Signs of All Kinds

Signs of All Kinds

Build a Sign is a unique website that allows customers to custom design a sign for just about any need you can think of.

They offer custom banners, signs, magnetics, flags, and accessories.

You can upload your own images to design a low cost, high quality, custom sign for real estate, parking, street, political, and much more.

You can design car magnets or license plates or vinyl decals.

They keep the process quick and simple using high quality materials.

ABC Wednesday - Shrimp

S is for Shrimp .......

These guys very rarely go on sale, but when they did, we treated ourselves to a tasty lunch.

I like to have them just as they are. Dipped in a bit of cocktail sauce they are just perfect.

I have also put them into hot dog rolls with lettuce and a bit of mayo.

Lined up in the roll, they are quite attractive, but are messy to eat.

The color of these shrimp was just perfect and they made for a great macro image.

Would love to have some now!

Father's Day in HD

HDTV Contest for Dad





Charter Communications is holding a contest for Father's Day.

This Father's Day in HD contest is being held for all Dads who live in a qualified Charter Communication serviceable area.

The Grand prize will make Dad feel like a king when he receives a 65" LCD HDTV Flat Panel 1080p and free Charter HD service and The Charter Bundle for life.

There are other prizes for four runner-ups and they include:
- Charter's Biggest Bundle is Free for year and
Free Charter HD service for a year

The Charter Bundle includes Digital Cable with Charter HD, Charter High Speed Internet, and Charter Telephone.

Going to this link will allow you to register yourself and your Dad with a secure sign-in.

After you have registered, you can submit a brief essay or story explaining why your Dad deserves the nation's biggest HDTV.

All of the entries need to be submitted by June 6th.

The winners will be announced on Father's Day.

If your Dad lives in a Charter Communications area, it is worth taking a minute to check this contest out.

If you have any questions, all the contest's official rules can be found here.

Good luck to my lucky readers who qualify to enter!

Rock Perspective

Rock Perspective





Walking a ways out on the harbor breaker wall, I stopped to take a break.

This shot was taken looking back towards the shore.

It looks farther than what I actually walked as the shot was take from a lower angle.

The boulders are really huge, but they look as if they blend into the rocks along the shore.

I don't usually take wide angle shots, but they can be kind of cool now and then.

I have been working on some wide angle bridge shots that I need to finish up and will post soon.

Music on my Phone

Music on my Phone





We just signed a new cell phone contact with our wireless carrier, and we were able to receive upgraded phones as a bonus.

My previous phone was made well but didn't perform well electronically, so I decided to go with a different brand. I ended up with one of the new Walkman phones.

It has tons of great features - the pedometer is my favorite - but it's biggest feature is the ability to put songs on a removable memory card.

After sorting through many old CD's and putting loads of songs on my phone, I began to think about downloading some newer songs from the internet.

So the search began. I am always on the lookout for a good deal, and I came across a site where I could Get Free Music From MPFree.com.

Not wanting to do anything illegal, I looked more into what they had to offer and was surprised to see it really was free. In exchange, you need to complete a survey or try new product.

The site is advertiser supported, and they pay the royalties to the artists for each song so the members do not pay for the downloads.

Sounds like a fair exchange to me - time to go load up the little phone!

Green Thumb Sunday - Purple Lilacs

Purple Lilacs for Green Thumb Sunday







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There is nothing sweeter in the spring than the smell of the lilacs.

We transplanted these purple lilacs to our home over 23 years ago.

The state had just passed a proposal to put in ramps to the highway, and they took the three homes that were on the land they needed by eminent domain.

One evening after work, my husband and I stopped and dug up some of the shoots of the most beautiful, thick and full, lilac bushes we had ever seen.

The next week they had been all been plowed over as the houses were destroyed so the highway work could begin.

They had been moved around our yard several times as they grew - and after ten years of having them here, they had still never bloomed.

My sister-in-law was always as anxious as I was each spring to see if we would get blooms.

Seventeen years after they were planted, my sister-in law passed away in the early spring, and those lilacs bloomed for the first time.

I truly believe she had something to do with that - and each time I catch their sweet scent drifting in through my kitchen window, I think of her.

The Savings Add Up

The Savings Add Up





There are great deals to be had on the internet if you shop around. The savings can really add up if you know where to look for the deals.

The hard part comes when you find that perfect laptop, camera, or necklace, and you question whether the vendor is reputable or if the product is really the right one for you.

In the UK, DealTime is a great tool for comparison shopping. They also offer great product reviews that the rest of us around the globe can use when searching for something new.

The more information the better when it comes to online shopping!

Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day Weekend





It will be a holiday weekend here in the United States.

Memorial Day will be celebrated on Monday, so the schools, banks, and government agencies will all be closed. It is always on the last Monday in May.

It officially marks the start of the summer season, and the weatherman predicts it will be sunny with some heat moving in on Monday.

We usually stick around home and have a peaceful day.

Since we use the BBQ just about every night, that will not be as big a deal for us as it will be for many others.

Hope you all will enjoy your weekend!

Photography Products are my Favorites

Photography Favorites





I have been enjoying writing posts offered through the SocialSpark.com website. They have many quality advertisers that have provided opportunities for us to review and post about their products or websites.

It has gotten the creative writing juices flowing and trying to fit my images into the posts has been a challenge sometimes - but it has also given me some new ideas for my stock images.

SocialSpark is now asking for our input of which products and brands are our favorites so we can blog about the things we love.

Well for me, that is a very easy question - anything photography related would be right up my ally!

Art products are also a big hit as well as anything that has to do with cooking or food or fishing.

I am not fussy about which brands. I have a Sony DSLR and love all the Sony products.

My filters and lenses are all different brands, as is my tripod and monopod.

My boys love to fish and eat - as you can see from many of my photos - fishing and food products would get their interest as well.

I think it is great that they have given us this opportunity to express our opinions and desires. Once again I am pleased to be part of this great community!

Leather Texture

Leather Texture





A leather wallet was received as a gift this past Christmas.

I was quite intrigued by the design of the leather finish.

The large pattern had many ridges - which kind of reminded me of an alligator skin.

It made for a really cool macro background image.

If you view the larger image you can see the tiny puckers that look like little hairs all along the ridges.

I will have to experiment more with it the next time I set up the lightbox.

Tactical Gear

Tactical Gear





The curve of the blade caught my eye on this large knife. This extremely sharp knife is a piece of tactical gear that is pretty hefty.

Smaller folding 5.11 tactical knives are also part of a collection that my boys use for hunting.

They have a whole waist belt filled with various pieces of gear that they wear each time they go hunting. And each type of hunt has it's own gear - from the clothes to the equipment.

I'm glad they can keep track of it all!

Wordless Wednesday - Thursday Edition - Rocks and Shells

Rocks and Shells





We stopped along a stretch of the ocean that was really a part of a large bay.

There is a spot for cars to park, and we walked along the rocky shore.

Not much sand in this area - but there were many rocks and snail shells of all shapes and sizes.

By the color of these rocks, you can see that many of them are broken bricks.

I am not quite sure why they were all here. As long as I can remember - 40 years or so - this area has always been a park - no houses or brick structures around.

There are two bridges that span the bay, and perhaps many years ago there were pilings made of bricks for an old bridge or pier.

A Home on the WWW

A Home on the WWW

I have been giving some serious thought to moving my blog to its own domain and having it hosted independently.

I know it would entail a huge move, and I would loose all the page rank and other ratings that I have worked so hard to obtain.

This is the only reason that is holding me back at this time.

Meanwhile, I have been searching around for webhosts, and that is a big job in itself. There are many opinions, good and bad about the thousands of them out there.

I have found a site that offers reviews for web hosting, and it gets frequent updates of which hosts are the highest rated ones on the net. It lists the top ten hosts and includes the monthly cost, space, and the year they were established.

They have a quick start page with links that helps the novice - like me - find answers on how it all works.

I have not made up my mind yet about moving, but I know it doesn't need to be done right at this moment. There are so many photos in my camera waiting for me to process them - and with the summer coming - there will be even more.

I will bookmark this site though, as it will be a great resource to help with many of the questions I know I will have.

ABC Wednesday - Roots

R is for Roots .......

The upturned tree showed the intricate root structure on a recent hike.

They had been exposed to the weather for quite some time.

Smooth and dried, they were quite a mass of tangles.

This area is part of the flood control system, and there are many of these tree root balls as you walk through the woods.

All are in varying degrees of decay - some just recently upturned with the fine roots and soil still intact.

The older ones have such character and the textures are beautiful - Mother Nature's art.

Green Thumb Sunday - Large Green Ferns

Large Green Ferns for Green Thumb Sunday







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The photo does not show it, but these ferns were some of the largest I have ever seen. And I have only captured the tips of them.

There is no way I could have fit the whole fern in the frame.

In their relaxed position in the photo, they are up to my chest. If they were held straight up, they would be way over my head.

It was a surprise to run into them while hiking through the woods. It was also darker, so I couldn't get as perfect a shot as I wanted.

Next time I will be sure to bring the monopod with me.

Fishing Pants

Fishing Pants

Today is going to be a great day! I am my owner's lucky fishing pants since that is what I always do when I am worn. I am his favorite Dockers by far for these adventures and I proudly display my stains, holes, and tattered ends.

I do hope, though, that he decides to go ocean fishing instead of river fishing today. Last time, I was inside those rubber pants that keep me dry, and all I did was overheat. The cool water against the rubber pants felt good, but I could not breath, and it got very uncomfortable.

A stop at the fish market makes me believe we are headed for the ocean. I can almost feel the warmth of the sun now.

A gentle breeze greets us as we head out on the breaker wall for the morning - climbing and jumping from one giant boulder to the next.

We found our spot, and the tide was high - just perfect - we should be lucky today!

The hook is baited and then cast into the water. I feel a dampness as wet fishy hands dry themselves along my sides. Oh well, this is part of my job, I will gladly smell like fish for the honor of being the lucky fishing pants.

We spent a peaceful morning sitting on the sun-warmed rocks. The fish keep eating our bait, and we kept trying to snag them - but no luck. But that is alright with me, because I know that next time, I will still get to go fishing - I am his favorite fishing pants!






Dockers is holding a video contest in conjunction with NBC, and they are looking for original stories about a day in the life of your pants. They must be submitted as videos. Dockers contest is where you will find all the details.

Wordless Wednesday - Saturday Edition - Sea Glass

Sea Glass





Walking along the ocean, there were pretty little colored pieces of sea glass that had been brought in with the tide.

Some of these pieces were no bigger than the tip of a fingernail - but their color stood out in the wet sand.

Collecting them and piling them together made for a neat macro image.

If you view the larger image, the grains of sand are visible on the colored pieces.

Each time we go to the ocean, it is getting harder to find the glass. This is really a good thing though, as it means there is less of it being thrown into the ocean or along the shores where people and animals can be injured by it.

It takes time for the ocean and nature's forces to wear down the edges - so these pieces have been around for quite a while. I remember as a youngster we would find blue, purple, and red - haven't seen any of those colors in a long time.

Fancy Wheels

Fancy Wheels

Needing a car rental for a couple of days to get back home from an out of town trip was no big deal after ours had just been brought to the garage unexpectedly.

Finding just the right one was easy at Advantage Car Rental online.

They made it easy to rent a car and all the details were taken care of online before we picked it up.

They had some great specials on economy cars and vans and the luxury cars were pretty classy too.

We used our new set of fancy wheels until ours was repaired and we didn't have to break the bank to do it.

Thanks for the Review

A Review for My Blog

Posh Review has done a review of this blog which I very much appreciate.

I thank her for her kind words.

She made a very important point that I had not thought about.

I mention in my sidebar that my images are for sale, but I have never had any clear instructions on how to go about purchasing them.

My website, Photography by KML, where they are purchased through, also has rather vague instructions. I will be working on that area to make it easier to find and understand.

In the meantime, if anyone has any questions about them, they can let me know through the comments section in this blog. I review them all before they are posted, so I will not miss it.

Thanks again to Posh Reviews! Be sure to visit her blog - she reviews everything - products, places, events - something for everyone!

Rising Waters

Rising Waters

It was a winter of record breaking snowfall here in the Northeast. The snow was piling high on the roof tops - there were more roof cave-ins than we had ever seen in this area.

The roofs that didn't get cleared off and were lucky enough to avoid collapsing, had thick ice build up all along their eves. This created havoc inside with the melting ice seeping into the walls and ceilings causing major Water damage.

And if that wasn't enough, the spring rains moved in. There were floods all along the rivers - one house was swept completely away, land and all, as it gave in to the flowing currents.

Many homeowners piled sandbags to avoid the rising waters, but it managed to slowly seep in - filling basements and living areas with water.

Our area of the country was not the only region affected by all this water this past winter - the nightly news carried stories of rising rivers and torrential rain all across the nation.

All of this water created many headaches and work for homeowners. There are many helpful resources available for water damage restoration online, as homeowners search for solutions for their specific needs.

Fast help is important and can be found here, at Dryout, Inc. They offer their services nationwide either online or with a toll-free number - for homeowners and businesses alike. With emergency forms available online and fast response times, homeowners can find help and piece of mind sooner.