Shadow Shot Sunday: Bistro Shadows

Snapped this at one of our favorite neighborhood eateries, just before the lunchtime crowd descended.

(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.

PhotoHunt 237: Dark

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Metro Station, Washington DC, July 2007

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Friday Fill-Ins #197

So here we are at the end of another October. How did that happen? Wasn't it still September just a few days ago? The season is moving right along, but somehow I don't seem to be moving with it! But right now it's time for another Friday Fill-Ins, so here we go:

1. While the cat's away you can clean up all those hair balls on the carpet.

2. I'm thinking a little Mexican food for lunch would be muy fabuloso!

3. Children should be seen and not heard; some of them shouldn't even be seen. (With apologies to W.C. Fields.)


4. I usually head right for my computer when I get home from work or shopping or what have you. (Hello. My name is Joy and I'm a Mac-aholic.)

5. This may seem odd, but I can't think of a fill-in for this one. ( So many things seem odd to me these days.)

6. M is working from home today and that seems like a fine idea to me!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to just relaxing a bit and finishing up one of the books I've got going right now, tomorrow my plans include lots of shopping and errand running if the weather cooperates and Sunday, I want to start getting stuff ready for the trip to Texas in November, and also try to get some reading done!

"O" Is For...

Open Space!

(Click on photos to enlarge.)

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Weekend Reflections: Signs of the Season

Snapped this at a local Cracker Barrel restaurant because of all the nice autumnal decorations. At the time, I didn't realize I was getting such a good reflection of the parking lot, in the front door.

(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).

Ruby Tuesday: Smoking or Non?

This is another photo from our recent trek to Shenandoah National Park. We stopped for lunch on the way, at a local Cracker Barrel restaurant, and sat in the area that was once the smoking section before Virginia outlawed smoking in restaurants. There was still a lot of smoking memorabilia on the walls, including this bright red advert for Chesterfield cigarettes. I noticed it because of the color, but also because Chesterfield was one of the brands my grandmother smoked for years. Well, she didn't so much smoke them as light them and then let them burn themselves out. Sometimes in ashtrays, sometimes on the furniture. But she lived to be eighty-five without ever burning down a house. And who says miracles don't happen anymore?

(Click on photo to enlarge.)

Ruby Tuesday is hosted by Work of the Poet.

Outdoor Wednesday: Mountain Time

Over the weekend, M and I spent some time in Shenandoah National Park. The weather was beautiful, with cool clear nights, and days that started out chilly but warmed up to almost summer-like temperatures in the afternoons. Perfect for being out and about, doing a little light hiking and just enjoying a gorgeous early autumn break. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

The views along Skyline Drive were really wonderful - much less hazy than usual. You could see for miles and miles (literally).


The only clouds were small, white, and puffy. So perfect, it was almost boring!


Even Kayla, my little travel doll, got to enjoy the views.


The park was crowded for the Columbus Day weekend; in fact, there were more people there than I've ever seen on any of our other visits.
And, naturally, they were all busy doing just what I was doing!

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.

Friday Fill-Ins #194

Wow, that week went fast! But I always say that, don't I? I'm doing these Friday Fill-Ins early and setting them to post on Friday morning, because we're getting ready to take off for a couple of days in the mountains. We try to get over to Shenandoah National Park once or twice a year, but this is the first time we've made it this year. My hubby, the Mountain Man, would have been sorely disappointed if the year had gone by without at least one visit. But enough of that. Here goes another FFI:

1. My favorite month is July because I love the summer, and July is summer at its peak.

2. Autumn brings a fresh breeze. (Unfortunately that breeze is full of stuff I'm allergic to.)

3. I love to sniff freshly-cut flowers and herbs from the garden. (I don't love all the sneezing, coughing, itching, and nose blowing that comes after the sniffing! Refer to No. 2, above.)

4. Full English breakfast is what I like to have as a treat for breakfast, complete with baked beans, fried bread, and stewed tomatoes. (Of course, I haven't actually had this treat since the last time I was in England, over twenty years ago!)

5. The hobby I enjoy most is _____. (Too many to choose just one. But I guess at the moment, the answer would be...blogging!)

6. Baked beans, fried bread, and stewed tomatoes, oh my!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to having a great dinner in the lodge dining room, enjoying the mountain air and maybe taking a moonlight stroll around the cabins, tomorrow my plans include probably a little light hiking, and then driving back to Alexandria (unless we decide to stay in the park another day!), and Sunday, I want to get some reading done!

ABC Wednesday: "L" is For...

LOL Cats!

(I luvz em!) 

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And for more LOL Cats, visit i can has cheezburger.

Blue Monday: Going to the Doggies

Blue Monday is hosted weekly by Smiling Sally.
To see more offerings, or to participate yourself,
please head on over to her blog.

It's been a while since I posted anything for Blue Monday. Guess the end-of-summer blues have got me down. And all this rain we've been having hasn't helped. But we did have some sun a week or so ago - just in time for the annual Doggie Swim. Every year right after they close the pool for the season here at our condo community, they allow all the dog owners to bring their pets over on a Saturday morning for a play day at poolside. And every year I say I'll go and take a look at all the fun, but until this year I've always missed it. These are a few of the photos I took. OK, I know there aren't any blue dogs. But the water was a nice shade of turquoise blue, wasn't it?

(Click on photos to enlarge.)

Unconscious Mutterings: Week 401

LunaNiña says :: and I think...

1. Panels :: curtains
   


2. Repetitive :: repetitive
   


3. Pancakes :: flapjacks
   


4. Quarterly :: journal
   


5. Impulsive :: excuse for bad behavior
   


6. Episode :: TV show
   


7. I am :: lazy
   


8. Horrendous :: "reality" TV
   


9. Inhumane :: "reality" TV
   


10. District :: of Columbia (aka: no man's land)
    

To read more mutterings or do some muttering of your own, just visit the website here.

Friday Fill-Ins #193

Friday Fill-Ins have returned! Glad to hear that Janet is OK after her back surgery, and hope she stays that way! We've missed her, and the Fill-Ins these last couple of weeks. But now it's time for the first FFs of October (October!), so here goes:

1. My back feels best when I remember to do my yoga stretches faithfully.

2. I'm not wild about all this rain we're having lately.

3. Leaves are falling all around, it must be autumn. (Bummer!)

4. One of the bad things about getting older is forgetfulness. (It's also one of the good things about getting older.)

5. Healing is easier when someone you love is taking care of you. (At least that's the way it seems.)

6. Lots of blog reading is what I've been up to lately! (Really need to get back to book reading.)

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to being able to eat real food for the first time since my dental adventures the other day, tomorrow my plans include the usual round of errands and shopping, and maybe watching our latest Netflix DVD ("The Last Station") and Sunday, I want to get some reading done...and see some sunshine - please, please, PLEASE!