Behind the Picture

Decorated

2011-12-05T10:45:00.001-05:00

Well I put up half the Christmas decorations yesterday. I have SO MANY! It's my Mom's fault.. I decorate and love Christmas just like she used too...I will finish tonight hopefully and take some photos. Here's one from last year....

thinkTANK IN A BAG Day Seven

2011-12-04T20:49:00.001-05:00

Today is day seven in the thinkTANK photo IN A BAG promotion. They are giving away awesome stuff inside an Airport Security bag. I've already won a Retrospective 10 on the very first day (see my last post). I think I am addicted to thinkTANK and this competition. THAT is all I think about!! Every day I think of new Ideas. I have had quite a few, but have not posted them because as I said I ALREADY won a bag!.. but I can't help myself so here is another one! and yes.. there are more to come... I am trying to space them out! lol!! enter to win here!

IN A BAG!

2011-11-29T09:54:00.001-05:00

Click the photo to go to ThinkTank Photo and enter to win!.. I DID!

Day One Wrap Up

DAY ONE “Share The Love” WINNER, who takes home a thinkTankPhoto Retrospective 10 in Black is……

Sharon Meyer, for her shared version of “The Twelve Days of thinkTank”

Sung to the tune of the twelve days of Christmas.
On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me an Airport Security bag from THINK TANK….

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me two Shape Shifters, and an Airport Security from THINK TANK.

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me three Speed Racers, two Shape Shifters, and an Airport Security from THINK TANK.

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me four Urban Disquises, three Speed Racers, two Shape Shifters, and an Airport Security from THINK TANK.

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me five Sling-O-Matics, four Urban Disguises, three Speed Racers, two Shape Shifters, and an Airport Security from THINK TANK.

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me Six Retrospective Lens Changers, five Sling-O-Matics, four Urban Disguises, three Speed Racers, two Shape Shifters, and an Airport Security from THINK TANK.

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me seven Digital Holsters, Six Retrospective Lens Changers, five Sling-O-Matics, four Urban Disguises, three Speed Racers, two Shape Shifters, and an Airport Security from THINK TANK.

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me eight Pixel Sunscreens, seven Digital Holsters, Six Retrospective Lens Changers, five Sling-O-Matics, four Urban Disguises, three Speed Racers, two Shape Shifters, and an Airport Security from THINK TANK.

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me nine Pro Speed Belts, eight Pixel Sunscreens, seven Digital Holsters, Six Retrospective Lens Changers, five Sling-O-Matics, four Urban Disguises, three Speed Racers, two Shape Shifters, and an Airport Security from THINK TANK.

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me ten Change Up Belt Packs, nine Pro Speed Belts, eight Pixel Sunscreens, seven Digital Holsters, Six Retrospective Lens Changers, five Sling-O-Matics, four Urban Disguises, three Speed Racers, two Shape Shifters, and an Airport Security from THINK TANK.

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me eleven Pixel Pocket Rockets, ten Change Up Belt Packs, nine Pro Speed Belts, eight Pixel Sunscreens, seven Digital Holsters, Six Retrospective Lens Changers, five Sling-O-Matics, four Urban Disguises, three Speed Racers, two Shape Shifters, and an Airport Security from THINK TANK.

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me twelve Retrospective 20′s, eleven Pixel Pocket Rockets, ten Change Up Belt Packs, nine Pro Speed Belts, eight Pixel Sunscreens, seven Digital Holsters, Six Retrospective Lens Changers, five Sling-O-Matics, four Urban Disguises, three Speed Racers, two Shape Shifters, and an Airport Security from THINK TANK.

Sharon – Please get in touch using the contact form and I’ll send you out your Retrospective 10 in Black. BTW You’re Awesome!

Elianna Grace

2011-11-11T15:45:00.002-05:00

I realized I had not posted a photo of our grandaughter!.. She was born May 5th and just turned 6 months old. She is the cutest thing I've ever seen, accept for her Momma when she was this age! I love ya both!

Bo

2011-08-03T14:49:00.000-04:00

17th Day

2011-08-02T22:56:00.001-04:00

in a row that we've had over 90 degree temps here in Cincinnati. We tied the record.....

here's to SUMMER!

Wednesday

2011-05-25T11:38:00.000-04:00

Hope everyone has a great hump day!

God Bless....

2011-05-24T23:10:00.000-04:00

the people who have been devastated in the recent storms around the country.

Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue

2011-05-02T21:43:00.001-04:00

Hey, Uncle Sam put your name at the top of his list,
And the Statue of Liberty started shaking her fist.
And the eagle will fly and it's gonna be hell,
When you hear Mother Freedom start ringing her bell.
And it'll feel like the whole wide world is raining down on you.
Ah, brought to you, courtesy of the red, white and blue.

Oh, justice will be served and the battle will rage:
This big dog will fight when you rattle his cage.
An' you'll be sorry that you messed with the U.S. of A.
'Cos we'll put a boot in your ass, it's the American way.

An excerpt of the song by Toby Keith

Colton

2011-04-28T15:23:00.000-04:00

This is our grandson Colton Dean. Scotts daughter made us grandparents last June 14th.
Hard to believe it's been almost a year.

My daughter will be making both of us grandparents again very soon!! YAY!!

Monday is her due date, so it could be anytime now. We are very anxious!!

I am sure once she arrives...there will be plenty of photos of her....:)

later!

April Showers

2011-04-27T09:24:00.000-04:00

Bring May flowers.

I shot this last year at The Franklin Park Conservatory. I haven't been out shooting lately because of all the RAIN we've been getting. I've been pulling from the archives. Maybe I should take up ship building so I can build an Arc.

The flooding is getting worse around Cincinnati. The ground is saturated and there is no where for the water to go. We are suppose to get another 5 inches today!

We may not have any flowers at all this spring, as the water may wash them away!...

Hope you all have a great day!

Textures

2011-04-26T21:32:00.000-04:00

I love taking photos, but more than that, I love processing them in Photoshop. So I thought I'd try some textures. I found some FREE Textures created by Kim Klassen.

Kim is holding a challenge right now for Texture Tuesdays! One of the rules is you need to use her Serendipity texture. I also used her Silence texture.

I shot the photo last year at the Franklin Park conservatory in Columbus Ohio. I always shoot in RAW.

I did some editing in Lightroom 3 then applied Kim's two textures and a frame in Photoshop CS4. So here is my entry. Let me know what you think, and go check out her site!

Later!

Zoomtown

2011-01-11T19:50:00.001-05:00

Cincinnati Bell’s high speed internet is Zoomtown.. it’s DSL.

Well if you were thinking about getting it, DON’T!! It sucks. When they first offered it here in Cleves, we were so excited! For awhile it was good.. then about 2 months ago we noticed it getting a bit slower… didn’t think too much about it. It progressively got WORSE!

First we returned the 10 year old modem to the store, thinking that was the problem..but NOPE.

Scott called them a few times after doing numerous speed tests on Zoomtowns website. We were getting less than 1 megabyte per second (mbps) download speed. The upload speed was fine. So they suggested we unplugged the router (we have a network) and ran the internet straight into his computer. Still under 1 mbps. We should be getting 5mbps. They finally said that they saw Data loss on our connection and they would get back to us the next day. We waited a few days and nothing.

We are now signed up to get Time Warner Roadrunner. They come on Wednesday of next week. We are switching the phone to them too from Cincinnati Bell. We are supposed to be getting a download speed of 15 mbps! YAY! I can’t wait!

We got home from work tonight and got online and our download speed (via the zoomtown speed tests) range from 60.1 kbps to 84 kbps!.. WHAT the HELL is that Cincinnati Bell???????

I am so glad we are getting rid of them!...

So if you surf the internet.. DO NOT CONNECT WITH CINCINNATI BELL’S ZOOMTOWN!
I will let you know how Roadrunner is next week..

BEEP BEEP!

Cincinnati Bengals

2011-01-07T14:11:00.008-05:00

My views on the news conference that took place here in Cincinnati on Tuesday, January 4th, 2011 with the Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis and their owner Mike Brown.

“This isn't his team. It isn't your team.
It is The Family’s team.”
Yesterday’s news conference made
that plainer than ever.

“This isn't his team. It isn't your team. It is The Family’s team.”

That one sentence explains exactly what is wrong with the Bengals and why they keep losing football games.

The Bengals organization have great coaches and very talented players on the team. Mike Brown and his “Family” do indeed own the Bengals, but the Cincinnati Bengals should “belong” to the City of Cincinnati and it's FANS!! Every sports team has an “owner”. What good is that owner or that team without FANS?

NOTHING that's what!!

Art Rooney was the founding owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Rooney family still owns the Steelers today. Ask ANYONE including the Rooney family “who do the Steelers belong too”?

Your answer will be “The City of Pittsburgh AND it’s fans… it’s our team.

The Rooney’s know it, the players know it, the coaches know it and the FANS know it. This makes for a winning football team. Even when the Steelers are losing…they are a winning team because their fans stay strong and loyal no matter what!

Once a Steeler fan….. Always a STEELER FAN!

Maybe if Mike Brown would give the Bengals BACK to the City of Cincinnati and the few loyal fans it has left, they’d find out what a winning team feels like!.

After all.. They are THE CINCINNATI BENGALS.. not the Brown Family Bengals…..

So I say to all the people of Cincinnati, let Mike Brown and his FAMILY know that the Cincinnati Bengals BELONG TO THE PEOPLE of CINCINNATI!!!!

I feel sorry for the football fans in Cincinnati.

I live here now.. but have always been and will always be.... A Pittsburgh Steeler FAN.........

Happy New Year!

2011-01-06T16:20:00.006-05:00

Happy New Year Everyone! I hope everyone had a great Christmas. I know I did. It was great to spend time with family!

I am really going to try to blog more to hopefully increase traffic to my website.

I think I almost forgot how to blog! I had a terrible time with inserting the photo and formatting! I REALLY need to do this more so I can stay on top of my HTML!

I got a new lens for Christmas. I've not had much time to play with it, but I did shoot this "self portrait". I've added a few new pictures to my site including this one, so if you are bored.. check them out!

Thanks!

The candy store

2010-09-26T21:27:00.005-04:00

a look at how things used to be..

Hope everyone has a good week....

Talk Like a Pirate Day

2010-09-24T13:46:00.004-04:00

Sunday September 19th. That be Captain Jack Sparrow in the photo..

Yo, Ho, Yo, Ho,
It's "Talk Like A Pirate" Day!
When laptops are benches God gave us for wenches,
And a sail ain't a low price to pay!
When timbers are shivered and lillies are livered
And every last buckle is swashed,
We'll abandon our cars for a shipfull of ARRRs
And pound back the grog till we're sloshed. Yo ho ....

Yo, Ho, Yo, Ho,
It's "Talk Like A Pirate" Day!
Whatever's in fashion is in for a thrashin'
And bein' polite is passe!
When it's ev'ry man's duty to grab his proud beauty
And let out a hearty YO HO!
And if this offends you, hold your breath as we sends you
Ta Davy Jones' Locker ya go!

Yo, Ho, Yo, Ho,
It's "Talk Like A Pirate" Day!
That time in September when sea dogs remember
That grown-ups still know how ta play!
When wenches are curvy and dogs are all scurvy
And a soft-wear patch covers your eye,
Ta hell with our jobs, for one day we're all swabs
And buccaneers all till we die!

So hoist up the mainsails and shut down your brain cells,
They only would get in the way,
Avast there, me hearty, we're havin' a party,
It's "Talk Like A Pirate" Day!

Yo Ho!

that was just the chorus... I spared you the whole song..

Shiver me timbers.. tis' off t' Pirate Isle I go for the weekend, gar!

Relax

2010-08-31T21:15:00.009-04:00

Looking forward to Thursday. Off Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday...

Going to enjoy the holiday at Camp...relax and enjoy...

have a good one everyone...

Houses

2010-08-12T09:16:00.007-04:00


Random House in Hidden Valley Lake, Indiana

I love houses!. I shot this a few years ago and then processed it in Photoshop.

Many years ago I applied for a job as a Real Estate Agent. It required me to go through a training program to learn the in's and out's. I didn't have the money. I wish I could have done it because I love love love houses!. I spend countless hours surfing Sibcy Cline looking and dreaming!

I've lived in three different houses and one apartment in my 52 (almost 3) years. The first was the house I grew up, 745 Memory Lane, Liberty Boro. What a great name for a street! My house was at the top of a hill and the street went around in a circle. No one came up the hill unless they lived there or were visiting someone. So it was like our own little world up there. The whole entire place was our playground! I had to sell it when my parent passed.. was a hard thing to do... The house number 745 stays with me.. I see that number ALL the Time...I often wondered why I kept seeing that number. It pops up when I look at the clock at times, or a license plate in front of me.. all different things.. I've decided that when I see that number, it's my Mom and Dad's way of telling me they are watching over me...may sound dumb.. but that's the way I feel.....

The second place I lived was the apartment after I got married. If memory serves me right (and most times it doesn't) it was 2326 Surrey Lane. Mt. Vernon Apartments in Elizabeth PA. We only lived there about 7 months, but it was fun!

Then we bought a house...Pike St. in Port Vue Pa. We totally remodeled it over the years. I loved what we did to it!.

Now I live in a house in Cleves Ohio with Scott, Tucker, Emma, Rudy, Furby and Spike. We've did a bit of remodeling, mainly the kitchen. It doesn't look like the one I posted here, but it's nice. It has a lot of character.

I have a dream house. I don't know if I'll ever have it.. but I keep hoping. It's a log house...one story... with lots of windows, a fireplace, three bedrooms, a master suite..wrap around porch with part of it screened in....

maybe someday... if we hit the lottery!

later...

Monday Monday....

2010-08-09T23:29:00.005-04:00

so good to me,

Monday Monday, it was all I hoped it would be

Oh Monday morning, Monday morning couldn't guarantee

That Monday evening you would still be here with me.

Wednesday

2010-08-04T16:09:00.002-04:00

Not much new. Uploaded a few photos to Sharon Meyer Photography . I shot this one of Tucker last week with the Sigma 10-20mm lens that I borrowed from Bob at work. It's a nice lens. I kept it on my camera for a little over a week. It makes you think when you can't zoom in. You actually have to MOVE yourself around to get the angle/shot that you want.

more later...toodles

2010-08-03T15:51:00.002-04:00

Upon doing some reading, I found out that I need to start embedding my photos from Sharon Meyer Photography into my blog and also into Facebook and other places. That helps Google index my site so that people can find me.

If anyone has any suggestions on this, I'd appreciate it!

It's true...

2010-07-26T10:51:00.000-04:00

Everybody does love Raymond.. even Rudy.

I was testing out Bob's lens.

The Sigma 10-20 mm. He let me borrow it and is letting me keep it until next Monday, so I can play with it at camp next weekend.

Thanks Bob...

February SNOW

2010-02-26T10:32:00.012-05:00

Cincinnati has had around 23 inches of snow this month!

That's record for us and I just read that we are suppose to get 1-2 inches overnight and another inch tomorrow!! Frankly I've had enough, I am ready for spring and camping!

Tomorrow is Scott's Birthday. We're going to the 2010 Cincinnati Car Expo and then to dinner. Joann and Shawn are coming home. They've been trying to get here for a few weeks but the snow has not been cooperating.

I purchased a new lens during the last snowstorm. A Nikkor 70-300mm VR! It is awesome. I took a few pics with it so far. The snowy post up there is one. I actually shot some pretty decent bird shots with it also. They are on my flickr page. The link is down there under the links..

And of course I took pictures of the animals. I think I have more pictures of the dogs and cats than anyone!

I tried to make this one of Tucker look like a painting. I am looking for the right technique and then I'm going to have one of him and Emma printed and framed.

Try to stay warm and dry!

Later!

Halloween

2009-10-30T10:09:00.005-04:00

Tomorrow is Halloween and I have to work. It's Inventory... Not sure what else is planned for the rest of the weekend. We are not giving out candy this year. The first time ever that I've not given candy out to the Trick-Or-Treaters. Last year there were hardly any small children, mostly teens..Let them go buy their own candy. I think there should be an age limit. Once you reach high school.. no more door to door trick-or-treating.

We winterized the camper last weekend... so that is it until March... I'm gonna miss it for sure. I truly look forward to going there on the weekends....Hopefully we will be able to put a roof over the deck next year... but the way things are going, we may have to postpone that until the next summer.. we will see....

I've been updating Sharon Meyer Photography. I uploaded a lot more photos. Still have more to do... Now if I people would just go there and purchase some beautiful photos for their walls... Christmas is coming.. Photos make a wonderful gift......... So, you..go there and buy something!!! lol j/k

well that is about it for now....

backatchalater.....

Red River Gorge

2009-10-06T09:17:00.007-04:00

It's October already. The leaves are slowly starting to change. I like fall, but don't want winter to come. Scott and I went to Red River Gorge on my birthday last week. We hiked a bit and rode the sky lift. Something I've never done before. It was ok. My eyes were closed on the steepest highest point though.

I'd like to go back to the Hocking Hills this fall when the leaves change. The last time we were there, was on my birthday two years ago and the leaves were green and the waterfalls were dry. Maybe I can talk Scott into going again.. maybe Joann and Shawn can meet us for dinner or something.

Well.. that's about it for now. Gonna try to post here more....yeah I know, I said that before....

later....

One Month since I posted here!

2009-06-17T09:36:00.013-04:00

Well last weekend was Friendship Flea Market. It's about 10 minutes from camp down this one and a half lane country road. We found this barn along the way..taken from the window of the truck of course...

Camp was pretty uneventful last weekend. Butch and Linda weren't there. It was nice though.. Just Scott and I....

We are not going down this coming weekend. Kelly's son is having a graduation party on Saturday and we need to get some things done around the house....but the next weekend we'll be going down on Thursday evening since we both took the 26th as a vacation day.

They started a new Capture Cincinnati 09. I submitted a few photos. Maybe the third time is a charm since I wasn't in the first two books..... Come vote for my photos.. but only if you like them!

thanks for reading...

toodles...

Tent on Wheels...

2009-05-17T22:07:00.009-04:00

We went to camp yesterday to finish up a few things like the back gate and removing the old wood from the roof of the deck from the yard, so we'd be ready to camp next weekend.. The first time in our NEW camper..
Well then we find out that our electric service had to be shut off because the box on the pole was smoking and a neighbor camper went and alerted the guy who runs the place..... He said the whole inside of the box was melted so he called REMC and had the service shut off... He said he is going to put a new box in with a new 50 amp breaker on the pole, and put a new box on the pole where we plug the shore line in from the camper. He also said he will move the box AWAY from our camper (right now it sits directly behind the back door so you can't open it). He promised to move this pole before and never did..He said that no damage was done to the camper and although we can't be sure until we HAVE electric again.. I tend to believe him.. because even though the box melted, it did not trip the breaker on the box nor did it trip any breaker inside the camper... It is hard to explain the set up that is there.. guess you would have to see if first hand to understand..
All I know is we have a TENT ON WHEELS.. because we have no electric... They MIGHT come to fix the 12 amp system next Saturday.. yes.. I know.. you are thinking IT IS MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND.. and yes WE WANT TO CAMP.. well we are going to camp... we are not going to let a little thing like ELECTRICITY stop us!.
If we have the 110 back up and they don't get there to fix the 12 volt... we will just plug regular lights into the outlets....the water is a bit of a problem though.. We have a holding tank so we can use water via gallon jugs....the shower is a diffent story because of course the pump and water heater are run by 12 volt... We will just take showers at Scotts Mom and Dads. Cooking is no problem ... we have a charcole grill....

so.. off to camp Thursday afterwork (vacation day Friday) until Monday.....

Time fly's when yer drinkin' RUM!!

ARRRRRRRRRR!!!!

Shaping up!

2009-05-12T09:15:00.005-04:00

Well camp is shaping up and we are almost there. We need to finish one gate, remove some old wood from the center of the yard and then we are ready for the dogs to join us there. We have a lot of other things that need finished but at least we can work on them and not have to hurry home to let the dogs out. They still need to fix the broken converter in the camper and replace the booth. I HOPE that happens before Memorial Day weekend, as we plan on staying there for the FIRST time!...

oh well... more later...

Vacation Day

2009-04-27T16:24:00.006-04:00

We took a vacation day from work last Friday and worked at the camper. We finished painting the deck.. then installed the railing around it, put on the hand rail and constructed the steps. It was a very productive weekend and a very HOT one too....I think the camper looks great with the deck fixed up!... We also put some furniture together and pulled the awning out for the first time. We actually got to sit on the deck and enjoy ourselves. Butch and Linda were there and our neighbors Jamie and Mary stopped over for a visit. Jamie is helping out with the shed. We paid him to put the roof on and he's doing some odds and ends with it that needed done.

All that is left to do (well major stuff) is put the fence up for the puppies. We did discover that the 12 volt converter isn't working. How nice.. we have power in the outlets, a/c and microwave, from the 110 coming in, but nothing else. No fridge, no lights and no pump.. and the pump we need to de-winterize... the way it works is.. the 110 comes into the camper and the converter converts it to 12 volt for the fridge, stereo, lights and pump...

We were also informed that the water situation at Brownings SUCKS... when everyone is there on the weekends, there is no water. I'm glad someone told us before we discovered it for ourselves. Seems people fill up there holding tanks so they can shower and cook... and the reason for this is they keep adding more sites and the water main that comes into the campground is not nearly big enough....

You pay a yearly fee, which is by no means cheap!... you would think that they would use SOME of that money to IMPROVE things in the campground.. LIKE THE WATER!...

Our goal is to have the fence up for the dogs within the next 2 weeks. If they get the booth in from the Manufacturer, and the converter is in stock and Rams Service get down to fix it.. we might.. just might.. just maybe.. p0ssibly..... CAMP IN OUR CAMPER!!!

I'll believe it when I see it.....

later....

Painted....

2009-04-19T18:35:00.009-04:00

Well it's been awhile since I last blogged.. We've been busy...As you can see from the photo, we now have a shed, almost complete but for a bit of trim. and yesterday we painted the deck. I love the color and it goes with the "theme" we have planned for the campsite. Scott is pretty sore from crawling around on the gravel under the camper. We had to extend the deck about 8 inches because it didn't go back far enough to the camper.. but it does now....

so next friday, we are going to de-winterize and give the deck a second coat. Saturday we put up the pre-made railing, then all that is left of the major stuff, is the fence.... we'll finally be able to stay there for the weekend!

I did have a fire in the fire ring, but it didn't count since I was the only one there and all I was doing was burning cardboard....I broke a nail doing that too.... all the hammering and work I did.. and I brake a nail ripping cardboard.... sheesh...

Oh well.... hopefully I'll write again sooner than 6 weeks.....

toodles...

Soon....

2009-03-09T12:44:00.005-04:00

Well... they finally cleared our lot off.. We're moving the camper onto it on Saturday. There should be a fire in that ring soon!!

They tore all those nasty buildings down.. and left the deck. We had them remove the roof. We're going to level the deck, put new railings on it and paint it. Then next year probably add a roof.

we have a lot of work ahead.. but at least we can FINALLY get started on it.

back to eating lunch and finishing my break...

later...

Remembering....

2009-03-02T14:40:00.007-05:00

Today was my Mom's Birthday. She would be 86. She's been gone since 1983. I still miss her a lot.

I didn't realize it until just now.... her and Scotts Birthday are only 4 days apart.. His was Friday...

Scott gave me this rose a few years ago.....and it reminded me of one of my mom's favorite songs......and of her...

A long, long time ago
On graduation day
You handed me your book
I signed this way:

´Roses are red, my love.
Violets are blue.
Sugar is sweet, my love.
But not as sweet as you.´

by Bobby Vinton.....

Happy Birthday Mum....

The Cats...

2009-02-26T12:36:00.008-05:00

Well last night we introduced Rudy (that's him over there) and Furby to the newest addition to the feline family.... Spike.

Spike was excited to get out of the living room and explore the rest of the house. Rudy growled and hissed at Spike every time he looked Rudy's way. Furby stayed in the bedroom most of the time, until Spike ventured in there... I think Furbs hissed once or twice but that was it.

All in all it was a much better experience than I had anticipated.

We are still keeping Spike in the living room while we are not at home, until they all get used to each other.

Tonight we introduce Spike to the dogs.......oh joy I can't wait.... There may be alcohol involved tonight...

wish us luck....

later...

Fire....

2009-02-24T12:51:00.007-05:00

This is a better photo of a fire, even though it's not the best one I've shot. It's the best one that I have here at work. I'm on my lunch break.

We went to camp last night and the trailer is still on our lot, although it is unhooked from the utilities and looks ready to move.. it still sits...The site isn't cleaned up yet and by the looks of it, it won't be for weeks.

I am getting very discouraged. I know it's too soon to camp, but I want to AT LEAST move our camper onto it. Ok I've blogged about this more than once, so no more until the lot is cleared...

The smell...

2009-02-23T13:08:00.003-05:00

of a campfire is closer in our future!. I called the campground last night and was told that the camper that is on our lot is being pulled off today!!

It's about freakin' time too. So.. pretty soon we'll be sitting around the ol' campfire drinkin' margarita's.. lol

Actually we have alot to do. We need to prepare the lot, then move our camper onto it, then build a shed, paint it, put up a doggie fence for the pooches. If they leave the deck we'll have to level it, rip off the roof and put up a new one, then paint it from that hideous orange color to the nice gray we bought that will match the shed.

So I guess the fires will come late at night after all the work is done....hopefully by the end of summer, it will be done and we can enjoy!...

toodles....

Friday...

2009-02-20T13:05:00.003-05:00

Today is Friday which I'm sure most of you already know.

Scott is picking Spike up from the vets when he gets home.. then we are going to dinner.. Mexican.

I don't have much else to say today, but wanted to keep my promise up to blog daily. Not sure how long that will last.

You ask what does the bottle of 151 have to do with this post. I'm thinking it's going to be topping off my strawberry daquiri's tonight....

until tomorrow....

adios......

Surgery

2009-02-19T13:09:00.005-05:00

This is Spike. We sort of got stuck with the lil dude..He's the FIFTH animal to join our family...

We took him last night to the vet to have his claws removed. I know everyone doesn't agree with 'declawing' but I'm sure those of you who don't have never lived with a "cat from hell". I have.

When I lived in Pittsburgh my cat, Mo Kitty started out being a cute little kitten, then something happened and she turned into a Psycho cat.

She would lunge at my legs and hang on to MY SKIN with all four CLAWED paws. She used to hang from my arm the same way. I'm not the only one who felt the wrath of her claws. If any cat needed declawed, Mo Kitty did.

Well anyway. Spike is having his front ones removed today via laser surgery. We pick him up tomorrow night after work. Then we have 2 weeks of keeping him in the living room away from the rest of the mottley crew. Rudy, Furby our other two felines.. and Tucker and Emma our Bassets...

Hopefully things will go smoothly and everyone will get along just wonderfully..... well I can dream can't I?

Wish us luck!

Missing...

2009-02-18T12:11:00.010-05:00

When I moved to Cincinnati Scott had 2 dogs. Griffey and Buddy. He'd had Buddy for years and had just gotten Griffey a year or so prior. He adopted Griffey because he'd heard his owners were going to take him to the dog pound if anyone didn't adopt him.

Buddy was alot older than Griff so I kinda paid more attention to Buddy than I did to Griffey. Buddy was a small poodle and would get up on my lap on the couch and cuddle with me. Griffey was part Lab and Beagle and weighed around 80 lbs or so.

Well one day Scott said to me... "do you realize how much Griffey loves you". I had no idea.. so I started watching how Griffey acted when I was around. Well I don't think any animal has treated me the way Griffey did.. From that day on.. he was my Grifford.

About a year or so later Scott and I were in the dining room working on something at the table when Griffey had his first seizure. We weren't sure exactly what was happening. We thought he was dying. We took him to the Vet and found out he had Epilepsy. They wanted to put him on Pheonabarbital, but we chose not to do that at the time. A few weeks or so later, he had another one. We once again took him to the Vet and had them start him on the medication. He was not himself the first few days until his body got used to the Pheonabarbital. He still had seizures but not as bad and far between. He would go a month or two without having one. But when he did.. he always had more than one. I hated it....

As time passed, the seizures became worse..he would sometimes have 4 or 5 in a row, sometimes more.... Every time he had a seizure his brain would learn how to have a better one. We hated seeing him go through this, but 95% of the time he was fine.

One year ago today, he had 10 seizure within about a 6 hour period during the night. He couldn't even get up off the kitchen floor.. he was totally exhausted. We both knew the time had come.. we couldn't let Griffey go through this any longer....

Scott, T'angela and I took him to the vet to have him put to rest. It was a hard, hard day.....

I cry at the drop of a hat and do not consider myself to be a very strong person when it comes to things like people dying and such. I stood next to the table where Griffey layed as they administered the medication into his system. I talked to him while stroking his head. I told him what a good boy he was...how he wasn't going to be in any pain anymore... how he'd see Buddy soon.. how he could chase all the squirrels he wanted too (yes Scott I'm crying).. I talked and petted him until after he took his last breath....it was very very hard....

We miss you Grifford.....

One Month

2009-02-17T11:51:00.007-05:00

Well it's been a month today since we traveled to the lovely state of Indiana and picked up our new camper. We had to park it on Butch and Linda's lot at Brownings because our lot is not cleared off yet. The person who is camping on Lot #34 right now hasn't paid his rent for a year and a half. Sheesh.

The head honcho's of Brownings apparently told the man he needed to move his stuff (see photo above) off the lot. He hasn't as of yet. Now lets think about this for a moment. If you were behind on your rent and the 'landlord' told you repeatedly to pay but yet continued to let you stay there for free... and then comes and tells you that you need to move since you haven't paid...... why would you move? They've done nothing in a year and a half to make you pay up, so why on earth would they think you'd move all your stuff off the lot. They need to give him a week to get it off and if he doesn't.. move it off FOR him. Sheesh come on people!

We've been paying for this lot for over a month (since January 10th) and can't use it. It's getting old.. I know it's not camping season yet, but I want to get the lot prepared and get the camper on it where it's going to sit BEFORE CAMPING SEASON STARTS.....

I guess we are just going to have to be a pain in the posterior and keep calling and complaining....

First...

2009-02-16T14:19:00.011-05:00

I thought it appropriate that my first entry into my new blog be accompanied by my first Sunset photo back in 2005 when I purchased my first DSLR. The Konica Minolta 5D. I researched and researched DSLR's then went and "held" and tried a few different ones. I felt at the time that the KM 5D was the best one for me.. not to mention it was pretty affordable.

Soon after my purchase, Konica Minolta went out of the camera business and Sony took over. Sony came out with their first DSLR. I've had a few Sony products in the past and was happy with them, so I purchased the a100 in 2006. I should have waited. It's a nice camera but pretty much the same as the KM 5D.

I actually didn't purchase a camera in 2007.. lol

Then in 2008 I made the switch.... over to NIKON.. with the D300, which I LOVE.

I know, I'm getting like Dennis. He is a coworker and friend.. I guess there are worse things in life than being compared to Dennis. He's an awesome Photographer as is b.schlake (aka bawb), another coworker and friend. I hope one day to be as good as they are.

well anyway, Scott uses the Sony now and I use the KM 5D at work to take photos of the machinery. So, I am done buying cameras...for awhile...*G*

until the next post...