What Really Matters...

It had been done a hundred times before.

This time it turned out different.

My husband took some trash out to burn in our fire pit.
Just some cardboard and some magazines.

I even had him check this morning
to make sure the burn ban was not in effect.

And a short time later I heard him yell from outside for help...

The flames had jumped the pit and were out of control.

The medical person in me reacted in a triage fashion:

Call 911...

 Make sure the animals are okay....

Move the cars so the fire trucks could get inside the gate...

Rush back outside to help him put out the flames.

 We are still in our "old" house way out in the country.

It took the volunteer fire trucks almost 20 minutes to arrive.
Twenty long minutes, and I thought for sure our home
would be engulfed before they got there.

But arrive they did.

All four of them.

 Our siding on the back side of our home was burned,
and the flames came right up to the house.
We both inhaled a fair amount of smoke,
and I have some burns on my feet.

However....

 we are safe.

 Winnie is safe inside.

Havok and Belle are safe around to the side of the house.

And we still have a home.

And our lives.

I am shaken beyond belief, but so grateful, 

as I know that we came very. very close to losing everything today.

Everything materially, that is.

I'll be away for a bit as I process what happened today.

Giving thanks to God above....

My Perfect Weekend

 A wonderful package...

beautifully and gracefully presented...

 that extra special, thoughtfully personal touch...

And inside?

Merci, Tracey!

Happy Weekend!
What are your  plans?

Terrific TOT...The Red Barn Show

While in the Round Top area recently on a photo shoot, I was lucky enough to 

pay a quick visit to the fabulous Big Red Barn Winter Antiques Show.

And while I had rubbed elbows
with this lovely lady a few times previously,

I had never actually seen her work her magic
at one of the big shows...until now.

What a treat it was to spend a bit of time in Theresa Smith's ( aka TOT )

gorgeous space!

Innovative, ethereal and timeless...

feast your eyes on the time-worn elegance of Time Worn Interiors...

Amazing stuff, right?

"The Other Theresa" has a style uniquely her own, 

and you too can behold all this loveliness at the

Spring show at Marburger Farm.

I'll be there, hope to see you, too!

How NOT to Take a Good Photo

 Happy Friday!

I'm super excited to announce that I am FINALLY finished 

editing the over 700 images I snapped

this past weekend at the wonderful Willow Nest photo shoot!

Thank you again  

Linda and Ludmil for your kindness and hospitality!

And now, an outtake.

I was thoroughly jazzed as I began to frame this shot in my viewfinder...

a fabulous centerpiece on their fabulous dining table.

So, uhhh, should be fabulous , right?!

You'd think.

And now, from the do as I say, not as I do files....

Looks pretty okay on first glance, right?

Mmmm hmmm, now look closer....

Recognize the idjit reflected in the shiny pink balls?
Thought so.

:-)

Moving on, I've been so immersed in photo editing this past week,
that I forgot to give a shout out to my girl Maria at Dreamy Whites!

She just opened her completely dreamy online shop, and if you haven't paid her a visit,
you really owe it to yourself to hurry on over.
Just look at some of what Maria is offering...

Gorgeous!

And the winner of my Understanding Exposure book giveaway?

Kathryn at Take My Breath Away

Enjoy, Kathryn!

Go forth and take great pictures!
Just watch out for the shiny pink balls.  ;-)

Happy Weekend!

What If?

Such a big question.

I saw this quote somewhere,

not so very long ago,

and I began to ponder...

What would I do?

I would travel.

Anywhere and everywhere,

with no fear and no boundaries.

I would sing out, loud and proud.

Little known fact, I am a singer.

Albeit, one who has a

fear

of singing in front of others.

I would learn how to fly an airplane.

I would love

fearlessly and without limits.

I would go back to school

to finish up a degree in journalism.

I would speak out more...

about those things I feel most passionately about,

without fear of judgment or reprisals.

I would dance with carefree abandon,

and worry not whether I was in step with the music

{ little known fact number two: i can't dance. not a step. }

I would....and this is for right now....slow down.

Enjoy this moment in time, and the journey.

And you?

What would you do....
if you knew you couldn't fail?

Happy Thursday

:-)

Impromptu Giveaway!

*** GIVEAWAY CLOSED ***

Happy Tuesday!

For all you budding photographers out there,

I've decided to throw a spontaneous, impromptu giveaway!

Because I've learned sooooooo much from this wonderful book,

I want you to have it, too!

If you find yourselves struggling ( like I did ) with the concepts of

Aperture

Shutter Speed

White Balance

and ISO

and you really, really want to take better pictures,

then this book is for you!

The beauty of this book is that you can take what you learn

and apply it to ANY camera!

I went from shooting exclusively on
Auto Mode to Manual Mode
in a very short amount of time,

thanks to this marvelous, easy-to-understand book.

Trust me, if I did it, you can too!

To enter, just leave a comment, I'll pick a weiner this Friday, the 21st.

Good Luck!

Photo Shoot Extras

Happy Sunday Evening!

I've been feeling so guilty that I'm not really at liberty to share 

all the pics I shot this past weekend...

have to wait and see if they're published, after all....

So I took a second look and came up with two
really special shots that I snapped at the

Willow Nest photo shoot that aren't being submitted...hope you enjoy!

Gorgeous lavabo, found on Linda and Ludmil's front deck.

And then there's these two characters just over the fence....

Little miniature donkeys. What a hoot!

They stand there and schmooze until you feed them oatmeal cookies!

Now I simply MUST go out and buy me a 

pair of Sicilian donkeys! Thanks, Ludmil! ;-)

Have a great week, my friends!