• Craft & Create
  • Living Life
  • Rediscovering ME
  • Reviews and Reflection
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After

Rediscovering Life after Retirement

Categories: Craft and Create

World Through My Lens 08.2021 & 09.2021

Shutterbugs and photo-lovin’ friends glad to have you join me for The World Through My Lens 08.2021 & 09.2021.  Today I am sharing my snapshots for the August and September editions of the photo series my blogging buddy Terri at Second Wind Leisure Perspectives.  Terri hosts the one-prompt-a-week Sunday Stills photo challenge but on occasion she invites guest hosts.  Most recently my friend Natalie the Explorer stepped in to host.

And happy to be joining Mary-Lou at PatioPostcards and friends for the final edition of the summer photo scavenger hunt (SPSH).

THE WORLD THROUGH MY LENS

 

Taking pictures has become one of my favorite hobbies.  When I am not participating in a challenge, I lose my enthusiasm for photography because I don’t know what to do with the pictures I am taking!!  Glad to be participating in all 3 challenges this summer.  You can see my last World Through My Lens post, here, and click here the latest edition of iSpy & SPSH.

My August got away with me before I posted a World Through My Lens post, so today I am combining the photos I took that month with my September pictures.  And today’s post is the final round up for the Summer Photo Scavenger Hunt.

 

Sunday Stills 08.2021

 

08.01.2021 Summer Bugs

 

These bugs are everywhere on the desert floor.  Aren’t they the most incredible deep, almost midnight blue?  Have been told they are dung beetles.  If that’s true, it seems ironic that something so beautiful could exist by eating something so…hmmm, what’s the word?  Crappy??

 

dung beetle

 

08.08.2021 Images Inspired by Favorite Song Lyrics or Original Poetry

 

Big fan of Carly Simon from waaaay back.  Her song “Coming Around Again/Itsy Bitsy Spider” has long been one of my favorite songs.  It would be perfectly suited for the theme song to most of my adult life.  Part of the lyrics read:

You pay the grocer
You fix the toaster
Kiss the host good-bye
Then you break a window
Burn the soufflé
Scream the lullaby

 

I’ve probably done most of those things…except I don’t make soufflé.  Sub in ‘burn the Hamburger Helper.’  My photo illustrates the lyric ‘fix the toaster.’  Didn’t have any duck tape so grabbed the second best tools for fixing things.  Starting with a hammer.
Here’s the YouTube video of the song.  Have you ever felt like this?  Coincidentally, the nursery rhyme/song “Itsy Bitsy Spider” is one I used to teach the water cycle to my students in the library each year.  It’s a favorite, too.

 

08.15.2021 Monthly Color Challenge: Burlywood (light shade of brown, think khakis)

 

One of my favorite places to hike is Dripping Springs in nearby Las Cruces, New Mexico.  We walk up into the Organ Mountains til we reach the springs and the remnants of Van Patten Mountain Camp and  Boyd Sanitorium.  It is a beautiful hike.  I took this photo last time we were there.  The adobe walls of the abandoned buildings are burlywood brown.

 

 

08.22.2021 In the Garden

 

Years ago, we had a hibiscus at our little house, the girls’ childhood home.  Brennyn would draw its blooms so perfectly.  And since then, I have always associated a hibiscus with my oldest daughter.  Over the years, I have tried unsuccessfully to get a hibiscus to grow at our current house.  Finally, with this summer’s incredible rain, my latest attempt has been rewarded.

 

 

08.29.2021  Afloat

 

Lucia swam the length of the pool and back (with her floaties) last time the kids were over.  By next summer, she’ll be a regular fish swimming in to end without any help.

 

 

SUNDAY STILLS 09.2021

 

09.05.2021 Colorful Murals

 

Have watched this beautiful mural since its inception. The art is on the wall of a home on the way to the park where PC plays ball, so watched it change and grow each Saturday.  With the first strokes of paint, the artist, Adrian Lopez, breathed life into this maiden.  Isn’t she lovely?

 

 

09.12.2021 Going Back…

 

This little garden path runs beside the history museum downtown and ‘goes back’ from the front of the building to the back.

 

World Through My Lens 08.2021 & 09.2021

 

09.19.2021 Monthly Color Challenge:  Harvest Gold or Citrine

 

I have bragged about the delicious breakfast PC and I enjoyed at Mamacita’s Restaurant last weekend.  Well, the decorations and atmosphere were almost as appealing as the food.  This harvest gold chandelier hung over the hostess’s stand at the entrance to the restaurant.

 

chandelier

 

09.26.2021 Signs of Autumn (or spring in Southern hemisphere)

 

We ran to Lowe’s today for weed spray and muriatic acid for the pool.  In the garden area, there were signs of autumn everywhere you looked.  So wanted to buy mums in each of the colors but know they will only die as I can’t seem to grow anything flowering.  Bummer, huh?  So, I snapped a bunch of photos instead.

 

World Through My Lens 08.2021 & 09.2021
mums
World Through My Lens 08.2021 & 09.2021

 

2021 SUMMER PHOTO SCAVENGER HUNT

 

So excited to have spent Friday evening catching up on blog reading and to discover that Mary Lou has released the photo prompts for the summer photo scavenger hunt.  Yay!!!  You can visit her post here at Patio Postcards for more information.  Keep in mind, there are only 2 rules;  please use photos taken between 06.01.-09.30.2021.  The second rule is one I wasn’t aware of from participating in previous challenges.  You or a loved one must have taken the photo.  I always thought I had to be the photographer!!

First check in/link up was Wednesday, 06.30.2021.  Have a look, here.  The second check in was 08.09.2021, but I  am fashionably late.  The last link up date is the final one, 10.01.2021.

 

2021 SPSH LIST

 

  1. A Breakfast of Champions  ✔️
  2. Favourite Time of Day ✔️
  3. Something To Represent Home But Not The Building  ✔️
  4. Head In The Clouds; shapes or interesting patterns  ✔️
  5. The Art Of The Fold  ✔️
  6. Something That Makes You Laugh or Happy  ✔️
  7. What’s In Bloom  ✔️
  8. Window Views  ✔️
  9. Something Older Than You  ✔️
  10. The Delivery Van/Truck Making The Deliveries  ✔️
  11. The Shape of Round/Circular  ✔️
  12. Something That Is Cause For Celebration  ✔️
  13. Your Marie Kondo Moment – Or Not  ✔️
  14. Inside Your Fridge Or Cupboard  ✔️
  15. Your Best Doodle Art (not public graffiti) ✔️
  16. A Guilty Pleasure; Something That Recharges You  ✔️
  17. An Exit  ✔️
  18. Upside Down, Right Side Up  ✔️
  19. Steps, But Who’s Counting  ✔️
  20. Decades Of Sharing; find something in your home that is from the 70’s or 80’s or 90’s or 00’s  ✔️

Alternates

A: show off your  COVID safety; masks, cleaning, or other related supplies

B: a local landmark  ✔️

C: the most beautiful landscape photo of the season ✔️

 

MY LATEST FINDS

 

Have been working on finding these scavenger hunt prompts all summer.  Here are my last finds.

 

First Few

 

  • #3 something to represent home but not the building – every year or so, some guys come around offering to paint house numbers on the curbs on either side of the driveway.  The first time we had ours done, one side was painted with a C for the Cincinnati Reds and the other side with an O for Ohio State.  The second time, the C was just freshened up but a B for the Cincinnati Bengals replaced Ohio State.  Next time they come around offering to paint our numbers, I think it is only fair that I get a UT for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

 

World Through My Lens 08.2021 & 09.2021

 

  • #5 the art of the fold – my friend Lorena gave me this little folded origami crane years ago in a nod to the library lesson I always did about the Hiroshima victims.  And one in particular, Sadako Sasaki.  Learn more about Sadako in the video below.

 

origami

 

 

  • #9 something older than you – my mother’s childhood handmade, homemade toy gun.  With her initial – N for Nira – carved right there on the barrel.  By my calculations, this little gun is probably close to 90 years old.

 

 

There’s More

 

  • #13 your Marie Kondo moment – or not – recently tidied my linen closet as part of my spring-into-summer cleaning.  Have had the shoe organizer on the door for years.  Have one upstairs, here and another one downstairs on the door to my cleaning supply closet.  This summer I bought these Dollar Tree plastic baskets for my sheet sets.  I think it looks neater than stacks of poorly folded sheets on the shelves.

 

Marie Kondo

 

  • #14 inside your fridge or cupboard – new fridge…we had to buy this little beauty a couple of months ago when our old one developed a leak.  Nothing especially artistic about this appliance or the photo of it.  I do like the multiple bright lights.  There’s that.

 

Fridge

 

  • #15 your best doodle art (not public graffiti) – I’ve raved about this book several times recently but it merits all the acclaim.  And so does my friend Juhli for sharing it first on her blog, A Boomer Girl’s Guide.  365 Days of Creativity by Lorna Scobie is a daily doodling journal.  Except I am not doing it daily.  Probably partially because I spend too much time on my doodles and sometimes one day’s doodles bleed into the next day.  Anyway, the prompt for this particular day was something like ‘draw the ingredients for a favorite recipe.’  Can you tell what this recipe might be?

 

World Through My Lens 08.2021 & 09.2021

 

And There’s Even More

 

  • #16 a guilty pleasure – ice cream, no doubt my favorite guilty pleasure.  Made this dessert with ice cream sandwiches, caramel topping, and coconut.  Sinfully delicious.

 

ice cream

 

  • #17 an exit – had to go to the ER with my neck today.  When I was released with a big shot of lidocaine in my upper shoulder, I started to walk through this exit when I remembered it was one of the scavenger hunt words.  Not a particularly pretty picture but it satisfies the prompt.

 

World Through My Lens 08.2021 & 09.2021

 

  • #20 decades of sharing; find something in your home that is from the 70’s or 80’s or 90’s or 00’s – this little ceramic couple is from the early ’90s.  It was given to me by my daughter Brennyn.  And I have a similar one that was given to me by my daughter Lauren.  The photos in the background are my parents.

 

figurine

 

Bonus

 

  • Alternate C – we had an exceptionally wet summer which has put us at over 2″ above normal for the year.  Considering we only average 9″ annually, that is a quite a bit of extra precipitation.  And that rain made our world wonderfully green for a few weeks.

 

 

Believe I earned a 100% on this scavenger hunt.  Yay me!!

 

YOUR TURN

 

What have you captured with your camera lately?  I am sad to see the summer photo scavenger hunt come to a close becuase these challenges encourage me to look at the world with a fresh eye.  Need to get caught up on my iSpy photos, though, so I have that to keep me on my toes.

Hope to enjoy another week mostly at home.  My daughter Brennyn will be here on Thursday night, so I want to get the house whipped into shape.  Need to pick up some groceries, and have started a new StepBet so need to be sure to get my steps in each day.  How does the week look for you?

Thank you for popping by, sweet friends.  I appreciate your visits.

Hugs and kisses,

  • leslie
  • Get Updates

    [jetpack-related-posts]

    About Leslie Roberts Clingan

    I am an aspiring blogger and children's author, wife, mother, daughter, sister, - in-law, responsible pet owner and recently retired elementary school librarian. I hope to figure out the next chapter of my life as I transition from crazy, busy work world onto totally idle retirement and now to something in-between.

    Comments

    1. Deb

      October 4, 2021 at 1:24 am

      Fantastic finds for the scavenger hunt! I love that little paper crane – I find that origami is a lot harder than it looks!

      Reply
    2. Debbie

      October 4, 2021 at 1:25 am

      You have done so well collating all those prompts into your post Leslie, I think you’re very clever! I love the little stories that go with each of them too. Your hibiscus is delightful and you must be so happy you’ve been able to grow one after all these years, the flowers are beautiful. Well done!

      Reply
    3. Mary-Lou Burma

      October 4, 2021 at 5:15 am

      Thanks for joining in with the SPSH. Oh yes to your #16 guilty pleasure.

      Reply
    4. notinjersey

      October 4, 2021 at 7:17 am

      I always love to see your photos! Such a slice of life. I hope your neck is ok!

      Reply
    5. rawsonjl

      October 4, 2021 at 9:26 am

      You did so well with your scavenger hunt photos! I know you had a few you weren’t sure you were going to get to. Lovely photos as always, Leslie.

      Reply
      • Leslie Roberts Clingan

        November 30, 2021 at 10:31 am

        Thank you, Joanne.

        Reply
    6. Meg

      October 4, 2021 at 3:29 pm

      Love the photos! The green desert is beautiful. The prompts certainly bring out some creative responses.

      Reply
    7. Terri Webster Schrandt

      October 4, 2021 at 5:21 pm

      What a great August and September you had, Leslie! I love the photos that punctuate your busyness. The song lyric challenge was fun and not only did I giggle at the broken toaster, I chuckled at Simon’s lyrics, “scream a lullaby…” boy do I remember those days! And what an amazing idea to use a shoe storage for cleaning supplies! Genius (as I slap my hand to my forehead)! Thank you for sticking with Sunday Stills while I took my break. I’ll link this post of yours in my next week’s round-up!

      Reply
      • Leslie Roberts Clingan

        November 30, 2021 at 10:31 am

        I am so sad that I have fallen off on my photography posts. Hope to get back to sharing more regularly. I always appreciate your comments and inspiration.

        Reply
    8. Jennifer

      October 4, 2021 at 5:28 pm

      Such a fun look into your corner of the world – and life! Go Lucia, go!! Love that photo:) And had to smile that you thought of a prompt even as you were being discharged from the ER! A dedicated blogger in every sense!! Hope that big ole shot gave you some relief!! Happy Monday, friend! Here’s to another week full of fun photo opportunities (well, not in the ER!)

      Reply
    9. dousedinpink

      October 4, 2021 at 8:51 pm

      What a fun scavenger hunt! I hope your neck is okay and you’re feeling better! I love that colorful mural! Those ice cream sandwiches look so good!

      Jill – Doused in Pink

      Reply
    10. Iris

      October 5, 2021 at 7:56 am

      Love all your pictures and I seriously want that chandelier. It is gorgeous and of course some of my favorite colors.

      So sorry about your ER visit. Hope you’re feeling better now.
      Iris

      Reply
      • Leslie Roberts Clingan

        November 30, 2021 at 10:32 am

        Thank you, sweet friend.

        Reply
    11. Retirement Reflections

      October 5, 2021 at 7:55 pm

      Your photos are beautiful, Leslie. That hibiscus is stunning. And at first glance, I thought that Dung Beetle was a Christmas Decoration! 😀

      Reply
      • Leslie Roberts Clingan

        November 30, 2021 at 10:30 am

        Aren’t the dung beetles ironically beautiful?

        Reply
    12. Amy Johnson

      October 9, 2021 at 7:06 am

      The sunlight hitting the cacti is beautiful.

      Reply
    13. Kirstin

      October 11, 2021 at 10:24 am

      Love your photos Leslie. I totally bombed on doing the scavenger hunt. Maybe I’ll try again for winter.

      Reply
    14. Lysha

      October 19, 2021 at 2:14 pm

      So many great photos! Your fridge looks so organized. I love seeing ‘everyday life’ pics.

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Hello!

    graphic tee

    In what felt like the blink of an eye, I have gone from full-time wife to my sweet husband, hands-on mom to my two beautiful daughters and elementary school librarian to a retired, empty nester with lots of time on my hands. Join me on my journey to rediscover who I am. Glad you are here...
    About me

    Let’s Be Friends

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

    Search

    Archives

    Disclosure

    Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After occasionally uses affiliate links. This means that if you click a link provided we may receive a very small commission. Thank you for your support!

    Best of the Blog

    • pantry organization Easy Pantry Organization Tips: Pinterventures, 01.2020 posted on January 21, 2020
    • Where Bloggers Live 05.2022:  My Photo Albums Where Bloggers Live 05.2022: My Photo Albums posted on May 14, 2022
    • 10 Fashion Trends This Grandma is Embracing 10 Fashion Trends This Grandma is Embracing posted on September 23, 2020
    • OOTDs and SIAs: My Fashion Haus 07.2020 OOTDs and SIAs: My Fashion Haus 07.2020 posted on July 16, 2020
    • My Summer 2020 Bucket List: Update 07.2020 My 2020 Summer Bucket List: Update 07.2020 posted on July 21, 2020

    Alison & Aubrey Accessories – Perfect for Spring

    onceuponatimehappilyeverafter

    In the blink of an eye, I've gone from full-time wife, hands-on mom & librarian to a retired, empty nester rediscovering who I am.

    Leslie Clingan
    05.21.2022 It's been 10 years since we said goodby 05.21.2022 It's been 10 years since we said goodbye.  I miss you, Daddy. 

#missmydad
#missmydaddy 
#insta2022📸 
#onceuponatimehappilyeverafter
    05.19.2022 Dressed and ready to take on subbing fo 05.19.2022 Dressed and ready to take on subbing for kindergarten, Lucia's class. This @amazonfashion dress by @merokeetyofficial made getting ready a breeze.  Those 5 year olds wore me out!!

#ootd 
#teacherstyle 
#lifeafterretirement 
#substituteteacher 
#grandmasofinstagram 
#silversisters 
#elpasoblogger 
#elpasotexas 
#insta2022📸 
#onceuponatimehappilyeverafter
    05.14.2022 Does this look like $18 worth of chicke 05.14.2022 Does this look like $18 worth of chicken to you  @kfc ?

Wow! No breasts and no wings available.  Opted for 5 tenders. Should have driven off and left them behind. 

#highwayrobbery 
#robbery 
#inflation 
#insta2022📸 
#onceuponatimehappilyeverafter
    05.08.2022 Just in time for Mother's Day, we disco 05.08.2022 Just in time for Mother's Day, we discovered the tiniest hummingbird nest with 2 tinier eggs.  Looks like I'm goingto be a grandma, again.

#springhassprung 
#blessthisnest 
#hummingbirdnest 
#mothernature 
#blessthebeastsandthechildren 
#elpasotexas 
#onceuponatimehappilyeverafter 
#grandmasofinstagram 
#mothersday2022 
#insta2022📸
    04.05.2022 My friends, I am going to be taking a r 04.05.2022 My friends, I am going to be taking a respite from blogging and social media. I have not done well at all about following my friends on Facebook and Instagram and have been a terrible blogging friend to the bloggers I follow. But I just cannot manage it right now. 

Hoping with some time away, I will feel like returning to it all. Keeping up with social media and blogging can be a bit of a hamster wheel and I already feel like my life is stressful enough without trying to manage that. 

Wishing you a peaceful April.

#life 
#gowiththeflow 
#flow 
#lifeafterretirement 
#elpasotexas 
#elpasoblogger 
#grandmasofinstagram 
#insta2022📸 
#onceuponatimehappilyeverafter
    04.04.2022 Some days are better, healthier than ot 04.04.2022 Some days are better, healthier than others...come see how I've fared on my wellness journey so far. And pick up the 10 on the 10th graphic and questions, if you didn't get them already.
#10onthe10th 
#wellnessjourney 
#mywellnessjourney 
#elpasotexas 
#elpasoblogger 
#grandmasofinstagram
#lifeafterretirement 
#insta2022📸 
#onceuponatimehappilyeverafter
    Load More... Follow on Instagram

    Spring 2022 Capsule Wardrobe – Click to Register

    Winter 2021 Capsule Wardrobe – Register Here

    10 on the 10th

    10 on the 10th 03.2022

    My Mini Winter Bucket List 2022

    My Mini Winter Bucket List 2022

    My Wellness Journey 2022

    My Wellness Journey 02.2022

    My Wellness Journey 2022. Sharing my wellness goals and steps toward achieving them.

    One Sentence a Day

    iSpy 2022

    iSpy 2022

    Sunday Stills Photo Challenge

    Copyright © 2022 · Theme by Blog Pixie

    home · about me · where i link-up · disclosure policy · privacy policy
    ONCE UPON A TIME & HAPPILY EVER AFTER

    By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies.