My Favorite Things

 

1.  My Favorite Coffee Mug. I won this for an Earth Day Writing contest at Weber State University in Utah. It was made by a student artist and has a matching saucer.

Yesterday was quite the day around here with more drama than I care for. However, earlier in the day I drove to New Hampshire and stopped in at the Ritz Camera store there to find out what was up with my camera.  I have had trouble with my lens for a while but have always been able to overcome it. Now it seems that no matter what I do, it keeps giving me an error message saying it can’t find the lens. When it does this, it will not focus or take a picture. The camera guy, Tim, checked it out and the problem is definitely in my lens and not the camera body. It is my 70—300mm lens with auto focus and Vibration Reduction.  It is the one I use all the time for my bird photography. To send it out and get it repaired will take 6 – 8 weeks and could cost around $200. To buy a new lens will cost around $600! I have not yet decided what to do.

2. One of My Favorite Cats. Sweet Bonnie Blue Eyes in a soft light 2-8-11

However, one good thing that happened was Tim showed me how to play with a few more of the controls on my camera. So, in an effort to overcome the doldrums I changed the lens to the 18-70mm lens. Then, I walked around my apartment today photographing my favorite things and playing with the settings. Warning: I am about to go all Rogers and Hammerstein on you and show you “…a few of my Favorite Things,” because, “then I don’t feel so bad!”

 3. My Favorite Blanket when I am cold. Yes, it is faux fur but it always warms me up!

 4. My Favorite Story Painting: I used to volunteer at an art gallery in Ogden, Utah. I saw this painting every day for a month and finally decided to buy it for my 50th birthday. I never grow weary of it. I like the soft colors and the story that it tells.

 5. My Favorite Close-up of the teapot. I love the way the artist painted this teapot. I think it is what made me fall in love with the painting. Artist: Heather Heath

 6. My Favorite Swan Sculpture given to me as a going away present by my dear friends and neighbors from the Clearfield, UT cul de sac. I miss you all so! You know who you are!

7. My Favorite Cardboard Bas Relief by Kathie Brown. Yes, I made this in art class at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. Though it is simple,it is one of my favorite pieces. I like how it came out and the memory it brings to my mind of swinging on the rope swing at my great grandmother’s house in Colchester, CT.

8. My Favorite Painting by Idaho Artist Velma Metcalf. My sweet husband bought me this when we lived up in the Great Lost River Valley over 20 years ago now. I like how she painted the sky and the tree.

9. My Favorite Painting of My Favorite Mountain in Idaho-King Mountain in springtime. I painted this myself as part of a series in 1999. It is 1 of 4 and is acrylic on canvas.

10. One of My Favorite Places to sit and write or drink a cup of tea and eat my breakfast.  It is in the Hearthroom where I can light a fire on a cold winter’s day and be warm and cozy! In the afternoon, when the sun is shining, it streams in through these western windows.

11. A Favorite Collection: Pottery jug bought from the same art gallery in Ogden, also for my 5oth birthday, Vermillion flycatcher painting by me, glass vase given to me for mother’s day by my son and his wife, pottery horse by my daughter, old ceramic horse found in the attic long ago, swan ornament, small pottery dish by Kathi Hutton from the Flock whom I met at the New River Birding Festival 2 years ago; the owl painted on a gourd is another gift from the same trip. All of these things have powerful memories and make me smile. Oh, and this whole collection is housed in the most fabulous bookcase made for me by my daughter in her woodworking class when she was in high school! With the help of her father and brothers she surprised me with this one Christmas when we were still living in Utah! Just looking at all of this makes me feel so rich and so blessed. I have a wonderful family and the BEST friends in the world!