Succulent Horse

Yes, I know it’s been a while. I’ve been really busy with too many things to mention. Ugh!

This image is one I took the liberty of playing with. And you know me … I love to play! I used an image that I took of some succulent plants, applied a cartoon effect and used a horse overlay found in the BeFunky app. BeFunky is a very cool application for special effects on images. You can make collages, cards and all kinds of wonderful things.

I have the premium version ($24.95/yr) but you can do plenty of creative things in the free version. It’s also available as an Android app.

Be good to yourself and each other. Namaste’

Create, Create, Create!

I have declared that this year of 2016 A.D. is the year of creating. Feel free to adopt this declaration for yourself. In fact, I hope you do!

Sooooo … in honor of my new declaration, here is my post for today. It’s an image I took last January of a young buck in our front yard. Having moved to a more urban area in May of last year, sadly we don’t see deer anymore. I sure miss them.

I simply decided to add some texture to this image and a frame. Create, create, create!

Remember to be good to yourself and each other. Namaste’

Change of Plans

Well, well, well … it’s nice to be back into the blogosphere!  Seems like I’ve been gone a long time.  As for the change of plans, I’ve decided to forego the weekly photo challenge for this year.  Too much going on to commit to that.

Instead I’m going to post some of my all-time fav’s that you may or may not have ever seen.

And so … without further adieu … these two images are of a life-size sculpture here in Sisters. I decided to feature one of these at my gallery site.  Namaste’

Regina (Reggie) Arnold is a “flunked retirement” entrepreneur, co-author of The Art & Science of Recruiting, an award-winning photographic artist, and photo blogger.

Let It Snow

Hubby went downtown the day after Christmas and bought this really cool decoration that I put on the fireplace mantle …

And then this happened this morning …

Oops! Where were you, snow, when we were wishing for a white Christmas?

A couple of years ago I did the 365 project where I posted a photo a day on this blog.  Well … for 2015 I’ve decided to take on the 52-week challenge, so it looks like I’ll be posting a new photo once a week with my (sometimes crazy) narrative in accompaniment.  Stay tuned and thanks for following my blog.  I always look forward to your likes and comments.  Namaste’

Regina (Gina) Arnold is the author of Uncomplicated Ways to Find Your Financial Freedom, a “flunked retirement” entrepreneur, co-author of The Art & Science of Recruiting, an award-winning photographic artist, and photo blogger.

Blending In

For years I’ve been rather dismayed by the commercialism of the Christmas season.  I mean, the lights in the neighborhoods are beautiful, the choirs give me goose bumps (sometimes), and it’s pretty wonderful to be with family and friends.

But the whole gift buying frenzy has gotten way out of hand in my opinion.  We are bombarded with non-stop ads for the latest, greatest electronic gadget, which many families will go into credit card debt to buy for someone on their gift list.  That’s crazy!

How many teenagers will spend a lot of time on Christmas texting their friends instead of being “present” with their families? But I can’t just pick on teenagers.  Many adults are just as guilty.  So sad.

Sharing this photo with you gives me pleasure.  And it was a pleasure taking it because I got to be up close and personal with this buck and doe.  They were heading over to the neighbor’s back lot when I called to them and I was pleasantly surprised when they looked over to see where my voice was coming from.  The buck looks a little strange because as he looked over his shoulder, I snapped the image.  Looks like his head is sitting on his behind.  Ha!

Were they trying to blend in?  I hope so because there are predators, two-legged and four-legged that would like to do them harm.  Namaste’

Regina (Gina) Arnold is the author of Uncomplicated Ways to Find Your Financial Freedom, a “flunked retirement” entrepreneur, co-author of The Art & Science of Recruiting, an award-winning photographic artist, and photo blogger.

Painted Ponies

While visiting my Mom yesterday, she took me to meet a wonderful little lady who lives there in the adult care home.  There are only about nine residents in the home, so it’s a rather intimate little group.

Each person there is probably wishing they weren’t trapped in bodies that are failing them now.  It’s so sad to see them all sitting around the living room, mostly asleep in the recliners.  Some are in their rooms, but no one seems very happy.  The food is decent (nothing to write home about) and healthy, the grounds outside are lovely, and the staff is very helpful and pleasant.

But back to the lovely lady that Mom introduced me to.  She has a shelf in her room with these painted ponies and she adores them.  She was thrilled when I asked her if I could photograph them.  All I had with me was my phone but it was enough to make her feel good.  Sometimes it’s the smallest of things we can provide for someone else to make them smile.

Live every day to the fullest … Namaste’

 

Daily Prayer of Gratitude

Many years ago, when we first moved to the Old Pueblo, we went out to breakfast and I spied one of those free papers that hang out in front of a lot of restaurants.  It was called the Awareness Journal; a small publication, chock full of really cool articles and ads.  And, if you haven’t guessed by now, I’m an avid reader of things metaphysical.

The publisher of the Awareness Journal had a dog.  He was a black Lab and had his own “corner” where he did his “dog speak” … an article written from a dog’s perspective.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and so did our dog, Jingles.  (I read her the article each time it came out.)  It was so much fun, and I was sad when the paper shut down.

But there was one thing a contributing writer wrote that I cut out and memorized because I thought it was perfect.  Below today’s picture is A Daily Prayer of Gratitude.  Maybe you’ll find it to be a good way of expressing your own gratitude.

The image below is one of a flowering plant that’s on the patio where we moved my Mom.  She seems to be doing well there.  It’s an adjustment for her, being in a residential care home, but she’s such a trooper.  Love you, Mom!  Namaste’

DAILY PRAYER OF GRATITUDE:

Thank you, dear Creator, for this, another day of life.  Thank you for my abundant supply and for that of my family, my friends, and for all beings of all planes, dimensions and realities.  Thank you for leading us to the places that we shall go, the work that we shall do and even the dwellings we shall reside in.  Thank you for knowledge, courage, the love of the light, and the wisdom to use it wisely with our brothers and sisters.  You are my shepherd; I shall not want.  I love you, dear Creator.

 

Missing Maude

A while back (almost a year ago) I did a photo shoot of horses for a lady who owns some stables.  She wanted me to photograph the horses and then apply some, as she put it, “artsy” effects.  I was then to have the final approved images printed and make a set of greeting cards for each of her clients.  I shot approximately 150 images to come up with the final results.  There were 23 horses and did I ever have a time keeping them all straight, since I had never seen them before and didn’t know their names.  I was happy that everyone was very pleased with the end result.  What a learning experience!  I learned that next time I will charge a lot more money for this kind of effort 🙂

During the back and forth with her to finalize the images she wanted, one day she said, “Where’s Maude?”  I said, “Who?”  Turns out Maude was a chestnut with a white blaze.  Well, there were three horses that fit that description, so after what seemed an endless effort on my part to find Maude, I finally went back and took more images of just her.  This is the result.  Isn’t she a pretty lady?

Namaste’

Paul Sheldon

While visiting with my mom yesterday, I noticed this painting in the hallway at the assisted living facility where she lives.  It’s a piece by Paul Sheldon whose work I really admire.  And when I saw that it was featuring donkeys … well … I just had to snap it with my phone.

Maybe in my next life I’ll be an artist 🙂 and have donkeys.  Namaste’

Alvin, is that you?

I imagine we all remember Alvin and the Chipmunks, right?  And Dave; who could forget Dave?  He was always screaming at Alvin.  Alvin was such a troublemaker.

This little guy came to visit and cool off his belly on the fireplace ledge in the back yard.  I snatched my camera and got these shots of him, but had to do it through the window.  Thank God my windows are clean … ha!  Namaste’