Self-Portrait

And new profile picture,

along with a new banner,

unveiled a day earlier than promised.

Tomorrow I start another Project 365.

A sincere "thank you" to those of you

who followed along the past year.

I learned a lot. I took a few good photos.

And I can't wait to see what this year brings.

Sunlight!

The coolest thing about this picture

isn't the colors or the shapes.

It's the sunlight (ok, remnant of sunlight)

over in the western sky.

This photo was taken at 5:16 p.m. today.

The days are getting longer!

Smoky Mountain

Tennessee's got nothing on North Idaho.

Candy Dish

I have to look at it all day,

I figured it was only fair you should see it too.

Good thing you don't get calories from looking...

I will probably continue to post

a photo a day this week,

just to stay in practice -

but the next Project 365 will officially start

on Monday, February 1st.

Look for an updated banner then.

Loss

A local house, destroyed by fire just before Christmas.

Given the year I've had,

it seemed an appropriate theme for the 365th post.

Painted Leaves

I did a little indoor gardening today.

Angels

There's an angel on a ribbon

Hanging from the armoire door

There's a Cupid with his feet crossed

On the bird cage by the door

There's a baby angel drummer

His eyes are open wide

And two more tiny cherubs

On the mantle side by side

Too many angels

Have seen me crying

-Jackson Browne

See, Hear, Speak

See no evil,

Hear no evil,

Speak no evil.

Winter Banners

For the last two years,

these banners have had some serious bad magic.

We had (way) above average snowfall the last two years

and last year broke records.

Beginning on December 17, 2008, we had

37 inches of snow fall in 36 hours.

Roofs were caving in, it was horrible.

And cold? Below normal cold for weeks

and weeks and WEEKS.

This year? Not.

Hardly any snow, although we have had some rain.

Temps have been in the 40's for quite a while.

I think the banner's mojo is gone.

I hope for good.

Random Stuff

Hayden Lake School - 1936

What passes for art at the Orthopedic surgeon's office.

And a cheat.

This was taken along the Centennial Trail

yesterday afternoon when temps reached 50.

Two Lakes

Lake Coeur d'Alene

Hayden Lake

Perplexed

Who are these people and

what do they want from me?!?

Apple of my eye

Memories & Celebrations

Keepsake copy of Steven's obituary,

surrounded by some of the things he loved.

And now, I'm taking my daughter to dinner

to celebrate her new job, which starts on Monday.

I have to force myself to look for and embrace

the positive and good things in my life.

It would be easy to overlook.

I feel like a traitor when I try to be happy.

But if I only focus on the grief,

it's going to eat me alive.

A beautiful heart

"A beautiful heart,

forever to keep."

Raccoons in a canoe

Seen on my lunch detour.

Keepsake

A keepsake copy of my mom's obituary,

ready to send to my brothers in Utah.

Finally.

Updated Workspace

I brought some new pictures in to decorate my workspace.

Trees and Fog

As soon as the sun started to set, the fog rolled in.

Sick Kitty

Stinkus didn't feel well on Saturday.

He decided to turn Scott's pillowcase into a sleeping bag.

Grandma

I bought this necklace for my mom many years ago.

It had booties for each of her four grand kids:

Steven, Danny, Chelsea, Kaydee.

I came across this while I was in Salt Lake last weekend.

I gave the charms for Steven & Chelsea to their mom

and kept mine.

Broken Dolphins

Happy 37th Birthday, LM!

Mary and The Star

Mary, keeping watch over our shop by night.

And the first star.

Star light, star bright
First star I see tonight
I wish I may, I wish I might
Have this wish I wish tonight.

Back Home

I came home on Tuesday.

I hated to leave my brother.

Steven Lynn McKinney

June 24, 1986-January 1, 2010

There were nearly 250 people at Steven's service on Monday.

It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen.

It's unbelievable the number of people my nephew touched in his 23 years.

Charlie

After a day spent with Steven's mom and her extended family,

we drove out to see my grandson & his new dog.

Jace was fast asleep when we got there (notice the dangling legs)

but we got to meet Charlie. She's a sweet dog.

Even though Jace didn't wake up,

it was good to see him, hold him, and kiss him.

I don't know

Does it still count as a Project 365 when three of the images are black?

I traveled to Utah on January 2nd to be with my brother.

We spent the day making funeral arrangements for my nephew, Steven.

I certainly did not feel like taking pictures.

New Year's Day will never be the same

I got a call from my brother at 4am on New Year's Day.

My nephew, Steven, was shot & killed in a tragic accident in Salt Lake.

Please pray for my brother, Todd, and our whole family.