Hawt!

It's been so hot for so long, I've decided we skipped June and July and went straight to August.

Seriously.

Today I hit a wall.  I just couldn't get up at 6 in order to walk my two goldens who would have foot long tongues when we finished at 7.  So, a day off for all of us.  I think they got it because the most they did was move from corner to corner staying out of the sunshine from the windows.

As I worked on a detested project, cleaning out my closet, I thought about how to photograph the heat.  All I can come up with are the effects of the heat:  wilted hydrangeas, long doggy tongues, thermometer readings...which is when the discussion in a recent Speaking of Faith clicked.  Someone was talking of the ability to photograph light, which you can't:  you can photograph things illuminated by the light. 

Interesting, isn't it?

Around Here

Around here, I have the day off, and I checked exercise and walk dogs off my to-do list before 8 am.

Around here, favorite breakfast is fresh cherries, raw cashews and plain nonfat yogurt from a local dairy. Yum.

Around here, the sky is blue, the leaves are green and the sun is hot.

My rediscovered heirloom 'touch me not' seeds are more than seedlings but not yet ready for pots (and I haven't forgotten them and let them die, yay me).

Around here, this guy is still a candidate for the Hair Club for Men, and was hovering outside my living room window when I was on the phone. He looks like those buzzards in Disney's The Jungle Book, remember them?

Around here, goldens play pull your ear/bite your feet/slobber on your head/pull your tail and sitting down is a defensive strategy...

Around here, I'm fascinated with the morning sun across the caladium leaves that sparkle from the morning watering...

Around here, today is about relaxing.

And Again...

Here are some photos of the installed silhouettes.  I am pretty pleased with how they turned out.

In this one, you will notice the right side of the window is bare.  That's because I dream of finding a shallow covered cabinet for storage.  Sigh. 

Then reality struck.  I didn't do such a hot job installing the hanger on the top silhouette and it fell last night.  I had some freaked out dogs when it happened, let me tell you. 

So tonight will be reinstall and re-hang.  And repair the frame. 

Then again

Did you ever buy anything only to find later you can't imagine what you saw in it? 

And then you shove it under your bed because you don't have much storage space.

Where it proves that unless you yourself pull out the bed and haul the vacuum up from the basement, with attachments, no one else will vacuum up the dust behind and under the bed?

Then when you are faced with shoving all the other container store containers back under the bed you think I really detest those things.

Then again...with new images and hung on the bathroom wall, the simple black frame will be an asset.  Or spray painted another color, like off white, they could frame something on the bedroom wall.

Then again, the black would go well with the silhouettes I've been meaning to make of the dogs.

Hmmm....maybe it's time to try that silhouette thing in Photoshop again.

Here's Gus:

And Cotton:

I just printed them on orange peel Bazzill paper and stuck them over the original images.

And I'll hang them up later today.

Reuse, repurpose, make do. 

I'm getting there. 

Marigold Paper

About two Memorial Days ago, I painted a chest I found at a thrift shop.  It was a Thomasville chest and in great shape, but the top was formica and the body was painted a mustard yellow. 

I painted it a Ralph Lauren blue, put Anthropologie knobs on it in a Chinese red color and moved it to my bedroom to mull over what to do with the top (I desperately needed storage).  I considered mirror tiles, glass tiles and ceramic tiles, none of which I know how to install.

Last week I got a catalog from Paper Source and they had the most beautiful papers - but one in particular caught my eye: the one with yellow, orange and red marigolds with light blue background and a turquoise border.

Bingo!

This is what I came up with .  I will eventually put a glass top on it, but I am still deciding if the top needs a coat of whitewash to tone down the intensity of the color.  One of the cuts is not quite right, because I didn't have a large enough working surface, but I decided that is a character item, and I'll just get some blue paint for that edge or piece it with leftover paper and go with it. 

Isn't the color match wonderful? 

Table for One

I don't think it's very well known that I hate walking alone into a room full of people.

It's true.

Even if I know every last one of them.

And I hate eating alone in a restaurant (had to do that a lot when I was an auditor, thhppptttt).

Though now I have learned some tricks:  sit at the bar or counter, read a book or the paper or get an apple and cheese from the grocery store and go back to my room.

And I took an online class that purposed to encourage you to dream, to stretch your boundaries, to think about things in a new way.

While I think it may be difficult for you to follow the leap, I decided I would attend one of the art workshops I had been reading about for a couple of years. [the leap is difficult because the dreaming is about outrageous things you put out there vs. screwing up your courage and just doing it, which this is]

Alone.

Just book it and go.

Not worry about how to schlep the materials.

Or that I didn't build in a sidekick.

Or if I would make friends (so second grade, that, I've never not been able to talk to anyone, and can live inside my head quite happily).

So I settled on the one that would take me somewhere I'd never been. 

And has been written up in magazines I've read for years, such as Mary Englebreit's Home Companion (RIP), Country Living or Country Home (maybe both, not sure) and others.

And had the most appealing classes for things I'd never done before because after all, that's the point, isn't it?

I signed up today.

And now I'm swimming around trying to figure out Swap Meets. ! I gather you have to make something to swap with other people.  what if they don't like mine?  I feel my inner grade schooler...

And it looks like there may be dressing up in theme outfits (ack! I did start out as an accountant, after all).

And I'm worrying about schlepping supplies and returning with loot.

Though I may have that worked out: schlep on the way out; pack shipping materials and fed ex on the way back.

Who knows what the economy may be doing. Or more to the point, not doing.

Still.

I am feeling a little thrill.

An adventure is on the horizon.

It'll be fun.

Even if I am all thumbs. 

And tongue-tied or bashful.

Have never worked with mica flakes.

Or 29 gauge florist wire.

Excuse me, I need to go book my flight.

Bad Hair Day

That this is a mini buzzard in a cardinal suit?

Seriously - did you know that cardinals and blue jays lose their head feathers all at one time?  I was so distressed for this guy I googled it to see if he needed help. 

Good thing it's after mating season.

Summer Signs

Glasses bead with sweat when you dine outdoors...

Perspective

Gus is a big dog.  Larger than the breed standard, and taller than average counter height, to my everlasting dismay and his delight.

But, in perspective, he's just a lovable little fuzzball.

P.S. He takes his responsibilities seriously.  He stands lookout for feral cats, squirrels and the odd racoon or opossum. He announces sightings with great gusto and does not leave his post until he is relieved.

Rise and Shine!

Vandalism

Our story begins on Satuday morning...

the morning tranquility is broken by a bad element entering the neighborhood.

Townspeople tried to remedy the situation by moving the temptation...

Shop owners were faced with this when they went to open up...

To be continued...

Sun Showers

When I left the office this afternoon, the skies were dark and I could see a line of rain advancing on downtown out of the east.

I saddled up and rode home anyway.  By the time I got home, it was like this:  sunny with showers.  Not sure if you can see the raindrops, but they are there.  I zoomed in to see if I could see them, and I could.

I played with my camera in the front yard a bit and then went in and offered the dogs a chance to go out.  It has just about quit raining.  After I changed, I picked up my camera and went on the deck.

Gus was in position.  He likes to look out over our yard and everyone else's and sound the alarm if he spots the telltale sign of a feral cat. Or an errant squirrel.

Then I noticed the angle of the sun, and the light.  And I played. These two below are my favorites. 

Marlene, keep reading after the flowers.

Marlene, all the photos I've posted here were taken with my lens from my Rebel which is just like the one you are using. I started thinking about it and decided to put the 18-55mm on my camera and see what happened. 

I like the results.

You can read here and here about my experience at the workshop with only my kit lens.  The lesson I learned is oh yes you can take a good, even great, photo with the kit lens (which simply means the one that came with the DSLR you bought). And I don't regret buying the additional lenses one bit.  They all do different things.  But if you doubt me, you can go to the Pioneer Woman's photography site and look for the posts by the photographer who uses a point-n-shoot to get really amazing photos.  She posted one of the best moonlight beach shots I've ever seen.

Early to bed, early to rise.  Tomorrow's the farmer's market.