On Vacation

I'm on vacation. I'm taking a few days off. My husband has been after me to slow down and I am going to take his advice. I have a couple great excuses too. One, it's my birthday week. Two, a couple very dear friends are flying in from California for a visit. I'm very excited as we have not gotten together in five years. So if you are looking for me, I'll be sitting right there on the porch, rocking, talking, and sipping a wine cooler. See you in a few days!

Golden Bliss

And the Winner Is...

Bonnie from Original Art Studio is the winner of my Birthday Challenge give away! She has selected an 8x10 of Columbine in Blue as her prize. Congratulations Bonnie!

The answer to my age is 58. The clues for the Birthday Challenge were the date on the right side of the photo, "56", and the five candles on my cake. It was a bit tricky and congratulations to Bonnie and those of you who figured it out!!

I loved reading all the memories in the comments! It was so fun remembering with you. You made me smile, laugh and giggle and I will save them forever. Here are a few I'd like to share:

button candy
Mystery Date game
Walking Dolls (they walked when you moved their arms)
color plastic sheets to put over a b/w tv screen creating instant "color" tv
Plunk your magic twanger, Froggie - Buster Brown show
Lassie, The Mickey Mouse Club, or American Bandstand
wearing a "skort"
8mm home movies

Thank you all for making my birthday full of fun! I hope you will forgive me if I do not do a Friday Favorites this week. I'm taking a couple days off! Cheers!

Birthday Challenge

Today is my birthday and I felt that it was time to come clean. I am skating on thin ice, getting long in the tooth, going around the bend! But I don't feel old. In fact, I feel exactly like the same person I have always been, albeit a bit wiser. I still like to run through the woods, roll on the floor with the dogs, and eat an occasional hot dog. I still push the limits, enjoy an adventure, or play the fool. Sky diving is on my bucket list along with many other firsts. So much left to do! So what's the big deal? Why do we resent aging so much? In fact, I love my age. I'm smart enough to have learned from my mistakes and lucky enough to have survived them. So in celebration of my birthday I'd like to give away one of my prints and challenge you to fess up. How many of these do you remember? I double dog dare you!

Candy cigarettes

Wax coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water inside
Soda pop machines that dispensed glass bottles
Hoola hoop contests
Coffee shops with tableside juke boxes
Blackjack, Clove and Teaberry chewing gum
Home milk delivery in glass bottles, with cardboard stoppers
Party lines
Newsreels before the movie
Telephone numbers with a word prefix .... (Drexel-5505
Howdy Doody
45 RPM Records
Green Stamps
Hi-fi's
Metal ice cube trays with levers
Mimeograph paper
Blue flash bulbs
Beanie and Cecil
Cork pop guns
Drive ins
Studebakers
Wash Tub wringers
The Fuller Brush man
Reel-to-reel tape recorders
The "twist", "mashed potatoes", and "funky-chicken"
Tinkertoys
The Erector Set
Lincoln Logs
15 cent McDonald hamburgers & 10 cent fries
5 cent packs of baseball cards..... with that slab of pink bubblegum
penny candy
35 cent-a-gallon gasoline
When the first man walked on the moon
When Elvis Presley first appeared on the Ed Sullivan show
When the Beatles arrived
When the Barbie doll hit the scene

To celebrate the day I am giving away any 8x10 or smaller print from my Etsy shop. Here is how to enter:

Leave a comment on this blog with the following information:

• Go to my Etsy shop and select your favorite print by title, the one you will win!
• What is my age? The clues are all here in this post. Must be correct in order to win.
• Fess up! Tell me something you remember. Feel free to add to this list too.
  
• Leave a way to contact you.
  

Each comment will be assigned a number and the winner will be selected by a random number generator. Entry deadline is midnight Colorado mountain time on June 24, 2009. Winner to be announced on June 25, 2009.

Sunday Morning Gallery - Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep

You may have seen my recent post on my trip to the top of Mount Evans. That same day, on the way down the mountain, we ran across a small herd of bighorn sheep. Being used to my frequent requests to photograph, my husband dutifully stopped the car. I jumped out and started shooting away when I noticed through the lens that the young ram watching dutifully over his harem was slowly approaching closer and closer looking at me very intently. Images of Disney movie bighorns clashing together with a resounding crash flashed through my head as I respectfully backed around to the far side of the car. He never took his eyes off of me the whole time. You might even think he was proudly posing and showing off his girls. Nahhhh!

Premio Meme Award

Lily of Tulip's Talking has awarded me the Premio Meme Award. I am blushing with this honor! Thanks so much!

The rules of this award is that I am to give 7 facts about myself and pass it to 7 people. Here we go!

1. I live in an off-grid home powered by solar energy.
2. I have been stalked by a mountain lion.
3. I have two rescue dogs; one Aussie mix and one fox hound mix.
4. I have a tattoo.
5. I have been married for 37 years to my sweetheart, Ric. Uh, oh. Gave my age away.
6. I love reading and collecting books.
7. I have a motorcycle endorsement on my drivers license.

Now to pass this award along to 7 deserving blog owners (in no particular order):

Beholden to Nature
Gypsy Moon Designs
Pfeiffer Photos
Swirly Girl
Celtic Cat
Studio 618
Ramblings By Judi

Please be sure you visit and follow these wonderful blogs!

Friday Favorites - Forest Walk

I felt inspired today to walk through the quiet pine forest. Soft browns and greens with filtered sunlight dancing across the path delighted my senses. These wonderful artisans have created beatifully forest inspired items. Please click on their items and visit their shops! Enjoy!

i can feel you breathe
by zuppaartista

Hand Knit Green Wide Scarf Shawl or Capelet
by LazyTcrochet

Oh Deer
by alwaysartistic

Forest Meadow
by BeadedTail

Columbine in Blue

The faded background resembling Grandma's worn apron, perfectly highlights the natural beauty of the Rocky Mountain Columbine. This original fine art photo was taken in the foothills of Colorado's Rocky Mountains. Visit here for additional information.

Sunday Morning Gallery - Mount Evans, Colorado

Mount Evans was our destination on one warm and sunny weekend. West of Denver, Colorado, Mount Evans reaches an altitude of 14,264 feet. It is so amazing that there is a road to the top of this fourteener, the highest paved road in all of North America. Originally there were plans to connect three fourteeners by highway, but this grandiose vision proved unfeasible.



For every 1,000 feet gained in elevation temperatures drop 3.5-5 degrees F and we were totally unprepared for the 26 degree blasting winds. I felt sorry for the motorcycle riders we met on top huddled against the stone wall out of the brutal wind, but they were bravely getting ready for their descent by warming their hands in their pockets.



This is the Crest House restaurant that was built in 1941. It burned down in 1979 but the stone remains are a delight to photograph.



With the numbing cold it was hard to keep the camera steady, but I was determined to get my shots. With regrets, and self recrimination at being so unprepared, I ran back to the car heater.



On the way back down we stopped to appreciate the beauty of the flat alpine tundra with hundreds of little pools reflecting the sky. My daughter was also smitten with the beauty and was doing her own shooting.



Have you been to Mount Evans or the top of any other mountains?

One Lovely Blog Award

Theresa of Studio618 has given me the One Lovely Blog Award. I am so honored. Thanks Theresa! Theresa makes beautiful jewelry and you can visit her shop on Etsy at Studio618. Her Leaf Earrings are a favorite of mine.

Here is how to pass along this award:

Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Here are my awardees. It was very difficult to keep this number at 15!!

• Studio 618
• Always Artistic
• The Eye
• Creative with Clay
• Little Chirps
• Beaded Tail
• TK Designs 4U-Nature Inspired
• Beholden To Nature
• Shazzabeth Creations
• Shop N Blog
• Urban Junkies Artist Lounge
• Kelley Livingston
• M45: A Nebulous Conglomeration
• Celtic Cat Photos
• AllieArt: Photography Benefitting Children

Friday Favorites - Heavy Metal for Dad

Father's Day is just around the corner! Have you found the perfect gift for Dad? I searched Etsy to find these awesome handmade gifts by some very talented artisans. To find purchasing information or visit their Etsy shops, click on the link to their item or click on the photo.

Recycled Bike Clock
by 1byliz

Steampunk Watch Cuff Links
by edmdesigns

Genuine Beachstone Keychain
by SteppingStones

Desk Set - Caramels and Coco
by shelleymacdonald

Abert's Squirrels on Stellers Ridge, Colorado

We have a squirrel. Actually we have several but we usually only see one at at time. Since we live in a ponderosa pine forest you might think, well of course you have squirrels. But these are not just any squirrels. They are solid black with tall ear tufts and look just like little demons scampering about the trees and taunting the dogs.

They are the Abert's Squirrel and are native to the Rocky Mountains from United States to Mexico. The Abert's squirrel typically builds its nest in the branches of the ponderosa pine and are strictly diurnal. The Abert's squirrel does not store its food like other North American squirrels.

I looked them up online and could not find the black variety we have living with us but I doubt they are rare. In fact, they seem quite plentiful and happy to be here with us on Stellers Ridge. I love watching their antics. They are faster than lightning and just as hard to capture with a camera, but I finally succeeded. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Etsy Buy Handmade JulieMagersSoulen

Sunday Morning Gallery - Black and White Photography Part 2

I have been working on black and white photography again this week. To work without color requires a different attention. Instead of clarifying color to the truest eye popping hue the focus shifts to light and shadow. It is a distillation of the very essence of photography for me and I hope it will help me to become better with my color photography. Let me know what you think, and please, valuable criticisms are welcome!

Friday Favorites - Stormy Skies

The weather in Colorado has been cloudy, rainy, and foggy. This is so unusual from our normally sunny days that it has inspired me. As a water spirit I am drawn to the colors of a soft cloud, a raindrop, or swirling fog through a pine forest. Enjoy the beauty created by these talented artisans and remember to visit their Etsy shops by clicking on each linked item.

Tropical Storm
by Honeytree

Sterling Silver Lacy Chain
by shazzabeth

Set of two Noodle Bowls with Chopsticks
by Creative with Clay

Twilight Swirl Shibori Top
by Dye Diana Dye

Music Bookmark
by Studio618

Etsy Favorites - Southwestern Artisan Showcase

I have been waiting to grab a "treasury" in Etsy and have not managed to succeed. So while I am waiting for that Etsy treasury list to open, go ahead and enjoy my newest Etsy Favorites! Be sure to click on any item for additional information!

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade JulieMagersSoulen.etsy.com

Find my Etsy shop by clicking on my linked name above.