Early Snow, Thiersee & Fly

All of a sudden, fall has come. Now it seems that, all of a sudden, winter has come as well. When I woke up this morning, it was snowing. In fact, it has been snowing non-stop since then. It's too early in the season for the snow to stay on the ground for a longer time, yet it's undeniable snow. Here you see a photo of the flowerbed next to the terrace as well as the view of our neighbors' garden from my bathroom window. You should be able to make out the falling snow on the latter picture.

Last Sunday was a sunny, splendid fall day. We took the opportunity to visit friends in Austria. Below you see a photo of Thiersee, a lovely Austrian village.

This morning I made a digital collage using just my own photos -- the forest nearby, a butterfly from Pecos National Monument, and yours truly. I like the dreamlike quality about it.

Three Ghosts

Once in a while I enjoy creating regular ATCs (Artist Trading Cards), getting my hands dirty with stamping color and glue. Lately, I made two Halloween ATCs -- Three Ghosts and Boo Cat -- which are now part of an ever-changing ATC collage on the wall of my study.

 

Artichoke Flower

Have you ever come across an artichoke flower? It's a truly beautiful and unique flower. I first saw it in a store earlier this week. Have a look yourself:

 

Fall

It's the first day of October and a sunny, glorious fall day here in Munich.
 

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

This spider currently lives in our garden -- and it isn't that itsy bitsy...

Butterfly Face

Here's a portrait of myself with a few alterations in Paint Shop Pro:

 

Monster

Halloween comes nearer and thus the monsters start to rise! Yesterday I tried something new -- I airbrushed an ATC from the scratch:

 

Oneida Girl

As much as I love working with a graphic program, I also enjoy sketching once in a while. Here's a drawing of a little girl from the Oneida Indian Nation:

My Landscape

I find it intriguing to tell something about oneself via collages. Thus I enjoyed creating several ATC-sized cards in a "Me" challenge. One of them is titled My Landscape:

It's a photo I took in Monument Valley a couple of years ago. In fact, I won with it the first prize in a photo contest of a perfume company which asked for photos representing the spirit of the USA. The prize was this table clock:

If you push a button, a little stage with a New York City scene opens and the first tunes of "New York New York" are played. The clock has a place of honor on my computer desk, and I just love it!

Bionade

Have you ever heard of Bionade? It's an organically manufactured non-alcoholic refreshment drink -- and a real alternative to other soft drinks. There are four different flavors -- Elderberry, Lychee, Herb, and Ginger-Orange. The latter is my favorite -- really tasty and refreshing!

Brontosaurus Eggs

Guess what? Today I bought brontosaurus eggs -- and ate one of them. Seriously. Have you ever seen a brontosaurus egg? They look like that:

 

 

It's a new kind of plum -- or at least one I hadn't come across before. Those brontosaurus eggs are just delicious!

Hair Ornament

 

This morning I went through my various hair clips and ornaments, re-discovering a wooden one which is just perfect to pin up my hair. So now all my shiny, glossy hair is up and away from my nape -- yeah!

Dramatic Evening Sky

The sky was a drama queen this evening -- simply stunning! See here yourself: 

I took these photos from my balcony. The large birch tree stands in the garden of our neighbors across the street. 

Eraser Mania

I have collected erasers for a long time. They all found a new home in a big glass bowl -- much like one of those glass bowls in which people put a poor, lonely goldfish. Anyway, the erasers aren't lonely for sure -- they have plenty of eraser friends. Yesterday these six erasers joined the gang:

Here's the whole bunch -- at least you see those who managed to get hold of a place on the surface: