On another note...or two

Each night as the day winds down, just when I think I'll have a moment to do some writing here, I seem to get distracted by other creative pursuits.  Words lately eluded me on every level...spoken, written and read.  Drawn in by the magnetic energy of images I've whiled away countless hours following dreams and mystical glimpses of imaginary and distant places...and time.  All for my soul, in search of finding balance to counteract the less than positive influences projecting into my life. And, I'm happy to report, it's working. Two nights ago I finally finished reading True Believer by Nicholas Sparks.  Not one of his best and nothing compared to The Notebook (my favorite) or Message in a Bottle but a fair read to pass the time.  Next on my ever growing "Read Me" pile is Sparks' Three Weeks with My Brother, but I see Diana Gabaldon recently released  A Breath of Snow and Ashes (published in October 2005 I see...now how did I miss that?) from her Outlander series and that's been three years in the waiting for so I'll likely head in that direction.  If I do I'm certain it won't take me 6 months to read....six days is highly possible given my previous track record with Diana's books. But, I've gotten distracted again.  In my tootling, or doodling meanderings of late I've re-awakened the child in me who loved to draw.  Granted all those years ago my subjects were always horses which drove my older sister nuts <grin> but I got over that and moved on to different things.  The image at the beginning of this entry is the result of my current tootling behavior and from this I've learned a whole new venture for my photography and acquired another use formy vast gallery of personal photos.  No more dull, boring and mediocre images...no siree Bob!  I'm currently turning Dilynn into a forest fairy, but haven't quite aligned all the right elements to make it work (well, at least not to my satisfaction anyways).  Anyways, from the original photos below its easy to see the foundation on which the image above was formed.  I don't know why, but scenes from the film The Great Gatsby kept playing in my mind as I worked on the image...something about the car.   Funny thing about the graphic editing program is I've had it for over ten years but never used it that much; basically for just touching up photos and such.  It was so complicated and had so many functions to learn I always felt a bit overwhelmed and intimidated by it.  I'm glad to have crossed that bridge and tackled the program because the payoff is so rewarding. I've also been in my scrapbooking zone lately and decided to offer some of my layouts for purchase on eBay for those who love the idea of scrapbooking, but haven't the time or inclination.  The first layout I listed sold...boom just like that (it was a pet theme).  Frankly I think that was a fluke but, hmmmmm, this could lead to something.  The second layout didn't sell so I re-listed it as well as others and revamped the listings themselves.  We'll see whether it takes off or not.  If not, no loss since I'm certain the layouts will not be wasted. Well, gotta go, lunch time is over.       Okay...I hear the grumbling.  If you really want to see the layouts available on eBay, click <here>.     "This is happiness: to be dissolved into something completely great."  -- Willa Cather

 

Tags: photography, novels, creativity, digital art, moods, eBay

Thank heaven for little girls...

I have news! Amy had her first ultrasound last week and we are in the pink.  :)  Mom and baby are doing well; baby is very healthy and due a bit sooner than first estimated.  Dilynn will be greeting her baby sister in late May or early June.

Parties, puppies and other ponderings

Okay, it's mid-January already and I've only written one entry this month/year.  Geesh!  I've been a bit busy lately...been spending time on-line, but not doing much journal visiting.  Haven't felt up to it; heck, I haven't felt like reading, anything.   Started reading True Believer by Nicholas Sparks in August and I'm barely 2/3 through it.   Burned out from reading so much between my professional and personal life, I guess.  The tree farm also tends to put us behind the eight ball (so to speak) in December and so it seems we spend January getting caught up on everything else.  So if it's been awhile since I dropped by to say hello, it's simply a matter of my being distracted away from J-Land and I hope to get things back in balance...soon! I do hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season filled with love and delights!  We did and the best part was Dilynn, of course.  :) Last week a couple who live down the street stopped by to invite us to a neighborhood holiday party.  Their original plan was to have the party before Christmas but next thing they knew Christmas had come and gone without the party.  So, they had it last Friday.  It was nice to get together and touch base with our neighbors...some we knew and some we didn't.  Just before we walked to their home Sam wondered if the party was a cover for an Amway party, LOL!  It wasn't.  The asshole next door was there and I dreaded the thought of being under the same roof as that man, let alone in the same room.  It's bad enough my kitchen and dining room windows look out into his back yard and I have to drive past his house every day...truth be told I really hoped he would not attend.  But he and his wife were there, and he had to be the center of attention the entire time.    Neither Sam nor I have said anything to anyone on the block about Allie.  It was a real test of inner strength holding my tongue each time that man opened his mouth; he spent the entire time cracking jokes and trying to be funny.  Toward the end the hostess mentioned some puppies her Alaskan Malamute had last month and then she brought two of the pups into the party for everyone to see with the hope of finding good homes.  And yes, the pups were sooooo cute; only five weeks old.  Way off the cute scale with their fat little fuzzy puppy bodies, short waggy tales and teddy bear like faces.  But, we resisted the temptation, difficult as it was...just the sight of them melted my heart.   True to his nature the asshole next door commented to the host and hostess that if they couldn't place all the pups, the [insert local Chinese restaurant name here] will take puppies up to three months of age (before he retired he inspected restaurants for the State health department, so I'm guessing he'd know those kind of things).  But, if ignorance is bliss surely that jerk is in paradise.  That he 1) vocalized those words and 2) thought it was acceptable in present company to do so, just speaks volumes about his character.  And now, everyone else has seen his true colors.  It just goes to show some people can hide only so much about themselves behind a mask...sooner or later the self unveils the 'real' person to the public.  It's been so cold here the past week, with temps below freezing, averaging between 3 F and 25 F.  Brrrrrr.   We've not had it as bad as the mid-west ice storms, but I noticed over the weekend that even Southern California had snow.  Wow, I think that's possibly the second time that's happened in my lifetime.      "Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them and try to follow where they lead."   ~Louisa May Alcott

  

Tags: January, party, Malamute, puppy

It's Fiesta Time!!!!