FMTSO: White on White

Happy Friday!

It's raining here in Las Vegas today and I am actually enjoying it.

Today's theme for the Friday My Town Shoot Out is White on White.

Here is my take on the theme. I hope you like it.

This is a photo of some sushi sitting on a white plexi-glass being used as the table and background.

I took this photo at one of my meet-up photography workshops last year when we were learning about food photography.

An egg sitting in a white bowl that's sitting on a white plate sitting on another white plate.

It looks like snow but it is actually sand.

I took this photo last September in White Sands, New Mexico.

The sign up ahead says sunset stroll starts here.

Looking back and leaving the sands behind.

Please check out the rest of the participants in the Friday Town Shoot Out Group.

It's candy to your eyes.

Thanks for stopping by.

Midweek Mail Check

I guess I got a little distracted last week and forgot to publish my post on Friday until earlier today.

:)

I've been getting a lot of postcards from postcrossing and swap-bot but I haven't received any letters

from any of the persons I wrote to for LetterMo except the ones I've already showed you, which really was about a 15th of what I sent out.

 Do I sound ungrateful for saying I'm a bit disappointed? I hope not. I'm just mentioning it because I'm wondering if you all had the same experience or did all or most of your letters get reciprocated? I'm just curious.

 I enjoyed writing the letters nonetheless and it was a fun challenge.

 

 

Original artwork and poem by me! (2009)

 

 

Now on to the mail!

 

Here's what has been delivered to me the past few days including today.

 

A Postcard from Bulgaria.

This is for a swap I joined awhile back called I Love Postcards #3.

 



A Postcrossing from good ol' US of A.

This is personally one of my favorites that I've received so far.

The sender writes:

Here is a vintage funny postcard for you that I found @ the local Raleigh, NC farigrounds/flea market.

:)

Crystal.

 

 

This is from a Group  Swap on Swap-Bot, Quick Notecard Swap #3

The cards are really cute in person.

I do like them a lot.

 

This amazing mini journal for another swap, One Sentence A Day February.

I was blown away by the creativity of the person who made this.

I have to share some of the inside with you as well.

 

 

This precedes the actual journal writing.

So cute, don't you think?

 

 

At the end of the journaling, this little surprise was sewn into the pages.

Lift it up............

 

 

To reveal a secret compartment with a treasure hidden inside.

 

 

A very nice bottle and key pendant and I love it.

The creativity of the maker of this journal has me in awe and I am so appreciative of this gift, not just the pendant tucked inside, but the love that went into making this journal.

So nice.

 

 

I love postcards with images of dogs.

This one is so sweet.

This is a postcrossing from the Netherlands.

The sender writes:

Hi JarieLyn,

Do you have examples of your mail art and snail mail.

I don't know what it means.

I try to do some scrapbooking besides being wife and mother of 2 sons.

My sons are 5 and 3 years old.

It's busy but fun most of the time.

Wish you the best.

Regards,

Grietje

 

Another Postcrossing from USA

(it is a resend because his first one never arrived)

The sender writes:

Hi JarieLyn,

I scanned the card begore I sent it to you so I printed it and hope yo liike it.

Best wishes from your Postcrossing friend-David.

(Lost Card)

 

I love the stamps too.

Notice that the postoffice didn't cancel the stamps.

Oh no, they had to put their little cancellation mark on the front of the card.

Ugh!

 

 

These lovely postcards came from another swap, Postcard Scavenger Hunt.

My favorite one is the black and white gallows and the other sepia toned one.

 

 

A PC A Day Swap.

My husband and I actually went here two years ago while on vacation so I was glad to receive this postcard because I don't have any from that vacation.

 

 

I received one of Julie's (La Papiere) postcards from a swapper for PC A Day Swap.

It's pretty cool because I ordered some envelopes from La Papier not too long ago and this was the sstyle that I ordered.

 

I have several more postcards, at least five but I'm not going to photograph them because you might get impatient scrolling through my blog post.

 

But I will post my outgoing now:

 

 

I finallly joined a Round Robin on the Postcrossing forum.

This is a march postcard pals.

I send one pc to 3 different people once a week in March.

I thought it would be easier to send them all the same card.

These are headed to Russia, The Netherlands, and Estonia.

 

 

These are for the Quick Note Card Swap, two partners.

 

 

I believe this is for the 3 card swap USA.

 I forgot to take a photo of the cards inside.

 

 

The mini journal swap.

Again, I forgot to photograph my handy artwork.

But compared to the one I received mine pales in comparison.

 

 

A Postcrossing on its way to Russia.

 

 

A Postcrossing on its way to New Jersey.

 

 

A Postcrossing on its way to Germany.

 

 

 A Postcrossing on its way to South Africa.

 

 

Fast & Easy Notecard Swap.

Also the front of the envelope of my original artwork and poem.

 

 

A Postcrossing card on its way to Turkey.

 

One of my pen pals had a birthday recently, (I guess it's been a month already)  so I will be wrapping up a small gift and writing a long letter to her tonight.

 

And tomorrow............

 

more pen pal letters to write.

 

Oh, happy days are here again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FMTSO: 4th Anniversary

In this week's post share something about FMTSO.

Tell us when you started linking up with us, share memories, repost your favorite theme from one of our topics, or talk about the friends you have made. If you have a chance, invite one of our former participants to come back and link up this week or just to stop by and say hi. You can find them in the older posts linkys, comments or the side bar listing which has not been updated in a while. You don't need to know them to invite them. Just introduce yourself and extend the invitation.

Let's make this a special week!

 

 

This is the very first photo I ever posted in FMTSO.
It was July 17, 2009 and the theme was Yard Objects.
I have posted a lot of photos of my beloved Sasha in the Friday My Town Shoot-Out.
I remember I was very nervous to post anything at all because I wasn't real familiar with the blogging community and I was afraid that my pictures would be seen as boring and amateurish.
(they were very amateurish)
It's amazing to me when I look back on all my posts for the FMTSO, how much my photography has evolved since then.
Honestly, If it weren't for the FMTSO gang I probably would not have had the desire to join the Nevada Camera Club which I solely did for the purpose of getting better for the FMTSO themes.

Just as Ginger mentioned the passing of Barry, it also is very significant for me as well.
I gained so much inspiration and compassion by reading every single word that Barry wrote.
He was such a talented writer and so brave and positive.
I felt such genuine love for this man that I never met before and I was heartbroken when he left this earth. I remember we did a special post about Barry and this is what I posted.

Barry's death really impacted me a lot harder than I anticipated and my reaction took me by surprise. Here is my tribute to Barry. These are just a few of the things that Barry has inspired me to think about or rather when I think about Barry these are the words that come to my mind.

 

Also, when I think of Barry I can't help but think about my sister and what she's going through.

Today, Feb. 28, 2013 I went back and read the last few posts on Barry's blog and I cried.
See my photo above with all the words about Barry-well, I just erased that board about two weeks ago. That's how long I kept the tribute to Barry hanging on my wall.
I'm not sure why I felt such a connection to him, but I did and I admired him in many ways.
RIP Barry!

I also really appreciate two comments that Pauline and Rebecca made on this post.

Also, at one point Ginger and I decided to collaborate a writing project on another blog.
It was off to a good start but vacations, first her then I, and the death of her husband and my health issues stalled that project but I am very proud of what little we accomplished and I got to know Ginger on a more intimate level. It was challenging and fun. You can read our stuff here. 

I feel connections with several people in the FMTSO.
I'm not sure they feel the same about me but there are a few that I think I would get along well with in person and would love to meet someday.
With that being said, I did get the opportunity to meet a blogger from the FMTSO gang back in 2011.
Doreen came to Las Vegas and I played tour guide.
I for one, had a great time while she was here and it was awesome to meet someone from the blogging community.
I have pictures and a whole post about the visit which you can read here.

I'm not really sure I have a favorite post but I can say this:
All the people in this group are so talented, nice, inspiring, creative and real.
I am so happy that I found all of you because during the times I am feeling low, it is you who always motivates me to a higher elevation.

Thank you, FMTSO gang!
I love you all very much and I thank you for still being here.

If you'd like to participate or just read other entries click here for the list.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Month of Letters

 



Like so many other mail enthusiasts, I finally joined the bandwagon and signed up for A Month Of Letters. The idea is to write and mail one letter a day, whether it be an actual letter, a postcard or other written note. February is a short month and the month of letters is even shorter because there are only 23 postal days in a month.

My goal is to double or triple that amount.

So here's my proposition:

If you leave me your contact information on my postable account which is completely safe, secure and private,

I will send you either a postcard, a notecard or a letter.

There's no obligation, but wouldn't it just make your day to see some happy mail in your mailbox.

Just sayin!

FMTSO: Frozen in Time.

Yay!

Blogger finally worked for me.

Car 54 Where Are You?

Just a little something I captured in Arizona while I was on vacation.

Enjoy more from the theme, Frozen in Time by clicking here.

FMTSO: My City At Night

UGH!

 

Having trouble again!

 

Even with google chrome.

 

I'll post one way or another.

 

Even if it takes me a few days.

 

I just don't understand why I have no trouble with my other blog but tons of trouble with this one.

 

I will check out all of the FMTSO entries.

 



FMTSO: Favorite photos from 2012

Anyone who knows me at all knows that just about everything is my favorite. I never have just one or two favorites of anything. I find it very difficult to narrow my choices down to a favorite when there are so many lovely, beautiful and fantastic things in every category imaginable, including colors. Whenever someone asks me what my favorite color is, I am unable to tell them that my favorite color is blue. I tell them my favorite color to wear is black and green but I also love blues and purples and pinks and browns and greys and whites. So imagine how difficult is was for me to choose my favorite photos of 2012.  Some of these aren't really great photos but they are great moments, great memories, good feelings.  So I hope you enjoy just a smidgen of my favorites for the Friday My Town Shoot Out.

Getting ready for the wedding. 

The maid of honor kisses her daughter, a flower girl, unaware that I am snapping the photo.

My oldest and dearest friend's son, Brian taking a box to the bride.

Same wedding as the first photo.

I am really proud of the above photo. 

This was taken at Techatticup ghost town for a workshop I attended.

I got a 2nd place ribbon on this photo in Nevada Camera Club monthly competition.

I just like this one because it's ice cream.

This is a photo of the Hoover Dam bridge.

It has no significant meaning except that my friend Deyanira dragged me out of the house one day and we went shooting with our cameras. 

I like how it turned out. 

I saw a postcard with almost the same image and I actually like mine better.

This was taken down on the Las Vegas Strip.

Five of us from my camera club including my husband went photographing for only one hour with specific settings that we were  not allowed to change.  

It was a challenge and it was fun.

The above photo was taken at Techatticup.

This is one of my all time favorite pictures.

I really love it a lot.

I don't know if that face is Alfred Hitchcock but I think of his movies every time I view this photo.

This was also taken at Techatticup.

 I like this photo becuse the window frames the scene outsie.

This photo isn't necessarily great, however, It was one of those moments where seeing these burros made my heart swell with joy and peace.  

It was shortly after Sasha passed away and I was really depressed.

I like to drive to Blue Diamond and park at the little Church whenever I need to get out and clear my head.

The wild burros like to hang out in the yard at the homes across the street from the church.

There were so many babies this day and seeing them play and romp around gave me the smile that I was missing.

Me and my shadow.

I love this picture.

I don't know why.

It was a fun day.

Me, Deyanira, Gayla, and Darryl drove to a reservoir in Utah and spent the day photographing.

This is a self portrait, camera on tri-pod and I love this pic because of the clouds in the sky, the colorful cars all lined up in the background and because my arm actually looks somewhat toned....even though it's not.

This was one of the funnest days I had on my vacation in 2012.

After this picture was taken, Justin and I went to the Tri State fair in Amarillo, Texas.

It was the best day EVER.

I put the photo of the cow up here because I had a real moment with this cow.

Sounds crazy I know.

We were in Texas and I was driving and for some reason I just had to stop and get out and take a photo of the cows.  

My truck is parked across the highway so I had to cross the street.

Normally, when I see cows, they run from me.

They're sketchy and non trusting.

But this one cow out of all the cows in this area took a chance.

She was curious and a little sketchy but she still kept walking closer and closer to me.

I felt like my dog Sasha was with me in spirit.

Finally this cow got to the fence and I walked closer and closer to the cow.

I then put my hand out so as not to scare her away and then........................

she licked me.

I was giggling like a kid.

It was the most enjoyable experience I've ever had with a cow.

I can't even describe the feeling inside of me but it was soulful and spiritual.

Again, sounds crazy but it's true.

I will never forget this moment.

I took this photo in White Sands New Mexico.

It's probably my favorite shot of the year as far landscapes go.

This theme wouldn't be complete without photos taken with my phone.

And if you've already guessed that I have lots of self portraits on my phone, you guessed correctly.

I'm kind of egotistical when it comes to self portraits.

Me in Mt. Charleston when it's snowing.

I wasn't feeling well at all on this day.

It was April of 2012 and again, Deyanira talked me into going for a drive to photograph.

I am so glad I went because we had no intention of driving to Mt. Charleston, nor did we know it was going to snow, but somehow the snow made me feel good. 

It's funny how the simplest things can change your mood.

This was in May 2012, the last photo of Sasha enjoying herself.

This was on a field trip with my camera club and I am so happy that we brought her with us on this day.

This is the same field trip as the photo above with Sasha.

I really like this photo a lot.

I used an instagram effect.

it makes me think of the twilight zone as if the photographers were abducted by aliens.

Taken June 2012 in Bakersfield, Ca.

I like this photo because there aren't too many photos of me and Justin together unless I take them.

And if I don't take them I usually look horrible and don't want to show anyone.

But this one is somewhat decent even though we just drove 5 hours, then went to dinner with my parents, and my brother and his wife, and then came to this candy shop afterward. It's about 10:00 or 11:00 p.m.

Our first trip without Sasha just two weeks after she went to doggy heaven.

August 2012.

I do not recall where we were when this was taken but I like it a lot.

August 2012

NYE 2012

Happy New Year!

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