it started out as a simple lonely leaf...

and

who knows

maybe now

it will be responsible

for a line of greeting cards

or

post cards

or

framed

and

hung on my wall

or

maybe your wall

all I know for sure

is that these are so much fun to make

*

NOTES

~~

did you know about the "gift of jewels" that se'lah is hosting

~

an entire week of give-aways

well

today she is showing what I am giving away to a lucky winner

so hustle your little booty over there and leave a comment if you want to win

a piece of my art

~~

and

of course while you're there

check out the other artists and their gifts

~~

remember mark

well he has another blog that needed a little tender loving care

so I made him a man banner for it

and

now it's ready for visitors

so

whenever you get a chance

stop over and give him some more loving

*

me...trespassing~him...bullheaded

my love for old and abandoned

grows daily

and

this past weekend filled me up again

~~

while out shooting this weekend

avoiding areas where dots of orange were also shooting

~darn hunters~

we came across this

~~

stone walls

~that once made a home~

still standing

still beautiful

still determined to survive

even though

the love and the laughter are gone

it now stands tall at the end of a working farm

~~

and

what appeared to be a house

was also next to it

~

abandoned

~we think~

we were going to knock on the front door and ask if we could take photos

but

we couldn't figure out what boarded up area could possibly be an entrance

to the dilapidated house

~even though the mailbox in front looked brand new~

~~

so we took our chances

me with my zoom lens

and

my hubby behind the wheel of our get-away car

just in case

~~

the only one bothered by our presence

was

the bull above

who refused to move

and

who forced me to play a game of

"who's going to blink first"

~~

he won

~~

and

yes

I'll be going back

once I talk to some of the homeowners down the road

to learn a bit more about

the love that once lived here

*

wouldn't senior and family photos be fabulous here

?

the reason why...

do you ever wonder about the names of the blogs you read

?

well today is the day

that many of us will be answering that question for you

~~

when I first started this blog

~more doors~

represented all the moves that I had made

and

all the homes I had lived in

over the past 25 years

~~

it represented my past

and

lit a path for my future

and

it still does both of those things

perfectly

~~

but

then one day

I came across the quote

~be yourself...everyone else is taken~

and

I was like a teenager falling in love all over again

~~

I guess it was due to the fact that for years I had been trying to figure out who I was

based on what others thought of me

while

secretly wishing that I was more like anyone else besides myself

and

the fact

that I had dressed or acted like girls or women I knew

in hopes of winning the approval of others

and

liking myself better

~~

so as a reminder to myself

and

hopefully to many of you

~be yourself~

seemed to be the perfect way for me to start each and everyday

~~

and

it is

~~

especially on those days when you wake up questioning

who it is that's actually looking back at you in the mirror

while you wipe the sleep out of your eyes

again

and

you're still not convinced

that she's the person you want to spend the rest of the day with

~~

just remember she is

and

she's perfect just the way she is

*

many of you asked about seeing the new blog banner

that I would be making for vicky

well

here it is

*

reaching for the sky...

it's old and weathered and simple

and

yet so stunningly beautiful

that it takes my breath away

~~

it's just an outbuilding

on a rundown farm

that I have photographed before

but

sitting in the sun this past saturday afternoon

casting shadows

in the late november sun

it was alive with personality and strength

~~

maybe someday

years from now

someone will describe me this same way

and

if they do

I'll be completely happy with that

*

this was taken with my new lens

~that many of you asked me about the last time I was out playing~

it's a 10-20 wide angle

and

it's just so much fun

~~

I could have edited this photo

and

actually thought about that for more than a few minutes

but

then decided to leave it natural...sooc

because

well

sometimes simple

just feels right

*

I'll admit it...

living with me is not always easy

~~

in fact

I believe it takes a saint

~~

and

this saint

my saint

my lover and best friend

my air when I can't breathe

my legs when I can't bear my own weight

my only hope when my dreams are shattered

my pillow when everything in life feels as hard as rock

my biggest fan even when I'm sitting quietly reading a book

my right hand when my left hand has a mind of its own

my voice when biting my tongue is a better option for me

turns

47

today

~~

wow

47

years old

and

I have been lucky enough to be with this saint 29 years

~~

don't get me wrong

does he ever do anything that irritates the crap out of me

?

sure he does

but

does all his good far outweigh any of his bad

?

more than I could ever put into words

~~

happy birthday sweetie

I love you so very much

*

and flying away with a new blog banner is....

vicky

vicky

bo bicky

banana fana fo ficky

mi my mo micky

vicky

~~

vicky

you won

~

oh

yes you did

~

whenever you're ready to get started

just give me a shout

and

we'll start playing

~~

and

for those of you who didn't win

there will be another blog banner give-away

in january

to help welcome in the new year

*

thank you everyone

who entered my little give-away

you all made my heart feel really happy

*

I totally fight like a girl...

this is me

throwing some punches at mother nature

shouting out

"bring it on"

while

feeling really tough in my new fingerless gloves

I did it

I really did it

and

you can do it

too

~

first I took an old goodwill sweater

and

cut off the sleeves to make the fingerless gloves

then

I took a black sweater and the rest of the striped sweater

and

cut up pieces and sewed them together to make this really cool scarf

here's a close up of the gloves

right when I finished them

and

this is while I was playing around with vintage buttons

thinking it would be fun to funk them up a bit

and

here I am again

~total goofball~

feeling even more tough

~now that my scarf is on~

for the winter

mother nature

has up her sleeve

that she's going to pull out any minute

and

sucker punch me with

~~

but now I'm ready

*

if you want to make these and have any questions

I'd be happy to answer them for you

*

and

the winner of the blog banner will be announced tomorrow