Freewebs http://www.freewebs.com/laurieg/blog.htm

Doubtless you've seen enough sunset pics to have your fill.  Still, I thought this one came out fairly well.  The colors are much prettier in a larger image, which I'll post in the Gallery.  This was the evening of July 4, at a park not to far from my house.  My body clock doesnt' rise to action until very late in the afternoon, usually around 9:00.  This was taken around 8:00, just before I managed to shoot some ducks with laser eyes, but that's another blog!

Hugs, LaurieG

]]> http://www.freewebs.com/laurieg/blog.htm?blogentryid=3669691 2008-7-07T10:58:00-0100

Independence.  Freedom from tyranny and oppression.  A declaration that we are now old enough and mature enough to support ourself.  Today is a uniquely American holiday, celebrating the declaration of the United States of America that they were now independent from the British Empire.  It is a highly romantic holiday, as few stop to deeply consider what it means and where it has led over the centuries, but joyful it is.  So I think I'll go have some hot dogs and baked beans (I think it's a federal law that you have to barbecue on this date).  Oh, the picture!  I took this when I went visiting on the coast several weekends ago.  Correctly, the flag flies all day and is lowered and removed at dusk.  Happy holiday to all Americans, and happy weekend to all my other visitors.

Hugs, LaurieG

]]> http://www.freewebs.com/laurieg/blog.htm?blogentryid=3658962 2008-7-04T13:58:00-0100

Yes, it's a birthday cake.  And it was a surprise (the cake, not the birthday).  I not only write prose and poetry, and snap a pretty fair photo, but I can also decorate a cake.  There's no percentage in making a cake, these days, with a box mix being better than almost any homemade (Don't let my Grandma hear that!  She'd roll over in her grave!).  But I sure had fun with this one.  I guess because I anticipated making ... er ... decorating it for so long.  Many months, more than 6 anyway.  It's not my birthday (yet), and the person I did make it for is a gamer.  If you're a gamer, too, (I'm a dilettante) (no, not a debutante) you may or may not recognize this as a "Portal" cake.  It differs from the real cake in two major areas: 1) I actually put the fish shaped crackers on as garnish, and 2) there's no sediment-shaped sediment or other toxic ingredients or hardware included (not even rhubarb!).
The cake is not either a lie; I've made it a reality.

Hugs, LaurieG.

]]> http://www.freewebs.com/laurieg/blog.htm?blogentryid=3653763 2008-7-03T02:06:00-0100

This is my first effort to take a picture at very long distance.  It's a fire quite a few miles west of the highway I was traveling.  I stopped a the first ditch crossing I spotted, clapped my flexipod around the convenient rusted gate and cranked the zoom up to 25x.  I could hardly see what I was looking for, with the sun on the screen and a dreadful lack of contrast between smoke and sky.  When I got home and uploaded the shots, I was surprised to have one good one.  More evidence that my camera takes better photos than I do.

Hugs, LaurieG.

]]> http://www.freewebs.com/laurieg/blog.htm?blogentryid=3649000 2008-7-01T23:56:00-0100

Rosie's started hanging out on the sewing machine again.  I think it's because that's where I put Sox' food dish while I can't bend over.  So I finally got a shot of her in the classic upsidedown head sleeping position.  Anyone who is owned by a cat is familiar with this.  Isn't she a sweet girl? (said is a fruity, baby-talk voice).

Hugs, LaurieG

There are more pictures of Rosie and Sox in the Photo Gallery in the "Cats & Kittens" album.

]]> http://www.freewebs.com/laurieg/blog.htm?blogentryid=3644670 2008-7-01T02:38:00-0100

I've been wanting to shoot the cross in my church for a few weeks.  An arrangement of lights causes some really cool shadows on the wall behind the altar.  Today (Sunday) I had an evening meeting there and finally got a chance to play with the light by myself in the dark.  This was a real surprise as I raised each set of lights in turn to see what they were.  See the wings coming off the bottom of the window behind the darkened cross?

Hugs, Laurie

There are more pictures of the cross in light and shadow in the Photo Gallery in the "Cross & Window" album.

]]> http://www.freewebs.com/laurieg/blog.htm?blogentryid=3639300 2008-6-29T22:56:00-0100

I'm not sure I even know what The Yellow Rose of Texas is (besides a really popular song in these parts).  But this is a very pretty yellow flower on a cactus of unknown species. There are several growing out front of the roadside bread shop out in the country, and one nearby provides the shady spot for Velvet, the feline manager.  I'm fascinated by the look down into the flower.  Can anyone identify this cactus plant?

Hugs, LaurieG

There are more pictures of blooming cacti in the Photo Gallery in the "NOT The Yellow Rose of Texas" album.

]]> http://www.freewebs.com/laurieg/blog.htm?blogentryid=3627221 2008-6-27T01:18:00-0100