Our dear Elisabeth on Youtube.

Isn't it wonderful how stories can drive home the most meaningful points?
No wonder Jesus shared his wisdom with parables.
And of course God would know to give us a book filled with His stories.
He knows how we learn best.


He set the example.
We follow the example.


Simple.

But not so easy.


Fortunately, God is patient.



Encourage one another,
Donna

If you were to shout from the highest point in your world...

What would you shout?



Encourage one another,
Donna

She saved the big one for last.

And enjoyed every literary bite.

Look mom, I have a RUNCH bar.

So I took a picture.

Half and hour later.

Look mom, I have an UNCH bar.

Another shot.

She brought the candy bar to church and ate it teeny bite by teeny bite and declared.

'CH.

I have a CH.'

What a nut.


Some ways we are different.

I have never made a candy bar last that long in my life.

Some ways we are the same.

Attention to detail.


She gets the 'not gobbling food' from her dad.




She also gets this from me.

Using odd objects as awards.




Good Shoooow!




Happy Monday blog buddies!

Why don't you tell me about something really great that happened over the weekend.


And remember to pray for Di's daughter Madelaine.
They are dealing with the staph again and they need to find answers.
Please. Lord.



Encourage one another,
Donna

****

It has been snowing on and off for 24 hours now.
Thankfully nothing is sticking but it is one of the odd
things about living in the Midwest...

Wednesday it's summer.
Friday it's winter.

It's just weird.



This is the light in June.



This is the light in November.


June is sparkly isn't it?
November is moodier.




I think I will be converting a lot of pictures to black and white as winter approaches.

But that's okay with me. I love the black and whites.

In fact I am going to frame four black and white pictures in black frames with white mats.
The kind you can find anywhere. But I have finally decided to do this and can't wait to pick out just the four pictures I want to frame.

I'll show you when I get it all together.


**

We are going to buy a snow blower today.

Anniversary and Christmas gift.

I have to earmark big purchases as gifts. It's this thing I do.

Do you do that too?

***

Not much to say this morning....
I'll come back it something pops into my head.




I can not take pictures of our cat.
Dogs are very wiggly.

But chickens.
I rocked the chickens at the fair.

Is there a call for chicken/rooster photography?


Donna Boucher
Photographer of Children and Chickens.

It has a nice ring to it.



Encourage one another,
Donna

**




I knew you would all come thru in a big way for Staci's mom.

I knew it. And so did Staci. Cause we just know there is something goin' on in the comments around here.

But I don't think either of us knew how BIG you would come thru.

I'm thankful for each of you.

I am thankful that you are kind.
That you are open.
That you are caring.
That you are supportive.

And funny and respectful and positive.


Yeah. You are the greatest!



***


Friday Fill-in




1. My blueprint for success includes _____________.
2. _________ was the last candy I ate.
3. The best facial moisturizer I've ever used is __________.
4. _____________ can be good therapy.
5. I'd like to tell you about ______________.
6. ________ is my strongest characteristic.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _____, tomorrow my plans include _____ and Sunday, I want to _____!



HT toFriday Fill-ins





Encourage one another,
Donna

***



It's my long time blog sistah's mother's 70th birthday!
Staci would love for her mom to receive 70 comments in her comment box.

Because Staci knows you guys rock the comments...she asked if I would send you over to
give her mom a happy surprise!

I said. Will do.

Thanks in advance for being so kind and spreading the cheer.

Wish Staci's mom Happy Birthday



****

And for the photographers who have wanted to buy Sesame Ellis actions....

They are on sale today. One day only. Creator Rachel Devine is 38 years old today AND she is having a one day sale.


Sesame Ellis Actions 38% off today. It's Rachel's birthday!



****




Who Has Seen the Wind?
Christina Rossetti

Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you:
But when the leaves hang trembling
The wind is passing thro'.

Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I:
But when the trees bow down their heads
The wind is passing by.



***

And remember how I said I never really saw any resemblance between Katie and I?

This is why.






Encourage one another,
Donna

This is for Lynn.

She requested a blog post with pretty fashions and lovely poems today.




This stunning picture is from Vogue.
I buy Vogue once or twice a year.

The dress is by Nina Ricci.

I adore it.

And I love the flip of Reese Witherspoon's hair and the repeating curves in her face and bodice.


*****

And for lovely words. The most lovely words I have heard in a long time were spoken by John McCain in his concession speech last night.

I urge all Americans ... I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our goodwill and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.

Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that.

It is natural. It's natural, tonight, to feel some disappointment. But tomorrow, we must move beyond it and work together to get our country moving again.

We fought — we fought as hard as we could. And though we feel short, the failure is mine, not yours......


I don't know — I don't know what more we could have done to try to win this election. I'll leave that to others to determine. Every candidate makes mistakes, and I'm sure I made my share of them. But I won't spend a moment of the future regretting what might have been.

This campaign was and will remain the great honor of my life, and my heart is filled with nothing but gratitude for the experience and to the American people for giving me a fair hearing before deciding that Sen. Obama and my old friend Sen. Joe Biden should have the honor of leading us for the next four years.

(BOOING)

Please. Please.

I would not — I would not be an American worthy of the name should I regret a fate that has allowed me the extraordinary privilege of serving this country for a half a century.

Today, I was a candidate for the highest office in the country I love so much. And tonight, I remain her servant. That is blessing enough for anyone, and I thank the people of Arizona for it.

AUDIENCE: USA. USA. USA. USA.

MCCAIN: Tonight — tonight, more than any night, I hold in my heart nothing but love for this country and for all its citizens, whether they supported me or Sen. Obama — whether they supported me or Sen. Obama.

I wish Godspeed to the man who was my former opponent and will be my president. And I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties, but to believe, always, in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here.

Americans never quit. We never surrender.

We never hide from history. We make history.

Thank you, and God bless you, and God bless America. Thank you all very much.

The whole speechis here.

How's that for humble, honorable and encouraging?




***

One other thing that I think would make lots of you smile is a video of Ree.

It is tucked away on the HP site and I think it is delightful...

click here and watch video


****

The home school volleyball team is headed to Omaha for their big tournament.
Please pray for traveling mercies and no injuries.


My photography friend, Courtney, had a baby girl yesterday!

Welcome baby Stella! You are loved!!!




Happy Wednesday!

Love to all....and encourage one another,
Donna

Catchy tune :o)

I do not know the words to the verses...but I sure love the chorus :o)


****


It was all Yellow.










Near Katie's school. Love the canyons of color.



This tree was luminescent.




Ree's Fresh and Colorful action really made those leaves crisp.
I like it.






I laid on my tummy, in a cemetery, at 8:20 this morning to bring you a little voting inspiration.

We have a wonderful country.

We are so blessed.

I am grateful.



Encourage one another,
Donna

Regis and Kelly have a costume contest on Halloween.

I laughed and laughed so hard at the Roller Coaster costume.

Finally the clip has been posted on Youtube.

If you don't want to see all the costumes...skip ahead to the 5 minute mark.

Enjoy!!! And don't pee in your pants!









I love this little peanut....









Did I say, 'pee in your pants?'



***


On a little trip around our yard....






Did you know my favorite tree is a birch?

What is your favorite tree?







Oh, hello little school girl.





It's going to be gorgeous outside today! High near the 70's.
Our last hurrah!!!

Indian Summer by Henry Van Dyke

A soft veil dims the tender skies,
And half conceals from pensive eyes
The bronzing tokens of the fall;
A calmness broods upon the hills,
And summer's parting dream distills
A charm of silence over all.

The stacks of corn, in brown array,
Stand waiting through the placid day,
Like tattered wigwams on the plain;
The tribes that find a shelter there
Are phantom peoples, forms of air,
And ghosts of vanished joy and pain.

At evening when the crimson crest
Of sunset passes down the West,
I hear the whispering host returning;
On far-off fields, by elm and oak,
I see the lights, I smell the smoke,--
The Camp-fires of the Past are burning.

Encourage one another,
Donna

Hi there... bet you didn't think I was going to post today :o)

Yesterday, a gal named Brenda, over on flickr, posted a picture of her little girl.

She had a fan blowing on her little gal. And it looked so cool to me.

So, I thought, I'm gonna try that.

Katie and I went upstairs to my bedroom, cause I have a fan up there.

There isn't a whole lot of space for a photoshoot...and well...my fan is weak.

So I had to hold the fan in my hands and try to take pictures with the other hand....

And Katie was not in the mood.











But like I said at Ree's....sometimes you never know what you are gonna get.

10 out of 50 turned out okay.
three were pretty special

You just have to try or you would never get pretty special.





So that is my message today....


Don't be afraid to fail....

Try!





"Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something."
~Kurt Vonnegut


Thank you for the quote, Sandra!



Encourage one another,
Donna

So I went outside to take a few pictures of Katie before we head out to trick or treat....




And I took this picture.

And when I looked at it on the screen....

it reminded me of something...




Are you talkin' to me?




What?





Donna 1973
Katie 2008

My sister Nancy came down for a visit. I made her sit on a curb in the shade of her car just before she left.

"On the curb?" she queried.

"Your eyes will look fab, trust me ;o)"





Here is the table she brought me. I do love it.

And I have decided why I love it. It is warm and inviting. It is comfortable to sit at and is perfect to doing puzzles.
You can schooch your bottoms real close on slippery benches.

Thank you so much, Nancy!



We ate at a Thai restaurant and then shopped around town.

I wanted Nancy to see The Century House in Madison.
She loved it!

And bought me a very cool, soft scarf for my birthday.

It is pleated fleece. Pleece, I think.

Really.

She also bought Katie an advent calendar with chocolates in it!
We are all set for Christmas!

Then we went to Target :o)

She doesn't have a Target in her area.

We walked around and gathered this and that...I grabbed some feetie jammies for
Katie and then Nancy paid for them.

She is like that. It's like shopping with Aunt Dorothy.

I highly recommend it.


Southern Wisconsin showed Nancy her best in fall weather yesterday and every time we stepped out side we were greeted with a warm fall breeze and bright colors.

It was one fine afternoon. My heart is full.



*****


Friday Five


1. Did you carve your pumpkin yet?
2. What decade would you like to represent in costume?
3. Favorite coffee?
4. Have you ever worn a wig or had extensions?
5. Have you started your Christmas shopping yet?




Do you know how banks used to have give-aways?

China, Silverware....Wigs?

Do you remember that?


Well, I will never forget it!

Back in the 70's our grandpa gave money to each of his daughter in law's. (It may have been in his will)

And so...when our mother took her money into the bank she got in on the 'wigs for savings plan.'

She came home from the bank with about 13 wigs.

All different colors and styles!!!

I can remember her at a party changing her wigs throughout the night and just having a blast with the whole thing.

It was like living with Lucy, I tell ya!




Happy Halloween Everyone!

Have fun, be safe, and make some new memories!


Encourage one another,
Donna

Parade of costumes.




The children followed Mrs. Vitale around and around the playground.






We all loved this costume. (His mother made it.)





They made a big circle and danced the hokey pokey.

It's always difficult to be the bearer of sad
news, but you'll probably want to know about the
great loss today in the entertainment world. The
man who wrote the song "Hokey Pokey" has died.
The horrible part is that they had trouble
keeping his body in the casket. They'd put his
right foot in, and... well, you know the rest.

hahahahohoho

I love that joke.


***

Then last night was the Halloween dance.

Two dollars to get in. Dj playing tunes and children dancing for an hour and a half.

It was super, super fun!


****


But I must say, my Uncle Don was right.
Kind of.


Uncle Don would tease my mom that her children were never sick...because they never went anywhere.

And we didn't have all sort of activities away from the home...and we rarely went shopping with our mom...and we didn't eat out at fast food restaurants. We spent a lot of time together and at home....

(But we all went to school starting in Kindergarten)

My point being....

Katie has her second cold of the school year.

:o(

We usually have one cold a year at the most around here.

Like my childhood home. We have very few colds and flus.

But, until this fall....we didn't leave the house much.

So perhaps Uncle Don was right.

WE will be upping the hand washing since I think that is the best thing you can do to prevent illness.


What do you do to stay healthy?


I just remembered something. When we were sick. We were basically quarantined.

How smart of our mother to put the little sickies to bed so they couldn't spread the germs...and so they would get plenty of rest.

There was no cuddling up on the couch and watching tv with the family when you were sick.

It was IN BED with the Door closed...and food brought to you on a tray.

Boy was my mom smart.

Nobody wants to be surrounded by seven sniffling, hacking, puking children.

Do they?

Do any of you take this wise approach at your home?


*****

Okay. Gotta run. No school today and my sister Nancy is coming down from the North with a dining room table for us.

Woopie!!!


Encourage one another,
Donna

The Holy Grail



Yes. Yesterday was a really great day.

Besides having a wonderful, interesting discussion in the comments, (my favorite thing about blogging)
this came in the mail.

All the way from Portugal.



What could Donna be ordering from Portugal, you wonder?

Tungsten? Textiles? Cork?












Textiles, it is!

This ribbon, this long sought after Rosa Pomar ribbon.

I love this ribbon better than any ribbon I have ever seen in my life.

Funny thing is. I am not a collector of ribbon. I don't intend to sew with this ribbon.

I do intend to tie it on my little 5 x 7 boxes for my clients tho.

I think.

If I can part with it.

But that's the plan.

I think.

Isn't it CUTE!?


****


Today is Halloween party day at Katie's school.

They will wear costumes, parade around the school, have healthy snacks and watch a short movie.

Katie is a girl from the 50's this year.

She wore part of her costume this morning and will put the rest on this afternoon.

I bought her some fun pumpkin earrings at the local pharmacy (which doubles as a huge costume shop this time of year)
With a push of a button the pumpkins light up and flash.

They are dangly earrings.

I told Katie she could wear them today.

And then I took it back.

One look at those heavy earrings and all I could see was INJURY.

I was too scared to let her wear them to school where they could accidentally get....ripped from her little ears.


eww....

I'm sorry about that. But the image was too real to me to let her out of the house.

So I told her I would bring them to the party this afternoon and she could wear them just for the party and the parade.

I don't know if I was being overly cautious, but once that morbid mom thought entered my mind...
there was no going back.

It wasn't gonna happen.

Not as long as she still swings on monkey bars.


*****


Every once in a while a person leaves a comment and leaves their name...and I don't know who it is.

If they have a link....I follow it and say hello or lurk around at least.



Yesterday, Josh left a comment.

A funny, cute comment.


And I don't know who Josh is.

And the fact that Josh is a boy, I think, makes me wonder all the more.



Is it Josh as in cowboy Josh?

Is it Josh as in the guy my son Patrick lives with?

Is it Josh Grobin?

Those are the only Josh's I can think of.


If you happen to stop by today....say hi again and leave us a little clue as to who you are.
Cause I am just sure you are a cowboy learning to use his new laptop....and
I want to know if I am right.




And this skinny pickle wants to know too :o)



Encourage one another,
Donna

Art is a funny thing.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder....it is true.

This picture is not art.

But I like it and I cropped it like this for a reason.

I put it on Flickr where I find creative and wildly cropped pictures that I really find interesting.

In half a day I had eighteen views and not one comment.

So I took it down.

I thought. Well. I guess I really didn't get this one right.

Although I thought I had...cause I wouldn't have put it on flickr if I thought I got it wrong.



But I'm still thinking about this picture today.
And I still find it interesting.

And that should be okay.

If I am the only one who likes this picture.
THAT should be alright.
THAT should be enough.

I like the light on the hair on her neck.
I like the color of her lips.
I like the way she is grabbing and stretching her sweater.
And I like her skinny shoulders.


So it shall be the picture that stays in the back of my closet.
(In the files of Photoshop)

The odd little cropped picture that was once shown.
But not loved.

The oddly cropped picture that makes me wonder and ponder and think about style and art.

Very few people possess true artistic ability. It is therefore both unseemly and unproductive to irritate the situation by making an effort. If you have a burning, restless urge to write or paint, simply eat something sweet and the feeling will pass.
~Fran Lebowitz

Well.

That's a snarky comment.

Who is Fran Lebowitz anyway?
A comedian? A writer?

I shall try to forget I read THAT.


Seriously. How do you know,
Unless you try?






Perhaps a Butterfinger will help.



Encourage one another,
Donna

LOOK WHAT I FOUND ON YOUTUBE!






This was by far my favorite part of High School Musical 3.

I love that Gabriella wears dresses almost all the time.
I just think it is a sweet choice.




Did you see the movie?
What did you think?

We went before noon on Saturday and it was only $10.00 for the two of us.
Pretty nice, huh?
I didn't know about that deal.





On the way home from Green Bay last night I took some pictures.
My camera on auto focus was having fits not knowing what to focus on...so I put it on manual focus and
experimented.

The yellow blob..that kind of looks like a creepy face; the golden arches :o)


****





You can only be composed and still for so long when you are eight years old.

The elastic heart of youth cannot be compressed into one constrained shape long at a time.
Mark Twain

Have you read Tom Sawyer?

You should.


Encourage one another,
Donna

When we lived in Marinette Wisconsin, we got the daily newspaper.
My husband liked getting the local paper.
I read three parts of the local paper.

The obits
The births
and
The blotter

Just call me nosey.

I was in the season of life when I knew lots of people having babies
and in a small town you know the names of people in the obituaries and the blotter.


We don't get a local paper since we moved to the Madison area.
I don't know many people around here. At all.
So no need to keep track.

I think this is the worst part of being church hoppers.
You don't put down roots and become a serious part of the community, even at church.

Now that Patrick has joined us in the church going, I think we have stopped the hopping, and hopefully
those roots can start to grow. Having Katie at the church school will also aid in this feeling of community.


I am thinking of obituaries today because my sister in law, Susan lost her dear father this week and we will be going to his funeral in Green Bay this weekend.

Susan's father was so kind and gentle and loving and hard working.
He was a man among men.
He was a most beloved father and husband for 61 years.

He loved well and was very well loved.

God bless you Ren.

And as Susan says when we pray...

And may the souls of the faithful departed,
rest in peace.

****




Linen/Flax hand towel.
Hand knit gift for Sue.
My design.



And as it happens in this world....

It is a day to celebrate too!

Sister Sue was born on this day!



Sue is in the middle.

Not only is she beautiful, she is smart as all get out and is funny and extremely gifted.
She teaches gifted children on a daily basis.
Good fit :o)

Happy Birthday Sue. I love you.


Life of the party, Cindy, is eating some grapes right off the vine :o)

She is all around wonderful, too, as is The Amazing Nancy!

I am blessed with sisters.

Thank you God.


***

And The Blotter.

I will tell you the mystery I was trying to solve.

But it is still not solved.

I had two checks sent to me in the week of Oct 9th.

One coming from Chicago and one coming from Oklahoma.

Neither check made it to my house.

Thankfully, neither check has been cashed.

So either the mailman lost them or they were mixed with the junk-newspapers that come to our house and were tossed unknowingly.

I suppose there are many different scenarios. But these seem the most probable.

Seeing that we have dealt with check fraud and someone stealing mail out of our mailbox in the past,
you can imagine I was very worried. Hearing neither of the checks was cashed was a huge relief.


Phew.

So far.



And so...

To everything there is a season,
a time for every purpose under the sun.
A time to be born and a time to die;
a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
a time to kill and a time to heal ...
a time to weep and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn and a time to dance ...
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to lose and a time to seek;
a time to rend and a time to sew;
a time to keep silent and a time to speak;
a time to love and a time to hate;
a time for war and a time for peace.

ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Encourage one another,
Donna


p.s. Praying for Jody and Junebug...and for Rosa who my be giving birth right at this very minute.

Friday Five


1. Is it dark out?
2. How old were you when you got married?
3. Curly hair or straight hair?
4. V8 or Orange Juice?
5. Favorite late night talk show?


It is so dark out this morning.
When does daylight savings start?

I had a senior photoshoot yesterday afternoon and the clouds were so thick I could not see any light in pretty Leah's eyes...so we packed it up and are waiting for the sun to come out.







I cheated a little and lightened her eyes.

Sesame Ellis Actions for the photographers out there.

2. I was 23 when I got married.

3. I love curly hair. There is a little boy at Katie's school with curly hair and I think it's the cutest thing since
sliced bread. Is curly hair as rare as red hair?

4. Fresh squeezed Orange Juice or none at all. V8 once in a while. (like this morning when I am OUT of Dr. Pepper. How did that happen???)

5. I like David Letterman. And I like Chelsea Lately, lately. ( I am sure you never heard of her and you wouldn't like her,
but she is funny- rude in a very, very bad and funny way.)




So the weekend is almost here.

I have finished my sister Sue's birthday gift and will block it today and show it to you all tomorrow...
on her birthday. We are the same age until tomorrow. I can stay up as late as her...until tomorrow.

Don't have any other plans than that....

perhaps we will sleep in....past seven....


"In winter I get up at night
and dress by yellow candle-light...."






Encourage one another,
Donna

I know. It's been done.

But I have a slightly different take on these pictures




I like how I look with the odd hairdos much better than how I really look.

Perhaps the editing machine on youryearbook.com helped in the chin area and that makes me look prettier....

But seriously.

I'm ready to take these pictures into Heather and tell her I'd like to give it a go.




What I like best about this picture is how much I look like Janet.
I never thought I looked like Janet before.
But here I really do.

And Janet had big hair once upon a time.



Here I look just like Aunt Betty.

I lived with Aunt Betty when her hair was exactly like this in 1976.

I miss her.

Sister Sue wore her hair like this too.



I have always been a straight hair girl.
Some times with bangs.

But usually pulled back in a pony tail cause the hair in my face gets on my nerves.
Although, I know I look better with it down.
With some mascara.

I have a hard time spending time on my appearance.

I have tried a few times to wear a hairdo and I can't do it.

It wears me out.




But really!!!
How cute would I be with this hair???

This is my mother's hair! I love this picture. I love how I look like my mom so much.
And it's the prettiest one.


Remember how I wanted those cat eye glasses so badly.

I was on the something there.

My next pair will look like this!
No kidding!!!



Heather....

Oh Heather....

I have a question for you...





Encourage one another,
Donna