#365photomore, Day 40: "It's All Fun and Games..."

I was sitting at my desk and realized I still needed a picture for today, so I sat down on the floor and snapped one of the two game shelves. 

#365photomore, Day 39: "Crafternoon"

This afternoon, I had several girlfriends over for lunch and a craft party.  While most worked on knitting projects, I dug out this beaded banner project I've had for who knows how many years.  And who knows how many more years it will take to finish?  I might need to throw a few more parties...

#365photomore, Day 38: "Such a Pretty Flower"

No, I did not make this.  The Fred Meyer bakery did.  Very tasty! 

#365photomore, Day 37: "Oh, were you coming back?"

Rule #1:  If it's a scrap of material, regardless of size, it is Sammy's blanket.

#365photomore, Day 36: "Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot"

Well, the good news is, my temperature is finally coming down...

#365photomore, Day 35: "The Eyes Have It."

I've been sick for the last four days.  :(  It's getting harder to find things around the house to snap photos of...

#365photomore, Day 34: "Olives"

Quite possibly one of the world's most perfect foods! 

#365photomore, Day 33: "Tools"

My little tool set.  It definitely comes in handy!

#365photomore, Day 32: "Bedtime for Charlie"

My little sleepyhead, just snoozing away. 

#365photomore, Day 31: "New Desk"

My friend and I swapped out my desk today for a smaller one.  In the meantime, while I'm waiting for him to build a hutch for me, I have to figure out where everything is going to go.  For the time being, the answer is boxes and assorted tote and grocery bags.

#365photomore, Day 30: "The View"

Sammy had to go to the vet today.  Nothing too serious:  he's showing signs of being a 12 year old dog.  Although for a dog who is having a hard time with his back legs, he had no trouble jumping into the front seat of the car for the ride home! 

#365photomore, Day 29: "How You Doin?"

I totally nailed the visual round at "Friends" themed trivia was going to have us identifying notable guest and recurring characters. Too bad I didn't do more homework on the subject!

#365photomore, Day 28: "Animal Farm"

I think I have enough animal slippers.  :)  The koalas were a birthday present to myself.  They were way too cute to pass up and I had a coupon. 

#365photomore, Day 27: "Define Vegan"

I believe that I have a much different definition of "vegan!"  My friend had one of the chicken entrees and confirms that it was real chicken, not some tofu or tempeh concoction.

#365photomore, Day 26: "DFS"

This evening, I volunteered for a great organization that I'd heard of but had not volunteered for before:  Dressed for Success.  I was impressed with the way the organization is run and the many programs they offer to help women prepare for interviews and transitioning into a full-time job.  I'm looking forward to doing more with this group.

#365photomore, Day 25: "First Ride"

The first ride of 2015 was supposed to be sunny and low 60's-not bad for January!  Instead, it was mostly foggy and mid-40's on the Columbia River.

#365photomore, Day 24: "Life is a Highway"

"Life is a Highway:"  The freeway entrance off of NE 112th Avenue onto SR-500 in Vancouver, WA.

#365photomore, Day 23: "Bad Ass"

Nothing says I'm a bad ass like girly, pink boxing gloves!

#365photomore, Day 22: "Waiting for the Lab"

Today, I had to go in for my blood draw for my routine annual tests.  I was there early and since I had some time to kill used it to take some pictures.  This is the water feature in the main section of the clinic. 

#365photomore, Day 21: "Nachos!"

Who can resist nachos?  I sure can't!  They are definitely one of my favorite foods, and this happy hour portion of Tommy O's Kahlua pork nachos at their downtown Vancouver, WA location is the perfect size. 

#365photomore, Day 20: "How Low Can You Go?"

At the Arco station on NE 112th Ave and Burton Road in Vancouver, WA on January 20, 2015

2015 365 Photography: "Flash"

I didn't even notice the mosquito!  I was just thinking it's a bit too early for dandelions.  (And mosquitoes for that matter!)

52 Days of Creative Exposure, Week 3: "Broken"

I found these pieces on the street side of my fence. I believe it was a vase before it was broken. I may try to piece it back together.

CameraShy, Week 2: "Local"

My original plan was to take pictures at Ft. Vancouver but that just wasn't in the cards. So while running errands today, I stopped at the Brush Prairie Cemetery near my house. It was pouring rain so I only snapped a couple of quick shots. As a volunteer photograph for Find a Grave, I've spent many hours walking this cemetery!

Photochallenge.org, Week 2: Numbers 10 and Under

This was a fun challenge.  It's amazing how many places I saw numbers that were 10 and under-and amazing how many of them were in locations I couldn't safely take their picture.  I finally settled on the power meter I park in front of every day at work.

#365photomore, Day 19: "Derailed Trane"

Ah, the bane of my existence:  the furnace.  Luckily, this time it was just a blown fuse and inexpensive to fix.  Sadly, however, over the last few years I have learned contrary to their catchy slogan, it is NOT that hard to stop a Trane!

#365photomore, Day 18: "Orchids"

Well, I thought these were a type of orchid, but I have been informed I am wrong about that and they are either alstroemeria or Peruvian lilies.  Either way, they're very pretty.  They make up the table decorations at Thai Basil in Lake Oswego, Oregon, where I was treated to a lovely birthday dinner.

#365photomore, Day 17: "It's a Mystery to Me..."

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr Weekend of Service, I returned to one of my favorite projects:  the monthly books sort at Schoolhouse Supplies, from which I'd taken a few months off after doing this project pretty much every month for five years.  It was good to be back and to be introduced to the new system, which had me "playing" with the books in my favorite genre.

#365photomore, Day 16: "Beware..."

Chester may want to change his route!

A few years ago, I made the mistake of going on a rant at work about how much I hate yard gnomes.  I find them incredibly creepy.  And I hate the way they always seem to be watching you.

So, naturally, my co-workers have gotten into a habit of giving them to me.  It started with Chester (aka the Travelocity Gnome) and yesterday, the gnome loving dinosaur became the latest addition.  Originally, I had the idea of hiding Chester around the office to see where he "traveled" to, but ultimately decided that it creeps me out more to not know where he is than to know he is safely hidden in my desk drawer.

#365photomore, Day 15: "Balloons!"

My birthday this year just happened to fall on monthly trivia night.  My friends made sure the occasion was noted with balloons and a tiara.  I never knew you could personalize the balloons!  (Also, taking pictures of helium balloons is only slightly easier than herding cats!) #365photomore

#365photomore, Day 14: "Key to the Kingdom?"

This is what happens when you have a massage in a creaky old building with a shared, locked bathroom, the massage therapist is running behind, you're bored in the waiting room, you're participating in a daily challenge in which you are taking photographs with your cell phone and you are easily amused. 

My original plan for today was a shot of the coin operated parking meters you still have to feed in downtown Vancouver.  #365photomore

#365photomore Day 13: "So many choices"

A couple of years ago, one of my fellow widowed friends thought we deserved to do something just for ourselves on a monthly basis for one year.  I thought this was a good idea and "spa day" was born.  After the year was up, I enjoyed it so much and felt it was beneficial from a therapeutic standpoint so I kept going. 

The hardest part is always deciding which color to choose.

52 Days Creative Exposure, Week 2: "Moss"

Only two weeks into it, and I'm starting to think that having a theme may be easier than "freelance!"  I was trying to get a shot of something else, but wasn't happy with the results.  On the plus side, I know what my subject is for next week!

#365photomore, Day 12: "Welcome to my Monday Morning"

This is pretty typical of what my desk looks like about 15 minutes after I arrive to work on Monday mornings.  #365photomore

#365photomore, Day 11: "Waiting for Fall"

Another foggy, rainy day in Portland.  I thought it was interesting the leaves on this tree had turned, but not fallen.  This was taken in the parking lot at Kennedy School in NE Portland. #365photomore

#365photomore, Day 10: "Mocktail"

In addition to the photography challenges, I'm doing a reading challenge and playing along with 52 fun things to do in 2015.  Instead of starting at the top, I decided to randomly pick a number each week and do that item.  I started with #26, "create your own cocktail."  Being that I'm allergic to sulfites and yeast, mine was a "mocktail" instead. #365photomore

#365photomore, Day 9: "Where to go next? (aka the Purple Countries)"

To help with planning my next trip, I selected a color from my world map (purple) and put all those countries in a hat and drew one out.  I drew Algeria, but I think I may go somewhere a little safer instead! #365photomore

#365photomore, Day 8: "Hard at Work"

My friend, David, hard at work at the Oregon Food Bank.  #365photomore

#365photomore, Day 7: "Sunset"

This was taken through my windshield while waiting at a red light on Airport Way in Portland.

#365photomore, Day 6: "Hiding"

Charlie loves to "hide" under the bed.  #365photomore

#365photomore, Day 5: Dinner!

The dogs had automatic dog feeders until Sammy figured out how to get them out of the stands and get the tops off of the feeders.  One of the feeders died, so now it's back to manually feeding them.  They love to stand in the stand for the feeders and eat. #365photomore

#365photomore, Day 4: Muffin Tins

You can make a lot of muffins with these bad boys! #365photomore

#365photomore, Day 3: "Jazzy Salsa"

To celebrate a friend's birthday, a small group of us heading to Portland's jazz club, Jimmy Mak's.  Much to my delight, the band playing that evening, Sabroso, is a "funky Latin" band, or as I called it before we found the description online "jazzy salsa." #365photomore

#365photomore, Day 2: Nap time!

I was working on a puzzle (not the polar bears) and knew the dogs were on the couch next to me.  It cracked me up when I looked over and found Charlie looking like he was about to slid off the couch. #365photomore

#365photomore Day 1

I got a late start with this challenge.  Luckily, I had enough photos from 2015 on my cell phone that I could catch up.  This is a picture of one of my other hobbies. #365photomore

2015 365 Photography, Week 2: "Low Light"

The challenge for this week is to take a photograph in a low light setting without using a flash. 

This lamp is one of the most hideous things I have ever seen.  I fell in love with it at first sight at an antique store in SE Portland.  James went back and bought it for me as a Valentine's Day gift, with the condition I not display it in a part of the house where company could see it.  It sits on my nightstand.  Once to his chagrin, it did make an appearance at bunco so I could show it off.

2015 365 Photography Project, Week 1: No Theme

This particular challenge has two options:  theme for the week (aka "prompt") or no theme.  The theme for the week was "sunlight."  Mother Nature, however, decided that fog and rain was in order for the Portland Metro area, so when it came down to the wire, I went with no theme for this week. 

This is the Rose City Park Presbyterian Church in NE Portland, taken January 11, 2015, taken with the "selective color" setting.

Camera Shy, Week 1: "Beginnings"

I decided that for this year, I need to journal the positives in my life, so I bought two journals:  one is a five year reflection journal, the other is to daily record an inspirational quote that goes along with how I'm feeling that day.

I found the bottom journal at DSW and thought it's slogan of "Every day is an adventure.  Wear the right shoes." was perfect for a journal in which I plan to write down words of encouragement and inspiration.

Photo Challenge, Week 1: Macro, Kitchen

I don't have a macro lens, but this is a close up shot I took at the Old Portland Hardware and Architectural Store of a bin full of old pastry cutters, or "Mashers" as I like to call them. #photochallenge.org

52 Days of Creative Exposure, Week 1: "Trinkets"

This was taken at a photo shoot with the Portland DSLR Photographers Meetup group at a cool store in NE Portland named Old Portland Hardware and Architecture, January 3, 2015.