Smile 91/100 New Filter

This is the new sand filter and valve for our pool that we had to replace this year. It is amazing how much better it works than the older one.

This pic is before the pump house was put back on. We had to remove it so that they could do the work. We unbolted it and then tipped it up and off the space and set it up on the deck to the side.

I took this picture in the morning before we put the pumphouse back over the pump, filter and valve. I took it with my Fuji Finepix f50 with no artificial light. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color and light balance and then added the fuzzy border.
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Our Home Blog for DIY....The Bamboo Lagoon

Smile 90/100 Borrowed

So I made a little trip to see family this week and because of the cost of checking bags, I have taken to only bringing a carryon when I can swing it. A short trip like this, is a perfect example.

My carry-on that I normally use, is apparently one inch too wide to be a carry-on anymore, so I borrowed this bag from my SIL because it fits under all the requirements and I knew I wouldn't have to worry. I am going to buy one eventually, but for this last minute trip, this was a perfect fit.

I have another trip coming up in a few weeks, and I will be borrowing this bag again. Hopefully I can find an economical replacement soon. I took this pic in the airport in Denver between flights, with my Fuji Finepix f50 and edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color, light and then to add a fuzzy border.
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Nine Years Ago on In My Words...In A Pinch

Smile 89/100 Google Gift

I am actually pretty thrilled to have this Chromebook from Google. They gave them to us at the last conference they hosted and I use it much more than I thought I would.

It is super light which makes it comfortable to take along. The battery lasts a long time, so I don't need to have it plugged in all the time or bring the adapter for everywhere.

It is a great little Internet computer and convenient to bring on trips when I don't need to do a lot of offline work. I took this picture at the airport in Denver on my way home from a family trip 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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Eight Years Ago on In My Words...Technical Difficulties

Smile 88/100 Volunteer

Work had signups for volunteer days for this amazing event.

I drove over around midday to help hand out awards to some very special athletes. We had to wear our uniforms to represent for work so it was nice that the wind was blowing a bit and that we had some shade tents to hang out in between awards.

I ended up helping with awards for bocce and for softball and it was a great day over all just to see all the smiles and accomplishments.

Each volunteer received one of these tshirts as a thank you. I wear it with pride.

I took this picture in our living room 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 and then added a fuzzy border to it.
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Eight Years Ago on In My Words...Guts and Determination

Smile 87/100 More Rain

This was the view on my way home from work. This is looking south towards the mountains that border our town.

We did get some rain from it, but I think some areas south of us also got some fires from the lightening.

I just love the look of the sky when it is so black and the sun is shining behind...the contrast is just awesome.

I took this picture from our truck with my Fuji Finepix f50 with no flash. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color and light balance and then added the fuzzy border.
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Eight Years Ago on In My Words...Storms

Smile 86/100 Ideal Lunch

Made pineapple curry the other day from a fresh pineapple I cut up. One of my favorite things to eat but since I am trying to lose a few pounds, I decided to bring leftovers to work and put it on spring greens rather than rice.

Great way to spice up salad, for sure. While on lunch in the breakroom, I get a few mins to read my Nook. I am working on the Harry Potter series and I have been renting them as ebooks from the local library system. It has been a great adventure.

I took this pic with my Fuji Finepix f50 in our breakroom at work with no flash. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color, light and to add the fuzzy border.
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Six Months Ago on In My Words...POTD 23 Bedtime

Smile 85/100 Rain

Supposed to have cooler temps and some rain this week. We need it...drought conditions here for ages and we are already in fire season.

I enjoy a good summer storm, love how clean everything smells and all the charged particles in the air that give you energy.

I took this pic with the Windows Snipping Tool on my laptop. 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...Kiss Ass Lightening

Smile 84/100 Iced Coffee

This is something I do in the summer time. Since we make coffee using a french press, it is a bit more work to pull it off, but nothing major.

I make coffee in the press, like I would normally do, and then let it cool a bit in the press pot. Once it isn't blazing hot anymore but still warm enough to dissolve sugar, I pour it into this container with a small amount of raw sugar (the same amount I would put in my normal cup of coffee in the morning which is one tsp per cup). I shake the container to dissolve the sugar and I set to making a second batch. This container holds two of our french press potfuls. Once I have it filled up, I put it in the fridge and then I have yummy iced coffee for the week or more.

I like to add almond milk to my coffee after I pour it into my glass (and I actually don't drink it with ice), and it is a nice cool summertime wake up.

I took this picture in our kitchen 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 and then added the fuzzy border.
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Five Years Ago on In My Words...Making A Cup Of Coffee

Smile 83/100 OSF: Verona

First of the outdoor plays this season for me. Was able to go with two of my SILs and it was a great show. Thanks to my uncle for the great tickets.

We had terrific seats and the play was awesome. They did an all female cast and it was a nice twist. I actually forgot at some point that the actors were all female because I got into the story so much.

At one point in the evening, a pair of owls were feeding their young right near the back of the stage and were a bit distracting but other than that, it was a perfect night. Nice temp, clear skies, great company and fantastic entertainment.

I took this picture with my Fuji Finepix f50, with no flash but the macro enabled. 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?

Smile 82/100 Clean Sink

This has always been a weird thing for me. I can't stand to wake up to a sink full of dishes, so I generally make sure that the sink is empty before heading to bed.

Obviously there are times when time constraints prevent this from happening, but I can say that waking up to the empty sink this morning totally brought a smile to my lips.

It is like a fresh start and the options are unlimited because nothing has to be washed to figure out breakfast...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 to add the fuzzy border.
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Last Year on In My Words...Red Skies At Night

Smile 81/100 Sunflower

I really love this shot...might have to make a card from this one, if I haven't already....LOL. Sunflowers are just so cheerful and the variations make them so much fun to photograph.

This one was in the garden near the fundraiser we were attending and it was calling to me to take its picture the entire time I was there.

The sun was low in the sky and added cool shadows and color to the whole scene. I took this picture with my Fuji Finepix f50 with no flash but with macro enabled. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color and light and then added the fuzzy border.
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Six Years Ago on In My Words...Eclipse

Smile 80/100 Speed

Couldn't catch one of these guys sitting still so had to get a fast action shot.

When I was a kid and we would come up here, we called them Chipmunks, but apparently they aren't. They are very similarily colored though so the mistake is understandable. They are actually called Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels.

You used to be able to feed them so they were super tame. I remember having one climb all the way up my leg to get a sunflower seed I had placed on my thigh. Now, you are not allowed to feed them, and not only are there lots less of them, they are not eager to come up to humans any longer. Probably for the best but it was still fun to feed them when we were kids.

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

Smile 79/100 Mountain Blooms

These little guys were blooming along the path when we were at the national park. So pretty and obviously very hardy or they would not be able to survive the harsh temps.

There were bunches of them all over the ground where the trees weren't blocking the sun.

Of course I had to stop for a macro shot of them. I took this picture with my Fuji Finepix f50 with no flash but macro enabled. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color, and light balance and then added teh black fuzzy border.
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Four Years Ago on In My Words...Feeling Good

Smile 78/100 Crater

While my niece was visiting from out of town, we drove to Crater Lake National Park for the day.

It was an absolutely perfect day, not too hot, but the sun was out and the lake never looked brighter. I was completely amazed at the color of the water.

There was very little snow left when we were visiting but this was a very bad year for snow pack.

We spent the afternoon exploring, and then visiting with a ranger who discussed the creation of the lake and the volcanic activity in this area. We then drove to the other side and had a little bit of a picnic lunch before heading back home.
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Five Years Ago on In My Words...Bucket List 2

Smile 77/100 Carnation

It seems like I rarely ever see carnations in bloom from the ground. I love them, even though they don't smell much, because they are such a long lasting flower.

I used to buy small bouquets of them at Costco because they would last weeks and pretty things up. Now I have a hard time finding little bouquets of just carnations.

I took this picture in the afternoon sun with my Fuji Finepix at a fundraiser we were attending. I didn't use the flash but I did have the macro enabled. I edited the image in GIMP 2.6 for color and light balance and then added the fuzzy border.
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Eight Years Ago on In My Words...World Cup Soccer

Smile 76/100 Fajitas

This was a happy sight after work. Not exactly on the diet, but still yummy and a nice reward for some hard work.

I was able to chat with some of the employees at the restaurant about the World Cup games that were on today and where we thought our favorite teams might be at the end of things.

The fajitas were super fresh and just what the the tummy ordered. I didn't end up eating all of the rice and beans but that is okay, guess that makes it that much better for me.

I took this picture at the restaurant in the afternoon light with my Fuji Finepix f50 with no flash but with the macro turned on. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 to balance the color and light and then added the fuzzy border.
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Three Years Ago on In My Words...Maru And A Very Small Box

Smile 75/100 New Book

I am a member of the Stephen King Library, so when a new book comes out in hard cover, it is sent to me at a discounted rate. I have pretty much all of his books in hardcover (other than those that were only published in audio or ebook). He is and has been one of my favorite authors for as long as I can remember.

I got on a bit of a horror kick when I was pretty young. I remember checking out these compilation horror books that had lots of short stories in them when I was in fourth grade. I saw Salem's Lot on TV when I was in 6th grade and was just hooked on Stephen King.

I remember my mom reading The Shining and telling me how much it affected her and when I read it, I just couldn't put it down. So for years, family and friends would buy me the books for holidays or birthday. In the early 90's, I joined the library and was sent a hardcover copy of each of his books until all the previously published ones were received and since then, I get the books as they are published. This one came in the mail last week and as soon as I am done with the three books I am reading on my nook, I will be settling into this!

I took this picture in our dining room 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...My Vice

Smile 74/100 Work Horse

Found this smaller chop saw for a really good price and it is light enough that we can use it as a portable.

We have a bigger one that is mounted on a bench and would never be portable.

This couldn't come at a better time since we have some reparis that need to be one our decks and having it up on the deck to do the repairs will be much more convenient for sure. I think it might come in handy when we do the floors in the house as well.

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

Smile 73/100 Flag

The weather has been awesome, the windows have been open and having the flag out there fluttering in the wind just makes it that much better.

It really feels like summer when I see the flag out there blowing in the breeze.

We have flown a flag at every house we have owned. It has become a bit of a tradition. The house we had on the east coast had an actual pole in the front yard that we would raise a flag on each day first thing. It was kind of a cool start to each day.

I took this picture with my Fuji Finepix f50 from our front balcony with no flash. I then edited it in GIMP 2.6 to add the fuzzy border and balance the color and light.

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Eight Years Ago on In My Words...Flat B

Smile 72/100 New Herbs

Finally got the herbs I bought weeks ago into their respective pots. They were sitting on their pots but were not in their pots...LOL.

I bought a few new varieties like a chocolate mint and a pineapple sage to mix things up a bit. I am hoping to be better this year about having some dried at the end of the season for teas and such.

This is only one of 5 pots of herbs we have on the back porch. I took this picture in the afternoon sun with my Fuji Finepix f50 with no flash. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color, light and to add the fuzzy border.
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Six Years Ago on In My Words...Flowers

Smile 71/100 Redwood Fix

Bought 42 ft of redwood today to fix some boards on our pool deck. Was thrilled to know that redwood you buy these days does not come out of old growth forests so we are not contributing to the deforestation of Jedediah Smith or any of the other Redwood National and State Parks.

This wood will go to fix 8 boards that are beyond repair but are far from being the only work that will need to be done on the pool deck in the long term.

I took this picture in our garage with no flash and macro enabled on our Fuji Finepix f50. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color, light and then added the fuzzy border.
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Our DIY House Blog...The Bamboo Lagoon

Smile 70/100 New Blanket

We found out a few weeks ago that one of our nieces is expecting her first child this fall. She and her husband are moving across the country later this summer for work so she came down to see family in the area before they get really swamped with all the preparation for the big move and the new addition to the family.

I started a new blanket just for her, but didn't have it done in time for her viist, so it will get mailed to her. This is a new pattern for me and I think it is going to come out pretty nice. We know they are having a girl so the colors will work out well.

I took this picture in our livingroom with my Fuji Finepix f50 with no flash but the macro enabled. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color, light and then to add the fuzzy border.
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Another One I Made....Something Good

Smile 69/100 Mini Peppers

Love these guys...so good. We can get a bunch of them in a bag for a reasonable price and then you add whatever you want to them. They are sweetish so you can really eat them on their own if you want (which I do sometimes).

In this particular case, I had added cream cheese and shredded roasted chicken to it and it was so good and was a nice little meal without being super heavy.

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, light and then added the fuzzy border.
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Two Years Ago on In My Words...Predator Quail

Smile 68/100 PhotoCards

I have been limited in my card creating since all of my supplies are not here. I have made up for this by creating cards on York from pictures I have taken.

The time has come again to order a new batch of cards from new pictures. I edited 6 images that I really liked and placed an order for them today. I usually get 12 of each so I have a nice variety of cards to send to friends and family. I try to make them so that I can send them for different occasions rather than being locked into only thank yous or birthdays.

I hope this new batch comes out as well as all the others have. I took this picture with the Snipping Tool on my laptop. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color, light and to add the fuzzy border.
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Seven Years Ago on In My Words...Randomness

Smile 67/100 Electric

My aunt was able to pick up this little beauty for a steal the other day at a garage sale. Right now, she has no grass so she has loaned it to us to use.

It has made mowing the hilly front yard so much easier. It is kind of like vacuuming. I can push it with one hand which makes holding onto the cord with the other much easier. The body is plastic so it weighs a lot less than the other mower we are borrowing from her.

I do find that I need to dump the bag twice while mowing, but that just makes it that much more light. The first time I used it, it was a bit of a challenge to get used to tracking where the cord is at all times so as not to run over it.

It starts up with just the movement of a handle so you can start and stop it whenever you want with no issues at all. When my aunt gets her lawn put in, I will have to seriously consider buying one of these for us, because the hill in front of the house is definintely a challenge.

I took this picture in the afternoon in our garage with my Fuji Finepix f50. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color, light and then added the fuzzy border.
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Two Years Ago on In My Words...Sunday Duties

Smile 66/100 Dwarf Poppy

Saw this little poppy in a neighbor's yard. It looks like a Chinese red poppy but it is the size of the California poppies we see all over town. It was in a kind of wild area of the year and have to wonder if it was a part of a wildflower mix or something.

We have a couple of Chinese poppies that grow in our backyard (which I need to get seeds from), but they are the full sized ones and a bit deeper red.

I took this picture in morning light 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 and then added the fuzzy border.
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Three Years Ago on In My Words...Finally, Evidence

Smile 65/100 More Lavender

Lavender is a mainstay around here. It grows great in our weather and it is such a happy little plant. We have it growing down the medians in town and almost everyone has a bit of it included in their landscaping.

I found this cheery bunch on my walk in the neighborhood and just couldn't pass up the shot. The bees were a bit confused as to why I was so close to their favorite bush but none of them bothered me at all.

I have three new lavender plants to put in a bed in our yard that has a lot of sun...I hope they do well and perhaps I can get save some of the blossoms for drying.

This pic might make it onto one of my future photo cards, I just love how it came out.

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

Smile 64/100 RedHot

I had never seen, or least never noticed "Red Hot Pokers" until I was in Portland and saw some there and my sister told me the name of them. Since then, I notice them all over the place, and I really think they are cool looking even if they have a really short bloom time.

These beauties were in the yard of a house up the street. I saw them in the morning light while on my walk and couldn't pass them up for a joyful picture.

I took this picture with my Fuji Finepix f50 with the macro turned on, but using only natural light. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color, light and to add the fuzzy border.
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Eight Years Ago on In My Words...Fireworks

Smile 63/100 ThinSlice

There is not a lot of bread eating going on these days in our house, but every once in a while some bread needs to be purchased. If I am going to get bread, I try to go as healthy as possible. I love Dave's Killer Bread and recently they have started making much smaller loaves that are also cut in thinner slices.

It is the perfect size for toast in the morning or to make a healthy sandwich that is not out of portion. I highly recommend giving these a go, if you like whole grain bread with seeds.

I took this picture in our kitchen with my Fuji Finepix f50, with no flash but the macro enabled. I edited it in GIMP 2.6 for color and light.
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Nine Years Ago on In My Words...The Order Of Sandwiches

Smile 62/100 Curry

Okay, so there is this awesome fast Japanese curry place in Japan call Coco's. For most of us that have lived there, we have had addiction problems with it at one time or another.

Leaving Japan makes most of us into recovering addicts. There aren't many places outside of Japan that this restaurant is found so we are forced to make do.

One of the ways that I do this, is by using the closest Japanese curry I can find and creating a little bit of "Coco's" in my own kitchen. Now if you have really good friends still living in Japan, you can occasionally get them to send you actual real packets of Coco's curry, but if not, Golden Curry in the black box is the next best thing.

For this particular dish, I varied a bit in that I used leftover jasmine rice I had in the fridge rather than using Japanese rice. I used Trader Joe's chicken drummettes because they are the "cleanest" freezer breaded chicken that I can find, and then I added fresh quartered mushrooms.

One of my favorites to have at the real Coco's, was a seafood one, so I might have to try this with shrimp next time.

I took in our kitchen 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 and then aded the fuzzy border.
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Five Years Ago on In My Words...Yummy In My Tummy