Day 22 & 23

July 23, 2009

Finishing up packing for vacation. Just have a little bit of laundry left to do then I can add it to the suitcase and I'll be done with this part. I'm hoping to accomplish this today because tomorrow is full of last minute junk that I can only do at the last minute. We leave Saturday early early morning for our trip. I'm so excited!

July 22, 2009

Pond Lilies

I wish there were more of them in bloom. We had to cut out a lot of lilies this spring because they were filling up the entire lower section of the pond. Last year we had tons of flowers blooming. So far this year only a few at a time have popped up. I'm not worried though because next year we'll have too many to count again. It's amazing how resilient water lilies are!

Day 21: Summer Sky

I'm not feeling too well, so no morning picture today. Just popping in to post some pics of the weather rolling in last night at sundown. Enjoy!

Day 20: Porch Star

July 20, 2009
I've wanted one of these tin antique-y looking stars for my house for ages. Finally picked one up at Atwoods. Now every time the wind blows I hear it on the front porch, blowing back and forth. Scraping back and forth. Sliding back and forth...
Its annoying!
I need to figure out how to stabilize it. Or move it all together. But it looks good so I ignore it.
I was brushing my teeth last night getting ready to go to bed listening to it going back and forth, back and forth and thought...
"Hey that will make a great picture for my photo blog!"

Day 19: Strange Start

July 19, 2009

This morning started on a strange note. I was awakened by this sentence. "There is a strange small dog in our house and the air conditioner isn't working."

Huh? Wha...?

My husband sorted out the dog issue then made his way out to the garage to deal with the air conditioning.

Every year our AC freezes up at least once. I'm sure we really should replace the whole unit. Pshh yea... and I'd love to get mani/pedis every week too, but that's not gonna happen either.

So after thawing the unit out with the hose for awhile and running the fan to dry it out we decided to tackle cleaning the garage. Or at least some of it, its still not completely done. Either way I finally put away some of that garage sale stuff and packed away the rest for the Foundation for the Disabled. Interesting timing that I should find myself messing around in the garage, as they will be here tomorrow for pick up.

So weird twist of fate that my morning started so strangely, or just convenient coincidence?

Who knows!?

Day 18: Beautiful Day

July 18, 2009

It was a gorgeous day today. It was much cooler today than it has been for awhile, so we visited our neighborhood playground.

While I'll miss the separated feeling we once had from the city, I have to admit I love that they added a new park with all the new houses they are building around us.

Day 17: Carpet Cleaning Conundrum

July 17, 2009

To my dismay the stains on my carpet were becoming too much to ignore. So today I broke out the stain treatment applied a little elbow grease and scrubbed the bu-jeez-us out of my carpets. After treating and scrubbing I dragged out my aging, falling apart, not really sure if its doing anything worthwhile carpet cleaner. As you can see from the picture the hand attachment is worthless. So much so, that it has remained knotted around the handle now for at least 2 years. There is probably grunge hiding in corners of the inside parts that is older than my son. And to be honest I'm not really sure all the brush heads rotate anymore. Even with all this I'm still not sure I'm ready to throw the ole' girl out yet. I say "girl", by the way, because who else does the carpets? In my house this role is fulfilled only by someone of the feminine persuasion...but I'm sidetracking...

I hate to get rid of her because she's been so handy over the years. She's cleaned up dog pee, kid puke, main walkway grunge, car carpets, linoleum floors, and bathtub overflows. I'm afraid that if I get rid of her I might actually have to get down there and sop those messes up the old fashioned way...shudder...with a towel...by hand!

I do hear you asking, "why not buy a new one?" Well frankly...because I'm cheap! I bought this handy little gal about 10 years ago when I was going through some sort of shopping therapy thing, that unfortunately put a very large dent in our pockets. I've since become slightly more well adjusted and more than slightly more of a curmudgeon with money so it is highly unlikely that I would make such a purchase again. Not to mention, since I loathe cleaning carpets and avoid it until it can't be avoided anymore, with the absence of my "ole girl", I'd probably just hire someone to come in and clean our carpets for us. This poses another problem. That's just a plain waste of money! Why pay someone to do something I can do myself?

Wow I think I just talked myself into a circle there, and I'm not sure I'm any closer to making a decision. I guess I'll just roll her back into the closet and broach the subject the next time I need to do carpets.

I can say I did accomplish something today though, my carpets are pretty darn clean now. Just can't say for sure if its because of the carpet cleaner or my scrub brush and elbow grease!

*sigh*

Day 15 & 16: The Mother Road

July 15, 2009

I spent a large portion of my day planning our vacation yesterday. We were planning on driving to San Antonio this year, but the heat we've been experiencing lately was slowly starting to sway our decision.

So yesterday we changed our plans. We will be heading to Missouri this year and the first day of our travels will be spent on Route 66, or "The Mother Road" as John Steinbeck coined it in The Grapes of Wrath.

I found a lot of fantastic websites that covered various people's journeys down Route 66. Some of them were really great reads. I copied and printed a lot of information from The Road Wanderer

and plan on reading his information on the various stops along the way to my family as we drive this historic highway. He did a great job of listing each step of the road small town by small town.

I've always wanted to take a trip spanning the length of Rt. 66 but this trip I will just have to settle for the eastern half of Oklahoma and a touch of Missouri. Someday though we will explore the full expanse of the mother road.

___________________________

July 16, 2009

So after spending most of the day planning our trip yesterday, today I'm beginning to pack.

I found its always easier to sit down and make lists of what we need to take along. As I pack I can cross things off the list. This saves me a ton of time later because I inevitably forget what I have packed and end up unpacking and repacking things over and over again.

Lists- Not just for the anal retentive. Perfect for the scatterbrained!

I have to mention that when I opened our camping gear container today I was met with the aromatic smell of campfire. Even with a years worth of age that smell is still fantastic! I'm so ready to go on vacation this year. Let's get this show on the road!

Day 14: World of Warcraft

This morning's shot is not one from my camera, but rather a screenshot from my computer. I play an online pc game called World of Warcraft. In fact a very large portion of my family plays this game as well. World of Warcraft was initially a Christmas present for my husband, then after a couple of years of complaining that he spent too much time "in game" he bribed me into playing. Now not only do I play but I am a guild leader to a collective of 100+ accounts. It is a really fun game to play but can become a huge time suck. I have found this summer that I have not spent much time "in game" as it is slowly losing its hold on me. Yes, its "hold". The first year or so that you play this game you can't help but become hopelessly addicted. The bonus however is that I've "met" a lot of fantastic people playing this game. Its bizarre how you can befriend someone that you've never met yet feel like you've spent hours with them.

So here it is blog #14. A photo with a twist.

Enjoy!

Christa

aka Elowee

Days 10 - 13: A Modge Podge

Monday July 13, 2009

YUM!

Sunday July 12, 2009.

My overdue library book. I am almost finished! I love me some period romance novels. I pulled this out while everyone else was watching Nascar Saturday night. Cars going around and around in circles for hours...really? No thank you! I'm hoping to finish this on Monday so that I can minimize my late fees. *crossing my fingers*

Saturday July 11, 2009

"Today's weather will be..."

We visited the Science Museum of Oklahoma on Saturday. I cheated a little. This picture was taken late afternoon. We had company this weekend and I was a little lax with taking my morning picture. Pictured are my husband Wayne, my son Robert and friend of the family Megan.

Friday July 10, 2009
"Garden Globes"

Days 7,8 & 9: Sepia Tones

My Grandpa. He served in Germany during WWII building bridges.

Wanted to play with sepia tones on my photo editor so I looked for items that might add to the affect. Was fun to play with, discovered the clarity of the pictures are slightly muddled though when editing. Decided to convert all the pictures over the last few days as well for symmetry.

French doors leading to my patio. Usually there is beautiful light streaming through this doorway in the mornings, I just couldn't capture it when I tried the other morning. I will practice some more and hopefully I'll get a nice shot sooner or later. Either way since I didn't get the results I wanted, it was another perfect candidate for playing with Sepia tones.

Days 5 & 6

This is my Chicken dog. He's a 12 year old mix breed and my very first baby. I found him hiding under my car one day as I was leaving work. He was no more than a few weeks old, cold, smelling of gasoline and absolutely filthy. My intent was to take him home clean him up and find his owner or another good home. I had no idea at the time that it was to be my home. My husband claims that he's not a fan of dogs and we weren't supposed to have pets in the home we were renting at the time. I took him by my grandparent's house thinking they could use a new house pet, but my grandfather just said, "Nah, that dog's meant to be yours". And he was right! Nearly 13 years later he's just another member of the family. And if you ask my husband he'd tell you "Chicken isn't a dog! Geez!" So I guess he can still claim to love Chicken to pieces but that he's still not a fan of dogs.

It is an absolutely beautiful morning, unseasonably cool and pleasant. Nothing like bright blue skies and big fluffy white clouds. I'd take my son to the local bird park for a walk, but I have some sort of wierd eye thing that's messing with my vision. I'm not sure I could drive us there very safely. I guess we'll have to be content with sitting in the back yard soaking it up.

Day 4: Happy Fourth of July!

Happy Independence Day! Have a happy and safe 4th of July!

Day 3: Summer Sun

July 3, 2009

Well its full on summer! I stepped out this morning and WHAM! I was hit with the day's already stifling heat! I am NOT a fan of hot weather at all. It makes me lethargic, underproductive and cranky.

We are taking our vacation in late summer this year and to be honest I'm a little worried. We are going even further south and have plans for lots of outdoor activities. Please oh please let it be pleasant and not unbearably hot!

The only commendation I can give summer is that Autumn follows it. The long awaited reprieve from misery. When things have a chance to green up some before they burst into an explosion of rich colors. Its when the oppression of the sun's intense rays begins to abate and your once again safe to go out of doors and enjoy nature. I know summer just started, but boy do I long for fall!


Sending cool thoughts your way!

Christa

Day 2: My "Desk"

July 2, 2009

So this is my "desk". I recently relocated my computer from my bedroom to the living room, so before it becomes hopelessly buried in clutter I thought I should take a snap shot.

In case you noticed, it is not your usual desk. As a matter of fact it is a sewing machine. I adopted this desk/sewing machine from a friend who, I suppose, decided she didn't have room or use for it anymore, not sure which. If she visits this blog maybe she'll enlighten...but I digress... I feel it makes a gorgeous addition to our living room, much less intrusive than your normal, run of the mill, functional desk and on a more hip note, as we know the green movement is all the hype now, its a fantastic way to recycle an old piece of furniture that has a lot of character.

I seem to attract these old sewing machines as I have another one in the bedroom. That one was also adopted, as my neighbor hated it going to waste in her home just collecting dust. It was my bedroom "desk" before I relocated and as of right now its serving as a catch all. In other words its buried under a pile of stuff that I really need to put away. I suppose while I'm thinking about it I should probably get off my ample tush and do just that.

Toodles!

Christa

July 1, 2009

So here it is. The beginning of my 365 mornings.

I love taking pictures, and have always wanted an excuse to start a blog. So when I read an article in one of my magazines about starting a scrapbook of photos for an entire year, waa laaa an idea was born.

I have no exact format in mind, only that I will snap a picture each morning for the next 365 days. I do not know if I will have anything to say when I post each picture. I do not know if what I do say will be about the picture, and I can't guarantee I will post a picture everyday. In fact I can almost guarantee that I will not be able to post each morning, but I will be sure to double...or triple if the case may be...up the pictures that I missed on the next entry.

Incidentally, this photo is of a hanging basket on my back porch. I love my crimsom and cream (I'll take my OU sooner liberties) petunias. This is the second year I have put this color combination in all my planters. I think it is a perfect compliment to the gray brick of our house.

Mental note: be sure to ask neighbor to water flowers while on vacation, petunias did not fair well last year!

So here it is. My first of 365. Three hundred sixty-four more to go!

Christa