Ellipsis Monday Photoshoot # 17: Holiday Greeting

Carly said make a Holiday Greeting Card.. I did here it is..enjoy..:)

Sunday Stills : Luck

The assignment given by Ed was ..What brings you luck.. well this double winning ticket that was in my Christmas Stocking was the only winning ticket on Christmas morning. I nearly drove the Grand kids crazy as I revealed the winning amounts last.. total winnings 2 bucks.. that about sums up my luck. Head on over to Sunday Stills to check out the other entries:)

Round Robin Photo Challenge: Favorite Toy

TRAINS!

This week I decided to showcase Far Guys Favorite Toy! His Lionel Train Set, he got the entire used set for Christmas back in 1957. All that remained in his later years was the engine and the coal tender, the other cars have been purchased here and there. He finally got the opportunity to set his train up again after I moved out of my office upstairs. He enjoys going upstairs to play! It is a work in progress, he wanted to get the Train up and running to show the Grandkids when they were here over Christmas.

I am off to see what other toys are being featured today by the other Robins. Thanks to Karen at Outpost Mavarin for this challenge:)

A - Z Challenge: S is for SNOW!

Thought I would show you some comparisons photos so you can get a good appreciation for SNOW! Keep your eye on my lawn bench near the now covered fire pit. The snow has not been moved in this area, it is what it is.

December 15 after the Snowstorm.

December 20, during the snowstorm.

I took this one late this afternoon, December 23, 2008. The bench is nicely camouflaged.

The birdbath, do you suppose it will disappear under the snow?

Thanks Martha at Menagerie for hosting the A-Z Challenge!

Hope you have a White Christmas! :)

Ellipsis Monday Photo Challenge #16: Autumn Meets Winter

Carly said show me Autumn meets Winter! OR Bows and Bells!

Autumn Met Winter awhile ago around here. I took this photo on Thanksgiving Day. The ducks were choosing a little Autumn and a little Winter...brrrr..

Since I went into my Archives for that photograph. I decided to show you a bow and a bell! This was taken out of my west window this afternoon. NOTE** We have more than a few flakes of snow on the ground!

The first one is without a flash, I like the way that the bow and the bell are silhouetted. No this bow and bell are not usually here, they belong on the Christmas Tree. I just wanted to show off the snowbanks! This piece of blown glass was a gift from a now famous Glassblower before he was famous. He was a poor apprentice and stayed at our Resort an entire summer. He made this as a gift for Far Guy.

A special Thank you and Merry Christmas to Carly and everyone else that participates in the Ellipsis Monday Photo Challenge! :)

Sunday Stills: Lovely Lefse

This week's challenge was food. I think Ed thought we all might bake! No such thing happening at this house yet. However I did receive some Lefse as a gift. Lefse is a Norwegian flat bread it is made from potatoes. You spread butter and sugar on it and roll it up and eat it. You might also like it with peanut butter. Check out the other foods at Sunday Stills. Oh and for you trivia buffs, Starbuck, Minnesota is home to the worlds largest lefse. It was nine feet and eight inches in diameter and weighed in at seventy pounds..Now that must feed just about every Norwegian in the whole town! :)

Bloggers Community Photo Challenge: Christmas Ornaments

This is my entry for The Blogger's Community Photo Challenge. It is a favorite of mine, it was a gift from my daughter Jen a few years ago. Tiny oblong slices of wood are laid one by one on this ornament. I find the texture very interesting:)

Macro Monday: A Crimson Hairy Drupe

Staghorn Sumac or Rhus typhina, these are the beautiful hairy drupes that persist on this less than desireable plant in Minnesota in the winter. It is native to Minnesota, but is viewed as a second class citizen..because it grows so well and spreads so much. Check out more macros at Lisa's Chaos:)

Sunday Stills: Holiday Lights

Check out Sunday Stills for many more photographs of Holiday Lights. I struggled with the light, this was the best shot I got using the stairs to hold my camera still. Then I followed Ed's suggestion and purchased a tripod. I need some practice! I find the tripod stiff and inflexible ..duh! Guess that's what gives you better photographs of lights at night. I am anxious to try the tripod outside at twilight, with the moon as my subject. Anyway this was my best shot using the tripod:)

Round Robin Photo Challenge: Hometown Holiday Decorations

The Challenge today was your Hometown Holiday Decorations. Well since the little town we live near doesn't have their usual charlie brown tree up yet I had to go to another nearby town. Park Rapids, Minnesota, where I went to High School and where Far Guy lived, yes he was a city boy!
Main Street

Park Rapids is one of the few small towns left in Minnesota that has both diagonal parking and parking in the center of the street. The tourists get a big kick out of it, for us it is normal, it has always been that way.

The Hospice Tree

The tree is donated every year and takes it's place in the center of the street on the second block of main street. It is lit the day after Thanksgiving in an evening lighting ceremony. It is one of the local Hospice Fund Raisers, you can light up a bulb for a donation in memory of a loved one.

Outside one of the stores.

This cold and snowy bench appeals only to the hardiest of shoppers!

The view of Main Street one cold and snowy evening.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

I am looking forward to the other Robins entries! :)

Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot #15 : Pizza Toppings

Carly assigned Pizza Toppings for this weeks challenge.

Here is my fabulous recipe!

Far Side Pizza

2 packages 6.5 ounces each Betty Crocker Pizza Crust, mix according to directions on the package.

Put the crust on a large buttered cookie sheet.

Add: 7 oz. Ragu Pizza Sauce

One pound of browned Italian Sausage..we like mild.

Pepperoni..as much as you like.

8 ounces of Mozzarella Shredded Cheese (2 cups)

Bake 375 degrees for about 25 minutes..ENJOY!

Check out more Pizza Toppings at Ellipsis! :)

Macro Monday: Thuja occidentalis

Thuja occidentalis is better known as Arborvitae or Northern White Cedar. It is an evergreen. There are lots of cultivars with many names. Some are short and round, some are tall and pyramidal, all are great food for deer..so it is a city plant. Check out the other Macros at Lisa's Chaos :)

Sunday Stills: Pets

Chance in the new fallen snow on December 06, 2008.


Sunday Stills is a new photography challenge ! Ed is showing off all the photographs at his website. He is an awesome photographer! He also has a new blog called Thoughts From The Road . Thank you Ed for hosting this challenge:)
UPDATE: Sunday Stills has it's own blog..check it out!

Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot # 14 : Autumn Sunsets

Well Carly at Ellipsis certainly did challenge me this week. First of all our days of sun were few and far between. December 03, FINALLY the sun was shining. Could I capture something? Well I did..actually I captured two somethings..and you have to promise not to laugh at my second something..OK??

Remember you promised...

OK go ahead, I will forgive you. LAUGH!! The light nearly blinded me. I have captioned this photograph "How not to shoot a sunset" Those rays of light even turned part of the ice on the lake red. I must be an idiot for sharing my failures. Oh well :)

A- Z Photo Challenge: R is for Rudbeckia

Rudbeckia 'Indian Summer' is one of my favorite flowers! They are so cheerful! I love all yellow flowers, you probably could tell just by my blog header! These are sometimes perennials, sometimes annuals, they do re seed to a certain extent. They love full sun, and are not fussy with needing water, they bloom in August here in Minnesota and last the better part of the month. You can also use them for cut flowers, I don't because I like my flowers outside. Martha hosts the A-Z Challenge over at Menagerie join in anytime! :)

Macro Monday: A Weed

Well it is still brown here with very little snow. I found these interesting seed heads, I have no idea what kind of weeds they are. They were on the edge of our woods. Check out the other Macros at Lisa's Chaos!

The Round Robin Photo Challenge "On My Table"

I knew you were coming, so I threw something on the table! You must be special because I got out the tin plates instead of the paper ones. We are pretty laid back and relaxed up here in the north woods. The table covering is a quilt my mother made for me several years ago especially for this table. You can click on this photograph to enlarge it..did you notice the reflection of the quilt in the knives? I thought it was pretty cool, it was not in the plan so it is an added bonus! Check out the other Robins and see what they have on their tables:)

EMPS Monday Photo Shoot #13: Turkey Day

Carly said "Show me a Turkey!" Well I found these two of the non edible variety on our way home from our real turkey dinner yesterday. Check out the other Turkeys at Ellipsis! :)

A to Z Photo Challenge:Q is for Quercus alba

Quercus alba are White Oaks, these are White Oak leaves I photographed one frosty morning this fall. We have a few of these on our property. They have a purplish red fall color. Martha at Menagerie hosts the A to Z Photo Challenge..join in anytime. :)

Strange Shots!

Martha at Menagerie may start a new new photo meme called strange shots. To encourage her I am sharing one of my strange shots with you.



I took this in October 2007. Far Guy, Cheesecake or Blaze (they are a matched set and hard for me to tell apart) and Joe. We were visiting our good friends Sue and Joe in Indiana. Joe has a wonderful way with horses and they will do almost anything for him. This photo always makes me laugh out loud, Far Guys expression is priceless:)

Macro Monday:Tansy

Well this is it, this is what the seed head of Tansy looks like in November. Brown.
Maybe someone at Lisa's Chaos has something more colorful to share! Thank you Lisa for hosting this challenge! :)

Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot #12: Hot Beverages

HOT COCOA! That is what ran through my mind when Carly wrote about this challenge. Hot Cocoa was one of the very first things I learned to cook. First you got out a pan, then you measured cocoa and sugar added a little milk to mix the cocoa and sugar into a syrup and then added the appropriate number of cups of milk. I would turn up the heat and stir and stir, you did not want it to burn on the bottom of the pan, it just needs to be warm enough to almost boil.

This is the recipe I use:

Favorite Hot Cocoa

I heaping teaspoon Hershey's Cocoa

2 heaping teaspoons Sugar

Dash of Salt

Add two teaspoons Milk and stir until smooth.

Heat one cup of Milk: Fill mug: Sir and Serve

You can also add a little vanilla if you wish..and marshmallows. I like mine plain..plain jane..simple but yummy! A word of warning..to those of you who have never made a cup of Hot Cocoa from scratch..if you don't combine the sugar and cocoa and make a syrup before adding the milk..all the cocoa just sits on top of your milk and is impossible to mix in properly. Just so you know..microwaving for just one minute will make all the floating cocoa behave. Just in case you forget ..like I did. What is impossible to forget is that wonderful made from scratch Hot Cocoa Flavor!

Grab something hot to drink and lets head over to Ellipsis to see what other favorites will tempt us:)