01 Thursday Oct 2015
Posted in All Sparkled Up, family, nature, photography, sunset
Tags
allsparkledup, Atlantic Ocean, family, gloaming, nature, photography, sea, sunset
Gloaming: that time of day when the brilliant sunset has passed and the sky softly darkens.
They walked in the gloaming by the sea.
31 Friday Jul 2015
Posted in beach, nature, photography, sunset
Tags
So looking forward to the stunning sunsets at Sunset Beach, NC this fall.
These photos were taken last year.
Sunset Beach NC, 2014
Sunset Beach, NC
Sunset Beach NC
15 Friday May 2015
Posted in All Sparkled Up, encouragement, flowers, gardening, God, Inspirational, nature
Tags
All Sparkled Up, allsparkledup, encouragement, flowers, gardening, God, inspiration, nature, New Dawn, roses, window
I can’t count the number of friends whose lives are really complicated right now. I’m included in that number. So many troubles are weighing heavy on our hearts. But through it all, God is still there and still in charge.
This year, he gave me a little surprise again. Several weeks ago, I noticed New Dawn rose buds in the window!
The New Dawn rose has grown all the way up to my second story kitchen window again.
New Dawn rose buds peek in the kitchen window.
My kitchen window is on the second floor and I don’t have planters in the windows. The patio isn’t finished, the paint is peeling, lots of things are falling apart.
The patio is still unfinished.
Due to disability, I had to let a lot of things go, such as pruning and training the New Dawn rose bush. Just when it was getting to a good age to work with, my spine was collapsing so there were a half dozen years that disappeared.
The New Dawn rose bush is an untrained mess, tangled up with the honeysuckle bush.
Those were the thorn years. Lots of tangles and brambles.
We have to be careful walking down the stairs because the railing is lined with large, sharp thorns.
Even then, good things keep growing. Never forget that… GOOD THINGS KEEP GROWING.
Look how far that rose has grown! All the way to the window!
All the way up to my kitchen window, the rose bush reached.
The roses didn’t care that the paint was peeling.
Does God know where we are? Does he know our dark space? Can he see our need for beauty and goodness?
Yes, God is aware. He knows what we need. And all those little buds lined up in my window to say Good Things Keep Growing.
The roses are blooming now. But the weight of them is pulling the vine over.
I put three nails and a loose wire up to hold the roses up so I can see them from the kitchen again.
Roses in the window!
And how fitting that the rose is called New Dawn. Even without a window box of nourishing dirt, 20 feet from the ground, never stopping, the roses are peeking in my window to remind me Good Things Keep Growing.
Good things keep growing.
And the Lord shall guide thee continually and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. Is 58:11
18 Wednesday Feb 2015
Posted in nature, photography
Tags
close up, macro, nature, photo, photography, snowflake, snowflakes, winter
This is what actually covers that beautiful field of white.
Click here for a shortcut to a larger image.
I only had a short time this afternoon to capture these. They were melting on landing so I had to catch them quick. Imagine entire fields, mountains and hills covered with snowflakes. Breathtaking!
09 Monday Feb 2015
Posted in All Sparkled Up, family, nature, photography, sparkling, sunlight
05 Thursday Feb 2015
Posted in All Sparkled Up, art, color, God, nature, painting, photography, sunlight
Tags
All Sparkled Up, color, nature, photo, photography, snow, tree, watercolor, winter, Winter snow, winter tree
I accidentally set the exposure in my camera wrong. But sometimes what we do wrong ends up being way better than right. God didn’t want me to see a bare winter tree in my mom’s yard, he wanted to show me all the color.
Watercolor Winter Tree. This is a photograph, badly overexposed and with some motion blur. But oh the color! I almost missed it. Some day I’m going to make a real watercolor like it.
14 Friday Nov 2014
Posted in nature, photography, travel
Three weeks filled with amazing food, great scenes and warm family. Wow! I was hoping to update my blog while there but computer access was minimal. Sorry for my long absence. I missed sharing with you all! I’ll post more over the coming weeks.
This jet lag is tough. There must be a better way to get over it. Today I woke at 4:30 am and needed supper. And then later today I lay down for a little nap and slept six hours. Oh dear! Any tips for getting past jet lag? The time difference was …. 13 hou…r…. zzzzzzz.
Oh, did my head hit the keyboard just now? Yep, I’m struggling with jet lag.
Here’s one photo, taken at Nijo Castle in Kyoto. It was a warm, rainy fall day and very peaceful.
It was a rainy day in Kyoto, Japan at Nijo Castle. We enjoyed watching the koi in the ponds.
14 Tuesday Oct 2014
Posted in flowers, gardening, nature, photography, water
07 Tuesday Oct 2014
Posted in All Sparkled Up, color, family, flowers, grandkids, nature, photography, sparkling
Tags
All Sparkled Up, color, flowers, grandkids, nature, photography, photos, pink, pink things
Pink.
Pink rose petals
Pink Lego perfume bottle
Pink Dragonwing Begonia
Pink icing
Pink bubble wands
Pink happiness
Pink roses
Pink bubbles
Pink building blocks
Pink lace
Pink flowers
Pink beach sweetness
15 Monday Sep 2014
Tags
beach, cakes, cookies, family, food, Mom, ocean, picnic basket, sunlight, sunset, tea, tea time, waiting
She’s six now. Last year she carried a ship to the beach. This year she carried a picnic basket.
The delicious treats filled the tray.
The blooming tea was still warm.
Coconut Cream glaze dripped down the blueberry pomegranate jam-filled cakes. Some were topped with toasted coconut and macadamias, others were topped with sugared rose and lilac petals. Vanilla pearls were sprinkled on top of shell-shaped spice Madeleines. Tiny oranges looked like blooming lotus blossoms and green and Concorde grapes filled the bowl. Crumbly Lavender Lemon Shortbread squares and tea cups were piled on the picnic basket top.
On the top tray: Vanilla Bean cakes filled with Blueberry Pomegranate Jam and topped with Coconut Cream Glaze, toasted coconut & macadamias, sugared lavender and rose petals. On the bottom tray, Spice Madeleines sprinkled with vanilla pearls. On the dessert plates under the tea cups: Lavender Lemon Shortbread.
She poured a cup of tea and waited by the sea.
The sunset was soft and dreamy.
The breeze was warm and welcome.
The colors were slipping away and still she waited.
She didn’t stop hoping
And finally her mom sat down. Even when the sunset is gone, Tea by the Sea is best with mom.
[We had a wonderful time making the treats for this, setting up the table and photographing it all. Thank you, Gabriel Monroe, for being second shooter and lighting expert. Thank you, Donna, for your lovely suggestions and help. Thank you, Uncle Butch and Aunt Dilly, for the use of your beautiful chair! We had a splendid time and it was perfect.
The lovely lace-embossed Filigree appetizer plates, bowl and infinity tray are by Rosanna, Inc.]
All Sparkled Up 