Day 355- Lunch in Sonoma

I met my friend Joan in Sonoma today for a casual lunch and some browsing in some of the cute stores.

I only managed to take a few photos (Joan did NOT want to be in the blog. . .), but here are the treetops in the square with threatening clouds in the background. This shot is for my Daily Challenge group; the topic is apotheosis (look THAT up in your Funk and Wagnalls!).  I have no idea if this satisfies the requirement, but I edited the clouds to make them as grandiose as possible.

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And here is lunch: butternut squash soup with a half chicken salad sandwich.

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And a cute bike-slash-billboard I spotted along the street:

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Day 353- A Very Rapunzel Christmas

My Rapunzel group has been getting together to celebrate Christmas for over 35 years.  We always have a delicious lunch with plenty of desserts and, in recent years, have adopted Vicki’s tradition of bringing small gifts for everyone.  This year we were not only missing Vicki, who passed away six years ago, but also Nevin who has moved to Southern California (but joined us today by phone!). Our gatherings may be smaller, but our bond is as strong as ever!

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We were at Georgia’s house this year- look at her mother’s collection of beautiful official White House ornaments lining the staircase.  Wow!

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Day 351- Home for Christmas

Matt’s home!  Here he is in his comfort zone- watching football on TV with his Dad.

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He agreed that I could take some portrait shots between games.  I’ve been watching  Sue Bryce videos showing how she gets great glamour poses, but knew I wouldn’t get much cooperation from Matt in actual posing.  I wanted some practice with my flash as well, but didn’t take into account Matt’s tendency (inherited from me) to close his eyes just as the flash is about to fire.  I ended up resorting to natural light, which I like better anyway, so that I could click quickly and catch some open eyes.  But by this time, he was pretty bored and disgusted with the whole process.  I did manage to capture a hint of a smile when I quoted one of our favorite lines from Airplane.  And at least he is focus!

Matt layout

Stay tuned- there WILL be some decent family photos on here before the end of the year!

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Day 350- Golden

When our Golden Retriever, Murphy was alive, we collected many Christmas ornaments depicting goldens.  We still hang them on the tree and experience fleeting feelings of Murphy’s presence.  We are happy that we still have two goldens in our lives- Cooper and Callie, our granddogs.

Here is a shot of a reindeer golden.

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Day 349- Creepy Noir

Film Noir is the topic for today!  There is nothing I love more than a moody black and white photo, so I was excited to have fun with a portrait today.  My husband sort of volunteered to be the subject, so he posed before going out for coffee.  I deliberately used a high ISO and underexposed to get that grainy look.  When I converted it to black and white, I noticed he looks a little scary.  He should have been holding a dagger!

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Day 345- Shopping (and Dropping. . .)

I feel funny say I shopped til I dropped, because our afternoon into evening Christmas shopping expedition wasn’t entirely successful..  We came home with only a very small bag to show for all our efforts.  But, the dropping part is definitely happening right now.

I had my camera with me- my first chance to take a photo today.  So here are a couple shots from Broadway Plaza.

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Day 344- Backyard Clicks

A crunchy, brittle leaf caught my eye on the steps leading up to the deck today.  OK- I can use that for the steps topic from earlier in the week.  I used a coffee toned black and white conversion for this one.

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As I was going in, I noticed this little guy watching me from a tree limb.  He sat patiently, posing for me, until he heard my husband cheer as he watched football on TV- then off he flew.

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Day 343- No small accomplishment, if I do say so myself!

 

Today is number 343 of 366 days in 2012 that I have taken and posted one or more photos that I have taken that day.  Since this is my second year, I can also brag that it is Day 708 out of this two year project. Looks like I have 23 more days to go.

And- correct me if I’m wrong- this is the first time I have photographed push pins.

Small is the topic for today. These were taken pretty early this morning with my macro lens, tripod, and speedlight.

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Day 342- Aged

Oh happy day! The topic is aged, and I have no need to leave the house- I am surrounded by family heirlooms.

I guess this one isn’t a family heirloom yet, but it was my cereal dish and pitcher for milk when I was a very little girl. It says Italy on the bottom of the bowl, and I have no idea where my parents got it, since they never traveled to Europe.  It hasn’t been used in years, because of the fear of lead in the paint- but I am sentimental about it.

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Texture: Patina by Florabella

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Day 341- Sacred Space

The Meditation Garden at Unity of Tustin was one of the highlights of my visit with Nevin.  She and Darrell have found a spiritual home there, and she was eager to show me around the amazing grounds today.  I was especially drawn to the labyrinth, which I find such a deeply beautiful spiritual symbol and practice.  This labyrinth was outlined with stones, and a magnificent angel was placed near the entrance.

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I have many more photos, but exhaustion is starting to set in.  It was a whirlwind of a visit- 3 appointments for my husband, hours of wonderful conversation, the meditation gardens, driving adventures, a lunch with a view of the ocean, and my husband’s iPhone being left in the rental car- and mysteriously disappearing within ten minutes of turning in the car to the company.  But this last event hardly put a damper on a wonderful two days- iPhones can be replaced, friends can’t!

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