The World Through My Lens 01.2026

Sweet friends, thank you for popping by today.  I have missed participating in photo challenges because they really encourage me to look at the world with more intention and purpose.  They prompt me to look for the beauty in every day and everyday things.  Happy to be back behind my camera!

I am participating in 2 photo challenges this year.  The Everyday Images challenge hosted by my friend Kym at A Fresh Cup of Coffee. Every two weeks Kym selects a few words or phrases for which she will seek opportunities to photograph. Check out the most recent edition of Everyday Images, here. 

The second challenge, Sunday Stills, is hosted by my friend Terri at Second Wind Leisure Perspectives.  Every Sunday, Terri shares photo to illustrate that week's theme.  Find her latest Sunday Stills post, here.

Because I am crazy ole me, I can't seem to get my photo challenge posts together more often than once a month.  So here we are for January's edition of The World Through My Lens.

Everyday Images

current season (quarterly):  compared to the southeast and midwest, we have only had a smidgen of winter weather.  Our mornings have been cold but our west Texas sun warms the afternoons quite nicely.  When half the rest of the U.S. dealt with last week's winter storm, we had just a dusting of snow.  Always picturesque.

organized:  for Christmas PC gave me this craft paint shelf.  Yesterday, I organized my bottles in rainbow order - more or less.  Turns out I have a whole lot of pink paint.  And pink isn't even my favorite color!!

cozy corner:  this is a cozy corner from a cabin where we stayed in Silver City, New Mexico.  The whole tiny cabin was cozy, with pedestal bed in a loft overlooking the living room and a skylight that allowed us to watch the snow falling from under our covers.

heavy: the free weights behind me at the gym.  I was doing the stair stepper and realized the weights in the background would work for this photo prompt.  

beginning and/or end:  my sister and I participated in the Bold Watercolor Wildflowers 5-day art challenge hosted by Tracy Weinzapfel.  It was great fun and a very relaxing creative activity. 

on the shelf:  when our house was built 18 years ago, it was very popular to have little alcoves built into the wall at the entryway.  A lot of people use these spaces for cross walls or to display Our Lady of Guadalupe figurines.  I use our shelf to display seasonal decorations throughout the year and a photo taken on our wedding day.  My BFF Sharon has purchased these beautiful velvet valentines for me over the years.   

Monday mood:  cleaning the linen closet.  We no longer have little grandbabies in the family so we no longer need this pack-n-play.  I have had it for over 15 years, since my first granddaughter, Cadence, was born.  A bittersweet milestone.

out for a walk (quarterly):  we have had such a mild winter (she says as a winter storm approaches this weekend).  PC has been able to fish several times.  And because he was such a good boy in 2025, Santa brought him a trolling motor for his little inflatable boat.  He has taken it out on the lake twice.  I always walk the trail around the lake while he fishes.

logo:  right before Christmas our Under Armor Outlet had a fantastic deal on these full-zip sweatshirts.  I loved this pink but they also had a really pretty purple, a steel gray and maybe a black for $19.99.  Wore it to the gym this week with my UA joggers and trainers.

at home (monthly):  Sunday morning, headed out to church.  We haven't gone to church much in the last year.  But the last couple of Sunday's we have been back and received 2 good messages.

inside and/or outside:  I didn't take either of these photos but I was present for both!!  That counts, right?  While we were in Durango, Colorado, Lauren treated the family to the Polar Express Christmas experience and it was MAGICAL.  I loved every minute.  The first picture is from inside the train.  And the second picture...yup, from outside the train.

good food:  the sugar cookies we decorated in Durango didn't last long.  The last cookie left was one on which Cami sample-licked the icing.

curlicues:  we were all sick on Christmas Day so I didn't fix the holiday meal.  We haven't had a weekend since that we were able to get together so my table is still set with the Christmas placemats, chargers and plates with curlicues.

textures:  was trying to capture the contradiction between the snow and the desert cactus.  But when I looked at it again, I realized how much texture I had caught in this image. The rough rock wall, the sculpted-looking smoothness of the snow and the prickly spines and deep ridges on the cactus.  

Sunday Stills

01.04.2026 Year-in-Review:  I am not going to share the photo highlights of my 2025 but let me just say again it was a darn good year.

01.11.2026 Monthly Color Challenge: aquamarine, icy blue:  had to look up this color to see if I had the right one in mind.  The water in the pond near our Air BnB in Durango was frozen solid and had an icy blue tint to it.  And our gazing ball is close to aquamarine in places.  It was lovely sitting on a layer of snow on our patio table. On our Alaskan cruise this spring, we visited several glaciers.  The water and the ice floes were unbelievable colors - whatever color they were.

01.18.2026 10 (ten):  couldn't think of anything creative for this!!  So snapped pictures of my El Paso grands holding up 10 fingers.  What these photos lack in creativity they make up for in 'beauty.'  All my grandangels are so special.

                        

01.25.2026 Storm:  we didn't see much of the recent storm that paralyzed half of the U.S.  El Paso had 2 days of rain - most unusual - followed by a dusting of snow and colder than usual morning temperatures.  Our mountains just looked glazed with frosting.

I take ooodles of photos every month.  So, I have created a schedule for cleaning out my photo gallery on Google Photos.  Every month, I go back through photos for the same month over the past 7 years to delete photos I don't need.  Now that we are into February, I will go back through all of the photos I have taken in Janauries since 2019.  Need to get started on that!!

Your Turn

Do you take lots of pictures?  If so, why not join us for these photo challenges?  I think you will enjoy them as much as I do.

Tomorrow I am subbing my second day for a new-to-me second grade class.  They were a handful today.  I couldn't get home fast enough to get my boots off and rest my weary bones.  Certainly earned my keep today.

Wishing you a restful weekend.  Thank you for spending a few minutes of your day with me.

Hugs and kisses,