Tag: CFFC

CFFC Challenge,Wilting & Dying

We are now getting into the sad time of year where the beauty of the spring flowers are about done. Its about time to start planting the fall flowers of yellows and golds.

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Even though the under brush is dying, the determination to bloom still holds.
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The bloom of the sunflower has bowed in death, yet the birds still feast on the few seeds left.
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The pods of this beauty are curled in death but a new life is sprinkled to the ground for spring.
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The leaves of the tomato where fruit was enjoyed lay wrinkled in death at the end of a season.

 

Come join in on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge. This week’s CFFC topic is Special Request: Wilting, dead or aging flowers and leaves. Be creative and mostly have a lot of fun.

But remember the beauty they gave us earlier in the year with their colors so vibrant and fragrances so dear. We bid them goodbye, dreaming of the next season come and encourage them to tell us “what about next year?”

I am reminding you as always to be kind and enjoy the simple things of life. I am sharing a picture group that shows pure joy…hope it makes you smile. Thank you Random Acts of Kindness for the Photos.

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Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge, Trains

Cee’s prompt this week is Trains. I love trains and their history amazes me. I am posting comparison picture this time with “water trains”.  These are special trains that can create wake in the water. “What!, you say…trains don’t go in water!” They do here in the midwest during flood season. It’s amazing. I know their weight holds them down but…really.

This spring, the flooding was not too bad…

But it still amazes me with the track being under water not being an issue. However, last year, I had to take pictures from the bridge because you could not get to the parking lot that sat by the track.

Trains making wake during some serious flooding. Shipment must go on I guess. The flood last year lasted nearly 5 months. Some businesses went belly up. The just didn’t  have the heart to start over.

We think of trains as being a powerful force to be reckoned with because of their tons of cargo…but they are no match to mother nature.

Remember as powerful as nature is, it is also very delicate…like kindness. Kindness is a mighty tool that can create enormous change but also very fragile. I challenge you today to use the fragility of kindness as the mighty tool it can be, then stand back to watch the change it creates.

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Fun Foto Challenge: Man Made

With this challenge from Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge the gate is wide open. The first thing that popped in my mind was the new I-74 bridge connecting Illinois to Iowa or the other way around. It has been fascinating watching this huge thing go up, then they will tear the old one down. I give you a before and after scenario with one side of the arch almost complete and the the closing of the arch. When you think of the power and amount of water that goes down the Mississippi at any given moment, this is amazing.

The other side of man made which hits closer to home…and my kitchen as “home made”, with breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Breakfast includes a good southern helping of buttered grits covering scrambled eggs that are smothered in sausage gravy. Lunch is scrambled dogs (how you spread three chili dogs for 4 people) and Dinner is fried pork chop, turnip greens, black-eyes and tomato gravy on buttered toast.

The following are a few other photos I took that are worth mentioning with man made. The wooden statue on the end was of a tree that died so the owner carved a knight out of what was left. The home now is a home for those trying to get back on their feet.

In this fun of looking at Man Made items, remember one of the easiest, least expensive and most beautiful things man can make is…kindness.

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Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Tasting

Coming from the southern states of the US, we have a different idea on taste I think that most states as it seems to be more of a “foody” area than other states I have lived in. Now that I am in the midwest, I am not seeing the taste variety. Cee has challenged us this week for the sense of taste and tasting is a high sensory in my book.

My lunch of leftover BBQ chicken legs, corn and peas from last was pretty tasty and now I are going to top it off with homemade pound cake covered in blueberries with whipped cream. Mmmmm.

Can you add too much whipped cream…maybe… if you use the entire container on one item.

Some people prefer the “fru-fru” food as I call it, where it is prettier to look at and not much quantity. Not me. I want rib sticking food with good flavor and plenty of it.

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Fired pork chop with pepper gravy, turnip greens, black-eyed peas and stewed tomatoes on buttered toast.

Or if you want it all running together, that’s okay too, especially for breakfast.

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Eggs covered by sausage gravy smother in buttered grits. Covered-smothered…it’s a southern thing.

But regardless of your favorite dishes, while food is for sustenance, it must also be tasty and enjoyed. It brings about conversations at mama’s house. So while you are savoring thoughts of you favorite dishes, remember to think on kindness. Kindness is needed now to help strengthen out hope through this current crisis.

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Fun Foto Challenger of Hearing

Hearing is such a blessed gift. Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge is to share pictures of favorite things you like to hear. There are so many sound that bring us joy, peace, comfort and even laughter. Nothing is probably more precious than a baby’s laughter but since I have no pictures of that I will go with my probably my second favorite. The singing of birds.

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Goldfinch, Downy Woodpecker & Cardinal

These are last year’s pictures as this year the yard is in a total mess of adding a new fence and of course it is raining creating a muddy mess.

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House finches
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Cardinals

As you listen to the things you enjoy, remember the happiness it brings to mind and share it where you can. In all things remember to be kind.

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CFFC, Fun With the Past

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge allows us to bring fun from our archives or new pictures that reflect ideas from the picture above : Mural, covered bridge, car, green, grass, vintage car, people, trees, road, flowers, landscape, sidewalk, or come up with your own topic.

So below are some of my pictures of the past. Since we are venturing out less right now, I felt this was a fun way to deal with the self quarantine.

Mural, one of several from my town, Rock Island Illinois:

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Centennial Bridge between Iowa and Illinois and blue sky:

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Flowers, can’t wait until spring:

Landscape & trees around town:

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Old cars:

We are now in a time of more fear and resentment and the need for kindness and patience is drastically needed more than ever. Remember to always be kind especially when others are not. Be the light they need.

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Fun Foto Challenge: Opposite Colors

This was fun. I had to go to archives to find some color combinations with my garden this past summer but of course, red and green is still all over my house. Come join in on Cee’s Fun with opposite colors – red/green, yellow/purple & blue orange.

for Red and Green we are using my indoor wreath that I made last year…

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Then we jump into last summer flowers remembering the glorious warmth of the season. First is Yellow and Purple….

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Then there is Blue and Orange

Hanging baskets

As you are still remember the joys of Christmas, or the beauty of nature or the fun adventure you had, try to remember the smiles you also created while having fun. Share those smiles because a smile can turn into kindness and kindness shares that love language with others.

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Cee Fun Foto Challenge: One(ish) Color

Cee fun challenges always make you think and today’s of Basically One Color I though would be easy but…there is a lot of color right now in my home and around there is a lot of color showing even with all the snow. But I did manage to single out some mostly white and mostly silver pictures of my decoration…that are all over the house.

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This little lady is over 30 years old and still a beauty
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The silver deer and balls are beautiful but leave glitter everywhere.
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The  white church and parsonage in the snow

May your Christmas be beautiful and bright with lots of love and family around. Remember those who may need an extra share of kindness this season and share it fully.

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Lines, CFFC

What is a line anyway…it’s the space between two dots.

When you look through nature and your surroundings, in my opinion, the only straight lines come from man. At least for any distance. God likes to make things interesting. Even when you look at things under the microscope, there may be burst of short straight lines but they are angled away from each other.

I love old stone architecture and all lot of that has some straight lines mixed in with curved lines balancing their beauty. These pictures are the straight line of a building of many floors accentuated by lines of rounded granite strips with curved lines thought them. The details between the windows is an interesting take on things you would maybe see in Egypt . It is quite beautiful and again a mixture of straight lines and curved.

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The square lines from the granite block mixed with the curved molding lines.

The building is currently being renovated and turned into condos. The entry way is beautiful and I will do a post on this building when I do a series I am gathering pictures for about architectural stone buildings.

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Lines created by multiple floors, love the lines at the roof line
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Details of the curved line work

I totally went over board with Cee’s CFFC and lines, sorry but I thought these lines were amazing.

Remember in all the beauty of the world you see, to reflect that beauty with kindness. You just may make someone’s day.

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