Janet Brien's photos

(+7 insets!) (Please view large) :) Well, you know what day it is...it's MACRO MONDAY! The theme this week is porcelain. Plates and dishes were mentioned as examples but I could have gone for something different like a porcelain figurine. The thought crossed my mind because I have some lovely porcelain horses packed away that would have been very nice. But no, what I really wanted to do was play with subtle patterning on dishware. Specifically, Steve gathered some dishes from a thrift store years ago to use in food photography. I am crazy about pure white dishware and I've wanted to take pictures since he got those plates so I wasn't interested in straying from the obvious this time. Whenever I do a Macro Monday photo shoot, I intentionally refuse to look for ideas online because I want to see what I come up with on my own. Playing around with different ideas is such fun. The whole process of learning what works and what doesn't is really cool because you slowly solve the challenge of creating a compelling image from something rather ordinary. Some ideas don't work out at all so I have to try again. Or later I'll think of something to try that I didn't think of initially. Adding to my own difficulty, only a couple of plates had interesting patterns to work with but that was enough. I ended up with six extras to share along with my main image that I hope you will all enjoy. I played around with the colors on some of the insets for fun because they are always so cool and pretty! The Macro Monday 2.0 group has been such a great experience for me. Because I'm in the US I am the last person to post pictures each week and for some reason I love that! I make a point of not looking at the contributions until after I've posted my pictures (though I do see a few sometimes because I comment on pictures throughout the day and there are usually a few MM submissions in the mix). One of my favorite things to do is to visit every contribution after I've posted my pictures. It's so much fun to see what everyone else has come up with and to be blown away by everyone's clever ideas and beautiful subjects. I love being able to give a pat on the back to each person too, because everyone likes encouragement and congratulations on doing such a great job! You will also notice that I've posted a panorama of snow on the far hillside across the valley...if you've been reading my blogs, I mentioned yesterday that it was supposed to snow today. Well, it actually DID! The snow fell just the tiniest bit here and the flakes melted instantly but it DID snow. Our altitude is just a bit too low for anything to stick but I thought it would be fun to include some proof of snow. Pam, I did a search for "plate" on your stream and found some very festive images that made me want to run over to your house and demand a feast! I also found this gorgeous image of an actual FLAMING Christmas pudding!! AMAZING!! What a lovely picture, Pam. I have to admit, I didn't have a clue what Christmas pudding tastes like, so I looked it up! I found a super page that talks about it if you're interested, just click on the highlighted words here . Oh dear. Dried and candied fruits and nuts...please forgive me for running away and holding up a chair to fend you off! I am not a fan of candied fruit, but I expect that your pudding was absolutely divine! The flame is incredible too! Thank you for the fun holiday memories, and I'm sending a virtual *HUGGGGGG* your way! Explored on 2/5/19, highest placement, #7.

(+2 insets!) Do you ever wake up feeling "off"? That's how I felt when I got up this morning. My mood was scattered and out of sorts. Nervous and uneasy. I really can't figure out why I wasn't my usual boisterous and happy self but can tell you one thing: I didn't like it. So, I decided that my exercise today would be a "walking meditation." I don't practice meditation on a regular basis though I am sure it would be beneficial to me. I just never make time for it--which is probably a good indicator for doing more meditation. Of course you're supposed to be sitting still and relaxed to meditate, but many of the practices should be doable while in motion if you're focused on it. So as I walked up and down our driveway I repeated to myself different phrases like "Peace and serenity..." while thinking about my complete breath cycle. Or, "Breath in positive energy from the trees and plants around you...and breath out the negative energy..." I spent time thinking about how my body felt as I walked along, the way my breath felt, my heart beat, and the contraction of my muscles while I moved. I made a point to think about nothing but my walking meditation. As I began my walk, a very light rain was falling and I didn't bring my umbrella. I imagined the rain taking away the feelings that had made me feel so off when I woke up today. To keep myself focused to only what I was doing and to immerse myself in the moment and where I was, I asked myself, "List the things you can hear which make you happy and peaceful..." I listened intently while I moved along. "Twittering junkos are there in that tree...a single frog is croaking in the pond...an acorn woodpecker is calling another one... and I can hear some Canada Geese in the distance..." And "The sound my feet make crunching on the gravel...the squelching sound when I walk in the muddy clay...the sound of a pebble skittering along when it's kicked...the rain dripping from the trees...the sound of my breath as I walk...and the cry of a hawk flying over the trees..." I repeated this for the things that I saw which made me feel happy and at peace. As the light rain slowly increased to a proper downfall, I got my umbrella and listened to the rhythmic sound of the droplets pattering over my head. I felt like I was in a bubble of safety here. I spent the rest of my hour and 15 minutes by concentrating on feeling relaxed and happy, feeling grateful to those in my life who have played a part in getting me where I stand today. Picturing wonderful memories, people I loved and those who have passed on but thinking only of the happy memories from them. I finished my "Walking Meditation" feeling completely returned to my normal self. What a nice way to reset myself! Since it's been raining all day, I thought I'd share a few rainy day pictures I took the other day. The main picture is an adorable, tiny acorn that I found nestled in some moss. I was surprised at its nearly black color and how it glistened so beautifully with its slick, wet coat. It measured about half an inch in size and was so cute that I couldn't resist a picture! I'm also sharing a picture of a large rose hip from our rose bush in the front yard that's covered with droplets. I had a lot of fun playing with textures to dress up the plain background. The other inset is some water-soaked wild grass, its head totally engulfed in water! Pam, I did a search for "acorn" and found this very pretty natural collage, entitled, "Heartsease & Acorns, tiny Blueits & Wood Sorrel leaves." I love that you enjoy learning about the things in your pictures. It's so fascinating and fun to know all about the gifts we find as we look around our property. Hope you are faring well today, it's starting to get cold over here…supposed to snow tomorrow but I won't believe it until I see it! *HUGGGGGGS*!!! Explored on 2/4/19, highest placement, #2.

(+2 insets!) A couple of days ago I went out with my camera and got some frosty pictures down by our front gate. On the way back I decided to take a quick detour to check out our old well house shed. Roughly a 5-foot cube, it lay on its side in a ruined heap. This was one of the many casualties of the terrible wildfire that erupted on our property a few years ago. The fire engulfed our whole shop and half of our hillside but our home was saved and nobody was hurt. Lately I've been glancing over at that well house as I walk up and down our road in the morning. I've avoided taking pictures of anything related to the fire but my overwhelming feeling of remorse is slowly lifting and I wondered if there were pictures to be found there. Walking over to the shed, I realized that it was a treasure trove of macro pictures! Charred wood, exposed and rusty screws, nails, hinges...oh my, but the dozens of cool subjects I saw got me so excited I could hardly stand it! Unfortunately I couldn't stay more than a minute or two because of the cold. I was on a 15-minute timer and needed to get back inside before my toes and fingers were in serious pain. I did take a couple of pictures though, and I thought this image of charred wood would be fun to share today. I'll be doing a proper photo shoot in the next week I hope! (I'm also sharing a panorama of our burned hillside in silhouette during a gorgeous sunrise and another Table Rocks sunrise) Pam, have you guys ever had wildfires around your place or close enough to become quite concerned? It's no fun, let me tell you. This wildfire happened one afternoon when a ground squirrel climbed up the power pole and somehow got electrocuted, fell into the grass and started the fire. Steve found out as he was driving home and called me at work as I was leaving for the day. We were so afraid for our animals...but when we got home, we learned that our house was save and our animals were all ok. Thank goodness for our awesome fire department! I hope you are doing ok today! Sending *HUGGGGGS*!!! Explored on 2/3/19, highest placement, #1.

(+1 inset & four notes to read) (Viewing large is recommended for dreamier details! :) Stepping outside for my walk today, I smiled as I was greeted by the joyful chorus of frogs down at the pond. The temperature's creeped up to a seasonally warm 40°F this morning, but it's not going to last. The forecast promises a dip into the 20's in the next few days so I expect the frogs will need to retreat to their holes until it warms up again. I know that you US Mid- and East-Coasters are laughing at those numbers given the unbelievable cold you've had to endure lately. I hope you're all faring alright. At times like that I worry about power outages and keeping warm. We've had the terrible combination of extreme cold and power outages with only space heaters to keep us warm until the power returned many hours later. It's no fun and it can be scary too. I do hope that you have taken advantage of the rare conditions…my eyes gleam thinking about the macro candy land that extreme cold brings with it, though one must be very economical with the pictures you take and stay out for only a few minutes. I do look forward to seeing some of the unique images that come from the polar vortex. Yesterday I went out for some frosty pictures and as I left the house with my camera, I noticed what appeared to be a green bottle fly huddled on the porch wall. Something about it didn't quite look right but I didn't have time to take a closer peek. I was on a mission to get pictures of the "frost bush" next to the sporophytes down at the gate and my 15-Minute Cold Timer began ticking the second I left the house. I have learned to respect that timer…if I don't my extremities get excruciatingly, painfully cold. A fly was not worth my attention. When I returned to the house I saw the fly again and couldn't resist bending down to stare at it. Instantly I saw what seemed off to me. It wasn't a fly at all--it was a sweat bee*! And the largest I'd ever seen, in fact. These bees tend to be quite small, but this one was the same size as a green bottle fly. (Sweat Bees range in size between 0.12 to 0.40 in / 3 to 10 mm, while Bottle Flies range between 0.28 to 0.63 in / 7 to 16 mm) *NOTE: This is actually a MASON BEE and was identified on the Bug Guide Such a gorgeous and special find was irresistible and I took a few pictures before diving into the warmth of the house, fingers and toes burning from the cold. I didn't expect to get anything good from my quick snaps but as you can see, I managed to get a winner! You'll notice that I dressed up the white wall setting with some filters and the outcome worked out very nicely I think. :) I'm also including a panorama of a lovely afternoon a couple of days ago. We really do get some incredible views! Pam, are you guys in the polar vortex region? If so, I hope that you don't get any power outages and have backup heating just in case! Stay warm! *BIG HUGGGGGS from southern Oregon* :)

(+2 insets!) Oh my, it’s really cooling down around here! I stepped out to a thermometer which read 29 degrees—wow! But paired with the freezing weather, the world was gleaming with brilliant sunshine this morning. My poor toes did NOT appreciate me crunching up and down our road today, but that’s what heaters are for afterwards! :) On my first trip down to the gate I couldn’t help checking in on the sporophyte villages that live at the tops of each of the brick posts which hold our gate. Clumps of moss are scattered here and there on the tops and sides of the bricks and most clumps have many cool sporophytes to see. In fact, some of my finest sporophyte images come from the villagers who live here so I love peeking at them from time to time to say hello and see how they are doing. Staring nose-close, I found a marvelous frost formation next to a pair of aged sporophytes and pulled back, my internal arguments flaring. “It’s too cold!” “That’s a special sight, it needs to be photographed!” “My fingers will freeze!” *rumblings from my toes below* “Hey, what about us? We’re already frozen!” “When will I see a frost formation like that again?” Silence in my mind and then, “Yeah, it’s true. We need to take a picture of that.” At the top of the hill I saw that the fog cloaking the Table Rocks was especially beautiful, with a sheen of gold lighting up the fog and warming the valley’s sides. I couldn’t resist marching to the top of the hill for a few phone snaps before getting my camera and making my way back down to the gate. After many photos of the “frost bush” next to the sporophytes, I glanced down into the weeds next to the gate. There was a coil of old, rusty barbed wire fencing that had been sitting abandoned, since long before we moved here. I’d been meaning to try for some frost pictures and as I was right there, I took the opportunity to photograph that too. Not long after, the painful bite from the merciless cold forced me to stop and I trudged back to the house to return my camera and continue for a few more laps of exercise. I was really happy to discover that I got a nice picture of the “frost bush” and also some really neat barbed wire pictures too. This being the day that I put up a picture for Happy Fence Friday, it was excellent timing for posting an image that I took today! (You can see insets of the frost “bush” and also an atmospheric picture of our fence and mail box I got a couple of days ago.) Pam, do you guys hate barbed wire as much as we do? When we got here there was barbed wire strung up everywhere. It’s taken me a long time but I’ve got it all removed. Every once in a while, though, I’ll find stray strands here and there or an abandoned coil. It’s awful. The only thing I like about barbed wire is the cool pictures it can produce. Meh! I hope you are having a nice day! *HUGZZZZ!* Explored on 2/1/19, highest placement, #1.

(+2 insets!) What a pretty day it’s been. This afternoon was so warm that it seems more like spring than winter! It started off freezing cold with a pretty cloud-filled sunrise and fog cloaking the valley. It was so cold that the frogs were huddling silently down at the pond, their romantic crooning a memory until it warmed up again. The forecast calls for snow on Monday but we’ll see about that. By 9am the sun was shining brightly and as the hours rolled by it melted the fog and the whole area basked in unexpected warmth. The frogs came out to sing in droves, their numbers increasing each day. Don’t ask me to find them as they are masters at camouflage, but I loved hearing them as I brought the garbage and recycling down to the road just a while ago. Today’s picture features a pretty find when Steve and I were down in San Anselmo over New Years. On our first hike of two, I noticed a flashing of white as we passed by and discovered a down feather adhered to some grass. I have no clue what kind of bird it might have been but it made a pretty picture for me to share with you! I am also sharing another find along the way, some wild grass that stood out in the sunshine with another stem behind it and the background falling away in artistic bokeh. I’m also including an afternoon panorama of our lovely view of the Table Rocks that I took the other day! Pam, I did a search on your stream for “feather” and found one that you had posted, a lovely entry for the Poetica group entitled Silence . What a thought-provoking poem! I sat and read it, thinking about each line. Much to contemplate. Thank you so much for bringing it to my attention, and I must also say that your beautiful peacock feather and presentation were perfect. Wikipedia provided some additional insights to this lovely and deeply reaching poem which you might be interested in if you don’t already know of it! I hope your days are treating you a little better lately! Thinking of you and sending a big *HUGGGGG*! Explored on 1/31/19, highest placement, #2.

(+2 insets!) (looks better at full size for more fuzzy details!) Looking over my photo stream today, I've noticed a lacking of MUSHROOMS! That needs to change! :) I have a couple more mushrooms from my trip down to San Anselmo but I am not sure they are "main picture worthy." I do have one which I've finished and you'll see it as an inset. This furry little mushroom I'm sharing today was a wonderful discovery. A month or so ago I'd decided to wander around our lower forest on a very wet morning after it stopped raining. I was hunting for mushrooms and other fungus and focused my attention on sticks and branches that had fallen to the ground. I found many interesting lichens and mosses, and I also discovered some micro mushrooms too. After studying a lichen-encrusted stick, I spotted another one nearby and picked it up carefully. First I found a micro mushroom...but then I spotted something so small I could hardly even see it. It was maybe the size of a lower-case "o" and it was FUZZY. It looked like maybe it could be a mushroom so I took a set of pictures. Studying the branch even more carefully, my nose nearly touching the surface, I spotted another one and it was most definitely a fuzzy mushroom! It was sitting next to several more that were just starting to grow. My excitement had no bounds! I'd never seen such a cool little fuzzy mushroom! My main image features this darling little mushroom. My first inset shows a family portrait as it stands next to some extremely shy family members who don't want their picture taken! :D Aren't they adorable?! They are so small they are barely visible and I am so delighted that I got pictures to share. I went back the next day to take more pictures but I couldn't find the stick. So sad! I will keep my eyes open, maybe someday I'll find more! My other inset was taken down in San Anselmo on our first hike. In fact, Nathalie found them and I heard her whoop in excitement when she spotted the group. I could see what all the fuss was about when I got to her. The group was HUGE! I think they must have been about 1.5 feet across from one side to the other. And STRANGE...they are such an odd cluster, aren't they?! I love them! Thank you Nathalie for discovering these mushrooms (and you found the others I photographed too)! Pam, I hope today was better than the past couple. I know you've been on a rough ride. Maybe the sun will come out soon for you. *hugggggs* Explored on 1/29/19, highest placement, #1.

(+14 insets...7 from now, seven from my last "Medicine" theme) :D ENJOY!! :D Today is Macro Monday! I've been looking forward to working on the topic, "Medicine," since it was announced last week. Funny enough, the group I was involved with a few years back (Bokeh Thursday) used the same topic (I've included insets so you can see what I came up with back then)! One thing I remembered was that there's just no end to the fun pictures you can take of pills and various forms of medicine. I spent a while on Sunday playing around with various ideas and ended up using spills for my pictures (A spill is when you pour a number of items onto a surface and allow them to fall as they like). I love the organic feel of this kind of picture and the wonderful bokeh that happens with anything sitting in the background. The medicines I used were actually vitamins, considered to be medicine depending on how you feel about this sort of thing. That's enough exuse for me, and we have plenty of them so I went to town with pills from our daily doses! Multi-vitamin, vitamin D, wheat grass, fish oil and Quonol...all of them were great fun to shoot! I ended up with 7 current insets, 7 insets from my past project and my main image which features Vitamin D gel capsules! (Two of them are other versions of vitamins I already shared so I played with their colors in red and purple…PRETTY!!!) Pam, I am sure you're no stranger to medicine. The older we get, the more junk we need to add to our systems it seems. Oddly enough, Steve and I don't use much medicine since we changed to a ketogenic lifestyle...we don't get colds, we don't get sick. Our aches and pains basically went away. (did you know that most of us have a lot of unknown inflammation which causes this?) I know that removing carbohydrates seems impossible to a lot of people but once we learned how to cook foods that ended up being a much tastier alternative, it was an easy transition. The health benefits are remarkable and for those who suffer from pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes, keto is known to reverse and eliminate it! There are many other remarkable life-changers but many people do keto to lose weight...Steve lost 45 pounds and I lost 17. Keto is also great way to remove medication from your life, but in regards to brain injuries, I did find an article from a woman who suffered a stroke and keto helped her a lot. I wonder if it could help you? Here's the link: Healing from a stroke I am thinking about you every day! *BIG HUGGGGGS* from southern Oregon!

(+1 inset!) (please view large to see the dew drops!) It was another very foggy, chilly day and even though I was bundled up, my feet and hands still got very cold during my walk. It was lovely though and I enjoyed seeing the grass twinkling with dew drops as I made my way up and down our driveway. On my last lap I noticed something sparkling on the road and thought it seemed too light to be a leaf. Bending closer I could see that it was a feather that was completely covered in dew drops! Amazing! I hadn't planned on taking any pictures outside today because I'd be working on my Macro Monday images but I simply HAD to get pictures of this feather! I soon returned with my camera and got lots of shots from many angles--I managed to get some very nice ones which I'll be sharing soon! Since I was outside I couldn't resist the temptation to wander off the road a bit. I had something in mind…spider webs. Yesterday I'd taken some pictures of dewdrops on a strand of spiderweb and I wasn't really satisfied with the outcome. I'd brought my macro flash but discovered the batteries were dead and the slight breeze ruined most of the pictures I took. Still feeling a bit disappointed, I wanted to find some more webs now that I'd replaced the batteries in my macro flash. Instantly I found plenty of strands to photograph, so tiny and fine that I would have had a hard time seeing them without the dew to make them stand out. At one point I looked up and OH!! A whole web was sparkling back at me, how exciting! I think dew-covered webs are some of the most beautiful things in nature and this one had such a lovely shape. Once I got back inside I copied my pictures over to my computer but I noticed a problem with the use of my flash. The reflection of light in the droplets worked fine in the pictures I'm sharing today but It was much too harsh in my other photos. I need to put diffusers on the flashes to soften the reflections. It's too bad because there were lots of pretty strands of "water pearls" but the pictures need to be retaken. Live and learn, right? For today's main image I decided to use the cropped version because the dew is larger and prettier. I have also included an inset of the whole web so you can see how cool it is. :) Pam, I did a search on your stream for "web" and found a delightful picture and story about Esmerelda that you shared back in 2014. It was wonderful to read again. I also enjoyed our back and forth commentary about your picture and story. I think you would have loved the spider webs I photographed today because they were almost invisible and not scary at all! :) Still, like I'd said then, I do not like spiders crawling on me, and feeling spider webs clinging to me gives me the heeby-jeebies! If they are strong webs and I walk through them and they are all over me…you'll hear me screaming from Oregon and soon you'll see me running past in a blur! :D Here's hoping that your day was as good as can be. :) Explored on 1/28/19, highest placement, #1.

(+9 insets!) (view large please!) When Steve and I went down to the San Francisco Bay Area to visit my younger brother and his wife, we were really happy to learn that Nathalie's daughter, Phoebe, would also be home from college! It would be so nice to see her and catch up with what's going on in her world. Being 54, it's fascinating to talk to someone who's just starting college. At 19 years old, Phoebe's college experience compared to mine totally floors me. It's just gob smacking. For instance, when I went to San Francisco State University, gym classes were varied with dozens of courses available. But today they have only dance classes. No gym. No badminton. No aerobics. No soccer. And of course, not my favorite--trampoline (which I took for two semesters!). All creative art classes…GONE. Etc. It's horrifying. This is the world that Phoebe lives in. Yes, she can go to a local gym for classes but they aren't on campus. Art classes would be the same situation I'm sure. Anyway, talking to her about school leaves me feeling totally staggered and I feel sad that there are so few opportunities for Phoebe's generation to explore creatively within the confines of school. When I first met Phoebe a couple of years ago, she gave me a tour of her bedroom, which was such an honor. It was so much fun to see how she decorated her room and to tell her how I had decorated mine. She had some art on the walls but nothing too outlandish. As I grew up, my walls and ceiling became 100% covered with animal and horse pictures without any surface showing. When I turned 17 or so, I began collecting swim suits and pinned them up to my walls in tropical displays with beach posters behind them, using fake palm fronds as accents. I had a spot on one wall for pictures of cute celebrities too. Phoebe's décor was wonderful but sedate in comparison to my flamboyant display and I really enjoyed the peek into how she showed herself off in her room. While I looked around, I was immediately drawn to a large glass bowl in the corner. It was nearly half-full of some kind of beads. Peering inside I saw…RAVE BEAD BRACELETS!! Dozens of them, in fact! HOW COOL IS THAT?! Rave beads…what the heck are rave beads?! They are bracelets known as "Kandi," worn at dance clubs and parties, created by individuals as gifts to people they meet there. Originally started by drug dealers to stand out as a source for party drugs like ecstasy and coke, these showy bracelets soon turned into a popular fad for anyone who loves the dance scene. Bracelets are shared in a special way--essentially the two people hold hands and the gift bracelet is slid from one wrist onto the other's wrist. Specifically it goes like this: 1. Two people make peace signs (Peace) 2. They form their hands into hearts (Love) 3. They join their hearts (Unity) 4. They slide their bracelets from hand to hand (Respect) 4.a. Hug someone. (From) (For more info & pictures about the Kandi craze, click this phrase!) The whole rave beads-Kandy craze started many years after Steve and I were over our club days, so we never got to see any of this in action. It's a shame because I would surely have had an enormous collection myself! However, seeing Phoebe's collection filled me with excitement because I was sure they were very special to her. She confirmed this by immediately telling me all about her experiences. Every bracelet has a story, instantly coming to mind when Phoebe holds it in her hand. I loved hearing her tales and at the time I thought to myself that I'd just have to get pictures the next time I had a chance. Visiting San Anselmo this time aligned all of the stars and Phoebe gave me permission to take pictures of her collection! My eyes twinkled as I pulled out a bracelet and asked for details. She instantly told me where she got it and who gave it to her. I took out another one. "Oh! That one I got in the bathroom when I met a girl in there!" I pulled out another one and out came another story. Such fun. Thank you Phoebe, for allowing me to share part of you with the world! I spent quite a while photographing her bracelets and my main image shows the whole collection as a glorious pile of dance party memories. I am also including 9 insets for you to enjoy as well. Pam, did you ever have a party phase in your life? I loved dancing but I didn't get many chances to go "clubbing." My dates rarely had the interest and I didn't have friends that liked that sort of thing. But when I met Steve, we went out dancing on a regular basis for the first couple of years when we lived in San Francisco. What fun! I hope you're having a nice day today my dear! Explored on 1/27/19, highest placement, #5.

(+3 insets!) Another cold and drizzly day, I enjoyed looking at the mist crawl around the valley on my walk this morning. I did a lot of thinking about the pictures I took down in San Anselmo and the fun of processing and sharing them here on ipernity. The San Anselmo photo shoot has a seemingly endless variety of subjects which adds so much interest. Also, I had a lot of luck with usable images so I'll be able to post images for quite a while. For me, this project has been such a delight. I know that our property is overflowing with photo opportunities but change is a nice thing. I'm also really happy that I've been able to process so many of them. I worried that I would be pulled away from the project without getting to finish at least a handful. But as it turns out, I've processed over 50 pictures! I still have dozens of subjects I want to finish up but I'm enjoying every moment I get to work through each picture. When I got inside today I was very cold. In fact, I was so chilly that I decided to climb into my bed and bundle up under my fluffy blankets while I visited my contacts on ipernity. By the time I got through all of my comments I was so cozy and warm that I wanted to take a nap! Lunchtime saved me from snoozing and Steve cooked up amazing sausages to go with our fried eggs. I also had half an avocado which I heat up, mash into guacamole and add garlic salt. It's fabulous! Steve is totally horrified that I warm it up…lol…I know it sounds odd but it's YUMMY! :) Since I have been so cold today, I'm sharing pictures of one of the magnificent nightly log fires that my brother Brian made to heat up their beautiful living room. One evening I was admiring how pretty the fire was and it occurred to me that it would make a lovely picture. I ran and got my camera and clicked away! I am including two more fire images as insets along with a candid picture of Brian that I took while he was watching a YouTube video one afternoon. It turned out so well that I just had to show everyone how handsome my little brother is! :) Pam, I did a search on your photo stream and discovered that you have a fireplace in your home! We do not. When we moved in there was a free-standing log-fueled heater but we hated it. There is a place for a proper fireplace but we never got it going because we have a bird and smoke is an issue we don't want to chance. Do you use yours? They can be the most wonderful source of heat, and so cozy too. When I was looking in your pictures, I found this wonderful collage of your Fire Dragon Dance. It's just terrific!! Yearly burns may be necessary jobs but they are so pretty too. Here's hoping that you are having a comfortable, warm and cozy day my dear! :) Explored on 1/26/19, highest placement, #2.