Friday's Random Post

1. Happy Chinese Lunar New Year! It's now the year of the Horse. And not just any Horse, but the Wood Horse. I was born in the year of the Fire Goat and because the Wood element "nurtures" the Fire element, I am expected to "have a good year". Yeah, we'll see....

2. It's currently snowing. Again. There's a rumor that my area will see a significant snowfall Tuesday night.

3. I'm running a 4 day training session next week for work and have 9 people flying in this weekend to attend. The potential snowfall on Tuesday could make things very interesting.

4. Seahawks or Broncos? We are partial to horses around here (and it IS the year of the Horse), and hubby is a big Peyton Manning fan, so Broncos it is.

5. I'm really just into Superbowl Sunday because of the commercials and fun socializing at my friend's house.

Random Photo to go with today's post:

Last Saturday morning's run through (you guessed it) fresh snow. The actual scene was prettier than my capture - there's something magical about the golden sun on sparkly snow.

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London Times | Hyde Park and the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion

We're at day five of our trip to the UK and after a morning of shopping (Topshot, Zara, H&M and Primark) we ended up in Hyde Park.

Oh, and we ate lunch at Nando's, because my daughter insisted. When I asked how she even knew about Nando's (I had never heard of the chicken place), I learned it's been featured in some YouTube videos, one with Ed Sheeran, who the girls really love. There's probably some link to the likes of One Direction and Justin Bieber that I am unaware of, too. I guess there's no denying the influence of these social media on today's youth.

Some additional comments about our venture into the Primark store (which is somewhat like a Kohl's Store in the US, only much bigger) - it was like being in a Wal-Mart on Black Friday morning. Throngs of people everywhere. If you wanted to try on some clothes, be prepared to wait 30 minutes to get into the fitting room. Then there was the "queue" to purchase your cheap clothes which were probably made in a sweatshop like the one that collapsed in India. We were in the store for 5 minutes before becoming overcome by a desire to leave immediately.

We escaped the Primark store by heading to Hyde Park. I wanted to see the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, located in the center of the park, but the girls were quite "done" with the day's activities. So I made a decision - one that went against the motherly instinct in all us mothers - I allowed them to travel back to my sister's house without me. My rationalization - they just needed to get to the Hammersmith Tube Station, and after 5 days of navigating the London Underground, I knew they could figure it out. Still, as I watched them walk away, I resisted the urge to run after them screaming, "OK, I'm going with you!".

Resolute in my decision to give my girl some independence, I briskly walked to the Serpentine Gallery. Each year, the gallery commissions an architect to showcase a structure next to the gallery - the temporary structure is used as a pavilion and gathering space. Past architects include Frank Gehry, and this year's pavilion was designed by Sou Fujimoto.


I had viewed photos of the structure online - it looked like a crystalline structure in the photos, but as I walked towards it, to me it looked more like white toothpicks glued together. Once I got closer, I gained a better appreciation of the pavilion - it was so much more sturdy that toothpicks - with each supported fashioned from solid steel pipes.



The pavilion's hollow center serves as a unique open air cafe. Visitors may climb into the structure via transparent stairs and gather with friends.


I enjoyed people watching as I sipped a steamy cappuccino:


I left the Serpentine Gallery and headed west toward Kensington Palace. Enroute, I came across the Royal Albert Hall and the South Gardens:




In front of Kensington Palace - a Statue of Queen Victoria:


I had walked from the East to the West side of the park and was ready to head back home. I took a doubledecker bus to Hammersmith and marveled at the tenacity of bikers in the flow of London traffic. I also texted my daughter, a little anxious about their solo journey back home. I gave a sigh of relief when she responded to my text - they had arrived back home without incident.



I learned several things that day - that a little bit of independence can make everyone happy - that my oldest is getting ready for the next steps of independence - and that I am almost ready to let that happen (note I said "almost" - baby steps....)

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Of the Prairie

I've always wanted to take a picture of that "lone tree in the middle of nowhere". If I had a photography "bucket list", it would be on it. It's hard to find such subjects, even along the flat prairie, but last Saturday, while driving east in unfamiliar territory, I spotted one.

We were headed to my daughter's soccer tournament, and on the way there, I only had access to my iPhone. I was better prepared on the return trip to capture my "Lone Tree".



I guess it's not really alone - the county road runs by it.


Of course, we passed by several barns during our trip. This one caught my eye because of the flag mural on the side.


So one "bucket list" item done, a thousand more to find.

Linked to This or That Thursday and Rural Thursday

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Foggy Mornings

Although I don't enjoy driving in it, I love the mysterious look of the landscape when it's foggy outside.




Taken with the iPhone 4s, snapped quickly while I was stopped at a 4 way stop, so they are a little blurry.
Converted to Black and White using the Photogene2 app.

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Along The Road

As most of my commute to work is along the highway through the prairie, one might think the landscape doesn't change much. There's grass. There's corn. It's flat. Really flat.

But over the years, I've come to appreciate the subtle beauty of the sea of grasses and corn. In the spring, green emerges from the brown earth. Soon, various wildflowers shoot up, begging us to notice them as they sway in the wind. In the fall, the grasses turn from green to gold.

Several weeks back, I noticed a familiar flower nodding in the wind - sunflowers. In that ubiquitous grassy area between the northbound and southbound lanes of the interstate. A small cluster of them here and there, then an explosion of yellow flowers for all traveling to enjoy.



Last week I noticed the mowing crews were out - cutting down the overgrown grasses along the sides of the interstate and in the median. Each day, they made their way closer to where the sunflowers grow. Then the small, single clusters of sunflowers were gone, and the larger field, too. I realize these workers have a job to do, that their job isn't to make the interstate pretty, but I was saddened to see the flowers cut down.

Yet somehow, a couple plants were spared from the mower's blade.



If you look carefully, the area behind the flowers are freshly mowed. I snapped this shot because I thought it would be the last time I would see them. The grasses in front of the flowers are now gone. I guess someone thought it would be nice to leave some flowers along the interstate. For that, I am grateful.

The above image was processed using two textures from Kim Klassen. The original photo is here:


The screen shot of my layers in PSE


Linked to Texture Tuesdays.

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Football in the Car

I was going to name the post "Monday Night Football", but thought better of it - the fans who use that search term would be pretty disappointed in this post - paper football and all.....

So, on the way home from last week's cross country meet, we passed the time by "kicking" a paper "football" in between the "goal post":

The football set up:


Imagine my camera is the "goal"....

The Kick!!


It's Good!


There was rejoicing in the stands (or is that the face of amazement?)


Kids, don't try this at home, or in the car..... it could be addicting


Linked at Sweet Shot Tuesday

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Scenes from the Road

We're back at home now, after logging 2,000 miles on the Tahoe. I find when we're on the road, I prefer taking pictures with my iPhone. Especially when we are going places we've been to before - like our trip last week, back East to visit family.

There's always interesting things to shoot while "on the road" and I thought I'd share some today.

Some of the Upstate NY country side:


At a toll booth on the NY Thruway. This poodle was just too cute not to capture.


The end of a downpour in Ohio, south of Akron:


Dessert at the Cheesecake Factory (thank goodness there isn't one of these in our town - I think I gained a pound just checking out the assortment of cheesecakes):


A retro looking bike for sale at this bike shop called "roll:". I wonder if any of our cats would ride in that basket.


Games in the Car - the ever popular "hand slap" game never gets old.


The best thing about a road trip? When you've made it back home....

Shared on Sweet Shot Tuesday

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Road Tripping

I always make sure we have Combos snacks when we head out on a road trip. Diet Coke is the perfect compliment to the salty / fake cheese.
Throw in triple digits outside and that icy cold, bubbly drink tastes even better.


All pictures taken with my iPhone, and the triptych created with the Photo Wall app.

Summer is out in full force! Here's to staying cool this 4th of July weekend.

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Spring on the Prairie

After what seemed like endless rains, the rain clouds have departed, the winds have picked up and those cotton ball clouds of spring now dot the skies.



My favorite barns - I pass by them each weekday, as I drive to and from work.


It's Friday and we're headed out to see Caesar. The horses are loving the nice weather - it means they get to spend their days out in the pasture, eating the grass.

[Unfortunately for me, that means more horse poop to pick up. I am the designated poop scooper. Caesar must have pooped 5 times while we were in the arena today. Sorry if that's TMI - just trying to record our daily lives here....]


Cody still doesn't like having the camera pointed at him. He's always watching me. At least Ricky doesn't care.

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Misty Prairie Morning

I can tell Spring is around the corner - the days are warmer and the cool of night causes fog and mist to form in the morning.

The sun tries to burn it off, but the morning sun isn't strong enough.

With the start of Daylight Savings Time, I drive to work an hour earlier, but that means I get to see more of that morning sun.


Exposure 1/8000 sec
Aperture f/3.5
Focal Length 36 mm
ISO Speed 200


Exposure 1/6400 sec
Aperture f/3.5
Focal Length 70 mm
ISO Speed 200


Exposure 1/8000 sec
Aperture f/3.5
Focal Length 70 mm
ISO Speed 200

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Scenes from Home, Road and a Last Blast of Winter

On Friday, Brian attended George's birthday party. The rest of us enjoyed a quiet evening at home. Scott has been re-arranging the garage - he wants to park the convertible in the single bay, thinking it won't get it's new paint job "dinged". So this is what the double bay looks like now:

I actually like this configuration - I simply back out straight out the garage and driveway - no turning, no driving on the grass by accident. I didn't take a picture of the single bay because it is a complete mess right now. But I know Scott will get it organized by the time Cappy gets back.

Saturday morning - I went for a run in the light misty rain. I can handle the rain and the cool temperatures, but the wind from the north was a killer. I felt like one of those birds trying to fly into the wind, getting no where fast. I guess it makes you stronger.....

That was early in the morning, because we had to be close to campus by 10:30 to catch the last home basketball game of the season. The Illini blew out the Hoosiers!

After the game, I took Erica to the Farm and Fleet. Yup, it's a Farm store and so much more! We bought horse supplies - a harness, lead rope, lunge line, some brushes, a crop and a whip. Oh, and some horse treats.

Saturday night - I took Erica and her friends to the movies. They saw Beastly and the Justin Bieber movie. Erica definitely has a crush on the Biebster (it's kind of cute because she's not the teeny-bopper type).

Here's the road coming home from the movies -


And a little later, we have THIS -


The snow remained on the ground until Sunday afternoon. Then it melted away. I hope that is it for this season.....

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Camera Phone Friday - Train Crossing

I like this kind of train sighting - where the tracks run along the road and I am traveling along side, not having to wait for it to pass. I was actually stopped in the intersection that T's into the road running parallel to the train.



I love the graffiti emblazoned on some of the cars. Art in unusual places!

Taken with my iPhone 3G, processed using Instagram's Nashville filter.

Hope you have a great Friday, and if you have any Camera phone pictures to share this Friday, please note them in the comments!

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The Barn

What started out as a cloudy day still ended up with some sun.

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Snow on the Prairie

I love frosty, sunny mornings. I just wish the temperatures would reach the double digits. 5 Degrees F is more like February weather!





When it's this cold, you can feel the stillness in the air.

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