9 to 5 BOTB results, Skywatch Friday, & Celebrate the small things

Posted on January 22, 2016

Good-morning, kittens and dawgs! This is gonna be a three for all special. Sometimes I just have to roll things together. Last week, I did two separate posts and had a devil of a time playing catch up all this week.

Today, I’m reporting last week’s BoTB results, where I pitted Melinda Schneider & Beccy Cole against a Knoxville gal and The Voice 2015 runner-up Emily Ann Roberts singing Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5 hit. However, before I announce the outcome let me say Happy  Birthday Dolly! The mega super country star celebrated her 70th this past Wednesday.

If you’ve followed comments then you know how things played out. Poor Miss Roberts didn’t stand much of chance with the overwhelming favor for Schneider & Cole by a margin of 11 to 7.

Congratulations Melinda and Becca on your win!

Don’t forget to see how the other BoTB to see how they went down. To get a list of all the player, visit Stephen.

For this week’s Skywatch Friday feature I’m revisiting my photo archives. The cold is keeping me indoors. This leaves me with time to rediscover and reinvent old digi-files.

This is Fort Loudon lake in Farragut, Tennessee. I took this picture on a chilly winter’s day in 2013. I cheated a bit boasting the earthy tones and blues in Pixelmator. I love how the colors play together well in this image, don’t you?

I continued the fun by breathing new life into the above photo to create this watercolor image.

Using my iPad Waterlogue app, I applied the “Rainy” effect and then used the other photo-editor, mentioned above in first image, to add my copyright info.

Disclosure: Please note affiliate links are in red. These are products I use and feel good telling others about. It’s my responsbility to tell you, if you make a purchase going through these links then I will earn a small commission, so let me say thank-you in advance! 😉

I’m linking up with the SWF team and invite you to join other photo enthusiasts across the net. Next up, I’m joining Lexa in Celebrate the small things.

I celebrate…

  • the simple pleasures from the first snowfall of winter. True, I don’t like the cold weather, but I can’t resist seeing heaven’s purity descending gracefully upon us blanketing the earth in white.
  • the majesty of clear, blue skies after a snow storm. That’s the sight I woke to yesterday morning and it made me giddy.
  • the wintry storm not knocking out the power. There’s nothing like being able to keep warm when it’s so cold out.
  • my children getting home safely Wednesday evening. The roads were treacherous by the afternoon in town with accidents reported throughout the city.

Life should be celebrated, even when it seems like you have no reason to celebrate. Just look around, I bet you’ll see something good! What are you celebrating?

Join the party below!

One way to celebrate is with  Friendship Friday and Friday Features Linky Party, where you’re sure to make new friends and get lots of inspiration to boot!

That’s a wrap for now, but if you like to dance then I invite you to hop over for Monday’s Music Moves Me. Thanks for visiting. Until we meet on the other side of the lens, have a fototastic day!

~All images captured with my big girl camera ~ Nikon D7000 & preferred lens Nikkor 18-105mm zoom, unless otherwise noted.~

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27 thoughts on “9 to 5 BOTB results, Skywatch Friday, & Celebrate the small things”

  1. Love the look of tree branches against a beautiful blue sky!! I got one myself the other day and I can’t wait to do some editing on it and post it this week. It’s a very cool and gnarly tree like this. Very old. And it stands in the middle of the hill we go sledding on. It’s quite the sight.

  2. Hi Cathy! I picked the BOTB winner here too – but you never know, right?
    Love your photo… it would make a beautiful painting.

    I’m grateful we had power and could stay warm too. No water issues, either. Yay!

    1. Dixie, keeping power during the coldest periods of winter is always reason to celebrate, isn’t it? I’m looking forward to the improved forecast over the next several days. I’m sure it’s a tease before Mother Nature clamps down on us again.

  7. I love the results you got from “monkeying” with the images. I love trying different filters and software to enhance or change photos.

    1. Thanks, Alan! I’m pleased with the results, too. It’s a lot of fun to play with photo-editors. It’s so nice to see you here this evening. Have a good weekend!

  8. Dolly is 70?! Heck, I’m only in my 50s and never looked as good as she does or had half her energy. I love the pictures, especially the lovely watercolor! Great to hear you and yours made it through the storm okay. Have a wonderful weekend!

    1. Lexa, Dolly looks so wonderful because of her surgeons! lol That being said, I don’t know who gets credit for her energy levels. She’s a dynamic, bubbly personality who I’d love to meet someday!

  9. I like your watercolor better than the original picture. Nicely done. And yay to the kids getting home. Here, they let the schools out 45 min. early (thanks, bus drivers!) and were able to barely miss the icy roads.

    1. Tonja, thanks! The bad weather does affect my grown children somewhat. Their employers often time close early or entirely for the day. Last night, our school system and many surrounding ones cancelled class today with the impending snow storm moving in. The bad weather didn’t arrive until after 4pm and it’s just now really showing signs of laying. They are a bit crazy in the south like that, though. It’s great to see you here today. I’ll be by your place soon!

    1. Jan, thank you for taking time to visit. It’s always nice to see someone new stopping by. I think the watercolor version is my favorite, too. It takes an ordinary photo turning it into something more special, in my opinion. Now, if only I could paint.

  11. The water colouring effect is really cool. Glad to see my choice in BOTB wins. Your battle was actually closer than mine was. 75% of the votes went one way. I hate when that happens.

    1. Jeffrey, I’ve had a few battles where it’s extremely close, if not completely lopsided. So, don’t feel bad about how yours turned out. Glad to hear your pick won. Have a good weekend!

  12. I had a feeling this would be the outcome, but Emily certainly was right in there! 🙂
    Your pictures are always stunning, Cathy. You have a real knack. Stay warm!

    1. Debbie, When I put the two contestants up, I hoped Emily would win. It’s no secret I was pulling for her, since I shared from the get-go she was my favorite. I was glad to share our local gal with y’all, though. Thanks for your kind comment on my photography. You made my day! Have a good weekend, my friend and keep warm. I know that’s what I’ll be doing.

  13. Not a bad outcome for Emily. She’s still a winner and with her youth she still has time ahead to reach the stars. And Dolly at 70! Hard to believe. What it also means is that I’m getting all the older. I’ll celebrate a birthday next Saturday. I’m just 5 years behind Dolly.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out
    &
    Wrote By Rote

    1. Lee, So you’re going to be a birthday boy soon. Oh happy day, birthday cake! Right?! I love birthday cake!! In fact, I would love some chocolate cake about now. Every time I get on Pinterest someone is sharing a chocolate cake recipe and it’s just about to drive me crazy. 😀 Thanks for stopping by to see how things went down in my last round of BoTB. Emily did do a nice job and you’re right she’s still a winner. Round two is headed this way with another snow storm. Knoxville is quaking and bracing for Mother Nature’s wrath.

  14. Hi, dear Cathy!

    Thank you for reporting the final score in your contest. If it was 11 to 7 then that I’d say that was a good close match, not an overwhelming victory for Melinda and Beccy. I thought Emily Ann Roberts did a wonderful job with Dolly’s well known hit and I’m a little surprised that more people didn’t agree.

    Right now I am celebrating the cool, fresh air that nice “northerners” like you have been funneling my way the last week or more. Your cold fronts are most welcome in Florida after 9 months of unrelenting heat and humidity. Our leaves have finally started to change to fall colors! I hope you guys don’t get socked with more snow than you can handle.

    Have a safe and happy weekend, dear friend Cathy!

    1. Tom, thanks for dropping by to see how the two contestants did in my last BoTB. I think Emily did a good job, too. The thing I can look forward to is that Miss Roberts is a young gal with a bright future ahead of her. She has plenty of time to bloom and grow into the singer God wants her to be. 😀 Well, I’m glad to hear you guys are getting some relief finally down south. Late the afternoon to early evening another round of nasty weather is coming into our area. They say we might get 2 – 4 inches. The storm system that hit earlier in the week was nice, but the snow didn’t cling to the trees like I wanted, but maybe new system will give me more of that winter wonderland that I wanted. Conditions are supposed to improve by Monday, so I can hold out one more weekend of cold stuff before I say I’m done with this stuff for the year. lol

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