My new "old" prop

Yesterday, After a trip to the Birmingham train station,

I stopped by one of my favorite thrift stores.

 She had moved a few things around. After a bit of shopping, I looked around for my favorite all-time rocking horse. I had seen him 11 months ago with a NOT FOR SALE tag. There he was up on the top shelf. I spoke a little about how much I loved him. The wonderful lady says, "Do you want to take him home for such and such amount?" My mouth dropped and I held back a tear or two.

 I asked, "Does he have a name?"
"No."
"I shall see about a special name," I said.

 Once I got home, I looked at his name plate on the chest. He does have a name. He is Harry the Hairless horse.

 I am so excited. I am not sure which room he will live in, but I am tickled that he now has a home at my house.

Photography Critique

This morning, a friend brought up the real reason for critique within an artistic setting. This discussion was like turning soil within my soul. Then, we were given an assignment to go shoot and post straight out of cameras without any edits or corrections. Get it straight in camera. It is now 1.5 hours later and I find I like more than one image. The first image was called TIP OF SPRING. Now, I am considering a collage because it is hard to narrow it down to one image. This was the first image. Simple aim and shoot. Wide open aperature allows more to be in focus.

 Closer in. I like the detail, but I am unhappy with the contrast between the blurry green stem and the light area in upper right.

 I like the tip of lighter area blurred on the top right pointing and curving towards the tallest tip (in focus).

 Bounce flash was brought out, and I am not sure why I like this one.

 I like this one because I sometimes feel like the daffodil, learning to hold in the emotion until the timing is right. Life is filled with little hidden wonders just waiting to burst forth in glory.

 Love the lines in this one.

 I like the light green feeling of burst coming from the corner and extending
 to the tips.

On the last one, I love the little shadow that mimics the tips. It's almost as if the child has his hands in the air to cast a shadow on the ground. This image is so fun because no matter what angle I flip it, I get a different emotion.

Snow!

When a snowflake falls in Alabama, three things happen. Cars forget their training and jump straight into the nearest ditch. Milk flies off the shelf as if cows will never be milked again. And, the little child inside sits by the window never satisfied with all the white on the ground. If there is an inch, I am hoping for 2. If there is 2, I am hoping for 3.
The snow last week brought the high hill sledding on the first day. When I say high hill, I am talking about the street in our neighborhood that goes up 220 feet. My husband sledded down the hill so fast all of the neighbor fellow's jaws dropped. On the second day, the hill had ruts and grooves that froze overnight and made it impossible to ride with any sort of control. On day three, I built a 5ft snowman by the mailbox that still has small traces three days later.

February comes again!

I have to find out how to blend my new nickname on Goggle with the old.
Update:
        House is just as messy, or so it feels like it. There is no way to measure progress when you have clutter everywhere. Guess I should take once a week pictures so that I can look back and see my progress. I have moved out the tuxes for a friend to sell in Birmingham. I have cleaned out both bathrooms. Some photo clutter has been cleaned out as well.
        Body is doing much better. I can hike 12 miles before my knees hurt. Before the knees would hurt at 8 miles. I was able to walk a half mile to a wild orange tree and carry 50 lbs of oranges back out the half mile. A week ago, I came within 1 pound of losing 60 pounds so far. Late night choices have set me back this week. I have a friend helping me get up by my bootstraps and kick this weight OFF!
         Budget has not shown much progress.