August Color

When John and I were taking a Jeep ride with the top down a couple weeks ago I knew as soon as I seen this brand new blacktop with fresh yellow lines that I needed it for the color Black. So I decided to stand up in the Jeep and capture the moment. After the shock of the wind I decided it was better to just stick my arm up and hope for a good photo.

August color - Black

Sneak Peek

I took wedding pictures this weekend for a couple who are crazy for each other. They are so ready for this day that a little rain during outdoor photos didn't even faze them. It fazed me.... but I did what I could keeping the couples dry and warm, so far I am very pleased with the results. Here is a sneak peek at the bride and groom

And one more fun pic for you to enjoy while I work on the others.

S&S I had a great time spending the day with you, your family and friends.
Congratulations and Best Wishes to a great future.

The day is here

check out the photo below.... need I say more?



Okay so maybe I'll say one thing..... my first wedding photos and it's raining and very cold. Did someone forget to tell Mother Nature it's still August?

Stop raining please

Please, please stop raining.... I am taking pictures outside tomorrow and I am nervous enough without having to worry about the rain. I found a sheltered area on Wednesday just in case we need it {check}, I have a list of photos {check}, I have a fantastic helper with a great eye for details {check}, I have charged batteries {check}, I have butterflies in my tummy {check}, I have spent the day praying for the rain to stop {check}.... did I mention I am very nervous? Maybe I should stick with taking photos of frogs they like the rain. No frog in this photo, he was hiding from the rain or me I'm not sure which one.

I am very, very nervous but I am prepared and ready for tomorrow, I'm actually very excited for the challenge. If you notice it raining tomorrow around 1:00 and you have a spare umbrella give me a call I may need more assistants. :)

Senior Pics

I took senior pics today for "B". She is a sweet girl with beautiful skin and eyes. I loved her love for the outdoors and her country girl attitude, she is exactly what you see.... sweet and beautiful. Here is a sneak peak of one of my favorites. Now don't you just love her eyes and skin?

Thank you "B" for letting me capture this moment in your life, good luck to you. Okay here's another one with her fun cowboy hat in the same spot, this photo should be on a CD cover.

Early morning call

This week Adam started school, he has a very early class and since he has to drive 40 minutes to get there he needs to leave before me in the morning. Adam is not a morning person but when he needs to get up, he does without complaint. This morning after he left the phone rang, he found another tree frog while backing out of the garage and wanted to let me know so I could take pictures of him. This tree frog is so cute but I didn't have Adam to help me maneuver him into photo posing positions. I took his picture on the garage wall where he was stuck but I didn't like it.... to blah. So I had to find a stick and start touching him to let go of the wall, well he let go of the wall alright, he jumped right at me..... AHHHHHHH I few very loud screams escaped my lips which woke up John who came out to check on me. Imagine this scene.... me laying on the driveway flat on my stomach, in my dress clothes, after screaming wildly a few seconds earlier.

Good photos are all about the moment, right?
My poor hubby, he just shakes his head and goes back in the house.

Here you go Adam another frog pic for your room, thanks for the phone call.

Eyes have it

Here is the before photo of Elly. SOOC

Here is the photo with her eyes brightened, and the dark circles removed from under her eyes. I also touched the skin tone slightly to darken it.

More trash

A guy at work was going to throw these old teeke torches in the garbage since the fluid containers were rusted through. You know me I took all 6 of them off his hands, why you ask? I wasn't sure but I knew they would be good for something besides teeke torch fluid.

So I stuck them in my big pots on the patio, found jars to fit inside the opening and added flowers. Yesterday I said to John.... I need to paint them in fun colors, he just rolled his eyes at me. A few false sunflowers and they make the patio pop with color.

Adam's Friend

Okay so what's with the frogs???? Now Adam found a tree frog. Look at those feet, isn't he ugly? Adam thinks he's cool. I think I'll get a 11 x 14 of this photo and hang it in Adam's room so he can look at him every morning.

Candle Light

Candles make sitting outside at night so much more inviting. We had a sleepover with El tonight and she wanted to stay outside until midnight..... we made it until 9:30 and then her eyes couldn't stay open much longer.

A new addition

John found a frog in the pond today, I cannot tell you how excited I was to see him. We're not sure where he came from and how he knew of this new home but he's here and it looks like he's staying for awhile. And I of course love, love, love his green color.

An update of my brother Randy - He has had an allergic reaction to the meds they put him on and his liver was shutting down, thank goodness he turned jandice and the whites of his eyes became yellow so they knew to go back to the doctor. He also got a rash over his entire body that was red so in Sandy's words "yellow and red make orange". He has lost a bunch of weight since he has been unable to eat, his diet consisted of ice water and popsicles. The hair on his head hurts and he was very close to shaving his entire head.... for Randy that has got to be bad, he's got the perfect hair!! He needs sub-zero temperatures to be comfortable and hasn't sleep for over an hour at a time for the last 2 weeks. The doctors are not sure at this point what is wrong with him and cannot do anymore testing until all the meds that he's allergic to are out of his system but to do that he has to eat and drink to get his liver functing again. As of today he spoke on the phone to Starla for about 15 minutes, he hasn't been able to talk more than a few words in 2 weeks. He went to the doctor yesterday and his liver is mending slowly and he ate a hamburger so it seems he's on the mend. Keep him in your prayers for the next 2 weeks until he goes back to the doctors for more testing.

Pond Update

If it doesn't quit raining this pond is never going to get finished. I guess I can't blame it all on the weather.... I'm a little busy to be doing any rock moving, but it sounds so much better to blame it on the crappy weather we've been having. I haven't been able to sit out there since we put it in, just quick trips back to see what is going on and then back to running like a chicken with her head cut off. I had a glass of wine tonight in the house just to warm up, it would taste so much better had I been able to drink the glass of wine outside by the pond listening to the flowing water.

Here is an update of the pond, rocks are almost done on the outside and the inside. I need to fill around the outside with mulch and plants. My sitting area is also on the wrong side of the pond so I'll have to make another one... that will make 5 sitting areas.

Brown Eye Susie

Gotta love that bright yellow in the garden.

Zoom Zoom Zoom

Not much for Photoshopping on this Tuesday expect for cropping. I like the poky centers from the coneflowers so I decided to make that the subject in tonight's photo. Cropping a photo can make a huge difference to the viewers eye. Here is the photo before cropping, it's good but not dramatic.

Here is the photo cropped to accent the poky center and using the rule of third.... dramatic!

Sunflare

I was practicing my sunflare tonight and liked what I got, now if it was only a warm summer night to enjoy this view.

Go try some sunflare shots, they really are addicting. By the time I was done I had 63 photos, gotta love digital.

Oh my where's my couch

2 nights of getting to bed very late... or should I say early morning. 2 hayrides, hours of grilling, live music and lots of dancing.... where's my couch I think it's calling my name. I'm not a napper but today I almost could be..... John just about fell asleep on his supper plate tonight.

The fun we had this weekend was so worth the tired body. I love watching all the cousins get together having fun remembering all their favorite childhood memories. Now most of the cousins have their own children so watching the mom's and their children is such a blessing. I loved hanging out with my cousins while growing up, I'll treasure those memories forever and I believe the Hemmer children will do the same.

From our best guess there were about 115 people at Hemmerfest. I'll try to get pictures posted on Hemmer Happenings so you can see the blast we had. We already have reservations for sites next year and t-shirt orders. However, with all the rain we had there is a Motorhome stuck in the hayfield and 3 campers that have to stay put for a few days. This is how Countryfest started isn't it? I think they called it Mudfest when they had to pull all the campers out of the muddy hay fields.

2nd Annual Hemmerfest Weekend

This year we had 15 campers, 2 tents and 1 cabin full of Hemmerfesters. It was a pretty impressive site when driving up the driveway.

Pure Accident

Today starts the first official day of Hemmerfest, campers have been pulling in since Wednesday but today we should all be set up and ready for a fun filled weekend with family and friends. We even made t-shirts this year which are so cool. This would be our 2nd annual Hemmerfest Weekend.

Last weekend at my dad's I couldn't figure out how to use the self-timer on my new camera so I had to read my manual just in case I needed to use that function again. Read the manual.... who does that? and like I got time to read my manual there is a camper to get ready, food to prepare, coolers to pack, and drinks to be drank. Here is my test picture as my camera was sitting on the table while I followed the steps, I really like but it was pure accident.

Trash or Treasure?

Remember this black and grey box?

I was going to store my make up in here but it just didn't fit right on my stand so I'll have to shop for something else.... darn. So now what to do with the box? I decided to paint it with a little character and put it on the dresser in the "Grandchildren's" room.

This used to be Elly's room when she lived here so it will probably always be her room but you can't have favorites so of course I can't have an Elly room without having a Garrett and Mallory room... confused yet?

So the room is getting re-done changing Elly's crib into a daybed (pictures will have to follow soon, it's so cool) and then adding baskets for toys for the different ages of grandchildren, a table for crafting and then the dresser that was once John's as a child and then El's (I think I'm going to paint that white... shhhh let's keep that a secret). Oh yeah the box.... I painted, distressed and added fun whimsical art and distressed some more..... wha-la a fun box to store the grandchildrens colors, glue, cutters, punches, stickers, ect...

Whatca' think?

Big Family

Big families cause you to crawl up on the top of a motorhome and take pictures just to get everyone in the frame. Or maybe I just thought it would be cool.... This is only about 1/2 of my family, we can't all seem to get in the same place at the same time. There were campers and tents all over Dad and Joanne's yard and every bed and couch in the house was full. We are used to sleeping 3 or 4 in a bed while growing up so we can squish in just about anywhere.

My brother Randy (back row with arms up) got very, very sick Saturday night and scared DiAnn, Starla and I terribly, we were unsure of what to do for him and he was in a lot of pain. He went to the emergency room Sunday afternoon, they tested him for Lyme's and it was positive so they gave him meds...... Monday night Sandy took him back into the ER b/c his face was swollen and his pain level was a 10 with no relief. He had more testing and has a 2nd type of Lyme's that is very dangerous causing kidney failure, coma and seizers if not treated in time. He got some more meds and is recovering at Sandy's house. He needs to do nothing but rest and that is hard for anyone in my family to do. This is Randy's second case of Lyme's which is not a good thing. This kid has had nothing but bad luck as far as his health.... back surgery at 19 years old, minutes from dead after a bee sting, constant back pain, flipping a race car many, many times. It's time for some good news for him so let's pray the meds they gave him are correct and he's on the road to recovery real soon.

Here's about half the family.... just envision this crowd eating lunch and the amount of food we go through.... gotta love big families.

We interrupt this regularly scheduled program....

to bring you summer. I love heat and lots of it so I may be MIA for awhile or just short posts. I have not gotten any warm summer days and nights so I'm soaking up what I can. I hope to be back in about 4 months but with this summer it will probably be more like 2 days.

Enjoy the heat, I know I will be.

Biking out of the Sunset

Saturday night was a beautiful night sitting by the water, it was warm the water was calm, the sunset was gorgeous and you could hear the music from the local tavern's outdoor band, they were really good.

I was a little nervous with Adam riding bike on the dock but he did fine and I got to practice my silhouette shot.

Happy Anniversary Lynn and Jesse

I didn't get a picture of Lynn and Jesse for their Anniversary but I did take Mallory's 2 month pics over the weekend and I couldn't resist taking a few of Mommy and her baby girl as they were resting by one of my favorite buildings up north.

A photo of Jesse's two favorite girls.



Happy Anniversary, it's hard to believe it's been 6 years.

Maggie

Maggie loved the water so close. I have 252 picture to go through from the weekend so I'm sure you'll see more real soon.

Up North Again This Summer

We ran around tonight after work to head up north for the weekend. It was Father's Day weekend at Dad and Joanne's. We tell lots of stories about when we grew up while sitting around the fire pit. Tonight the stories were so funny, I'm sure I few "snorts" were heard from a few of us. I'll have to try to summarize some of them at a later date. Morning came real early after this late night.

Postcards

One of Adam's friends father passed away this week. Our prayers go out to the family during this difficult time. Being a recent High School Graduate getting ready in a few weeks to enter college is way to young to lose your dad. Adam has been though some tough times of his own in his young life so he was right there for his buddy. The family has a couple of hard days to come, please keep them in your prayers.


The company I order photos from is having a postcard sale so I decided to try some and see what I think. I used my white Lily photos and added a few messages to use in those hard times. I'll let you know how they turn out.

Kiss Me Over the Garden Gate

I left about 5 Kiss Me's in the back garden, they are getting about 7-8 foot tall and starting to weep over the path. Why can't I control this plant it would make it so much prettier, I just keep thinking about spring with the 250,000 babies that will sprout up because of these 5.

I gave the babies to lots of garden friends this year, anyone have luck keeping them alive? If not I'll have more next year for you to try. It's totally amazing that the tiny plant this starts out as grows to be 10' tall and stalks are as big around as a tree trunk, some I left in the garden for winter we could use as fire pit logs, seriously!!

Kiss Me Over the Garden Gate

Garrett "GarMan"

Garrett is 9 months old, he is growing so fast and such a mommas boy. Shannon and I took pictures of him last Friday, the only time he is smiling is when he's spitting drool down his chin. So all the good picture of him "no smiles" all the wet pictures of him "smiles". After we were done I sat him down in a puddle from the pond liner and let him splash, lots of smiles but he was not about to look up at me.

I did a new technique on this photo but I'm not sure that I like it. Here it is SOOC

Here it is with a ShaZam effect

What I did for anyone wanting to try it.

Open the photo.
Duplicate the layer twice.
Set the top layer to Screen, and the second layer to Overlay.
Adjust the opacity of this two-layer combination.
Erase out any too-dark or too-red parts of the Overlay layer. (skin)
ShaZam

I also burned the edges to give it some depth and I did brighten his eyes to bring out those wonderful catch lights, but that's a different tutorial.

Snowball

If you know me even a little bit you know that I am not an animal girl. I love animals as long as I don't have to touch them. I understand that people who have dogs, cats, rabbits, horses, and lizards love them and don't understand why I don't. I'm not sure why I don't like animals, I don't remember ever liking the animals on our hobby farm when I lived at home so it must have been for a long time and for no reason, besides being allergic now.

I remember feeding the pigs, scared to death every time I had to do it by myself.... taking the ice cream pail full of slop and throwing it over the fence while the pigs rammed into the fence and tried to climb up the sides to get more..... YIKES!!

I remember feeding the chickens, throwing the feed all over the fenced in outside pen. The worst part of that was then collecting the eggs. How many of you have been pecked by a chicken? Those darn chickens did not want to get off their eggs and if we left them in there we got yelled at so we have to make sure we got them all. That meant pulling the chickens out of the coops to find out there was nothing under them. I was so scared of touching them, mom would yell "just reach in and grab them by the neck and pull them out"..... I'm thinkin' NO!! Oh and heaven forbid if we dropped an egg because we got pecked to death, then all the chickens would run to eat it, mom yelled if that happened too.

We also had a cow or two, the only thing I remember about them is shaking the gallon jar of cream to make butter. Every morning we would pass the jar around the breakfast table until we had butter, when you have enough kids you don't have to shake it very often. Thank goodness there were boys in the family that had to milk them, they did it by hand, no milking machine for 2 cows.

What's this story all about, well let me tell you. Thursday night Starla, Gayle and I went for a walk in the animal barns at the fair. I'm not sure why we did but that's not the point I guess. First we don't even know if we could open the gate or not, we finally ask a guy if we can come in, he says sure but they are weighing the animals. Okay big deal, we open another fence and go into a pig barn, those pigs are huge. I see wild pigs, not in pens and wonder why we are in there with them. Kinda freaking out I think we should go back on the other side of the fence where all the other people are, we are the only ones in the fence, this can't be right!! Finally when a wild pig gets back into his pen and another one is let loose and another one is coming off the scale and another one is being unloaded from a truck.... we believe we're in the wrong place. Okay so they weren't wild but they could have been!!

Next is the cow barn, oh my them is some big animals. They are really really cute but I'm glad I had my zoom lens on so I didn't have to get close. One girl was holding a baby goat and there's three of us that walk by and she decides to move over by me and let me pet the baby goat..... why pick me? The goats were also cute with their big ole ears.

We laughed at the bunnies, chickens and roosters names. Those 4H kids have quite the imagination. Like I said I love animals..... photographing them!! I'm guessing Snowball doesn't roam the muddy barnyard before fair week.

Thank you to all those people that love animals, they need you and so do I. Loving the white eyelashes, too bad baby snow wouldn't leave momma's side for me to get a better picture.

Painted Door

I painted my closet door in the breakfast nook black but I thought it needed a little punch of color. I read a trick about getting sharp edges when using painters tape but I never took the time to try it until now..... it was so worth it.

Here is how to get sharp clean lines with painters tape.

1) tape the edges you want

2) paint the area next to and over the tape with the same color that's on the other side (i.e. my door was black I painted the area inside the taped square black)

3) let it dry.... this is the hard part, I can't wait for paint to dry

4) paint the color you want (i.e. my squares are red, yellow and tan)

5) peel off the tape..... whaaaa laaaa clean sharp edges, no touch up needed




Patty this is what's on the other side of the hole in the wall you seen here. This is where I drank my juice ( I hate coffee) every morning and soak up the sunshine coming in the front door. I'm thinking I need to get up about 15 minutes earlier so I can still have my quiet time in the morning before heading out the door. Wish me luck!

Winnings

The photography contest is over and I am the winner of THREE 1st place, THREE 2nd place, TWO 3rd place and "THE BEST OF SHOW". The contest was judged by a scoring system with about 5 different questions. The contest had 4 categorizes and you could enter 4 photos into each category. I'm glad I entered, it was fun to go to the fair and check out the winners, next year I'll have all of you entering the contest..... keep clicking.

I didn't win a freezer like my cousin Deb for her fabulous dessert entry, but I did win $42.

Here is my Best of Show Winner