Last July Picture

I think that today's theme for Photo-a-Day is a bit unusual. Today's word is toothbrush. Now, a talented photographer can create some drama with any subject. Although I am not especially creative, I present my toothbrush photograph.

A Baby When He's Sleeping...

The word for the Photo-a-Day for July 30 is calm. A wonderful calmness comes with sleeping babies. This is our youngest grandchild, son of Luke and Frema.

Last Purchase

Today's theme for Photo-a-Day is the last thing that you bought. This is what I bought this morning. After a bout with an intestinal infection, I suspect that my system has become lactose intolerant.  I am intending to try this soy milk which is lactose-free. After many years of a three glasses a day habit, I miss drinking milk.

Loving Cup

The word for Photo-a-Day for July 28th is cup. I won this tiny trophy in the late 1960's. This trophy was for my less than spectacular performance on my bowling league. Even though this was awarded to me for being the league's worse bowler, I am somewhat proud of the little cup. During that season, I did improve my skills, and every game was great fun. My friends in the league leadership were gracious by only having my name engraved on the plaque instead of "League's Worse Bowler."

On the Road Again

The theme for today's Photo-a-Day is on the road. This picture is the Mackinac Bridge leading to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, a favorite vacation spot. The photo was taken in June of 2005.

Sunshine

The word for the Photo-a-Day assignment for July 26th is sunshine. This is a sunset over Lake Michigan at St. Joseph, Michigan.

Some Storm

Early Tuesday morning, the sky darkened, the winds blew, thunder roared, and lightening flashed. In this summer of little rain, we had a storm; and this was some storm. The first casualty that we saw of the storm was a nearby utility pole. Apparently, this pole was connected to another pole across the street, which was also damaged. After the storm as we were running some errands, we saw countless broken branches and a number of entire uprooted trees. On the radio, we heard that forty some thousand customers were without power, and a roof was blown off a local business.

Tuesday afternoon, we had a brief power outage at our house. This relatively small branch apparently lay across the power lines causing a localized outage. We heard three extremely loud blasts, and a neighbor reported seeing flashes or sparks from the wire. Fortunately, our power company, NIPSCO, came and cut the culprit branch. Our power was restored within forty-five minutes.

The day after the storm, we surveyed the neighborhood. We saw that the utility pole was replaced. We also saw a number of damaged trees. 

Special Place in My Heart

The Photo-a-Day word for July 25th is heart. My silver floating heart necklace has a special place in my heart of hearts for two reasons. First, the necklace was a gift from my mother; and second, from a very young age, my grandchildren would pick-up the heart and proclaim so sweetly, " Grandma's Heart Necklace."

Stranger

The word for today's Photo-a-Day is stranger. The man pictured here is an umpire for our local vintage baseball league.

Mirror

Yesterday, the word for the Photo-a-Day was mirror. This picture is quite dated, and I did not take this particular photo. I am the young woman in the photo, and my husband with his arms resting on my shoulders is the photographer. I love this picture.

Topsy Turvy

Today's Photo-a-Day theme is upside down. My entry may be stretching the concept of the theme. However, my photo is of a unique wildflower called Dutchman's Breeches, Dicentra cucullaria named for the unusual blossom shaped like upside down plantaloons, the traditional garb of males from The Netherlands.  

Time

The theme for Photo-a-Day for July 21 is 9 o'clock.This lovely sundial, a present from our son and daughter-in-law for our 40th wedding anniversary, indicates here that the time is indeed nine o'clock in the morning.

Minor Mix-up

I mixed up the days for the Photo-a-Day. Today's assignment was supposed be eyes, and yesterday was the day for animal/insect/pet. Thus, here is my picture for July 19th, a day later. I believe this is a Red Admiral Butterfly.

These Eyes

For today's Photo-a-Day picture, I have selected a picture of our oldest son at about 20 months old.

Plate

The word for Photo-a-Day for July 18 is plate. I inherited this lovely flow-blue Johnson Bros. Kenworth pattern plate from my mother. The pattern dates back to the late nineteenth century. She had three plates with different patterns. I have two sisters, and each sister inherited a plate. I especially like this berry motif so I am happy this is my plate.

Addiction

The word of today is addiction. I was thinking of skipping today's assignment; and then, I came across this picture. I do like coffee a great deal, and specifically I like to drink my coffee in this cup. Not only is this cup especially cute, but the cup seems to maintain the perfect temperature for drinking the steamy beverage. Alas, I have not been able to indulge in coffee-drinking for a few weeks.  

Signs

The signs they are a changin'.* Well maybe. This sign that hangs in our garage must have been painted over 50  years ago. The sign used to hang outside the pro shop at the Fort Wayne Country Club where my husband caddied as a teen. 

* With apologies to Bob Dylan

Bird (I mean finger)

The Photo-a-Day word today is finger. My inner imp is resisting the temptation to flip the bird for today's assignment. Instead, I am displaying my freshly manicured left hand complete with an age spot at the base of that all important middle finger. 

Building (more than bricks and mortar)

Today's word for Photo-a-Day is building. This is the steeple of the church where my husband and I were married, Trinity Episcopal Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Trinity was built in 1865. Our marriage was built (or at least started) December 26, 1966.

Open

The word of the day is open. A few years ago, my mother-in-law gave us some fascinating plants. She called these plants Night Bloomers because they bloomed at night. Our plants unlike hers did not blossom often. When we moved to our new home, we transplanted the Night Bloomers into a large half-barrel. The plants have done very well in this new environment. About the time the sun sets, we watch as the bright yellow blossoms open for the night.

Texture

The word of the day for the July 12th Photo-a-Day is texture. The first thing that comes to my mind is the texture of fabrics. Since I know little about fabrics, I searched this morning for textures present in nature. I found a rock covered with lichen, pine cones in a bed of pine needles, and a leaves covered with unsightly galls. However, I chose to display this skeleton of a decayed  leaf against the background of the park path.

Letter(s)

For today's Photo-a-Day, I am in quandary. Our word for July 11, 2012, is letter. I would like to show you a huge sculptured letters like featured at Indianapolis Museum of Art. Or one of those ornate letters that might be seen in a Gutenberg Bible or an old-time storybook. Since I do not have such pictures, I have decided to show two letters and the saying that follows by John Wesley. The picture is a gift from my sister, Margaret. The saying is a favorite in our home.

Color

The theme for the July 10th Photo-a-Day is favorite color. I do not have a color that I like better than others although I do prefer items to be a certain color. I like to wear black and white. I like the cheeriness of yellow  kitchens. And black or red cars have appeal. Thus, for my picture today, I am choosing all colors as my favorite.

B.I.G.

The word of the day for July 9, is BIG. Since big is a relative term, I have selected a picture dealing with relative size. Although in my mind, I would like to show you something undeniably large in size like the Grand Canyon, the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil, or the Great Wall of China. Since I have not visited those places, I have chosen a item with relative bigness.

Let's Do Lunch

The word of the day for the July Photo-a-Day is Lunch. With us, the important factor is not what we eat but where we eat. Most days, we have the same thing for lunch, yogurt with cereal. On many days, we eat our noonday meal on our screened-in back porch. We are able to eat there from late spring and well into the fall season. During the recent heat wave, we were forced into the air conditioning for most meals. Fortunately, there has been a break in the hot weather so today's lunch was on the back porch. Both the weather and the view are quite pleasant even if our fare is not exciting.

In the Garden

For the Photo-a-Day project, word is garden. Generally, I have not done much gardening for many years. However, a few years ago our granddaughter gave us some seeds that she personally harvested from a pumpkin, some gourds, and marigolds. Because the seeds were gifts from our lovely grandchild, we planted them that season. The gourds and the marigolds were plentiful. The pumpkin crop was less successful, but one pumpkin did survive my amateur gardening skills. One pumpkin is all we needed anyway.

Chair

Today's word for the Photo-a-Day task is chair. For this picture unlike other days, there was no indecision. I knew exactly what chair to show. Pictured here is the rocking chair that we bought second-hand before our youngest child, Luke, was born. Our oldest son did not sleep much as a baby. I thought that a rocker would help put our new baby to sleep. However, Luke unlike his brother went to sleep with relative ease and did not especially care to be rocked. The lovely afghan was crocheted by a dear friend as she was recovering from radiation and chemotherapy for her cancer,

Floor

The Photo-a-Day assignment for July 5th is Floor. In our former house, which was our residence for 38 years, my husband installed three ceramic tile floors. Daddy D, a teacher by trade, is a craftsman by avocation. He did a fabulous job with each of these floors. The kitchen was the biggest effort. You can see the results of his work in this picture.

I Love a Parade

For July 4th, the word for the Photo-a-Day assignment is Fun. Of course, there is a variety of ways to have fun on the day celebrating the nation's Independence including family picnics, swimming, fireworks, and parades. I rather like parades especially participating in the event. For a few years, our church had a float in our town's parade, and a parade in a neighboring town. The float was decorated in festive red, white , and blue. Our praise team sang as we traveled the route. Adults handed out cold water to the spectators, and the children of the church distributed candy. The entire event was a moving experience. As we traveled the route, we met strangers and saw old friends. This was great fun. I always had a good time.

Best Part of the Day

The topic Day 3 of the Photo-a-Day is the Best Part of the Day. Of course, this may vary from day to day. Some days, the best part of the day is the very quiet beginning of the day sipping a cup of coffee. On pleasant evenings sitting with my husband on our front porch as the lightening bugs start to flash rhythmically in the yard is the best part of the day.  Some Sundays, the best part of the day revolves around our Sunday school class discussions. Other days, the best part of the day is reading a story to one of our sweet grandchildren. But, on many days, the best part is when my husband and I take our daily walk. Not only are we exercising, but we chat as we stroll to the park or down the street greeting our neighbors.

Busy Is as Does

The assignment for Day Two for Photo of the Month (July) is busy. This is my interpretation of  the word busy. In the picture, my husband, is busy counting the frogs in a pond in the park. I know that this may not be a difficult task, but we are retirees. We take a daily excursion to a nearby park and actually count the frogs. Last week after an extended dry period, we were worried about the  diminishing amphibian habitat. Luckily, we have benefited from some precipitation recently. We counted fourteen frogs today.

A Day Late, a Dollar Short

One of my *Plurky friends, mehitabel, has proposed a month long photo project. I am joining up although a day late. The first assignment is a self-portrait. My entry complete with my crooked smile and unkempt hair was taken this morning at a nearby park.

*Plurk is a fun social network site.

If you would like to join the fun, here is a list of the photo assignments. Mehitabel's photos for July can be found at Mehitabel 365.