texture tuesday || sweet shot tuesday

i really didn't like missing the entry date for last week's texture tuesday,
i am sorry i didn't get around to at least see what you all had shared.
i have no doubt that i missed some very beautiful images,
but, we've had some news of family illness that has kept me away.

many of you know that sometimes in life, there are detour signs ...
taking us off the beaten path of comfort and ease.
well, this one has taken someone we dearly love completely off the road.
it's been difficult for our family and we are praying for my dear nephew, thomas,
who we lovingly call TJ, as well as for his wife and their young son.

it's been a long road since the day of his one and only seizure in september of '09.
then the surgery to remove the tumor they discovered.
with treatment and as time passed he began improving ... life became 'normal' again.
that is until two months ago when they again discovered another tumor had been growing.
since then, they've had him on oral chemotherapy which has had some uncomfortable side effects.
TJ went back for another exam this past week ... the tumor had grown even more.
surgery at this point, is considered inoperable due to the location in his brain -
much too risky, they say.

so now, we are all taking one day at a time, not knowing what each one holds,
focusing on life, walking by faith, and holding on to one another in love, breathing prayers ...
 reaching up, trusting with hope in the One who holds us all in His arms.

if you breathe a prayer for him .... we thank you!



before i go,  i'll share quickly here my recipe for this week ...
these sweet little flowers came in a bouquet my husband brought me.
i took a few of them out into the natural light to get this image
and then used two of kim's layers.

kk_reentry . soft light . 100% opacity
kk_cora . overlay . 27% opacity

when i look at this image, the word HOPE comes to mind.
i want to thank you so much for dropping by ...
your visits and comments are so very encouraging.

blessings to each of you,
deborah xo

'faith gives us new eyes
and nothing looks the same to us anymore,
for within our faith we have eyes of hope'.

also linking up this week with kent for
sweet shot tuesday

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.