July Photo-a-Day Challenge {Week 4 and a bit more}

Summer days are racing by! We are keeping busy with one thing or another (or six) every day. 

Recently, I confessed to my friend Joanne that I felt like I was getting ready to be run over by the birthday train. (We have a gazundle of July and August birthdays and anniversaries in our family.) Later in our conversation, I said that I'd love to host a ladies' game night/dinner party in August and she said, "What?! That would be like throwing yourself on the tracks!" 

Yes, Joanne/Voice of Reason, it would. So I'll stay off the tracks and just do my best to keep up with the birthday train.

Today I am completing Kati's photo-a-day challenge for the month of July. Even though I can't believe that July is over. And I hear that train whistle right behind me...

day 22: tree

We planted two locust trees in our front yard when our oldest children were quite young.

One day my toddler son brought a "flower" he had picked for me.

It was the tiny locust tree.

(But what mother can refuse a gift given from the heart?)

The little stub that remained of the tree flourished and grew,

although it is still a wee bit shorter than its mate.

day 23: an ordinary moment

Ordinary in its every-dayness, but extraordinary all the same: morning coffee.

day 24: close-up

Petunia on the back porch.

day 25: far away

The long rows of corn lead back to the woods.

day 26: 9 o'clock

At 9 pm on day 26, we were on the edge of our seats!

This summer's shark activity on the East Coast (we saw one!!) had us talking about the movie Jaws.

Oh my. It was intense! Not our typical movie night.

day 27: cloud

Dark clouds brought some afternoon rain showers.

day 28: blue

Blueberry pie on a Blue Willow plate.

day 29: flip flops

Old Navy flip flops: one of the few things you can still buy for a dollar. 

(At least when they're on sale.)

day 30: shapes

When our friends took a trip to Israel, Kati and Bekah cared for their pets.

They were paid well, but our friends also brought them each a gift. 

Bekah's is a ceramic dish based on an actual mosaic of the loaves and fishes.

She keeps it on her nightstand where it sometimes holds earrings overnight.

day 31: morning

The morning sun spotlights the multitude of blooms on the limelight hydrangea.

This week (and a bit more) has found a couple of us under the weather, cancelling plans, rescheduling activities, cancelling again, cleaning out the laundry room, and shopping for birthdays.

What  has been happening in your world this week? 

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Click ~ here ~ to see how others have met the photo-a-day challenge!

Thank you, Kati, for encouraging me this month to get my camera out of the bag and into the little details of daily life!

July Photo-a-Day Challenge {Week 3}

Continuing with Kati's photo-a-day challenge for the month of July...

day 15: sign

Joanne and I met at Panera for our monthly Mama Coffee.

(Love Mama Coffee. Love Joanne! Everyone should have a Mama Coffee friend. It is good for the soul.)

This sign was in the window behind me and I turned around and snapped this photo so we could continue our conversation.

day 16: indoors

A batch of blueberry butter. Yummy on toast. Yummy on a biscuit.

day 17: on the shelf

Atop some of my Heidi books 

is a pair of small wooden shoes that Ron's dad brought home from Germany where he served during WWII.

One shoe holds a thimble, the other a pin cushion. 

day 18: animal/insect

Pinky was stalking our hot dog roast, underneath and blending in with the black tables.

day 19: black and white

I put Bekah in black and white, portrait style.

day 20: colorful

My friend Jodi made this gorgeous appliqued table runner for me. I love it!

day 21: red

Red is everywhere at Chuck E. Cheese's!

Kristin and I have been taking the kids there once a summer for years. 

They insist that they have not outgrown it yet. :)

This week we have delivered a piece of furniture, had a grand sleepover, done lots of laundry, endured the heat, cleaned out some kitchen cabinets, and thought about a new school year.

What  has been happening in your world this week? 

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Click ~ here ~ to see how others are meeting the photo-a-day challenge!

July Photo-a-Day Challenge {Week 2}

Another week's worth of daily photos...

day 8: drink

What do you know? I was at Starbucks on the day that their new cold brew coffee was debuted!

Of course, I had to try it.

It was fantabulous!!

day 9: calm

Pinky always makes her way up to Bekah's room when she goes to bed.

Here they are, hunkered down for the night.

day 10: busy

As busy as a bee.

This garden sculpture keeps vigil over the four o'clocks.

He once watched over the herb garden, but our grandson Ben was terrified of him,

so we moved him (the bee, not Ben) away from the back door. 

Ben is no longer afraid of the bee, but he (the bee) seems happy among the four o'clocks.

day 11: fruit/vegetable

Cantaloupe, ready for slicing.

Just wondering...do you sprinkle yours with sugar, or with salt and pepper, or do you eat it plain? 

day 12: soft

This is Shaun, our new-ish wool duster.

Bekah named him for the sheep in the British television show Shaun the Sheep.

All three of us want to use Shaun when we dust, so I plan to purchase a couple more, who will be named Shirley and Timmy (other characters on the show).

day 13: shadow

As I was on the go a good bit of Monday,

evening came and I thought that I had missed my opportunity to take a shadow pic.

Silly me. Lamplight also casts shadows, so here we are.

day 14: on the floor

My Aunt Robin painted this brick door stop, a diminutive replica of our house.  

This week we have bought a chest of drawers for the bedroom, made blueberry butter, and gotten free food by dressing as cows for Chick-fil-A's "Cow Appreciation Day." (Some of us dressed as cows; some of us would not dress as cows unless Chick-fil-A was offering a million dollars!) 

What  has been happening in your world this week? 

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Click ~ here ~ to see how others are meeting the photo-a-day challenge!

July Photo-a-Day Challenge {Week 1}

I am joining Kati's month-long photo-a-day challenge for July. I have been taking daily photos, but I will be posting my challenge photos weekly. Here is my first week's worth.

day 1: outdoors

We took our art outside on this lovely afternoon.

day 2: flower

Rain fell most of the day, so I took this shot through the screen of the back porch.

I love the golden yarrow that borders the porch and adds such fullness and color. Unfortunately, it is short-lived (in full color only a month or so), but I enjoy it while it lasts.

day 3: food

It was a full week and I hadn't had a chance to grocery shop until Friday.

That's right. Friday...on the 4th of July weekend! What was I thinking?!

No cooking for me after all that crazy. So I grabbed frozen pizza and this yummy salad mix.

day 4: sparkle

Bekah wore these sparkly shoes to our family reunion.

day 5: grass

In the back yard. No fancy-schmancy grass at our place.

day 6: white

Okay, so I cheated just a little. 

But there IS a white picket fence behind those cheerful day lilies!

day 7: words

On the bookshelf.

Since this challenge began, we have returned the faraway grands to their parents, sold our bedroom set, and now we are up to our ears in the reorganizing of the bedroom. 

What's been going on in your world? 

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Click ~ here ~ to see how others are meeting the photo-a-day challenge!