Adjectives Illustrated- But Which Ones?
Today I read an ________________________(noun) about creating a self-assignment for your photography.
It made me _________________________(verb) about what I might like to try to photograph.
Then I ____________________________(verb) at what I’d already photographed.
(Chose a word – like Mad Libs ™ (Did you know Mad Libs™ was created in 1958?)
I was looking for images to go with the ____________ (adj) Strawberry I photographed on the _____________(adj. )porch this afternoon- it seemed to have a __________________(adj. )mouth.
I added the ________________________ (adj.) eyes and ears.
Adjective defined by Merriam-Webster : a word belonging to one of the major form classes in any of numerous languages and typically serving as a modifier of a noun to denote a quality of the thing named, to indicate its quantity or extent, or to specify a thing as distinct from something else
and the Writing Centre University of Ottawa has an accessible definition and examples (not that you need them but I was refreshing my grammar knowledge)
An adjective modifies a noun or a pronoun by describing, identifying, or quantifying words. An adjective usually precedes the noun or the pronoun which it modifies.
In the following examples, the highlighted words are adjectives:
- The truck-shaped balloon floated over the treetops.
- Mrs. Morrison papered her kitchen walls with hideous wall paper.
- The small boat foundered on the wine dark sea.
- The coal mines are dark and dank.
- Many stores have already begun to play irritating Christmasmusic.
- A battered music box sat on the mahogany sideboard.
- The back room was filled with large, yellow rain boots.
____________________________________________________(adjective) Strawberry face
____________________________________________________(adjective) Stanchions in the elevator when we took down the student art show
____________________________________________________(adjective) Origami on the school steps
______________________________________________________(adj.) sign in Millvale
_____________________________________(adjective) masking tape dispenser in an art room
_____________________________________(adjective) sign
_______________________________________________________________(adj) night light from Divertido
_______________________________________________(adj) iPad fireplace
Sock Monkey in camo sleeping bag _____________________________________(adjective)
A garden gnome for my Daughter-in-law’s garden (just kidding, Erika!) ____________________________________________(adj.)
There might be descriptors for several that are interchangeable. I am restraining myself from writing a list of adjectives to choose from.
Thanks for playing MadLibs™. Hope you will write an adjective for any image(s) you wish.
Bob Rumba- Ventriloquist, Comedian, Balloon Artist and All Around Funny Guy
His card states COMIC GENIUS*
and the asterisk below statement says *Genius Available by Appointment Only.
When Steve and I were downtown at the Gallery Crawl a couple of weeks ago, we were walking in front of the new Arcade Comedy Theater. Kristy was out front distributing info and invited us in. I told her my daughter Laura was taking an improv class in Columbus.
Free beer! Hmmm. Steve thought that sounded good. There was improv going on in the theatre. Lots of good energy in the place.
We promised to return another time when we didn’t have to be somewhere.
We were on our way home but with the free beer and the man in the window motioning for us to come in, too, what else could we do?Just a few minutes.
Turns out it was Bob Rumba, All Around Funny Guy.
Women outside the Arcade Comedy Theater
Anna and Her Sock Monkey Photo Shoot
Anna set up the sock monkey clan in the family room and photographed them. The most cooperative subjects you would wish for. A couple sock monkeys must have been hiding but collecting four grandchildren’s monkeys is the challenging part. Trying to get the real family for a group shot is much more difficulty. I get a kick out of the kids trying out their photography skills. Anna(9) photographed this one with the iPad. Thanks Anna for the guest blog.
Guess How Many Jelly Beans in a Glass Quart Jar
I counted them.
One person guessed just two under the exact total. The jar was theirs. If you guess without going over, I’ll send Jelly Beans to the one closest. I think you could google the question but that wouldn’t be fun. The contents are the tiny jelly beans.
Lots of people don’t even like to eat them but they’re colorful and at this time of year, plentiful. There are all sorts of flavors, too Not just the fruit, spice or pectin. Did you ever put one in your mouth and guess what color it was?
Scroll down to see a simple jelly bean art design I made to photograph.
All things Jelly Bean today is inspired by fellow blogger Inside the MInd of Isadora and her post Create More Love where she showed a Kina Grannis music video with Jelly Bean Stop Action for the entire video using 288,000 jelly beans. And if you want to know more about the History of the Jelly Bean click here
And if that isn’t enough, head on over to the Jelly Belly Art Gallery and see Mona Lisa or the Girl With the Pearl Earring or Marilyn Monroe or Elvis created entirely wtth- you guessed it- JELLY BEANS. Did you know there was Jelly Bean Art before today? I just found out last week.
I’ll post the number of Jelly Beans in tomorrow’s post.
We’ll see who comes closest without going over the number!
Watching the Box in a Box*
Here are two views of the grandchildren watching”the box” while sitting in a box. A portion of one was in the Lost in the Details yesterday.
Thanks to a wonderful fellow blogger, S - Another Day in Paradise - who wrote this comment on yesterday’s Weekly Photo Challenge and inspired today’s post. ( she is originally from England, now South Africa and Florida)
*“Wonderful selection of photos, Ruth. I absolutely love the “Watching TV in a box.” In England, the TV is often called “The box,” so you could have titled it “Watching the box in a box.”
Inspired by Christopher Boffoli Miniature Food Work
When I saw photographer, Christopher Boffoli’s work, I thought that this was something we could do in the digital photo classroom. He has really perfected the art in this department of miniature food scenes. And we tried to recreate one of his ideas at school. The miniatures are so appealing.
Only problem is 6 mini HO scale figures run almost 14 bucks at Esther’s Hobby Shop so that makes it pricey. They’re fragile too but oh so fun.
The Oreos were on sale at Giant Eagle. But they don’t last, either. I took in beans and rice and we had some Cheerios but it just wasn’t feasible for more than 120 students to get satisfactory results.
This is one of my practice shots. The students liked the little figures. I had some larger plastic dogs that they photographed, too.
Thanks Mr. Boffoli for the cool inspiration. It isn’t that easy to do it as successfully as you’ve done.
I’d photographed a model railroad mother hanging out the wash before but not the whole scene with props.
Be sure to check out his picture show at this link cause his creativity and imagination is endless.
What People Do in Their Car on the Way to Work
I’ve seen women brush on mascara at a red light, adjust the rearview mirror, apply lipstick.
Lots of coffee drinking. Dancing. Singing.
Cereal eating. Bagel noshing. People talk on the phone.
Guess who found this shot last summer? That’s right. On the way to swim practice.
Granddaughter Anna (9). Remember her photograph of the pickup truck full of mannequin legs?
“Look! That guy’s brushing his teeth!”
(An electric/battery toothbrush!) You just wonder where he would spit!
I had the camera in my bag and got it out as quick as I could. My daughter-in-law was driving so that was good.
This is the shot I was able to get as we passed. He was getting ready to exit.
A Pick-Up Truck Bed Filled with Legs on a Snowy Highway
Guest blogger again today. The blog has been a family effort as of late. I’ve been out here for ten days and going back home New Year’s Day.
Today”s guest blogger is none other than my nine year old granddaughter Anna who shot this scene with her mom’s cell phone from a moving car.
She saw this pick-up truck on the way to swim practice. What I love is that she saw it, got her mom’s camera on the phone going and captured the shot and THEN she texted it to me saying “I just blogged for you”. People write to me and tell me they see something and think, ahh Ruth would photograph this. People have called or emailed suggestions of things to consider photographing for the blog. If I had seen this truck filled with a pile of fake legs in the back
And then there are these moments of serendipity.
I asked her where she thought the truck was going
Her reply “Probably a dummy store.”
Anna has shown me photos before to be on the blog but I said We’ll know when it is right! Today it is perfect.
Wind Up Toys
Sunday morning. Breakfast at Joan’s. A cadre of colorful windup toys in her kitchen… I asked if I could photograph them. I can’t remember a specific windup toy I had as a child but these all felt familiar and provided a relaxing and fun time as she wound them up and they executed their motion while I tried to photograph them.
Guess they are making a big comeback. I am going to get some for me the grandkids so I they can play with these adorable windup toys.
Sock Monkey Welcoming Committee
When I got to Ohio this evening, the kids were in their pjs and had already eaten supper. As I entered the door there was a wagon load of sock monkeys and a handmade Welcome Froo Froo Ruthie sign. It was funny and exciting to arrive and be greeted so enthusiastically. They had run down to the car and helped haul the suitcase and school bag and I carried the one with the camera. Even Murphy was at attention in the driveway as I pulled up. He watched the monkey shot but did not get in it. A quick photo op and no belaboring trying to get everyone’s attention. The monkeys did well again, never moving or flinching! You don’t want to spoil the moment by insisting on multiple poses for a stellar shot. The grandkids all looked wonderful to me. Jack doesn’t like to sit still anyway,
Popping Bubble Wrap
Lots of people enjoy the satisfaction of popping bubble wrap. Even the virtual kind. On one listing for a computer game it’s called the ultimate time waster. There are apps with popping bubble wrap games. Some people find it a stress reliever and like hearing the pop. Lately I have been receiving packages with a different kind of plastic with air trapped inside and they aren’t nearly as fun, just half heartedly filled with air and don’t make a good POP! More of a fizzle.
You don’t have to explain the rules to this activity. Here’s Maura on Aunt Linda’s back porch, concentrating on the task. A detailed post of various methods of popping bubble wrap has been published over at 1000 Awesome Things( #840) so check it out here. There’s a photo of someone jumping on a big sheet of it! And there are various size bubbles.
Maura was popping the bubbles one at a time and it was fascinating to watch her take her time. It seems a skill that’s a natural one. Pick it up. Squeeze. Pop!
and Jack has found another use for bubble wrap
Swim Coach Clay Saves the Day
After the Dive Championships at Worthington Hills Club in Ohio, we were waiting around for the results and awards presentation. Jack McG (5) threw his favorite Woody (Toy Story) t-shirt up into the air.
A gust of wind caught the shirt’s billow and sailed it up onto the Pool Clubhouse roof. Uh-oh.
Jack’s face would have made a good photograph but I’m not that fast. He didn’t expect the shirt to disappear on the roof.
This kind man, who happens to be a coach of the Penguins of New Albany, came over and pulled over a stool AND a big golf umbrella, climbed up onto the stool and retrieved the favorite shirt, snagged it and flew it down to Jack. What a nice guy.
By that time I had the camera to my eye, shot this image and then asked if it would be okay to blog him and he graciously agreed. Thanks, Coach. Good sportsmanlike conduct, eh?
Weekly Photo Challenge: Create
Limiting myself to a single image, shot on my iPhone at school. I like to document their artwork.
Teaching art to K-8 students, I had many choices.
I am posting this first grader’s response to the question What is Your Favorite Thing About School?
Here are some fellow bloggers responses to the Weekly Photo Challenge: Create
Without the 3-D Glasses, the Movie’s Blurry
Girls night at the Dollar Theatre (well more than a dollar but weeknights it is 1.75!) Maura on a booster, Erika, Anna and Laura.
Last day of school, two art rooms cleaned and packed up until mid-August. Time to relax and enjoy.
Today is the 999th post so tomorrow it will be one thousand.
Marking summer with a brighter header of the city, taken June 14th.
When a Dog Smiles at the Camera
You have to take a picture. I asked the owner’s permission. She looked as if she had just been on a run or about to go on one with some friends.
His name is Oliver!
Oliver is a Heinz 57 mutt and he was smiling for the camera!
He’s six months old and has that puppy energy and enthusiasm. What a happy guy.
I’d just come out of the end of the year faculty meeting/gathering at the Hofbrauhaus on the edge of South Side Works near the riverfront trail.
So thanks Oliver (and your owner also- sorry I didn’t get your name)
I know Murphy smiles for the camera, too.
What a great personality! 
How to Keep Four Children Entertained at the Motel
Well, three of them.
You know how I love to capture those candids. When electronic devices are involved they’re in another place and pay no attention to me and my camera. Shot in October 2009 but when I found it today it made me chuckle.
Such Expressive (and Unexpected) Taxidermy
Beware of Fox!
It’s been up on this porch roof for at least a couple of days.
I was driving to the zoo from school on Monday.
The story I heard from the guy out in front of the house next door?
The guy who lives there does demolition and probably got it from some home he was tearing down. It is the season of demolition around the city as you know.
A photographer has no choice but to pull to the curb and shoot the scene. Remember the days of women’s stoles with fox heads dangling and tiny paws with claws? Beady eyes? Ugh. Wonder if they take him in if it rains?
The last book we read in 2nd grade Intervention Group was the Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl.
Meeting of the Sock Monkey Minds /Solving WordPress Email Deluge!
Four sock monkeys I made, set up, waiting for the kids to come home and find them (from Easter visit to grandchildren)
When I looked at the photo, I thought of meetings, meetings, meetings…….table the motion and I move to adjourn-
Do I hear a second?
second part for my blogging friends who experienced a deluge of email in their box. See Chicago John’s public service announcement
or it could be a WordPress meeting!
Monkey 1″Hey, let’s flood people’s inboxes with a ton of emails, every time they write a comment or reply on a post”
Monkey 2 “Yes, let’s check the box for them without their realizing it so they get emails and more emails and more emails. Imagine if a blogger gets twenty comments. And then a commenter replies, or the blogger replies, too. YIKES
Multiply that cause each commenter will now receive an email. Wow, it is like a math problem. Can even get almost to infinity in an inbox!”
Monkey 3 ”We might get a ton a email ourselves over in support!”
Monkey 4 ” We had better fix this problem at WordPress NOW as our loyal bloggers and their readers are not happy!!” : – (
Novelty Architecture-Bedford PA- The Coffee Pot
I imagine this scene has been captured thousands and thousands of times by passersby like myself.
And if you enjoy looking at the Coffee Pot there are plenty more structures to read about here
The Film Crew Bathrooms – New York City
NYC residents look straight ahead, walk by,yawn.
Out-of-towners gawk and stop to take a photograph. Oh my.
What I Found on the Sidewalk by School
I walked on by-
nearly passed it up-
even thought it caught my eye.
It’s a rush and a hike between schools.
Time’s always short.
But after I stepped past, I turned around
got down on one knee and shot this little gift
to me- hard boiled yolk, a bit dried,
rolled in sandy crumbs,
abandoned on a sidewalk, fell from a lunch bag
or on the way to the nearby dumpster, missed.
Easter is over.
Didn’t make it to the egg salad bowl.
I drove by after school, to see if it was smashed
maybe rolled an inch, more dry, but still there
all those hours later, just not in as good a light!
Woman Waiting for the Man and Dog Behind- But Read the Green and White Sign
I was sitting at the red light. Saw the gorgeous tree blossoms. Quick shot through the windshield. No time to capture what happened next. The man and dog appear from behind the barrier and return to the woman who was waiting for them.
And when I got home, looked on the computer screen, and read the words on the green sign. Oh my. Just my kind of shot. Inadvertent, but still……
As If “Not Littering” Were/Was(?) Enough….. Which is Correct?
Okay Grammarians. Here’s your chance. I can’t decide which is correct.
1. As if “not littering” were enough to keep Pennsylvania beautiful.
2. As if “not littering” was enough to keep Pennsylvania beautiful.
The more I read them the more I think I should go with- #3 choice-
Is just “not littering” sufficient?
or
“Not littering” isn’t the only thing necessary………
No way to dial a #1-800-Grammar line and find out which is correct.
It’s after eleven PM. The English teachers, working or retired, I know are fast asleep.
Surely someone can help me out with the proper wording of the title.
Maybe it will occur to me in the middle of the night.
Or just check out the sign and don’t worry about my inability to decide.
Shot near Rankin Bridge on Route 837.
This sign is on the entrance to a car junkyard.
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