Friendly Friday Challenge Returns

The Friendly Friday Challenge is a fortnightly challenge co-hosted by myself and Sandy from The Sandy Chronicles.

Get Ready for the Friendly Friday Challenge

The first challenge for 2021 will commence this coming Friday 29th January over at Sandy’s blog.

Friendly Friday Challenge 2021

We are opening up the challenge a little more this year, making its focus not purely on photography but making it a little more varied, a little more open and interesting.

Every other week we will post a topic to inspire a post featuring a story, a photo, a recipe or anything else that captures your imagination.  

You can post once, twice or as many times as you’re inspired by the topic.

Sandy and I will take turns in posting challenges.  Keep notified  by following both our blog’s at  Something to Ponder About  and  The Sandy Chronicles

How to join the Challenge

• Write a post titled ‘Friendly Friday- xxx Prompt name xxx’ with tag ‘Friendly Friday’
• Include a link to the original Friendly Friendly Challenge post on the host’s blog
• Optionally, you can include the latest Friendly Friday Challenge logo. Download it here.
• Comment on the host’s Friendly Friday post, so that other readers can find and read your response.
• Remember to include a link to your post in your comment. This will guarantee a visit, in the event the automatic ping-back does not work.
• Visit other Friendly Friday entries by following their links. It’s fun!
• Follow the host blogs to see future Friendly Friday Challenges

The Benefits

• Increase your exposure in our blogging communities
• Inspire and be inspired by diverse blog articles
• Challenge your creativity
• Make new friends and keep in touch with old ones

Are you joining in this year?

Morning Vlog Collaboration

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

We all crave connections with others. It is a basic human need.

Connection with the people we live with, friends and within our community.

Corona Virus makes that much more difficult.Travel is restricted or non existant and there is an ongoing threat to our health. Our mental and physical health takes a battering.

Many of us turn to online classes, meetings and get-togethers to maintain the human to human connections and interactions with others.

To this end, Vero from lesfrenchchronicles and other bloggers wanted, in a small way, to counteract isolation with a video collaboration from bloggers all over the world, including myself. The result was a compilation of video excerpts from each blogger’s life, as seen through a window, door, or hatch!

It was fun, fresh and well, take a look and see for yourself.

Why make a Collaborative Video?

Through sharing small snippets of life in the different regions of the world, a collaborative video may create visual links, may improve connections, bridge misunderstandings and assist in breaking barriers between people from different regions. We all live in the one world, right?

How to Participate in a Collaborative Video

You will need to prepare a 20 second Instagram like video in landscape mode, based on your interpretation of the theme of “morning.”

The video needs to reach my inbox before Tuesday 2nd February and does not need to show you in it. [ie. you can be behind the camera].

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Video Theme of Morning

The video should portray your idea of ‘morning.”

‘Morning’ might mean something vastly different, when compared to my morning of an early sunrise breaking over the choppy waves on the Pacific Ocean; it might mean a quiet cuppa whilst reading the news. Or, snuggling with your pet, driving/walking to work, (even if you wfh), or preparing breakfast or a family ritual?

Interested?

Contact me here and I’ll email you further details.

Travel Photo

A Stairway to Heaven?

Day 2

Thanks again, Ju-Lyn.

Travel photo

Su at zimmerbitch invited Ju Lyn to join her and other bloggers to post one favourite travel picture a day for ten days without explanation and also to nominate someone else to participate. Ju Lyn kindly nominated me on her post.

And in turn, I will nominate a blogger but there is no obligation with this. Another blogger may have already nominated Drake, but I commend to you his blog, if you have not visited. It is worthy of a travel photographic visit.

Drake and I have “followed” each other for some years now, perhaps too many to mention.

I usually do not nominate another blogger in these challenges and with Christmas looming I may not make the required ten days, but for now I have met the requirements which makes me happy!

Have fun and join in too?

Christmas Hygge Challenge

Over at the Cove, Cyranny has thrown out a Christmas challenge.

As Friendly Friday is in recess till the end of January, time permits my joining this fun challenge. As it is now the 15th January, I mean December, (thanks Sandy), I have some catching up to do. Here is 15 days of postings.

Crafting time and a fun way to recycle paint strips into a personalised Christmas card.

If you wish to try out this DIY, the Christmas trees don’t have to be shades of green; red; pink; purple and grey paint strips would look great with a coloured or white card.

Day 2 : Christmas Crafts

Day 3: Not my all time favourite Christmas song, but it is up there and suits our tropical Christmas weather

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  Day 4: Wish list

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  Day 5: Shopping

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  Day 6 : Friends

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  Day 8: Decorations

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  Day 9: Christmas treats

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  Day 10: Weather

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  Day 11-: Holiday Reading

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  Day 12: Traditions (in Sweden)

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  Dayu 13: Xmas Lights

Here is the list from Cyranny’s cove for the Hygge Challenge

I have to admit I am stumped for Day 7: holiday movies. It is not a tradition here to watch television at Christmas or to watch a particular movie or show. Australian traditions are all outdoorsy things – hey, it is summer here at Christmas!

Think barbeques, pool parties, trips to the beach, so who has time for movies?

But everyone has times for gifts at Chrsitmas.

Join in with the Christmas challenge and get in the festive spirit at Cyranny’s Cove.

How to Talk About Climate Change

by Forestwood Mar 1, 2021

“It’s Not Just a Crisis of Climate” – Guest Martin Fredricks IV

by Forestwood Feb 28, 2021

Friendly Friday Blogging Challenge – Something Different

by Forestwood Feb 28, 2021

Friendly Friday Photo Challenge – Smoke and Mirrors

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Elise Davies was writing about mirror photography on her blog recently. Apparently it is quite a trend on a nefarious app, that one that imitates a clock! Yes, that one.

Elise likes how using mirrors in her photography:

diverts or reflects something else within the image whilst keeping focus on the models also.

Elise Davies

Mirrors can reveal something different or be a reverse reflection of the chosen subject.

Friendly Friday Challenge Prompt

The challenge this week is to post photo/s of, “Smoke and Mirrors.”

It might be a magic illusion, a symmetrical reflection, an accidental or deliberate set-up shot, or an image within an image.

It is really up to you how to interpret the prompt.

Trondheim, Norway

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Credit: pixabay.com

How to Join the Friendly Friday Challenge

To join in add a linkback, (aka a ping-back), and a Friendly Friday tag to a new post or link, addressing the prompt, then return to this post and leave a comment with your published link, as pingbacks are notoriously unreliable.

If this is your first challenge, there are more detailed instructions on how to join the Friendly Friday Photo Challenge.

My Friendly Friday Challenge co-host will provide the prompt next week, at The Sandy Chronicles.

Friendly Friday Photo Challenge – Rails

Every second week, the Friendly Friday challenge is hosted here at, ‘StPA’ (Something to Ponder About) and can be found at the blog of my very adept co-host, Sandy, every alternate Friday, – The Sandy Chronicles.

This week the world continues its Corona freefall, so we could be facetiously say, the world is off the ‘rails.’

Weekly Friendly Friday Theme

Rails

This week I am asking you to show you me photographs of ‘rails.’ It could be a balcony, or a train line, something new or something from your archives, if you are self isolating.

As rails are usually straight and narrow, we could say the universe has it under control and whilst we should take precautions, we don’t need to panic, if we are following basic hand hygiene and cough etiquette.

Rails can keep us from straying from the straight and narrow.

The rails might keep us safe across the bridge

Or from falling over the edge.

A world like no other!

This is one kind of challenge that is not risky for our health.

New to Friendly Friday or need a reminder about how to join? Post a comment below with a link and check the details on how to join here.

Thank goodness we cannot catch Corona via our computers!

I hope you are all doing okay in your respective countries.

Take care, everyone.

Friendly Friday Photo Challenge

Who wants some Snapper?

What is Friendly Friday?

The Friendly Friday Photo Challenge is about community and interacting with other bloggers. It’s a weekly blogging challenge where participants have an opportunity to share photographs from their world in a post based on, or around, the weekly theme. Everyone is welcome to join in.

Friendly Friday is hosted by bloggers Amanda, from ‘StPA’ (Something to Ponder About) and Sandy at The Sandy Chronicles.

Weekly Theme

As I now live in a home by the sea and was posting about a recent Michelin star seafood meal, the theme for this week’s Friendly Friday is: –

‘Sea Creatures‘

‘Sea creatures‘ covers anything from coral or seafood, to fishing, street photography, artwork, or shells. Your imagination is your only limit.

Nothing beats a meal of sea urchin and walnut tofu! Yes, I did eat it all!

What kind of sea creatures can you find for Friendly Friday?

Finding decorative sea creatures is a bonus.

Friendly Friday Photo Challenge

• The challenge runs for one week, from Friday to the following Thursday, when the new weekly theme will be posted.
• The Challenge is hosted on alternate weeks by StPA and The Sandy Chronicles
• Leave a comment here to indicate you have joined the challenge.
• Include a pingback/tag your post so we don’t miss your post.

Need more information on Joining Friendly Friday?

Friendly Friday Photo Challenge – Shadows

Everyone is welcome to join in with the Friendly Friday Photography challenge.

This photo challenge is alternately hosted each Friday by the bloggers:
Something to Ponder About  and The Snow Melts Somewhere

The prompt for this Friday is:

Shadows

I hear you say that you don’t have a photo with a cool ‘Shadow’ in it?

Then create one, like I did above! Add a frame or border with a photo app if you like.

I am really curious to see what you come up with this week!

Spread the word and gets your blog community to join in on the fun.

Instructions for Joining:

• Write a post including a URL link back to this Friendly Friday post.
• Tag your post ‘Friendly Friday’
• Once published, paste the link to your Friendly Friday ‘Shadows’ post, in the comments here, so we can find you and visit your blog.
• Include in your post the Friendly Friday logo, found below, if you wish.
• Please note there are no deadlines for participating. New prompts are posted each week alternately at the host blogs.
• Be a part of the Friendly Friday Community and visit the links in the comments section. It can be quite interesting to see another person’s post on the prompt.

See you over at Snow’s blog TheSnowMeltsSomewhere next Friendly Friday.

Lens Artists – Creativity

We are all creatives here at the blogging world. As Manja recently commented, posts can be stories, and stories are creative. But today I would like to post some creativity of my own.

I never considered myself a creative sort, that is until I discovered a very old decorative art form from Norway, called Rosemaling and even though I was far away in Australia, I was determined to learn how I could paint in a similarly creative way.

Little did I realize that Rosemaling was to take me to so many places, meet so many fantastic people, and make so many enduring friendships around the world. From Iceland to Turkey, Japan, Holland and back to Australia.

One of my painting that I have printed on fabric

As I have my own photographic challenge, that I co-host with another blogger, I do like to support other bloggers who are running challenges, when I can. This is the first time I have participated in the Lens Artists challenge.

My mentor’s Rosemaling

This very old art form, called Rosemaling stems back to the 17th century and I think those who created the styles initially were extremely creative. It arose from Renaissance motifs but developed into individual styles based on each district in Norway.

Inside an old Norwegian Stave Church. I love this blue!

1766 Chest from Simenrud Fåberg

Telemark Style rosemaling I painted. The small rose motif to the bottom left has been used by graphic designers with my permission.

Take a look here for the rules and other participants here Lens Artists – Creativity

Something to Ponder About

Friendly Friday Photo Challenge- Mistakes

Mistakes.

We all make them.

Sometimes they help us discover something new, sometimes they are curiosities to us, or something to laugh at, occasionally they might even be serendipitous.

Graphic credit: H. Mcl.

Still other times, mistakes might be a real pain.

But with every mistake, we undoubtedly learn something previously unknown.

This week on Friendly Friday Photography Challenge, I am asking you to create a post on the theme of:

“Mistakes”

Write as much or as little as you like to accompany the photo/s you choose to post.

New Zealand – an unexplained photo mistake??

The Friendly Friday prompt, this week, is “Mistakes.”

There are two mistakes in the above photo.

Mistake #1 – shows a quirk of mobile photography – I am unsure how I managed this photo, given it was taken with my smartphone, but I think it looks kinda cool. It reminds me of The Day of the Triffids, War of the Worlds, or a sci-fi novel.

Can you guess what the mistake actually is?

Mistake #2: Can you see another mistake?

I feel sure this mistake would not amuse local police.

Here is another kind of mistake:

Did he/she make a mistake?

Create a post sharing your interpretation of the weekly prompt – Mistakes.

Instructions:

• Write and publish a post, tagging the post Friendly Friday, and adding a url link back to this Friendly Friday post.
• Include the Friendly Friday logo if you wish
• Post a link to your Mistake post, in the comments here, so we can easily find you.
• Please note there are no deadlines for participating
• Browse the other participants’ posts using the links in the comments section, to see how they’ve interpreted the weekly prompt. It can be quite interesting.

Find more Instructions on joining in with Friendly Friday here

Friendly Friday Photography challenge is alternately hosted each Friday by
Something to Ponder About  

and

The Snow Melts Somewhere

For help creating a link back or pingback to your post – click here

Something Fun to Ponder About this Friday!

Poetry Challenge – OctPoWriMo

The following poem is the one I have always liked and I wrote it so quickly – it must be that writing from the heart, makes a difference.

I am submitting it for the October poetry month challenge. A little late but I have been occupied with hosting my own poetry challenge, which ends this month, well, last month, now that today is officially November.

You can check out another of my poems here/2018/11/01/poetry-challenge-october-prompt-2/

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

‘Still in my Heart’

Home Sweet Home afar from me,
At least 10 hours over sky and sea,

A fairy tale land of red and white,
of rain, and wind, and winter nights.

Yet still you send my heart a flutter,
And here, I can but get your butter,

Cos’ when I’m sad and feeling down,
You can lift my spirits like a children’s clown.

What is this strange longing and connection,
I feel for such warm and fuzzy introspection?

Of land and family long dead and passed,
Would they think me to be completely daft?

Yet I am of them, and they are of me,
This continual spreading of the family tree.

The branches are like the ancient Birch
Resilient, pervasive til one drops off the Perch.

If only I could stay or perhaps visit more often,
But my responsibilities and circumstances rarely soften.

So I must dream and wish and be ever so frugal,
And if I can’t afford to travel there, there is always Google!

~ The Sunshine Elves

Poetry Dedication:

In memory and thanks for a great friend, Andrea Heiberg.

You are watching now from another place, I place I cannot yet go.

Just what are you thinking, I do wonder.

~Amanda

Poetry Challenge – October Prompt

A and I Poetry Challenge Hosts are a Blogger and Writer, from New Zealand, Ineke, of Scrapydo2 and Blogger from Australia, Amanda, of  Something to Ponder About.

Amanda’s Poetry challenge is  in English and Ineke’s Poetry Challenge is in Afrikaans, (with many translations in English). Everyone is welcome to join in. October is the final month of this challenge! Please do join in!

You can write in either language, however, please post a link back, and comment at both WordPress blogs to indicate your interest and include the tag  A and I Poetry Challenge.

For Full guidelines on joining in, click here.

 

October Prompt:

~ Write a poem to, or about, your future self.

How might you see yourself, or your life, in ten years time.

 

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

 

This prompt is merely a suggestion and you may choose a topic of your liking and still be included in the challenge.

Remember to add the tag A and I Poetry Challenge, to your post, so that I can link to your blog in the final end of month round up of contributors.

 

The challenge is open to everyone, from complete beginners to advanced writers or aspiring poets. The challenge will include writing tips and link backs for contributors. Beginner poet, hobbyist or Advanced writer We hope you will join in.

You can write in either language, however, please post a link back, and comment at both WordPress blogs to indicate your interest and include the tag  A and I Poetry Challenge. 

In this way, we can find you and read your poetry.

 

Have fun!

Something poetic to ponder About

Scrapydo2