Who, Me????

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You don't see me laying in this basket of clean laundry do you? I know I'm not supposed to do this......I've been told before........but I just can't seem to help myself...........

The Specs:

Panasonic LX3, ISO 400, 1/3, f2.8

Fifth floor view

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I shot this through a window at work today. I always admire the view of the beautiful white steepled church, and today it looked especially pretty to me with the 2 inches of snow we received earlier in the morning. It's not the first time this church has been featured here on the blog.......

http://carolsviewofnewengland.blogspot.com/2010/04/how-divine.html

I hope you enjoyed your weekend.

The Specs:

Panasonic LX3, ISO 80, 1/320, f2.8

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Aaaahhhhhhhh.........the latest edition arrived today in the mail. I'm getting my jammies on and then curling up on the big chair with my blankie, and will be reading all about Spring in New England. Aaaahhhhh.......

TheSpecs:

Panasonic LX3, ISO 400, 1/25, f2

Downpour

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There were times that the rain was coming down so hard today, that the windshield wipers set to high speed still weren't fast enough to clear the windshield.

The good thing is............ the snowpack is dwindling down.

The Specs:

Panasonic LX3, ISO 160, 1/200, f2.2

Flashback to the Fridays of my youth

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Dinner. Who has time to cook dinner? This week, not me.

The big thing when I was in school was that every Friday, english muffin pizzas were served in the cafeteria. Those that usually didn't buy lunch, were sure to buy on Fridays. Did they serve english muffin pizzas on Friday in your school too? If they did, you would remember. That's for sure. :-)

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Dad update:  He's improving. Not ready to come home yet but for the most part things are looking better. Had a little setback today with a secondary problem, but hopefully this will resolve quickly. Thanks for the thoughts and prayers.

The Specs:

Panasonic LX3, ISO 200, 1/30, f2

The Waiting Game

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Today was a day of waiting. And waiting. Waited all day to find out from the surgeon if my Dad was going to be operated on or not. As of now, there will be no surgery. Things could change. Sigh.

After spending 12 hours at the hospital (8 of them working like crazy and also waiting for the surgeon to call my extension which never happened GGGGRRRR) and the last 4 visiting with my Dad, I drove my Mom home. She needed a load of laundry to be put on. (She doesn't do the laundry.....my Dad does......it's in the cellar and she's too unsteady on her feet to be going up and down the stairs)

NOTE TO SELF: Call a plumber to come and fix the utility sink in the cellar. I didn't know until after I started the laundry, that I was going to have to stand beside the washing machine to make sure the water from the 2 rinse cycles didn't overflow all over the floor. Seems something has been wrong with the drain lately.

It didn't overflow.

I know this as a fact.

I stood there and watched.

Hence, today's photo of the day.

__________________

Will update on my Father again tomorrow.

Healing, Caring, and Comforting

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Photography is about creating images that invoke an emotional response to the viewer. It is with love that I post today's photo.

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Update on my Dad: We are awaiting one more test to be done.........an MRI..........hopefully it will be done this evening, otherwise it will be done first thing tomorrow morning.. There is a possibility that he may require surgery. I will update again tomorrow. Thanks for the good wishes, thoughts and prayers.

By the way, "Healing, Caring, and Comforting" is the vision statement of  the hospital....a statement that all of us employees are well aware of, and what we follow each and every day.

A rose for my Dad

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I had just gotten home from work this afternoon and was playing around with the roses, a spray bottle of water, and my camera. Then the phone rang.................

I had to take my Dad to the ER. Not to get into the details, but he was admitted and I just got home. This is his second hospital admission in a matter of weeks. I didn't mention his last admission here on the blog. Don't really know why I'm mentioning this one either, but I'm tired.

Sigh.

 Must be why.

 Also, a few good prayers wouldn't hurt so if you're the praying kind, would appreciate if you could throw one up there for us. My father was telling the ER nurses that my mother prays good.. :-) He prays too but she seems to pray better than him. :-)

Precious.

Will keep you updated. I know some of my cousins read my blog on a regular basis. Please don't worry. I'll keep you posted.

Mirror mirror on the...........

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It was so nice to be out today! My photos lately have been less than stellar, so it was great to get out today and do what I like to do best. There was quite a bit of melting at the end of this week, but yesterday the coooold temps came back with extreme wind chills. Today was chilly, but the wind calmed down this afternoon, which made it much more comfortable to be outdoors.

Guess what? A little snow is forecasted for tomorrow. :-)

The Specs:

Nikon D90, 18-200 mm lens, ISO 200, 1/640, f9, -1/3 ev

Don't forget to back it up!!!!!!

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I got my new 2 terabyte external hard drive today for 99 dollars. (Thanks Patrick for picking it up for me at Costco). I didn't have my external drive containing photos that were transferred from the old family desktop a few years ago backed up. (A very stupid thing) I think 2 terabytes will be enough for a while. :-)

Today's photo has an added bonus..........me! :-) Do you see me in there?

REMINDER: Please don't forget to back up your images!!!!!

The Specs:

Panasonic LX3, ISO 400, 1/13, f2

Hand in hand

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Visited another independent living/assisted living home with the folks today. It was beautiful. They really liked it..........just have to get them to commit........it's not easy...........

The Specs:

Panasonic LX3, ISO 80, 1/100, f2

A whole Lotta Melting Going On

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It was 60 degrees on my way home from work this afternoon. A very unusual warm up for this time of year, and we'll gladly take it with the winter we've had so far.

The snowbanks are getting smaller and smaller, and there are puddles all over the roads. Tomorrow promises another warm day, thank you very much! :-)

The Specs:

Panasonic LX3, ISO 80, 1/1000, f4.5

Half price pizza night

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It was nice to see our little buddies, Eric and James, (as well as their parents Patick and Heather of course):-) for pizza night. The boys enjoyed playing with the flashlights that Mr. S brought for them.

Sorry for the delay in posting this photo........technical difficulties last night prevented me from posting. All is good though!

The Specs:

Panasonic LX3, ISO 400, 1/8, f2

Roses Are Red

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How beautiful is this rose, huh? This is one from the dozen that Miss J received from her fiance yesterday. We have roses all over the house.........ones from Miss J's BF and some from Mr S that he gave to both me and Miss J.........in other words, don't be surprised if you see another red rose photo here on the blog this week. (You know.......back to you gotta get the gettin' while the getiin's good thing) :-)

I shot this beauty in natural sunlight as the sun was streaming through the window this afternoon.

The Specs:

Nikon D90, 18-200 mm lens, ISO 200, 1/125, f5.6

Love is in the air :-)

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!! I just got home from having a wonderful dinner (LOBSTER CASSEROLE.....YUM) at P.J.'s Country House in Scituate. (A favorite special occasion restaurant of ours.) This is the first year, since we had kids, that we actually had a date night on Valentine's Day.......25 plus years. It's also the first time that every single one of us in this house had a date night on Valentine's Day. All 3 kids had dates......including Jay who took a girl out to dinner tonight......was news to me that he even had a "special Valentine", but then who am I and why should I know such things anyways?

Mr S received a very special Valentine........and it was not from me.....it was from another girl. Well, take a look at it yourself:

What man could resisit this charm?????? :-)

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Cold. Very Cold

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I went with the black and white for today's photo. It was such a gray day and the black and white suited the mood of the scene. And it was cold. Very cold. Very cold and windy. And it was gray. Gray and cold. Very cold.

The Specs: 

Panasonic LX3, ISO 400, 1/2000, f2.8 shot in Dynamic Black and White Mode

It's that time of year again

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The days are getting a bit longer.....the sun is setting later in the afternoon.......the first day of Lent is just a few weeks away..........and the Girl Scout Cookies have arrived. These are all  reminders to me that winter is more than half way over.

The Specs:

Panasonic LX3, ISO 400, 1/15, f2.5

Ring-billed Gull

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Well, hello there you golden eyed beauty. Isn't this a good looking Gull? Or, am I just happy that I found a bird to photograph today?......................

The Specs:

Nikon D90, 18-200 mm lens, ISO 200, 1/320, f14

Birdless branches

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Only me. I swear. Who else would go visit a wildlife bird sanctuary, and not see one bird? Not one. I didn't even hear a chirp. It was cold, but it was peaceful. There was a nice deep blue sky dotted with a few puffy white clouds. There was no other person there the whole time I was there either. It was a bit eerie. I couldn't even find a bird to keep me company.

These bare branches gave me the feeling that nature knows that the promise of Spring is coming. They are just waiting for the inevitable..............just a little bit more time.........they will be budding and providing a nice sanctuary for our feathered friends.

The Specs:

Nikon D90, 18-200 mm lens, ISO 200, 1/1250, f5.6

Dream

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I hope all of YOUR dreams come true!

At Home

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There's no place like home.........

The Specs:

Nikon D90, 18-200 mm lens, ISO 800, 1/6, f4.2

A gamble

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Like, it's not bad enough that the Patriots didn't make it to the SuperBowl.............and then to not win anything on the squares.........well........let's just hope next year's SuperBowl provides a bit more luck all around...........

The Specs:

Panasonic LX3, ISO 400, 1/200, f2

Chillin' at the feeder

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Nothing could be finer than to see a Carolina.........Wren. :-)

The Specs:

Nikon D90, 18-200 mm lens, ISO 200, 1/500, f5.6

Four Paw Drive

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The End. :-)

Sometimes you just gotta get the shot

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The folks accompanied me today for a drive.........they've been pretty housebound with all of the snow. When I saw this red lobster boat, I instantly knew I found today's photo. So what if I got my car stuck in the ice and snow (with my 88 yr old parents on board) to get this shot. I was only stuck for a minute........hey.........it was a fun experience for them........they don't get out much these days......so I provided them with a bit of action and excitement. :-)

The Specs:

Nikon D90, 18-200 mm lens, ISO 200, 1/200, f14, +1/3ev

Roof collapse

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A photojournalistic shot today. The roof of this gas station on Rte 18 in Weymouth collapsed from the heavy weight of the snow. There have been multiple roof collapses in the area.......luckily nobody was hurt.

The Specs:

Panasonic LX3, ISO 80, 1/1000, f5.6

It's Groundhog Day!

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Come on now........you must remember the movie Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray, don't you? Well, by the looks of today's photo, it appears that movie has come into fruition.......you know, just like in the movie......repeating the day over and over again...........

I really lucked out on this photo today. I mean, really. It's Groundhog Day. The irony of the whole thing!

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"Okay, campers, rise and shine, and don't forget your booties 'cause it's cooooold out there today.

D.J. #2: It's coooold out there every day. What is this, Miami Beach?
D.J. #1: Not hardly. And you know, you can expect hazardous travel later today with that, you know, that, uh, that blizzard thing.
D.J. #2: [mockingly] That blizzard - thing. That blizzard - thing. Oh, well, here's the report! The National Weather Service is calling for a "big blizzard thing!"
D.J. #1: Yessss, they are. But you know, there's another reason why today is especially exciting.
D.J. #2: Especially cold!
D.J. #1: Especially cold, okay, but the big question on everybody's lips...
D.J. #2: - On their chapped lips...
D.J. #1: - On their chapped lips, right: Do ya think Phil is gonna come out and see his shadow?
D.J. #2: Punxsutawney Phil!
D.J. #1: That's right, woodchuck-chuckers - it's...
D.J. #1, D.J. #2: [in unison] GROUNDHOG DAY! "

Here we go again

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And the snow piles get higher and higher and higher..............