Got quarters?

Sugar temptations?  Ya, sure, put them all right at eye level for 4-6 year old kids.  Make them colorful and tempting looking.  Display them in glass.  Put them right by the mall entrance/exit where one has to pass both going in and going out.  Then send the kids with grandparents who cannot resist any requests from the grandkids anyway--especially ones that parents would never give in to...

Grandpa, got quarters?

Got quarters?

Long walk out

Mall shopping--something I take for granted when I can walk normally.  However, when my foot is hurt and walking can only be accomplished in an ortho-walking boot and the pace is slow....well, mall shopping takes on a totally different perspective.  Now the regular walk through the mall seems like a 3 mile hike.  It takes almost as long too.

Long walk out

Wall sticker

Standing in the lunch line at a new restaurant I pulled out my iPhone camera and snapped a photo of the wall against which I was leaning.  The white wall was covered with this large black sticker in the form of a leaf-barren tree.  By adding a bit of color in post processing on my phone the resultant image below hardly looks like the simple image it really was.  Just a wall sticker....

Wall sticker

Caged memories

This caged group of Hot Wheels brings back memories of the constant state of traffic I witnessed when I lived in Tehran, Iran some 40 years ago.  No joke, the traffic was pretty much like this in that city.  Only the cars were not as fancy.  Athens, Greece had some bad traffic too back then but nothing quite like this.  Funny how a little snapshot from daily life can dredge up random old memories so easily.  Now if I could just get my memory to retrieve things that I really need--when I need them.....

Caged memories

Goodbye Lake Powell

It was wonderful!  It was spectacular!  It was a wild and fun filled week with 15 teenagers at the lake.  It's over and done with now.  We brought everyone home.  Only a couple of injuries but nothing life threatening so we call it a success.

One look at the marina slips shows just how great it is to visit the lake at this time of year.  Almost every slip contains a boat which means that there are not many out on the lake.  The season has not started yet so it is the best time to be there and avoid the crowds.

Until next time......

Goodbye Lake Powell

Sunset at the lake--HDR style

The very best time to visit Lake Powell, Utah and Arizona and spend time on a houseboat is in the pre-season or the post-season.  During the summer season it is far too hot outside, the crowds are almost unbearable and its hard to find a quiet, solitary spot for your houseboat.

We have been going to the lake for years in the mid-September/early-October time and it has been fabulous.  This is our fist time going in mid-May.  Mid-May is almost as good although the water is slightly colder but not enough to make a big difference.  It is warm during the day, cool at night and there are virtually no people around.  The marinas are still full of boats.

Another benefit of the pre-season is that the houseboat has not been trashed all season by the other timeshare owners--it is fresh and ready for the upcoming season.

Loving our visit to the lake.  Another day comes to an end at the Wahweap Marina in Arizona on Lake Powell.  The sun sets--HDR style.

Sunset at the lake--HDR style

Anticipation

Anticipating the plunge, the ride, the surf board...  A week on the lake and everything feels better.

Anticipation

Gorgeous scenery

A week on the lake.  Scenery unmatched. Sun and fun.  Why do I work for a living again?  Oh yeah, so I can enjoy weeks like this...

Gorgeous scenery

Preparing to embark

Load'em up and let's get ready to play.  15 teenagers, a few adults, one houseboat, one ski boat, lots of toys... a recipe for a week of fun in the sun.  What an experience--for the adults and for the kids!

Preparing to embark

Ahhh, the lake!

A long winter, a long day's drive and finally we arrive.  We get to spend a week at the lake.  Ahhh, the lake!

Ahhh, the lake!

Break out the boat

The boat sees its first sunshine of the year as it emerges from its long winter sleep.  It's all prepped and ready to go.  Even the obnoxiously loud speaker system has been repaired over the winter--perfect for the teenagers and head-throbbing for the old folks.  Time to head for the lake.  Surf's up!

Break out the boat

Wind Blown

A little wind and these dandelion seeds are off on a new adventure, each seeking its own new life.  If they land and take root in my yard, it will be a short life.  I do not tolerate dandelions in my grass.  Even so, I still marvel at the close-up beauty of the dandelion seed pod.  It looks like a pin cushion at its core and the intricacies of the delicate wind catching white strands weaves a gorgeous pattern in nature.  Each stem full of ready-to-fly seeds takes me back to my childhood memories of picking them, blowing all the seeds off and watching they fly away in the gentle breeze.  Just stay out of my yard.......

Wind Blown

Flower Power

Joe is enjoying spring time.  He has gone all nature now and we rarely see him in the house.  He is too busy enjoying the sunshine, the flowers, the fresh air and chasing ants.  His flower perch is the perfect lookout spot to locate all the action.  

Flower Power

Sucked right in...

Just doing a little spring cleaning around the house.  Next thing you know, Joe gets sucked right in to the vacuum nozzle.  Good thing he is a regular P90Xer--those buff arms and shoulders saved him from the vacuum tornado vortex of certain death.  No one would have ever found him--although we would have missed him greatly.  Whew!  I am glad he saved himself.....

Sucked right in

Tree Hugger

Oh man Joe, you're going all soft on me now.  When did you start down the tree hugger path?  Better be careful up there.  You might get spotted and carried away by the big bird as lunch for the hatchlings....

Tree Hugger

Bear trap

Watch your step!  You never know when a bear trap is just around the next bend.

OH, those teeth!

No, Joe, that is not how I lost my toe.  A shark bit mine off!  Anyway, the fish story sounds more exotic than just losing it on the factory floor during my manual labor days.

Bear Trap

A Malibu man! After my own heart!

Joe knows his boats.  Seems he's a Malibu man too.  Gotta hand it to that guy.  Joe knows his stuff.

Surf's up!

A Malibu man!  After my own heart!

Sure you want to get out?

Stuck inside?  Look around.  Somewhere close-by there is the escape route.  Are you sure you want to get out?  What if you can't get back in?

Sure you want to get out?

It's a bird? It's a plane? It's a....... What is it?

After a little run through some processing apps it really is hard to figure this one out.

It's a bird.  It's a plane (maybe a UFO).  It's a......... What is it?

My best imaginative description has it as an alien, spread-eagle, and plummeting towards earth in a massive bungi jump.

No, really.  Just look again and play along...

Ahh, now you see it, don't you?  What did I tell you?

It's a bird?  It's a plane?  It's a....... What is it?

Okay for those who don't like to play, it really is just the chandelier in the lobby of an office building and a little mirror distortion effect added.  Fun stuff, this iPhoneography!

Time to put the ice melt away

Hey, it's over.  Summer is almost here and winter is gone.  Not long gone as it did just recently snow again.  But it really is time to clean out the garage and put the ice melt away until next winter.  The grass is growing so fast I just have not had the time to take care of business yet.  Maybe next week....

Time to put the ice melt away

Warm day in the office

Yep, springtime brings the warm sunshine we have been waiting for all winter.  During this day it also brought with it a warming office.  For awhile I just thought I was cooking through my pile of work and was on fire making great progress.  I looked up at my office thermometer only then to realize that I was the one starting to slowly cook....  I prefer 71 degrees as the perfect office temperature.  Time for a break.

Warm day in the office

Mirror, mirror on the wall

Mirror, mirror on the wall, can I take this corner on the inside track without slowing down?  Coast is clear.  Feel free to accelerate round the corner and out of the curve.  Watch the speed limit though as big brother is watching (look closely)...

Mirror, mirror on the wall

Sweet mouthful

My favorite desert (probably even my favorite in all the food world) is a good frozen yogurt shake with oreos and fresh bananas mixed into it.  Unfortunately there are not a lot of places close by that can do this recipe justice.  So, in a pinch, I often settle for one that I can find a many fast food joints--an ice cream milkshake with oreo and root beer mixed up inside.  Now that's a sweet mouthful.....

By the way, life is short.  You never know when you'll go--especially if you diet is filled with stuff like this.  Therefore be sure to eat your desert first.

Sweet mouthful

Dad on TV

I saw my father on TV--his very own TV.

Well, okay, the TV was off and I just saw his blurry reflection in the TV screen during a visit to his home.  Nonetheless I liked this silhouetted image off the dark TV screen enough to capture the fleeting moment for my posterity.

The best camera is the one you always have with you!

Dad on TV

Starting early

My love of photography started at a rather young age.  Yes, I am an aging grandpa and have a few years under my belt but photography wasn't quite like this when I got started.  This silhouette of a Hummel figurine does bring back some of the memories of the wonder and magic of photography on a young, impressionable mind.  Today that same childhood wonder, magic and excitement is available right on the camera I carry with me everywhere in my pocket.  Together with this mobile phone camera and the many processing apps available, the magic continues.....

Starting early

McD's for breakfast

Build an In-N-Out burger joint next door to McDonald's and guess what?  Yep, McDonald's pitches in and goes for the major remodel.  Now I get a nice little refreshing waterfall view while I wait in the drive-up lane to order breakfast on the run.  The whole place was redone, both inside and out.  However, the food is still the same..... Imagine that.

McD's for breakfast

Held back?

Ever feel a little held back?  That is what this image reminds me of when I see the stem laying across the petals ready to blossom.  What is it in your life that is holding you back?  How can you remove the barrier and move forward?  After all, how you react to any barriers is totally up to you.

Crossed

Tulip Fire

The tulips are beautiful this time of year.  This one comes alive like a fire when lit from below by a small pocket flashlight and then processed with the Glaze app which makes it look a bit like a painting.  I love the variety of photo apps available for processing images on my iPhone.  In just a couple of minutes an infinite variety of effects are available.  This is so much fun......

Tulip Fire

Sittin' on Top of the World

Some days everything goes just right.  In fact, even better than that.  All plans fall into place, pleasant surprises come out of the nowhere, relationships improve, food is great, kids appreciate what you do......life seems to be better than ever!  Joe is having one of those days and is simply sittin' on top of the world at the moment....  You?

Sittin' on Top of the World

Spring time in the Rockies

Gotta love it!  Snow one day and seventy degrees the next day.  It is spring time in the Rockies.  One can snow ski in the morning, golf in the afternoon and water ski in the evening.  Sweet!

Springtime in the Rockies

Speak Up

What do you stand for?  Where is your voice?  Do you make it heard?  Are you making a difference in your world?  Stand up!  Speak up!  Your contribution is wasted if you don't get involved and make a difference within your own sphere of influence--whatever it may be....

Speak Up