The End (365/365)

~*~*~


Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end.
But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.
~ Winston Churchill

PLACE: Podunk Illinois
SUBJECT: The End

Well? This is it. 365 pictures in as many days. My Sony Cyber-shot, 7.2 mega pixel, 4x optical zoom point and shoot camera took me places I never expected to go this year.

In my world, project 365 is like any other blog. People decide to take it on for many reasons. For some it's posting a years worth of pictures straight from the camera. For others it's a weekly theme, uploaded to flicker on a designated day. And still others participate to show that they can make a commitment for an entire year and stick to it.

Me? I went into it hoping to get a good picture or two - to build my self confidence - to believe in my abilities as much as others seemed to believe in them. I was successful! It's been a good year. No, it's been a GREAT year.

I'm not sure where this blog will go in 2011. I'm looking at some weekly photo memes. This daily thing is a ton of work (don't let anyone fool you into thinking it isn't) and I've got some other projects I'm working on that make daily posting here impossible.

I do know one thing.

I will keep taking pictures.

~*~*~

Calendar (364/365)

~*~*~


I've been on a calendar, but I've never been on time.
~ Marilyn Monroe

PLACE: Home Sweet Home
SUBJECT: Calendar

Now I can claim that I've done something Marilyn Monroe did - I'm on a calendar! Fermilab sent these out to all of the 2010 Photowalk participants. Although the monthly photos were all of the finalists (my honorable mention didn't make it), I do appear on the preface page that talks about each lab's Photowalk. How appropriate that I would be caught using my cell phone to take a photo!

~*~*~

Freezing Fog (363/365)

~*~*~


PLACE: Podunk Illinois
SUBJECT: Freezing Fog

It's not unusual for us to have freezing fog once or twice during the winter, but this was the third day in December that it has dusted all of Podunk. It looks like someone dropped crates full of powdered sugar from the sky!

~*~*~

Whore (362/365)

~*~*~


The argument between wives and whores is an old one;
each one thinking that whatever she is, at least she is not the other.
~ Andrea Dworkin

PLACE: Home Sweet Home
SUBJECT: Whore

I finally ordered my "Shut your whore mouth" t-shirt from Mommy Wants Vodka's website. I'm not one who usually pays to promote others. HELL! I don't even buy concert t-shirts, but this t-shirt says what I so often want to say in such an eloquent manner it should be promoted!

~*~*~

Tree Skirt (361/365)

~*~*~


PLACE: Home Sweet Home
SUBJECT: Tree Skirt

I was a little concerned about how the cats would deal with the Christmas tree. They weren't a part of the family last year and I had visions of waking up to a toppled tree every morning.

They didn't climb the tree, they ate it. That's right, seems my cats enjoy he flavor of plastic pine needles ... at least for a little while. I had several plastic pine needle hair balls on my tree skirt, making a washing necessary.

~*~*~

Icicles (360/365)

~*~*~


“Honesty is like an icicle; if once it melts that is the end of it”
~ American Proverb

PLACE: Home Sweet Home
SUBJECT: Icicles

These look like they might want to fight back.

~*~*~

Stocking (359/365)

~*~*~


A severed foot is the ultimate stocking stuffer.
~ Mitch Hedberg

PLACE: Home Sweet Home
SUBJECT: Stocking

Christmas doesn't look very traditional at our house, but there is always a
stocking filled to the brim on Christmas morning. The problem?
Each year it get's more and more difficult to find things to fill Cam's stocking,
but I think I did OK this year!

~*~*~

Hoar Frost (358/365)

~*~*~


“Poverty, Frost, Famine, Rain, Disease, are the beadles and guardsmen that hold us to Common Sense.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

PLACE: Podunk Illinois
SUBJECT: Hoar Frost

We get several hoar frosts throughout the winter - this was the first of the season.

~*~*~

Row (357/365)

~*~*~


Call on God, but row away from the rocks.
~ Hunter S. Thompson

PLACE: Podunk Illinois
SUBJECT: Row

Even in the winter there is still beauty in the corn.

~*~*~

Angel (356/365)

~*~*~


I'm just looking for an angel with a broken wing.
~ Jimmy Page

PLACE: Home Sweet Home
SUBJECT: Angel

My "special" ornaments were left behind in the move. Last Christmas, I received this one from a friend and it has become my favorite.

~*~*~

Fog (355/365)

~*~*~


Truth is the torch that gleams through the fog without dispelling it.
~ Claude Adrien Helvetius

PLACE: Podunk Illinois
SUBJECT: Fog

Inspired by Jay

~*~*~

Santa (354/365)

~*~*~


“Believe in love. Believe in magic. Hell, believe in Santa Clause. Believe in others. Believe in yourself. Believe in your dreams. If you don't, who will?”
~ Jon Bon Jovi

PLACE: Podunk Illinois
SUBJECT: Santa

There is a crane contractor who recently moved in just down the road from our offices who clearly has Christmas spirit. Santa now flies across the road that leads into (and out of) our complex.

~*~*~

Mural (353/365)

~*~*~


The Illinois Lincoln Highway Coalition is producing 43 Interpretive Murals to be installed along the Illinois Lincoln Highway National Scenic Byway and its corridor in northern Illinois. Each mural depicts the history, heritage and events of the highway and its impact on the communities.

PLACE: Podunk V2
SUBJECT: Mural

This mural resides on the west side of Podunk V2's library.
I see it on Sundays when I do laundry and finally stopped to take a closer look.

~*~*~

Sunrise (352/365)

~*~*~


Nothing is more beautiful than the loveliness of the woods before sunrise.
~ George Washington Carver

PLACE: Podunk Illinois
SUBJECT: Sunrise

I'm not sure which I enjoy the most - a beautiful sunset or a beautiful sunrise - but this time of year I usually get to see both!

~*~*~

Stack (351/365)

~*~*~


Anything beats an expensive stack of paper.
~ Larry Niven

PLACE: Cubicle Hell
SUBJECT: Stack

Oh the auditors. I wish they would go away ... far away ...

~*~*~

Barn (350/365)

~*~*~


Do not let a flattering woman coax and wheedle you and deceive you;
she is after your barn.
~ Hesiod

PLACE: Podunk Illinois
SUBJECT: Barn

~*~*~

Poinsettia (349/365)

~*~*~


Poinsettia smiles in winter.
People know Christmas is nearer.
Yellow pistil with red leaves appear
In all greeting cards every year.
~ Charles Woo

PLACE: Cubicle Hell
SUBJECT: Poinsettia

~*~*~

City (348/365)

~*~*~


A city is a large community where people are lonesome together.
~ Herbert Prochnow

PLACE: Podunk Illinois
SUBJECT: City

If we have Christmas decorations on the streetlights that makes us a city, right?

~*~*~

Cow (347/365)

~*~*~


If happiness truly consisted in physical ease and freedom from care, then the happiest individual would not be either a man or a woman; it would be, I think, an American cow.
~ William Lyon Phelps

PLACE: Podunk Illinois
SUBJECT: Cow

The snow is always greener?

~*~*~

Christmas Cards (346/365)

~*~*~


Christmas is doing a little something extra for someone.
~ Charles Schulz

PLACE: Home Sweet Home
SUBJECT: Christmas Cards

Cam's school makes Christmas Cards each year as a fundraiser.
Hopefully I will get these out before Christmas!

~*~*~

Yarn (345/365)

~*~*~


I've always done things the hard way. I was born like a piece of tangled yarn. The job is trying to untangle it, and I'll probably go on doing it for the rest of my life.
~ Karen Allen

PLACE: Home Sweet Home
SUBJECT: Yarn

I love yarn - soft and vibrant. Too bad I don't know how to knit or crotchet!

~*~*~

Gingerbread (344/365)

~*~*~


[Thelonius dunks the Gingerbread Man in a glass of milk]
Lord Farquaad: That's enough! He's ready to talk.
Shrek (2001)

PLACE: Cubicle Hell
SUBJECT: Gingerbread

We have a vendor whom, every year, sends us a customized gingerbread house. I've never been brave enough to actually eat it, but it is pretty cool!

~*~*~

Pieces (343/365)

~*~*~


“When it seems that someone has shattered your dreams....pick up even the smallest of pieces and use them to build bigger and better dreams.”
~ Unknown

PLACE: Podunk Illinois
SUBJECT: Pieces

~*~*~

Spiral (342/365)

~*~*~


Modern man must descend the spiral of his own absurdity to the lowest point; only then can he look beyond it. It is obviously impossible to get around it, jump over it, or simply avoid it.
~ Vaclav Havel

PLACE: Hotel Indigo
SUBJECT: Spiral

Cam's school had their holiday luncheon in the ballroom of this "boutique" hotel.
The decor was funky and fun ... kind of like the kids in his school!

~*~*~

Buckeye (341/365)

~*~*~


"It all goes so fast, and character makes the difference when it's close."
~ Jesse Owens

PLACE: Home Sweet Home
SUBJECT: Buckeye

Everyone has been bringing treats to the middle school youth group lately, but we have one volunteer with Celiac Disease. I decided to make a gluten free treat for her to bring this week. She didn't share.

~*~*~

First (340/365)

~*~*~


Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities... because it is the quality which guarantees all others.
~ Winston Churchill

PLACE: Home Sweet Home
SUBJECT: First

I got my first Christmas card today. Hopefully it won't be the last!

~*~*~

Tread (339/365)

~*~*~


Beauty, like ice, our footing does betray; Who can tread sure on the smooth, slippery way: Pleased with the surface, we glide swiftly on, And see the dangers that we cannot shun.
~ John Dryden

PLACE: Home Sweet Home
SUBJECT: Tread

I'm pretty sure if I were to look back through my photos I'd see that I have taken more photos of these stairs than I have anything else ... which is why I'm not looking back!

~*~*~

Chaos (338/365)

~*~*~


Chaos is a friend of mine.
~ Bob Dylan

PLACE: Podunk Illinois
SUBJECT: Chaos

The first snow of the season always brings a certain level of chaos.

~*~*~

Crystal (337/365)

~*~*~


A word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanged; it is the skin of a living thought and may vary greatly in color and content according to the circumstances and time in which it is used.
~ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

PLACE: Podunk Illinois
SUBJECT: Crystal

Sometimes the frost is solid and blocks your sight,
and sometimes it begs you to look a little closer.

~*~*~

Old-Fashioned (336/365)

~*~*~


Call me old-fashioned, but I like my conditioners to be conditioners and my shampoos to be shampoos.
~ Kyan Douglas

PLACE: Podunk Illinois
SUBJECT: Old-Fashioned

We don't do fancy froo-froo displays here, we do displays with heart!

~*~*~

Lights (335/365)

~*~*~


“An optimist is a person who sees only the lights in the picture, whereas a pessimist sees only the shadows. An idealist, however, is one who sees the light and the shadows, but in addition sees something else: the possibility of changing the picture, of making the lights prevail over the shadows.”
~ Unknown

PLACE: Church
SUBJECT: Lights

They decorated the youth center for Christmas. Pretty lights!

~*~*~

Decorated (334/365)

~*~*~


The true grandeur of humanity is in moral elevation, sustained,
enlightened and decorated by the intellect of man.
~ Charles Sumner

PLACE: Cubicle Hell
SUBJECT: Decorated

The tree went up at work. That means I don't have to put one up at the house, right??

~*~*~

Dilate (333/365)

~*~*~


The time at our disposal each day is elastic; the passions we feel dilate it, those that inspire us shrink it, and habit fills it.
~ Marcel Proust

PLACE: Home Sweet Home
SUBJECT: Dilate

I took today off from work and went to the eye doctor. It had been three years since my last exam and my vision was getting a bit blurry, especially with my contacts. I went ahead and let them dilate my pupils as I've recently started experience "floaters". GAHHHH! I'm old ... but not quite that old. I was able to avoid bifocals for another year!

~*~*~

Shells (332/365)

~*~*~


"According to superstition, empty egg-shells should always be broken up ~ lest witches make boats thereof."
~ Dorothy Hartley (1892-1985)

PLACE: Home Sweet Home
SUBJECT: Shells

Hmmm ... I think there is a fleet here!

~*~*~

E (331/365)

~*~*~


“Sign language is useful to the deaf but vital to the Italians.”
~ Paul Carvel

PLACE: Home Sweet Home
SUBJECT: E

This is my letter E (also in sign language and in braille) for the Christmas collaborative project at church. Twenty of us were given a 12" x 12" canvas and told to do some sort of interpretation of that letter. The only requirement was that we use a 9" capital letter.

When all 20 of these canvases are put together, they will say:

JESUS: LIGHT OF THE WORLD

I'll get a photo of the completed project too!

~*~*~

Shopping (330/365)

~*~*~


In almost every survey of consumers, they say they don't mind spending money. What they hate is the shopping experience.
~ Alan Bush

PLACE: Home Sweet Home
SUBJECT: Shopping

My newspaper was smaller than the ads for Black Friday. Although I was tempted by the laptop a Walmart, I decided staying home would be less expensive!

~*~*~

Bacon (329/365)

~*~*~


"Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon."
~ Doug Larson

PLACE: Home Sweet Home
SUBJECT: Bacon

There really is a turkey under the bacon, stuffed with sweet onions and apples. It was good ... VERY good!

~*~*~

Jackson (328/365)

~*~*~


Patience has its limits. Take it too far, and it's cowardice.
~ George Jackson

PLACE: Home Sweet Home
SUBJECT: Jackson

It seems Cam made a friend while he was at Fall Retreat last weekend.

~*~*~

Grades (327/365)

~*~*~


I could have been a Rhodes Scholar, except for my grades.
~ Duffy Daugherty

PLACE: Home Sweet Home
SUBJECT: Grades

Ahhh ... my dear son. He brought home his midterm progress report Monday and Tuesday I found this test. Frustrating ...

~*~*~

Apple Pie (326/365)

~*~*~


“A girl came up to me in a bar and said she wanted to be my apple pie. I wish I'd said something cool, but I was stunned.”
~ Jason Biggs

PLACE: Home Sweet Home
SUBJECT: Apple Pie

I spend a lo of time carting one of Cam's friends to church functions. I was a little surprised when his mom stopped by with a pie for us just to say "Thanks"!

~*~*~

Tracks (325/365)

~*~*~


I'm not following anybody's tracks, I'm making my own baby.
~ Picabo Street

PLACE: Burlington Illinois
SUBJECT: Tracks

Errands brought me outside of Podunk and I happened upon these tracks. Wonder which one I should take ...

~*~*~

Dried (324/365)

~*~*~


From reading too much, and sleeping too little, his brain dried up on him and he lost his judgment.
~ Miguel de Cervantes

PLACE: Forest Preserve
SUBJECT: Dried

A few dried berries left on the bush, but soon those too will be gone.

~*~*~

Conservation (323/365)

~*~*~


A hypocrite is the kind of politician who would cut down a redwood tree, then mount the stump and make a speech for conservation.
~ Adlai E. Stevenson

PLACE: Podunk Illinois
SUBJECT: Conservation

And just what do you suppose the Conservation Police do? This guy was hanging out at the truck stop in Podunk.

~*~*~

Tattoo (322/365)

~*~*~


Tattoos aren't meant for everybody and they're too goddamn good for some people.
~ Lyle Tuttle, tattoo artist, author, and lecturer

PLACE: Podunk Illinois
SUBJECT: Tattoo

I need to find a barber shop where they actually know how to use these. I love my hairstylist, but the white chick with clippers made a mess of Cam's poor head.

~*~*~

Fog (321/365)

~*~*~


My trumpeting sounds like a goose farting in the fog.
~ Alex O'Loughlin

PLACE: Podunk Illinois
SUBJECT: Fog

~*~*~

Marlin (320/365)

~*~*~


Marlin: Now it's my turn. I'm thinking of something dark and mysterious. It's a fish we don't know. If we ask it directions, it could ingest us and spit out our bones.
Dory: What is it with men and asking for directions?
Marlin: I don't want to play the gender card right now. You want to play a card, let's play the "let's not die" card.
~ Finding Nemo (2003)

PLACE: Cubicle Hell
SUBJECT: Marlins

We have an intern in accounting - today was his last day. Yes, his internship is over, but more exciting, he is headed to Florida to try out for the Florida Marlins.

~*~*~

Punch (319/365)

~*~*~


I punch left-handed.
~ Mike Weir

PLACE: Cubicle Hell
SUBJECT: Punch

Getting ready for our December 1st audit requires lots of punching.

~*~*~

Light (318/365)

~*~*~


My candle burns at both ends; it will not last the night; but ah, my foes, and oh, my friends - it gives a lovely light!
~ Edna St. Vincent Millay

PLACE: Lutheran Church, Podunk Illinois
SUBJECT: Light

I went back to the church early in the morning to help clean up the what was left of the ladies tea. Just a few of the lights were on in the sanctuary.

~*~*~

Tea (317/365)

~*~*~


Wine is the drink of the gods, milk the drink of babes, tea the drink of women, and water the drink of beasts.
~ John Stuart Blackie

PLACE: Lutheran Church, Podunk Illinois
SUBJECT: Tea

I was invited to a ladies holiday tea at one of Podunk's smaller churches. It was quite enjoyable to see all of the older (70's) ladies dressed in their church best.

~*~*~

Slime (316/365)

~*~*~


“The question is, why are politicians so eager to be president? What is it about the job that makes it worth revealing, on national television, that you have the ethical standards of a slime-coated piece of industrial waste?”
~ Dave Barry

PLACE: Home Sweet Home
SUBJECT: Slime

Cam made slime in science class today. I couldn't stop playing with it.

~*~*~