Popinjay – Deceptive

This week’s Popinjay prompt is “Deceptive”.  Let me tell you what I hate…when a store, any store, has a “going out of business sale”, but the sale is a big huge snow job.  What I mean is…said store advertises BIG CLOSEOUT SALE. Signs everywhere, emails sent to your inbox, signs on the side of the street telling you to come on in and save. Everything must go, therefore, the prices as slashed WAY down.

Everything 20-75% off.


And then you walk in…and you walk around…and there is one shelf with items 75% off. Another shelf with items 50% off.


The rest of the store? is 20-35% off.  Off prices that were already above other store’s prices anyway.


So…really? Not a sale…not a bargain…


Deceptive.


I hate that.

Popinjay – Hollow

 This week’s Popinjay prompt is Hollow:

That’s all folks!

Popinjay – Little

This week’s Popinjay prompt is “Little”.


There’s this little sandcastle on my balcony…I keep it there year round because it reminds me that winter can’t possibly last forever…

Even when surrounded by the bitter spades of winter…it smiles at me…beckons me…speaks to me…


“Soon, soon it will be summer, hang in there…”


Be sure to stop by Michelle’s for a “little” more inspiration.

Popinjay – Bewildered

This week’s Popinjay prompt is Bewildered:

That’s my neighbor’s car (and the parking spot on the left of that car USED TO BE my parking space)…he hasn’t moved his car ONCE since our very first storm this winter. It sits under roughly 40 inches of snow.


Indeed.


Check out Michelle’s photo here…it’s a good one!


Next week’s word is Innocent.  Hope you’ll join us!

Popinjay – Comfortable

This week’s Popinjay prompt is Comfortable.


I’m cheating this week, because we’re not supposed to use pictures of our pets…but, truly…how could I not? My cats? They DEFINE comfortable on a daily basis.


Exhibit A: 

Turtle is loungin’…

Exhibit B:

Drama…no, seriously, he was totally comfortable…

Stop by Michelle’s to check out who else got “Comfortable” this week.

Popinjay – Blue

This week’s Popinjay prompt is “Blue”. Blue…what a great color blue is. I love blue! There’s a certain shade of blue that whenever I wear it, people tell me “you look great in that color”.  My favorite fuzzy slippers, that I wear around the house, in the shape of some silly monster paws, are blue.  The ocean, with it’s turbulent waves, and calming music…so beautiful and blue…and yet, the word blue also stands for sad, gloomy, dark…everything the opposite of beautiful and calm and soothing…

I suffer from the Winter Blues…I’ve been in a funk now for weeks…the lack of sunlight, the cold temperatures, the incessant snow and freezing rain…all of it combine to make me not want to leave my house, not want to leave the comfort of my couch…lazy, unmotivated, blue…

So, when in the middle of a winter’s day, I catch a glimpse of sky…so blue:

 I thank God, I count my blessings…and I smile. Blue…what a beautiful color…


Make sure to pop on over to Michelle’s and check out other “blue” submissions…

Popinjay – Whimsical

This week’s Popinjay prompt is Whimsical:

Whimsical: spontaneous, fanciful or playful; given to whims, capricious; quaint, unusual or fantastic.

I thought for sure this would be such an easy prompt to photograph…and then suddenly, I was at a loss…

Then I remembered one of my Christmas gifts from this year. I collect Betty Boop stuff. I have for years, and my collection isn’t overwhelming and huge, but it is fun, and something that makes me smile. It is also playful and so cute.

For Christmas this year my uncle gave me a set of salt and pepper shakers, and…looking at them:

They just feel “whimsical” to me. Especially when I note that the lips on the dog (and Betty’s cheek) are magnetic, so they are pulled together by magnetic forces…cute right?

Make sure you stop by Michelle’s to see what other whimsy’s everyone found.

Popinjay – Humble

This week’s Popinjay prompt is “Humble”. I chose to go with the definition of the word as a verb:

Humble: To lower in condition, importance or dignity; to destroy the independence, power, or will of; to make meek.

Well, what perfect timing this is…because I can’t think of anything that can humble an entire community so quickly as mother nature. Today the East Coast of the United States was hit with a great blizzard. As far as blizzards in Massachusetts go, they (being the news media) tell us this is one of the biggest we’ve had in years. Pretty much everything shut down. Cancellations were announced last night for business and plans alike. Folks were asked to stay off the roads. Many people lost power. There has been flooding, fires, downed trees, and the like.


Us mere mortals are left to huddle up in the warmth of our homes, and watch as nature takes over for a little while:

Humbled:

Be sure to stop by Michelle’s for more “humbling” posts…

Popinjay – Strong

This week’s Popinjay prompt is Strong.

There were many many ways I could have gone with this prompt, but this year, I found a strength in me I didn’t know was there.

I started running…and I kept on running.

And on Thanksgiving day…I ran my first 5K.

And when I was done? I felt strong. So very strong.

When do you feel strong? Stop on by Michelle’s and check out the other strong ladies and their photos!

Popinjay – Distant

This week’s Popinjay prompt is “Distant”.

I had a hard time with this one. The weather has been pretty frightful, so I haven’t really been inspired to get out there and take photos…if it’s not nasty wet and rainy out, it’s downright frigid.

SO, I thought long and hard about what Distant means to me…and how to represent it in a photo…

Distant (according to Dictionary.com): 1. Far off or apart in space; not near at hand; remote or removed; 2. Apart or far off in time; 3. Remote or far apart in any respect; 4. Reserved or aloof; not familiar or cordial.

What kept resonating in my head was the phrase “a distant memory”…

So, I give you just that…a distant memory, times gone by, a sunnier, more relaxed time…

Summer at Lake Winnipesauke, and two swimmers getting ready (in full scuba gear) to swim for what seemed like HOURS while my friend and I relaxed on beach chairs…ahhhhh

Be sure to stop by Michelle’s to see what other distant photos people came up with.