Last week we went on a gorgeous (and rather tiring) hike with some friends. It included lots of water and waterfalls. Perfect!
Note: I edited some of these pictures. 😀 Just making sure you weren’t like, “WHOA, how does Allison take that good of pictures in a badly lit-forest?” Well yeah, I don’t. 😛
Ooh, so shiny.I love this one!
Along the path there was this gorgeous waterfall hidden away in a little hollow. It felt like a private picnic spot or something. So pretty!
Mini waterfall off to the side
Look at all of this liquid energy! Churning, frothing, bubbling water. Ahh…
I really like this picture of mountain laurel. BOKEH! XD
Meet our friends’ dog, Penny, who swam around in the river a couple of times. She was awfully hard to get a picture of. XD
Guess what? We saw THREE black bears on our hike! There are bears where I live, but it’s very rare (for us at least) to see one. So we were super excited to get to see three on one hike! They were pretty cute. 😀 They didn’t even seem to notice us, even though the first one was fairly close to the path. I got some rather bad quality videos and pictures, but at least you can see the bears on them.
I’m pretty sure the cub is drinking milk from its mother in this photo. Isn’t it funny how the mama bear is sprawled out all nice and comfy (or not) on the ground?
I was going to add a GIF, but it took too long and wasn’t very good anyway. Heh heh, so much for that. XD I might show you some bear videos in a post later.
Have you ever seen a bear? Do you like hiking? What was your favorite picture in this post?
***Allison***
P. S. CutePolarBear, it’s your turn for WordCrafters! Visit the WordCrafters 2 page to read the story so far. GO WORDCRAFTERS! 😀
P. P. S. Wanna hear something funny? You know the Baby Changing Station thingies in public bathrooms? Once I saw one where the “C” had been scraped off the sign, so it read: “Baby hanging Station.” How awful! (But you have to admit, still hilarious. XD )
Hello, and welcome to this rather random post. (Thus the title.) But hey, occasional random posts are good for the soul, am I right? (Uh no, Allison, you’re wrong. Eh, who cares. XD )
Cows…
Flowers…
Baby bird…
Feathers I drew and printed out and colored and cut out and punched holes in and hung on vases for decorating tables at our church… (*Gasp, pant, wheeze* Phew! Perhaps that wasn’t quite grammatically correct. XD )
And last but not lease, a drawing I did of our kitten, Casey! I rather like it. 🙂
And that’s about it! I hope you enjoyed this random little post! 😀
Calm down, calm down, guys. I can’t type when you’re squealing like that. XD All right, all right, I’ll show you the pictures.
(Note: most of these pictures are edited because kittens are just a teensy bit hard to photograph sometimes. 😉 )
Ahem. We shall start with our own dearest Casey. SHE IS SO CUTE! If she’s cute in pictures, she’s even more adorable in real life! (See more pictures of her here.)
Casey-in-a-shoe!Casey taking a nap beside some (rather dusty) mice. Hey, you’re not supposed to like mice, remember?Stttttretch!Casey can be quite the deep sleeper. Mom picked her up like this and Casey didn’t bat an eyelash. Well, she doesn’t have eyelashes, but still…“How ya’ doin’, folks? Shake a paw.”And off she goes.
Now for some really tiny, just-born kittens! Megan found them in the cow barn. The lighting was really bad so my pictures aren’t anything gorgeous, but at least you can see their little selves! There were five kittens in this litter.
This little guy is all white!
And last but not least, an adorable VERY FLUFFY black and white kitten! My siblings say there were other kittens, but this is the only one that I have seen. Maybe I can get more pictures of this guy’s brothers and sister if we can ever find them.
He looks relaxed here, but he normally wasn’t. XDIS THAT NOT THE CUTEST FACE? Sorry Casey. 😛 Casey definitely has a sweeter personality than this kitten, but just look at his FACE! Those eyes! 😀 (By the way, this is one of the photos that I edited.)
That was a lot of kittens! We know of at least three litters of barn kittens on our farm currently, and then we have Casey and Jinx, our kitten and cat.
Did you survive the cuteness tidal wave? If you’re still in good health, what was your favorite picture(s)?
I finally finished this birthday haul post a month after my birthday. XD It’s not really a birthday haul post, actually. It’s more just reviews of some of the things I got for my birthday. Get ready for a really long post!
(The link is for the hardcover collection which I have. You can also get a paperback collection on Amazon.)
I absolutely LOVE this series by Trenton Lee Stewart. It’s probably my favorite series! “The Mysterious Benedict Society” is a group of extraordinary children who are sent on several extraordinary missions. The characters are so fun to read about – there’s Reynie, Sticky (you’ll understand his name when you read the books), Kate, and Constance. Once you pick up these books, it’s hard to put them down! They’re filled with exciting action, surprising plot twists, hilarious anecdotes, and riddles and puzzles that will stretch your brain.
Notes: The synopses are not actual back-of-the-book summaries, I just wrote them myself. Also, the pictures of each book are from their Amazon listing. If you click on the “via” links, it will take you to the listing. Some of the covers on the books below are a little different than mine, but mainly the same.
This book is a prequel to the series although you don’t necessarily have to read it first. (I didn’t.) Like in the rest of the series, the plot twists, clues, and riddles throughout the book keep your brain whirling. There are a bunch of mysteries in this book, and some of their conclusions may surprise you. It’s exciting to read how Nicholas uses his genius mind to solve problems and outsmart the Spiders and other fearsome foes. Nicholas also has a condition called narcolepsy (which is real by the way), which means he falls asleep at random times.
Synopsis: This story covers about a year in the childhood of Nicholas Benedict, the man behind The Mysterious Benedict Society. Nicholas moves to a new orphanage filled with surprises – from a huge library to a secret overlook, tough bullies to loyal friends, and maybe even a treasure! Nicholas will need all of his talents and genius to unpack the mysteries surrounding him – and to do so before it’s too late.
This is probably my favorite book in the series. I especially love the beginning when everything is so mysterious and there are gobs of strange riddles and puzzles that bend your brain. The book is exciting and clever, and some of the plot twists just blow you away. At the end you learn something totally unexpected and funny about Constance. You HAVE to read this, guys!
Synopsis: An advertisement in the newspaper starts it all: “Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?” Join Reynie, Sticky, Kate, and Constance on the adventure of their lives. After passing a series of mind-bending tests, they are sent on a very important mission: to save the world from an evil genius with a terrifying plan to control the world – and the minds of everyone in it. They will have to work as a team and put all of their extraordinary gifts to use after arriving at a strange institute. What is Mr. Curtain’s evil plan? Who is Milligan really? What is the Whisperer? These are just a few of the puzzling questions the Mysterious Benedict Society has to answer.
The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey
This isn’t my favorite book of the series, but it’s still great. I love that you learn something new about Constance in this book. Her newly discovered talent really adds to her personality. You also meet some new characters like Cannonball and the Bullfrogs. The duskwort plot thread is really interesting and exciting too. (See synopsis.) Here is a quote I like from this book: (Cannonball is comforting Constance, who is quite short, by the way.)
” ‘You know what I like about buttons?… They’re very small things that hold bigger things together. Awfully important, buttons – little but strong.’ ” – page 154
Isn’t that sweet? “Little but strong.” 😀
Synopsis: After a year apart the Mysterious Benedict Society reconvenes. They have been anticipating a surprise Mr. Benedict planned for them when they find out that someone has unpleasantly surprised him. Their beloved Mr. Benedict is in danger! Will the scavenger hunt lead them to their heart’s desire, or into a trap? In the meantime, Constance discovers a new talent, and a plant named duskwort is of imminent importance. If the duskwort falls into the wrong hands, everyone is doomed.
The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner’s Dilemma
The Prisoner’s Dilemma is the last book in the series. (Except for the puzzle book, but that doesn’t really count.) I really like it! It’s fun and suspenseful to follow the clues with the Mysterious Benedict Society gang, but not everything is as simple as it seems. You might be surprised – actually you probably will be! The end is quite satisfactory. 😀
Synopsis:
The Mysterious Benedict Society is bored, bored, bored. They have been cooped up together in Mr. Benedict’s house for months because it’s not safe to leave: Mr. Curtain will do anything to get back his precious Whisperer, including snatching up certain children in his way. But when Constance disappears after an appointment with the Whisperer, boredom is flung to the winds. Reynie, Sticky, and Kate are on a race against time to find their grumpy companion before the Ten Men do. They must decode secret messages and follow curiously easy clues… that lead them to an unexpected place. This adventure includes two brave girls and two smart boys, a Salamander, a missing friend, sneaky clues, a couple of “S” pies, a red bucket, and a few daring leaps.
The Mysterious Benedict Society – Mr. Benedict’s Book of Perplexing Puzzles, Elusive Enigmas, and Curious Conundrums
Whew! Why do the titles have to be so long? XD I’ll just abbreviate it “Perplexing Puzzles.” Perplexing Puzzles is a really fun book filled with… well, riddles and puzzles. It is a gorgeous book – it’s printed on glossy pages and the whole book is in color instead of black and white. Most of the puzzles are quite hard, but a few of them are easy. (There are hints in the back of the book to help you along. If you need another hint, I might be able to help you too! 😀 ) Scattered throughout the book are quotes from the series, illustrations and profiles, and other “archival materials” as it says. I love the a riddle at the very end that requires you to use letters and numbers from previous puzzles to reveal a last secret message.
Here is one of the riddles: (your answer has to fit in the blanks)
Umm… I can’t really do a synopsis of this one. XD
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Pros and cons: The covers all have delightful illustrations on them, and the books are all beautiful and well-made. Like I said, the Perplexing Puzzles book is particularly gorgeous. The box that they come in is really nice too! The inside looks like it has been plastered with newspaper clippings from the first puzzle in Perplexing Puzzles. Umm… there aren’t many cons. 😀 Of course I liked some books better than others, but I enjoyed them all. The one problem is that it’s a little hard to pry a book out of the case, but that’s okay. 🙂 I highly recommend both this series and this hardcover collection.
(I’m pretty sure you can find a pack like this for cheaper if you shop around Amazon or stores like Michael’s or Hobby Lobby, but this is the listing I found.)
Premo brand polymer clay is a very good quality clay. (At least in my opinion and from what I’ve read.) You can see lots of things I made with it here.
Let me compare and contrast it with Sculpey III, a popular brand of clay made by the same company. Premo is more of a professional clay, while Sculpey III is more of a recreational, hobby-type clay, not meant to be super durable. Premo is much stronger when baked than Sculpey III, and not as gooey and hard to work with as Sculpey III can be. (But see “Pros and cons.”) Although I do think Sculpey III has more colors available. They are both good for different reasons, but I prefer Premo to Sculpey III.
Pros and cons: Usually I love this brand of polymer clay, but the pack I got this time was a lot softer than normal. That is really helpful for conditioning and mixing clay, but not so good for sculpting. Normally though, it’s a really great clay – not too hard, not too soft – and this sampler pack comes with some really neat options, such as translucent clay (which looks transparent-ish when you brush a gloss over it), and faux rock clay which really looks like rock! The sampler pack lasts a long time if you make small things, like I do, but I found it helpful to get an extra pack of white Premo clay because I use white a lot. Even though the changeable pliability is annoying, I would still recommend this product.
I requested these to use on polymer clay. They’re kind of like chalk. First you scrape them on paper to obtain colored powder, then you use a paintbrush to paint the powder onto baked or unbaked clay for more realistic shading effects. It’s kind of like paint, only more subtle. Pastels work very well for shading miniature food. The cookie on the left is not shaded with artist’s pastels, and the one on the right is. (Sorry, it’s not a very good picture, but trust me, some clay artists can do amazing things with artist’s pastels! Like Tracey, for instance.)
Pros and cons: Certain shades of brown are missing that would be helpful, but at least you can mix colors. I haven’t had much experience with artist’s pastels, but these work quite well for my purposes! I would recommend this product.
These pens are really nice! Not to mention there are three of them, so they should last me a while. 🙂 They have a fairly fine tip and write smoothly as long as you don’t write too fast. You can use them to mark highlights on your drawings, for things such as hair and eyes:
The ink is almost marker-resistant – you can see on the left of her hair one of the squiggles is slightly more muted. That’s where I drew over it with marker and the gel pen still showed through. When you draw on top of marker, the marker ink bleeds a tiny bit with the gel pen ink, so it’s usually not quite completely white. (In the picture above, the ink turned a little grayish.)
The white ink looks stunning on black paper! Here is an ATC I made with one of the gel pens:
Pros and cons: The pens write quite smoothly unless you write fast; then they’re a little scratchy. The optimum background seems to be black paper. The ink will smudge if you’re not careful, but it’s not super smudge-prone. I would recommend this product.
I was really excited about getting this, because I use PicMonkey a lot. (Royale gives you access to lots more features – extra effects, overlays, collage options, and more. But you do have to pay for Royale. 😉 ) Three of my favorite things about PicMonkey Royale are the “Custom Effect” feature, Clone feature, and the Royale collage options. You make a custom effect by adding different effects to a photo like usual, then saving all the things you did as one effect that you can use over and over again.
Here is a photo I edited with Royale: (More kitten pictures coming soon! 😀 )
BeforeAfter
I used clone to “wipe off” some dirt, Miniature Effect, Eye Brighten, and then several other non-Royale effects and features. So cute!
Pros and cons: It’s definitely nice to be able to use features like clone, Custom Effect, extra Overlays and Collage layouts, and more. Pretty much the only con is the price. If you don’t use PicMonkey a lot, or don’t use it much besides the basic touch-ups which are free, you probably won’t need this. However, if you love photo-editing or PicMonkey or both, I recommend this feature!
Of course I got a bunch more things for my birthday, but it would take a few more months to review them all at this rate. XD I hope you enjoyed this! Which was your favorite item? Do you have any of these things?
If you’ve followed this blog for long, you’ll know that I simply love dew drops or raindrops or anything of the sort. 😀 The raindrops on these leaves looked so silvery and beautiful that I couldn’t resist taking pictures of them.
Here’s a picture of a bedewed peony bud to add in. 😀
Ahh, so pretty!
And lastly, I made a little edit with one of these pictures. I really love this Bible verse! It’s one of my favorites. Does anyone else know the song with these words? I really love that song too. 🙂
Have a wonderful Sunday!
***Allison***
P. S. The flock of chickens we have right now is going to be taken away tonight! (We have around 24,000 chickens, (yes, seriously!) although it gets less toward the end of a flock like this.) WOOP WOOP! That means we won’t have to gather eggs for a few months until a new flock arrives. YAY! But then at the beginning of the new flock we have to weigh each of the thousands of eggs before putting them in flats, which takes quite a while to say the least. Ugh! Well, I’ll just not think of that yet. 🙂
Hey guys! Back in this post when I first showed you the doll I made, I said I would do a photoshoot of her sometime. Well, here you are! And by the way, I named her Dorothy. 🙂 Like from Wizard of Oz, you know?
First, Dorothy stopped to smell the roses.
*Sniff, sniff* “Hmm, smells like water. Blech.”“Ahh, this is the life. Laying upon a bed of roses. OUCH! More like a bed of thorns….”“The brave explorer Dorothy attains new heights in her adventure. She can see for miles – or at least yards – from her perch.”
She’s quite the climber, Dorothy is, and before long she was climbing hither and yon up every flower stalk and tree in sight.
“Steady, steady ol’ girl. TOTO! Where are you when I need you?”
*Grunt, puff, wheeze*
She even took a short zip down the zipline, a.k.a. clothesline.
“I’M FLYIIIIIIIIIIING!”
I had to help her onto the swing, though. She’s not as good at jumping as she is at climbing.
“Yikes. Stay still, will ya’?”“Ahh, the wind in my hair.”
After all the physical exertion, Dorothy needed a rest – for about 17 seconds.
“I am seriously exhausted. I may never get up again. Ooh, on second thought…”
Then she was up and going again. She collected several random objects, and claimed she was going to put on a hat fashion show. *Shrugs* What could I do?
“The fashionable Dorothy sashays down the runway, a lovely puff of rose-ness adorning her gleaming red hair.”“Hey look! I’m a rabbit. A lopsided Holland Lop or something.”“And hup, two, three, four. My trusty helmet and I are ready for action, Cap’n.”“Dorothy the fairy flutters down the runway, tinkling merrily and sprinkling fairy dust.”
Dorothy wants to know which hat won the contest. Her personal favorite was the maple key because it gave her bunny ears. She loves bunny ears – and bunnies too.
So that was her day of exploring. I’m worn out, but she isn’t. 😀 Dolls… they never get tired, do they?
What was your favorite part of her exploration? Hmm… do you think I should make a Toto dog for her? That might be fun!
***Allison***
P. S. You’ve got to check out Aria’s amazing addition to WordCrafters 2! You’re going to have a lot of fun with this story, guys. 🙂 Oh, and Zielle, it’s your turn to write a chapter next!
Hey guys! I took gobs of pictures on the hike I went on for my birthday. Lots. Of. Pictures. I’m going to be showing you only some, but still a ginormous amount. 😀 Are you ready for this? Okay. Blastoff in 3… 2… 1… 1/2… 1/4… 1/187,990… okay, okay. XD Now!
When we went on the first trail, it was really foggy and rainy. We decided to come back to it later when it was sunny, but I got some neat pictures before we left.
Ooh, spooky. Just kidding! 😀
Doesn’t the next one seem sort of like a writing prompt? (I edited it.)
Next we went on a hike that was lovely and beautiful on the way down, but exhausting on the way up.
Flower pictures. 🙂
I love this dewdrop picture:
I have no idea what these weird corncobby fungi things are, but they’re neat looking!
One tree had all kinds of different fungi on it.
Millipede!
The next trail was really rocky and mossy. I love rocks and moss! 😀
This looks like an action shot even though it isn’t.
Sometimes you had to climb over boulders like this:
I made collages of the many pictures of moss and fungus I took, because otherwise you would be here all day. XD
Aren’t they so pretty? (And sometimes weird?)
Views from an overlook beside the path:
I really like the rocky ones.
At the top it was kind of scary because there were drop-offs on every side of you, and the path was really narrow. You had to climb over boulders that were less than two feet away from the edge to get to the top! *Shiver* 😛 But the view was amazing!
On the way down we made a little fairy house, or rather fairy bedroom.
My friend spotted these perfect, tiny spiderwebs. She got way better pictures than me. 😉
Are you photo-weary yet? XD Did you have a favorite picture?
Hello again, dear readers! 😀 Today I give you a little photography prompt I made up to get your photo-creativity up and running! It’s super simple, but very rewarding and relaxing.
Here are the photos I took using the prompt. I just laid down in the grass and snapped away! It was really fun.
The whole reason I went out there in the first place was to take pictures of this beautiful tiger swallowtail.
Then of course I took pictures of the cute wittle pink flowers,
And a few creepy-crawlies,
Pill bugs (or roly-polies) look like armadillo bugs up close!
And boring ol’ lawn which is actually interesting.
I messed with the exposure on my camera to get this really neat evening light look.
Guys, mulch and old walnuts can look interesting too.
And lastly but not leastly… this! XD Yes, you can use your zoom as long as you don’t move your legs. 😀
I used this idea several months ago too. It was winter, and I just sat down in a plain patch of bare field, but I think some of the photos turned out pretty well. Have a look!
This is the boring patch of ground I took pictures on. Blah, right?
Well…
I really like this picture for some reasonEven dirt can look pretty!
Not so boring after all, right? That’s why this is fun. You get to look at all the little details you normally miss. And you don’t have to just take pictures – you could take your sketchbook or just look.
Do you think you’ll use this prompt? Would you like to see more photography prompts?
***Allison***
P. S. I’m working on my birthday stuff post, but it may take me a while because of all the reviews I’m doing!
*Warning: after reading this post, you may need a kitten. Also be aware that you may get a cuteness overload. 😉 :D*
I have a little someone to show you! I’m pretty certain you’ll like her. Here she is:
SOOOOO CUTE! Yes, we just got a kitten! We decided to name her Casey because it means brave. Why brave? Well for one thing, she is very adventurous and curious. For another thing… well, read this:
We rescued Casey two days ago – she had fallen about 8 feet down a shaft in the wall of our parts shed! She must have been walking around the attic when she slipped and fell down the hole. Our neighbor heard her meowing, so that’s how we found her. My dad was the one who actually rescued her by cutting a hole in a board next to where she was trapped, and now… she lives with us! She is the sweetest little kitten ever. ♥
Even though she was a barn cat before, she is completely tame (almost more so than our grumpy cat Jinx that we have had for years XD ). Sometimes when she’s in a playful mood she’ll wrestle with your arm, pounce on a piece of paper, or tumble around on the floor. When she’s worn out, she loves to cuddle in your lap and go to sleep. It’s ADORABLE! 😀 I think she got hoarse from meowing so much when she was trapped, so now most of the time her meows are silent and it looks like she’s yawning. 😀 Anyway, let’s move on to the pictures! There are gobs of them, so get ready…
Go!
Casey is a good student, but even she tends to take naps in Math class. XD (My sister is practicing her math facts on the iPad.)
We took her outside and Carmen played with her while Megan and I took pictures. 😉 Casey always runs after us if we leave her. SO CUTE! (Click on any image in the collage to enlarge.)
♥
I LOVE THIS PICTURE SO MUCH OH MY GOODNESS IT’S ADORABLE! ♥
Is that a roar or a laugh, Casey?
Casey the mighty stalking tiger cat.
Casey among the flowers.
If you haven’t died of a cuteness overload yet (Jacylnn, Clara, Misty, I’m looking at you. XD ), don’t you agree that CASEY IS THE CUTEST WITTLE THING EVER?! Ahem, I think I’m a bit prejudiced. 😉 BUT SHE IS SO ADORABLE! Right now she’s sitting in my lap.
First rabbits, now kittens. Your cute-o-meter should be filled up for a few days at least. 🙂 I hope you enjoyed this post!
Allison Marie 