Exciting News~!~

i've just been to Eileen's at: http://ruralwisconsin.blogspot.com/ and learned about a wonderfully generous giveaway.

you really must go see the fat quarter bundle of Red Rooster's Pumpkins & Spice Fabrics by Whimsicals. that's a whopping 27 fat quarter surprise pack that's being offered at: http://pumpkinpatchprimitivequiltshoppe.blogspot.com/2009/10/its-happy-halloween-giveaway.html
Pumpkin Patch Primitives Quilt Shoppe is being extraordinarily generous with this one and isn't a Halloween give-away a great idea~!?!~ it brings trick or treating to a whole new level~!!~ and now i'm going to have to think about what i can offer as my own Halloween night giveaway . . . hmmmmm . . .

it's all about golden sunshine moments

and COLOR today~!~
check out the intensity of that blue sky~!~

i am grateful that i live

in a color filled world

and

that i have the gift of sight.

last night it rained. and rained. and rained. i expected our temps to dip into the freezing zone and i would wake up to snow but that did not happen. instead i woke up to partially cloudy skies and some sunshine trying to break through so i went out with my camera to see what i could see . . .

at first glance things look bleak as there have been some frosts (earlier this fall) and the plants are all brown and droopy. but i simply cannot look through that lens without it being set to macro and so discovered a multitude of seeds. when looked at this way, i decided that i could be grateful for the many and varied "promises" being made by the garden to enchant me once again after their winter rest.

the ornamental crabapple tree is just loaded with tiny little fruits that are getting redder by the day.

these fruits are about the size of a marble and the birds are going to have plenty to feast on this winter.

some have fallen to the ground and made their own colorful poetry.

thank you to all of my readers who left such understanding and comforting thoughts on my last post. i have discovered that one of my gratitudes is the friends that i have made via my blog.

i have no reason to be overwhelmed by depression and yet i am. it is such an ugly state to be in and i find myself knee deep in it with the waters rising dangerously fast.
my current ammunition of choice is to hunker down and look for the gratitudes within my life until it lifts. i do not give this information in an effort to elicit sympathy. i don't want sympathy. what i do want is understanding for whatever may come. i'll continue to share what joy lies in my life in an effort to stay focused on the positive because if i don't, the negative will darken my life like the worst kind of dark storm. these things may or may not be things that you feel grateful for and i will totally understand if you decide to mosey elsewhere while i get through it.

i am grateful.

for lunch i enjoyed a toasted parmesan cheese bagel with a slice of muenster on top and a few slices of a deliciously ripe nectarine on the side. as i prepared and ate it i kept in mind how much i enjoy this tasty meal and how lucky i am to have virtually whatever i might like to eat at any given time. i live in a wealthy country and can enjoy a simple, nutritious and beautiful meal whenever i feel motivated enough to prepare it. never do i cry because there isn't enough to nourish myself or those that i love. this is a gift and not everyone is able to enjoy it.

this week's SPA challenge was

"SKULLS & SKELLIES!".

www.sundaypostcardart.wordpress.com

the progress report this week is a bit lean. i've been working primarily on the Christmas postcards for my daughter which judging from the way the postal system works in Honduras may be arriving at their destinations sometime next Christmas . . . better late than never?

i did get three more scrap/crumb/string pieced nine patches finished.

my total on these to date is 22 finished.

my garden and i are tired today.

all twisted up inside.

worn out.

and definately in a funk.

i've been thinking about what i might do for the SPA challenge which is "BONES & SKELLIES" . . . when i went out in the garden with my camera i ended up finding lots of both~!~ i suppose if i could master something (anything!) within photoshop elements 7 i could do something creative and postcard-like with one of these shots but have been totally frustrated trying to figure out the simplest stuff within that program. ~aaaaaarrrgh~!!~

doesn't this look like part of a dried up old finger bone?

and this stick looked like a bit of bird skull . . .

black and white felt right for these shots . . . can you tell that i'm missing summer already~!?!

i'm also missing my daily photography discipline. i don't seem to find myself with camera in hand nearly as often and really wonder if i shouldn't still be doing it . . . if i do the photography than i have to let something else go as i just can't juggle too many creative "balls" at once.

is anyone aware of photo blogs and or challenges that i could check out? maybe a group getting through a particular book or set of photographic challenges . . . or maybe some sort of BEGINNER photoshop elements type of exercises being done as a group . . .