GBHS won State Softball Championship Sunday!

We did it ... the team playing hard... me working hard on top of the ladder taking pictures! Good job, Wildcats!

Up Close and Personal...

Went to the Eastern Shore for the weekend with "Thelma and Louise" - 2 friends who are wandering around the world in a motor home. It wouldn't take much to convince me to go, too!

And, by the way, when we're together it's " Thelma and Louise and Stella." (We had to give me a name that fit the image.)

We rode around all weekend in my car with the top down - the only thing we still need to do is drive down the highway and let our scarves blow away in the wind! We all three draw the line at driving off the cliff!!!

Anyway, here's a friend we met at Chincoteague...

Counting Down the Days...

22 days till I leave for Tulsa! Just made a fast trip back there this week - left Norfolk Monday night at 6 pm, got to Tulsa at 11, spent a few hours with my son and grandkids, had an appointment at 10:30 am Tuesday, spent a few hours with my sister and brother-in-law, left
Tulsa at 5 pm, back here in Norfolk at 10:30 pm.

Worked Wednesday, then we had a softball tournament, today after work I get the trailer hitch installed on my car, Friday all I have to do is work, then will spend Saturday and Sunday up on the Eastern Shore with a couple of traveling friends, and back here Monday morning for regional softball tournament.

And what can I do with all the extra time on my hands? Oh - I know! I've still got to post the pix online from last night's game!!!

Never a dull moment! Oh, yeah - I'm trying to figure out when I can meet Deborah Ross at her Blue Skies Gallery between now and the time I leave!!!

But, I did manage to get a picture from the magnolia tree in the front yard...

I thought sure I'd been blogging right along there, then I looked at my last post... it was April 23rd!

So - softball has been running my life! We played 19 games and I took pictures at every single one. Then I uploaded them to a private gallery for the girls and parents to view. We played the last regular season game Wednesday - we won, of course! The standings are Great Bridge Wildcats - 17-2 - #1 in district.

Wednesday, May 20th, we will play whoever winds up as #2 at Tuesday's playoffs. So we are guaranteed a spot in the regionals - Wednesday will determine whether we go as #1 or #2. I'm designing a T-shirt that says : "unufishul teem picher takur" to wear to regionals! That oughta make them proud of me!!!

This has been great for developing my photography skills. I've learned to see the entire field and anticipate the action shots.

OK - gotta get back to work... see ya soon!

In A Pickle???

It's a phrase I've heard often through the years, and Googling gave me the following information:

To be “in a pickle" means a challenging or difficult circumstance.

Its origin is the play "The Tempest"
by William Shakespeare, and I quote:

ALONSO: … How camest thou in this pickle?
TRINCULO: I have been in such a pickle since I saw you last …

Well, Tuesday night I learned it's a term used in softball! My grand-daughter came up to bat, hit one, made it to second base. (Good job, Karen!) Now, I'm here to tell you this girl is a base-stealing champion, and last night was no different.

We're in the bottom of the 6th inning... the score is us 14, them 0. SO! Not a really exciting game, ya know? I'm busy snapping pictures of everyone on the team, not a lot of action shots, except everyone at bat and a few slides. A couple pictures of the flags blowing in the breeze... a passing helicopter... yawn.

Suddenly, I heard yelling and screaming "Get her!" and "Run, Karen!" and I swung my camera around toward 3rd base, pressed the shutter button... nothing. So, while I'm trying to see if my camera is off, if the battery's dead, Karen's "in a pickle" between 2nd and 3rd. By the way, the "pickle" means she was caught between 2nd and 3rd, with opponents on either side of her, trying to get her out! At last I've figured out my memory card is full, and while I'm trying to get the second one out of the case and into the camera, she "landed" flat on 3rd... after some discussion, it was ruled safe! Now, whether she dove for 3rd or was tripped, she still made it... whatever, I missed the whole thing by not watching the numbers on the camera! (From now on, the extra card will be ready in my pocket.)

Below is the last picture I got, where she made it to 2nd base. But, as I told her when she said she got in trouble... it was the most exciting part of the whole game, so just smile and remember the moment!!!

Happy Easter!

Look who came to see me this morning! The Easter Bunny! He even sat there and waited for me to go inside and get my camera. However, I was pretty upset about not getting any Easter eggs. I know, I know... I'm supposed to be a grown-up... but, if you get to see the Bunny, you oughta get the eggs, right? Well, a little later I was passing the kitchen window when I saw the culprit!

At first I wasn't sure he did it... the first few pictures didn't prove anything...

but in the last one, I caught him! That just goes to show ya... you just can't trust those cute, little furry critters!

Now THIS is Spring Fever!

This is an example of what I've been doing lately! Girls softball season is going strong, and I go to all the games and take pictures of the team. This is my grand-daughter in her last high-school season, so I'm assembling a "brag book" for her. So far this week, we've had two games and another tonight. And so far, I've taken almost 600 pictures! Of course, I weed 'em out before I post them. Still, the last game has 200 pix. They're in a password-protected gallery, so I can't show them all, however, Karen's pix are located at www.pbase.com/deevinemissm/

The great thing about going to so many games is that I'm learning to anticipate the plays and I'm getting much better action shots. Well, that's it for today... stop in and say hello!