Pink Orchids

This week, I am digging out my pink orchids from the many pictures in my archives! It is one of most wonderful things in life to have digital images ready at any time of the year. I love the pink color in these orchids. It is just soft and beautiful.

I have two posts on orchids in different colors and types, which can be found here and here if you want to take a peek.


These beautiful flowers were placed by big the window, so I had a hard time trying to get a good picture of them since the light seemed to wash out the colors. I came home with just a handful of "all right" pictures.



One thing I learned from visiting the Belle Isle Conservatory is to take my pictures right there and then, because the flowers will be replaced by the next time I get to visit. The Conservatory changes their flowers according to seasons.


I played around with this photo above in photoshop. The rusty window pole in the back didn't give the flower a good look. I haven't figure out how to fix undesirable things like this yet, so I just applied some different effects just to soften it up.

To see more Pink entries, click on the image below.

The Bell Tower

Many of my reflection photos were taken in late fall, and at Belle Isle Island in Detroit. I knew winter would be hard for me to get around, so I stock up on whatever I could as far as images go. I haven't been back to the island since November, although I always thought of making another trip there soon.


I believe this is the bell tower on the island, and haven't figured out how to get close to it yet. There are many small roads leading to this tower, but my attempts have led me to a wrong path every time. Maybe one of these days, I would get lucky and find way to it.


There are some parts on this island that were closed off to visitors, and I am thinking this part is one of them. That would explain why I kept losing my way there, I hope, and not because I am forgetful as I age.

Visit James at Weekend Reflections by clicking on the image below.

Safeguard Your House for Babies

Once the initial joy and excitement settle in for expecting parents, the search for a healthy journey through pregnancy, child safety tips, plus preparations begin. It is the most wonderful time for couples to experience the process of becoming parents.

Images Courtesy of kidsafeinc.com

For me, the first trimester was spent reading as many books about baby as I could. By the second trimester time, I started baby proofing the whole house just to take the worries out of the way. From Baby Gates, Child Safety Locks, outlet covers, appliance locks, to door locks, our house were child proof to maximize for safety.

Images Courtesy of kidsafeinc.com

By the time the third trimester rolled around, the focus turned to transportation such as car seat, carrier, and stroller. Preparing to welcome the coming of a baby was very exhilarating. Although back in my time, we relied solely on kids magazines to find what would work for us, but today, you can find all kind of information online, or check out this KidSafe Blog for other safety issues.

For first time parents, KidSafeInc.com website is a good place to start. They carry every product concerning child safety under the rainbow. Take a look around to see what you might need to child proof your home. They are also on Facebook, Twitter and You Tube if you want updates.

How to Create Your Own Hand Written Signature

Have you seen those hand written signatures on some blogs yet? Well, I have and I like that personal look of signature. I also have wondered where and how to get that look for my blog. There are many places that I've tried, but it was either too complicated or just not what I am after.

Then, I come across this site: My Live Signature, and test it out for myself. Follow this step by step below, and in less than five minutes you will have your own signature.

• Click on My Live Signature
• Click on "Click Here to Start"
• Click on "Using the signature creation wizard"
• Type in the name you want to use, for me it is Icy, and click Next Step
  
• Choose the font that you like. If the first 10 fonts are not to your liking, then click on the next 10. They have a variety of 120 fonts. Tag the circle next the font that you've picked and click Next Step.
  
• Then select the size of your name, and go on to the Next Step

Hold on! You are almost done! Very easy so far, right? Now, let continues because I know you are anxious to see what the result will look like. Did I mention it is also free, and you don't have to sign up?

• In this step, you will get to choose the back ground and the text color for your signature. I just check-mark transparent for my background, and purple color for my text to match my blog. Click Next Step when you're done.
  
• Then choose a Slope of your signature
• Tada...you've finished creating your signature
  

How to Install Your Signature on Your Blog

After you get to this page on My Live Signature, you will see many options where you can install or use your signature. However, I only wanted it on my blog, and found an easy way to install it.

• Look for "Want to use this signature" at the bottom of the page, click on it
• Click on Generate HTML code
• Copy the code that they just give you, and sign in to your blogger account
• Once you are in your dashboard, select "Settings"
• Click on "Formatting"
• Scroll down until you see "Post Template"
• Paste your HTML code in that space, and hit "Save Settings"
  

Your signature will now show up in your post every time you post something. Have fun with creating your signature!

Backyard Roses

No, no, no, this is not from my backyard at the moment! I'm sorry to say, but this rose was at my brother's house, and was taken in the summer. You know, at this time of the year, I have to rely on my archives.

There is no color anywhere right now where I live. I look, but the outside is just gray, ice, and snow on the ground and in the sky.

One Single Pink Rose


At the back of my brother's house, there is a rose bush, and it has gorgeous rose like this every summer. This pink color is particularly beautiful and soft. This rose makes a great single cut flower to display in a vase.

Soft Pink Beauty


The gray brick background works quite wonderfully in showcase this rose. It makes the pink color stands out even more, and highlights the flower's softness, delicate and alluring.

All Open to the World


I was lucky to capture a shot of this beautiful pink rose on a very nice sunny day. This rose bush produces many beautiful pink roses year after year. Hopefully, I will be able to take some different shots this coming summer.

To see more Pink entries, click on the image below.

Red Bridge

This was the view at one particular spot on Belle Isle that I took back in November. Digging for pictures, I came across these pictures below in my archive. I really am glad to see them again since we had so many gray days already.

Snow has melted some, and the sun came out a bit today, but the wind was just too cold to linger outside. We had to be swift going in and out!

The Whole View


We often drove by this part of Belle Isle many times in the past, but I didn't pay attention to how beautiful the red bridge was until that day in autumn. The sun was just right, and the changes of colors in the trees were just beautiful that I had to stop.

Zooming In


The reflection of the red bridge was gorgeous. I spent quite a long time on this bank of water. I watched the ducks floating, and looked at the reflection of the yellow weeping willow tree in the water. Everything seemed in harmony.

Zooming In a Bit More


This was as far as my camera allowed to zoom in. I wanted to have a closer look at the ducks and to find their reflections, but they were in a darker part of the water.

Enjoy more Weekend Reflections by clicking on the image below.

Star Spider Web on Cactus

I like finding new things to photograph, but during the winter months it's very limited to me. I am not an outdoor adventurer, though I do spending times outside just long enough to take a few pictures; physically, I can't handle more than that.

I find refuge at the Belle Isle Conservatory, and getting there is quite inconvenient with my schedule at the moment. My best bet now is to stalk supermarkets, and big stores.


My son and I saw this cactus and thought the white part on it was a spider web. He and I bet each other to touch it. It felt nice and soft and sticky. However, the web was from the cactus itself.


I called it "star spider web", because the web had many vivid corners and formed like a star. It was one of most fascinating cactus that we saw that day.


Of course, my son wanted to bring this cactus home, but I had to talk him out of it. We could not afford to take everything we see home for many reasons, so these pictures will keep our memory fresh.

On The Other Side

This is the view to our neighboring country, Canada, from Belle Isle. The Detroit River runs between the two countries, but we still can see each other.

The day was gray and cold! I could see blue sky, but the cloud had the color of dark smoke. I just spent enough time snapping a few pictures, and went back in the car.


This is the view you will see as you driving onto the island and looking toward the water. Those big buildings are really fantastic to see on a nice sunny day.


Driving down further, I saw this view of residential area! The trees were bare on the other side as well.

See more entries on Watery Wednesday!

Snow Coneflowers

I took these pictures on the day that it was heavily snow, but how could I not when I saw the snow piled up on these old cone flower heads? The original color was very close to black and white due to the weather condition. However, I just wanted to make sure and added gray scale effect to these photos.


The snow sat on top of these cone flowers just so perfectly. Though I couldn't capture the falling snow, believe me, it was there. I tried to take the pictures as fast as I can since I was worried about my camera getting wet.


When I saw these dead cone flowers filled with snow on top, they just looked fantastic! This is really Mother Nature's beautiful art work, and must recorded them in film. Well, on flash card anyway!

Originally Yours


This was the original color of these cone flowers. The camera didn't lie about the weather condition on that heavy snow day! It was just gray and white! If I didn't go outside to shovel, I would have missed this wonderful display.

Double Rose of Sharon

I found this meme through my little sister's blog, Self Sagacity. If you have time, hop over for a visit. She has a fantastic blog, and I'm sure you will like it too.


This is double rose of sharon that I took in the summer, on a church ground. It grew by the side of the building, and on that sunny day, the flower just caught my attention completely.


I have pink, lavender, and white color of rose of sharon in our yard, but they are all single petal one. Therefore, it was a real treat to see this double petal flowers.


This double rose of sharon lasted way into November. There were very few left, and they shown sign of distress already.


Although this tree was much taller than I am, I managed to get some close-up shots just to see the middle of this gorgeous flower.

To see more Pink entries, click on the image below.

Snow Flakes On My Window

We had snow this past week, and the weather was unbearable some times. This doesn't mean that I don't go outside to look for photo opts. I do. Some days, I am lucky to have some shots at something that strike me, but some days, I don't.

I was lucky on one morning when I saw the reflection on my car window. It was just stunning, but I think I failed in capturing it. I wanted the snowflakes to be in focus to show the beautiful shapes they've formed. However, it didn't turn out the way I wanted.


This was what I see on my car window one morning. The sun was up with a bit of color, and the snow was still gluing to the glass. The beautiful snowflakes were what prompted me to take some pictures. They were gorgeous!



In this picture above, you can see a bit of the snowflakes, and their natural designs! They acted as a curtain for the reflections of the sun, the sky, and the tree. Although my car is parked at the same spot every day, I don't get to see this same scene again, even when the tree is still there.

See more reflections at James' blog!