'Daisy' by Me

Daisy, a photo by PhotoPuddle on Flickr.

I know I'm always featuring photos of daisies but this time I am proud to say that this one was actually taken by me. I am rather pleased with it and think I would have posted it here even if it wasn't one of my own pictures.

I hope you've had a great start to the week. I feel like we've had a bonus day today as I thought it was meant to be rainy but in fact it's actually been rather warm and sunny. Here's hoping it continues.

'London: Tower Bridge is ready for the Olympics!'

London: Tower Bridge is ready for the Olympics! , a photo by ovofrito on Flickr.

I have been feeling rather proud to be British today after watching the amazing opening ceremony of the Olympics. I'm not really a sporty person so wasn't fussed when I realised that a meal out with friends clashed with the event. However, I came home half way through athletes processing around the stadium and that itself had me hooked. Luckily my husband who'd been fascinated by the whole thing thought to hit record for me so I watched the beginning bit this morning with my three year old who was also mesmerised. It was hard to resist really when my hubby and pretty much everyone on Twitter was talking about Mary Poppins defeating Voldemort, Mr Bean playing in an orchestra and the Queen and James Bond jumping out of a helicopter.

And now for the Olympic themed photo. This is a great photo of Tower Bridge and the Olympic rings. I think it's a brilliant example of night photography. The blue of the sky and the river Thames is just stunning and the exposure is perfect.

'I saw a rainbow in the sky' by eleannab

I saw a rainbow in the sky, a photo by eleannab on Flickr.

I think as it's still so hot and sunny I'll post another bright and colourful summer photo. I love all the bright colours in this, not to mention the beautiful blue sky. I am still finding it hard to believe that it's actually been summer this week. I am also finding it rather hard not to utter the words "it's just too hot" because quite frankly I am too hot! I don't know what happened, I used to love the heat and sunbathing. I guess motherhood happened. Things would be much easier if I could just lie on a sun lounger in my garden with a book and a nice ice cold drink but the children have other ideas! I believe next week is meant to be cooler and as long as the sun is shining I'll be happy!

'Feet and flower' by Me

Feet and flower, a photo by PhotoPuddle on Flickr.

I promised you some of my flower photography the other day so here is picture number one. This isn't my favourite photo from that day but I do love the colours here so wanted to share. Whilst pointing my camera down to take a snap of this flower I noticed that I actually matched. I therefore decided to put me in the photo too. I love these bright blue jeans so it's great I could show them off a bit!

'Colourful sweets' by jo mclure

Colourful sweets, a photo by jo mclure on Flickr.

My daughter was given a really big bag of mini Haribo bags. We don't want her stuffing her face with sweets obviously so being the good parents that we are my husband and I are managing to dispose of them ourselves. We're good like that! Yum!

I love this sweetie filled photograph. I love all the colours and detail. It definitely makes me fancy pick 'n' mix (because I've not eaten enough Haribo yet!). I really like that the sweets are displayed in wooden boxes like this. How can anything displayed in a rustic looking box like this be bad for you?

'Strawberry picking' by Me

Strawberry picking, a photo by PhotoPuddle on Flickr.

Today has been a really fun and productive day. We repainted a radiator that was in dire need of some TLC and we mended the roof of the shed. By 'we' I of course mean my husband! I wouldn't know how to fix a shed! We also accomplished a lot at the shops when we bought lots of stuff we'd been needing to get for ages and also helped out a friend by getting something for her too. And if that wasn't enough we also managed to squeeze in a trip out strawberry picking which was a great suggestion by my daughter. We finished the day with a sneaky barbecue. Nothing fancy, just a few burgers and sausages, but that's the best bit of a barbecue anyway. And what made the day extra special was the fact that it was actually hot and sunny. Summer is finally here at last. I hope you've had a lovely day too.

And I know I promised you macro flowers tonight. They are on their way honestly but it just made more sense to show you a photograph from today. Here is my daughter in a strawberry field. I think it's a lovely, summery, chilled out picture.

'rainbow parking only' by armykat

rainbow parking only, a photo by armykat on Flickr.

Well I am quite excited to say I got to take some macro flower photos today which I've not done in a while. I've not had the chance to transfer them from my camera to my computer yet though unfortunately. They look OK on the small screen so fingers crossed I will have something to share with you tomorrow!

In the mean time I shall leave you to enjoy this fabulously colourful photo. I can't look at this and not imagine that these fence panels are actually coloured lollypop sticks for crafting. So pretty and uplifting. I think all fences should look like this!

'Floating Daisy' by marsmith7

Floating Daisy, a photo by marsmith7 on Flickr.

What is it about pictures of daisies - I always seem to be strangely drawn to them. You wouldn't think there'd be a lot of ways to photograph such a simple little flower but if you go back through all the photos on this blog you'll see there are actually quite a lot of interesting and pretty daisy images. This one is particularly striking. I can't say I've ever seen a daisy looking so dramatic before. Great use of the black background and I also love the shadows.

Happy weekend everyone!

'Doll's house coffee shop' by Me

Doll's house coffee shop, a photo by PhotoPuddle on Flickr.

Well here's some proof that perhaps my daughter and I have spent too much time in coffee shops over the past few years. I found this set up in her doll's house the other day and it really made me smile. She's so imaginative. In fact this is just the sort of thing I'd have created with my toys when I was a little girl.

'Cirque du Ciel' by Michelle in Ireland

Cirque du Ciel, a photo by Michelle in Ireland on Flickr.

We've spent rather a lot of this weekend in a tent. You may think that means we've been camping but that's not the case. While I was out for a couple of hours on Saturday my husband constructed a rather elaborate tent out of sheets and dining chairs. It filled up most of living room and our living room isn't particularly small. My daughter loved it, my baby boy wasn't quite as impressed but it turned us grown ups into such big kids. There's something cool about sitting in a tent. I swear if I hadn't had to be upstairs and close to my son who's still sleeping in our room I would have slept in it. Sadly though the tent is no more. We decided that we probably did need our living room back. Oh well, perhaps we'll do it again next weekend!

I am showing you this photo tonight as it's tent related and it's rather fabulous simply because of the great shapes and bold colours. I love that the whole image is basically just made up of red, white and blue. It's so striking.

I hope you all had a fun weekend.

'lost in telecommunications' by aldosterone Aberto Dominguez

lost in telecommunications, a photo by aldose Aberto Dominguez on Flickr.

I am posting this photo tonight just because after a long stressful week it made me smile. What a funny place to make a phone call. It looks rather like he's been sent into the corner for being naughty. I hope he's thinking about whatever it is he's done. And I really love the random road cone. Great photo!

Happy weekend everyone!

'Diner' by Me

Diner, a photo by PhotoPuddle on Flickr.

At the weekend we had an impromptu meal out at Frankie and Benny's and it was so much fun! We love eating out but kind of thought it would be hard to manage with two kids in tow but you know what - it was just fine. I also thought it might be a good opportunity to take some photos as I'm really not doing enough photography at the moment (other than taking hundreds of family photos that is). Here is the empty table that was next to us. It just needed to be photographed and made to look a bit retro. I like this version as it looks like it was taken on film when really it's just a good old modern digital snap!

'Fassade eines Hochhauses' by ralfgosch

Fassade eines Hochhauses, a photo by ralfgosch on Flickr.

I love abstract art that has been found in things we see around us every day. This is brilliantly demonstrated in this photo here. At first glance it looks like a rather retro print of some kind but it's only when you look a but harder you see that it's actually apartments and their balconies. I love everything about this. The composition is great and I especially like the colours. This is a real work of modern art.

'Brooklyn Bridge, New York' by Tomasito

Brooklyn Bridge, New York, a photo by Tomasito.! on Flickr.

I was watching The Smurfs movie today and it made me really want to visit New York. I've been there once before and it was amazing. As I'd wanted to go there for so long I was really nervous it wouldn't live up to my expectations but it went above and beyond them. I loved it there. But that was back in 2000 (we even got to see the amazing view from the World Trade Centre) and it was just for a three night fleeting visit. I would really love to go again and explore the city more.

I love this picture of Brooklyn Bridge, which I've not been across but if course I would love to. Apparently this photograph is a vertorama-HDR composed of 19 photos. I have no idea how you would go about doing that but I must admit the result is a rather spectacular image.

'his and hers' by kirstinmckee

his and hers, a photo by kirstinmckee on Flickr.

Things are quite busy and also rather stressful at the moment so tonight I think I need to try and relax a little bit. I have wine, chocolate, a bath waiting to be filled with bubbles and a new glossy magazine. Fingers crossed I can get myself just a little bit chilled out. It does help that I've just had a really lovely day with my hubby and children. I really do have the best little family to hang out with.

I think this is a great weekendy photo. It looks like a nice quite afternoon in the pub and the photographer has captured a lovely warm atmosphere. I also love the focus in this - it really is all about the alcohol!

Hope you're having a nice relaxing weekend!

'just two of us' by kennymuz

just two of us, a photo by kennymuz on Flickr.

I think this photo is so cute. I love the colours, the sparkle in the background and it really does look like a mother or father and their child. You do actually forget for a moment that they are just daisies. Well I did anyway! I also wonder whether, like me, this photographer has a child who is constantly presenting them with things they find outside during the day. That reminds me, I really should clear out my handbag as there is currently a small collection of little stones in the front pocket. I'm not exactly sure why!

'Three in a row' by Me

Three in a row, a photo by PhotoPuddle on Flickr.

I have mentioned before that my daughter is always picking up bits of nature for me as presents. I was really pleased with the picture I took of the flowers she gave me so I thought I'd try a photo with some pine cones as they looked rather lovely. I am pleased with this image as I think it has actually turned out to be rather artistic. I now wonder what I'll get from her next and weather it will make a good photograph.

'on the musical scrapheap' by fitzhughfella

on the musical scrapheap, a photo by fitzhughfella on Flickr.

This weekend we had a good old clear out at home. We were actually really ruthless and got rid of loads of clutter. One thing I came across was my big box of cassette tapes. I had a good old rummage through them and there was no way I was throwing any of them away. Far too many memories. And luckily we do still have a couple of tape players in the house so I can listen to them if I want. Likewise I know I will never get rid of my CDs even though music is all digital these days. I guess I just like having 'stuff' I can actually hold in my hand and have a good old browse through.

I love this cassette tape photo. It's great seeing all the different types of tapes. I think this picture looks especially retro because it was taken with a film camera. It's a toy camera called a Holga apparently which I am now slightly fascinated by!