Blog post with Autumn photos

Haven't been keeping up well with blogging. It's one of the things that gets shoved to the back burner, so to speak. But NaBloPoMo is coming, National Blog Post Month, which is November. It's a take-off on NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. Folks write every single day during November to get a novel written in 30 days! Those of us who are not fiction writers can blog instead.

My blog posts will often include photographs. I suspect that will not surprise anyone who knows me :) I love to take photos and to get some nice nature shots is relaxing and rewarding for me. To notice and record the beauty of nature, even in ordinary moments, a single leaf or flower, a bird soaring, or the patterns of tree leaves against the sky, is a way for me to experience and share the joy and wonder of creation. I take other photos too, including around our church activities.

Just yesterday I got a message on my phone while I was driving, between errands. I stopped at a park to make the return phone call. Didn't intend to take any pics. But as I was pulling out of the parking lot, I noticed an alignment of colorful trees in front of the historic old water tower. I parked again, grabbed the camera, and got some nice shots. Then I walked around for about 15 min or so, getting other pics of the autumn beauty. It was relaxing and fed my soul. Some photographers who are believers in God say that they do not “take” photographs, but rather they “receive” them. I don't use that verbiage, but I believe that sometimes I'm led to stop and take photos.  

letter writing

Monday evening....It's been a day of odds and ends. It was a day off, mostly. I drove by the church building and took photos of the roofing crew at work, then emailed pics to the church secretary and put one on Facebook. I also went to the riverfront and took some pics. A highlight of the day was getting a letter from a dear friend who lives in another city. She and I have been friends since grade school! We've both had ups and downs, and we don't always stay in touch as well as we'd like. So a nice long letter was a real treat. And I am grateful that I had time to write a nice long letter back to her! My note to her has a Maya Angelou stamp on it, and hers to me has a Jimi Hendrix stamp :) We are both proud children of the Baby Boom era! Glad our US Postal Service honors such a variety of people on stamps. It's a fun way to add some “personality” to mail.

I must admit, I do not write letters often. When I do, I type, my handwriting was always bad and it's gotten worse over the years. I can type faster than I can write longhand. When I have “serious” writing to do, like a sermon or bible study, then I do make notes longhand on a writing tablet, or write it out completely that way. Not sure why, but when I am 'stuck', writing longhand seems to help. I have read that writing longhand stimulates more areas of the brain than typing on a computer. So for a recent start to a writing project, I bought a set of writing tablets, in different colors, and gel pens. I haven't done all that much with them, but they look great!

So I am “catching up” on my blog posts. I pray it's been a nice day for you too, dear reader. Shalom.

NaBloPoMo...National Blog Posting Month

I only just read about NaBloPoMo, National Blog Posting Month. You may have heard of NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, this is similar to that. Instead of novel writing, bloggers commit to writing a blog post every day for the month of November. It's a way to make oneself follow the first rule of writing, which is to Just Write. I am committed to writing more, so this is a great start. Somewhat typical for me- I am starting late-but jumping in with both feet, or rather with both hands on the keyboard! It's Nov 2, and in theory Monday is my day off, so it's a great day for me to begin. 

Today is a sunny warm day, especially for November in the Midwest US! Last week i had to wear my winter coat a couple days against the cold wind. Today is predicted to be 70 and sunny! ahhhhhhhh 

Photography is my hobby, so these daily posts will often include photos. either new or from my collection. I use a “real camera" that fits in my purse or my pocket. (so it's always with me)

Yesterday afternoon, hubby and I took a walk at a park in town and I took several photos.

i am working on a Bible study for Thursday evening, on "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." Matthew 5:7
a year and a half ago or so, I gave a pretty good sermon on forgiveness. but, it is one of the things that i lost when my old desktop computer died. :( I am just sick about it. i spent a lot of time on that sermon, and i hate to have to reinvent the wheel so to speak for this Bible study. I also have to put together my piece for the monthly newsletter. Guess i need to suck it up and get on with the writing!
P.S. I did get that sermon eventually-my genius sons got the hard drive out of the old computer and found it!