A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

blogging challenge

BWF: Home

“Home” has really taken on a new definition since this past March. 

For many people, their home became not just home – but their office. And maybe even more. It almost became a bunker. A place where you could feel safe. 

Your fortress, to a point. 

A home is many, many things … but I am not sure any of us could have predicted how things would have been shaped in 2020, right?

I’ve recently, in the past two years or so, have gotten myself better financially and have realized my current job is one I’ll likely be keeping for my career as it’s something I enjoy, has decent pay, and great benefits. 

So I thought it would be good to start thinking about maybe buying a house. Or some land and get a home done so it’s mine from the beginning. 

Finding what I truly want hasn’t been easy. There are times I look closer than others. I probably should contact an agent (I know a few) and have them start helping me. 

What I seek is pretty defined. I want 8-10 acres, especially some wooded, so I can have some nature trails over time. A decent lawn so I can maybe have some apple trees and a garden of some sort. 

If I am not having a house built (I would look at manufactured), I don’t want to have to do a ton of work (I’m not one who would do it myself), or if it requires a bunch of work – the price needs to be right. 

When COVID first came about and then drained into the second and third months … I started thinking maybe I’d be able to find something at a decent price. Would it be a buyer’s market?

Turns out it’s not. 

It’s a seller’s market. People from downstate are buying upstate homes, often sight unseen and paying higher than market value. 

And well, that doesn’t help people like me. 

So I keep working to find a house that I can turn into my long-term home. I know eventually, it will happen and I’ll be able to put my own stamp on it. 

That home, though, might have to come after COVID!

Blog With Friends: November 2020
Blog with Friends is a themed collaboration challenge where a group of bloggers get together and publish a project based on a theme. Please see the others who have taken part for this month’s theme carrots. Links to their posts can be found below the image!

Check out what the others did with home!

Enjoy blogging challenges? We have several that happen here, and we’d love to have you join us! The Photo Blogging Challenge is one of our main ones and it runs monthly! Join us as well for the Food Photo Challenge!. We’d love to see you!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Photo Blogging Challenge (October 2020): The great outdoors

Note: Please make sure you see the end of this post for the new way of doing things. It’s only one small change, but a change nonetheless. Thanks!

If there’s one thing this whole pandemic has taught me, it’s that getting outside is a must. Staying socially distant or wearing a mask is fine, but if all you do is stay inside, you’ll go mad.

Therefore, it seemed like a perfect time to make sure this challenge for the month was outdoors. Maybe you were somewhere with great fall colors. Maybe you did other things outside. Maybe, just maybe, this challenge forced you to take a walk and explore a little

Remember, we can be safe and sill be outside trying to make sure our mental health is being stimulated and hopefully in a positive way.

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My area got a bit lucky this year, it seems. For as bad as 2020 has been, the fall season was quite majestic for the first time in a few years. The colors on the trees popped and stayed vibrant for a while. Our peak season was more than a week, which is something I always hope for. The colors though… reds and oranges and yellows … so nice. I made sure to hit several nature trails, just to be able to see the foliage in all its glory.

I also got back into Polaroids and instant cameras this month, but that’s not something you’ll see here. Maybe in the future though …

This month’s theme was pretty easy for me. The hardest part? Selecting just five pictures for this post. Not an easy task! I’ll have to make sure to start posting to my Instagram even more.

Stay safe and healthy! My five are below! (And despite having the photos done in time .. and writing this up ahead… I still apparently forgot to post …)

1. Exploring

The Fall around here has been pretty wonderful, and it’s allowed me to get out an explore. I’ve hit several nature trails around here, for photos as well as some geocaching. It’s been nice to see some color, as well as be in solitude a little.

2. Fresh air

OK, not much needs to be said here. The fall cover. Some water. So peaceful.

3. Apple picking

Was nice to go to a local orchard and pick some apples for an hour or so. Makes for good photo opportunities, too!

4. Anybody seen those shoes…?

So I’m out for a walk … and I see these. Just on the main drag. Mixed in with the leaves. Almost like.. .somebody just forgot them. They look pretty solid, too. Hope whoever misplaced them, found them.

5. Winter’s coming

With daylight savings and darker days … winter is usually coming. We got a really good frost this weekend and it’s trying to rear its head. Though… end of this week and next week is supposed to heat back up into the 60s!

And there are my five for the month!

If you took part in this month’s challenge, make sure to link up below.

And for those of you who participated, make sure you try and get to other people’s blogs and comment (here, too!).

Let’s continue to grow this challenge and have a strong community. Come back and check out the others who link later on, too! NOTE: We have a Facebook group for those who participate in the challenge and are interested. I’ll post any announcements there and hopefully it can be a place where things are discussed and some interaction etc. You can access it here.

** CHALLENGE CHANGE **

From this point forward, I am going to do the next theme at the bottom of each linkup. Also, the posting date will now be the first of each month, thus giving you the entire month to take the photos etc.

That means it’s a one-stop shop! Hopefully this helps out with everybody.

So, below is the linkup for November. Make sure you drop your link there. The theme for November is Thankful. Remember to come back on December 1 to link up and check out the theme for that month!

Photo Blogging Challenge: October 2020 results

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

BWF: Apples, apples, everywhere!

It’s a rough world right now. 

Between elections and pandemics and hate, it’s probably a bit more than many of us can handle. Stress levels are high, mental health issues are in the forefront, and it seems many people can’t get along. 

The one thing, however, we can usually *attempt* to control is ourselves. 

We can’t shield ourselves from everything, outside of going into the mountains and living off the land in a shack. That actually kind of sounds divine, doesn’t it? The news cycle is 24/7, so if you are around anything where news can be found, you’ll hear something. 

So what can you do to relax? To calm down? To find the inner zen?

Get outside, of course. 

This is something I haven’t done in a couple of years. And, to be honest, it’s probably silly that I haven’t. But if you want to escape from reality, find an apple orchard. 

Go pick apples. 

Take photos. 

Take some videos. 

When you go to apple orchards, you can really have a good time. Apples on the trees, on the ground, and all over. What’s nice is the color and the smells. 

And you are outside. 

It’s not just about picking some apples. Though, let’s be honest here, it’s a good part. All these varieties of apples gives you the chance to test so many different types. 

Rows and rows of apples. 

Proof that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!

This isn’t a perfect fix, of course. But it’s little things like this that can really make you take a step back in life a little and breathe. When you are out doing things like this, you have the ability to ignore things like social media, and your phone, and things like that. 

Maybe it’s only for an hour, but it’s not a bad thing, is it?

The one thing I’ve learned during this pandemic – especially over the past month or two – is there are a lot of things out there you can do to try and clear your head, all while staying safe. You just have to look. 

Depending where you are, apple season is still likely going on. Go find an orchard. Pick some apples. And clear your mind!

And always remember, an apple doesn’t fall far from the tree! You’ll see that!

Blog With Friends: October 2020
Blog with Friends is a themed collaboration challenge where a group of bloggers get together and publish a project based on a theme. Please see the others who have taken part for this month’s theme carrots. Links to their posts can be found below the image!

Check out what the others did with carrots!

Enjoy blogging challenges? We have several that happen here, and we’d love to have you join us! The Photo Blogging Challenge is one of our main ones and it runs monthly! Starting up is the Food Photo Challenge and the Can of Corn Challenge. We’d love to see you!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Photo Blogging Challenge: October 2020’s theme is …

And we continue on! Not sure how the weather is been by you, but it feels like fall!

I’ve been trying to make sure I get outside a little bit more as well, trying to enjoy the

PBC logo

As bad as 2020 has been, I’m going to say that one thing that has been great is the colors so far this fall. The past few years, we’ve had some crappy color years. But this one … some great colors. It seems the oranges and reds are really popping, The yellows have life. I’m enjoying the drives. I need to get out and do some photos of it, and other great things in the fall. That will lead to our theme for this month.

So keep staying safe Try to smile. Enjoy life to the best of your ability!

The new theme is below!

So with that in mind, let’s look at the monthly “group” challenges:

Challenge 1: Tell others about this photo blogging challenge and get some friends to come join us.  Let’s see if we can get people interested in the challenge again.

Challenge 2: Make friends with your camera and see what you can come up with. Have fun!

Challenge 3 is at the end of this post (the theme!).

Before this, here’s some housekeeping items. For those who might be new to the challenge, here’s how it works.

  • See the theme (first day of the month);
  • Take photos throughout the month (don’t use old ones!);
  • Select five photos and create a blog post;
  • Come back here and link up on the final day of the month;
  • Use the official hashtag — #Photoblogchal — on social media posts;
  • Hopefully go visit and comment on other blogs.

That’s it. There’s no rules on equipment or anything else. Blog posts can be short and to the point, or in-depth. Interpret the themes as you see fit.

The one big rule?

Have fun!

This month’s theme? The great outdoors! Pretty open ended. So show us what you have! Please make sure your blog post publishes Saturday, October 31. Then come back here and link up.

If you think you are going to take part in this, drop a comment below so we can see who all might be trying to tackle this challenge!

There is also a Facebook group for those who are interested.

If you would like to visit the history of the challenge, which started in 2013, please go to the Photo Blogging Challenge page for more!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Photo Blogging Challenge (September 2020): Snap away!

Did you have your camera out this month? Maybe the phone? Anything?

I sure hope so as it was time to snap away!

Understandably, these types of themes often are ones where people can really shine. Though direct themes can be fun and challenging, these open-ended ones can produce some great stuff.

My goal this month was to attempt to just snap away a bit more. Unfortunately, I didn’t do it as much as I hoped, but I did do it more than in the past few months. By doing that, I had decisions to make. I had between 8-10 images I would have liked to use, but I trimmed it down to five.

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One thing I have to say is this — for this challenge this year, I have been sticking to my phone. But as work got closer to being normal, my main camera back out and I realized how much I miss that aspect of photography. Some things you just can’t replicate with a phone or a point-and-shoot etc. I’m going to try and start going out with my camera a bit more for a photo day here and there. Now, I can’t say it will be all the time as it’s still tough and clunky to carry all that equipment at times, but I definitely would like to get back into that aspect again.

Alas, this month I didn’t necessarily need the main camera as I had a bunch of selections I was stoked about. They are below and I hope everybody who took part this month enjoyed the theme!

Stay safe and healthy! My five are below!

1. Fall colors

I was recently walking a local park and trying some of these new geocaching “lab adventures” and came upon this tree. What colors! I’ll say this — as crappy as 2020 has been, this fall is producing some of the best colors my area has seen in a few years. Maybe that’s a sign that things will get better? Here’s hoping.

2. No sidewalk!

For those of you who have followed me, you may know I love signs. I especially like when “homemade” signs are in spots where you’d normally see a “real sign.” This was no exception. If you look in the distance, you can see the other side has a traditional and correct orange sign.” Loved this.

3. Free

The things you can find put out on a corner. Not sure what happened to it, but it wasn’t here too long, I don’t believe.

4. End of the line

I recently went out to check on some geocaches and then decided I would go place a few more on a trail where I have several. I placed two more and anticipated a few more and then … looks like the two will be it!

5. Found it

Through most of this pandemic, I haven’t been out geocaching. It just hasn’t been of interest to me. In the past couple of weekends, I’ve gotten out to do a few. I also have an adventure lab cache I am working to place, so I’ve been out exploring a little more. This was the final of a puzzle I had solved a long time ago. Though it made for a nice little photo, it was definitely not where it was supposed to be as it was out in the open. I placed it back after logging in and headed off. I am trying to get back into it a bit as there are a bunch of news ones around me I haven’t found.

And there are my five for the month!

If you took part in this month’s challenge, make sure to link up below.

And for those of you who participated, make sure you try and get to other people’s blogs and comment (here, too!).

Let’s continue to grow this challenge and have a strong community. Come back and check out the others who link later on, too! NOTE: We have a Facebook group for those who participate in the challenge and are interested. I’ll post any announcements there and hopefully it can be a place where things are discussed and some interaction etc. You can access it here.

Make sure, too, to come back tomorrow to see October’s theme! (SIDE NOTE: I think starting in October, I may go the direction I go with the Food Blogging Challenge — put the theme at the end of the results post. I am not sure yet, as I think some people do like the separate post for the theme, but I am thinking about it).

Photo Blogging Challenge: September 2020 results

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!