Jan 8, 2009

These icicles were on the lilac just two days ago. They are now gone and it has been raining buckets today (intermittent). There are several major highways closed due to mudslides and avalanches both to the East and the West of here.

Ron and I managed to clear out one of the many bursting closets today and we have quite a large box for donation and a couple of others for recycling and trash. We have several more "rats-nests" to clear out of here in the coming weeks.

I also managed to do about 1/2 of the reading I am supposed to do for my class this week-end. It seems strange to be taking a basic first aid course after having been an EMT for so long and working as a Telemetry tech. Ah well, protocols change and some are VERY different here than what I am used to. A first aider is even allowed to suggest and administer some medications here. . .A HUGE no-no as an EMT in California.

Picture Perfect- Cold

The sleek ice curtain

frozen, flowing, crystal

a special beauty

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

P I C T U R E P E R F E C T

This is Week 1 of our Competition

Heather is your host

and the theme this week is

C O L D

The Rules

The theme will be posted on Wednesday, so you have three days to submit a picture with that theme in mind, after which the Top Ten Pictures will be selected by our panel of admins and posted up in a poll on Saturday morning (PST). The poll will run for 24hours and the winner will be announced on Sunday morning!

* Only ONE picture please and it should be YOURS and not lifted off the internet. If it has been taken by a friend or member of family please mention that fact, this will eliminate you from the competition portion of Picture Perfect only and is not considered plagiarism in any form

* No slide shows and no automatic music on the page

* Size matters. Please post a reasonably sized picture, so much impact is lost if the pic is too big or too small

* Open your page to everyone so that we all have access to your photo

**Entries will be judged on: Clarity, Theme appropriate subject matter, Size of picture posted, the picture must have been taken by You

* You only get One Vote and you have to BE A CONTACT to vote, this is the only way we can avoid multiple votes by one person.

Come back and leave a link at http://fotofriday.multiply.com/journal/item/172/Picture_Perfects_Ten_of_the_Best_2009_Competition_Cold_
so that everyone can go to your blog and see your pic.

By all means mention your camera and lens used, and if the picture has been altered or enhanced in anyway!

Out of the box thinking is encouraged!!

Good Luck, and have fun out there!!

..ooOoo..

Jan 5, 2009

We're working on getting into a routine again. With me basically at home for the semester, I hope to get some stuff cleaned-out, pared-down and organized. It would really be nice if I could manage to pull off a few repairs and upgrades around the ole' homestead too.

The priorities will be on "helping" the kids to get back on track with their schoolwork, better fulfilling Church responsibilities and helping Ron with our business.

I am enrolled in a first aid course for the week end, and will begin volunteering for St. John's Ambulance at the course conclusion. I have missed volunteering in the community since I have moved here, so this should be an easy way for me to contribute.

If your wondering about the photo. . .We stop at Dairy Queen for treats on occasion. On our way home from the island last week, we made just such a stop. As we were leaving, I ordered two "kids" ice cream cups for our dogs. This is the first time I remember anyone ever customizing the ice cream in this way. Yes, the dogs seemed to appreciate their treats just as much as they usually do.