... silent night

“our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred,
and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit,
become a child again at Christmas-time.”

- laura ingalls wilder -

*sharing the above image with:
kim's texture tuesday
... the Christmas Eve-edition
{texture used: wake - multiplied @ 80%}

thought i would add a little something extra to this image,
minus the texture, and then make it our family Christmas card.

with this i'm wishing you all a very joyful, and peaceful,
  Christmas season with all those special ones that you hold dear.

*it's good to be posting here once again,
although i have posted, on occasion, over on my worpress photography site.
my heart is to post more often, but life has just been a bit challenging
with some health issues concerning my dear husband,
and i've been on an emotional roller coaster.
needless to say, i haven't forgotten you ...
i've missed you all and hope to be catching up with you very soon!

in the meantime,
may your new year be exceedingly happy,
healthy, and abundantly blessed!

- hugs,
deborah xo

summer's end ....

so good to be back with kim at 'the cafe',
nancy at tuesday muse,
and kent at sweet shot tuesday!
yes, i am covering the basis this week, and anxious to be visiting again!



seems just days ago that spring had sprung, and now, summer days are winding down.
oh yes, i'm sure we'll have a few more days of hot balmy breezes left, but still,
things are taking on that look around town, in my yard, and in the country.

it was a beautiful summer day when hubby and i took a drive along
the back roads and happened upon this old barn.

i do love old barns!

it brought back memories of my childhood-summers
when we would stay with friends who had a farm.
such fun we had on those long ago lazy summer days ...
wearing over-sized cowboy boots, riding bikes on the dusty, dirt path,
chickens squawking around the yard, collecting eggs, running from the family cow,
and that one-of-a-kind-and-only-in-the-country smell of corn ripened fields,
fresh vegetables from the yard garden, and yes,
the hay loft where we spent hours on end with the farm cats and kittens
watching the shadows grow longer as the day came to a close.

wish i could turn back the clock ...
but no, we can only do that in our memories.

time moves on, and today my grown-up summer is coming to a close,
the shadows are growing longer, the fields are getting riper,
and i, for one, am going to enjoy every moment we have left of these warm and wonderful days,
even if i don't have a hayloft!

and now, here is the old barn we saw, still standing strong, solitary,
smack dab in the middle of a soybean field.
oh how i wanted to explore behind those weathered boards ...
i might have heard the whisperings of other long ago childhood summer memories.



i worked for awhile on this image and had a recipe when i added the texture,
but as i was reminiscing, i got a bit lost in it all and missed recording a few of the steps ...
i even went back to try to recapture the process, but alas,
what i came up with looked quite different from this!

please, do tell me that i am not the only one this has happened to!!

i do recall the easier steps of cleaning up the image, color, contrast, etc.,
then layering it, twice, with kim's kk_love texture, but that is all.

i may try again to see if i can redo what i did to achieve this effect.
in the meantime, do come on over to join in here, here, and here:

texture tuesday

tuesday muse

sweet shot tuesday . week 32

hope to see you there, there, and there ...
have a blessed week! :)

deborah
xoxo

... the moment when you realize
summer is almost over.

floral love || pretty pink peonies

my sweet husband made a stop on the way home after a long day at work ...
he knew i needed some cheering up.
he always thinks of me, no matter how tired he is!
yes, i love peonies, especially pretty pink ones,
and yes ... i am blessed!

i wanted to capture the memory of these 'pretties' and share them with you
before they succumbed to the elements around them here.

i often think that there will be forever-flowers in Heaven!

*the second image has a softness about it that was no doing of mine ...
it had been a rainy, muggy, and humid day, so when i stepped onto the porch
to take this picture, the lens began to fog up.
i snapped a few real quick because it was getting worse!
i wasn't sure how any of them would turn out,
but i do like the softness that the 'fog' gave to this one.

not sure, but i don't think it's good for our cameras ...
does anyone have any knowledge about that?

i would love to find a lens that would give an image this soft effect,
so if anyone knows about that as well, please share!



well, i know i've been absent for a few weeks,
{post coming soon with one of the reasons why}
but, it's so good to be back,
and, i'm looking forward to sharing again!

i have missed all my friends here!

i'll be linking up with mona's floral love
so do come over and see more 'pretties',
and join in with one of your own!

hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
it's a special weekend here for us ...
we'll be celebrating our son's 29th birthday! :)

blessings,
deborah xoxo

in honor of flag day 2013 ...

Our flag means all that our fathers meant in the Revolutionary War.
It means all that the Declaration of Independence meant.
It means justice.
It means liberty.
Every color means liberty.
Every thread means liberty.
Every star and stripe means liberty.

- Henry Ward Beecher -

indeed, it was a beautiful day ...

"ventured to a quaint little town,
with some sweet and quaint little shops
had a quaint cup of herbal tea
got lots of quaint little shots"

... of mostly flowers"! :)

i put together a quaint little mosaic / collage
with some images of the special things i saw, and loved!

i'm linking up with mona's floral love,

and also, come monday,
when entries are submitted for the week,
i'll be linking to mosaic monday, over at the 'dear little red house',
an interesting and fun challenge i recently stumbled onto!

do come and join in one, or both!

*note on how to make a collage / mosaic ...

i've found a site, and yes, with a funny name, where i made this collage using my images.
it offers a few ways to do it, and even more when you learn to adjust the palette,
which allows you to add more images, as well.

i've tried making collages/mosaics in my own editing program,
but never quite got the 'hang' of it.

if you're interested in making your own, i hope this site helps you.
you can also do some fun photo editing there as well.

PicMonkey

flora love { lilium

another beauty, or two, that i discovered while walking through the flower market again.
i just can't seem to stay away!

linking up with mona's floral love.
come join us for a walk through all of this week's beauties!

happy weekend!

deborah
xoxo

i heart faces photo challenge ... 'in the distance'

it's been quite awhile since i've participated in the photo challenges with i heart faces,
and i have really missed it over there ... besides being able to ask questions in the forum,
and learning about 'all things photography',
it's a wonderful community of photographers, both amateur and professional!

in the process of moving my blog here, unfortunately, i haven't been too active there,
so, now that things are settling down,
i thought i would get back into the swing of things with their current monthly challenge,

'in the distance'.

there are some really fine entries over there,
and, this is my offering for the month of june ...

yes, indeed, color is in ...
at least here at our local skating rink ...
'the wonderful world of wheels'!

if you would like to join in, you will have until the 8th of this month, (june).
after that, they will judge the entries in order to name a 'winner'.
click here and you can find more information,
as well as see a variety of 'distant' entries!

hope to see you there!
have a blessed week!

deborah
xoxo

floral love || dear daisy

joining in with mona's picturesque: floral love this week.
daisies are everywhere this time of year,

and i thought i would share two favorites of mine ...
both are 'before' and 'after' a bit of editing.

we went 'flower shopping' this week,
and this first gerbera daisy was a beauty!

the 'before' of both of these images are pretty much 'sooc',
{straight out of the camera}
other than removing a little bit of 'noise'.
the second ones are 'after' a bit of editing fun!

to see more fantastic florals, and to join in with one of yours,
just click on over to mona's floral love!

looking forward to seeing you there!
have a blessed weekend!
- deborah xoxo

here is the second set ...
and yes, these are the actual colors of the flowers in the 'before' image!
a sweet friend gave them to me for my birthday ...
very colorful, yes?!
happy flowers, i'd say!

i would sure love your thoughts on the 'after' image.
i was just having some fun playing around with the tones,
and this is what i ended up with!

a rose and a prayer for oklahoma

- a rose for oklahoma -

my thoughts and prayers, as i am sure are most of yours,
have been with all those affected by the tornado this week.

i am holding my family, and loved ones, much closer these days,
and being mindful of never taking anyone, or anything, for granted!

i wanted to share this image in remembrance
of the dear and precious lives that were lost in this
unbelievable and heartbreaking tragedy!

*please, join me in remembering them all in prayer, for their broken hearts to have peace and begin to mend,
and for the strength they will need, as they begin the arduous journey of putting their lives together again.



this week i'm sharing with the following link-ups ...
come and see some of the beautiful entries,
and, you are more than welcome to join in.

blessings,
- deborah
xoxo

texture tuesday || free & easy eDition
texture used on this image as follows:
kk_providence . multiplied . 51%

tuesday muse

floral love

floral love & nurture photography spring 2013 challenge || a 'pull over' moment

i'm linking up to mona's floral love this week ...
click the button below and come join in the flower fun!

also linking up with one i just discovered, a bit late, as it is the 'finale',
but still so very worth the time to enter ... link up found on:
project alicia's nurture photography the spring 2013 challenge!
click her button below to see more beautiful spring photography!
also thanking kristi and rebecca for hosting!

we were running an errand, and happened upon these beautiful blossoms ...
i told my husband to 'pull over', please!!!!
the spring colors on this tree were so rich and vibrant -
i just couldn't resist capturing a few images!
after going through them, this is the one i chose to share this week.
i'm so glad to have an understanding husband,
when a girl has those 'pull over' moments!! ;)

hope you all enjoy your weekend!

blessings,
deborah
xoxo

texture tuesday || black and white ... perhaps a touch of colour

it's a black-and-white theme over at 'the cafe' this week ...
with perhaps a wee bit of colour, for good measure!

speaking of which, i'm a 'wee bit' late getting this in,
and it was difficult to choose an image for some reason.
  well, i decided to give the flowers some time off,
and settled on my sister's seriously moody cat ... lovingly known as, miss november!
have to say, this is one of my very favorite images of her, too!

and, i'll tell you, this cat's got attitude, as you can see!
well, she didn't much like the camera in her face,
and sure let me know by that awesome expression!
i've been wanting to put a clever caption to this image, so if anyone has one,
please, do share it in the comment section below!
would love to see what you all would come up with! :)

i've shared three versions of the image for this theme,
but the first one has my simple recipe for kim's texture as follows:

to the b/w image i added a slight touch of color to her eyes then used
marabella . multiplied . 63%

the last image is miss november in full colour ...
and just so you know, she really is a sweet natured little thing!

click on over to kim's site and see more from this week's
texture tuesday's black and white theme!

thank you for dropping in again this week!
i had also shared a post prior to this one ... about mother's day.
hope you all had as beautiful day as i did!

blessings,
deborah
xoxo

mother's day fills the heart ... indeed!

i'm a bit late, but still, i wanted to relive, and document, the wonderful day our family had this past sunday ... it was a beautiful mother's day, shared with my dear husband, along with our precious son and his darling wife!  i must say, these two made this year 'more than ever' special for this mother!

we had previously made plans to spend the day together, going to an early dinner, and then doing something fun to fill the afternoon hours.  they met us after church, but not before they had a bit of 'artsy' fun 'decorating' the windows of our car!  i was totally surprised when we came out of church to see what they had done ... i thought it was the absolute sweetest thing!!  and yes, we drove around in all that 'mother-day' glory, noticing the looks and the smiles from those we passed along the way. :)

nope, didn't mind one bit that my son 'marked up' the car ... just like he used to do on the walls of his bedroom ... and I sure didn't mind that he had a partner-in-crime this time, either!  still, i miss those days when he was a young boy, but now, i'm even more blessed to have a son, all grown up, who still lovingly calls me 'momma'! :)

we had a fabulous dinner at carrabba's italian grill, then afterwards we decided to drive downtown to walk along the beautiful scenic canal in the center of the city.  we were all enjoying the absolute perfect day we had, the warmth of the sunshine, white puffy clouds on a background of blue, the gentle breeze, the geese, and ducks, a few flowers, but more importantly, just being family, together ... especially today, as my husband and I both have lost our parents.  our son also missed seeing his grandmothers.  mother's day was always a big family celebration before we lost them.
it was a joyful, yet bittersweet day.

and sadly, it was coming to a close ... but not before we all decided we had 'walked' up an appetite!  we decided to stop at a small, very authentic mexican restaurant we had not seen before.  we had the tastiest steak tacos on the homemade goodness of warm corn tortillas, topped with fresh cilantro, sweet onion, and a few squeezes of lime ... that's all, and they were the best little one dollar and fifty cent tacos i've ever had!  definitely worthy of another visit ... and soon!  i'm wanting to try their chicken tacos next time! :)

and finally, both my son and daughter-in-law had written in a very beautiful mother's day card ...

meaningful words that made the tears flow, and my heart sing ...

words i will treasure forever

tonight, i'm remembering that special day, and reading those treasured words ...
again, tears come, yet, my heart is singing for the love i feel!

yes, my heart is full, and i am blessed ... it was a very good day!

and last but certainly not least,
here's a peek at part of their sweet and thoughtful 'artsyness' ... if there is such a word! lol!
but seriously, what mother wouldn't love this?!

i would love to hear about your day, as well ...

hope each of you were able to enjoy a 'more than ever special' mother's day, too!

blessings,

deborah

xoxo

texture tuesday || pOp eDition

this week's theme over at kim's cafe is ...

pOp!

now, we all know that could be portrayed in a variety of ways.
so i began to think of a few things i could photograph that would fit that description ...
here's my list of words containing 'pOp',
as well as things that actually do go 'pOp' ...

pOpcorn
bubble gum
ballOOns
pOp tarts
bubble wrap
push pOps
firecrackers
pOpeye
ears that pOp,
and even knuckles can pOp ...
{ooooh, I cringe just thinking of that one!!}

other things pOp, like the colours in an image,
and then there's pOp culture.

i'm thinking most of you will use colours that pOp for this theme,
but still, i'm looking forward to seeing your ideas as well!

however; the word 'burst' might best describe my version ... these huge blackberries!
all i know is when you bite into them, their juicy flavor literally does pOp in your mouth!
they're also a tasty source of vitamins, antioxidants & fiber,
and so good in smoothies, too!

well, that's enough fun for now!
my recipe, using kim's lovely textures for this image, was very simple ...

anna . screen . 30%
xanthe . multiply . 52%

be sure to click on over to 'the cafe' to see what's pOppin!
i'm on my way there, now!

enjoy your week!

- deborah
xoxo

floral love || rose

i have sadly missed out on a few weeks of mona's 'floral love' meme,

and i'm thrilled to be sharing again!

if you adore flowers, like i do, click her button below

and take a walk through the weekly 'garden',

and, you're most welcome to link up and share one of your own!

have a beautiful weekend!

blessings,
deborah xoxo

texture tuesday muse || wise words eDition

words to the wise are also words that make one wise ...
yes, i do love reading quotes full of wisdom for the soul!

this week i'm sharing a word of wisdom on a very simple image ...
wasn't sure how this would even turn out, and i would love your thoughts.
i took this while looking out a window of an old historical home
at our living history museum ... conner prairie.

i might add, if you're ever in indiana, it's a must-see for the whole family.
we really enjoy spending time there, and are looking forward to visiting again, soon!
and, without a doubt, it's the perfect place for photo opportunities!

this week i'm linking up with both
kim's cafe for texture tuesday,
and nancy's tuesday muse.

my texture recipe:
kim's  'anna'
blend mode to multiply at 45%
eraser tool used for clarifying curtain pattern

click on over to kim's cafe for more 'wise words',
she also has a give-away going on this week ...
and nancy's rural journal for some amazing photo inspiration!

want to thank you all, again, for taking the time to drop in ...
i so enjoy reading your comments and coming round to your sites.
i'm looking forward to seeing what you share this week, as well.

now, go make your day count!
blessings to you,
deborah
xoxo

tuesday muse || sunflower smiles

yes - i found a new meme to join ... tuesday muse,
and you'll find it over on a very lovely blog - a rural journal.

now, i am running late in entering for this week,
with about 20 minutes to spare,
so this is going to be short and sweet.

winter seems to be making a comeback
with much cooler temperatures, and a frost warning,
so i thought i would share a little gift i received to brighten up the day!

here is my first entry for 'tuesday muse' ...
some very beautiful sunflowers my husband brought me!

these made me smile ... sunflowers always do! :)

click here to see more entries for this week's 'tuesday muse'.
enjoy!

blessings,
deborah
xoxo

texture tuesday || another free and easy eDition

another lovely week over at 'the cafe' ...
i was so sorry that i missed all your lovely images in the 'celebration' challenge last week at kim's,
but, i had good reason ... which i won't go into here now, but soon.

here is my offering for this week ...

the beauty of these blossoms never ceases to amaze me each year, but unfortunately, they do not last long.
i just can't seem to get enough of them!  this particular image is sooc, {straight out of the camera}
and i really liked the airy and light look it had, so i did no editing, other than to add one of kim's textures:

i call this 'subtly sybil' - and here is my simple recipe:

kk_sybil . multiplied . 35%
eraser tool used lightly on the petals of the main blossom
"easy-peasy"

if you have some time, do click on over to kim's place to see her amazing image,
along with all the other beautiful textured entries that you can find through the links at the bottom of her page.

have a beautiful day!

deborah
xoxo

texture tuesday || the times two eDition

tulips ... don't ya just love 'em?!
my dear husband brought these home to me,
so i thought i would get creative with them,
however;
i was trying to think of an artful sounding label for them ...

tulip tears
weeping tulips
tulip drops
three tulips weep

hmmm, if you have any thoughts,
by all means, do share! :)

and yes, it's time, again, for a trip to 'the cafe'.
do we ever tire of this .... NO!!

{want to give a little 'shout out' to all who have commented on my images ...
it has so encouraged me, and i want to thank you here, again!}

well, this week kim has asked us to use two of her lovely textures.
my recipe here is done with a light touch, as you can see.

sybil . softlight . 60%
then i flattened the layers and
added the second texture layer
daisy . softlight . 50%

after adding each texture layer i used the eraser tool
on the petals and stems to keep those colors
light and bright.

and the finishing touch ...
the quote by daniella kessler

i'm going on over to kim's site to see what beautiful textured images
there are waiting to tiptoe through!
please, come join me!

have a lovely and blessed week!

xoxo
deborah

free and easy eDition || ... in anticipation of april blooms

it's texture tuesday, and time for a visit to kim's cafe!

this week's theme is 'free and easy'
and we're to share an image with at least one of her lovely texture layers.

here is my "easy peasy" recipe on an image i pulled from the archives
... hence the title of this post.

kk_reentry . multiply . 70%
eraser tool used over main flower for clarity

i thought these tulips were some of the prettiest i had seen at the museum of art.
all the flowers there are so lovely during the spring,
unfortunately, not this spring ... yet!

please, come join in at 'the cafe' and
share one of your beautiful creations with us!



hope you're enjoying much more spring-like weather than we are!
it's still quite cool here, and i can't believe it's april!
i'm just so grateful that the sun has been shining, adding a little warmth to the air.
i hear tell a weekend warm-up is on the way,
and maybe we'll begin to see some flowers very soon!

hoping you all have a blessed week!

deborah
xoxo