fpoe photo swap

earlier this month, a gal named carrie from the female photographers of etsy group, came up with a brilliant idea!
now at the time, i didn't know her but had visited her shop - a sense of place photography - a cool place with lots of travel photography.

her brilliant idea was to spearhead a fpoe photo swap.  i say it's brilliant cause i love getting surprise mail, i love hanging photos on my walls (other than my own), i love making new friends, and i can explore a little slice of someone's world away from mine through the written word... yes on paper!

so i was paired up with two swappers and one of them was carrie!

she likes rust and flowers (so do i)!  so i popped a couple of rusty photos in the mail.  she talked about it here on her blog - cherry blossom tattoo.  now if you go read the post, you'll see that i neglected to write a wee little note introducing myself.

a couple days ago, i did just that.  the funny thing about writing a letter... you tend to ramble and can't delete it!  so i rambled, told her probably a wee bit more than a wee bit about myself.  but i wasn't about to rip up that pretty little card and start over so i popped some stamps on it and sent it over the sea!

this past year, i've started writing letters again and i'm so in love with it!  i love the feel of the paper (or cardstock), the flow of the pen (yes it is different than 2 pointer fingers), and the spontaneity of the word rush.  when i sit down to write, i just go with it!  no word plans, no revisions and most often i don't even proof it.  just slide it into it's carrying case and off it goes...

this is the photo she sent me.....

an adorable french poochie (from one of her travels)! hello bonjour!

so i look forward to telling you about my other swap soon!

desperado

today while hanging around the house (it snowed again last night) i started a little spring cleaning.  i can't even begin to describe how badly i want to get outdoors, feel the hot sun on my face and point my camera up in the trees to capture the buds that surely are going to come.

i found this

 

and this!

these were taken about 10 years ago when i got my first canon.  it's a pleasant memory of when i drove day after day, searching and then discovering "the perfect pictures".  i would have to shoot a whole roll in a day or two so i could run to the drug store to develop.  i didn't do the one hour thing back then cause i didn't want to spend too much money and i knew there was going to be many more rolls to come.  

when i did pick them up, i would ooh and aah over my "perfect pictures".  

what did i know? 

really nothing.... i just started pointing and shooting!  

i found a whole big pile of photos i haven't seen in years so i think on another day, i'll start going through them all and scan some of the better ones.

but finding them did bring a little spring to my step!

so earlier this week at the grocery store i picked up this...

 

it's a pink hyacinth bulb in a glass vase that i will be able to watch grow.

i put it on a table right in front of the window so the sunlight will shine down on those amazing little roots.

grow, baby grow!

although my trip a couple of weeks ago to sunny, hot florida was wonderful, i do think it didn't help my winter blues.  i'm feeling more cabin fever and agitation than ever!  maybe it's just that it's been the worst winter in years and years.  

so spring cleaning continued....

to amuse myself, i had the duster in one hand and my camera around my neck....

the mantle is spiffy clean!

so it was a fairly productive day after all.  

through it all, lucy kept her eye on me.  she's a little concerned that momma's a little kooky lately....

i'm wondering how everyone else is doing this fine sunday? 

vacation pics as promised

 

 

i have but a minute to post today but wanted to share some happy moments in the sun!

one world one heart winners

well  i am a little late announcing the winners of the one world one heart blogging event but i think i have a pretty decent excuse....

i just returned from a 5 day get away with my hubby to the florida keys!

we left about 4 or 5 feet of snow surrounding our house to go where the sun was shining and the days were in the 70's.

i had a blast soaking in the rays and some much needed r&r. the snow here has melted a little and it's about 40 degrees colder but i must say it... there's no place like home!

of course i took lots of pictures (374 to be exact) and i can't wait to go through them all. today i'll share the first sunset just hours after landing.

ok so now about the winners....

 

the winner of the calendar is micki from irish muses

christina's creative moments gets to select her choice of a photo block

and kathryn from angelself.com will receive a set of floral note cards.

i had a great time exploring so many new blogs and i want to thank all my visitors for their kind words and comments on my work.  a few people said they were inspired to get busy with their cameras and that's so cool! i hope you feel much joy in capturing your own special moments. and to my new followers, i promise to come visit as soon as i get settled in.

i'm feeling a little punchy from a long travel day so i'm off to notify the winners...

 

i hope you'll join me in the coming days as i look forward to sharing my florida moments!