Tackle It on Tuesday: Civil War Event Photos

My first camera was a Kodak Brownie, a sweet little film camera that I took to Outdoor Education Camp in the fifth grade. Since that time, I have owned many other cameras and have learned a lot about photography. A couple of weekends ago, our family attended a Civil War event at my favorite location just west of Yosemite. The location is absolutely beautiful!

On Saturday, one of the battles took place during twilight when the light was amazing. Since we are members of the group, I was able to gain access to hang out by a tree on the battlefield during this twilight battle to take pictures. I won't bombard you with a lot of photos, but I will share a few of my favorites:

ISO 100, 55mm, f/4.0, 1/160 sec

See what I mean? So incredibly beautiful here! 

ISO 100, 55mm, f/4.0, 1/200 sec

I had to include this photo because my son is in this one. He is the fourth one from the left.

ISO 100, 200mm, f/5.6, 1/15 sec

I haven't finished editing all of the photos I took that weekend, since I did take over 300 pictures. This is one reason why I take quite a few photos, so I might capture one like this...

ISO 800, 85mm, f/4.2, 1/125 sec

...or like this one...

ISO 800, 145mm, f/5.0, 1/20 sec

...and like this one.

So I didn't quite finish tackling all of the photos I intended to edit, but I did delete over 200 pictures. After editing about 20 pictures, I have another 50 to edit to finish this project. And I really need to finish editing these photos since I am going to be paid for some of them! Yay!

For this next week, I want to start going through some of our bookcases. This is just one of many full bookcases we have in our home.

Time to unload some books!

It has been a while since I have homeschooled little ones, so it is probably time for me to clear out some of my younger age books. But it is so hard for me to get rid of books! So I wonder how many books from this bookcase I can let go of? Be sure to check back next week...

He is not here

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ISO 100, 44mm. f/14, 1/160 sec, Mexico Compassion Trip

He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. - Matthew 28:6

Linking up with Scripture and a Snapshot

April Compassion Share & Tell

Many Compassion sponsors like to write to their sponsored children at least once a month to keep a steady flow of letters arriving for their kids. But I know many sponsors struggle with what to write each month, if they even write at all. I started these share and tell posts a while back to share what I have been writing to my own Compassion kids, hoping they serve as inspiration for sponsors to write to their kids on a more regular basis.

Items for my Compassion sponsored children this month

In the Easter section at one of our local stores, I found these coloring pads to send to each of my Compassion kids. And I had the ocean creature stationary in my paper stash. No particular reason for using the ocean paper, but I thought the kids would enjoy it!

So here is my letter to Lina this month:

Dear Lina,

You had a birthday since I wrote to you last. I pray your special day was a happy one filled with a lot of celebrations!

In the last letter I received from you, you told me that you were able to visit the doctor and the dentist. I am glad to hear that you are healthy. I am also happy to hear that you are learning about good nutrition at the CDC. Be sure to get plenty of exercise too.

This upcoming Sunday is Easter Sunday. We will be celebrating the resurrection of Jesus! Do you and your family do anything special to celebrate this important day? One thing I am looking forward to seeing at our church on Sunday is a Living Cross. This will be made from the branches of an old Christmas tree, then it will be decorated with flowers from people's gardens. I will have to take a picture of it and mail it to you in my next letter. Be sure to look up and read Matthew 28:6.

I continue to pray for you and your family, and I look forward to receiving your next letter!

Have you written to your sponsored child this month? I would love for you to share what you have written! You can link up with your own blog post below or share in the comments. And remember, it is not a matter of how much or how little you share in your letters. The kids just want to hear from you!

Compassion trip to Colombia

When we first started sponsoring Lina almost four years ago, I never thought about the possibility of ever visiting her. But now that I have been on one Compassion trip, the Compassion travel bug has bitten and I know that if God wants me to go, He will provide the way.

Be sure to 'like' my Facebook page, Gifts from Our Little Corner

To help me earn money to pay for a future trip, I have started posting things for sale again on my Gifts from Our Little Corner Facebook page. All of the items are handmade by me and I am donating ten percent of each sale to Compassion's Unsponsored Child Fund.

Hand knit dish cloths are my favorite!

Knit dish cloths are my favorite to use in the kitchen! I love working on these a little bit at a time, ten rows here, ten rows there. Right now I have at least five of these completed and ready to sell.

Need a baby shower gift?

Flannel baby blankets and wash cloth sets are another thing I like to sew and have on hand. These make wonderful baby shower gifts.

Need a bit of spring color in your home?

I also like to find some fun projects on Pinterest to try, like these Spring Burlap Bunting sets. Most of the time, I have a lot of the supplies around my home. So not only am I able to use up some of my supplies, but I am able to create some items for others to use and/or display around their homes.

So be sure to 'like' my Facebook page so you can see what creations I have for sale to help me earn my way to another Compassion trip. I sure would appreciate it!

Tackle It on Tuesday: Civil War Women's Clothing

Last week, I had a deadline for myself to finish sewing some Civil War underclothes for a friend of mine. Almost came right down to the wire, but here is the finished chemise:

Civil War Woman Chemise

Looks kind of like a nightgown doesn't it? The chemise, along with a pair of drawers, would be just the first layer that a woman would where during the Civil War time period. Women would also wear a corset, layers of petticoats, maybe a hoop skirt, her dress, an apron, and a bonnet or hat. There were a lot of layers! To read a bit more about clothing during this time period, here is a good article that covers some of the basics.

So this last weekend, our family went to one of my favorite locations out here in California for a Civil War Reenactment. This event takes place every spring in Mariposa, which is just about an hour west of Yosmite. The location is a dream location for a photographer because it is very rural, not a lot of modern items to get in the way. And of course I took a lot of pictures...

Just a few photos to edit in Lightroom

...about 300 or so. Which means I need to spend some time this week doing a bit of editing. And I just found something on Pinterest which might just help me work through these photos a little quicker. Next week, I will share a couple of my favorites from the weekend with you.

Are you working on anything special this week?