photo challenge

How’s everybody holding up?

This world is crazy, isn’t it? It seems we are all trying to “reopen” so to speak. Some places are further along than others. My area in New York has reached the second of four phases deemed by New York.

Alas, hopefully we are all trying to do our part in this world to make it so we can eventually get back to normal. I know we all want to (hey, I need a haircut just as bad as many others) get back to the norm, but let’s make sure we do it in a safe way.

I’d like to believe we are all going in the right direction. We can keep trying anyway and hope soon enough we can get back to a way of life we all would like to be at.

I’ve enjoyed looking at different things on Instagram and such to see how people are keeping busy and doing different things to keep sane during this time. I know it’s not easy. I’ve started walking even more than I used to – and that was quite a bit. There are times when it’s hard though as you want to just break things up a bit more. In time, though, in time. My issue has been my amount of work hours have gone up and it’s made for a lot more stress, so walking is the one thing I’m trying to do to de-stress.

So have you kept busy this month?

This theme, when I posted it last month, seemed like a pretty open-ended one that would allow everybody to think a bit outside the box and find some fun photos. Who knows what it will encompass, but I’m sure we’ll have some great things.

I hope you are all doing well and that you’ve had the chance to breathe a little, get outside some and take some photos. Now, without further ado, here are my five for the month!

1. Writing

A while back, I purchased a Google Chromebook. The idea was to have something I could access the web, and to use to do some writing. And honestly, part of it was to be able to go to a park and write. On Saturday, May 30 it was too perfect not to go do this, so I got about 90 minutes of writing/blogging in!

2. Stopping and looking

How many of you have gone out for a walk or something else, and just don’t even think about what’s around you? Well, that’s what his post is about … stop and notice your surroundings. It’s not a bath thing! (side note: This is taken with the Moment macro lens. So far these lenses are great!

3. Exploring

The one thing about staying close to home on weekends and such, it alsome to check out parks in my area and explore a bit.

4. I’m trying …

During this Covid pandemic, I’ve seen a lot more sidewalk art come up. I usually take the time to stop and read the items and will usually take photos as well. This is something we should all keep in mind.

5. Letter writing

Over the past few months, I’ve really been intrigued by penpals. The activity seems to be in a bit of a resurgence and people on Instagram and YouTube have so much content about it. It’s way cool. I found myself one and I might try and add a few more as I found working on the letter and other items surrounding it were relaxing and rewarding. It’s not the easiest for a guy to find a penpal as it seems very heavily female to female sort of a hobby. Anyway, I saw many do this as well and I wanted to be able do it as well … I love the wax sealing aspect of letters. Very cool.

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 June’s theme!

Photo Blogging Challenge: May 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!

My hope had been by the time we posted April’s results, our world would be changed. And maybe it has, but not to the level I and I am sure many would have hoped. We still have safety orders in place and we don’t know what is going to happen.

It does seem, though, that things have flattened a little. Some places are pulling back slowly. This summer will definitely not be normal, but hopefully we’ll be able to do so some things. But our worlds have definitely changed.

This month’s theme will be quite interesting, I think. It’ll give us all a chance to see what everybody’s world is currently like. Nobody is the same, that’s for sure.

For me, things have changed, that is for sure. But I think for me, mostly it’s the little things we don’t think about and take advantage of — like a haircut. I’m still employed (though working more hours it seems, even with some at home). I go out for walks a couple of times a day (fewer people sometimes; about the same others in regard to how many I see). There are some businesses open and some closed. I go to the store or post office and I have or wear a mask.

Mostly, I try and stay sane and as healthy as possible. I’m in the office a couple of times a week, but we remain socially distant and there are far fewer people in the buildings when I’ve been there.

Maybe in a month, things will get better. We can all hope. It’s a crazy time in our world, but I am ready to start pushing forward to healing our country, and healing our world.

OK, with all of that in mind, let’s get to some photos and look at what your worlds are all about right now. Here are my five!

1. Artist … ?

I’ve been to Paint Nite (paint and sip things) before and they were fun. With this global pandemic going on, Yaymaker (those behind Paint Nite) have made things virtual. I saw this one listed one night and got into it. I had a lot of fun. I haven’t done another yet (I have painted again on my own), but I’d like to. The virtual version was fun as you don’t have to travel somewhere and make sure you can get there in time etc., it’s all online. (You, obviously, have to have your own supplies)!

2. Photos

My walking has stayed pretty consistent during this time, but I’ve started taking more photos while out. That will be somewhat of a theme with the rest of this post. I also have discovered some processing techniques (this is a preset with Lightroom) and I’ve enjoyed learning new things.

3. Sidewalk art

This time of year, I usually start seeing more and more sidewalk art. Kids are out, usually, and enjoying better weather. I’ve seen a lot more messages like this while I am out and about.

4. Nature

One thing I’ve really worked to do is get out and find some trails, rather than just walk around the village. It’s been nice and refreshing when I do so. I’ve worked to take more photos and do more with video as well (and work on my YouTube page more!)

5. I found a rock

As I was walking in one park here recently, and doing some video, I found this rock on a stone wall. It was nice and colorful on this day, so I snapped a few shots and left it behind. It’s funny how something colorful like this can just make you smile.

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 April’s theme!

Photo Blogging Challenge: April 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!

To say that this theme changed a bit for me this month would be an understatement. Though I didn’t have a full plan of attack when we first started, I really didn’t have a plan once everything went full-on crazy throughout the world.

So this was a bit tough for me in regard to what should I come up with for this theme. Numbers aren’t always easy for me to figure photos for.

I did my best to capture seven … we’ll see how it comes out though!

Let me first take a moment to talk about this challenge. When we first started, the idea was to have a place of creativity — and it still is. But it was a sense of community and a way to grow people’s reach. Blogging over those seven years has changed, and maybe not all for the better. Blogging is still out there and great, but over those seven years, things have changed in how people do it. I still try and keep things the way they were when I started this blog — personal blog telling stories that I feel like sharing. I don’t have ads or anything like that and it’s rare I do sponsored posts (though I will sometimes … I mean, money is money), so I try to keep to the roots.

This challenge has always been a lot of fun and I hope it continues that way. I’ve started getting back into blogging more (as people I hope have seen) and I’m doing my best to visit more (though, sometimes I’m slower with the challenges… I have been catching up!) and see what everybody else is up to.

Seven years.

This challenge has gone through a lot over the years. It doesn’t always draw a lot of people, but I keep hoping maybe people will join and we will grow. If not, we have a great group of people who make it a lot of fun!

Thank you all for being part of this challenge and here’s to many more years of fun!

With all of that in mind, here are my five for March!

1. Thank you!

I’m not much of an artist, so this will have to work! Thank you for seven years of this challenge, no matter if you’ve done one month or been around since the beginning!

2. Seven letters

This used to be a car wash in my town. Though it’s changed, I love that this sign has remained.

3. Seven treats

Being diabetic, I’ve had to find ways to have a sweet treat when I crave it. Turns out Hershey Kisses are good because you can have just one or two and it fills the need. Even better is how many different types of Kisses are out there!

4. Pathtags

If you are a geocacher, you likely know about Pathtags. These collectible “coins” are small and really nice things to find or trade for. Some have holes, so you can attach to a keychain or something like that. Others are more like shaped coins. These are seven of my personal ones. The top one can only be won via contests on my blog or social media. Keep watching as I’ll have a contest coming soon. You don’t have to be a geocacher to win!

5. Dice

I had to bring out some dice. There’s seven of them, of course. And then there’s the seven showing on them!

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 April’s theme!

Photo Blogging Challenge: March 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!