It's A Blog Eat Blog World

LATSOF

2009-07-17T09:41:00.000-04:00

This picture is strangely comforting to me.

From my one day in London with Eyad.

He is going to spend his last weekend in the UK with some friends, and to take lots of pictures.

Soon, we'll have lots of weekends together, and I'm looking forward to that.

For me - this weekend is getting ready for next week's big summer festival, and just trying to stay sane & sober.

One day at a time.

~ Mo

a single day

2009-07-16T15:17:00.001-04:00

Our Thursday Flower this week is a bulls-eye daylily. I'm enjoying posting my pics in Flickr groups, and getting comments there, too. Each daylily flower only lasts one day, but masses of them can bloom for weeks due to the prolifery of buds on the stalks.
This one bloomed in my garden in 2006.
Eyad finally got some good news today - his contact at the USA embassy in Saudi called Eyad's family, and told them he's made an appointment for Eyad on August 1st.
It's at the US embassy in Dharan, which is in the eastern province of Saudia Arabia (Jeddah is on the west coast) - so Eyad flies home to Jeddah on the 25th of July, then will fly to Dharan for his appointment on the 1st. And he's going to stay in Dharan in a hotel then for the 5 days it will take them to process his passport.
After that, he will be able to make plans to come to the United States. So, mid-August is now a target date for us being together, finally. I just have to embrace patience and take it one day at a time.
Thanks for all of your comments and support.
~ Mo

the road of my life

2009-07-15T11:40:00.000-04:00

I think if my life were a television soap opera, Monday morning would have been the Friday cliff-hanger episode. When Eyad found out from the USA embassy in London that he could not obtain a travel/visitor visa from them, even though he was able to make an appointment and pay for that appointment ahead of time, it just seemed so surreal in the drama of it all.

Not only did the USA embassy not have the decency to call him to tell him that allegedly visitor/visa travel visa procurements for students had changed recently, they let him come to the embassy for the meeting to say NO in person, so they could keep his non-refundable meeting fee. Bastardos.

So now, Eyad must return to KSA, and start the application process again. Since the last time the wait for a meeting at the USA embassy in KSA was 100 days (that's why he was told - by a US embassy employee!!!!! - to go to the USA embassy in London, where the wait was only 30 days), now we have to wait again - and I am so frustrated and disappointed with the bureaucratic bullshit I could just scream.

I love my Eyad, and I just want to have him in my arms again.

In the road to us being together, this is a huge effed-up detour. And yet, I have faith that we will be together in the end.

Thanks for your comments of support and good thoughts for us.

I'll keep you up-dated,

~Mo

good-bye, weekend

2009-07-12T18:57:00.000-04:00

like a pebble in the sand

2009-07-11T12:11:00.001-04:00

So, Eyad's meeting with the US embassy in London has been moved up from August 5th to this coming Monday, the 13th.
To say I'm excited would be an understatement! I have a feeling this weekend will be a long one, time-perception-wise, as we wait for the appointment on Monday.
I know I've been an awful blogging-buddy. I seem to spend way more time on Facebook and on Flickr (I'm addicted to posting my pictures in groups there, it seems!) than on Blogger.
It's hot and sunny here in Michiana today - the storms came through overnight, and today's humidity is higher than it has been so far this year, I think. I saw lots of places with severe weather on The Weather Channel this morning - hope you haven't been affected by that.
Here's hoping you have SMILES this weekend.
~Mo

Looking At The Sunset On Friday

2009-07-10T00:04:00.000-04:00

When my Eyad gets here in August, one of the things I want to do is take him to a Lake Michigan beach to watch a sunset together.

Hope you had a great week, and have a wonderful weekend.

Cheers,

Thursday Bloom

2009-07-09T12:24:00.001-04:00

I got burnt out with Thursday 13's, and it seems like all my window views lately have been of cats in windows, so I thought for a few weeks I'd bring you some of my pictures of flowers on Thursdays.
This is a daylily from my garden, when I had one.
It lasted only one day back then, but now it is immortalized on Flickr for me to share.
Enjoy,
~Mo

sepia sunset

2009-07-08T00:06:00.001-04:00

Yesterday, I posted a sunset picture of the path leading down to Lake Michigan at Van Buren State Park. Here is another picture, taken from the same location. But this one, I used the 'fade' function in 'sepia' on Picnik on it, and the skyline turned this warm rose color. I had to save it and share it.
Below is another shot of the same path down to Lake Michigan, taken from further back on the bluff earlier the same day. The sunlight was reflecting so intensely off the water that the path seemed to just vanish into a bright light.
Enjoy,
~ mo

Sunset Beach

2009-07-07T16:18:00.000-04:00

I haven't been to the beach yet this summer. I was waiting for Eyad to come join me, so we can go together, but it seems his coming here has been delayed. Darn government Red Tape. Hopefully, in one month he will be boarding a plane and coming to me.

In the meanwhile, I've been up-loading some of my older pics to Flickr.

This is the pathway leading down to Lake Michigan at Van Buren State Park, which is located just south of South Haven, Michigan. When there is no haze in the sky, you can look north along the shore with binoculars and just make out the South Haven Pier Lighthouse on the horizon.

The beach at Van Buren State Park is one of my favorite places on earth to watch a sunset.

Cheers,

Happy Independence Day!

2009-07-04T14:18:00.002-04:00

LATSOF: Blue Sky!

2009-07-03T11:23:00.001-04:00

A couple weeks ago, I took a picture of the clock that stands in front of my store, as a storm approached. Today, after two days of record-cold July days, that were also grey and rainy, we finally have more seasonable weather for a Michigan summer: sunny and breezy and temps in the upper 70's. At least the skies are blue today, and the sunshine certainly helps put a smile on my face!
I took this picture with my cell phone cam this morning, and was going to try to edit out the crazy surrealness of the tilt and stuff, but then thought it was actually pretty appropriate for my life right now.
Still waiting, as I type this, for any word on Eyad's visa to the USA. News of that would be the best Indpendence Day treat ever. Even better than rice krispie treats or a poke cake!
Hope you have a great 4th of July Weekend. (Now I'm craving poke cake...)
Cheers,
Mo

Website Closing Event

2009-07-02T14:59:00.001-04:00

After much deliberation, I have decided to close the online part of The Wren's Nest.
As a closing-the-website event, I have two promotional codes to use for one last shopping HURRAH!

Use code WREN2 at checkout to take $5 OFF any purchase of $20-$49

Or use code WRENZA at checkout to take $10 OFF any purchase of $50 or more.

But don't wait - these codes are only valid thru 7/10/09

Shop early for best selection. I am releasing these codes to my Blogger and Facebook friends first, before putting them up with an announcement on the website itself.
Thanks for your support over the years!
~Mo

bell tower windows

2009-07-02T11:43:00.000-04:00

This is the same bell tower, from a cemetery in Benton Harbor, Michigan, as in the pictures in yesterday's post. This is from the back side of the tower - and I like how you can see the sky through the windows in the silhouette of the tower.

sepia guardian

2009-07-01T00:50:00.002-04:00

This is a statue on the side of a bell tower in a cemetery, located in Benton Harbor, Michigan.
Eyad liked the effect that I did on this image, so I thought I'd share it with you.
Below is the same statue but in a wider-frame so you can get the idea of the tower that she is perched upon.
Cheers,
Mo

Tombstones, Photo Software, and Ruby Tuesday

2009-06-30T13:19:00.002-04:00

My old laptop came with a free photo-enchancing program called Microsoft Picture It, that I really love. Unfortunately, for some reason, this program is no longer available to upload into other computers. My laptop has been running so slow lately, that I use my netbook and my work computers much more for photo editing.
I tried one of the photo software programs that you purchase in a store like Staples, and instead of buying PhotoShop, I got some generic crap that frustrated the hell out of me. I removed it from my hard-drive.
I have tried out three of the major online photo-enhancing software products: PhotoBucket, Picnik, and Picasa. While I like different features of each one, overall the very best one, in my opinion, is Picnik . I have my Picnik account attached to Flickr, (it does this by default, you don't have to do anything) but their home page says you can also use Picnik with PhotoBucket and Picasa and WebShots (which I have not tried).
PhotoBucket is owned by News Corp, which also owns MySpace, and you can tell that the software, especially the 'add-ons' like glitter text and the crazy font choices, are aimed at the MySpace crowd. I do like the fact that I can take a picture with my cell phone and text it directly to PhotoBucket.
Picasa is owned by Google, and it has the nice option of directly uploading a finished picture to a Blogger post. I like the ease of editing picutres on Picasa, yet there are some features omitted, namely being able to re-size a picture, that frustrate me about Picasa.
Picnik is the one that I prefer overall. I like the ease of editing, the types of editing available, and the fact that it is connected with Flickr, which I have come to really enjoy. Picnik and Flickr are owned by Yahoo.
With Picnik, once I've edited a picture, I can easily add the html to a blog post here on Blogger, or to Facebook. Plus, putting a picture into a 'group' on Flickr is a fun way to share your pics with other photographers who share similar interests.
PhotoBucket and Flickr/Picnik are online-only services (there's nothing to download), so your account and photos can be accessed from any computer. While Picasa can be accessed from any computer, in order to edit your pictures you have to download their software onto a specific computer. Which is another reason that I enjoy Flickr/Picnik.
I have only the free accounts with PhotoBucket and Picasa. If there are pay-for upgrades for them, I don't have them. With Flickr/Picnik on the other hand, I was given a gift of an upgrade to Flickr and I purchased the upgrade to Picnik.

The picture above is one that I took last fall in Norwich, Connecticut while on vacation, and I had some fun editing it on Picnik to get the red and black image below. Once I saw this image, I thought - I have to use it for a Ruby Tuesday!
Which software do you use to edit your pictures?
~Mo

Stonehenge Rocks

2009-06-29T12:18:00.000-04:00

My favorite rocks in the world = Stonehenge. The picture above is a detail of the inner rocks, with a starling perched on one of the smaller uprights. There were several pairs of starlings building nests in the niches in the stones when I was there in April.
Here's another picture of the stones, where you can get a better idea of what Stonehenge looks like from the visitor's foot path that encircles the famous site:

The graphic for this week's Manic Monday theme word is also a detail of a rock at Stonehenge - this is one of the "guardian" stones that stands by the road, away from the traditional rings of stones that we think of when we imagine Stonehenge. Probably once part of a pair, like for a gate, the guardian stone now is one of the closest stones there that you can get to, since it is within a few feet of the path.

Visiting Stonehenge was always a dream of mine, and to visit there with Eyad was one of the truly great days of my life.

Have a wonderful Monday, and keep reaching for your dreams.

~ Mo

Mr. Stephen Gifford

2009-06-28T17:04:00.000-04:00

"Mr. Stephen Gifford dyed Nov 27, 1724 aged 83 yers"

Headstone located in a cemetery in Norwich, Connecticut.

UK Memories LATSOF

2009-06-26T10:58:00.004-04:00

I was playing with some pictures, and tried out a 'tint fade' and liked the results. The road in the background is the one that leads to Stonehenge. That is what Eyad was taking a picture of - the iconic stones of Stonehenge, when I took this picture of him!

Happy Birthday Gracie!

2009-06-26T00:01:00.002-04:00

Please click on over to

my dear friend Gracie's blog,

Echoes Of Grace,

and wish her a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

♥

Filling In The Blanks

2009-06-25T14:45:00.002-04:00

In response to several comments on the previous post (scroll down if you're just here for Window Views) ~ The decision to leave Michigan... well, it's been a couple months in the making. Eyad has applied to the University of Miami as a transfer student from Oxford, with a January start date. Unfortunately, we won't find out for sure if he gets in until November.
So, he's applied at a local school (in South Bend, just south of me) for two fall classes, so he can get a Student Visa and move here. Then once we find out for sure about Uni of Miami and fall classes here are done, we'll move to Florida.
I can't tell you how ready I am to get away from Michigan winters...
I grew up in Kentucky and the midwest, and have always wanted to live somewhere tropical. And Eyad's from the desert, so I cannot ask him to endure a Michigan winter, either!
Right now, we're just waiting on the paperwork for a student visa, then he can move here!
As for the store, business has been terrible. I kept hoping that June would be better than April/May, but unfortunately that's not been the case. And I've spent more on my www.WrenShop.com monthly service fee for the past six months than I've made in sales there, so I'm going to have to shut that down soon, I'm afraid. I just can't afford to lose more money on it. I've put a lot into the store and the shopping website, but it's just not paying the bills. Time for a change.
I have no idea what the future holds for me, career-wise, but in my personal life, I'm happy. And ready for a lifetime of adventure with Eyad.
Hope this answers all the questions! But if you have more, just ask!
~ Mo

Westminster Abbey Window

2009-06-25T12:25:00.002-04:00

Original plans for this summer included a second trip to London for me, but then things changed when Eyad decided to come spend a couple months with me before we move to Florida. And now we're stuck in the seemingly never-ending realm of Red Tape, waiting for that to become a reality.
So, I've been thinking not only a lot of Eyad recently, but also of my trip to the UK.
This picture above is the window above the main entrance to Westminster Abbey. Click on the image for more detail.
And below, from the same day this spring in London, is my Super Man:

You can see a window of an train car in the London Underground in the background.
Mind The Gap.

Norwich Cemetery Sepia Scenes

2009-06-24T00:43:00.001-04:00

A section of the 18th-century tombstones in a cemetery in Norwich, Connecticut. Near where Linda lives. This picture was taken last fall, when I visited with her.

asphalt and rose hips Ruby Tuesday

2009-06-23T00:24:00.000-04:00

Vacationing in Rhode Island last fall, there were wild rose bushes lining the parking lot of our cottage. At the end of the season, there were only a few blooms left, but in their place were these amazing rose hips. My great-grandmother had made rose hip jelly when I was little, and I always wondered how - the rose hips on the wild brambles of Kentucky where I grew up were pea-sized shriveled things. But these sea-side rose hips in Mantunuck were incredibly plump and juicy and tender, and I could imagine making jelly from them. And you could really see how roses and apples are from the same family tree, so to speak. Have you ever had rose hip jelly?

PopPop

2009-06-22T12:12:00.000-04:00

My mom and her father were very close. She called him Pop, and when I came along and could talk, I called him PopPop. My maternal grandfather passed away before I was a teenager, my biological father was never there for me, and my stepfather was only in my life for a short period of time, so PopPop was the closest thing to a lifelong father figure that I had.
His death from kidney cancer hit me very hard, and my mother even harder. His birthday and father's day were only days apart, so I know that my mom is very vulnerable at this time, and on Saturday we talked for a long time about him.
He was a good man, but not a perfect man. But there never was any doubt how much he loved his family.
I miss my PopPop all the time, but around this time of year, it is especially difficult.
~~~
For other "POP" posts, please check out the comments on today's Manic Monday.
~~~

stormy friday

2009-06-19T12:59:00.000-04:00

Last night we had one heckuva thunder storm with lots of lightning. This afternoon, another is upon us. Radar shows a really bad storm over Chicago right now, which undoubtedly will cross Lake Michigan and be here soon!
Here is how it looked outside my store, just a few minutes ago. It's a cell phone pic, so not the best quality (the sky on the left wasn't purple) but you get the idea: