Magazine (117)

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A wall of magazines in The Flying Star, a local coffeehouse/Internet cafe.

Stripey (116)

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This morning's sky was "stripey"!

Gold (115)

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This little charm, made from Alaskan gold, is a map of Alaska. The "snake-like" feature, running from top to bottom represents the Alaskan Pipeline (grossly oversided!). Alaska was my home for 25 years.

Tattoo (114)

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Sugar (113)

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Buttermilk spice muffin with a crunchy top sprinkled with SUGAR and nuts.

Cheese (112)

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We went to dinner tonight at a Mexican restaurant. We got an order of chili con queso as an appetizer. Chili con queso, casually called "queso" (cheese) by most New Mexicans, is a blend of cheeses, cream, and chili peppers melted into a smooth, creamy sauce, and served warm with corn chips. It may sound a lot like nachos, but it's really much tastier!

Archway (111)

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Woo Hoo!

I've completed 30% of the 366 photo themes for the year.

Postcard (110)

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Instead of taking a picture of postcards, I decided to try turning a picture into a postcard.

Ice Cream (109)

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Oh, the sacrifices I make for this photo challenge! ;-)

Hand (108)

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Glass (107)

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Do you remember when milk came in glass? I collect old milk bottles.

Politics (106)

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Vaughn, New Mexico - Population 539. It's a big city compared to its neighboring town of Encino, which has a population of 94. There are a lot of old, vacant buildings, like this one, in both towns. This one, though, appears to still serve a purpose -- as a bulletin board for political posters.

Exotic (105)

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What can I say? He's one of my Mom's neighbors! I guess emus are exotic, aren't they?

Cow (104)

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Home, home on the range.

There were a lot of these fellows (antelope - below) on the range today, as well, as I was driving home from Carlsbad. It's not hunting season, so they are not too skittish. They graze right along with the cattle.

Signs #2 (we won't count this one)

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Yes, I already posted my photo for "Signs," (the Roswell UFO Landing Site one), but I couldn't resist taking a picture of this one, too. Pretty cute, isn't it?

Challenge (103)

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My mom took a fall last weekend. She's in the therapy unit at the hospital, where this physical therapy room represents a huge challenge to her each day.

Needlework (102)

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This beautiful cross-stitch piece hangs on the wall of the guest room in my Mom's house. I'm pretty sure it was stitched by our friend, Louise, many years ago.

Flag (101)

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Old Glory, from a third floor window (through the blinds) of the Carlsbad hospital.

Signs (100)

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Also on my way to Carlsbad, I went through Roswell.

Train (99)

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I drove to Carlsbad yesterday, and went through Vaughn, NM, where I took this picture of a Burlington Northern Santa Fe train, preparing to depart the station.

Sky (98)

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We were driving home this evening, around 6:30, and the sky was so pretty -- some clouds, some contrails, some birds (only one in this shot, lower right), the sun at the edge of the clouds, and what looked like a second sun, but was just a "hole" in the clouds, I think (above and to the right of the "real" sun).

Hug (97)

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Corkscrew (96)

*On "Modern Marvels" (The History Channel), they had an episode about "gadgets." One of the gadgets they talked about was the corkscrew. This is a shot of the screen during that portion of the program.

Dawn (95)

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I wasn't sure of the difference in the two themes, "Sunrise" and "Dawn." But my two pictures are quite different. This one was taken through the car windshield, before work one morning, as I was waiting my turn in the drive-thru lane of McDonald's.

Big (94)

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(I know, I said I was done with the Sweetpea visit pictures, but she's not really the subject of this one.) This is the elevator in the children's museum. Have you ever seen such a BIG one? You can go in and have a seat on the sofa or in an easy chair and enjoy your ride up or down. We didn't even realize it was an elevator until we saw the doors close. Then, of course, we had to try it out.

Trinket (93)

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Have you ever seen those chocolate eggs, from Germany, with a milk chocolate shell on the outside and a white chocolate coating inside? Break them open and you find a yellow plastic capsule inside that holds some little trinket. I was surprised to open one yesterday and find Sideshow Bob inside! I guess I shouldn't have been so surprised, since I realize that the Simpsons have international celebrity status.

Moving on . . .

Sweetpea and her mama and daddy left for home this morning, so I'll move on to other subjects for the themes. I hope no one minded my recent week-long obsession with the visiting granddaughter.

Such Great Heights (92)

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At the zoo, Sweetpea sits upon her Daddy's shoulders, to see the hippos in the water below. To a toddler, this must seem like "such great heights."

Knot (91)

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We went to the zoo today. This fellow seems to like sleeping on a cardboard pallet, on the ground, rather than in his hammock, made of knotted rope.

Waiting (90)

*Uncle Tim sits with Sweetpea at the airport as she waits for her Daddy to arrive. He was able to join her and her Mama, toward the end of their visit with us.

Shoes (89)

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Sweetpea's "Duck" shoes.