Yes You Can....

The "as if" factor has always had
a positive influence on me....act as if,
fake til you make it...all work...
I like the eloquence of this even more!

Doing the Elf Thing....

It seems like there is very little time left to get all the things done in preparation for Christmas...How does Santa do it???

Lauren's Birthday Cupcakes

Lauren requested that I make her
cupcakes to take to school to share
with the kids in her class....she
specifically requested that they
be reindeer cupcakes...
So Rudolph it was...all the same so
each child had the exact same one.



Here they are all packed up to go!









The cupcakes were
vanilla cake with
chocolate icing. topped
with various embellishments
to create a cute little
reindeer.


They made a big hit with
the kids in Lauren's
class.

Lauren's Birthday Cake

Preliminary Preparations for creating
a birthday cake for my friend Lauren
McNamara's 8th Birthday Cake.

She had chosen to have a "makeup/Diva"
Cake! It was a lot of fun to create and
getting to see her face when she got to
view it for the first time was awesome!












The cake was Vanilla, Vanilla, Vanilla
four layers of vanilla cake, with vanilla
butter cream icing, vanilla fondant topped
the cake and the sides were basket weaved
with vanilla butter cream.


All of the components of the make up and
and shoe and pearls were created out of
edible vanilla fondant.

So much fun!!!














back view of the cake.












This is how it starts...raw vanilla
cake.

Tracy's Birthday Cake

A pretty little birthday cake for my friend Tracy on her Birthday, November 26th, 2011.

Vanilla, Vanilla, Vanilla. with Sugar Flowers.













It tasted really good and made her very happy, which in turn makes me very happy!

Dessert for Thanksgiving....

A special request was made for Red Velvet Cupcakes for Thanksgiving by my friend Alan....
They came out very nicely and made a nice presentation with all the beautiful Thanksgiving Things that were decorating the table.

Thanksgiving Table

A very good time was had by all on Thanksgiving this year with my friends the Wilsons. Their table was beautifully set and the food was delicious as always!

Where have I been....

Time seems to have gotten away from me....I haven't posted in so very long...
am going to try and catch up with the doings etc...

Pearl Harbor

Today is the 70th Anniversary of the "Day that will live in infamy"!
Always remember and honor those who serve so that our freedom is preserved and maintained!

Holiday Center Piece

My friend Karen found a great
little class to take at the
Chester Library. For $10.00 we
could sign up for a Holiday Wreath.
We had a fun time together creating
pretty arrangements that we could
add our candles or pumpkins and
gourds or any other type of center
focus to.

Love a girls afternoon with my friend!

Odd Man Out....

In this pretty pond....there was one lone swan...it seemed to have lost it's mate....sad...it's always there with the geese and no mate....

Man in the Moon....

The Moon was particularly beautiful on Saturday night....my picture came out pretty good for not have a really extra long lens~!

Veterans Day 2011 a/k/a 11/11/11

I love seeing this flag every time I go to the
Galleria in Middletown. It proudly flies near
Sears in the Parking Lots.

On this beautiful clear day I snapped the Picture... Remember a Vet today and thank
one along the way...you owe all you have today
with regard to freedom and possessions to
all that they gave for you individually and as
a service: Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force...

An Old Barn...

I think Barns are cool....especially the
ones with the interesting shapes...
this old barn is one I pass frequently on my
way to Pine Island...

It looks abandoned or that it has seen
better days...








I really like the shape of this one....









Even the turkey buzzards like it...I could
see them on the top just roosting.

Circling the Fountain....

I caught these geese circling the fountain at
the Mt. Carmel Fountain the other day...
I found it amusing...

Pictures with the Marshal Tucker Band...

Sarah got her picture taken
with the leader of the band!

We were able to go to the concert
(her parents and myself) because
Sarah is a Docent at the theater and
accumulates points for volunteering
there and gets to turn them in when
there are enough to get tickets for events!
So THANK YOU Sarah for getting
tickets for your parents and myself!
We had a great time!


Alan and the band leader....














Alan and one of the guitar players....












Here's Alan with the multi talented vocalist
and instrument player!












Here is he again with a few of
the other band members...a guitar
player and drummer!



We had a great time!

More Marshall Tucker Band....

The lead singer encouraged the audience
to sing along during their performance
of "Pretty Little Love Song" it was a
fun night!
















The Guitar Player would play and the
sax player would minic what was just
played on the guitar on his sax....
dueling instruments....so cool!


































Dueling instruments at work

it was so cool and a real treat
for the audience!







This guy was so talented...he could sing...
and he played 5 instruments....so cool!

Marshall Tucker Band!

My friends surprised me by getting me a ticket to the Marshall Tucker Band Concert at the
Lycian Theater on Saturday Night!











It was a great concert....I remember this
band from the seventies!












These guys are truly talented and
sounded as good today as they
did when they started out!










This guy on the sax played five instruments and
could he sing!
















A great job and a fun night!

Walkin on Water....

I think geese are so funny...caught
these guys the other day and it appeared that
two of them were walking on water....there must
have been something below the surface where they could stand...looked kinda cute.

The Last od the Wild Flowers....

A few days before the Snow Storm....
I took some pictures at some of my favorite
Haunts and I looked down and noticed these
hardy little wild flowers, more commonly called
weeds still hanging out....


My Mother was a big fan of Queen Anne's Lace.
These delicate little florets really intrigued her.
I actually have to agree....they are pretty and
very delicate.

I never really considered this a weed although
some do.






Well blue being my favorite color....I am
kind of partial to the Corn flower....

This guy still seemed pretty hardy even
though surrounded by falling leaves
and falling temperatures....


Just two of Natures little miracles....

Changing of the seasons....

Well we all know what the snow did to us this weekend....before that happened last week I spotted this lone red bunch of leaves and berries on a very green bush.....it made me think that the change is

National Chocolate Day!

A day of celebration!!! Yea it's National Chocolate Day!!! Indulge your sweettooth!!!

Hot Air Balloons....

I have loved Hot Air Balloons ever since I saw my first one! In my old house I lived right in their flight pattern and occasionally they would land in my yard, if not they drifted over and had conversations with us!

You can imagine how I felt when I got to take my first ride in one....amazing...the feeling of serenity and complete weightlessness was something else!











I saw this one drifting around the other morning and followed it to see where it landed! Couldn't get much closer than this, but I see it was a safe
landing!


So coooool!

Old Tug Boat

After roaming around the Newburgh Waterfront the other day
With my friend Bob taking pictures he took me to a place he
had been before where he had seen this old Tug.


She was really quite interesting. Sad to see though that
she had deteroiated to this point.














One can only image the tales she would
have to tell about her adventures on the
water during the missions she performed
likely in long years of service.


























It appears that kids have decorated her with graffitti...sad and not befitting her former station in life!

Fall Colors....

You gotta love the colors of fall even if you don't like the change in the temperature!

Driving past this line of trees the other day I had to stop and turn around and get the shot....

I thought that they were so pretty and all the same color and height and very monochromatic!

Newburgh Water Front Boats....

I grabbed a shot of the River Rose coming back into Port at the Newburgh Water Front on Sunday while there to capture more pictures of the Lynx. She was motoring in...wish I could have gotten the picture with the paddles running!











The old and the New....a larger boat crusin along while the Lynx was starting out on it's Sunday Cruise....










A Tug which is one of the ones that we see a lot going up and down the Hudson