Oh, there you are, Blue!

This week's focus52 prompt was "Blue". 

Easy, I thought. 

I missed last week's link-up by a day (that holiday threw me off!) and I was determined to jump on this one.

So I started searching for "Blue". 

I found plenty of cloudless sky... 

...but that was it. 

Yawn.
(See, I'm already taking it for granted!)

Down to the wire today, with just hours left, I almost gave up. 

But then, I opened my eyes, and look what I found right there in my own bathroom... 

Blue had been there all along...

...in my new nail polish...

(I love the color in the bottle, but I've changed my mind about actually wearing it.)

...in this recycled Easter basket, full of Bahama honeymoon memories...

...in these tiny vases that serve no purpose but to be pretty and make me smile...

...and in this solitary tile, a garage sale find I couldn't resist...

It just proves that too often, what we're searching for is right there in front of us. 

We just need to open our eyes!

(To see more Blue submissions, go to focus52 HERE.)

Overlooked, Overshadowed

In the excitement of my son's graduation a couple of weeks ago, I overlooked these little flowers. 

I've been going through each of my photo folders, transferring them to a new external hard drive before the current one totally fails - kind of like rescuing survivors from a sinking ship, I guess.

Most of these delicate beauties have already faded away in the summer sun and heat. 

I'm almost grateful I was forced to go through the folders just so I could rediscover them.

I hope you enjoy seeing them as much as I enjoyed finding them again!

First up, Yellow...

Next, a dance with these tiny, fragile Purples and Whites...

These Pinks are my summer favorite - they pop up so bright and hopeful every year, despite the summer heat, like so many wedding bouquets...

And last but not least, these green pods. I have no idea what these will be - do you know?

All of the flowers above have now faded, but these pods remain the same, right on the verge of something spectacular, I imagine. 

Perhaps fireworks? 

They caught my eye mostly because they resemble "china berries" from my childhood - actually tallow berries (why did we call them china berries?) that speckled the ground, bruising our bare feet if we walked on them and almost taking an eye out when (not if) we decided to throw them at each other. 

I'll keep you posted on their transformation.

Is there anything in your life that's been overshadowed or overlooked lately?

By the side of the road and beyond

Wild grasses and flowers 

line our caliche road like spectators on a parade route, 

greeting the puppies and me each morning as we pass by. 

The crowds are thinning in the summer temperatures, 

but a few hardy souls still cheer me on my way.

Unfortunately, I find other things along the road besides flowers.

Ugh.

Colors are fading, 

but if I move off the road, 

I can still find patches of vibrant pinks, purples, oranges and reds... 

Closer to the house, 

my bougainvillea isn't wild, 

but it satisfies my craving for color 

(as long as I remember to water it!)

Next up... crape myrtles!

Stay tuned!

Whoo-Hoo! Time to Celebrate!

Four years of frustration, late nights, tired eyes, chewed fingernails 

deserves at least two days of celebration, don't you agree?

Here are a few moments I captured in my camera this past weekend as my middle son officially said 

good-bye to college life...

It was a blur, those four years...

The Eyes of Texas are upon you...

He's in there somewhere...

My parents were determined to be there...

The celebration continued the next day... 

a reception in the second oldest building on campus, overlooking the huge UT ceremony.

First, cake...

Rich, antique woodwork and cherubs... I'm in heaven!

I just really like this photo...

It's cool in black and white, too...

Heading out to the final ceremony in graduation garb...

Tom watching the festivities in air-conditioned comfort...

And the grand finale... I took lots of these...

Whew! What a send-off! 

Congratulations, again, Daniel! 

More from that Morning

Jillsy's "Guess Who" game was tougher than I thought it would be!

Others seemed to have just as much trouble as I did matching bloggers to photos, though.

Whew!

(The answers are posted now, by the way... You can go here or here to see them.)

This was mine, one of a zillion taken on one of a zillion morning walks.

Did you guess it?

If so, congratulations! (No one else did!) 

Here are a few of the others I took of that same plant that morning...

...and then I also took these...

(I bet you thought I was exaggerating about "a zillion"!)