Exposure - Week Forty-two

A picture 

of a 

souvenir. 

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

 

~ End Quote

Exposure - Week 74

A picture

of three things

your spouse loves

Meet the Hubs!

dinner • dates • dinner dates •
seafood • pralines • garlic •
family • history • family history •
documentaries • cemeteries • airplanes •
cotton • Levis • stripes •
teaching • talking • traveling •
LSU • football • LSU football
kittens • rockets • oil wells •
biographies • Proverbs • maps • window seats •
laughter • sweat • sleep •
sweet olive • sweet tea • sweet me •
 

He absolutely loves a good view!

Mountain view!

Skyline view!

River view!

 . . . to name a few.

I'll admit, I like a great view, too!

“Like tourists
huffing and puffing to reach the peak
we forget the view on the way up.”
~ Friedrich Nietzsche 

(an unlikely source/see sidebar)

~ End Quote

Exposure - Week 67

A picture 

of spring

Paspalum notatum a.k.a. Bahia Grass

(Peace sign!)

"The terminal dual racemes are each attached to the top of a slender stem or with one slightly below the other. Infrequently, there may be a third present below the terminal ones. The spikelets closely overlap in two rows. They are broad, rounded, smooth and shiny. Inside each spikelet is a tiny flower. The tiny, black, featherlike stigmas and black stamens can be seen dangling at the tips of these flowers." ~ Wiki, the know-it-all

Oh, and by the  way . . .

If someone offers to take your picture with a bahia straw between your teeth, like this:

Decline ;-)

~ End Quote

Exposure - Week 45

A picture 
of an 
outtake

 

 Some 

things 

take 

practice.

Practice 

should 

precede 

actual

need.

I still have not figured out that little remote!

outtake |ˈouˌtāk| - noun - a scene or sequence filmed or recorded for a movie or program but not included in the final version.

(Okay, photos aren't technically outtakes. Ah, well...)

My favorite outtakes are those created for Pixar movies:

 

~ End Quote

Exposure: Week Forty-three

 A picture 

of a 

reunion

Last week I got a note from my cousin, asking what I thought about moving the family reunion venue from Kentucky to Louisiana this year. That all sounded great until I looked at the date . . . my birthday! Whoa!

She didn't know that it would be my birthday when she wrote the note, and she certainly didn't know which birthday it would be, so when I wrote to let her know about my tentative summer plans, she became even more enamored with the idea. Marking a half-century with that crew would include quite a roast, I think. They are a tight-knit and loving lot . . . still makes me nervous, though. Mom's side is where I get my prankster gene. ;-/

Here's a shot of our very first "reunion" -- I was only ten years old at the time. (Yes, I am having to set vanity aside to let this be a true "exposure challenge.") I promised.

 

You've got to do your own growing, 

no matter how tall your grandfather was.  

~Irish Saying

~End Quote

Exposure: Week Thirty-nine

A picture of 

something 

unexpected

When I was growing up, I never thought about how many children I would have. I was certain that I wanted to be a mother (even more than I wanted to be a wife), and having more than just a few wasn't something I feared. However, I can say that I did not expect to be blessed with . . .

nor did I anticipate . . .

When a child loses his parent, 

they are called an orphan. 

When a spouse loses her or his partner, 

they are called a widow or widower.

When parents lose their child, 

there isn't a word to describe them. 

~ Reagan

Note: My maternal grandmother, Helen, crocheted afghans for each of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren until a stroke left her unable to continue her well-established tradition. When I lost a baby in January 1999, I asked her if she would crochet a tiny square as a keepsake. She willingly said "yes" but later decided baby booties were a better idea.

~ End Quote

Exposure: Week Forty

A picture 
that is symbolic 
of your childhood.

A girl.

A bike.

A tree.

A book.

Am I missing anything important?

Didn't think so.

 

When the spirits are low,
when the day appears dark,
when work becomes monotonous,
when hope hardly seems worth having,
just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road,
without thought on anything but the ride you are taking.
~ Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

I remember . . .

. . . riding three or more on a bike like amateur circus acts.

. . . trading the hot pink banana seat for the coveted green ten-speed. *closing eyes with a sigh*

. . . steering with just a slight shift of weight -- oh, how often does one feel like an inanimate object is an extension of the body?

. . . trying to beat my personal best of nearly fifty times around the block with no hands when, suddenly, I swallowed a bug and grabbed the handlebars without thinking. ;-(

. . . flying down a gravel drive and feeling grand just before losing control of the bike in the loose rocks, hitting a hollow tree stump, vaulting over the handlebars, and landing head-first inside the stump. ;-/

. . . trading the green Schwinn for the blue Mazda -- end of childhood.

~ End Quote

Exposure: Week Thirty-seven

A picture 

of your 

favorite color.

Favorite color?

Easy. Hunter green.

 

The boys' bedroom bookcases, my living room couch and table, various frames and baskets, kitchen tablecloths and napkins, "etcetera, etcetera, etcetera." Hunter green is  definitely a significant color in my home. Sage, another green, graces the bedrooms. Even the wall paint, though gray, is on the green end of the spectrum. It's easy being green. ;-)

Outside my home? Naturally! If you look closely you can find me comfortably surrounded by native green. 

~End Quote

Exposure: Week Thirty-five

A pair of pictures

showing "before"

and "after."

Early 2008 - "Before"

Early 2008 - More "Before"

 

Late 2008 - um . . . "Before" Again

 

Late 2008 - "Before" ;-/

 

Today 2011 - "Before" *sigh*

Beginnings are always messy. 

~John Galsworthy

~End Quote

Exposure: Week Thirty-six

A picture

that reminds you

of a song.

 

Meet Kit, ☝

tour guide extraordinaire!

By the way, his last name is Loose,

and these ☟ are his . . . yeah.

 

"Loose, Kit Loose, kick off your canvas shoes..." ♫

 

~End Quote

Exposure: Week Thirty-four

 
A pair of  pictures    showing    "then" and "now."

Then: (foreground) Bill, my pastor, 1985-1992 

Now: (background) Fred, my pastor, 1993-present 

Thank you both for your unceasing faithfullness!

175th Anniversary Congregational Celebration!

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth. 

I have no greater joy  than to hear that my children walk in truth.

3 John 1:2-4

~End Quote

Exposure: Week Thirty-three

A pair of
pictures showing
comparison/  
contrast.

Different times. Same spot.
Different ladies. Same outfit.
Different ages. Same pose.
Different ears. Same rings.
Different lips. Same stick.

What we love we shall grow to resemble.
~Bernard Of Clairvaux

~End Quote

Exposure: Week Thirty-one

A picture of 

a photography 

tradition.

I have made it widely known that I think long and hard before establishing a tradition. Traditions are bossy -- downright bossy. In a spirit of self-imposed authority, they offer free tickets for nice, long guilt trips if broken, and they will bind you quicker than you can say, "Let's do that again!" For one given to procrastination, like myself, the likelihood of keeping a plethora of traditions is slimmer than slim. For all these reasons, I am slow to create them.

That is not to say that I dislike traditions; in fact, there are some that I truly love -- and those would include what I like to call "photography traditions."

When my oldest child was three months old, we visited a local portrait studio. I loved his little under-the-blanket shot so much, I decided to do the same with all of the other children. When I was pretty sure that I had given birth to a caboose, I gathered the portraits in one place for my husband:

A tradition well worth keeping for me.

Beginning with that year, I began bringing all of my children to the same studio for an annual group portrait. When I consider that this tradition has been ongoing since the fall of 1988, I laugh. Twenty-three consecutive years is a long time for such an endeavor, especially for me!

Whenever I look through the portrait album 

and watch my children grow up all over again, 

I am so grateful to have the years documented.

This last little tradition is more than thirty years old and was born one hot Sunday afternoon on my parents' patio. My dad, resident camera enthusiast, decided that family photos were in order: a couple of rolls of them . . .  ;-/ . . . and all before lunch! By the end of the photo shoot, we were past the point of cooperation. Finally, we resorted to creative sabotage. In one shot we all blew bubbles with our gum, and in another we all ran out of the shot, leaving him to be photographed alone. We continued until either we were out of ideas or he was out of film - I don't remember which. Over the years, we have traditionally mimicked our favorite of those shots: "Everybody look at Papa!"

It takes an endless amount of history to make even a little tradition.
~Henry James

~End Quote

Exposure: Week Thirty

A picture of 
someone 
you miss.

We don't plan to miss people, do we? Do we? Perhaps "plan" is a poor choice of words, but I knew from first glance at the list of challenges that I would post this today.

 








I missed her then; 

I miss her right now; 

and I will miss her tomorrow. 

Every tomorrow.

What I didn't anticipate was the weight of "missing" I would be feeling today. Old "missing." New "missing." Without a doubt, I could write sequels to this post.

"I miss you . . ." It is my song.

I think we dream so we don't have to be apart so long.  
If we're in each other's dreams, we can play together all night. 
~Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes

~End Quote

Exposure: Week Twenty-eight

A picture of something you're afraid of.

For starters . . .

But, that's not the only thing that makes me afraid. In recent days I have found myself repulsed at the idea of becoming "gross" if I live to old age. It may not be an outright fear, but it is definitely a passionate resistance, a refusal that borders on denial. The thought of such a change has crossed my mind many times without my dwelling upon it -- until now. Oh, me. 

I don't like spiders and snakes 

. . . or smells.

Concerning fear, some have said:

We are afraid to care too much,
for fear that the other person does not care at all.
~Eleanor Roosevelt

Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.
~C. S. Lewis

My only fear is that I may live too long.
This would be a subject of dread to me.
~Thomas Jefferson

The one permanent emotion of the inferior man is fear -
fear of the unknown, the complex, the inexplicable.
What he wants above everything else is safety.
~H. L. Mencken

Concerning fear, it is written:

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil; for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
~Psalm 23:4

Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
~Isaiah 41:10

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage;
do not be afraid, nor be dismayed,
for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.
~Joshua 1:9

But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Do not fear therefore;
you are of more value than many sparrows.
~Luke 12:7

There is a light
It burns brighter than the sun
He steals the night
And casts no shadow
There is hope
Should oceans rise and mountains fall
He never fails

So take heart
Let His love lead us through the night
Hold on to hope
And take courage again

In death by love
The fallen world was overcome
He wears the scars of our freedom
In His Name
All our fears are swept away
He never fails

All our troubles • And all our tears • God our hope • He has overcome
All our failure • And all our fear • God our love • He has overcome
All our heartache • And all our pain • God our healer • He has overcome
All our burdens • And all our shame • God our freedom • He has overcome

All our troubles • And all our tears • God our hope • He has overcome
All our failures  • And all our fear • God our love • He has overcome
God our justice • God our grace • God our freedom • He has overcome
God our refuge • God our strength • God is with us • He has overcome

~ End Quote

Exposure: Week Twenty-nine

A picture that can always make you smile.

Always!

First fish!

Many men go fishing all of their lives 
without knowing that it is not fish they are after.
~Henry David Thoreau

There he stands, draped in more equipment than a telephone lineman, 

trying to outwit an organism with a brain no bigger than a bread crumb, 

and getting licked in the process.
~Paul O'Neil, 1965

There's no taking trout with dry breeches. 
~Miguel de Cervantes

Even if you've been fishing for three hours 

and haven't gotten anything except poison ivy and sunburn, 

you're still better off than the worm. 
~Author Unknown

"Carpe Diem" does not mean "fish of the day." 
~Author Unknown

The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, 

a perpetual series of occasions for hope. 
~John Buchan

~End Quote

Exposure: Week Twenty-four

A picture of 

your favorite 

book.

Definition: book /'bůk/ - n.

1. Bible.

Yes, that's actually a listed definition of the word, book!

So, what is my favorite Bible? *smile*
Well, my favorite English translation is the NKJV.

2. A printed or written literary work.

From The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan:

"Some things are of that nature 

as to make One's fancy chuckle, while his heart doth ache."

Or as a dear friend used to say,

"I'm laughing on the outside, but I'm crying on the inside."

3. A main division of a larger printed or written work.

See #1 -- After several decades, my favorite is still the Book of James.

4. The total amount of experience, knowledge, understanding, and skill that can be used in solving a problem or performing a task.

"I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. 

I'll think about that tomorrow." 

~ Scarlett

"Book" is also a verb, right?

5. To arrange for (tickets or lodgings, for example) in advance; reserve.

Time to re-book this favorite!!!

Favorite books from the Divine library:

But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, 

or causes an abomination or a lie, 

but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

~ Revelation 21:27

Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.


And in Your book they all were written, 


The days fashioned for me, 


When as yet there were none of them.

~Psalm 139:16

You number my wanderings;


Put my tears into Your bottle; 


Are they not in Your book?

~Psalm 56:8

~ End Quote