06/01/12 - Flutterby My Blog: http://maryanng.blogspot.com/2012/06/flutterby.html This Eastern Tiger Swallowtail showed up on my butterfly bush yesterday. Technically I was late to go get the boys from school already, but I just had to get out of my car and take a few pics before i headed down the road. This was the best one I got for sharpness and color and exposure. I hate it the leaf is in front of his head:-( This shot is Madi's dog Salvo poolside yesterday. He's so handsome! We love this dog. He's such a well behaved boy! SmugMug Link This is Joey asking to have his picture taken. He was really enjoyed the water! Thanks to Teen and Madi for having us over! SmugMug Link All my kid shots at the pool were blurry. Too much action and not enough light but at least when the shade is over the pool we can sip the sunscreen/chemicals and no worry about sunburn. The water was reasonably warm. It felt great! The kids are doing this new thing this year where they somersault into the pool:-) I did talk to them about neck safety since the pool is not that deep. I think they're OK with what they are doing at least this year. SmugMug Link The video describes it better:-) And the obligatory daily food shot. How to have a hamburger without a bun. Put homemade cheese sauce on it and then add a little sour cream salsa mixture as a pseudo ketchup. Yum! SmugMug Link HAGD, Maryann

Thanks for stopping by to view my daily photo! I will post a new photo each day to this gallery. Typically, I will post early morning, and the photo will have been taken the day before. Sometimes the photo may be from sometime earlier in the week, but all the pictures posted will be relatively new. I hope you see something that makes you smile. Feel free to leave professionally appropriate comments.

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06/06/12 - Butterflyfest!

My Blog: http://maryanng.blogspot.com/2012/06/butterflyfest.html

It was a good day for shooting butterflies yesterday.  At one point I had a black and a yellow Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on my butterfly bush. I could seem them flutter by from the window where I was working at my computer.  I took a few breaks to stretch my legs and came away with these shots. So hard to choose!

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I'm not sure what kindof bug is eating the tiny bee, but I really loved the pollen details in this one!

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HAGD,
Maryann

06/05/12 - Ben's Baseball Enthusiasm

My Blog: http://maryanng.blogspot.com/2012/06/bens-baseball-enthusiasm.html

Johnny's team, the Ironbirds, had a game last night.  Unfortunately they lost.  Even so, there are always moments out on the field that are a joy to watch.  This is Ben, the coaches son, and boy can he hit, run, throw, and catch!  A real thrill to watch all around!

I made collages of two of the other kids too:

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I get a real sense of joy capturing these memories and sharing with the other parents...

It is of course much harder to get shots of the action on the field. I missed several plays I would like to have captured.  Maybe next time!

Thank you for all your comments on my portrait of Salvo.

HAGD,
Maryann

06/04/12 - Sweet Salvo

My Blog: http://maryanng.blogspot.com/2012/06/good-boy-salvo.html

Madi's dog, Salvo, was being such a sweetheart poolside yesterday!

Here is Salvo's neighborhood friend Petey the bulldog looking very cute too.

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It was a laid back day yesterday with home cooked meals, a nice swim, relaxing time with Donnie, and the boys coming home for their dad's house.

Teen and Danny picked their first tomato, and there are more on the way!

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They also have this gorgeous hydrangea in their yard.  I feel like I can never fully capture the beauty and details of this bush, but I try.

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It's back to work and baseball for us today...

HAGD,
Maryann

06/03/12 - Bullets!

My Blog: http://maryanng.blogspot.com/2012/06/bullets.html

Do you know what car this is before I tell you?  Donnie and I went to the Tarheel Tigers Pontiac Club 12th Annual Car Show yesterday at MacGregor village.

We saw a lot of great Pontiacs, Buicks, and Cadillacs.  My favorite car in the show was a 1959 Caddy:-)  If I ever win the lottery (I don't play), I'm going to have to buy one of these!  It's a woman's car...what can I say.  IA woman actually owns it too and I talked to her.

Sweet!

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Best in show!  Also best shine.  Well deserved on both counts!

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My favorite hood!  Being at this show was like watching Smokey and the Bandit all over again!

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Gotta share this 1950 Caddy too!

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Donnie had a lot of fun making me guess where the gas caps are on the 1959 Caddy and the 1950 Caddy.  On the 1959 you pull out some of the bullets on the rear bumper to open a small panel.  On the 1950, it's under the left tail light.  That's right, the tail light.  Too cool!

It's really great going to car shows with Donnie...one more thing we really like to do together!

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Yesterday I shared a blog post of what was for dinner last night with this photo.

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I also shared a blog post on backing bacon  with this photo.

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HAGD,
Maryann

06/02/12 - Dreamy Daisies

My Blog: http://maryanng.blogspot.com/2012/06/dreamy-daisies.html

We continue to have a good bit of rain, so many of the flower pics I take are wet.  I took some roadside and neighborhood flower  pics on the school run and a short errand trip yesterday.  I liked the tiny daisy shot best for it's dreaminess and being something unique relative to what I've already posted this year.  But these wet lilies sure are pretty too!

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Cute anole lizard in my yard.

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And mourning dove love birds.

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That's a thistle sock for the goldfinch (not pictured) behind them.

Donnie and I had a chance to go to the Museum of Life and Science last night for their adult Disco Tech party.  Our good friends Joe and Debbie (below) invited us.  It was a fundraiser with a silent and live auction plus lots of adults dressed in their 70's best having too much fun dancing to the Bee Gees.  My kindof music!  Debbie and I waited until 10PM to get on the dance floor and then danced on and off with the guys for the next hour.  I left out of breath, sweaty, and with a big smile on my face!

The following shots were taken on the train ride.  Yes, the dressed up adults got to go without kids on the train!  Woo hoo!

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Back inside the museum, we had a bit more fun too:-)  Who says museums are just for kids!

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HAGD,
Maryann

06/01/12 - Flutterby

My Blog: http://maryanng.blogspot.com/2012/06/flutterby.html

This Eastern Tiger Swallowtail showed up on my butterfly bush yesterday.  Technically I was late to go get the boys from school already, but I just had to get out of my car and take a few pics before i headed down the road.  This was the best one I got for sharpness and color and exposure.  I hate it the leaf is in front of his head:-(

This shot is Madi's dog Salvo poolside yesterday.  He's so handsome!  We love this dog.  He's such a well behaved boy!

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This is Joey asking to have his picture taken.  He was really enjoyed the water!  Thanks to Teen and Madi for having us over!

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All my kid shots at the pool were blurry.  Too much action and not enough light but at least when the shade is over the pool we can sip the sunscreen/chemicals and no worry about sunburn.  The water was reasonably warm.  It felt great!  The kids are doing this new thing this year where they somersault into the pool:-)  I did talk to them about neck safety since the pool is not that deep.  I think they're OK with what they are doing at least this year.

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The video describes it better:-)

And the obligatory daily food shot.  How to have a hamburger without a bun.  Put homemade cheese sauce on it and then add a little sour cream salsa mixture as a pseudo ketchup.  Yum!

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HAGD,
Maryann

05/31/12 - Sending Sunshine

My Blog: http://maryanng.blogspot.com/2012/05/sending-sunshine.html

The rain moved out and the skies finally cleared after Tropical Storm Beryl moved out to sea.  My rain guage said 1.25 inches.

These lovely flowers, gloriosa daisy I believe, are growing in my front perennial garden.  They have come back fuller than ever.  I am pleased!  They remind me of sunshine and seem full of cheer.

Also blooming in my yard are hydrangea (lower right), oak leaf hydrangea (lower left), and gardenia (can you smell it?).

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I continue to try try to cook whole and healthy meals and to document them with pictures.  Below is green beans, onions, chicken breast, and a romaine lettuce salad with fresh guacamole sour cream dressing.  The dressing was a smidge thick but tasted yummy.

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My girlfriend, Patricia, pointed me to the blog 100 Days of Real Food.  The writer, Lisa Leake, recently documented everything that her family ate for a week with a picture.  She broke it up into breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner.  Very interesting stuff at least to me.  She is allowing and serving way more carbs than I am but I still enjoyed reading her posts.

HAGD,
Maryann

05/30/12 - Fabric Art

My Blog: http://maryanng.blogspot.com/2012/05/fabric-art.html

I took some coneflower pics yesterday, but I'm not satisfied with them, so you're getting another picture from Monday.  This is a curtain in the window of the old house down the road.  I adjusted the contrast and brought out the details.  I  think it's kindof cool.  Here's the window.

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Here's the best coneflower shot, but it's grainy and not well focused:-(

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A double.

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TS Beryl or what's left of him is here this AM and it's pouring!

Thanks for your comments on the old tobacco barn shot.

HAGD,
Maryann

05/29/12 - Quintessential Country Barn Scene

My Blog: http://maryanng.blogspot.com/2012/05/quintessential-country-barn-scene.html

While out running errands yesterday, I noticed a bed of orange lilies in front of a tobacco barn and thought it was so pretty that I just had to turn around and go back for a picture.  I have used HDR with Photomatix to enhance the details and color in my daily shot.  Here's an alternate view.  I used the Color Efex Pro Detail Extractor filter to pp this shot.  The bracketed images were not aligned enough for crisp detail, so I had to work with just one image.  I find the Detail Extractor filter a good back-up when HDR isn't working out.

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I'm still doing my best to cook healthy meals.  Of course I realize what one considers healthy another may consider the opposite.  At any point, instead of swinging into McDonald's for lunch because it was lunchtime and we were all starved, we came home and I pan fried some onions and chicken breasts in coconut oil.  I also steamed some sugar snap peas that came in my weekly Carolina Grown food order.  I'm happy to say that Joey readily ate the peas just as he would string beans or asparagus.  I threw the steamed peas into the frying pan after the other food was done to give them a bit of added flavor.  Oh, and we're using sour cream mixed with some salsa instead of ranch dressing or ketchup now.  There's no sugar in that mixture like there is in the others.

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I saw this interesting wrapped Xb at Cameron village yesterday.  Every Woman Needs a Bailey's Box.  It was a jewelry store ad.  Wrapping cars to make money advertising is a common sight around here, but I had not seen that unique metal bow on top before!

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Back to school and back to work today.  I know it's just going to be a 4 day week, but can it be Friday already?  Not really wanting to wish the days away just not looking forward to the grind either.

Thanks for your comments on our Memorial Day pool fun collage.

HAGD,
Maryann

06/01/12 - Flutterby

My Blog: http://maryanng.blogspot.com/2012/06/flutterby.html

This Eastern Tiger Swallowtail showed up on my butterfly bush yesterday. Technically I was late to go get the boys from school already, but I just had to get out of my car and take a few pics before i headed down the road. This was the best one I got for sharpness and color and exposure. I hate it the leaf is in front of his head:-(

This shot is Madi's dog Salvo poolside yesterday. He's so handsome! We love this dog. He's such a well behaved boy!

SmugMug Link

This is Joey asking to have his picture taken. He was really enjoyed the water! Thanks to Teen and Madi for having us over!

SmugMug Link

All my kid shots at the pool were blurry. Too much action and not enough light but at least when the shade is over the pool we can sip the sunscreen/chemicals and no worry about sunburn. The water was reasonably warm. It felt great! The kids are doing this new thing this year where they somersault into the pool:-) I did talk to them about neck safety since the pool is not that deep. I think they're OK with what they are doing at least this year.

SmugMug Link

The video describes it better:-)

And the obligatory daily food shot. How to have a hamburger without a bun. Put homemade cheese sauce on it and then add a little sour cream salsa mixture as a pseudo ketchup. Yum!

SmugMug Link

HAGD,
Maryann

SmugMug Link This is Joey asking to have his picture taken. He was really enjoyed the water! Thanks to Teen and Madi for having us over! SmugMug Link All my kid shots at the pool were blurry. Too much action and not enough light but at least when the shade is over the pool we can sip the sunscreen/chemicals and no worry about sunburn. The water was reasonably warm. It felt great! The kids are doing this new thing this year where they somersault into the pool:-) I did talk to them about neck safety since the pool is not that deep. I think they're OK with what they are doing at least this year. SmugMug Link The video describes it better:-) And the obligatory daily food shot. How to have a hamburger without a bun. Put homemade cheese sauce on it and then add a little sour cream salsa mixture as a pseudo ketchup. Yum! SmugMug Link HAGD, Maryann" href="javascript:openLB(1879677318,'',XLarge,'',960,768);">