Photo A Day - Sun

I am participating in February Photo A Day Challenge, brought to life by Fat Mum Slim.

Image taken at 5:17 pm at our frozen lake.  Today were busloads of skaters trying to take advantage of frozen natural ice still in it's magnificent glory...

I love both sunrise and sunset.  Today the skies of our part of the Netherlands was totally overcast in the morning.  It was not until the afternoon that the sun came out a bit out of the clouds...just before it had to set again.

Do you prefer sunrise to sunset or enjoy both with equal fervour? :)


The month of February in images, so far. . .

February 1 ~ Your View Today

February 2 ~ Words

February 3 ~ Hand(s)

February 4 ~ A Stranger

February 5 ~ 10 am 

February 6 ~ Dinner

February 7 ~ Button(s)

Photo A Day: Button(s)

I am participating in February Photo A Day Challenge, brought to life by Fat Mum Slim.

This above all: to thine own self be true - Shakespeare

Since yesterday, the quote above has been sounding off in my head, and it seems that the only way I could make it stop, is to acknowledge it through writing.  So, I take this photo a day challenge, as an opportunity to do so.

I like buttons, the unendless variety of it's kind.  Like people, or the lives led by people, you can find all sorts.

One of the main reason I created this blog is to remind myself to be true to who I am.  It's easy to lose yourself in life if you don't keep focus on what is most important.

The day has been long, and I have to admit that I could have made a lot more effort with the picture of the day but instead, I settled for this image.

It's the set of buttons on K, middle daughter's knitted dress, which she likes wearing with jeans. When I see her wearing it (it used to be J, the eldest daughter's dress) it makes me smile, just like what happened when J used to wear it.  I think Littlest will still be inheriting it as well; it's made of sturdy material.

When I read the list of photos we have to do, and I arrive on Day 7, I instantly thought of this dress with the three dark pink buttons.

Then, late this afternoon, as I was checking out what the others did, I started doubting my choice.  But there was no time to think or my mind was too distracted about something else. Plus, I wanted to yet again prepare a nice dinner for the family, which always takes a lot of time.  P is coming home early for dinner, J has CITO at school (will explain some other time...) and I wanted to nurture them. 

I also alloted the chunk of my free time today to write friends, whom I have not been in touch with for a while.

So, here  I am presenting a picture and the buttons, which represents, who I am:

• someone who strives for simplicity
• loves all the colour that life is composed of
• has a set of steady (almost there!) priorities :)
• sturdy and survivor of a lot of changes and transitions!

What does your button say about you?


The month of February in images, so far. . .

February 1 ~ Your View Today

February 2 ~ Words

February 3 ~ Hand(s)

February 4 ~ A Stranger

February 5 ~ 10 am 

February 6 ~ Dinner

Photo A Day: Dinner

I am participating in February Photo A Day Challenge, brought to life by Fat Mum Slim.

Don't you just love it when you hear your family collectively groan with pleasure from the dinner you serve? :D


The month of February in images, so far. . .

February 1 ~ Your View Today

February 2 ~ Words

February 3 ~ Hand(s)

February 4 ~ A Stranger

February 5 ~ 10 am

Photo A Day: 10 am

I am participating in February Photo A Day Challenge, brought to life by Fat Mum Slim.

I set the alarm clock the night before so I won't forget to take a picture at 10 am! :)

My favourite view to look at when I wake up; I am happy to have a four seasons collage of this view.

The month of February in images, so far. . .

February 1 ~ Your View Today

February 2 ~ Words

February 3 ~ Hand(s)

February 4 ~ A Stranger

Simplifying Sunday: Photo A Day Challenge

As I mentioned yesterday, I will belatedly share images for the days I missed so far for the February Photo A Day Challenge, brought to life by Fat Mum Slim.

Last year with MUCH effort I was finally able to succesfully complete a 365 challenge: photographing daily from July 2010 - July 2011.  I think my first attempt at this challenge, which I stumbled upon in Flickr, was in 2008.

Next year, I will attempt to face the challenge once again  of 365 days of blogging, and since it seems a natural thing to do (at least for me! lol) I might as well do a 365 days of photographing. :)

In the meantime, I am grateful for "mini-challenges" like February Photo A Day Challenge to keep me sharp and limber!

Many things which seems daunting eventually become simpler the more you practice doing it. 

I had the same train of thought, when I  commented on a friend's blog yesterday:

What I am doing with blogging (and with life :D) is keeping it simple, and focusing on what I truly love and what gives me and my family joy. Somehow, expressing oneself creatively (and living life!) comes easier when you do both: simplify and focus.

Another reason to blog regularly!  Positive behaviour definitely gets reinforced in this way.  Promise.

Now, back to those images I would like to belatedly share.

It seems serendipitious that I stumbled upon the challenge, just as I was going back to photographing daily.  Since the 365 project of 2010/2011, when the camera was almost an extension of my arm, I took it less and less with me after Summer 2011, and I could say I did not take much if any pictures at all the entire month of January.

I think I needed the break, and now feel rejuvenated and inspired to share how I view life through the lens.

Here are the links to the images (backdated posts!) :


February 1 ~ Your View Today

February 2 ~ Words

February 3 ~ Hand(s)

February 4 ~ A Stranger

And if you would like to see all the photos for this month, please click here: February Photo A Day Challenge

Photo A Day: A Stranger

I am participating in February Photo A Day Challenge, brought to life by Fat Mum Slim.

This collage is composed of images that my P took on his day out with his friend.  Although they know each other from work, and have developed a good friendship through the years (before P and I met), T and I have yet to meet, and so I could say that T is still "a stranger" to me. :)

I am taking liberty in sharing his image because he is hardly recognizable here (I hope!).

He was very generous in sharing this day with P, who is very lucky to have more than a handful of good friends, who shares his interest, and their fun with him.  T rented this flight simulator with an instructor for two hours, and P acted as his co-pilot.  P got to fly as captain too, and simply had a blast.

This is one stranger I look forward to meeting, soon! :)

Photo A Day: Hand(s)

I am participating in February Photo A Day Challenge, brought to life by Fat Mum Slim.

I got lucky with this photo!  It's the day I learned about the challenge after battling our way home through the snowfall.

As you can see, the littlest was not pleased to "lose" her hand glove. :)  I thought about this shot when I read about the photo-challenge, and had to smile that I had the presence of mind to take this image.  Actually on this day, I took another picture of the same theme: my handgloved covered hand.

I don't know what made me  take a picture of my hand.  It was an impulse.  At the background was the frozen canal and an empty field.  I guess the logical explanation was that I wanted to give a distinctive perspective for whoever will stumble upon the random image.  Or perhaps I had this premonition, I will need an image of a hand!

Still this cute image won over because who can resist sharing this cute precious expression!

Photo A Day: Words

I am participating in February Photo A Day Challenge, brought to life by Fat Mum Slim.

Since I learned about this challenge the 3rd of February, and backdating the blogs where I am posting the images belatedly, I am interpreting the image for today in my own way!

So, instead of a photograph of words, I edited on the image the words I was thinking as I took this image of the littlest.  It's noon time, after I picked her up from school, and before I put her in the child seat of the bike.  She likes to watch the swans and ducks frequenting under this bridge.

You will notice in the days to come, we have lots of small bridges in our neighbourhood!

Photo A Day: Your View Today

I am participating in February Photo A Day Challenge, brought to life by Fat Mum Slim.

February 1 ~ Your View Today

I love this bridge; it's a view I see a couple of times a day as I bring the youngest to school, and pick her up again.  It's fun to stand on it and just take in the view of the field occasionally populated with herds of sheep.  There is a resident pair of swan, and a couple of ducks that expectantly look up to you for some morsel of old bread.