Photo Blogging Challenge (March 2021): Eight

I couldn't quite decide what to do this month. I had a couple of ideas but I'd done something similar to them before so I decided to wing it and just see what happens. These are five from eights.

March 8: A friend had this machine in his garage for the last 20 years or so. It played great for about an hour and then the CRT went out. I've since plunged into the world of video game repair and will soon be trying my luck on replacing a CRT.

March 17 (1+7): St. Patrick's Day dessert

March 18: Penney poses.

March 26 (2+6): Hibiscus in bloom.

March 28: Full moon

There are my 5 of 8. Did it work? I reckon it did. Thanks for looking and hope to see you next month!

PHOTO BLOGGING CHALLENGE (FEBRUARY 2021): I SPY WITH MY EYE

February was a crazy month for Texas. In three days time we went from -6F to 70F. Many folks lost power and water for several days. We were fortunate that we did not and were able to provide for our less fortunate family members. 

This months theme was "I Spy With My Eye". I've made mine an all animal edition. Let's get started.

I spied this little squirrel trying to hide behind the tree

 

Rosie had never seen so much snow before. She would run until her feet hurt from the cold. Even then we'd have to make her come in.

This little guy was small but quick!

I took advantage of a neighbors bird feeder to scope out some visitors.

These friends were waiting for me when I got home from work one day.

That's five. I had so many to choose from this month. You can take a look at my month at my flickr site. View the rest of this month's submissions at a lil hoohaa. See you next month.

January Photo Challenge: Change and Hope

A change in the calendar is expected to bring change or at least the hope of change. There is plenty than I am hopeful that will change. Let's see what I have in the old camera bag.

A dawn of a new day at the start of a new year. What could be better? 

How's this for change? Snow in Waco. Real, actual snow, not that slushy stuff we get on occasion.

Can't think of a better day to take a dip in the lake! I love my adventurous friends.

We had a pretty bad fire out at the family ranch. Fortunately, it didn't damage any structures and will allow for a beautiful spring, I hope!

A change in power in the US and our first female Vice President. What a day!

January was a decent month. We're seeing hospitalizations coming down here. Folks are slowly getting vaccinated. I'm on the waiting list. Soon I hope.

Check out the other participants over at a lil hoohaa, join us next month!

Food Photo Challenge (December 2020): Festive

Festive! The Christmas season is all about it! Colors, lights, smells, and even food is more festive. I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday Season! 

Photo Blogging Challenge (December 2020): The Magic Of The Season

The end of 2020 kind of caught me by surprise. As slow as the middle was going, December was here and gone. I tried to capture a good mix of the magic of the season for this month's challenge. Like much of the year, our Christmas looked different this year.

I have found myself waking up earlier these day. I also have spent much more time at our family's place out in the country. A good place to social distance, unplug, and decompress. I've been treated to some beautiful colors.

Our group that promotes Downtown Waco still held their annual Cocoa Crawl. It was well attended again and they only allowed six people at a time in the shops but I fell it moved well and we were kept quite safe.

Our decorations went up a little earlier this year. Why not?

These folks won a nationally televised contest a few years ago. Something like The Great Christmas Light Challenge. It's a ways out in the country but the cars were lined up for miles. Luckily, I know a short cut. 

I figured I'd best include an obligatory family Christmas mask shot. We usually have a big gathering at our house but we decided not to gather this year. We had a nice dinner at my in-laws and spent the rest of the day at home. 

Another year gone. Happy new year to you all. I hope 2021 is a better year for us all. 

Photo Blogging Challenge (November 2020) – Thankful

I'm not sure how this year can be both moving at a snails pace as well as blowing on through to December already. Thanksgiving was a bit different this year, as I mentioned in the Food Blogging post, my wife tested positive for both COVID-19 and Flu B a few days before the holiday. So we spent it apart from family and even each other as I isolated myself to the guest room. Yet we still have plenty for which to be thankful.

We've had some gorgeous skies the last couple of months, the sun sets out our living room window so it can really catch your attention.

My dad had another heart scare early this month, what kept in in the hospital for 38 days eight years ago only took 36 hours this time. Modern medicine is amazing. They were able to replace his aortic valve again without having to crack open his chest. And here he is just a handful of days later like nothing had ever happened and stronger than ever. 

Sunrises like to show off a little bit too, sometimes.

I'm thankful that despite all the added hardships, these two gentleman, who have been friends since kindergarten, were awarded their Eagle badges in a joint ceremony and that we were able to find a place that was willing to work with our social distancing requirements to honor and celebrate them. 

Finally, but not really as I have much more to be thankful over, I am thankful for two wonderful yoga instructors who have shown me the ways of both the yin and the yang. The slow long stretches of yin yoga have really helped with joint issues and balance as I age, the vinyasa flows working on the yang side have helped build strength and stability.

I'm also very thankful of PJ for continuing to host this challenge and for all of you who participate as well. I always enjoy seeing what the world looks like from your eyes!

Food Photo Challenge (November 2020): Plate it

I may take too many food photos. When I eat somewhere new or something new, I like to document what I've eaten. More for myself than anyone else. There have been times when I remembered a particular dish but not the details. It's nice to be able to find that info when I want it.

This is not one of those photos. Thanksgiving was quite different this year as on Wednesday, my wife tested positive for both COVID and Flu B. She was feeling bad so had already isolated a few days earlier. I'm still clear and she's doing much better. But, she was cooking most of the meal and having her parents over (they are in our pod as they live nearby and Amy sees them just about every day). So we took what food we had to her mom and her mom ended up cooking for us and preparing a take out for us to enjoy. The boys and I had a quiet meal in the dining room while Amy enjoyed Turkey in bed. Since my dad was also unable to visit, I couldn't go a Thanksgiving without my grandmother's cornbread dressing so I made my own for the first time. That's it in the middle of plate and why I have two different dressings. It turned out pretty good so I think I'll be able to carry on that tradition.

 

Food Photo Challenge (October 2020): Candy

Welp, I thought the prompt was Sweets. Turns out it is Candy. Here is a photo of some Halloween cookies anyway!

Photo Blogging Challenge (October 2020): The Great Outdoors

This month's Photo Challenge theme was The Great Outdoors. We had some nice weather to enjoy outdoors for sure!

Started out the month hanging out at the cabin at The Ranch.

The drive-ins have made a comeback; unfortunately all of our in door theaters are going bankrupt. But it was good to see a movie on the big screen.

Creeping slowly back in to scouts. Trying to see who is still around before we have to renew our charter. Outdoors, masked, and distanced.

We drove up to Dallas to check out the Pumpkin Patch at the the Dallas Arboretum. Timed entries and masks kept everyone safe.

Quick temperature changes have made for some cool weather features.

That's five. Another month done. Check out the others and join us for November.

Photo Blogging Challenge – Snap Away (September 2020)

I've been away from the computer so I hope I got this done in time. Not time to waste!

We finally got some rain breaking our drought. Almost 9 inches total for the month.

 

Everything old is new again. Saturday night, social distanced, at the drive in. 

CreativeWaco, and art collaborative, commissioned some mask related murals around town.

It's Texas, so you know football is back, 25% capacity and masks.

Yep!

Food Photo Challenge (August 2020): Dessert

So much of our normal lives have changed due to Covid, we just keep trying to make the best of it. Our youngest headed off to college this fall. Traditionally, the school hosts a week long event called Line Camp. Those events went virtual this year, like so many events. We watched the events streamed on TV and enjoyed our own Baylor Bear inspired cupcakes. We were supposed to get a parent box with cookie cutters and decorations but another set back in that those never came.

 

Photo Blogging Challenge – Letters (July 2020)

July has come and gone. Time is flying yet simultaneously standing still. We were talking this weekend about how much we miss simple things like going to see a movie. Anyway, our theme for July was letters. Let's see what I've got!

Looking to get away but maintain social distancing, we headed to the woods. The forest, actually. Pecos, NM to be exact. We spent 4 nights backpacking near Pecos Baldy. Saw very few people outside of the four of us. It was pleasant.

On the way back to Texas, we passed through Ft. Sumner, NM. They are one of two places that lay claim to the final resting place of Billy the Kid. The other is about 30 minutes from home and being a proper Texas boy, I know the one near me is the real deal! 😏

While we were gone, my photo Drobo array failed. New ones are backordered. I have one at the office and was able to get my drives up and running and copied over temporarily saving me the time of having to restore from my cloud backup.

My oldest is no longer a teen. Happy Birthday, John.

July is my birthday month as well. My mother in law gifted me this. My college mascot is a bear.

There's five. There are letters in all those things! I wonder what August will bring.

Food Photo Challenge (July 2020) – Summer Drink

With COVID-19 still running rampant, my Friday night go-to, while open in a limited capacity, has become my Friday night to-go. I'm happy that they are offering curbside service so I can get my Tex-Mex fix. With the new rules, Texas now allows take out liquor drinks provided they are purchased with food. The containers also have a security tab that must stay affixed until you are out of the car. That's a lot of words to say that my summer drink is a refreshing margarita. Typically on the rocks as is this one. This particular one was even sweeter as it was enjoyed on my birthday!

Food Photo Challenge (June 2020) – Veggies

Is a pepper a vegetable? I hope so because this is all I got this month. I flaked out I guess. But take a look  at this sucker. It was huge. I wish I took one before I took a bite. That small bite was all I ate of it. It was pretty spicy!

Photo Blogging Challenge – The Notebook (June 2020)

It's time for another a lil hoohaa monthly challenge. This month's theme was The Notebook. I missed some obvious ones thinking back. But I have plenty of notebooks lying around.

This is my regular catch-all. It was a freebie from a conference a few years back. 

I really like Field Notes notebooks. Several years ago, one of my Boy Scouts told me about Recycled Firefighter. This one holds the Field Note memo book and is made of recycled fire hose by a retired fireman. This has traveled on all of our backpacking/canoeing adventures as my camp journal.

We have just a few notebooks at work holding the paper we don't need to scan or archive for long periods of time.

The last weekend in June is ARRL Field Day for Amateur Radio operators. I earned my Technician license a little more than a year ago. It is the base license and doesn't give me access to many bands. Normally that wouldn't be an issue, our club would get together in the park and I could work off a more advanced license. Due to COVID, our club did not have an official gathering. One of the other members invited me to his place, and practicing appropriate social distancing guidelines, allowed me to work his setup. We didn't get all the continental US states but we covered a great deal of them as well as Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area.

Do we still refer to laptops of a certain size as notebooks? As COVID numbers rise here in Texas again, I'm preparing to move my office back home for a time.

That's five and I'm done. Take a look over at alilhoohaa to see the other participants. And join in next month!