on my Fuji Finepix f50. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color, and light balance, and then added a fuzzy border.
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Two Years Ago on In My Words...Aunt Becky's Meme

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Smile 45/100 Tool

Thanks to my FIL, I have a new favorite yard tool. He called his a potato spade and it was this cool short fork that just opened up the earth so well.

I found this one at a local DIY, but they called it a spading fork...either way, it looked like the one dad had so I got it, and it has already been put to use in our yard.

I am turning up a bed in front of our driveway that needs some new life brought to it, and this baby is making the job so much easier! Love it!

After this bed is finished, there are tons and tons of other spots this baby will come in handy.

I took this picture in the evening with the fork leaning on our tailgate with my Fuji Finepix f50 using the flash. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color, light and then to add the fuzzy border.
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Eight Years Ago on In My Words...Interesting Finds

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Smile 44/100 New Lenses

My cousin found these glasses and gave them to me 14 years ago. I have replaced the lenses twice now.

I have a case for them and I try to be careful that I don't put them in the same pocket as anything sharp like keys, but somehow I got a huge gouge in the right lens a few weeks ago and it ran right down my center of my vision and was driving me nuts. So I looked online and Oakley doesn't provide the replacement lenses anymore but I found some from a third party on Amazon.

I ordered polarized lenses (my first) and it is a completely different experience to look through them, but in a good way. Everything looks really crisp and some things almost look extra vivid. I guess I am the last person on the planet to try polarized, haha.

I took this picture in the afternoon in our diningroom with my Fuji Finepix f50 with no flash. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color, light and added the fuzzy border.
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Nine Years Ago on In My Words...

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Smile 43/100 New Life

Look at that adorable little face!!

Now this  kitten was too keen on the fact that we pulled it and all its siblings out of their warm dark bed and put them on the top of the human bed in the light but we just had to get a glimpse of them while momma kitty was outside.

They all (6) had the cutest little hisses and then they would get up on their little legs and shakily walk around. And of course, they were mewwing...LOL. These little guys were only about 4 weeks old so they still had some time with momma left.

I took this picture with my Fuji Finepix f50 with the flash off but the macro enabled. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color, light and then to add a fuzzy border.
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Ten Years Ago on In My Words...Bathroom Kitty

Monday, May 12, 2014

Smile 42/100 Sister Moutain

We live very close to a chain of mountains here and this is one in that chain that is not too far from where we live.

My SIL and I were on our way to visit my FIL for the day, and we had her daughter and two grand daughters in tow. We had a winding road up to the top of the smalller pass and then we had this beautiful view as we started to head east.

It was a beautiful sight to see. I took this picture with my Fuji Finepix f50 with no flash. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color, light and then added the fuzzy border.
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Five Years Ago on In My Words...Bucket List 2

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Smile 41/100 Lizard

We saw this beauty at a local festival. He and some of his animal friends were in a learning display for kids.

My understanding is that he is a bearded dragon. I thought his coloring was just awesome and he just sat there and let me zoom in on him. So photogenic!

They had several iquanas, a large tortise, a huge toad, a few snakes, to include a large boa. They had two parrots and a bunch of chicks and ducklings that were probably totally tramautized by all the handling.

I took this picture with my Fuji Finepix f50 with no flash but the macro turned on. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color, light, and added the fuzzy border.
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Seven Years Ago on In My Words...Dead Gecko Movement

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Smile 40/100 Great Niece

This is our great niece Gracie. She is about 5 weeks old in this picture.

We were all out at a local festival and her grandmother was holding her. She is a sleeper so getting a shot with her eyes open is unusual, but I am sure that will change as she gets older.

She is an easy baby so far...food, burp, diapers, sleep...rinse and repeat....LOL. I am happy for our niece that she is like this though because Gracie also has two 3 year old siblings to keep our niece very busy.

Gracie was here visiting us for a few days from Kansas and I was thrilled that we all got a chance to meet her. We probably won't to get see her again for some time.

I took this picture in the afternoon shade with my Fuji Finepix f50, no flash but with macro enabled. I then edited it in GIMP 2.6 to add the fuzzy border and balance color and light.
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Seven Years Ago on In My Words...Meme Time

Friday, May 09, 2014

Smile 39/100 Chicks

Another dose of chicks at the Grange today. These ones were all under red heat lamps to keep them warm but it did a number of my photos so I decided to go black and white instead.

They were super cute, of course, and noisy as heck. I guess lots of chirping is probably a good thing though.

My FIL has chicks at his house too but they are a bit older than these ones. They are already starting to look like chickens.

So I took this image with my Fuji Finepix f50 with no flash. I edited in GIMP to change it to black and white and then added the fuzzy border.
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Two Years Ago on In My Words...Observations

Thursday, May 08, 2014

Smile 38/100 Other End

This is the other end of the brightest of the rainbows in the last post. It went from one end to the other and I am sure there was a pot of gold somewhere in there.

The sun was out but the rain was on its way again, and then the rainbows would be gone so I stopped what I was doing to capture this image before it would disappear.

Sometimes taking time to enjoy a small beauty is what it is all about.

I took this picture with my Fuji Finepix f50 with no flash. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color, light and added the fuzzy border.
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Nine Years Ago on In My Words...Enough Already

Wednesday, May 07, 2014

Smile 37/100 Double Rainbow

When I stopped by a local brewery today to get some beer for a get together I was going to, these beautiful guys were in the sky.

The darker of the two was actually a full rainbow that I couldn't capture all in one shot. I love how dark the sky is, how vibrant the colors are and how the sun is shining in the foreground.

I took this picture with my Fuji Finepix f50 with no flash. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color, light and then to add the fuzzy border to it.
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Nine Years Ago on In My Words...Two Suns

Tuesday, May 06, 2014

Smile 36/100 Bananas

We don't always have bananas in the house, but when we do, they always make me a bit happier. I love bananas...but not soft ones.

As soon as they get even the smallest bit soft, they get cut up and put in freezer bags to use for smoothies since texture is not an issue in a smoothie.

I try to limit banana consumption to breakfast or lunch since they do have a far about of sugar and calories in them...but the benefits from having one are also pretty significant as far as minerals go.

I took this picture in our living room (in my pjs), with my Fuji Finepix f50 with the macro enabled. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color, light and then added the fuzzy border.
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Five Years Ago on In My Words...Card Making and Socializing

Monday, May 05, 2014

Smile 35/100 Wisteria

This wisteria was on a plant that had been trained into the shape of a tree along my walk this morning.

We had a lot of wisteria in the past in our yard, but it was always in a vine so when I see this little wisteria trees, it always throws me off a bit at first.

These were so pretty in the morning light, I couldn't pass up the photo opportunity.

I took this picture with my Fuji Finepix f50 with no flash, but macro enabled. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color, light and then added the fuzzy border.
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Seven Years Ago on In My Words...Thanks To Everyone

Sunday, May 04, 2014

Smile 34/100 Lunch

This lunch today was amazing.

I steam fish and some sort of veggie for lunch (when I am not at work) about 3 times a week if not more.

Today, I had fresh pico de gallo from the store and topping the steamed salmon and brussels with the pico and pepper was just the ticket.

I took this picture in our livingroom because I just couldn't pass up how pretty it looked when I got settled to eat. I used my Fuji Finepix f50 with no flash but macro turned on. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color, light and then added the fuzzy border.
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Five Years Ago on In My Words...15 Books

Saturday, May 03, 2014

Smile 33/100 ELibrary

This is an screenshot of my Adode program for managing the books I sideload to the Nook from the library or any other locations that are not Barnes and Noble.

I love, love, love that I can borrow books from the library electronically. I love that I can see a book title and say, that sounds good and go in the other room and download a library copy right then to read that night if I want.

I have been using the elibrary options to work my way through some pretty hefty series and it has been great!

I took this image with a Snipping Tool screenshot. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color, light and to add the fuzzy border.
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Nine Years Ago on In My Words...What Happened To The Classics?

Friday, May 02, 2014

Smile 32/100 Jack

So last week, they started painting a new parking structure located next to our parking lot at work and many of our cars were oversprayed...

So the contractor had a deal with the city to cover getting all our cars detailed on the exterior to see if that would eliminate the dots of paint most of us were seeing even after washing.

I was one of the first ones to get our truck, Jack, in and he came out looking beautiful and practically brand new. The company that did the details even cleaned the interior as well and it was so nice to get in a nice clean vehicle.

I took this picture of Jack in the evening after work with my Fuji Finepix f50 with no flash. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color, light and then added the fuzzy border.
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Last Year on In My Words...Little Happenings

Thursday, May 01, 2014

Smile 31/100 Package

Love getting home from work, with a package at the front door...

I had to order some socks for work and SierraTrading is my go to for socks of any type. Then they had a really big sale, so I was able to pick up a few other things at a super discount. It was actually totally awesome.

There might be a few other things that show up on the porch in the near future, but that is okay by me...LOL

I took this picture with my Fuji Finepix f50 with no flash. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color, light and then added the fuzzy border.
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Seven Years Ago on In My Words...Not Happening