Blog Prompt:  What is your favorite hobby?

I think like most people, I have more than one hobby.  I love watching football, working in my garden, digital scrapbooking,  watching the birds at the feeder in the morning, etc.  But, my passion hobby is photography.

I would never claim to be a great photographer.  I have a few virtual friends, we met through digital scrapbooking and have never met, who’s pictures just take my breath away.  They would tell you their hobby led to their profession.  But, for me, just taking photos of nature, landscapes and family makes me smile.

Ernest T. Bass

One of my favorite subjects is our dog, Ernest T. Bass.  Our rescued boxer.  He HATES getting his picture taken and as he has aged, he has learned to leave the room when I come close with the camera.  The picture above is my favorite of him.   Very distinguished look from him.

Nature is one of my favorite subjects.  These 2 pictures, a birds nest in my front door arrangement and one of our area birds when hubby and I went fishing. were taken with my newest camera a Canon EOS Rebel T3.  I have owned digital cameras now for 12 years, but, oh how the years have changed how well digital cameras take pictures.  All the others were point and shoot types, but I was really needing a better camera for low light situations because I don’t like using a flash.  Flashes on point and shoot cameras tend to be too bright on the subject.

Clover Plant

Dwarf Sunflowers

I can’t tell you how much difference there is with my DSL camera when it comes to clarity and color.  And yes, there was a really big learning curve, but practice, practice and more practice with settings and reading all I can online has really helped.  Close up pictures are just stunning.  The only editing on the pictures above was cropping.

I use Paint Shop Pro and Lightroom for editing my pictures, but I have for many years.  I know Adobe is the best out there, but frankly, who has $1000 for software.  Adobe has less expensive versions which work really well too.  There is really good photo editing software online which is free to use.  One is iPiccy which I have used when I am on my small laptop and not at home.  Great choice for beginners.

The Rebel T3 isn’t the newest version put out by Canon, but I was able to find it at a very good price and when my other camera got to where it wouldn’t stay on long enough to take pictures, it was time to change.  I was even able to “Trade In” my old camera at Amazon that gave me about $40.00 worth of credit with them and I was able to purchase accessories for my camera.  I have learned that if I want electronics,  last years version will save you almost half price!!!  I love to save money any way I can, even with my hobby.

I have also purchased a zoom lens and low light lens with Amazon credits.  I will post later on how you can earn Amazon credits with surveys and point systems in another post.  I was able to pay for a Kindle Fire using that system and now I am saving for the 9″ Kindle Fire.  Since we only use cash to buy luxury items, I am always looking for ways to earn gift cards.

Until next time, enjoy your hobby,

Tammy

I love sitting on my lanai and listening to my wind chimes that hang in the crepe myrtle.  Such a soothing sound to hear.  It also lets me know when a storm is coming.

I came across some really neat DIY chimes that I thought I would pass along.

Since I love gardening, I love this adorable clay pot version and this is a great idea for kids!  Made with 3″ pots and smaller for a really cute chime to set among your flowers.  This would make a great project for summertime with the kids.  You can find all the details at House of Joyful Noise.

How adorable is this!!  Made with an old teapot and some keys.  I know you can find these items at a lot of different flea markets. You can find more details at Butter Nugget Creations.

Another adorable teapot creation at Board and Crafty.  It works as a sun catcher too.

You can also see many more ideas listed at DIY Dreamers website.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend,

Tammy

I am sure I have the smallest garden God created, but I was bound and determined to grow a few things that hubby and I love and enjoy.  I waited almost 10 years after moving in our home and decided I wasn’t going to wait any longer.

As you can see in the picture above, my garden consists of 1 tomato plant and 2 green pepper plants.  A neighbor graciously gave me some from his extensive garden he has around his home.  He was my inspiration that you can have a garden around your home and make it not look like a garden.  You see, we live under HOA rules and you can’t see a garden from the street.  But you have 3 other sides to your home.  And the only “extra” space I have is on the south side of my home.

I already had 2 blueberry bushes planted on either side of the plants mentioned and they have been there for a few years.  I get a bowl full of blueberries, but they haven’t been in the ground long enough to produce a lot.

Since the green peppers were pretty much ready to be picked, I could’ve waited until they were a bit bigger, but I wanted to make Chicken Fajita Wraps and I needed the green peppers.  It always gives me a smile to be able to cook with something I grew.  It has been too long since I have had a garden.

The recipe I used came from Plain Chicken.  These are really good and my hubby loved them.  He isn’t a big Mexican food eater, but he loved these.  I know when he loves something when he says after dinner, “I should’ve have ate that last fajita”.  Always makes me feel good inside.

I will be posting more pictures as the tomatoes start to ripe.  I know my hubby is waiting for those!!

My hubby works with a wonderful many who came from Hayti.  He loves Jesus and they talk about this all the time.  He definitely knows his bible,  but has a really hard time understanding the English King James version.

My hubby asked him if he had a French version and frankly, he had never gotten one since he left Hayti.  He lost a lot there coming to the America and our hearts go out to his family, but his faith is so strong that he doesn’t let this bother him.  He does go back home to help those, especially after the latest hurricanes.

My hubby was determined to find this wonderful man a Haitian Creole Bible.  Which he did and his friend is so happy now with a version of the bible he can truly understand and read to his family.

Actually this bible is  a New French & English Bilingual / Parallel Bible.  So he can read in French and learn in English at the same time. Here is what the website gives as a description:

Haitian Creole Bible ( Bib LA)- Red – 1999 Edition, Vinyl cover, Ribbon markers, 21.5?14 cm, 1581 pages – Double column text; Chapter and section headings; References, Word list, Maps.

I also noticed this website has many other versions of the bible for different languages and also many other items for children.

Located in Jacksonville, FL, Bible Expo and Gifts would be a great place to find a perfect gift for anyone to help pass the Word of God to those who don’t speak English.

In my last post about Spring, I talked about how a Purple Finch had made a nest in one of my door cone hangers and couldn’t wait until the little babies made it in the world.

As the weeks passed, I made sure I took a picture to watch the progress.

A week after discovering the eggs, 4 little……uuuuuummm………baby birds were born.  Can’t tell the head from the tail at this point.  Can you?

A week later you can see their really large eyes starting to form and the bird poo is starting to make a wall around the small nest.  EW!!

Another week later, eyes are open, baby fuzz is falling off and feathers are forming.  I don’t know how the 4 of them were able to stay in that little nest.

Another week went by and they are about ready to leave the nest.  They were pushing and shoving each other around while I watched them and I could tell they had had enough in that cramped area they were calling home.  And I’m sure being surrounded by poo wasn’t much fun either.

The next day I went to check on them.  The moment I stepped up to the nest, they all gave me a look (and maybe a wink or two) and one by one flew off into the palm tree.  Mom, dad and all four babies were together.  They were also fussing a bit. Maybe they weren’t just ready to leave the comforts of home yet.  I was fussing a bit too for them leaving such a mess behind for me to clean up!!  KIDS!!

As you can see in the picture above and below, what a MESS they made all over my door and on the front porch.  It took some major elbow grease, bleach and soap to clean the door and concrete.  Had to throw away all the silk flowers I had in the cones and give those a good scrubbing too.

Now the doors and front porch are shiny and clean and now have some new silk hydrangeas for the next few months. (I was going to throw out the other flowers anyway, so the mess gave me a good excuse for some new ones)

I really loved watching the babies grow and fly off, but in the future if another bird decides to make a nest on my door, I think I will get rid of it.  Not a nice thing to have at your front door when people come knocking.

Have a wonderful day,

Tammy

I have so many embroidered items in my Hope Chest that has been passed down from generation to generation and no one sees them.  I love this idea above from Free Time Frolics.

The embroidery is so beautiful on those items.  Mainly table clothes and pillow cases and this idea has inspired me to make pillows with them to put on the bed in our guest room.

Can’t wait to try this out.

Take care,

Tammy

I love to wear jewelry to special occasions and events.  But, I do love wearing jewelry that makes a statement about me.

Recently I came up on a site that sells the most interesting bracelets. I love the colors and the idea that they will fit any size wrist!!  Love that since I don’t have an average size wrist anymore.  The joys of aging.

ALC Creations has taken great care in the materials they use and the quality of their products.  Using pearls, sterling silver items and silk.  I love the one in the picture above.  Since I love to wear jeans all the time, this would go great with them.  These are such beautiful trendy bracelets.  I know all ages will enjoy them too.

Isn’t this pink one cute!!!!  I know my granddaughters would love to wear this one all the time.  Another idea with these bracelets are you can wear them as a necklace too!!  Just unwind it and go!!  So you are actually getting two items for the price of one.  Another beautiful lime green color below as a necklace.

If you are looking for that special and very different and beautiful gift to give to someone, check out ALC Creations.  They also carry earrings and scarves.

Have a beautiful day,

Tammy

I had to take Ernest T. Bass, our boxer, to have a yearly shot at the vets yesterday.  Not one of his favorite places to go because he is boarded there sometimes, but he does get to see a few dog friends and the employees there are some of the best around.  They all know Ernest by his first name and always have to look up my name.  I know where I rate in the dog world.

The vet and I talked a bit about his health.  He is 11 years old now and in boxer years, that’s pretty old.  I’ve had 3 others in my life, and they all passed away at the age of 10 because of cancer.

And after I explained how he keeps having “bad days”, she said she was pretty sure Ernest has Dog Dementia.  WHAT?  But it explained so much about how he acts sometimes.  Its basically the same symptoms as humans have.  He will act like a puppy some days and then others, he will just stand in one area with his head and tail down for hours.  You call him and nothing.  You get this blank stare out of him.  He will do that at his feeding bowl too.  Just stare at it and he loves to eat.

What worries me the most is that during one of his “bad days” he could get violent.  A symptom I hope never shows up in our sweet rescued dog.  Couldn’t ask for a better fur baby.

If you are thinking about getting a new pet,  please think about adoption.  There are places where you can get full blooded breeds, like our Ernest.  He came from a Boxer Rescue.  I wish I could bring home more.

Have a great day and give your pets a hug today,

Tammy

My husband is writing a book and is needing business cards to pass out to friends so they can easily contact him with any questions.

My first stop was Vistaprint.  One of my FAV places to have business cards printed.  Why?  Because they have wonderful quality business cards, tons of variety of templates to choose from and of course, great prices.

So, the two of us checked out what Vistaprint had to offer on their free business cards and we are so please with our selection.   Love the scenery and works so well with what my husband needed.  As you can see, we put a lot of information and it looks great!!  All we had to do was pay for shipping.  

You have 45 different backgrounds to choose from and you will also get a free stamp to use on almost anything.  I love those stamps.

Be sure to check out the FREE 250 business cards and other items they have to offer.  And also, stop by Grandpa’s Chrisitan Soldiers and enjoy the bible with us.

Have a great day,

Tammy

I recently cleaned up my pantry a bit.  Added a lazy susan for all my spices and just, well, organized where I could see everything.  There are a couple of other ideas I had in mind, so I went looking around and found a few ideas below.

I love the idea in the picture below that Shanty 2 Chic put in her panty.  Perfect size for all your spices and she is right when she calls the inside of the pantry door “wasted space”.

I love the idea below of using the wire baskets.  I noticed some really cute ones at Walmart the other day.  Should’ve picked a couple of them up, but I was in a hurry and didn’t have time to really think about what size I needed.  Great idea from JunkGarden.

When I saw the picture below, it brought back so many memories from when I lived in Georgia.  We lived in a 1845 home and all the rooms are just huge!!  The kitchen was about 20 x 20 with its own fireplace and our pantry was large enough to put a twin bed in.  We had also took one of our old screen doors, an idea from Southern Living, and it was just perfect for that old house.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day,
Tammy