Hugo and I have arrived in Portugal and I look forward having Hugo guide me around. We are also planning some fun family time. Upon our arrival we went directly to Navaré to see the big waves...the largest waves in the world. It's a surfers paradise...or nightmare...depending on your skill level. I'm told when the real big waves come only qualified professional are allowed and even then there is a swarm of rescuers at the ready should something go wrong.

The waters off Nazaré, Portugal, cooperate in a big way. Just-right conditions there have churned out some of the largest waves ever surfed.

In winter, the waves off North Beach (Praia do Norte) average about 15 meters (50 feet) high. On an exceptional day, surfers can catch a wave towering around 24 meters (80 feet). October 29, 2020, was one of the exceptional days: That’s when Portuguese surfer António Laureano surfed a 101.4-foot wave (shown here).

Then we headed to Coimbra, a university town and the third largest city in Portugal (behind Lisbon and Porto). The view from the river was stunning and it inspired me to take a photo that would be a fun jigsaw puzzle. Hope you will enjoy!

 

 

 

 TRY THE JIGSAW PUZZLE

Choose your own difficulty. Click the 9-patch grid to change number of pieces. Click the circle arrow to make the puzzle pieces rotating instead of stable orientation. Also, there are tips under the "?" on the upper right of the puzzle. If you'd like a full screen version, click the button below. Have fun!

My dad made tons of quilt and also left behind more than two dozen full-size quilt tops. This one was made using my hand-dyed fabrics (that's just about all he would use), and features the one-seam flying geese method. 

I'm making good use of the BERNINA Q24. I digitized the two designs using the Art and Stitch software and then positioned each design (one at a time) using the QMatic. I love how it turned out. I'm hoping you will enjoy it and also enjoy doing the jigsaw puzzle.

 

 

 

 

 TRY THE JIGSAW PUZZLE

Choose your own difficulty. Click the 9-patch grid to change number of pieces. Click the circle arrow to make the puzzle pieces rotating instead of stable orientation. Also, there are tips under the "?" on the upper right of the puzzle. If you'd like a full screen version, click the button below. Have fun!

Photos of the Week - Week 39

 

Critique Group Challenge: 

Week 39, What Lies Ahead

Photo by Rebecca Smith

Click to view a larger image 

Rebecca says: 

Visiting in Nebraska right now. Soooo foggy this morning. What lies ahead? I dont know, cant see anything!

 

52-Week Photo Challenge Class
Week 39 - Do Over

  

Week 52 Photo Challenge:

Week 39, Do Over

Photo by Susan Garrett

Click to view a larger image.

Susan  says:  

 

 

Smart Phone Photo Challenges
Week 39 - Junk Drawer

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 39, Junk Drawer

Photo by Charlene Shaw

Click to view a larger image.

Charlene says: 

Fun with filters and photoshop app mirror option. I’m always worried about what I might find in mine. This little monster isn’t too scary.

 

 

Ricky's Challenge Photos

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 39, Junk Drawer

Photo by Ricky Tims

Click to view a larger image.

Ricky says:

What? Just one junk drawer? Hardly. But this one had some sunglasses and packing tape. I shot those and used Image Blender to put the two together (mirrored one).

 

 

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Critique Group Challenge:

Week 39, What Lies Ahead

Photo by Ricky Tims
from the 2023 Critique Group

Click to view a larger image.

Ricky says:

This is our road home - lined with the amazingly beautiful (blooming) chamisa aka Rabbit Brush. Things in my world seem to be changing fast so I soak in the sights knowing this will not likely be a familiar scene a year from now. I know change is okay. There is something around the bend and I will face the unknown with as much hope and confidence as I can.

 

Photos of the Week - Week 38

 

Critique Group Challenge: 

Week 38, Night Lights

Photo by Kathleen Toolan

Click to view a larger image 

Kathleen says: 

Enjoyed a beautiful fall day at a County Fair and Balloon Fest near Lancaster, Pa. Tried using a monopod for the first time.

 

52-Week Photo Challenge Class
Week 38 - Drive Pan

  

Week 52 Photo Challenge:

Week 38, Drive Pan

Photo by Denneen Peterson

Click to view a larger image.

Denneen  says:  

 

 

Smart Phone Photo Challenges
Week 38 - Horizontal

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 38, Horizontal

Photo by Patricia Honeycutt

Click to view a larger image.

Patricia says: 

Close-up of the doors on a cluster mailbox in the neighborhood. Edited in Snapseed.

 

 

Ricky's Challenge Photos

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 38, Horizontal

Photo by Ricky Tims

Click to view a larger image.

Ricky says:

Our kitchen backsplash is horizontal stones. Straight shot efforts were not so great, but then I decided to do the LIVE option and pan left to right, then use the Long Exposure option to blur the image. A few tries and I got this with the horizontal lines cutting through. Then...Edited in Prisma app, slightly, with Aircraft

 

 

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Critique Group Challenge:

Week 38, Night Lights

Photo by Ricky Tims
from the 2023 Critique Group

Click to view a larger image.

Ricky says:

This is The Eye of the Raven - a rock outcropping just outside our house next to the courtyard. It is a place of serenity and refelcdtion. We have solar lights on it at night. We also live in a high UFO area - so I added that - or a plane - or a..? As Hugo and I mentally begin to prepare our next chapter, I'm sure I will be trying to capture as many images over the next few months as I have in 20 years. This is the spot were I proposed - and he accepted.

 

Photos of the Week - Week 37

 

Critique Group Challenge: 

Week 37, Garden of Love

Photo by Olivia Edwards

Click to view a larger image 

Olivia says: 

This forest became a chapel that protects and honors the souls of the departed, especially the people we love.

 

52-Week Photo Challenge Class
Week 37 - White on white

  

Week 52 Photo Challenge:

Week 37, White on white

Photo by Debbie Huewe

Click to view a larger image.

Debbie says:  

 

 

Smart Phone Photo Challenges
Week 37 - Garden of Love

 

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 37, Garden of Love

Photo by David Robinson

Click to view a larger image.

David says: 

Ricky's Challenge Photos

 

 

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 37, Garden of Love

Photo by Ricky Tims
from the 2023 Smart Phone Challenge

Click to view a larger image.

Ricky says: 

I’ve watch this old church deteriorate over the past 21 years. The steeple and cross fell during in 2018, during the fire, but not due to the fire. In 2020 during Covid, the wind took it to this state, leaning, almost totally on the ground. At that same time the new land owners spray painted the no trespassing graffiti on it, (a bit of Thou Shalt Not). I’m taking the Garden of Love a step farther. The chapel in my story is in the future where the flowers are growing again, the joy is back, and the oppression of dogma and rules is losing the battle. Sorry if that’s a bit much, but love conquers all and oppression has no place in my garden. I took the photo during Photo Summit - added a texture overlay. For this I added the text and an overlay from flowers in my garden at Autumn Rock.

PUZZLE IS RICKY'S GARDEN OF LOVE PHOTO

 

 TRY THE JIGSAW PUZZLE

Choose your own difficulty. Click the 9-patch grid to change number of pieces. Click the circle arrow to make the puzzle pieces rotating instead of stable orientation. Also, there are tips under the "?" on the upper right of the puzzle. If you'd like a full screen version, click the button below. Have fun!

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