Symbols

My day literally turned upside down and inside out (long story).  You might think these cupcakes just symbolize Halloween but you are so wrong.  For me they symbolize friendship between two darling five year olds (I hope it lasts).  But more than that - thank you Sarah for being one awesome friend today.

SYMBOLS

Love

SWEET

These sweet viola keep blooming despite the chilly weather and the fact that I didn't plant them - they just appeared late summer. I had a sweet little chickadee at my feeder but he was a blur in all the pictures and my sweet basil photo didn't turn out the way I wanted.

Sweet

Raindrops keep falling on her sweet little head. She had so much fun walking (slowly) all the way up the hill carrying the umbrella.  Meanwhile I got drenched...

Surfaces

Charlotte leans her hand on the surface of a bench made out of gnarled and twisted tree limbs. The photo doesn't do it justice.  It was early in the morning and I wasn't thinking straight...

SURFACES

This shed door could use a good coat of paint.
Incidentally, this theme was made for me. Rusty fences, scrubbed wooden tables, peeling paint - I love these things. I could do a 365 of surfaces only.

Sunshine

This is the harbour at the very bottom of our hill.  Yup, the same spot I took the chair picture from (again).   It was bathed in glorious sunshine today. So clear you can even see Connecticut way in the distance.

SUNSHINE

Summer Fun

Swimsuit? Yes
Goggles? Yes
Towel? Yes
Sunscreen? Yes
Hat? Yes

Great Beach Weather?  NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

SUMMER FUN

Talk about summer fun. I went to the beach at the end of the block in a down-filled jacket and gloves. It was really windy and the beach towel kept blowing over. Anyone driving by would think I was crazy with sunblock and flip flops.

Stuffed Animals

So I have a confession to make.  I didn't take this picture.  My camera was hijacked... by my parents.  They wanted to take the photo of the day while I was at work.  My mum would have taken the picture and I am totally convinced that my dad would have been chuckling to himself as he set the stuffed animals up on the slide.

STUFFED ANIMALS

Waiting to be chosen.

Strong

Next Saturday Seb is taking part in the Tough Mudder again.  He did it last year to raise money but this year he is mad enough to just do it for fun.  Charlotte likes getting in on the training regimen...  Here they are doing "high five" push ups.  Stronger than me, that's for sure.

STRONG

STRIPES

At Heckscher Museum Park today we found these trees, wrapped in what looked like knitting. Up close we discovered they are recycled plastic bags.....

Knit For Trees, Recycled Plastic Bags

"About 1 million plastic bags are used every minute worldwide. Knit For Trees comments on the ecological disaster while acknowledging the futility of the fight."

Stripes

Long day at work.  Came home and asked Seb to put on some stripey socks.  That was easy!

STORE FRONTS

The store fronts along the main street in Bellport, my new favorite town. The sign at the top says that the building was built in 1890.

Store Fronts

Obviously I wanted to get a shot of the store front that we seem to visit frequently.  I was so organized.  I got there really early so that no cars would be parked in front.  Then I bought a cookie at Copenhagen Bakery so that I could set Annabelle up on the chair and it would give me at least two minutes to figure out my shot before she decided to wander into the street.  I was so proud at this organization and then I tried to take a picture.  Lo and behold my camera battery was still at home charging... so I had to take this picture with my iphone!  Sometimes it really becomes apparent why this is called a photo challenge.

STILL LIFE

Still life

Never a dull moment around here so was very grateful for this theme.  Taken first thing this morning and Charlotte helped arrange the fruit.

Statue

Dedicated to the shipbuilders of Port Jefferson. It's right by the water but people were sitting on the other half of the statue totally ruining the picture I had envisioned with the boats in the background.

STATUE

My friend Robby helped me choose today's picture. Something about this cat made us both smile.

SQUARE

Bygone days of handmade classroom gifts.

Square

Ok I have finally taken a big step and am actually shooting in RAW.  Feeling brave.  Enjoying it and not sure I will ever go back.

Spring

Montauk Daisy.  Flowers in general make me think of spring, even the fall flowers.

SPRING

This is some type of farm implement that was for sale at the side of the road on my way home from work. It has something to do with ploughing fields I think. Really interesting. If there was someone around I would have asked questions but the place was deserted.

Sports

Blue is the colour, Football is the game.

SPORTS

My sweet Matt went out in the pouring rain to shoot for me.

Spiral

Spiral? Kind of... almost... not really.  But I liked the picture and I am short on time.

SPIRAL

My spiral bracelet.

SPIC AND SPAN

Spic and Span

When I saw the definition for Spic and Span was "immaculately clean" I realized that I had absolutely ZERO material to work with in my house.  Thankfully Charlotte had a dentist appointment this morning and now has really clean teeth.  Or at least she did when this photo was taken,

Soothing

I didn't come across much soothing stuff today.  We are trying to make sure that the latest cold to hit Annabelle is not going to turn into an ear infection.  So we've been using some soothing garlic oil.

SOOTHING

This swan was lazily gliding over a mist-covered lake this morning early.

SOMETHING ABOUT YOU

I wish I could travel the world. Indonesia, Ireland, Scotland, and India are at the top of my list, however, I would go almost anywhere (the Caribbean Islands hold no interest for me).

Something about You

In case you haven't noticed, I love sport.  Great sporting events often bring me to tears.  I cheer like mad as a spectator (according to my father-in-law you can actually see spittle flying).  The great irony is that  I was blessed with (limited) sporting talent in just about the one sport that bores me to tears - golf.  But even I could appreciate the magic of the European comeback at the Ryder Cup last weekend. Could barely hold it together as the captain dedicated it to the late Seve Ballesteros.

Softness

Soft baby skin sinking into the softness of the bathmat while having a not very soft tantrum....

SOFTNESS

I think these are called the fronds of beachgrass. They are soft, like velvet (sorry Lisa).

Snack/Treat

Normally I choose "healthy" snacks for Charlotte's lunch box but today she got a Kangaroo-shaped sugar cookie and a jam drop.  In other words... a treat!   When it rains and you have visitors your kitchen can unexpectedly turn into an Australian baking factory.

SNACK/TREAT

My picture today is a combination of both a snack and a treat for me. I have waited all year for the Honeycrisps to come out - thats the red one in front. Each time I hit the farm stand, I try a different apple. The green one is called a Matsu. It is the first time I have tried them and they are out of this world. Apples are my snack.
In the background are Candy Apples. That would be my treat.

SMOOTH

Smooth Smoothie - peach banana with vanilla.

Smooth

Always grateful when the blog theme can be tied up easily into something that I love.  We took Terri and Rosie out for their first frozen custard.  English Toffee, butterscotch and vanilla.  Smooth and creamy.  Absolutely delicious.

Smells

It's always fun when you tell your visitors about your photo project and they are totally willing to pose for you.  Here are Rosie and Terri smelling the clementines.  Our snack half way around Caumsett State Park.

SMELLS

Like a fall morning - pumpkin pie, cinnamon,  hot coffee, maple syrup...

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Creamer
1 c. milk
1 c. heavy whipping cream
4 Tbsp. pumpkin puree
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
4 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract

Whisk milk, cream, pumpkin, syrup, cinnamon and pumpkin spice together in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat until steamy. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Use a strainer to transfer the cream mixture into a container. Let it cool and store in the refrigerator.
from www.whatmegansmaking.com

 

Small

All the tiny little choking hazards that Charlotte keeps as toys.  No time for chat.  Got our lovely visitors waiting for me at the dinner table... they came all the way from Australia.

SMALL

Yesterday I was on a road I have never been on and saw BONSAI in big letters on the sign. Today, I took a ride over there. There were 4 greenhouses filled with bonsai yet no one was there. There was a radio playing on a Spanish station as if someone just walked away. There were bins of soil and racks of tools and a whole greenhouse filled with shipping supplies.  I called around but the place was deserted. A bit creepy really. Many, many different types of bonsai. Some flowering, some that looked like palm trees. Some had little figurines at the base; some twisted trucks, others straight. But all of them small. Check out www.bonsaiboy.com

Slowly

I work in an office full of women.  We celebrated a birthday today with massive cupcakes.  Everyone decided that we should absolutely cut the cupcakes into quarters because they were far too big.  At the meeting everyone politely took a quarter of a cupcake.  Then the tray got left in the hallway and slowly but surely all the other pieces started to disappear.  Pretty sure the average consumption ended up being one full cupcake per person...

SLOWLY

This house is slowly disappearing under the weight of the choking vines, to eventually become part of the woods.

Slow

Different day... same idea (kind of).  Was feeling slow myself on this theme.

SLOW

Stopped at the local pet store today and found this lovely. There were many turtles swimming in a tank but when I was up close to the glass, they were not slow at all. But this one; this one didn't move. This is a tortoise and about the size of a softball.