Sandie’s 30 Day Photo Challenge

I took a group of photos yesterday at the park thinking I’d get a May Day post up, but it didn’t happen. I did, however, get the photos for Sandie’s 30 Day Challenge edited today. Sandie had a prompt for each day of April. A couple of the photos didn’t happen exactly on that date, but I did capture a photo for all 30 prompts.

Day 1: A Selfie—truly one of my LEAST favorite photos to take. They are never flattering, but here is one from the trail. We spent several days in April hiking part of the Lehigh Valley Rail Trail. We still have a few portions left to hike, but the one we hoped to hike today was flooded in areas, so we headed out in a different direction. We’ll have to do that link another time.

Day 2: Something that gives you joy—these daffodils bloomed in our back yard much earlier, and we brought them inside to enjoy. The ones in the front yard have been blooming for a couple of weeks. Our very cool temperatures (and even some snow) seemed to have agreed with them.

Day 3: Centered–as we were walking on April 3rd, I told Tracy what the day’s prompt was. Almost immediately, we came upon this lawn sculpture in front of an apartment building. The cerub is definitely centered.

Day 4: A book you are reading/loved. I finished this book at the end of March. It’s one of the best books I’ve ever read—imaginative, tragic, and uplifting. It’s a novel based on a true story of two men–one Israeli and one Palestinian–both of whom lost a daughter to the fighting in Israel/Palestine. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, however. Sarah is a voracious reader, and she’s finding it hard to stick with it.

Day 5: Window–we were walking along the Genesee River on the fifth, and I took a photo of the windows on the University of Rochester’s Interfaith Chapel.

Day 6: Prints–I try to keep current photos of my grandchildren on a board in our kitchen. These are the last three prints I made. All the photos were taken by their parents since we haven’t seen anyone for the last seven weeks!

Day 7: Favorite mug–Tracy and I pour coffee into thermal mugs each morning, and head to the living room to read for an hour–or two. This mug keeps coffee hot all morning.

Day 8: Rainbow–a yard sign in a nearby neighborhood.

Day 9: Reflection– in a puddle at the park.

Day 10: Something that makes you laugh–a squirrel in our bird feeder—annoying, but funny to watch him maneuver himself around.

Day 11: Pattern–shadows on the foot bridge

Day 12: Look up

Day 13: Look down–new signage at the park.

Day 14: Self-care–one of my indulgences has been getting a pedicure. That’s no longer possible so I purchased a foot spa. It costs about the same as a pedicure, and was worth every penny. I also bought a scented foot soak which softens your feet. Quite a lovely experience, and one that will get regular use during this stay-at-home time.

Day 15: A door–ours.

Day 16: Escape–crafting is the best one I know!

Day 17: Food—my sister-in-law always serves deviled eggs on Easter. No family dinner this year, but I made some.

Day 18: Digits–this prompt actually inspired a card for my great-nephew’s birthday later in May.

Day 19: Where I’d like to be–Hawaii, where I should have been in March!

Day 20: Something with a scent or smell–soon these lilacs will be sending out a lovely scent in the park. This year’s Lilac Festival is cancelled like every other festival in 2020.

Day 21: What I am doing to relax—reading. I read seven books in April. I think that’s a record number. These are the five I read for the Unread Shelf Project.

Day 22: Communication—a family Zoom birthday party.

Day 23: Outside. The one saving grace is that the parks and trails in our county have remained open. We walk for 2-4 miles every day we can. This is Genesee Valley Park.

Day 24: Texture–a watercolor card with lots of texture.

Day 25: Something that marks today–we walked another section of the Lehigh Valley Trail. It was a gorgeous day, and I could have taken photos of the ice cream cones we got on the way home, but I didn’t! This part of the trail went through Rochester Junction—a stop on the Black Diamond Railroad.

Day 26: Something you look forward to–we had a tour of Scotland scheduled for August. They’ve rebooked it for August of 2021. I hope it’s possible by then.

Day 27: A show of appreciation–a thank you card I made as part of my #100DayProject–coloring something every day.

Day 28: Cozy–a corner in my craft room.

Day 29: An achievement–finishing five books from my shelves of unread books for the Unread Shelf Project Bingo game.

Day 30: A celebration–a great way to end the month. Matt and Betsy drove over. They all stayed in the car, and we got to talk to the girls from the sidewalk. It was the first time we’d seen them in seven weeks, although we have had a couple video chats.

And an award to you if you lasted through this very long post! I gave thought to dividing it into two parts, but just kept on going. It’s been a fun project, and ended up being a good summary of a month during the pandemic. Thanks, Sandie, for the inspiration!