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today's flickr challenge was "handle with care" ~

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Remember adorable little Farah? This is her beautiful sister Fran.

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sunshine yellow ~

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last local meeting before heading off for his offical Seeing Eye harness training ~

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~ enjoying the view ~

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Don't you love it when your better half sends you flowers just because they're thinking of you?

I do!

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As a child, I spent time riding my bicycle around and around on the platform of this train station.

As an adult I can appreciate the Victorian style in which it was built.

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Visiting Mom and Dad for a few days.

It is nice to be back in the town I grew up in.

Many of my family still remain here.

The other day when we had snorain (snow/rain) they received about 6 inches of the pure white powder.
 It remains on the ground.

I just can't pass up a good shot of a bicycle.

I could most likely do an entire 365 based solely on this single mode of transportation.

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A current topic on the flickr challenge I joined is Oriental.  Three days into the week and I had nothing, thinking this was one topic I would have to pass on. Then I remembered ~

My dad, being a bit of a history buff, has a small collection of military memorabilia. Among his historic items is this WW II Japanese flag. As far as we know these flags were given to young soliders as they were heading off to war. Family members and friends would write well wishes and prayers of safety on them. Often the young man carried it in his uniform while on the battle fields.

My dad had it translated and found the young soldier’s name is on it. He contacted the Japanese Consulate in the hopes of finding remaining relatives of this solider and returning the flag to them. He had no luck, so it stays within my family.

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~ burning L♥ve ~

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On this cold and snowy morning, I headed out to work.  Being the first snow day this year, I had flashbacks to the several blizzards we had last year and the joy, of leaving work early, they brought with them. Before even taking off my coat, hat and gloves, I raced walked into my higher up’s office and begged kindly volunteered to “cut hours” if needed. I jumped up and down, did the happy dance was pleased to be released after a half day. To brighten up and celebrate an unexpected day off, I captured this rose. Oh Spring, how many days away are you now??

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With the temperatures below the freezing point all day and a forecasted snow storm for tomorrow, B and I wanted to get a beach walk in this afternoon. The air was still and frigid, but nothing a cuppa of hot chocolate didn’t fix.

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The year is young but if B keeps this up, he just might get "Husband of the Year"!

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There is nothing like a guy wearing an old, worn out pair of work boots. They just have masculinity written all over them. They tell a story of being paired with fade blue jeans and days spent outdoors working with a hardened hands. Mmmmm, mmmmm!

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Some of my earliest childhood memories are of the days I spent with a neighbor women old enough to be Grandmother. I have vivid and fond images of kneeling on a dinning room chair while she pinned dress pattern pieces to elegant fabrics. She often gave me the unused pieces and scrape fabric, teaching me how to pin and cut. In later years she taught me to sew. Fifty years later I still enjoy the touch, felt and smell of fabric and for 12 years worked in a fabric shop.

I have always wanted an old treadle Singer sewing machine. These are becoming more difficult to find as many are being dismantled and their ornate legs used on coffee and end tables. Last week while B and I were snooping around some antique shops we came across not only a table but a table with the Singer machine attached. Several days later, when I returned home from work, it was sitting in my living room.

                      

   textured with Kim Klaussen's evolve 2 and submitted to her texture-tuesday
prompt ~ open (rose is open)

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The best laid plans … Oh well, having the day off today and B finishing up early, I had plans to get out and take photos, (lots of photos). Unfortunately, I was woken to B informing me, due to the frigid cold last evening his car would not start. I gracelessly offer my car up to him. So, here I sit. Which in fact may have been the better plan as I am getting much of my put off chores done, looked at.  So Murf kindly offer to be my subject for the day.

15/350 + 1

For the first time in well over a year I was lost for a photo today.

I had no ideas and making it even more difficult no time.

So I settled on a take a quick shot and played around with Kim's new textures.

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While there is no commitment to the flickr group’s daily challenge, I do like to participate. One of the prompts this week was 4. My first thought was easy one, my second thought 4, 4 of what!

This evening B asked me to help him with hanging a item onto the wall. While waiting for my cue to pitch in with a helping hand, I started playing around with the wall anchors, 4 of them to be exact.

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After playing around a bit with the portrait shots last Sunday, I was anxious to give it another go round. B is always happy to let me photograph him but it comes with a price. After I taking numerous photos, I packed my gear away and off we went to the sporting goods shop to look around at “flies”, lures and reels.  Perhaps it’s time for me to start looking for other models.  ♥ you B ~

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Several days ago, B and I realized we had a day off together. As this is infrequent we looked forward to spending it together. We planned a visit an older beach town, a walk on their boardwalk, to go snooping around in some of the many antique shops and have a nice relaxing “Linner” (lunch and dinner) out at one of our favorite restaurants.

When we awoke the sounds of rain was beating on the roof and winds sounded like it was blowing through the house. We were disappointed but decided this would not deter our plans and set off on the hour drive. Upon our arrival, luckily, the rain had let up and winds had subsided. We bundled up in our rain gear and ventured out along the boardwalk.

It was evident there was a major storm off shore as the ocean’s waves were pounding the coastline. Apparently this makes it the perfect day for the Coast Guard to practice maneuvers. I was getting sea sick just watching.

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Yup, I am posting one more photo of Phriend. There are several reasons for this; I was really thrilled to have a model, I was really happy with the lighting in this shot, Phriend is just too darn cute and well honestly, I just didn’t have a POD.

10/355 +1

Last year while participating in Project 365, I was inspired to visit all of the New Jersey land based Lighthouses. Phriend and I traveled the coast line making certain to stop off and, of course, photograph each of these guiding lights. I was able to check each one off my list. Phriend had been to all but one. We thought it only fitting to celebrate the start of this year’s Project 365 + 1 by concluding her list of lighthouses.

Hereford Lighthouse (circa 1874) has been guiding sailors through the waters of the Hereford Inlet, which leads from the Atlantic Ocean to the famed Intra-Coastal Waterway linking Maine to Florida.

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One of my new year resolutions is to practice more portrait photography. Only problem is I have no one to practice on. Oh, sure B will play around but for only so long then I have to start promising to go to the sporting good shop while he looks for new lures and reels. That's too high a price for me to pay. So I was thrilled when Phriend offered to model for me yesterday. We were at a boardwalk we don't often frequent and the newness offered many awesome backdrops.

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Phriend Noir ~

As the year was ending, Phriend and I discussed how pleased we both were with the process we had made through the year, how we were glad we had successful completed Project 365 and how we were thrilled to have participated but were glad it was done. Well, by the end of the first day of the new year, we had both decided to continue on with Project 365 +1.

It has been a very long time since we have had the chance to get out on a photo adventure. Today with the weather, once again feeling more like Spring than Winter, we traveled to a boardwalk at the southern end of the state. One we don’t often visit. One which would offer new photo opportunities.

This year I am hoping to learn more about and practice more portrait photography. Phriend was gracious enough to be my model while I practice several more “film noir” images.

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Since Murf’s accident last year, I hesitate to take him for walks. At his 12 years of age I can’t risk him re-injuring his badly damaged knee. I fear it would not heal leaving him incapacitated. But with inactivity, signs of boredom and depression are setting in.

This winter has been unusually warm, with the exception of a few frigid days this past week. The cold days left us wanting to stay in by the fire and resulted in Murphy and I are both suffering from cabin fever. Today I decided we needed a walk in the fields. He is unaccustomed to the restraints of a leash, while being in the 600 acre woods, and begged to run, gallop and jump. His requests went unanswered.

Knowing his days are fewer with each passing day, I brought my camera along to capture the delight the open air bring to his face.

6/359 +1

Oh, why am I doing this to myself, why did I join the Daily Challenge flickr group? Today’s prompt was film noir, meaning black film. This type of cinema was generally centralized around a private eye, in a dark room, with his name on the glass window and his dame always lurking about in a cloud of smoke.

Ok, this was not easy to recreate. I came up with several ideas; go over to the dock this evening and take shots under the street lights or head over to the boardwalk where, hopefully, the ocean would be creating a mist. I could not muster the energy for either of these ideas. So I opted for a shot at home by our bar. I am not really pleased with this shot but it will have to do for now.

Back to the question of why I joined this particular flickr group, because it is fun, it pushes me to move out of my comfort zone and to learn more about this art of photography. I will have to attempt this film noir again at a later date.

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Part of our job while raising Seeing Eye puppies is to exposure them to the world in which they will be working. Each year, between Christmas and New Years, our local group of raisers take our puppies on a train ride. B and I, still puppyless, borrowed this lovely lady, Zoe. She is 9 months old and behaved like a pro.

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Although it was frigid (- 1°F/ -18°C), I decided to go for a walk around the old town center in search of some “leading lines”. If by some strange chance I wasn’t pleased with my choices there, I would go the short distance, down to the dock and photograph some of the boats all nestled in for the winter. Certainly, I would have plenty of opportunities to find a subject for today’s flickr theme. However, I think at the first blast of artic air my brain froze and I was unable to think straight. I found nothing pleasing. I headed home and as I started to pack up my camera and return it to it’s resting place, I noticed all these “leading lines” on a shell sitting right on my kitchen table. Perfect! (or is it more like radiating lines? Oh well)

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I really hadn’t planned on participating in another Project 365. However, I continue to take photos and I do enjoy posting, sharing them and visiting other blogs and phriends. I’ve joined several flickr groups and have been inspired to continue to improve my photography and editing skills. And besides, what fun is a photo if no one else sees it but me? So, without any promises not to miss a day or two, I continue on with Project 365 + 1 (it’s leap year).

A recent prompt from a flickr group was "out with the old". I chose to photograph my 1920 (s) Eastman Kodak camera in the foreground of a photo of my Great Grandmother, my Nana and 2 of my uncles, which was most likely taken with a similar camera.

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with temperatures in the upper 50s and promising to plummet into the 20s, B and I couldn't stay indoors

 ~ a walk along the winter boardwalk, minus the crowds and noise, was perfect for the day

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I really don't know what to do with myself today. So I decided to share this photo.