Tuesday, November 8, 2016

My Thoughts on the Day of the Presidential Elections in the U.S.

The hostility, rancor, and lack of ethics by many participants in this presidential election has me worn out, and just a bit stressed.  Plus, I was advised even though I do not work for the federal government, or anybody else, I fall under the Hatch Act...  You don't say???  I doubt that could be enforced, and having a bit of a rebel's soul, they don't realize how tempting it is for me to comment, promote, and otherwise make a complete fool of myself because of that instruction...

However, who wants to waste their life energy on such things.  I am of the age that I realize the only behavior that I ever have had or will have any real control over was and is my own.  Further, the choices in the race will both leave me as powerful tomorrow as I was yesterday, so I have decided to spend my time today working with the beautiful images from Cologne, Germany that I recently captured on a trip with Randy, our daughter, and our  son-in-law.  I will let the things of tomorrow take care of tomorrow.  Meanwhile, I am going to turn off the TV, clean my house, and work with more of the images I have captured in my recent travels.  Tomorrow will be soon enough to know the election results.

You know if I could pursue my dream profession... it would be antique doll shop keeper.  On our trip to Cologne, Germany, Randy and I wandered the streets, and as we did, we came across a beautiful little antique doll shop.

Squeeeellll!!!

  Please enjoy my captures from the enchanting little doll shop of Cologne.


To me this image is an abstract... only appreciated when you zoom in to find Waldo.. but actually there is no Waldo, but looking for him is fun! There really is no such person a "voter" either.   Lots of different kinds of people vote.  

Like I said, if I could have my dream job, .... antique doll shop keeper.... I found the whole experience delightful, and the treasures unique and fascinating!  From the life size Beatle, to the boxes of dolls waiting for repair, the magic of the little shop mesmerized me...

If you visit Cologne, don't miss this little place.  There is so much of history and play in this little shop.  There are treasured toys once loved and played with by children who are now ancient themselves,... or gone.  

I love toys, probably because my own idealistic childhood passes through my memory as I observe them.  How to play was something my mother instructed us in.  We weren't just given toys, we were taught how to imagine with toys, how to create stories and places in our minds,  and the manner, or rules of play with others.


As a child I didn't have many toys, but I didn't need a lot of toys...  My mother taught me how to have such a "great" time with what I had, that my play was limited only by my imagination and the energy I put into my play. 

 
There were dolls in the shop that were broken, that had been abandoned, 
and were waiting for repair.  I just wanted to do something for them...


There were dolls that looked like they didn't belong there among the others...

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

The Fall Foliage is Beautiful Here in Germany

Last Saturday we went to walk in the woods nearby where we live, and the  woods were beautiful.  We saw deer while we were out too.  Germany has public woods everywhere.  No visit to Germany is complete without a visit to the woods, and especially in the fall.






Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Eltville Germany Has Roses and Roses!

And Chance and I smelled them all!






One of My Favorite Captures Along the Rhine


As we toured the famous castle and church in Eltville, Germany I caught a bride's maid making preparations for the upcoming ceremony.  I choose to portray this image in black and white.  My camera loved this church and the beautiful design and character present both within and on the grounds!




Thursday, July 28, 2016

I Have Missed You!

Photography is the glorious quick fix of the artist heart!










I am finally back... and I have so missed you all!

Monday, May 2, 2016

I Really Like This Study in Yellows

The tulips of Keukenhof are really a photographer's dream.  I have not had much time to work on them, there is a great deal on my plate right now, but here are a few plays on just one basic image.






The Keukenhof Was Exquisite

Exquisite really doesn't cover it.  Breathtaking, no probably not... pictures do speak a thousand words... Holland and the tulips of spring... the smell alone makes you giddy...



Tulip People





Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Oh Woe is Me!

Our beloved ranch in Texas is completely flooded, we don't know the exact condition of our property, but a dear neighbor friend has sent us a cell phone picture taken as close as she could get.


We are a little further back than from where the road recedes 
and disappears, that will makes us completely under water...

My precious home will not be as it was when I return...






































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