Day 66

Another snow day! Here is our neighbor, Rose, catching snowflakes...

I'm too tired for any narrative today...

And another late addition...this dog is so cute! (good thing too, cuz she can also be a pain in the patootie.)

Day 65

Only 300 more days to go!!

Here are two more Christmas images before we pack it all away for another 11 months. The first is another look at our stocking hangers...a more artistic one, shot with my new 50mm lens!

 

And this one is a gift that Ken received - I think it's beautiful!

Okay...after some input from other people, I played and played and played with this little nativity carving, and finally came up with one photo that I kinda like...

Day 64

It's only 10 o'clock in the morning and I'm already posting my 365! That's because it's been a very photo-worthy day! It started with a photo of my neighbor's outdoor Christmas tree with a couple inches of snow on it...it was very pretty in the dark.

Then, as it was getting light I stepped out to take some shots of the snowfall...it was snowing pretty well, and the next-door neighbor's trees looked really nice. I didn't get any good shots of their trees because a little, furry figure caught my eye...

This little guy was plowing the snow off the power lines! I'd never seen a squirrel do this before!

As it continued to snow, the boys (big and little) just couldn't stand it anymore...

(Look at that windup!)

(Didn't anyone teach this boy that he shouldn't throw things at windows?)

Naterbean got beaned with a snowball!

I wouldn't be surprised if I'm back with more photos later today. Considering how many I've already taken, this could be a big photo day!

Okay...adding one more...

They were dancing and singing the Frosty the Snowman song! They are just too cute!

Day 63

I didn't get any really great pictures today. It rained and rained and rained...so I barely even took my camera outside. The indoor shots I took today weren't worth posting...ergh. I did learn some great things from articles on the web:

Dragging the shutter (something I've been working on)

DIY projects for a home studio

And here's my photo for today. whoohoo.

This is what most of our snow looks like now.

Day 62

I have practiced more with my new 50mm. I took a lot of photos today, but I'll just share these two of R and V. They are such cuties, and they were willing to stand still for me.

 

 

Day 61

Oh...have I been having fun with my new 50mm lens...and my reflector...and my wireless remote...and my new camera bag!! Yeehaw! What a blessed person I am!!

Practicing depth of field with the 50mm lens...

(no photos of the reflector or remote, but I did use them)

Here is my beautiful new Tracy Joy bag!!

And just because I'm showing it off everywhere...

Oh...and one late addition...
 

Day 60

I got it! My sweetie got me the 50mm 1.8!! Yay! My mother accused me of having a growth on my face today - it was shaped like a Canon! I actually didn't take that many pictures today - only 127.

Here are a few from our fun Christmas day...

My mom gave me a whole bunch of beautiful goblets - a dozen blue ones that all match, and 10 (mostly) green ones that are unique. I love every one of them! Here is my favorite (Mom, I know you had to laugh at that!)...

 

This shot is really terrible, but I had to catch the moment the best I could...three patient children watching all the gifts being handed out, and a very hopeful dog outside the window!

 

These were the flowers my father-in-law sent to my mother-in-law for Christmas. I love this arrangement. And I have a pink cast above the pink rose...is that an effect of this 50mm lens?

I hope this has been a very merry Christmas for all of you! 

Day 59

Not a photo...but I took it, so it counts!

Day 58

Well, no spectacular pictures today either, but at least I shot something different...

Day 57

I went shopping in "town" with my mother-in-law...that's all I did!! I barely had a chance to pick up my camera (although I took it with me), and when it did, it was just to shoot this sign so I could have a shot for my 365. Terrible photo...but I didn't want to miss a day!

Day 56

We have pretty snow! And the neighbor's mountain ash tree still has berries, which I think is strange. They're usually all eaten by October or November. They make for a bit of Christmas color this year! (I know there's no real focus in this shot, but I just liked the color.)

Day 55

Well, I'm trying to get a shot for the bi-weekly challenge on OPS. The challenge is a shot (or two or three) of a loved one...I tried to get some of Ken today, but I guess I'm going to have to do it outside. Ergh...the subject is wonderful, but the photo is very grainy because we were indoors.

Thanks to a suggestion (from Nancy?) I decided to try a "time machine" filter on this one...

Day 54

GAK! I almost forgot this time! It was another busy day...and I didn't even pull my camera out of the bag until 6:30 pm! That's quite unusual. Since it was dark outside, you get another Christmasy photo. What am I going to do when all the Christmas decorations are gone and it's still dark at 5 pm?

Day 53

My littlest man had his Christmas party at school. They sang a bunch of adorable songs, and then decorated cookies (and ate them). It was fun, and the preschoolers are just sooooo cute!! Here are a few shots from the party.

The sad Christmas tree was part of a song they did...the other side has a happy face because the tree went from being a lonely tree to being with a happy family. Caleb has been singing that song ever since!

Day 52

It was Christmas Concert day! My kindergartner and my first grader got to perform for an audience today! All the kids were so cute. They were all dressed up in their nice clothes, and they behaved so well... It was a nice program, and I think all the parents and grandparents were proud and impressed.

I was especially pleased to see a public school performing songs about Jesus' birth, and displaying the nativity as the true meaning of Christmas. Kudos to our local public school!!

There's my Naterbean dancing...he did great!!

The little lady in the pink polka dots is Miss V...our neighbor's daughter who practically lives here. The ones in the beautiful plum colored dress (thank you Grandma!) is my KristiRoseToes.

And one more photo...because it's a special day for Nana (my beloved MIL). Today is her birthday, and we wish her the very happiest possible day!

Day 51

Whew! I really cut it close today! (for me - I'm usually in bed by now!) I took a whole bunch of shots earlier just trying out my flash - it came with my camera, but I've never used it. I decided to try it and see what happened...I tried it just the way it was, and then I tried it diffused a few different ways. I don't know if I learned anything, but I did discover that it's not as "flashy" as I thought it would be. So...long story long...this is it for today. Nothing stunning or earth-shaking. Just Dubbers again...

Day 50

My sweet mother-in-law invited us (Ken, Caleb, Mom and me) out to lunch today. It's a beautiful day out if you don't mind a chill. It's finally clear, and there's a lovely dusting of snow everywhere. Of course, it's still cold enough to freeze the end of your nose off, but let's not ruin the "Winter Wonderland" fantasy with reality.

I took this shot from the street outside the restaurant. It would have been even nicer if these people had their homes decorated! Don't they realize it's the Christmas season?

(Maybe I'll go "photoshop" in some Christmas trees! LOL!)

Day 49

Well, I just checked The Weather Channel info, and found this:

A WIND CHILL WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 AM MST MONDAY.

THE COMBINATION OF WINDS AND EXTREMELY COLD TEMPERATURES WILL RESULT IN WIND CHILL READINGS OF BETWEEN 20 AND 30 DEGREES BELOW ZERO THROUGHOUT THE DAY AND OVERNIGHT INTO EARLY MONDAY MORNING.

A WIND CHILL WARNING MEANS THE COMBINATION OF VERY COLD AIR AND STRONG WINDS WILL CREATE DANGEROUSLY LOW WIND CHILL VALUES.

That great information means that I am NOT going outside to take pictures for this blog! So I found something inside to take a picture (or 7) of...

Doesn't this look like the perfect way to spend a cold, windy afternoon?

Day 48

Winter has finally arrived in Western Montana. And it all came at once. We got snow (only about 1 1/2 inches) and cold together. Right now it's 9 degrees F, and with the wind it feels more like -3. It's cold outside! Which means I'm not traipsing out there looking for my leading lines challenge photo, and I'm just going to have to make do with something I've already taken (I'm not happy with any of them).

But while I was playing around trying to get a "leading lines" photo, I snapped a shot of my mischievous littlest man, and my ever-patient dog.

And I had to get a shot of him without his cast...he's all healed up, although the doctor said no sledding for 2 weeks. Waaaah! That's no fair when we finally have snow!

Snowy lines
 

Fiery lines

Day 47

Good heavens! Another day without a good photo! I spent the whole day working on mundane stuff, and didn't get a good chance for shooting. We did go in to get Caleb's cast off, and the hospital has a policy against taking photos indoors, but I took a shot of the Dr's office entrance!

Day 46

I'm running out of people to photograph, and I thought it was time to move on from the Christmas decorations. So, today you get ME!

Day 45

I was practicing with available light in my dining room... I only have one person around to practice on during the day, so here he is again!

I didn't have much photo time during daylight hours today because I spent the entire day looking for my kids' social security cards. I was sure they were in the "the" file with the birth certificates, etc. Nope. Does anyone know where the social security cards are? 

Day 44

Whoo! I'm cutting it closer than normal today. I only had time to take a few shots of Mom's tree today. So here's some Christmas color...

Day 43

One of the current photo challenges over at OnePhotoSource is "unique and creative images that represent this time of year." Here is the photo I took for that challenge...

I'm hoping to get out and work on the other challenge - leading lines - so you might get another photo later. 

Update: It's a good thing I worked on this photo earlier. I didn't get a chance to go out shooting today. Waaaah.

Another update: Well, I never got out to take photos outside, but I did play around with shooting the Christmas lights again...