Team Up Thursday - Week 16 - Stones

My choice of theme this week - AND Mariette absolutely stunned me with her stunning picture of her collection of gemstones in the snow...The light and the colours are awesome - I love the concept...Well Done

Although, I have collected gemstones for many years and have "tumbled" (polished) stones similair to Mariettes, and cut gemstones (amythests and toumaline and citrine and aquamarine) and some quartz in raw form, I ended up not using any of my colletion.  Instead I chose a picture of a beautiful piece of Agate that was taken earlier this year on a visit to the Space Musuem in Jo'burg with my mom and dad (it was something my mom wanted to do on a break from hospital)...
I have always loved Agate - I think the different bands of colour and patterns are so pretty...I went on the Internet and found out that Agate is known as the "power" stone and it restores balance and harmony...I also found that whilst Agate can not change our emotions - it helps us deal with the intensity of emotion...Isn't that amazing...I have to ask the question though - How did "they" figure it out...not that I am cynical - I am not - I believe in the power of gem stones and crystals, but how do they know that Agate is also good for blood circulation...or helps us communicate with others or helps us to concentrate....
Anyway, my post is fairly short this week - Brad turned 15 today----FIFTEEN - where has the time gone..We went out to breakfast this morning and then I took him to the Audi showroom because he is trying to decide what his first car should be....I somehow doubt it will be an Audi - more likely a second hand vw or something - but he really likes the Audi Q5...and Kayla-Fern made me take a picture of her next to the Audi R8 (2.1 million Rand, if you don't mind)....
We have decided to have a late lunch at my dad's house on Christmas day - I think it was hassling me, not having a plan for Christmas day - Now at least we know what we are doing - we just need to help each other get through it - OH and Kayla-Fern and Brad put the Christmas tree the other night and it is all pretty with its lights and everything and I am getting quietly excited to see the kids opening their gifts on Christmas morning...
My family is away from boxing day until New Years Eve - we are taking a break at a resort not too far from home - and I think it is just what we all need - My dad may come and join us for a day or two and just CHILL....
Mariette and I agreed to take a break for next week, but we will be back the first week in January ---- Pop by next week anyway - Maybe I will try and surprise you with some holiday photos....So until next time...Lots of love

Team Up Thursday - Week 15 - Christmas Decorations

First of all - sorry that this is late this week....We had a public holiday in South Africa yesterday and that on top of Mike returning home after almost three weeks away in America on business and visiting family on Wednesday meant that I did not get my act together....So here is this week's post.
Once again, I love Mariette's picture this week...It is a pine cone hanging on her tree - It is plain and simple, but is a clear and bright photo and it is the simplicity of it that makes it stunning. 

We have not even put our tree up this year yet....I must admit, it is difficult this year to get into the spirit of Christmas - but I need to make the effort for Brad and Kayla-Fern's sake especially...I will probably also feel a whole lot better once the tree is up...
Because we have not put up our tree, I did not have much that inspired me for our themem this week ...And then I remembered a gift that Mike's sister in law and brother had sent home with him this time last year (Yes he was in America on business and visiting in November last year as well). 

Isn't it beautiful... There is a whole lot of history attached to the visit last year, but I do not have the emotional energy to go into that at the moment - let it be enough that it was very meaningful at the time and continues to be so....So much so that I want to find a permanent special place for it in my home so that I am reminded of the meaning of Christmas on a daily basis through the year and also that I remember every day that we are blessed with special, wonderful, caring people in our lives and even though they may be many miles away - they are still there and we can find them in our hearts at any moment.
I certainly have not said all that I want to say, but I am struggling to ...My 'tiger*.*/ness###' is missing in action .....
Tiger - *.* - One of the special people who is miles away, but at the same time in my heart, sent me an e-mail just before my mom died and she spoke about the tiger in me ---- that energy that keeps me going and fighting for what I believe in and protecting me and helping me protect the people I love...She said that the tiger would help keep me strong, but that it would need to rest when the time was right...She said that I must understand that the tiger was only resting and that it would be refreshed and revitalised to help me fight another day...Well the tiger is resting...and I am not sure how to help refresh it or how to wake it up from its rest...
Ness - ### - I think "ness" comes from the movie You,Me and DuPreez with Kate Hudson and Owen Wilson - I have never watched the entire movie, but the bits and pieces I have watched have touched me and have made me cry (this is not difficult to do - I can cry in an advert) - but anyway..."Ness" refers to the part of us that makes us who we are...our essence, that makes each person unique....
AND I miss them ..BUT I am keeping myself together with the memory of how they made me feel, and the knowledge that there are so many people who know me well and are sending me love and good wishes..from far and near....
Anyway, I think that is enough from me for this week - until next week, when I hope to have a little more creativity and tiger and ness in me...Lots of love and for those of you (like me) who have not yet done all your Christmas shopping - GOOD LUCK...
Lots of love

Team Up Thursday - Week 14 - Animals

I really struggled with deciding on a theme this week - and eventually decided on a cop out cos I knew it would be easy - even if we did not pick up a camera (which I did not) I knew that we had loads of back up pictures..
Unlike me, Mariette picked up her camera and her resulting picture of Jessie is AMAZING....Everything works from the lighting to managing to capture some of Jessies "ness" to the getting low down and taking the picture at Jessie's level - WELL DONE MARIETTE - you certainly aced it this week.

Fortunately when my creative juices have been bubbling for previous TUT themes, I have tried to take pictures of our pets (we have young cats, an oldish German Shepherd and MY little heartbeat at my feel - Tickey - little Jack Russel)...so like I said I knew I had back up and I am still obeying my own unwritten rule that my chosen photograph should be taken by me...so therefore it is only half a cheat (at least that is my story).
The picture that I chose probably breaks all the rules of good photography...It is over exposed and I really do not know what happened to the colour and I think it is slightly blurry BUT those are all the reasons that I absolutely adore my picture...

The cat in the picture is Smokey who is actually all black - we own (or do they own us?) Smokey's brother, Misty as well.  We got them as two beautiful grey kittens and within four months they had lost all their grey fur and where totally black (perhaps charcoal is a better description - although in some lights you can see a kind of grey undertone)...Very interesting.  Like human siblings, these two have a love/hate relationship except without the love...

Here is  better picture of Smokey..


I really do not have a great picture of Tickey or Romani...Maybe at some time in the future, I will take a decent picture of them and then load it up just to show you.




My last picture this week, is one that Mike took, about seven years ago at the Lion Park...(????)  I love this picture and love imagining the mind conversations going on betwen Bradley and Kayla-Fern:-
Kayla-Fern - Sharky (that is what she used to call him) - I am a little bit scared
Brad - Don't worry my little baby sis - I will protect you and if anything goes wrong - JUST RUN...
AND I imagine the giraffe (who was also only about two at the time) saying "OK Guys, whatcha gonna feed me today"

This weeks theme made me realise how lucky we are to have animals (pets) around us and how they bring so much to our lives...And also how important family memories and photos about those memories are - I don't think Kayla-Fern remembers feeding the HUGE giraffe, but looking at the photo, she can re-live it and also know that despite the fact that her and her brother fight often (that love/hate relationship again) - he will always be there to protect her...
I think that is my (relatively boring I know) post for this week...So until next week, and hopefully I am feeling a bit more creative and interesting...Lots of love

Team Up Thursday - Week 13 - Creative Editing

After our last theme of “No Colour” – Mariette said that she had fun “editing” her colour photo into a black and white photo and suggested “Creative Editing”…

I chose one of my favourite pictures of Kayla-Fern…She was not posing at all – in fact she was upset about something, and even though she is not smiling and the tears were close, she is still such a beautiful little girl.

I do not know what buttons I pushed to create this effect – but it was fun and I love the final picture.



I also love making anything into sepia – and this picture is no different

Mariette chose her first TUT picture to edit…The original picture was really pretty and I love the addition of the purple into it  - Mariette I know that you did not have time to play as much as you wanted to, but you can and should still play with different effects from time to time, even when not on a TUT theme

I also played with different effects on a picture of a stunning building (mmm buildings might be a good future TUT theme) – It was lots of fun

Original Picture



Kind of Ghostly



Different effects in different sections of the photo - did not know that you could do that, and don't ask me how....

Mariette - It was a fun week this week  - and something different - just what I needed....Amazing what we can do on the computer in the digital age that we find ourselves in...

Thats my five cents for this week...Lots of love