Curious Cardinal

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I saw this cardinal while walking in a local park earlier this month. He was high up in a tree and acting really shy. I had to put on my bigger lens to get this close a view. This was the best angle on him that I could get. Most of the others show his lovely backside. He really was being shy and difficult.

I'm participating in Ruby Tuesday today.
Click here for more about Ruby Tuesday and to view other participants.

Which way should we walk?

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I'm posting this several days late because I hate the idea of missing a day in the ABC Wednesday challenge. Here's my W entry that should have been posted last week.

I took this while on vacation last year in Australia. We were at the Otway Fly Tree Top walk in Victoria. This if from the top of the tower -- 47 meters up -- looking straight down on the rainforest and catwalks. To give you some idea of scale, the people walking on the catwalks are probably about 25 meters above the rainforest floor. The plants on the rainforest floor are tree ferns.

We did this as a day trip from Melbourne. It was a long day, but well worth it, especially as we took the Great Ocean Road home.

P.S. To answer my own question about which way to walk: Can't go right, that's the way in. We could go left, but that will lead us to a  dead end. The middle is the way out.

I'm participating in ABC Wednesday today with the letter W.
Click here for more about ABC Wednesday and to view other participants.

Holiday Wishes

Weather fatigue

I'm getting ready to leave work and start my Christmas holidays. Yay! Except I have to drive through yet another weather event. I heard a term that resonated this morning: weather fatigue.

It's winter and I live in a place known for harsh winters, but even here we get tired of having weather events on top of weather events. It's exhausting, especially when you have to worry about driving in it.

Last Tuesday it was snow. My commute home took more than 3 times what it should have taken. I was lucky to get home so quickly.

Friday morning it was freezing rain/sleet and snow. I didn't go in to work until it had mostly passed, but the roads were still bad. Almost got into an accident while going straight on the expressway. I was in the center lane, and someone merging ahead of me did a 360 that almost put him right into my path.

Saturday night the temperatures plummeted to below zero.

Sunday the wind was so strong, we had wind chill of about -30 degrees Fahrenheit. My shower and closet are on interior walls, but they back up to attic space. Well, my shower froze, but we got it thawed before any damage was done. Out of curiosity, I put a thermometer in my closet, and it read about 20 degrees, which is well below freezing. I think we'll be adding even more insulation to that attic soon.

Last night things finally warmed up, and that's why we're getting more snow.

Good news is that we'll probably have a white Christmas. Bad news is that there's more snow and "wintery mix" in the forecast between now and then.

The photo at the top? That was taken a few minutes ago from a window here at the office. The white background is usually a view of O'Hare airport. If you or someone you know is having trouble flying through Chicago right now, this photo would explain why they're having trouble.

Thanks for reading my little whine. I feel better for having written it. I'll post something more cheery tomorrow.

Little Red Bartender

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Growing up, we had a unique Christmas tradition in my family. Every year, my parents would buy us a battery operated toy. Not a remote-controlled toy, just battery operated. Like little train sets, a dog, a police car, a helicopter. One in particular that I remember was a little bunny that hopped around chasing a carrot. Unfortunately, he, like many of the toys, didn't survive the years.

Part of our tradition was that these toys were always packed up with the Christmas decorations at the end of the season, not to be played with again until next year.

When we grew up and moved out of my parents' house, my Mom divvied up the toys between me and my sister. I still have mine, but haven't added to the collection. I think it's something that's more fun when there are kids around.

This little bartender in the photo was the inspiration for the family tradition. He was my grandfather's and dates to the 1960s. The martini glass and shaker have had to be repaired over the years, but when I last put batteries in him two years ago, he still worked perfectly. He shakes his arm, mixing the drink in the martini shaker, then pours it into the martini glass and takes a sip. Then his face turns red and smoke comes out his ears.

He's also the exception to the rule about the toys getting packed up with the Christmas decorations. I'm afraid to subject him to the heat and cold extremes of our attic, so instead, he resides in his original box in our living room bar. It's where a bartender belongs. :)

I'm participating in Ruby Tuesday today.
Click here for more about Ruby Tuesday and to view other participants.

Snowy cottage under overcast sky

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Overcast and snowy. That describes my skies today. After lunch, I pulled on my snow boots and went for a walk at a local park, hoping to catch some interesting skies. But the skies weren't doing anything interesting. The snow had stopped, but the clouds hadn't parted. I kept hearing planes passing overhead (it's next to the airport), but couldn't see most of them.

You can see what I mean in this photo. The building is one that I featured in a previous Skywatch two months ago. The seasons change...

I'm participating in Skywatch Friday today.
Click here for more about Skywatch Friday and to view other participants.

V is for Vertigo

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If I stare at this photo too much, especially at a larger size where I can see more detail, I get a sense of vertigo.

I took this photo a few years ago from the observation deck of the "Eiffel Tower" at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas. It's a long way down, isn't it?

I'm participating in ABC Wednesday today with the letter V.
Click here for more about ABC Wednesday and to view other participants.

Writing: Navigating through a minefield of egos

Trying to figure out how three authors can work together to write one novel is tricky. We're feeling our way through the process, most of the time excited about what we're producing, but sometimes wanting to strangle each other.

Other writer friends are watching us closely, hoping we don't implode and curious to see if we can make this work.

We met our first real test of our partnership this week when we sent off the book proposal to an editor. Our proposal consisted of a 10-page synopsis and the first three chapters of the book.

Editing took us longer than any of us thought as we navigated through each others egos. I'm happy with the result. I think we all are.

But while the experience is still fresh, I thought I'd document a few lessons I learned so that they are here for me to reference again as we move further into this project. And who knows? Maybe this will help someone else who's trying to co-author a fiction project.

1. Trust each other.

2. It's OUR book, not MY book.

3. Respect my partners' voices and don't edit them out.

4. Remember that our voices have to meld into a coherent narrative and can't be individually jarring. Tamp down my voice where necessary.

5. Don't say NO. If someone suggests an edit, it means something is not working for her. Either accept the edit, offer an alternative, or dig deeper and try to figure out if there's another way to resolve it. A blanket NO only irritates.

6. We can't read each others minds. Communicate.

7. It may not be my process to fully clothe and document every aspect of my character's body, personality and history, but if I don't provide that information, then my partners will make it up for me, and I might not like it.

8. Someone has to take the helm, be the lead writer and have final say on edits.

9. Appreciate the hard work my partners are putting in. Thank them.

10. Have fun!

Oh, and while the proposal is out there, send it some positive energy, please. And don't be surprised if there's no status update on this project for several months. The publishing wheels can move slowly.

My evil truffles -- mwah ha ha

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To see this photo in a larger size, click here.

I cook just enough to get by. Sure, I have a few specialty dishes for potluck dinners, but nothing spectacular.

I bake even less frequently. The one time of year I do attempt to bake, though, is right before Christmas for my co-worker's annual cookie exchange party. I love the event.

If you've never been to a cookie exchange, the idea is that you bake a preset number of cookies (for this party it was four dozen), then bring it to the party and exchange cookies with everyone else. Easy.

The first year I went to this party, I broke a cardinal rule and brought store-bought cookies that I served on Tupperware. They invited me back anyway. By the second year, I'd learned my lesson and even invested in a red holiday cookie platter specially for the event.

I experimented with a lot of cookie recipes over the years, but I'd never found a recipe that was a keeper until this year.

This year, it was the Oreo Truffle Balls. It's a What's Cooking America recipe that I stumbled on at the Chocolate and Tattoos blog. They're sinful. One of my friends has been calling them Haley's Evil Truffles.

Funny thing was, at the cookie party, a few people thought they looked store-bought. A big compliment on my chocolate-dipping skills, I guess, although I got a little sloppy with the white chocolate drizzle. That's what happens when I'm drizzling chocolate at 2 a.m. the night before, I guess.

The biggest compliment I received on them? The hostess at the cookie party asked me to make them again next year.

I'm participating in Ruby Tuesday today.
Click here for more about Ruby Tuesday and to view other participants.

A bucket list meme

I found this on Aerten's Blah, Blah, Blah site a few weeks ago. It looked like fun, so I had to try it.

Things I've done in my life (in bold):

1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightening at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi concentration camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Rode an elephant

Want to play along? Copy the list to your own blog (or email) and highlight the things you've done.

The last candle

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For today's photo, I'm reaching back to last year when my nephew turned 8. It's a favorite of mine with the way the one candle illuminates his face, leaving everything else so dark.

This photo has been featured on this site before as part of a triptych, but this is the first time it's been featured alone. To me it has a different mood alone vs. part of a series.

I took this with my old point-and-shoot camera on automatic settings with the flash turned off.

I'm participating in Manic Monday today with the theme of Candle.
Click here for more about Manic Monday and to view other participants.

Full moon on the rise

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This was shortly after tonight's moonrise, just two hours ago. I was really happy to see it, and have my camera with me, too.

At about 4:20 tonight, @moryan Tweeted (on Twitter) that the full moon was going to be one of the biggest in the past several years, so right away I Googled the moonrise time and found that in Chicago, it had started just 10 minutes prior.

So I grabbed my camera and dashed around the office trying to find a view. I was able to turn out the lights in one of the conference rooms and start taking photos. Lots of them. It was a real learning experience. Some were blurry, some were boring, but I kept clicking. Unfortunately, there wasn't a really pretty backdrop for the moon. I kept the traffic in the photo to help give some scale. It's Interstate 294, in case anyone is wondering.

I think this is the most interesting of all the photos I took. Mostly because I like the color. Click here if you want to see the rest of the set. It's small. Only five photos.

I'm participating in Skywatch Friday today.
Click here for more about Skywatch Friday and to view other participants.

Three little Berners

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This photo is my most viewed, most interesting, most commented and most favorited photo on my Flickr account. As of this typing, it's had 6,612 views. Unfortunately, I didn't take it; my husband did.

The puppy in the center is our own Loki when she was 6 weeks old. We'd visited her breeder and were trying to figure out which little girl we wanted to adopt. So that means the other two puppies are Loki's sisters.

Taking this photo was not easy. It required puppy wranglers (aka me and the breeder) to keep putting the puppies back into position. They were rambunctious little critters.

In case you're wondering, the puppies are Bernese Mountain Dogs. They're a Swiss breed often referred to as Berners, and in Switzerland are known as Berner Sennenhund.

Loki has long since grown up, as this photo was taken in 2001 (a few digital cameras ago). Here's a link to more photos of her. 

I'm participating in the Thursday Challenge today with the theme 

"THREE OF ANYTHING".
Click here for more about the Thursday Challenge and to view other participants.

Underfoot Down Under

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Over a year ago we did a big family trip to Australia. My grandfather immigrated from Australia during the Great Depression and left behind four brothers and sisters who all had families of their own. We've managed to keep in close contact over the generations, but were long overdue for a personal visit. So, me and my husband, my Mom, my sister and her family all flew over there for a big family reunion in Melbourne.

Of course, we couldn't just visit Melbourne, so we added on visits to Ayer's Rock, Cairns and Sydney. We wish we could have stayed longer and seen more, but we didn't have enough vacation time.

Here we all are on the beach on Port Douglas, which is north of Cairns near the Great Barrier Reef. I'd ask if you had any guesses which were mine, but my sister, my Mom and I have very similar feet.

I'm participating in ABC Wednesday today with the letter U.
Click here for more about ABC Wednesday and to view other participants.

Christmas getting to know you -- revisited

OK, really weird. I saw this meme on Beannachd, and decided to give it a go. I knew it was familiar and that I'd done an email version of it a long time ago, but thought it was just that, an email version.

Then I saw this meme on Fragileheart's Journal, and that solidified my decision to participate.

Then, after I filled it out and got ready to post it, I looked through my archives and realized that I posted this exact same meme (up to question No. 24) two years ago, and my answers are surprisingly consistent. Scary almost. If you like, you can compare answers here.

I guess the blog has been around a while when I start forgetting that I've posted something before.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Both. Depends on the gift.

2. Real tree or artificial? A pre-lit artificial tree. It wouldn't get done otherwise.

3. When do you put up the tree? About two weeks before Christmas. It used to be that we'd celebrate my grandfather's birthday around Dec. 11 on the same night we put up the tree. That date now sticks in my head as the ideal time to put up the tree.

4. When do you take the tree down? In an ideal world, New Years Day, but in reality, by *ahem* late January. I think New Years Day is my Mom's old rule of thumb from when she had a live tree.

5. Do you like eggnog? No, thank you.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? My Bionic Woman Action Figure. Or maybe the Holly Hobby doll. Truthfully, I wasn't really into dolls, but then why were they my favorite gifts? Maybe it was my dart board or the ping-pong table.

7. Hardest person to buy for? My husband. He'll ask for clothes, but he really only likes things he picks out himself. Or he'll say not to spend much money, but it's hard not to because he has expensive taste.

8. Easiest person to buy for? Loki and Thor. They're dogs, not people, I know, but we do buy them a stuffed animal and a treat every Christmas.

9. Do you have a nativity scene? In a box somewhere. I've never put it up.


10. Mail or email Christmas cards? I aspire to mail my cards. Haven't done so in a few years.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Nothing springs to mind. Really. Does that make me lame?


12. Favorite Christmas Movie? The Nightmare Before Christmas.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Thanksgiving.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Probably. At a work-type exchange.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Pumpkin pie.

16. Lights on the tree? Multi-colored.


17. Favorite Christmas song?  Currently, the soundtrack from the Nightmare Before Christmas. I actually did a post about my then current favorites two years ago.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? All the family is within 20 minutes drive, so even though we're not hosting Christmas at our house, we don't have very far to go.

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid and Donder and Blitzen. But do you recall, the most famous reindeer of all? Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. (Does that make me psycho, Reggy? LOL)

20. Angel on the tree top or star? We had an angel until last year when I replaced it with a star.

21. Open presents on Christmas Eve or morning? My hasband and I exchange on Christmas Eve (but after midnight), and we have the dogs open their presents on Christmas Eve, otherwise we have to get up too early on Christmas Day to do all that we want to do.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Having to work, and trying to keep on a diet.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? None. My tree is nostalgia tree, with all sorts of ornaments I've collected over the years. Although I have collected a number of glass hearts. My husband wants a theme tree. He hasn't gotten one yet. :)


24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Give me a good filet mignon and some shrimp and I'll be happy.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? A good camera bag. That's my No. 1 request.

26. Will you bake any cookies? Yes. I have a cookie exchange to go to this Friday. Baking is slated for Thursday night. I'm making something involving Oreo cookies and chocolate.

Want to play along? Consider yourself tagged.

The old red barn

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It's surprising how many dilapidated barns there are on the drive between Chicago and Madison, Wis. I posted a photo of one last Friday, but here's another one that I took through the car window while passing at about 60 miles per hour on the expressway. Don't worry; I wasn't driving.

This barn is the classic red color, but it seems to have had some extra air-conditioning installed. As I was writing this, I wondered why barns are painted red, and Googled the question. Here's the answer I liked best.

I'm participating in Ruby Tuesday today.
Click here for more about Ruby Tuesday and to view other participants.

Little Santa and his lights

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I took a lot of random photos last year at Christmas. My camera was shiny and new and I was trying to figure out how to use even a portion of its features. Like the focus. I knew there was a was to tell it where to focus, but it was beyond me. I think I had to take this photo a dozen times just to get it to focus on Santa.

This year the challenge will be photographing holiday lights in the dark. I've been reading an article about it and I'm eager to try it. I just need to get my tree up first to give me something to play with.

I'm participating in Manic Monday today with the theme of Lights.
Click here for more about Manic Monday and to view other participants.

Creative Photography with Lines

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Last week after eating lunch, instead of returning to work right away, I drove further up into the restaurant's parking garage just to see what sort of photo opportunities might be lurking. We'd just had our first significant snow of the season the day before, and some of the snow was melting and seeping through the construction seams of the garage, causing these icicles. I thought this was a pretty intriguing view with the way all the lines of the building and the icicles interact.
 

I'm participating in Creative Photography this week.
Click here for more about the Creative Photography and to view other participants.

A brooding Thanksgiving sky

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For the Thanksgiving holiday last week, we drove up to my aunt's house in Wisconsin. On the way there, just outside of town, we saw this abandoned and rotting building and grain silo by the side of the road. I made my husband stop the car so that I could jump out and grab a few very quick shots. I thought the sky was a little moody and brooding in this shot, especially compared to the blue skies we'd left behind in Illinois an hour before that.

I'm participating in Skywatch Friday today.
Click here for more about Skywatch Friday and to view other participants.

Touching Thor's tongue

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Another summer time photo today. Back at a family get-together in August, Thor was laying near my little nephew, panting a little bit in the heat. My nephew got curious about this big mouth so near him, so he leaned over to investigate. Thor obliged by giving his hand a lick, which startled my nephew.

I'm participating in ABC Wednesday today with the letter T.
Click here for more about ABC Wednesday and to view other participants.

Setup for a fall

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On Thanksgiving, my nephews amused themselves by playing lots of dominoes. We played the traditional way of matching the dots on the tiles, and we played the really fun way of setting up a chain reaction domino fall, which made a big noise on the glass coffee table.

Here, my nephew has a chain reaction set to go. You can see his hand hovering in the background getting ready to start the action.

I'm participating in Ruby Tuesday today.
Click here for more about Ruby Tuesday and to view other participants.

Creative Photography gets Reflective

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The day that I took this photo, the conditions were so dreary, that the original photo already had a monochrome cast to it. So, I made the monochrome official by converting it to greyscale, then cropped it a little bit.

I like the way this photo has an almost 50/50 split, but yet the shoreline is coming in at a slight angle.

I dislike the hotel and power lines in the photo, but like that they're not reflected in the water, which makes it seem like two different worlds -- the real and the dreamy.

I'm participating in Creative Photography this week.
Click here for more about the Creative Photography and to view other participants.

Ideas for totally random gift giving, Part 1

Where I shamelessly plug items that friends are selling, and other random things that strike my fancy (because this is my blog -- and I can).

Part 1 -- Items that are just for fun or a little bit artsy

The All-World Monster map from Big Stick Inc. "Nobody ever dared to chart the native regions of the earth's most fearsome monsters until BigStick." The map's Godzilla is just a fire-breathing T-Rex, but I can forgive that. I love the idea. (Poster only: $25)

Daisy the Curly Cat merchandise, featuring the blogosphere's own Daisy the Curly Cat, because it will make you happy. It makes me happy. (Magnet: $5.49)

The Buddha Board. Use water to paint on this slate-like board, then watch the image slowly fade and dry. Forces you to realize that nothing is permanent. Can be a great way to get the creative energy flowing. Fun to keep on the kitchen counter, by your desk, or where people congregate. ($30)

Notecards from Heatherby Designs. "Elegance in every envelope." Specializing in macro photography of food. Prints are available also. (Notecards: $18)

An original piece of art from Kelly Naylor, aka Aerten, a fabulously talented artist and blogger. This is one of her encaustic images, which was painted using wax and has much more depth in person. Looks like chocolate to me. (This piece: $85)

An original print by Waterstone Photography, aka Lisa Morris-Murry, aka Lisa365, another fabulously talented fellow blogger. I love the colors in this piece. ($15)

Jewelry, bookmarks and gifts for "Twilighters", aka people who love the Twilight books and movie. These items are made by Heather Weaver, aka Geek Mom. I think this bookmark is gorgeous, but there are also some pretty sweet T-shirts. (Bookmark: $7.99)

Coming soon: Food and Book gift ideas.

Link love

It's the first of the month and time to thank those people who make blogging fun and to reflect a little on what's been happening this month with this blog.

Let me give a big thank you to my top EntreCard droppers for the past 31 days.

The Junk Drawer
On the Bricks
1 Blog and 2 Sides
Cromely's World
Moments Caught in Flight
EU Watch
I Do Things
Where the Long Tail Ends
Life's Context
Daisy the Curly Cat

Let me also give a big thank you to my top commenters. You keep the conversation going and make this blog more dynamic.

1. fragileheart (54)
2. Monique (29)
3. Claire (25)
4. Laura (20)
5. The Hunter's Wife (19)
6. Daisy (16)
7. Kelly (13)
8. Don M.F.H. (11)
9. Karina (11)
10. Periapex (10)

Blog stuff in stats

Here's an abbreviated update on the blog stats that I started posting last month.

Age of blog: 3 years and 4 months, approximately
Total posts: 564
Total unique visits (SiteMeter): 13,960
Total page views (SiteMeter): 18,836

Most viewed posts, ordered by popularity (Google Analytics):

A Steamy Romance Novel
Dear friend with whom I haven't spoken since 1993
Looking for hidden meanings
About me
Wordless Wednesday: San Francisco
Life: 8 Random Things About Me
Doodle Outer Space
Let's talk about Puerto Rican food
Life: I'm a card-carrying member...
Going for a blogging trifecta

Thank you everyone stopping by in November. I hope to see you many times in December, too. :)

A moment in the life of this blog and some linky love

To see this photo in a larger size, click here.

Wow, the first of the month really snuck up on me this time.

My top EntreCard droppers over the last 31 days are the following. Thank you to each and every one of you.

WindMill on the Hill
Foodie, Travel and Shutter Bug
The Junk Drawer
Photography by KML
Cromely's World
The Half-Life of Linoleum
Montana Moods
Blackholes and Astrostuff
Photojounalist!
Through the Lens

My top commenters on this site are the following. Thank you for keeping the discussion going. I appreciate every word you leave for me.

1. My Bug Life (27)
2. fragileheart (16)
3. Shinade (12)
4. Daisy (10)
5. Digital Polaroids (7)
6. Bob Johnson (7)
7. earthlingorgeous (6)
8. kml (6)
9. Lisa (4)
10. Bear Naked (4)

Other Miscellaneous blog stuff
Since I started this blog on Sept. 16, 2008 this site has had:

Total Number of Posts: 50
Unique Visits (Sitemeter): 2,768
Unique Visits (Google Analytics): 3,084
Pageviews (Sitemeter): 3,608
Pageviews (Google Analytics): 4,314
Number of Google Followers: 13

My 10 most popular posts so far are the following:

Red-hot glare
A clear day
Creative Photography gone Askew
Balloon Watch
Sky gazing
Rain
A city of neighborhoods
November Rain
O is for.. bOkeh visiOns
King of Autumn

Also in the past month, I added an Amazon Associate box to the bottom of the page featuring popular photography-related items, plus I added a Google Ads box in the lower right corner, and am hoping it sticks to photography topics. I'm not expecting much from these ad widgets, but since I was already signed up with my other blog, I thought I'd put them on the page.