Archive for November, 2009
Unusual Photography
Do you know anyone who loves to take pictures? Maybe you do. Maybe a friend or relative does. Some people take pictures just for fun. Other people are serious about it and try to get really good photos. Often the best pictures are taken with great effort. The subject has to be just right. The light has to be just right. You have to have a good, I mean a REALLY good camera. We have a relative who is a good photographer. He knows when the light and the place is right. If the picture does not come out perfect, he takes it again. Sometimes you just have to be lucky and be there when the time and the light are right.
Some objects are really good subjects. One of those subjects is a lighthouse. If you have some really good photos, you can decorate an area with lighthouse decor. In fact, you can do it without the photos, but the photos help make the area really special. If you are thinking along that line, you can find lighthouse decor in many places. When you visit an area near the sea, you will always find these items. Then you can combine your own photos with the objects you buy. You can also find lighthouse decor in unexpected places. Choose your subject and start taking pictures.
Pretty Birdhouses
Lately, when we pull into our driveway, I have been noticing a bird nest that remains from the spring. It is not really a pretty sight. However, it was once home to some baby birds who have long since flown farther south. Contemplating that birdhouse set me to thinking. What is our fascination with birdhouses? Is it a memory for us “used to be” little girls of the doll houses we once had? We find birdhouses in all designs. Some are definitely not to be put outside. They might just scare the birds away. But I like them. A lot of other people like them. They are cute or pretty or handsome or whatever you want to use to describe them. If we did not already have a plane for our curio cabinet, I might just fill it with birdhouses. That is enough theorizing about birdhouses. You either like them or you don’t. If you do, you want a sturdy one outside or you have a place inside for the pretty ones. Just enjoy those you have and if you don’t have one, maybe you just need to get one to place in that empty corner cabinet…or outside on the patio.
Remembering
Yesterday was Veterans’ Day. It set many people to thinking about our country and all the things it means to us. If you are a veteran or married to a veteran or have one in your family, it is very special to you. If you just know a veteran, it also means something to you. If you live in the United States, it probably means something to you, too. It should. The people who served or are serving in the military in our country give something up to serve. It is sometimes a very hard life, and at the end of the service, it is something you will never forget. You may not want to talk about it, but you won’t forget. In our family, there are always some symbols around that mean we live in a great country. We do not usually put out anything special for Veterans’ Day. It is already out. The eagle figurines, flags, etc. just stay out. We live in a great country. We have many in our family who have served it in the military. We never forget.
Time Passes
Ten o’clock already? It just couldn’t be. I got up late, but only an hour late. Two hours have passed. Where was I? Well, I guess I must have been having fun. They say ,”Time passes quickly when you are having fun.” It is just that I can’t remember eating breakfast, cleaning the kitchen, and putting in laundry as being all that fun. Well, where do we go from here? Let’s get out the list and see what else has to be done. I remember my husband mentioned a ball game on TV at 2:30. I”ll wind this desk clock that keeps getting slow and maybe I will watch the time better now. It is more fun to watch the time when there is a fun way to do it. There is a cute little battery-operated clock that I keep by me when something has to be done early. There are electric clocks all over the house. We all have wrist watches and the time is on all of the cell phones. However, when the subject of time comes up, I remember my grandparents old grandfather’s clock. There are now many replicas of those old clocks and they all are pretty to me. There is a decorative wall clock that I saw recently in a catalog that took me back in time. I guess it had the Roman Numerals like my grandparents’ clock. Anyway, I had better get busy. I can dream about those clock while I work. Don’t be late!
A Teaching Tool
Being a former teacher and grandmother, it is only natural to think of things as ways to teach. Tiny tots can learn to pick up toys. Children a little older can learn to fold washcloths and small towels. Older children can learn to vacuum and dust. Teenagers can learn to do laundry. Many things come to mind that children can learn just by living in their home and observing. It usually takes an incentive to learn to do things that are not fun in and of themselves. However, these things are necessary to a neat and tidy home.
Thinking of an incentive, brings to mind some wooden birdhouses
that we have had. One stays in the house and is used as a decoration from time to time. Another was built as a tool to help a teenager learn to use a hammer and saw. Wooden birdhouses can be both decorative and useful. Our decorative birdhouse has been home to at least two different birds. The house holds up better than those pretend birds. The outside birdhouse was actually used by some real birds. It is interesting to see them choose and use something you have put out for their comfort and safety. Additional learning was obtained by realizing that birds need food and you can help provide it by putting it on their “porch” while they are gone. It was also a learning tool that birds make messes and that they do not clean them up themselves. That can be done, but is not as much fun as putting out the food and watching the birds. Anyway, using daily life as a learning tool is something we need to do. Using wooden birdhouses that can go inside or outside is one way to do it.
Model Ships
When we see a model ship that someone has put together, we wonder, “How on earth did he do that?” When I see a model ship that is already put together, my interest grows because I would never have the patience to do it myself. Model ships are very interesting. They also make a beautiful decoration or part of a display. It is very interesting to visit a modern ship and see how intricate and well-prepared they are. Since cruises are so popular right now, a lot of us have taken at least one journey on a big ship. Usually we come home with a model of one of the large animals that live in the sea or with a model ship. What fun! Every time we see it, we think of our trip and how we enjoyed it. Many people collect these beautiful crafts. Some have an alcove or table where the ship is displayed. Some just have one or two displayed on their shelves. Whether you collect, enjoy, or just see the ships when you visit someone who has them, they are always interesting. I think I will see if I can find a magazine devoted to them. It would be relaxing to just sit and enjoy seeing the ships and maybe dream a little.
Time Change
Recently we changed back to Standard Time - Eastern, Central, Mountain, or Pacific. It is very upsetting to some people. Some of us old-timers would like for things to just stay the way they were in “the good old days.” Some of us just change the clocks and in a couple of days we are used to the new time. The thing that bothers me most is the darkness coming earlier in the evening. However, in a few days, I will be used to it and won’t think a thing about it. What I like about changing back to standard is the extra hour of sleep I get on the “change day.”
Sometimes the clocks are easy to change, and sometimes they are not. I like the ones that change automatically, but I think we have only one of those. It is more fun changing a decorative clock
, unless it is a difficult one. A small clock that we have has to have a go with a screwdriver. That one still has not been changed. Anyway, time change is a fact that we all have to live with unless you live in a state that has decided not to bother with it. By the way, if you are going to one of those states for an appointment, be sure you are on their time! Just grin and bear it if you don’t like the change. If you do, just keep on being happy!
A Sudden Fascination
All at once I have a fascination with tool kits. Mind you, I don’t even know what the tools are for or how to use them. But have you noticed that there are kits of all kinds? Just look around the web. Notice in store when you shop. If you know how to use the tools, you should be able to fix anything!
The weather is nicer now - at least for a few days. I think we may be able to fix something that we have been waiting to fix until the weather got better. I bought the 60 watt bulbs we need on the back porch. We can get out the nice screw-driver set that my parents bought my husband. That is really a neat set. I can hold it and steady the ladder while my husband puts up the light. What fun it would be to be able to use all the tools in one of those sets we have. Anyway, if you don’t mind, I will just look at them and dream for now. Maybe someday I will know what that funny little wrench is for. It is so cute, it must have a good use!