ride the lightning

or hang out on the front porch until you can catch it.  We spent the week at the beach last week and my main goal was to get a sunrise.  Well, with cloudy mornings, that didn't happen but I did get the next best thing, or probably equally as good... lightning.

This was Tuesday afternoon after I checked in and started unloading the car.  It was an awesome day.

 
Then we had a stormy night and I got this.

This amazes me, considering it was late at night with a black sky.

And then I caught it.

i took another step

in Operation Creative Block.  I won't go into detail because it's something I've never done and we all know how awkward I am when it comes to stepping outside my comfort zone.  Let's just say it's no big deal but in a way it seems like a big deal for somebody who doesn't really like to put herself out there.  Okay, fine.  I'll give a few hints.  It involves prints and a few things I've talked about recently.

I have no picture to share for the creative block but I do have a couple to share proving that cats really are jerks.  This is from Strat.

I attempted to move him out of the chair and he just about attacked me!  I was bleeding and now the two bites on my arms are bruised.  I told him not to cross me because I'd let the dogs in and close my eyes.  What a jerk.

i was out at the

local tennis court with Cosme on Sunday morning.  That sounds totally misleading.  I didn't go out there to play, I actually didn't even go out there with him.  He went out there to hit a few balls off his machine while I lounged around before getting ready for church.  Not long after he left, he called and said he'd forgotten the thing to pick up the balls and asked if I'd bring it out.  I got out there and picked up a few balls.  I walked around for a little bit with my camera but it was so hot and humid, my lens wouldn't quit fogging up.  I took a picture anyway.

Then I headed back to the house to start getting ready... and Cosme still managed to be ready a few minutes before me.

on friday i signed

off because I hadn't had lunch or breakfast and just ate the Cheetos from the last picture.  I needed to go get something to eat.  Guess what.  I didn't.  I got sidetracked and before I knew it, the only thing in my stomach was margaritas.  Really strong margaritas.  Let's just say Friday didn't end well and Saturday was spent in bed.  I don't have a theme from the list but let's just go with "what happened Friday".

Again with the 50mm and black/white.

I learned a few things on Friday.

1.  Make SURE you remember to eat something before you meet for drinks.
2.  If you don't, make sure it's a place you'll never go to again... it makes running into walls and holding onto walls for balance less embarrassing.
(And having your car parked where the patrons can't watch while Cosme walks you out to the car so you can TCB before you pass out doesn't hurt either.) Just saying...

today's post is

"texture".  I stuck with the 50mm but opted out of black and white because it took away a lot of the detail.

I have no time to discuss anything else because there is an open bag of Cheetos sitting right next to me and I haven't had breakfast or lunch.

day three is here

and I feel I've accomplished a little more.  I've been reading a few articles and apparently, this funk of a creative slump is an actual thing.  Well, maybe not officially but enough for people to feel the need to write articles on it.  So I did some reading and will do more reading today.  One of the suggestions was finding a photography club.  Sure, there's always Houston Center for Photography but the photo walks/capture crawls are once a month and sometimes that one day happens when I'm busy... or too busy to drive to Houston.  Like I said, I'll keep reading today and hopefully find something.  The photo club was sounding a little better than doing things on my own, especially since a man's body was found last week under a local bridge.  They still haven't found his head or a suspect.

On a lighter note, today's photo was still with the 50mm and the theme was "black and white". 

Now I'll continue on with my reading/researching while I fight to stay awake with this sinus pill and squeeze in some time to make a batch of snickerdoodles.

day two of

the attack on the creative block and it seems things are about the same as day one.  Oh well, what's important is that I'm trying.  Right?  Anyway, I stuck with the same lens (50mm) and black and white.  The next topic on some of the lists was "rule of thirds".  I would explain but it seems a little obvious... and that's coming from someone who has a username of FractionsAreStupid.  The same person who, when learning about fractions in elementary school, didn't understand that "two-and-a-half" meant "2 plus a half" but instead "I have 2 and one of those is a half".  Perhaps I've always been an over analyzer but I eventually caught on, eventually.

Anyway, today's "rule of thirds" is Lucille and there are two.  Not 2 1/2 but two whole pictures of Lucille.  And don't pull a ruler or grid out because they seem more rule-of-thirds-ish.

Wait, two pictures for one challenge?  Could this be progress?  I'm not sure but it wouldn't hurt to over analyze it, I guess.


Now I'm off to do a few chores before I leave to count at the church.  And also, I've been using my computer in the kitchen and the smell of that banana bread in the oven is about to be too much.

i've been in somewhat

of a photography rut.  Maybe not so much a rut as an uncreative streak.  Creative block.  That's a good term for it.  I want to do but I don't know what to do or where to start.  Earlier this year I mentioned all the lists I found on Pinterest to getting back on track, especially when it comes to things like being organized... and we all see how far I got on those.  So for the last few nights when animals woke me up and I couldn't get back to sleep, I picked up my phone and started searching for ways to get ideas.  We all know I do a daily Instagram challenge and that's great and all but it's just my phone and I want more.  So I found a few more lists with daily themes, along with a few ideas of using one lens for a while or all this or that or whatever.

Well, it wasn't just an uncreative streak that hit, I also updated my operating system a few weeks ago, just before I took some prom pictures for a friend.  Long story short, I couldn't open anything from my camera on my computer.  I finally found the cure, which came through asking for help on an Adobe forum and assistance from Cosme on following the directions I was given.  (ps- two things I've NEVER been good at are math and computers) We fixed it yesterday, I got the prom pics finished and here I am now.

So, to work my way out of this rut or around this block, I looked over a couple of lists and the first one on each was "self portrait".  Here's what I did last night.

It's a self portrait with one of the things that might be keeping me in a creative block, my phone. Words With Friends, anyone?  Also, I used my 50mm lens and decided to go with black and white. Maybe one of those will be the start of a theme?  We'll see.

Today I'll look more into getting around creative blocks in addition to putting a few things back on the computer that I had to delete yesterday.  Hopefully this ends well.

i failed

yesterday.  I was exhausted and even though the roast was ready, the potatoes weren't and I just didn't have enough energy by dinnertime to make them.  We had Chili's.  (sigh...)  You have to admit though, in yesterday's post, I did talk a good talk.  Hopefully we'll have that roast tonight.

So everybody's still talking about Prince.  I'm still watching the videos and listening to the Prince tribute station on the radio, just like the rest of them.  There have been a lot of covers and performances in his memory but here's one I actually liked.  Let me set this up...

First, there's this guy.  Chris Stapleton.  I was doing a lot of talking a while back about liking his cover of this song.

Then there's this song that Prince wrote but this version was popular in the 90's.

Now here's Chris Stapleton's version of this song.

And you know what?  Nothing compares to making a quick trip to Chili's to pick something up... except using Waitr and having it delivered, which won't happen because Chili's isn't on their list of options.  So yeah, going to pick up Chili's was a lot better than making the sides to go with the roast.  I'm going to let yesterday's oops slide.  I deserve it.

On a totally unrelated note, I was worrying that my computer was close to seeing its last days.  It was dragging and just being the WORST.  I finally updated to El Capitan and it's like it got its second wind.  It's amazing what a little upkeep can do for things.

Now I'm going to find where I left my tea and work on getting my first wind to TCB on today's to-do list.

for about two

minutes this morning I was considering commenting on a political-ish fb post.  I decided today's not the day for a stroke from self-inflicted drama.  So I'm sitting here trying not to play it out in my head and calm down from the possible reactions to the would be post, while I'm guzzling my Diet Dr Pepper so I can hit the hard stuff... Coke.  That's why I don't like to get involved in stuff.  I get way too worked up.  Shocking, I know.

Yep, that's me.  100%.

And then there's the day I dream of, the day I've been waiting for, the day that's come SO CLOSE but just hasn't made it, the day I've pretended was here just hoping it would actually turn into that day...

 On a more pleasant note, I tried a new recipe yesterday.  It's a pound cake and goes really well with the strawberries and whipped cream I cut up and whipped earlier.

The whole less eating out thing has been going pretty well.  Well, don't ask Eric because he thought Sunday's "go find something to eat because I'm having a bowl of cereal" was unacceptable.  But guess what.  He found something to eat and I enjoyed my cereal.  Now I just have to stick with it.  I've had a few weak moments, picking up dinner a few times, but I've also talked myself through a few other weak moments and here I am today with a roast already in the crock pot.  But what am I going to have for lunch?  Maybe I should go pick something up...

Oh, I was so caught up in stuffing my face, I almost forgot to mention I did an actual post on the website.  It's HERE.

Now I'm off to go get find some lunch.

the local paper

had a poll in one of their sections last week.  They want to know everybody's favorites.

What's your favorite boutique?

What's your favorite place to get a margarita?

What's your favorite Mexican food?

What's your favorite salon?

What's your favorite place for an oil change?

Who's your favorite fire fighter?

Who's your favorite cop?

Who's your favorite chiropractor?

You get the idea, right?  It's all the basics.  And then there's this one.

I think it might be my favorite just because it's so, I don't know.  Odd?  It makes you stop and say "wait, what??".  Who really goes around and asks who someone's favorite funeral home is?  The sad thing is, I have an answer.  I haven't mailed it in and honestly, I probably won't.

Speaking of death, The Dead Files is a show we dvr on The Travel Channel.  It's a retired cop and a medium.  They go separately to a location.  She goes through the house and feels out all the ghosts and junk while he researches the history and talks with the homeowners.  It ends with everyone getting together and the medium letting everyone know what she saw, the cop tells everyone who that probably is and why and then the medium tells the homeowner how to get rid of the ghosts.  So, Saturday's episode was a house in Lake Jackson.  I found out the Jackson family who had the plantations there was one messed up family.  The father, Abner Jackson, was basically a shyster and his sons didn't sound much better, with one killing the other.  I also learned this house is a gateway to Hell and these people were advised to get out now and save their souls.  I'm really having my doubts about going back to Lake Jackson.  I know I'll have to sooner or later so... if I start acting weird and creepy, call an exorcist ASAP and let them know it's Lake Jackson's fault.  In the meantime, I'll load myself down with protection.

i found a recipe on

Pinterest for a small batch of biscuits.  I decided to try it this morning.
(Recipe's HERE)

Nice and golden.

Nice and flat.

Maybe I need new baking powder.  Maybe I need to give up on biscuits and keep buying the frozen ones.

Other than the fact these looked more like scones, they were fine with syrup... I guess.

fancy biscuits call for a fancy plate

Speaking of looking like scones, I bet these would've been good with dried blueberries or cranberries in them.  Maybe next time.  If there is a next time.

a couple of weeks

ago I mentioned some painting things I wanted to try out.  They failed.

Here are my first attempts.

 This one was a little more of what I wanted to see but it wasn't as drastic as I'd hoped.

I wasn't going for anything special to hang on a wall, I was just wanting to try a few things out to see how they'd mess with the paint.


Here's a third.

I wasn't impressed so I put a pair of gloves on and smeared the paint all over the canvas.

Then I just stuck my hands on the floor to leave prints because I was that bored and underwhelmed with the results.

Nothing worked the way I'd planned.  I haven't given up on it but I haven't had any desire to try again.

i did it

again... just let everything else jump to the top of the to-do list, pushing the blog down a notch each time.

Houston's had a lot of rain so today we're on the second day of no work and no classes.

This picture is from the news this morning, talking about yesterday's flooding.  The building to the right of the bayou is one of the buildings of Eric's school and just next to Spaghetti Warehouse (the white building on the left) is a parking lot.

Here it is zoomed in on the school.  That's the third floor.

It had gone down a lot by this morning but more rain is in the forecast so class was canceled.  Cosme, on the other hand, was on his way to work when his supervisor sent a text saying he couldn't make it in so turn around and come back home.  So here we are again, another day of lounging around watching tv.  I haven't heard any complaints yet.  And now it's raining again.  Sounds like a good time for a nap.

it was a busy weekend

full of visiting and dancing and it was a lot of fun.  A friend came to town from Austin and we hadn't been out dancing since 1992.  Anyway, a group of us headed to Houston and spent four hours on the dance floor.  My knee is still in recovery mode.  So we went dancing Friday night, had an early Mexican food lunch on Saturday morning and then hung out around the house on Saturday night, all trying to stay awake after only four hours of sleep.  We had high hopes but didn't last very long.  Let me put it this way, everyone who knows anything about me knows I'm an early bird.  Sunday morning Cosme finally told me, "Melanie, it's after 10:00.  Are you going to sleep all day?"  I didn't but I probably could have.  Oh, and when there wasn't dancing, visiting or napping going on, I was deep into an Outlander marathon.  Long story short, it was pretty much a perfect weekend.

I didn't get enough Mexican food on Saturday so Sunday we made carne guisada, rice and beans.  It was EXCELLENT.  I could use another plate right now but since we're having the leftovers for dinner tomorrow, I'll hold off.  On our quick trip to the store Sunday, I decided I needed fruit.  All the prepackaged fruit packs they sell in the produce department are loaded with melons.  Yuck.  I made my own with grapes, clementines, apples, strawberries and raspberries.  I only forgot pineapple.  And I probably should have sprinkled a little sugar on the raspberries before mixing them in.

I've been snacking on it ever since.

Speaking of healthier decisions, I decided to go for my walk this morning even though it's garbage day.  I hate taking walks on garbage day.  Some neighbors aren't very considerate and turn the sidewalks into trash paths.  See what I mean?

Now, me on the other hand, I'm a little more considerate.  When I put my can out, I put it where the red X is.  When I have bags, I put them where the blue X is. 

That just seems like the obvious and courteous thing to do.  That's just me though...

while i haven't

been the best at getting on the computer and typing anything, I have thought about the blog while I've been out doing my thing.  So much so, I have a few pictures from my time off.

Last week or so we went to Top Golf.  I had to make a stop in the bathroom.  This just seemed odd to me.  (I know we don't all like to just drop our pants and go in the middle of a golf course... not that I've ever done that...)

Sure, golf clubs are expensive and I could understand her not wanting to leave them behind but it still seemed odd.  I half wondered why she didn't just use the big stall and take them in with her.  Oh well, maybe that's standard procedure.  Maybe it's an American Standard.  Get it?  American Standard? The brand of toilets?  Never mind.  And don't even get me started on her towel touching the floor.

Here's another thing from last week.  I needed a new pair of scissors for the kitchen, or, kitchen shears.  Whatever.

Notice anything?  I needed scissors to open the freaking scissors.  Why?

And then I made butter but probably should have whipped it a little longer.

And last, but not least, the day Dodo went to the hospital (the first time) and Cindy and I went back to the nursing home with her, I took this painting from her room.  I've always liked it and I knew I wanted it.  Now I have Dodo's take on The Lone Cypress hanging right here.

I need to order a new light for it, I think.  I don't have a bulb but even if I did, the cord looks a little jacked up.  I guess the cord could be replaced but then I could just get a new light and feel better about everything.  I also need to shop around for something different to place on the buffet.  This whole setup doesn't speak to me.  Something's just not right.  It needs a little more height and maybe a little less variety.  I don't know.  I do know the more I look at it, the more I know it's wrong.

My phone just let me know I need to be at the church in an hour to count so I guess that's where I'm off to now.

one of the things

I've been working on lately is eating out less.  (Yes, I'm on that kick again.)  Anyway, I picked up blueberries the other day and tried a new muffin recipe.  It pretty much sucked.  They were bitter and had too much cinnamon.  When butter didn't help, I went and bought margarine.  Sometimes, after all, a blueberry muffin calls for margarine and this wasn't that time.  I tried to eat them and not let them go to waste.  I threw them out yesterday.

Next time I'll stick to the recipe I always use.

And on the not-eating-out menu tonight?  Hot dogs, plain for Eric and me and Chicago style for Cosme.  Hey, I didn't say it was anything fancy.  Well, at least I'm planning on hot dogs, Whataburger or Chili's might happen at the last minute.

For now though, I'm off to try some stuff with paints.  I'll share later if it doesn't flop.  Well, I'll probably share even if it does flop.

Until then, just say no to bitter, cinnamon-doused blueberry muffins.

i've been missing

for a while.  Not because there's been anything major going on but mainly because I haven't been on the computer.  I will take a minute and share a few pics though.

I posted this on Instagram a few days ago.  The photo challenge was hands.

Sometimes it takes more than one try to get a picture... especially when there's an animal involved.  Here are a few I ended up with in the process.

Strat really doesn't understand my goal.

Or that light saber.

Or this little man.

But he does want to taste it.

And it was after his taste, as he pulled his face away that the happy-accident I shared yesterday on FB came about.  I thought this picture was great.  It really looks like Luke just fought him off.

*No cats were injured in the making of this picture.

My goal is to be back tomorrow.

last week i made

chicken fried steak.  Before I mixed my egg-dip mixture all up, it looked back at me.

And last week the cats continued to camp out in the laundry room.

On Friday we took the dogs for lunch to McDonalds.  Even though I said they shouldn't be able to eat meat since we couldn't, Cosme got them burgers anyway.

They enjoyed the burgers and then wanted some of Cosme's fish sandwich.

Yesterday I woke up with news that the nursing home took my grandmother to the hospital because she was unresponsive and might have had a stroke.  I took the hour long drive with my aunt to find out my grandmother's test results were all normal and she was being released and returned to the nursing home.

When I got home, Eric went with us for Mexican food and then Cosme suggested we go to the local beach.  Those are three things I never saw happening yesterday.

We enjoyed the beach so much though, we've decided to rent a beach house for a week this summer and now I'm waiting on a lady to email me a list of what's available.

Since yesterday's events distracted me from laundry and cleaning, I've been trying to get all that done today... on top of all the grocery shopping I'd planned on doing.  Now I've got to go start a dessert to go with all the strawberries since I loaded up again.

i've taken classes

on print transfers to figure out ways to combine photography with drawing and painting.  A while back I took a picture of myself to make a photography version of a painting I did.  It didn't turn out great because I couldn't get the makeup to run the right way down my face.  Anyway, I took the print and tried something else with it.  That's what this is all about.

I just added more paint to it.  It's pretty much one of those things I have hanging in front of me and whenever I get an idea for it, I try it.

I tried something similar with a picture of Cosme.  I'm not crazy about it but there are a few details I like.  Now I have it hanging so that if I ever come up with a way to fix it without ruining those details I like, I'll be happy.

Sometimes I forget about the photography and just use paints, like the other day when I was in a foul mood.  I came into the front room, left the door open enough for the cats to get through, brought a Coke, grabbed my headphones, put a canvas on my new easel and worked on my mood.  That's what this is all about.

It also seems to be one of those things I keep adding to but it was a lot easier to work on when I was in a bad mood.

Oh well, I guess I'll go off and enjoy my good mood... maybe paint some smiley faces?