Fun filled Friday, and Friends...

"It takes a long time to grow an old friend." -John Leonard

My dear, and long time friend, Deborah, came with her husband for a car-hunting trip. (They live in Carlsbad). She let her husband do the car hunting while she came to visit me.  I was thrilled.  We have been fast friends from the time we met playing softball for Charlie's Angels.  Let's see, that was about 40 years ago.  She played first base, and I shortstop.   She was the only one who could handle my throws and was not afraid of the ball. (I throw hard...well, I used to throw hard).  She seldom let a ball get by her.  There was nothing we would rather do than play ball!

Charlie's Angel Softball Team.  Charlie is the man in case you did not know.

People got us mixed up all the time.  People would ask me something about how certain things were going, only they would be referring to Deb, thinking I was Deb, and vice-versa.  We just answered them without correcting them, because we knew what was happening in each other's lives we were so close. Even her husband got us mixed up when we came up to the plate to bat. He would call me Deb, and her, Rob.  The really strange thing was when I met her brother.  I thought I was looking at my own brother, Tom.  Her brother looked just like him, right down to the curly hair.  Amazing!

Back to my story.  We had a lot of catching up to do over lunch, then I took her to my favorite store in the whole world...well, my little world, Down Home.  They have remodeled the outside.  It is now painted pink, and everything in the yard is pink.  It is cute, and interesting.  So naturally, I had to take pictures.

We decided the first place to take pictures was on the old pink sofa with the dead end sign, and the bug standing there.  Deb and I would still look alike if I did not get my hair color from a box.  My natural color is pretty much her color.  One of these days, I am going to give up coloring my hair. 

Deb and her husband moved a lot...let's see there was Oklahoma, Texas, and Kentucky.  I  visited her in all those places.  We have stayed friends, and we have so much fun when we are together.  It is like we have never been apart.  

Next, it was my turn to get a picture taken.   I posed with this beat up old pick-up truck that I wished I had in my yard.  Notice the ice cream cone by the steering wheel, and the lollipop antennae , and the butterfly by the driver's side.  So cool.    I do not think Warren will let me have one though.  Maybe he'd be more open to the chicken!

Deb and the rooster.  Too, too cute.  We did a fast trip through the store, then went to join her husband, since he wanted her to drive some of the cars.  The whole purpose of their trip was to find a car after all.  I came along for the test drives because we were still not done visiting.  Besides, I might want a new car myself.   After the test drives, we were off to SAM's to pick up a few things.  It was getting late, and they still had to drive home, so we had to part company.  I am revived and refreshed from her visit.  The Lord knows the right timing to bring some adventure, and Christian encouragement into my life.  I am so glad she came.  I sure needed it!  I am better for it.  

Love is in the air...

"Let your love be like misty rains, coming softly, but flooding the river." -Malagasy Proverb

Love is in the air.  You can see and feel it in stores that are full of decorations, candy, cookies, and cakes all wrapped and packaged in heart shapes in colors of red, pink, and white. Valentine's Day is just around the corner.  So I decided my photography had to reflect the spirit of love.  Well, that and the fact that our February challenge for our photography club is the color "red" also helped me in defining my photo shoots, too.  I had a lot of fun doing these.  First my grandkids.

Adjectives to describe the above: adorable, cute, handsome, gorgeous, pretty, and fun!

Next, I asked one of the youth, Olivia, from our church to be my model.  What fun we had taking these! She was a good sport, and gorgeous besides.  Her dark hair and porcelain skin, along with the red clothing made some awesome pictures.   I tried out some new photo editing techniques, too.  I loved it all.  And that is what this month is about: Love.  

Then, these are two sisters who went out with me and Stephanie DeFranco, another photographer, for a fun photo shoot.  These were my two favorite pictures.  I like the way the setting sun adds such drama to the photos.  

Lastly, I have a picture of Mary who lives at the same retirement village as my Jane.  On the day I took this picture, Mary was sitting in the lobby, and I thought she looked so pretty in her red sweater, turquoise beads, and her beautiful gray hair.  I asked her if I could take her picture (I just so happened to have my camera), and she said yes.

Many thanks to all my models.  There sure is a lot of "red" going on out there!

Friends...

"A friend is a hand that is always holding yours, no matter how close or far apart you may be.  A friend is someone who is always there, and will always, always care.  A friend is a feeling of forever in the heart."-unknown

This past week has been whirlwind of activities for me.

1. Luke came...not to see us, but on business.  We just enjoyed the benefit of his business being here, and we provide a free place to stay, and pretty good meals...although we had to go out to eat at his favorite spots: Schlotzsky's,  Zen diner, and Mama Tuckers.
2. The Eastern New Mexico fair was in town.  I had entered some pictures that I had to go see...and take photos of the fair.  (I won some great prizes.  More about that later).
3. I attended a "I heart faces" photography workshop where my favorite photographer, Sue Bryce, http://www.inbedwithsue.com, was the guest speaker.
4. My friend, Liz, drove up to Allen, Tx (north of Dallas), to be with me for the whole weekend.  Liz has been my friend for...hmmm, let me calculate the years...Holy Moly, can it be that long...42 years.  Are we that old?  Maybe physically, but not mentally.  Liz was my suite-mate in college.  Her heart is as big and warming as her smile.  She is just plain fun!  And I love her dearly.   

Liz...what a beautiful smile...

and beautiful blue eyes...

And a gorgeous lady!

I was worried about what she was going to do while I was at my workshop all day, but she told me not to worry my little heart about it...she would find plenty to do.  She did.  Our hotel was located next to an outlet mall, AND a huge regular mall, and tons of restaurants.  I was kind of jealous that I did not get to go shopping.  Too bad I cannot be two place at one time.  My workshop was great, but I will have to get to that later.  The next photo challenge for the "I heart faces" is "friendship."  The prize...an amazing Tamron lens, or is it a camera?  I forget which one, but whatever it is, I would like it.  So Liz and I decided to take some pictures for me to enter in the challenge.

Our goal was a picture of the both of us.  The problem: no tripod for the camera.  We used the hotel room coffee table turned on end with my suitcase on top of that for height.  Still not high enough, we added her iPad.  Our pictures were okay, but not great.  Liz had scouted out a place on the third floor that had a bubble decoration that was hanging from the ceiling earlier in the day. She thought it would make a great backdrop for our picture.  She was right, but we still needed something to act as a tripod.  We spotted a trashcan by the elevator that we thought might work and...yes, we dragged it down the hall.  It was very heavy.  Maybe so someone could not drag it down the hall.  It was still not high enough.  Rats.  Finally, we hit pay dirt.  A couple came walking down the hall, and we asked them to snap a few photos.  The lady agreed. We liked the photo.  The lady was relieved.

Liz and me in front of the bubble decoration...pretty cool, I think.

Next, we went downstairs to take pictures in front of a wall decoration behind the reception desk.  I think the receptionist was wondering what we were doing because we made ourselves right at home. We set the camera up on the reception desk, and finding it still too low, Liz grabbed the stapler, put it under the front of the camera.  We got a pretty nice shot.  We liked it!  We are just so photogenic!  We were so happy.

Now behind the reception desk.  I liked all these colors and shapes.

Hmmm! Now I have to figure out which one to enter into the challenge.  (If you have an opinion leave it in the comment section).  After our photo shoot, we went back to the room, got ready for bed, talked, and played a game of Dr. Seuss until about 1:00 a.m. When our eyelids refused to stay open any longer, we went to bed.  We had such a great weekend.  Morning came too soon.  And we had to part company.  We were better for having been together.  Enriched. Renewed. Grateful.  Friends are the best.

Hip, Hip..

Hooray for Friends!