Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts

Monday, December 12, 2016

Weekly Header Challenge -- Strange Photos

It's time for the Weekly Header Challenge!

"Headbanger" Participants
Imac 
Lew

I'm joining the group above for this weekly challenge.
Visit the other participants' blogs to see their entries!

Theme ~ Strange Photos

Chosen by Tom.


Here is the image I used for this week’s theme:

Tortilla chips, stuck together.

And, more proof that I take strange photos...

Danny lying down in the grass, because...??  No idea why I took this...

We took home two Christmas trees...and Danny's head.

Warm homemade granola, when combined with cold milk, clumps together.

Fernando calls this his "gum app."

I bet you have some strange photos stored somewhere, too!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Weekly Header Challenge -- Back from Break: My Favorites

It's time for the Weekly Header Challenge!

"Headbanger" Participants
Imac 
Lew

I'm joining in the group above for this weekly challenge.
Click on the other participants' blogs to see
what they've come up with!

Theme ~ Back from Break:  My Favorites

Chosen by Tom.


Happy New Year!  We Headbangers are back from Christmas break, and ready for a new year of photography adventures together.  Starting with the image I used for my header, here are some of my favorites from our time away.  These were taken on Fernando's and my driving date to see local Christmas light displays.


The above wasn't the best Christmas light display, or the nicest image in composition, but I was able to crop it nicely for my header.  My favorite Christmas light display is this one, below:


Across from that house, was this one, below, bedecked in a cascade of white lights.


And, the below is a close-up from another display.  It was such a mild day that we got out of our car several times to enjoy the lights, and in many cases, accompanying music.


This was our own "light display."


I collect snowflake ornaments and hope to have our tree covered in them.  But this Christmas, our tree also sported several leaf ornaments.  These ornaments are all actual leaves; a local artist turns them into amazing works of art, and I love them hanging on my tree.


Finally, I can't not post a food photo from our time away!  Here is one of my favorites from New Year's Day, when we had a traditional Italian meal of ravioli.  My parents celebrated with us, and my mom and I spent all afternoon making these beauties.  I messed up the recipe a bit, but the ravioli turned out yummy, so all was forgiven.


Again, Happy New Year!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Weekly Header Challenge -- Getting Ready for Christmas

It's time for the Weekly Header Challenge!

"Headbanger" Participants
Imac 
Lew

I'm joining in the group above for this weekly challenge.
Click on the other participants' blogs to see
what they've come up with!

Theme ~ Getting Ready for Christmas

Chosen by me.


I'm chuckling to myself as I realize I chose this theme a while ago, and now that it's time to post, I have no current pictures to share with you.  Although we started this year with great hope that our situation would improve--and it did in many aspects--we find ourselves just hanging on right now.  We will share a beautiful, simple Christmas at my brother's home, though, so I'm not sad having to post last year's photos.

Usually within a day or so of Thanksgiving, we purchase a Christmas tree.

My dad carries the tree to the car.

The tree is set up...


The ornaments are hung...


And the atmosphere is set!


Cookies are baked...


Peppermints (my favorite!) are set out...


Decorations are placed...


The manger figurines are placed...


And we're ready for Christmas!



Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Weekly Header Challenge -- Children's Toys

It's time for the Weekly Header Challenge!

"Headbanger" Participants
Imac 
Lew

I'm joining in the group above for this weekly challenge.
Click on the other participants' blogs to see
what they've come up with!

Theme ~ Children's Toys

Chosen by Mac.


This was probably the hardest theme for me, since my boys are grown and I don't have children's toys around the house.  Plus, I went digital only six years ago, so I don't have digital images of earlier years when they had lots of toys (and I had no time to scan or take pictures of pictures!).  I had to search for quite a while before finding these images I'm sharing with you today.  Here is my header image, uncropped:


It's a little blurry, since my camera was still pretty new to me at that point.  I had the ISO at 500, which put the shutter speed at 1/20 second.  I'd definitely take this shot differently today!  Anyway, we were at a Cracker Barrel at Christmas time, and since those restaurants feature stone fireplaces and they had this one decked out in Christmas decor, I tried to take a picture.  I love the vintage metal truck!

Here are a few more toys I dug up out of the archives.

Boys will make guns with anything, and this is one made of K'nex:


A few toys, all lined up and ready for wrapping.  This particular Christmas, we chose two families for my dad's church's Angel Tree program, and we bought gifts for their children.


Below, a Teddy bear perches on a sleeping Fernando's shoulder.  This should've been my header image, but I only just found it!


That's it.  I really have to go back into my archives and keyword my older images; it would've made this week's assignment so much easier!  I'm sure I'll find some more images of toys tomorrow, as Murphy's Law goes.

Can't wait to see your images today!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Weekly Header Challenge -- I Didn't Expect to See THAT Here!

It's time for the Weekly Header Challenge!

"Headbanger" Participants
Imac 
Lew

I'm joining in the group above for this weekly challenge.
Click on the other participants' blogs to see
what they've come up with!

Theme ~ I Didn't Expect to See That Here!

Chosen by Kathy.


It was tough to find images that fit this theme.  Halfway through my images, I realized I was searching for Now What's That Doing Here?  Then I realized it's slightly different.  I expect to, say, walk into a room and have it look like it always does.  So, these pictures reflect things or scenarios I didn't expect to be there.

For my header, I chose this image:


I fully expected to see college books lying around my house, and even on my kitchen counter.  I didn't expect to see that molecular model sitting there, though.  I guess that's a toy for a biochemistry major (required for his Quantitative Chemical Analysis course--I can barely type that, let alone try to say or describe it!).

Here are some more unexpected scenarios...

Walking into my family room, I fully expected to see Jacob in his spot on the couch, on his laptop.  I did not expect to see a huge Papasan chair with Thomas lounging in it, his bruised ankle (twisted in a football practice injury) hanging off the end of the chair.  That chair took up the entire family room!


While making a large batch of tomato soup which I planned on canning, I didn't expect the hot soup to shoot through the little pouring hole in my blender as I pureed it.  And, neither did I expect to look up and see the splatters of soup all over the ceiling above.  I mean, I had the lid on the blender.  Sheesh.


For last year's Labor Day parade, I expected to see parade-type things--not Jacob with a sign taped to his chest.  The sign came from my friend, the homeowner, whose son-in-law had posted it on the coffee pot in the kitchen that morning.  She figured the sign would get put to good use on Jacob.


One day last October, I heard a loud CRACK as I sat at the computer.  I thought the lawn mowing service for the church property behind us had kicked up a rock which hit our window.  I checked all the first floor windows on the west side, but nothing.  I shrugged and went back to my day.

Later that evening, after Danny had come home from school, I heard a, "Hey, Mom?  What happened to my [bedroom] window??"  I knew before I even saw it.  The industrial lanwmower had kicked up a rock to the second-story window, which shot through both the screen and the outside pane of the double-pane window!  I took several pictures, while dreading calling the company to see if they'd replace the window.

Before I could even finish my story to the owner of Prime Cut Landscaping, he told me to get the window and screen fixed and send him the bill.  I was impressed and amazed at their integrity--and thankful we didn't have to pay for repairs!


The below is the Christmas tree in Daley Plaza downtown Chicago; it's a familiar landmark of this city, along with the Christkindl market at Christmastime (you can see the booths of the market around the tree).  Danny performed in the UIC University Choir's Christmas concert that night, and honestly, we found the building, walked in, and enjoyed the concert, never bothering to look at our surroundings.  When we exited the building, there it was!  I expected a street full of skyscrapers, and lots of people since it was a Saturday night.

While Fernando and Danny walked to the parking garage to pick up the car, we had about 15 minutes to enjoy the tree and our surroundings.  I even had several people lined up at one point, handing me their smart phones to take their pictures in front of the tree, lol!  How did that happen??  I guess they saw the Canon around my neck and figured I knew what I was doing.  It was a ton of fun.


Thanks for visiting!  I expect to see some great, interesting, and fun photos on your blogs, too!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Weekly Header Challenge -- Something New

It's time for the Weekly Header Challenge!

"Headbanger" Participants
Imac 
Lew

I'm joining in the group above for this weekly challenge.
Click on the other participants' blogs to see
what they've come up with!

Theme ~ Something New

Chosen by Moi.  That's me.  :)


For this week's theme, I decided to show off my new Christmas tree ornaments.  I collect snowflake ornaments, and this year's new finds were special.  I made my first snowflake discovery in August!  I was up at the Lake as a surprise for my mom's 75th birthday, and she and I spent one day touring the Thousand Islands and Boldt Castle.  At one of the shops in Alexandria Bay, I found four tin snowflake ornaments, heavily discounted because--well, it was August.  I think my mom paid for them, too!  They're all brown and white on tin, with different patterns.  Here's the one in my header:



The next ornament I found I literally almost walked into.  After Thanksgiving, my parents, brother, Jacob, and I went to The Growing Place to pick out Christmas trees for our respective homes.  In their gift shop, I walked in and right up to a display featuring snowflake ornaments hand-crafted by a local artisan.  That went in my shopping bag!  It ended up being the only purchase that day, because when I went up to the counter to pay for my tree, the cashier told me my dad had already paid for it.  I love my family.


My final two new snowflake ornaments (I usually acquire only one per year!!) were given to me by my younger brother, Jeff, who was with us on the Christmas tree excursion.  He had heard me exclaim my love for snowflake ornaments, and how I collect them for my tree, and when he picked my name in the family grab bag gift exchange, he found a few gems to give to me.



I had wanted this post to feature something more profound, seeing that things are finally turning around for the better in our family, with employment, financial issues, etc. now starting to be resolved one by one.  However, these snowflakes remind me that family--and people, and experiences--are so much more important than things.  And when I decorate our family Christmas tree next year, I'll be able to cherish the memories of people and experiences surrounding these new gifts for my tree!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Weekly Header Challenge - Steaming into the New Year

It's time for the Weekly Header Challenge!

"Headbanger" Participants
Imac 
Lew

I'm joining in the group above for this weekly challenge.
Click on the other participants' blogs to see
what they've come up with!
Theme ~ Steaming into the New Year

Chosen by Mac.
I'm publishing this post as we are steaming toward midnight here in Chicagoland!!  Here's the full image representing my header:

A little odd, I admit.  But see that truck?  It has a satellite dish on the back of it, and Fernando drove it home the night before Thanksgiving, just in time to celebrate with us.  This truck--called a SAT truck in the industry--represents our future:  Fernando's employment, steady work, and the ability to continue to live in our beautiful little (by American standards) home.  This is what we'll be using to steam into the new year.

As we take down the ornaments on our tree...


...and reflect on how the Lord has blessed us this past year, we're looking forward to continuing to celebrate...


...every answered prayer (all prayers are answered, y'know), every blessing, every turn in the path, as we drive down the road the Lord has planned out for this new year.  God bless you and yours, as you steam into your own wonderful new year!!


Back to life,

Christine
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Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Weekly Header Challenge - Christmas Is Coming

It's time for the Weekly Header Challenge!

"Headbanger" Participants
Imac 
Lew

I'm joining in the group above for this weekly challenge.
Click on the other participants' blogs to see
what they've come up with!

Theme ~ Christmas is Coming

Chosen by Lew.


Christmas is coming...  And it's coming up quick!  Here is the full image from my header, of carolers at our door.  These carolers started at our house (in our house--we hosted!) and sang all through our neighborhood, sharing the love of Christ through Christmas song with everyone who opened their door.  They even had a neighbor pull her car over to the curb, and ask them to sing!


We know Christmas is coming when...

...our home starts to look a little more festive:



...gifts for needy children are wrapped:


...homemade gifts for family are assembled:



...peppermint candy appears in abundance!


...the kitchen starts to smell like cookies:


...greetings from friends appear on our walls:


Most importantly, our hearts and minds turn to the most precious gift of all, God become Man, our Savior!



Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Weekly Header Challenge - Silver and Gold

It's time for the Weekly Header Challenge!

"Headbanger" Participants
Imac 
Lew

I'm joining in the group above for this weekly challenge.
Click on the other participants' blogs to see
what they've come up with!

Theme ~ Silver and Gold

Chosen by me.


I'll admit I was thinking ahead to Christmas when I thought up this theme.  And boy, if I look outside right now, it sure looks like Christmas--we got about two inches of snow yesterday!!  Either way, most of the images I've chosen today are also sparkly (I think that was a weekly theme last year).  Here is my header, full image:

Treats at a 50th wedding anniversary.


Two metals--silver and gold--and lots of medals!


Lots of silver and gold in this pool at Boldt Castle, Thousand Islands, New York.

Table silver at Boldt Castle.

My mom's silver servingware at Thanksgiving.

I collect snowflake ornaments for my Christmas tree each year, so here are some glittery silver and gold samples.




And one gold-topped Christmas gift.


Now I'm getting excited about Christmas--not just from sharing these images, but this year we're going to have a Christmas tree!  Yes, it's a little thing, really, but it's rather big with me after the last year we've endured.

Although I'd love to sign off with a Merry Christmas, I really need to say

Happy Thanksgiving!!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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