Photo stroll at Ft. Steilacoom Park

Last night, Bev and I went to Ft. Steilacoom Park with my Photography Meetup group.
(For those of you who have never heard of Meetup.com, check it out!)
We were able to get some fun shots of the barns and Waughop Lake in the evening light.

They have a fantastic off-leash dog park. It's HUGE!

This is Belle, our Meetup organizer's dog.

This is one of the other dogs at the park. What a sweetie!


Anyway, it was a fun evening meeting new people and getting some fun shots. To see more, click here.

Mt. Rainier shots

The Tall Ones and I went out to the lake again today, and since I'm taking this cool online photography course, I took my camera so I could play with my ISO settings and (hopefully) get some great shots of the mountain. So let me know, which one do you like best?

The shot is the same, just the settings are different. There's a subtle difference in exposures. Can you tell? Does it make a difference? Let me know what you think!

Another Monday

How was your weekend? Mine was busy, and alot of fun. On Saturday morning, my mom and I drove over to my friend Lea's in Cle Elum to play Bunco. I know, I know, drive 2 hours over the mountains to play Bunco?! Are we crazy?! We do this once a year, when Lea hosts. We have a regular group of 12 who play every month.


So, after the rousing game of dice was over and a great time was had by all, (Thanks, Lea!!), we put Mom to bed as she had suddenly been sidelined by what we believe to be was an inner ear infection, Lea, Bev, Connie, Kay, and I went to the 1st Annual "Rails to Ales" Brewfest (see if you can find Lea and Kay in a picture in their photo gallery) in South Cle Elum and sampled some area brews.

We quickly learned who the generous pourers were, who had the best beer, and who had the singular worst beer I have ever tasted. After standing around in the 90 + degree heat with no shade drinking beer for a while, we decided it was time to cool off a little bit and fill our stomachs with some food before continuing with the sampling of the suds, so we headed over to my friend Linda's parent's house, where they were holding their annual Pig Roast. We sat in the shade of the pines and had some of the best pork you will ever taste and a few bites of leftover salads. Most of the 150 or so guests had already left, so Linda got to sit down and relax and chat with us for while. I threw a few horseshoes with Kevin and Aubrey, then we said our goodbyes and returned to the Brewfest for more sampling and live music. We ended up staying the night, then headed home about 11am on Sunday. Mom felt better by the time we got to my house, and was able to drive herself home. Jeff was out on the boat with our friends Rod & Wendy, so I drove out to the lake and met them. Before I left the house, I debated on whether I should bring my camera or not, thinking I may be able to get a good shot of Mt. Rainier. I decided against it, and I'm still kicking myself this morning over that. We had been out about 30 minutes when we saw a bald eagle approaching. Eagles are a common sight on Clear Lake, but this was an exception that would have caught the Shot-of-a-Lifetime, IF I HAD BROUGHT MY CAMERA!!! This gorgeous bird flew right over our boat, circled 2 or 3 times, then dove towards the water and came up with a small trout. It then flew right past our boat, low and right along the shoreline in front of us, carrying its prize back to its nest. I am so in awe of these incredibly beautiful animals, and I'm constantly trying to get a good shot, to no avail. This would have been IT. Damn, why didn't I bring my camera???

I want to hear how you spent your weekend....leave a comment by clicking on the link below and let me know! Thanks!

My Purpose for starting this blog.

Welcome to my new blog! I hope you enjoy it. If you do, please continue to read for (almost) daily updates. Or you can subscribe to a daily or weekly RSS feed or email by using the link on the right. And, please feel free to share with your friends and family if you think they might enjoy it, too. Lots of new things coming soon...Recipes, photos, and hopefully some humor, too.



I wanted to start this blog for a couple of reasons.



First, anyone who knows me at all knows that I am not a great communicator. Anyone who knows me a little better knows that I am the Queen of Procrastinators. Anyone who knows me well knows that I hate those things about myself. What nobody knows about me is that I have long inspired to be a writer. Not even me! (Actually, it's only been about 2 weeks, ever since I discovered blogging.) I've tried to keep diaries, but I lose interest after a couple of days and I've come to realize that it's because I use them to vent when I'm upset or angry. After it's over, there's not much left to write about and they are forgotten. Since we are happy most of the time lately, I've decided to just write about the humor of daily life and reach out to others who share my interests. I will write and show links about other bloggers I enjoy, photography, digital scrapbooking, gardening, genealogy, and more. Plus, it will be a way for me to keep in touch with family and friends who know I take too much time to respond to emails, or return phone calls...Yes, I know....Because I am the QOP!

Jennifer