First Iris of the Season!

I got home today to see one of my Dutch iris in bloom, and two other buds almost open!!! I didn't get any of the purple ones last year, though I always have a whole mess of yellow and white ones in another bed - I have about 50 now that ought to be blooming in the next week or two - assuming the freezes are over.

And, a little weed vine thing growing around the poker plant - too pretty to tear up. For now.

Picture Perfect Friday - Fragile

Well, this one was harder than I thought it should have been; the idea was easy enough, once I did the dishes, but actually executing the shot, not so easy.

Soap bubbles - what's more fragile than that? I expect even clouds might be made of tougher stuff :) This shot, and these others, made with the help of my not-so-willing 11 year old, who continued to tell me he couldn't really direct the bubbles, and it wasn't his fault I couldn't see them in the view finder! Taken with my Panasonic DMC-FZ5 in the warm April sunshine - finally!

And, since last week's earworm was so successful, here's one to go with this week's PPF - how about some Don Ho, everyone????

Tiny bubbles (tiny bubbles)
In the wine (in the wine)
Make me happy (make me happy)
Make me feel fine (make me feel fine)

Tiny bubbles (tiny bubbles)
Make me warm all over
With a feeling that I'm gonna
Love you till the end of time

So here's to the golden moon
And here's to the silver sea
And mostly here's a toast
To you and me

So here's to the ginger lei
I give to you today
And here's a kiss
That will not fade away

words & music by Leon Pober

And now the rules, for those who care to bother:

Picture Perfect

~ Each week a theme will be posted up on Thursday, and you are invited to put up your best picture with that theme in mind, it should be just

ONE and ORIGINAL,

i.e not off the internet,

Then come back and post a comment on this page
so that everyone can link to your blog and see your pic.

By all means mention your camera and lens used, and if the picture has been altered or enhanced in anyway! Out of the box thinking is encouraged!!

Please open your page for viewing for all for that day...and then visit as many others as you can! Try and post a decent size pic on your blog page, so much is lost if the pic is too small or too big.

The entries will close at midnight on Friday

oOo

Picture Perfect Friday ~ HOBBY

Well, I thought as soon as I saw this that it would be so easy! But then I thought some more, and realized that, unlike Claire, I just didn't have a photo that encompasses the word Hobby for me, so I would need to create one :) So, I grabbed some stuff on my way out the door this morning, and when I got some work done, I cleaned off a spot on my desk, and set up a Still Life of my Life:

I have always done crafts of some sort as long as I can remember, but in recent years, I have become utterly obsessed with needlework, specifically cross stitch, and more recently, the obsession has grown to include silk threads, glittery beads, and hand dyed fabrics! On top of the needlework, I am also involved in the current rage of beading, primarily jewelry. Yes, more glittering beads, and gemstones, too - pearls are a personal fave, which I try to incorporate as often as possible.

But my oldest hobby has to be reading; I can't remember a time when I didn't read, and growing up in a family of teachers, books were always fixtures everywhere I was as a child. My current tastes are centered on historical books, fiction and non-fiction, the majority of which, recently, dealing with the Tudor era, after having read my fill of Arthurian tales before that. And I do roam around the SciFi and Fantasy sections, as well, when I need a change of pace; the Dune books are all on my Best Of list, right below Stephen King's The Stand :)

So, I decided that I needed a picture that captured all of these things, and the fact that they are sitting on my desk at work just adds to it - I work to support my hobby habit. Now, my kids would probably be offended that they and their never-ending soccer isn't mentioned here, but that's not really my hobby; I suspect that once they aren't playing anymore, I will probably never watch another game, since I am really NOT a sports fan. But never say never...

THIS POST INTERRUPTED BY A JULIE ANDREWS MOMENT!!!!

My Favorite Things

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into springs
These are a few of my favorite things

When the dog bites
When the bee stings
When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don't feel so bad

And for all of you unfamiliar with The Sound of Music, you might want to spend a minute with another of my hobbies - movies!!!

This picture taken with my Panasonic DMC-FZ5, then cropped to remove the clutter on my desk that snuck into the corner - I wasn't about to clean my WHOLE desk and thus throw off my "system" :)

And now the rules, for those who care to bother:

Picture Perfect

~ Each week a theme will be posted up on Thursday, and you are invited to put up your best picture with that theme in mind, it should be just

ONE and ORIGINAL,

i.e not off the internet,

Then come back and post a comment on this page
so that everyone can link to your blog and see your pic.

By all means mention your camera and lens used, and if the picture has been altered or enhanced in anyway! Out of the box thinking is encouraged!!

Please open your page for viewing for all for that day...and then visit as many others as you can! Try and post a decent size pic on your blog page, so much is lost if the pic is too small or too big.

The entries will close at midnight on Friday

oOo