Sunrise Sun Dog Pics

A few days ago I posted some photos of a Sun Dog and asked you to pick which one you liked best. It's the post below this one or you can go here.

Yesterday morning I looked out my kitchen window and a glorious sunrise Sun Dog awaited me. Still in my striped fleece pajamas, I slipped into a hooded sweater, coat, boots, hat and gloves and went out to see what the new day would bring.

I almost reached our farm sign when I stopped to take this photo.

The wind razed my cheeks once I passed the shelterbelt but this glorious scene awaited me. Good morning!

Just a couple hours later, I looked out my front door and the Sun Dog was still there although more to the south, now.

Again, I dressed in outwear and took that long walk down past the shelterbelt. I wanted to show a photo that would simulate the Arctic.

At the end of our driveway is this small grouping of trees. You can see them smaller on the left of the second photo above.

Have you entered my contest yet?  You can enter by leaving a comment on my first sun dog post or you can leave one here. And if you leave a comment on both posts, you get your name entered twice.

You have until Jan 31st to enter for a chance to win a copy of Midnight Marriage by Victoria Bylin. It's a Harlequin Historical so it's not an inspirational book although Vicky is writing for Steeple Hill's Love Inspired Historical line now. Vicky is one of my favourite authors and I've ended up with 2 of these books. Both have been read but this is the better copy in very good condition.

And if I don't know you, please leave your email address with (at) and [dot] so the net spammers can't find it.

For those of you seeing this on my Facebook page, if you want to enter there, rattle my chain somehow because I keep forgetting about it and I wouldn't want to miss your entry.

Because it seems so many people haven't seen a Sun Dog, I'm going to cross-post this on my eHarl blog as well. That means they'll be entering for the draw - but it also means if any of you are eHarl members, you can go over there to get another entry.

So, are you tired of looking at Sun Dogs, yet? Got a favourite?

Sun Dog Book Giveaway

I'm blogging over at Prairie Chicks Write Romance today about going for the big scenes with huge emotional content. And yes, I'm talking about Emma's story again because that's the project I'm working on.

I haven't seen the sun since Tues and if the weather forecast is right, I won't see it until this coming Tues. It was drizzling in the city and surrounding areas yesterday which shows how warm it is and today it's foggy.

But I took these photos at 11 am about 2 hrs before the sun disappeared on Tues. I really like the last one but it's so bare. I'm trying to figure out which one is more pleasing to the eye. If you have a minute, can you post a comment as to which one you like best?

It kinda looks like a big ole' eye ball, doesn't it? LOL

And just to make it interesting, everyone who leaves a comment until Jan 31st will be entered to win a copy of Midnight Marriage by Victoria Bylin. It's a Harlequin Historical so it's not an inspirational book although Vicky is writing for Steeple Hill's Love Inspired Historical line now. Vicky is one of my favourite authors and I've ended up with 2 of these books. Both have been read but this is the better copy in very good condition.

And if I don't know you, please leave your email address with (at) and [dot] so the net spammers can't find it.

For those of you seeing this on my Facebook page, if you want to enter there, rattle my chain somehow because I keep forgetting about it and I wouldn't want to miss your entry.

Have a great day!

White Winter Photos/Working on BIAW

Today, since I'm busy working on my manuscript, I'll just show you some photos instead of giving you something to read.

I'm hoping to give you a sense of the winter wonderland I live in her at the farm. These photos have all been taking in the last few days. I'm not sure why we're having so many frosted days but the weather has gone from drastically cold to melting in the last week or so which probably has something to do with it.

Natural glitter at its finest.

Anyway, here's a feast for your eyes, all taken in or at the edge of the yard beside the shelterbelt.

I think this bird is a grackle sitting in the weeping birch.

I like this photo not only because of the sun in the trees, but for the way the shadows splay out from the base of them.

I Made a Website!

I just had to tell you!

I started working on a website for my church in Glenavon, SK this past Monday morning and I finally put it on-line a few hrs ago! That's just over 4 days to get the job done using a 3rd party template and working with the html coding.

I would've been finished earlier on Friday except Book in a Week (BIAW) started with the Saskatchewan Romance Writers (SRW) so I had to write. It was only tonight when I returned from the city that I went back to working on the website. I only have the blog and the sunrise photo links working and I will add the other web pages later on because I'll be working on Emma's story for the rest of this week.

Yeah, I know the website and blog colors don't match but they will - at a later date - and it'll be the blue, not  the orange.

Also, you might see ads popping up and that's because I'm still working with our host, Bravenet to give us the best price possible.
Okay, it's late, gotta go to bed.

Making a Website

I've been busy for the last 2 days making a new website for my church which is located over in Glenavon, Sask. I'm starting to go googley-eyed from all the html coding. I searched for about a year to find a website template that would really suit our small country church. The choice was between a ready made one where you fill in the blanks and a template where you change all the html coding. There weren't any suitable ready made ones so I had to find a template I could work with since I only took the html course a couple years ago. I finally found 3 that would do, one of which was exceptionall. I showed them to the family and they all liked my favorite. That was last summer.

I looked at it every so often while continuing to search, just in case. Then last week I had this overpowering feeling that I should be setting it up. It's been a couple years since the pastor's wife asked me to make it so it's not like they've been real demanding but it would be a good thing for the church and the community.

It's just that I've been working on Emma's story since I'm kind of on a deadline to submit it. But while I've felt this urge to make the church website, I've also kept thinking that if I give time to God for his work first, He'll help me make time for mine. I really believe that.

So far I've got most of the segments worked out where I want them. The images gave me about 3 hrs work until I figured I needed to resize them first. I'm still having trouble figuring out how to publish the header along with the content so I guess I have at least another day to work on it. And that's just the home page.

Meanwhile, the temp was up to about 0C which is the freezing point. Such a far cry from our -47C/-54F weather just a week ago. Almost felt like sunbathing in that bright sun today except I needed to work on the website. :D

My bruises are healing since I started the anti-inflammatory meds on Sat. It's been about 10 days since my fall and it feels like an elephant is sitting on my chest in the mornings but it gets better during the day. Probably due to the meds and Tylenol. Still hurts to cough, sneeze, blow nose, hiccup and yawn, though. They're only bruised and just need time to heal. At least I have a job where I can sit and rest.

This is a pic of Monday night's sunset - looking towards the south! Taken about 5:30 pm, it was very weird because of the colorful southern sky but nothing in the west.

I'd like to bring it up in Photoshop and get rid of that power line but it's getting late. The laptop I was working on the website froze up in the middle of checking to see if I got the images done right this time so I've powered it down for the night. I don't want to check and see that it didn't work because I'd feel compelled to try to fix it. Time enough tomorrow, I guess.

At the Inkwell: Jessie's story

I've tried my hand at writing a devotional over at Inkwell Inspirations today.

Daughter Jessie is 19 today and all this week - since she flew back to Calgary - I've been thinking back to the time surrounding her miraculous birth.

So if you have a chance, skip over to the Inkwell and read Jessie's story.

And if you know her and have access to Facebook, wish her a happy day, would ya?

Look What I Can Do!

Some of you may have seen these pics at Prairie Chicks Write Romance on Thurs when I blogged about the  Photoshop software program I received for Christmas, but for the benefit of those who didn't, I'm showing them again...because I'm still amazed...

I took this shot of the Sacred Heart church in Montmarte from the Library window this past Dec. I loved the shot until I downloaded it onto my laptop and saw all the power lines. You can even see the reflection of yellow words if you look in the area between the power pole and the arched church window.

And if you think you saw it before, you did - on my Dec 14 post.

But once I got Photoshop for Christmas, I was able to remove all those things I didn't like in the photo.

Christmas card, anyone?

A Tote, Text and Pain

Okay, so this is not the way I envisioned 2010 to start by any stretch of my over-active imagination.

I hurt. I can't bend, cough, laugh or sneeze without pain shooting up. And it's my own fault although I'm taking a page out of hubby's book and blaming someone esle - namely him!

It started last Saturday when we were in the city to visit relatives. Jessie was due to fly back to Calgary on Mon and needed some things so we went shopping first. Because I was suffering from a cold, I decided to stay in the van with the boys. Jessie went across the parking lot looking for shoes and Nelson went into Walmart. After a couple minutes, I remembered that Jessie needed a tote so she could bring all the kitchen stuff she received for Christmas. A box of dishes and a coffee machine isn't something you want in your suitcase when flying these days. And anyway, Crystal was in the same predicament a couple years ago. We put all her extras in a tote and bussed it to her via Greyhound. No problem. Or so I thought.

So I sent this text to Nelson via my new cell phone:

Buy a tote we can use to bus Jessie's dishes, etc to her

Nelson responded with: Will check

Satsified, I settled down to read a book. Several minutes passed and then the following texts were exchanged between hubby and I:
Nelson: Purple ok
Me: Sure
Nelson: 50 bucks
Me: Whaddya mean? 50 bucks? for a tote?
Nelson: Confused now whats a tote
Me: Where are you?
Nelson: Have a 4 piece tote that has wheels
Nelson: front cash waiting for help
Me: On my way!

I scrambled from the van, intent on catching him before he wasted 50 dollars on something we didn't need especially with Christmas bills coming in. The sunny day sported a temp of about -37C/-35F with the windshield. Head down, I rushed across the pedestrian crosswalk in from of Walmart trying not to hold up the waiting cars. Just a few feet from the curb, it happened...I slipped on ice. My momentum pushed me forward and I fell down upon the curb just under my bra near the bottom of my rib cage. Ouch! It hurt! I dragged myself up, grabbed my snowy purse, and kept rushing toward the doors, only pausing for a second or two to brush snow off my knees. I thought for sure my jeans were ripped but no, nothing. I swept in through the Walmart doors to find Nelson waiting, a purple suitcase in his hand. I shook my head, told him to meet me in 'Plastics' and then went off to nurse my pride.

Of course, this whole scenario comes down to mis-communication which is the bane of most marriages. I thought Nelson would remember how we bussed Crystal her things, just like I assumed he'd know you don't send dishes and a coffee machine in a suitcase.

On the other hand, at church on Sunday, Nelson asked a friend what he thought a tote was. The man answered a suitcase. But the man's wife answered a Rubbermaid tote. I guess it's just one of those, 'Women are from Venus, Men are from Mars' things.

So here I am, 3 days after the fact with sore arms and bruised ribs and knees. It's painful to bend, laugh, sneeze and cough. And I still have my cold although it's waning.

On the bright side, Crystal is safely back in Vancouver and Jessie is safely back in Calgary.  Nelson is working today and it's the boys' first day back at school. Which means for the first time in 2 wks, I am alone.

Yippee!

Due to my ribs, I feel best in a sitting position with my back straight...perfect writing position. Now, back to Emma's story...where was I...oh yes, the night before the big rescue...oh, this is so exciting...

So, how are you starting off the New Year? Happy, anxious, depressed?