fun stuff | Change Is Hard

June 6, 2014
by dawnkinster 13 Comments

Weekend song

This is the song Katie and I are singing on our drive to an adventure:

I can do what I wanna do, be who I wanna be
I got no one to answer to, soon as I turn the key
A cash machine, gasoline and we’re outta here
Call it an early weekend, call it goin’ off the deep end
Baby, you and me,we can leave it all behind

I don’t have to be me ’til Monday
Friday, Saturday, Sunday
I ain’t gonna face reality
Three days without punching a time clock
Three nights of goin’ non-stop
No work and all play
I don’t have to be me ’til Monday
Yeah

Thanks to Steve Azar for putting down exactly what we’re thinking.

We’ll tell you all about it soon!

Gonna be fun!

June 2, 2014
by dawnkinster 18 Comments

WordPress photo challenge: Split-second story

We were on Belle Isle, in the Detroit River, enjoying the day and standing out on a fishing pier. I was talking about the years I used to live on the Houghton Canal way up in the Upper Peninsula where I could watch freighters pass from my apartment window.

We turned to go back to the car and there it was, almost silently gliding through the cool blue waters.

Magical.

Check out these split-second day photos here, here, here, and here. Or go to this link and browse among the 300+ photos for yourself. Don’t miss this one!

May 28, 2014
by dawnkinster 8 Comments

Photo challenge: Twist

Who remembers this game? Turns out it’s an oldie but a goodie. Especially if you’re of a certain age. Those of us more mature have a harder time with it, but we can cheer younger participants on.

I had many ideas for this week’s challenge, including a trip to our favorite frozen custard place. Do you know how hard it is to take a picture of frozen custard? At night? A warm night? When you’re really looking forward to that first delicious creamy bite of the season?

It’s very hard to mess around with a camera in one hand when the other hand is holding something this yummy.

But I digress.

You can find other wonderful twists here, here, here, and here. Or go to the link up at the top and see all 400+ interpretations!

I liked this one a lot too.

Meanwhile, my custard is melting.

May 26, 2014
by dawnkinster 22 Comments

Weeding? Really Mama?

Katie here. Did you know my mama had 3 days off work? I expected a GRAND ADVENTURE because of course it’s all about me. I am entirely disappointed.

Friday night mama put up the tent and said we were going camping. I love camping, but it was darn cold out. A princess does not like to be cold, so after we got all settled in the tent I told mama I wasn’t staying out there and I barked and barked and finally she got smart and we went inside to sleep. Mama should pay better attention to the weather. I ask you; does a Princess wear plaid? I think not!

A little chilly

And do you know what she and dad did on Saturday? They weeded! I don’t know what that was all about. They just pulled up some green plants, but they left other green plants. If they wanted them gone, why didn’t they get rid of all of them? I think they are fickle. I tried to supervise them but it got to be so boring that I went inside and took a nap.

I figured I’d need to catch up on my sleep cause that darn tent was still up and I knew my mama would want to camp again. But you know what happened? She went to work after dark! With a pillow and a blanket! I’ve never seen anything like it, but she said ‘bye bye baby’ just like she does every day when she goes to work and she went out the front door. Huh. I waited by the door a long time but I finally just went to sleep with my dad. Mama didn’t come back from work till the morning, and she came home through the back door. She said she slept great, but I don’t know how she did that at work. I’m smelling a scam. Yes I am.

Well I figured we’d do something exciting Sunday. But no way! They were still pulling green stuff up. I was disgusted and spent most of the day inside napping. And it was definitely not fair when they went out that evening and got ice cream and left me behind.

Much better. No plaid.

But I did get to camp with my mama Sunday night. It was a lot warmer and I did pretty good, I only barked a little bit. And I got my mama up at 5:00 a.m. so she could fully enjoy her Monday off from work.

Monday mama said she was too sore to weed anymore and we spent some quality time out on the deck. Plus I helped her put away the camping stuff. Well mostly I just watched, but I’m sure she couldn’t have put it all away so fast without me.

And then this evening mama took me to my park!!! That was the best part of the entire weekend!

My field of yellow flowers..ummm…

So all in all I guess I got to do some fun stuff. But my folks need to focus on me more don’t you think? Three whole days and all I got was one and a half nights of camping and a walk through fluff?

I think you will all agree that I deserve more.

Pay attention mama!

May 22, 2014
by dawnkinster 15 Comments

Unrelated musings

Do you see the mama?

It’s been a long and stressful week. I think, of my regular readers, only Carol will truly understand. She has successfully retired from my industry and people outside it don’t grasp the level of stress during our busy season. Especially the busy season in conjunction with the end of a month.

This is a really really big nursery.

I’m behind on things I wanted to show you from my visit to my favorite park almost two weeks ago. So how about I just intersperse park photos among the random musings that have been rolling around in my head trying to avoid the stress headache lurking there. Click on any photo to make it bigger and see more details.

Waiting for the shot.

“Reaching out.” I suppose this blog is my way of reaching out to you. But I’d like to think it’s not because I really detest that saying. I don’t know when people started using it, but it’s everywhere now. Do people use it because it’s more hip than saying calling…or emailing? “I’m reaching out to you in the hopes that you will…” When I read that in an email, or hear it on the phone I immediately put my defenses up. Because no one ever reaches out to me unless they want something. Can’t they just say what they’re really doing…they’re emailing me. They’re calling me. They want something. It doesn’t sound any more friendly or less threatening because they were reaching out. Makes. Me. Nuts.

He was curious about me.

And while we’re on the topic of phrases what’s with “drilling down?” What exactly does that mean? That we’re going to get more detailed, maybe explore something further. I think. Why can’t we just say that? It doesn’t make me as nuts as “reaching out” but still who is fooling who? Does anyone really know what we’re “drilling down’ to? And how will we know when we get there? Exactly.

Does anyone know what this bird is?

A running friend, a year younger then me, is retiring in two weeks. She’s doing it for all the right reasons, her job is stressful, too much travel, and her parents who live near are getting older and need more assistance. I’m happy for her. She says she might have to reenter the work force sometime in the future but I sincerely hope she doesn’t have to do that, I hope she gets to enjoy a long happy time with her folks and that they thrive under her attention.

Hungry!

Katie and I are going camping at a real campground far to the north of us in a couple of weeks. It’s been cold here…really cold for this time of year. I’m starting to worry about sleeping in a tent for two nights further north. How many blankets can I pack, how many layers of clothes can I sleep in. And last time I tried to camp when it was this cold Katie wouldn’t settle down. I’ve seen doggie sleeping bags but I’m pretty sure she’s not going to sleep in one. I think I need a backup plan. I should have booked a weekend in August!

Mr. Rose Breasted.

So that has pretty much emptied my mind. I hope you could follow. Or not. Totally up to you. Me? I’m going to try to get through another day in the business at the end of the month.

Taking a walk.

The weekend can’t come soon enough.

See you later!

May 19, 2014
by dawnkinster 9 Comments

WordPress Photo Challenge: Work of Art

In Detroit, a work of art for the WordPress photo challenge:

May 17, 2014
by dawnkinster 11 Comments

WordPress photo challenge: Work of Art

This week’s challenge is Work of Art. The post says art can be anything, from the painting you love to the sculpture your five year old made in kindergarten.

I’ve been thinking about this and wonder if it can’t involve more. Dance is art isn’t it?

So when I saw a poster for the Bow Wow Motor City Freestyle Dog show happening this weekend only a few miles from me I thought…..Huh! Dance+Dogs = Art! Right?

I got to the event early this morning and spent a fun hour watching people and their dogs run through their routines in front of judges.

The people seemed nervous. The dogs? Not so much.

There was much applause and smiles.

The venue wasn’t exactly photogenic, and of course the dancers were preforming for the judges more than for me. Still, I think in the end you have to agree that dogs, people, music and dance is one fun way to express a form of art.

See a couple of my favorites from other photographers looking for art here, here, and especially here. Me? I’m still looking for the perfect photo to express art…stay tuned.

May 15, 2014
by dawnkinster 12 Comments

The also rans for photo challenge: On the move photos

Moving on out.

This week’s photo challenge was ‘on the move’ and you all saw my pick from my weekend mini adventure to one of my favorite parks. I like that photo from a composition and color standpoint, but there was a lot of other ‘moving’ going on that Mother’s Day morning at the park. So I’ll show you a few of the photos that didn’t make the cut. Just for fun. Click on any of the photos to see them larger and with more detail.

It’s not that I don’t like these. Some of them make me smile, and some seem sort of artistic. And it’s not that these disappointed me or weren’t what I was looking for. In fact most of them are exactly what I was looking for when I headed out to the park that morning. It’s just that when I saw the one I used I just had that gut ‘this is the one’ feeling. Though these make me smile they weren’t the one. You know?

You never really know when you head out to find a photograph how things will turn out. Sometimes when you have something specific in mind you discover a surprise that works even better. And sometimes you have no idea until you come home and look at everything just exactly what you found. That’s what makes it all so fun…the adventure, the chase for the perfect image, the surprise when something unexpected jumps out at you, and the satisfaction when you capture more than you hoped you’d find.

But I’m rambling.

When I went to the park I expected to see a lot of runners, and walkers and people on bikes and maybe even skates. And I was not disappointed.

Daughter daddy day.

There was all of that and more. Individuals working out, focused on their heart rates and stride lengths, foot turns.

It was a really big hill.

And friends talking nonstop as they walked or ran together.

Catching up on events

People like me meandering around with cameras.

Really big camera.

Or just meandering.

It’s a wonderful park full of people finding their space, breathing deeply, living fully.

Riding together.

It’s one of my most favorite places in the world. Soon I’ll show you some of the nature I found there. But for now, enjoy one more shot of someone on the move.

Because I liked the bottom of her shoes.

Orange.

May 14, 2014
by dawnkinster 25 Comments

Wordless Wednesday

May 12, 2014
by dawnkinster 22 Comments

Photo Challenge: On the Move

This week’s WordPress photo challenge is “on the move.” I immediately thought of the metro system in Washington DC, the long escalators down to the train platforms, the swish of wind just before the train arrives, the lights glowing then speeding away. But I’ve shown you all of that. And I thought about going down to Detroit and showing you the People Mover, Detroit’s version of mass transit, and some day I will.

But for this challenge I went a bit more natural, and headed out to my favorite park – a place I used to run every weekend when I was training for an event, and a place that still holds my heart. It was a beautiful day and I have so much to show you, but for this, a photo challenge, I’m choosing just one.

Moving through green hills.

I sat in cool tall grass high on a hill and watched the runners bikers and walkers as they made their way around the base of the hill through a beautiful meadow. I could have sat there for hours. In fact I did.

You can see some favorite on the move entries from others here, here, and here. These challenges are so much fun for me, especially when I get to go on little photo adventures to find something new. You should try it for yourself. You never know what you’ll find until you go out looking.

And soon, I promise you, I’ll show you what else I found at the park.

It was wonderful.

Change Is Hard

…but change is certain.

Tag Archives: fun stuff