Mix and Match in the rain

I didn't plan well and I brought a heavy sweater but is is a good 20 to 30 degrees warmer. I left in a snow event. So I saw this cute yellow shirt and burgandy cover. Now with cameras in the phone, I can send pictures to off for opinions.

I've been looking for a black cover too but couldn't find one.  I love buying 2-3 of the same things in different colors for mixing and matching.  I was shopping tonight as the storms rolled into the area.

A clerk saw me taking pictures of the rain and asked why I was doing that.  "Because they are expecting about 9 inches of snow in Minnesota." I' d rather have the rain please! I can hear the thunder outside. That is goo sleeping weather!

Reminder of God's Promise

As I got out of the car after work today, I turned around to get th computer out from the back seat and stopped in my tracks. I was looking at a beautiful, bright, full rainbow. 

We need to focus on GOD's promises instead of the terror that Satan stirs up.

When walking through a storm remember, those that have just made it through are looking at the rainbow.  May you see God's blessings today.

Boston Marathon

Let's take time to pray for the people and families injured and killed in the explosions today.

Would not be me if I did not point out that this wasn't any normal "soft event" as newscasters are refering to it.  It is a major international event.  The twin towers were offices for many international businesses. 

The hit was not against just an busy event or busy place. It is an international attack.

My other soap box is.... Does the news media go overboard in reporting events like this? There is a high chance that the person or people that did this are sitting at home watching their TV's and seeing over and over and over again their terroristic attack. Just the thing that someone crazy enough to attack in such a way, would get off watching.  So why are they giving them what they want?

Found Money

Have you ever been walking in a public place and see money laying on the ground? I was shopping last weekend and I saw a $20 bill. There was a couple slightly older than I down the aisle and in front of them a mother with kids. They would have had to walk over it or dropped it.

This is also a common "stunt" that people would pull for a hidden camera routine. I looked around for anything suspicious. After seeing nothing, I picked it up.

In due dilegence, I found the couple and family that were in the row and asked them if they had lost any money within the store. No one had any "large" bills on them.

On my way out of the store I stopped by the lost and found and reported it. That was eight days ago.  I guess it is mine.

New Toy

I have been saving up for a new "toy" it is a Nikon D5100 camera.  It is a digital SLR (single lens reflex) camera with auto or manual focus. Other than the fact that my sister purchased a similar camera a year ago, I haven't had a working video camera for over ten years and I miss it.  Yeah the D5100 is both a still shot and video camera. 



Chewbacca, Daisy, Forest

I chose a sample (very short video) of Duchess trying to teach a puppy how to play tug of war.  Duchess was feeling left out because we bought the puppies a few new toys and put them in their pen.  She wanted to play with them first.  So when we put them away, she took her toy to the puppy.  

 

 

 As I learn more about what the camera can do, I will share it with you.  Did you see the notation in the beginning that I had been saving up for this?  I had about $600 saved.  One store had a D3100 on sale for under $600 with two lenses.  18mm-55mm and a 55mm-200mm.  I have both of those lenses on my old D40.  I was planning on saving and buying a 55mm-300mm lens within the next year. 

I rarely shop at just one store.  I like to check out the options.  So at the second store that I shopped at I found that the more complex and expensive D5100 were on sale and you could choose any second lens at (each lens had a different amount off, $100/$150/$200 depending on the value of the lens.) BUT it would go over the amount that I had saved.  This is one of the few stores that I have a store credit card at so I decided to put the higher amount on the card.  I figured if I rearranged a few things, I could find a way to pay it off in 30-45 days. 

Well if blessings don't come from strange places.  As I was checking out, the clerk told me that because of the value of my purchase that I qualified for zero percent financing for 18 months.  WOW, so exciting.  I only use this credit card about twice a year and pay it off on the first statement.  So I don't think that I will need to worry about having both a zero finance paying off and revolving credit the month that I am paying off.  (Most cards pay towards the revolving credit before taking off the zero financing.  And if there is even $1 still owed on the original amount they will charge you 18 months of interest - beware!)

That means I now have a D5100 with a 18mm-55mm lens, a 55mm-200mm lens and a 55mm-300mm lens.  I will be selling my D40 with the 18mm-55mm lens and camera bag (hopefully). 

Work Ethic

LL Kool J (James Todd Smith) was on the Tonight show on April 11th, 2013 and he shared what his grandmother told him every day. "Todd;
If a task is once begun,
never leave it 'til it's done.
Be thou labor great or small,
do it well or not at all."

Growing up as a kid, I remember a camp that I went to and they taught us:
"Good, better, best,
never, ever, rest,
'til your good get's better
and your better get's best."

I feel that too often in America, we are loosing our work ethic.  Maybe there aren't enough people with the strong work ethic that have the time and/or energy to mentor the younger generations so that they embrace pride in a good job completed.  They take pride in many other things but not in a good job done.

Or is it that we have become such an instant society that we are lacking the patience needed?

April Fools!

Winter is not over yet.  It is nature's April Fool's joke on us.  Except being nature the date of April 1st is not really important.  It is after all April and that qualifies.  I remember in high school around April 21st (because it was very close to my brother's birthday) we had over 1/2" of snow on the ground when we got up in the morning.  It was melted by lunchtime. 


Thunder Snow

 Today we had between 8-9 inches of snow.  I can't remember that much snow this far into April in the past.  I noticed yesterday morning there were a few white crocus blooms starting to bloom.  Just enough to see the white but not enough to be able to photograph.  Don't worry, they will be okay, after all they aren't referred to as "Snow Crocus" for no reason. 


Bird Feeding "Naturally"

Sometimes I take a bit of a beating for not cleaning my flower gardens in the fall.  But there are a few reasons to leave them.  It can add character and sometimes color to a garden in the winter.  For perennials, leaving the green on top as long as possible helps build the root structure.  Other perennials self seed and if you cut them down, you maybe getting rid of the seed too early.  Leaving them up if those seeds don't drop throughout the fall and winter they make a wonderful bird feeder. 



I just got rid of this HUGE bank

There is something particularly sad about seeing a snow bank that you can barely step over on April 11th.  The sidewalk is under there someplace.  I might see it by the end of next week.



Oh, just park in the middle of the road.

There is "no parking" on this block from 2 am to 6 am from Nov 1st through April 1st.  Are you laughing yet?  Yeah, go ahead and just try to park here.  We do have a wide street but common sense went out the window with this snowstorm and there were several people that parked in places that people had to go over the center line in order to get by the parked cars.  So hopefully you don't meet an oncoming car.



YEAH!

Not everyone was upset about the snow.  The puppies loved it despite the fact that it was almost deeper than they were tall.