For The Journey Not just the destination…

This Theme Thursday is about Books. I have always loved to read, but recently, I haven’t been making enough time for it.  I’ve been reading too many blogs, or listening to podcasts and audiobooks.   My book stack is growing because I start several books at a time.

These are the books I’m currently reading. I shot this photo in my lightbox, rather than in the books’ natural setting, because I wanted to post a single photo. However, my books are strewn about…on my desk, by my bed, on my sewing table, in my car, in the kitchen and living room, and even in the bathroom.

Here’s what’s in the stack:

• Buddhism for Mothers – No, I’m not a mother yet, but this book was mentioned on a lot of blogs I read, so I thought I’d check it out to see what they’re all talking about. So far, it’s pretty interesting.
• The Young Couple’s Guide to Growing Rich Together – Thomas and I are going through this book together. It follows a new couple as they work with a financial planner and complete various assignments.
• In Stitches – I got this book for Christmas, and gave a copy to my friend Jane for her birthday. Last night, we picked out what project we’d like to work on together. We’ll be making placemats and napkins.
• Understanding Waldorf Education – I kept seeing blogs mentioning Waldorf and Montessori education, and I didn’t know much about them, so I got a book. I haven’t started the Montessori one yet, but this one has been interesting.
• Georgia Bird Watching – This is our only Georgia-specific bird book, and we used it a ton this past weekend.
• The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Book for Digital Photographers – Thomas got this book for Christmas, but we’ve both been using it as we’re learning this new photo editing program.
• Beyond Portraiture – This is a good book on taking portrait photos. My favorite part so far is about how to ask strangers for permission to take their photos.

Got any books to recommend? You can see other Book-themed Thursday posts at Land of KA.

P.S. There is still plenty of room to sign up for the Handmade Greeting Card Swap. We’ve got 8 participants so far.

As with many WW posts, this one isn’t completely wordless. I took this photo on Monday at Ocmulgee Park in Macon, GA. Thomas stopped by the park on the way home from Jekyll Island to show me the Indian mounds. I think he also thought that a brisk walk would wake me up enough to take over the driving.

Anyway, as we pulled into the park, we saw a herd of deer. They quickly ran off. As we were on our way out of the park though, they were back. We took a few photos, and due to my clumsiness, this is the only shot of mine that came out. I have never seen a wild deer with antlers before, so that was exciting.

After getting home and loading my shot on the computer, I noticed he has an injured knee. I don’t know if he was shot or if it was caused by something else.

Check out more Wordless Wednesday posts at WordlessWednesday.com.

We’re back from our adventure on Jekyll Island. Since it was a long weekend, we headed out to the coast to go birding. After seeing Lisa’s amazing photos from her last birding trip, I was inspired.

We saw over 50 species of birds, including two juvenile bald eagles. We discovered a magical lake where egrets, herons, and anghingas congregate. We stumbled upon an abandoned amphitheater filled with an audience of sunbathing vultures. And with a tip from a crazy old man, we saw a sunken ship, buried in the sand up to the masts. It was a fun, romantic, and cold adventure. As soon as I get my new hard drive installed with more disk space, I will upload some of the photos we captured.

Swap Update: I added a link at the top of my blog to a static page with the swap info. I linked the Flickr community on that page. I also wanted to note that international swappers are invited to participate – just contact me through an email and we’ll figure out what to do about the stamped envelope.

Hurray! It’s time for a craft swap. The theme is Handmade Greeting Cards.

You can buy a pack of generic cards at the store, but what’s the fun in that? Wouldn’t you rather send your handwritten letters on unique handmade cards? Now you can swap for a set of cards, each by a different crafter.

Here’s how this works:
Make 10 handmade greeting cards – any medium, any theme – and send them to me. I’ll divide them up among the participants, and send back a set with 10 different cards. Be sure to include an envelope for each card you make.

And the nitty-gritty:

• Feb 1 – Sign ups close
• Feb 4 – I’ll email participants
• Feb 18 – Participants mail 10 handmade cards to me
• Feb 29 – I’ll mail a set of 10 different cards back to you

When you mail the cards to me, include a self-addressed, stamped envelope for the same amount of postage as it took to mail it to me. I’ll mail your set back in this.

To sign up, email me (email link is in the sidebar):

• your name
• email address
• city
• state
• blog url

I’ll set up a Flickr group for participants to post photos.

This is my first time to host, so please help spread the word. I’ll post a logo as soon as I get back from my holiday break. Happy MLK Day!

Holy Cow! It snowed in Atlanta…

I thought I was going to have to skip Theme Thursday this week because the theme is Winter, and we’ve been running around in short sleeve tee-shirts. And then, all of a sudden, it got cold and fluffy white things started falling from the sky.

Unfortunately, the snow started when I left work, and it was dark by the time I got home. Thomas and I played outside for a little bit, but none of my photos came out. Clover had a blast and ran around like a fruit loop.

Here’s Thomas’ Snow photos – he got home earlier than I did. We celebrated the snow with chocolate chip pancakes for dinner and snuggled up to watch a movie. It was all melted by morning.

Check out the other Theme Thursday participants on The Land of KA.

In other news, I signed up for my first swap of the year. I’m going to participate in Ibby Bee’s Coaster Swap. Signups are open until Jan 22nd. [Edit: The swap closed early and I was too late to get a spot. Maybe next time.]

I’m also going to be hosting my first swap soon. I’ll post details on Monday. Come back and check it out!