a year of happy

day to day life in nicaragua: part 3--city streets

 

looking up

Our theme for Team Up Thursday
this week is "Looking Up."

My photo was taken
at the beach in Nicaragua.
I was thinking of what you see
when you look up.

On our one day at the beach,
we got up at 6:00 in the morning,
hoping to get some great photos
of the beach at sunrise
when we were the only ones up.

We were so amazed to find
the sun already up,
and a family of vacationers
already in the water!

There is so much humidity and heat
in this tropical place.
The sky is hazy and it rains all the time.
Instead of the sunrise,
we captured this beautiful rainbow!

It was worth getting up early for.





I love Ariz's photo
of the merry-go-round in motion,
and her horses are
literally "looking up"!

Go check out her blog
and find out her story!
Here's what she told me:
"These carousel horses look like
they've seen something hideous
up above, don't they????"





Go check out all the group photos
on the Team Up Thursday Flickr Page!

day to day life in nicaragua: part 2--off the beaten path

.

(Note: click on these photos
to see them close-up.
It's a much better view.
And remember--
moving bus equals blurry photos!)
.

.

The rural life in Nicaragua
revealed another amazing side
of this beautiful country.

Look at the oxen
right next to the children playing.
There are so many signs
of family life in this photo.
What a story.






You can always tell
where someone lives
because you can see a line of laundry
hanging in the yard,
even if you can't see the house,
or you think it looks uninhabited.





Nicaragua is lush and green,
with some beautiful landscapes.








_____________________


Animals are used for work--
and you never know
when or where you'll run into 
a horse, or a cow, or even an ox.








This herd of cows was right
to the side of the road--
I could have reached out
the bus window and touched them!





One thing we noticed
is how very skinny the animals are.
We learned that one reason is because,
although there is plenty of grass,
it grows so fast it has very few nutrients.








_____________________


Fruit is plentiful--and delicious!
Check out this roadside store.
My favorite fruit was the white pineapple.
It was so sweet and juicy.





We also picked our own mangoes,
and ate them standing
right underneath the tree!





Beautiful Nicaragua.
I like the countryside the best.






Check back Friday   
for Part 3 of my series,
Day to Day Life in Nicaragua:
City Streets.

Read more:
Getting Around in Nicaragua
and
Part 1: Women at Work

day to day life in nicaragua: part 1--women at work

I watched with fascination
out the window of our bus
to see the normal
day to day living
of the people in Nicaragua.



I loved seeing the women
carrying their heavy loads
on their heads or shoulders.
Pretty amazing if you ask me.
I know I couldn't do it!









And it seems like the women
are constantly sweeping.





Sweeping the sidewalks
in front of their humble homes,
working to keep their
little corners of the world
clean and bright.






 


 
We even spotted
a broom salesman.
I'll bet he stays busy!







And have you noticed
the women's aprons?
Not everyone wears an apron,
but a lot of them do.
And some are so frilly
and pretty, like this one!

Another thing I noticed
while we were in Nicaragua
was the beautiful colors
they paint their homes.
Even the most humble of buildings
are painted bright, vivid colors.

 
These are the kinds of things
I love to watch for when I travel.
The sights and sounds of everyday life.

Come back tomorrow for part 2!

trying out lightroom 3

before lightroom:

after lightroom:

Still figuring out how to use it,
but I think I'm going to like it!

peaceful....the theme for the day

Our theme for
this week's diptych
is PEACEFUL. 

As you can see,
Arizaphale's peace
is going to come
from QUIET.
So don't anybody
even try to get her
to say a word!

And hopefully
during her quiet time,
she'll be able to
catch a few ZZZ's
in a hammock somewhere!

The hammock in my photo
is at a beach resort
in Nicaragua,
where we got to play
for a day at the end of our trip.
I caught someone under the palms
totally at peace,
having a little snooze.

Wish it was me!

team up: green

This week for Team Up Thursday,
our theme is GREEN.

And once again,
Arizaphale and I
are on the same wavelength.
We really tend to think alike,
whether we're both on nature,
or food, or kids.

This time we both took photos
of children with something green.
And I think these two photos
work so well together!

It almost looks like my baby grandson
on the right is offering
a pickle to the boy on the left--
and he looks like
he might have just had a bite!

This time, we didn't even plan it--
(as we sometimes do!)

Be sure to
check out the other dips
at the Flickr pool!

it's the grand opening of...... THE BLOG CAFE!

Welcome to The Blog Cafe!

We've been looking forward
to this for days now....
and it's finally here!

Have you heard about The Blog Cafe?

It's a virtual get-together
where we meet up every Monday
for some good treats
and fun conversation.

Each week, we're gathering
at a different blog--
our host blogger gets to choose
a local hot spot
where we're going to "meet",
what we're going to "eat",
and what we're going to talk about.

Then the rest of us
will stop by sometime
during our Monday
to leave a comment
and share our thoughts
on the day's topic.

Anyone who'd like to
take a turn can
choose a week to be the host.
And this week, it's me!

I decided I'm going
to take you to a place
that has one of my
favorite treats....Smart Cookie,
and the treats are on me!






You can have your choice of
all kinds of yummy cookies....





or choose two
and create a one-of-a-kind
ice cream sandwich.....
.

Or you can have my favorite:
frozen hot chocolate! Yum!
.




Now, just picture it....
we're sitting around the table
with these guys
hanging around above us.
.




And we're talking and laughing
and shooting the breeze.
Listen in---
here's what we're talking about....


So several years ago
when my kids were really small,
my husband gave me
the best gift for my birthday.

He gave me the gift of
an evening ALONE.
I sat in a bubble bath
with my favorite book
and the door LOCKED.
And he didn't let anyone
knock on the door
or call out my name
or need me for anything
for what seemed like hours,
(but it was probably just one.)

It was wonderful.

Just thinking about that
gets me wondering....
if you had the gift of a day,
not just an evening,
but a whole day
to do anything you want,
what would you do?

No responsibilities,
nobody needs you,
there's nothing you HAVE to do.

Where would you be,
and who would you be with,
and what would you do?
.

If I had the gift of a day,
there are two things I'd choose out of.
And since I'm making the rules,
I'm going to tell you both!

If it was a day
when I had lots of energy,
I'd be in Italy,
walking through a
quaint little village
with my camera--
or maybe driving
through the countryside
in a red convertible
with the top down.

I'd be with the locals
so they could show me
the best places,
and of course, I'd speak Italian.
I'd eat great food,
and I'd take tons of beautiful pictures
that I'd hang on my walls
to get me through
until the next time
I had the gift of a day.

But---if I felt like I needed a rest,
I'd be on a beach in Hawaii,
with my toes in the sand,
sitting in the shade of a palm tree,
a cooler of good fruit
and ice cold water beside me,
watching the waves until sunset.

Yes, indeed. That's where I'd be.
.

Now it's your turn:
if you had the gift of a day,
what would you do?


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Remember, it's The Blog Cafe!
Everybody is welcome--
come introduce yourself
and let's get to know
each other better.

Would you like to
be a host sometime soon?
Send us an email at
theblogcafe@yahoo.com
and Jenny the Calendar Girl
will get you on the list!

You can learn more about
The Blog Cafe here.

And next week,
we're meeting at
Jenny-Jenny's place--
Be there or be square!

one hundred photos update

A few months ago,
I started a "100 Photos Project."

I'm working with and watching 
some wonderful photographers
in the blog world
as we are trying to
take one hundred photos
based on our own theme.





It's kind of like a 365 project,
except not so strenuous--
as in 100 photos in a year
instead of one a day for a year!

I am enjoying it so much!

My theme is "Simple Pleasures."
Other themes I've seen are
Still Life, Landscapes, Portraits, and more.






You can see my entire project
at A Year of Happy: One Hundred Photos.

And you can view all of the photos
from the 72 members of the group
at the 100 photos Flickr page.
You should take a look--
there are some really terrific photos!

Today one of my photos
is being featured
on the 100 Photos Group Feature Blog!
What an honor!





Would you like to join the project?
Pop in to see Toni and send her an email--
she'll get you started!

Also, be sure to check out
The Blog Cafe!
We're so excited about it--
and we hope we'll see you
here on Monday!

right in the middle of town

I took "A" to school this morning.

The sun had just come up,
and the shadows on the mountains
were so beautiful.

Carrying my camera around with me
has made me stop and notice things
that I hadn't paid any attention to before.

For instance,
about a mile away from my house
right in the middle of town
and across the street from the cemetery
lies this open field.

I drive by it several times a day.

And yet I've never paid attention
to the beauty of it all.

But when I look at it
through a camera lens,
I realize how breathtaking it really is.

Right in the middle of town.

Some people would pay
big bucks for a view like this!