Window Views and Doors Too!

Room With a View...

of West Austin
June 2006
(Click on photo to enlarge.)

For more window and doorway views, please visit the web site here.

ABC Wednesday: "K" Is For...

KAYLA!!!

I've written before about my doll collecting mania, and also about my travel doll. Kayla is a member of the Barbie family and as she's a rather tiny doll (about 3 inches tall), she fits nicely inside a purse or a pocket or a suitcase – so she's perfect for taking along on excursions. She never changes outfits, so she acquires a sort of "Where's Waldo" effect in all her photos. But she's game for just about anything. She's been to the beach and the mountains, and to big cities like New York and Chicago. Since she came to live with me, she's never been out of the USA; although I suspect she originated in China or Japan. Generally, she lives in a display case in our dining room, but she does love an occasional outdoor romp. Here she is at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, enjoying some chips and salsa on a sidewalk table.

(Click on photos to enlarge.)

If you'd like to see more ABC Wednesday offerings or participate yourself, please visit the website here:


Cross-posted @ Joy's Doll Talk.

Sky Watch Friday: Sunset over Lake Travis

Deep in the heart of Texas.
Sunset, Lake Travis, near Austin
June 2006
(Click on photo to enlarge.)

To see more sky photos, or to post your own sky shots,
please visit:

Cat Thursday: Look Both Ways

(Click on photo to enlarge.)

Cat Thursday is hosted by Michelle @ The True Book Addict

Outdoor and Wordless Wednesday: Building Art

Pharmacy near the Tastee Freeze
Gordonsville VA
June 2003

(Click on photo to enlarge.)

Outdoor Wednesday is hosted by Susan at A Southern Daydreamer. To see many, many more outdoor photos or to post some of your own, please visit her blog.

For more Wordless Wednesday offerings,
please visit the website here.

Unconscious Mutterings: Week 399

Wow, it's been a really long time (possibly years) since I did one of these. Unconscious Mutterings is a weekly "free association" word meme hosted by LunaNiña. There aren't really any rules - just visit the website if you want to play along. And here we go:

LunaNiña says :: and I think...

1. Mustache :: Tom Selleck, Salavdor Dali, Hercule Poirot
   


2. Person :: of interest
   


3. Restore :: This Old House
   


4. Discretion :: caution, prudence, judgment
   


5. Lamp :: lighter (as in "The Old Lamp Lighter of long, long ago." Remember that one?)
   


6. Pillow cover :: needlepoint


7. Arousal :: awakening
   


8. Seattle :: rain, Seahawks, Starbucks, serial killers (Sorry about that last one, if you live in the Seattle area. If it's any consolation, I associate a lot of other places around the country with serial killers, too. Definitely been watching too much TRU-TV.)
   


9. ATM :: cash card, computer systems
   


10. Custard :: the Dragon (by Ogden Nash - read it? Custard was a "realio, trulio, little pet dragon.")
    

Sky Watch Friday: Blue Sky Over Texas

This shot of downtown San Antonio was taken a few years ago while M and I were there, revisiting some of the hangouts of our youth. We were both born and raised in the Alamo City, but don't get back there very often.

We were staying in a hotel on the Riverwalk, and I snapped this from a window. That's the Milam Building on the right (the one with the Texas flag on top), and the old Robert E. Lee Hotel on the left. Apparently it's recently been turned into apartments or condos. This view would be looking in (I believe) a roughly northwest direction and makes me remember how flat that part of Texas is, even though it's so near the Hill Country.

This is how I always remember San Antonio - lots of sunshine and puffy white clouds. And that's strange because in reality it's one of the rainiest places on earth!

To see more sky photos, or to post your own sky shots,
please visit:

ABC Wednesday: "I" is for...

icing!

Isn't this a lovely cake? I don't know who created it, so I couldn't give them a little publicity even if I wanted to. When my little cousin in Fort Worth TX got married a few years ago, this was her wedding cake (you can see her family blog here). I've cropped off the crown of sugar blossoms at the top to focus in on the cake itself. It was absolutely beautiful, and tasty, too. Hmmmm, does anyone else smell pastry baking?

If you'd like to see more ABC Wednesday offerings or participate yourself, please visit the website here:

Shadow Shot Sunday: Shadows in the Sand

(Click on photo to enlarge.)

Shadow Shot Sunday is a weekly photo meme hosted by Hey Harriet.
To see many, many more shadow shots or to contribute some yourself, head on over to her blog.

Shenandoah Reflections

I snapped this photo of myself (oh, the vanity!) reflected in the glass covering a map, in a cabin at Skyland in Shenandoah National Park. M and I usually go there at least once or twice a year for a few days R&R, but so far we haven't made it over there this year. Maybe later this month (I hope). Shenandoah is an excellent place to capture reflections, and do some mental reflecting, too.

(Click on photo to enlarge.)

Weekend Reflections is hosted by James at Newtown Area Photo,
and runs weekly from 11 a.m. Friday through 11 p.m. Sunday (EST).

Straight Out of the Camera is hosted every Sunday by Jan at Murietta 365.

Sky Watch Friday: Literary Skies

These photos were taken a couple of years ago (September 2008) at the National Book Festival in Washington DC. It was a hot, rainy day, with almost unbearable humidity and un-breathable air, but thousands of book lovers braved the elements for a chance to scoop up the latest releases and get a look at some of their favorite authors. This year's festival is coming up in a couple of weeks. I'm hoping the weather is a little better this time around.

(Click on photos for a larger view.)

The 10th annual National Book Festival, organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress, will be held on Saturday, Sept. 25, 2010, on the National Mall in Washington, DC, between 3rd and 7th streets from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are honorary chairs for the event. The festival is free and open to the public. You can read about the festival, find lists of events and the authors who will be attending, and download this year's poster at the festival website here.

To see more sky photos, or to post your own sky shots,
please visit:

Wordless Wednesday and Cat Thursday: The Hideout

Cat Thursday is hosted by Michelle @ The True Book Addict

For more Wordless Wednesday offerings,
please visit the website here.

Friday Fill-Ins #192

Well, here we are with a brand new month ahead of us. And I know a lot of folks are probably getting hints of autumn in the air, but around here it still feels a lot like August. Which is fine with me; I'm really not ready for summer to end just yet. But this is the Labor Day weekend, so I guess fall can't be too far down the road. But enough of this ruminating. Time for the first Friday Fill-Ins of September, so here we go:

1. Family history research is one of my favorite addictions.

2. _____ back and forth. (No idea for this one. Something about tennis? A yo-yo? Shopping at Target?)

3. I love a mystery. (Remember the old radio show by that name? Of course you don't. Remember radio?)

4. Just about anything that's bad for your health makes a good meal.

5. I've got the urge to go shopping for a new fall wardrobe. (But not the energy.)

6. It took me several baffled minutes to figure out what this means: wth!!! (I never do texting or txtng or IM-ing or any of those activities that have spawned this odd new vocabulary we're all supposed to be familiar with now. LOL. Not.)

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing with the hubby and maybe watching some of the US Open action, tomorrow my plans include having lunch out somewhere and doing some shopping if the weather cooperates, and Sunday, I want to continue rearranging the bedroom, and get some reading done!

Williamsburg White

Photos from Colonial Williamsburg, VA
October 2007

(Click on photos to enlarge.)

White Wednesday is hosted by Kathleen at Faded Charm.

Outdoor Wednesday is hosted by Susan at A Southern Daydreamer.
To see many, many more outdoor photos or to post some of your own, please visit her blog.

For more Wordless Wednesday offerings,
please visit the website here.