Judy Friend Photography

This past weekend I was visiting with my old neighbor at her home in Michigan. September is very nice in the Grand Rapids area, warm days and cooler nights. It was refreshing to escape the humidity of SW Florida. There are sooooo many apple orchards in the area, and she chose one that she had not been too.  So here are just a few pictures.  No pumpkin patch or pumpkins.  Enjoy!  

Where have I been.......stop on over to Instagram and check out my photos. You can find me at:  judyfriend     (all lower case). I'll be back, refocused and energized! 

September 10, 2017 is a date that I will remember for a long time.  It is like 9/11, we remember where we were and what we were doing at a particular moment in time. The days leading up to September 10 were very busy, not only in my personal life, but at the office and with our staff.  Making sure that before we left that Friday we had all our equipment away from windows, stuffed in closets and covered with trash bags, just in case.  Everything was moved but the desks.  It had been a long time since the desks were that empty, almost like we were moving either into or out of this office.  Also, keeping in contact with the staff to make sure everyone was safe.  The plan was that I would text everyone several times a day and they needed to respond to me that all was okay.  They did a great job keeping up with this throughout the storm and afterwards. Leading up to the weekend, I had been preparing at home.  Making sure my truck had a full tank of...

It is amazing what a calming feeling being near or on the water has, at least for me.  It is peaceful, it removes whatever I had on my mind and gives me rest. This picture was one of my earlier sails this year.  Every time I see this picture it takes me to that moment in time where I was at peace.  I hope you are having a great day and that you find something that gives you as much peace as this moment did/does for me.

They say as you get older you should continue to learn something new to keep your body and mind active.  Well, I certainly qualify for this. In December, I took sailing lessons, it was fun, frustrating and fantastic.  This has been fun on so many levels.  Just being on the water takes me to a very relaxing space.  Along with learning to sail comes taking pictures of the adventure, which isn't new, but taking videos is something new and then what do you do with all those videos. Well, you learn how to create something with them, which I did. I have created a YouTube channel to share this new adventure.  My friend and I are avid coffee drinkers and not decaf, which we incorporated in our channel name.   Our channel name is DeepSixDecaf . So after about 3 weeks of pictures and videos today I was able to post a video. Please stop over to the channel and take a look, here is a link for you.  Thanking you for taking the time to check it out!...

How is it that the end of the year is so close?  I wish I knew what the heck happened to this year but I will not waste any time thinking back as to where did the time go. So, what have I been up to. Well, I have been playing around with my DSLR camera more than before, although I have not posted a lot of pictures, that will happen next year.  I have been watching, probably way too many, YouTube videos on sailing and boy are they great and amazing people.  I started to teach myself how to edit videos, which can be challenging.  It is amazing how many people have said enough of living a life dictated by others just to make the all mighty dollar for stuff they thought they needed but really didn't.   They sell all their stuff, buy a sailboat and head out for the adventure of a lifetime!!  So, I have taken sailing lessons and joined a sailing club.  No, I'm not ready to cross the Atlantic just yet, however you just never know!!!  I have pa...

Greetings everyone, Where has the time gone?  I'm not talking switching our clocks to gain that extra hour of shut eye, I mean the calendar year, it is creeping closer to the end of the year!  My, oh my! I'm making it my mission, at least for next year and maybe the rest of this year, to post more on my blog, whether it be just a picture here and there, a story of some adventure I may have been on or just about nothing. I hope you continue to read my posts and just maybe I will get more followers. I have discovered that Youtube seems to be the place to get followers or subscribers as they are called.  I have been watching sailing videos, people giving up their land life to live aboard and abroad.   Some very amazing stories crossing the globe on a boat and not only visiting amazing places but just the people you meet along the way.  I would do it in a heartbeat!! Anyway, enjoy the rest of your weekend with whatever comes your way! This pict...

What a great few days at the beach with a friend and her daughter.  It was the last big hooray before school starts and where else would you go but to the beach.

I just love sunsets and sunrises.  I took this picture earlier this week.  The colors are awesome.  Enjoy your week.

On our way to The Dog Resort.  Yes, you read that correctly. It is a doggie daycare and they love it.  No cages, care takers with them all day long, nap time and lots of belly rubs. They also do boarding and again cage free plus there is someone with them all night long which is great.  One big sleepover with dogs!  Their home away from home.  Actually I believe Colby, the fur baby on the left, would live there if I let him!

Here is photo I took as part of my class assignment.  The assignment was to focus on one eye of your subject to focus the shot.  Well, since my subjects,  Colby and Jackson do not stay still long enough for me to get all the settings on my camera set I had to resort to the dog toy box.

Greetings from Florida . ...I cannot believe it is have a very long time since I had posted anything.  I guess life just gets in the way, which is sad. This week I started an photography class, of course on-line, it is to get me off of auto mode on my camera and onto manual mode.  It is challenging to say the least.  I rely on the auto mode and all I had to do was push the button and there was a great picture.  Not so much on manual mode.  So many things to take into consideration and think about. Here is one picture I just took testing all the setting on the camera. Hope everyone is enjoy what life is bring to you!  Enjoy!

Last weekend my friend and I went to Sanibel Island for the weekend!  The weather was great and Sanibel was quiet as usual, at least for now until the "snow birds" come to town.  Anyway, she recently started painting and she brought her supplies with just in case the weather was bad, like that ever happens!  Friday night she painted while I watched, I'm not a painter unless it walls, ceilings, etc. you get the picture.   Saturday night after dinner out came the supplies and I thought, okay, lets try it.  I had been thinking about what I might paint, or at least attempt. So here is my first attempt:  It was very relaxing while painting the first one so after returning home I ventured to Michael's and picked up some of my own art supplies and last night, after a frustrating day at the office, I painted this: Looking forward to continued improvement!  Have a great rest of your week!

Here are a few pictures of a weekend trip I took with my friend (and boss), Christy.  It was a weekend trip and we walked a little over 14 miles in the two days we were there.  My first time in Chicago and will most definitely go back.  A lot of old buildings and history. Next time....selfie stick....Enjoy!  Selfie from the Willis Tower, formally known as the Sears Tower -- 103 floors up  Chicago River  The Bean  Lake Michigan view from the 103 rd floor Out on the ledge at Willis Tower. Awesome view and what a feeling when you step out!!  

Just a few pictures of my Christmas cactus plants.  They started blooming around Thanksgiving and are still going strong.  They really love this weather.

So after letting the jolly ranchers melt away in the vodka, this is the end result!  Very colorful I might say! I have had a few glasses of cherry flavored on the rocks and it tastes like cough medicine, seriously!  I have also had the watermelon an that so far is my favorite!!  Yummy!! Enjoy your day with family and friends!!  Merry Christmas to all!!

This year my gifts will be homemade.  Not the homemade ornament or knitted scarf, oh no.  Mine will be edible or drinkable.  Today I am making jolly rancher infused Vodka.  I will be taste testing one just to be sure they taste okay before I give them out.  I can't wait to try it. The Vodka dissolves the jolly ranchers, yummy!  It is already hard at work and will be ready for a taste tomorrow night.  I have started cherry, blue raspberry and green apple.  I see martini's in my future. Stay tuned for an update!  Cheers!

Hope everyone has been enjoying their summer.  I have been enjoying mine!!

Greetings my fellow bloggers.  Hope everyone is doing well and busy with life.  I do have sad news to pass on for one of the pets.  Dexter, the resident cat, has made his way to the Rainbow Bridge on Saturday. Dexter was my daughter's pet that I have been caring for long before her death.  He was a mountain lion of sorts, always having to be up high.  In this picture we was onto of the refrigerator. He will be missed and this is another closed chapter in daughter's life. I am still trying to decide on how I want to redesign my blog so please bear with me. Have a great weekend!!