My Eldest Child

You've met my baby, now meet my oldest. Stripes is somewhere around 18 years old. She was part of a threesome of siblings that we rescued. They were young kittens but were wild and living outside my husband's business. So he brought them home to old softy me. There were two girls and a boy and we named them Stars, Stripes and Furrever. It took about 2 months to fully tame them but they came around and never minded the dogs. They did not like strangers however. Furrever died after about 6 months from a respiratory illness that he already had when we brought him home. He was treated for it but just couldn't win the battle. Stars, who never really took to being tame and wanted nothing to do with anyone but me (and occasionally Gene if he offered her food), died a few years later from unknown causes. But Stripes I'm happy to say is still with us. And this picture shows her in her favorite place, laying on Saint Gene's leg while he is stretched out in his recliner. Notice she has her eye on me to make sure I'm not going to make her move!!

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

This view is through my car window this morning.

A bright spot of red in an otherwise dreary winter view. A great way to start a day.

Sidekick in Love

My little girl is not a cold weather dog. I was folding a comforter the other night after washing and drying it and she immediately fell in love with it and completely claimed it. It was still warm from the dryer and she was a happy, happy little dog.

I'm a Published Photographer!!

The instructor for the photography group that I've been participating in has put together a free photography "magazine" in .pdf format and I was published in the first edition! It's a .zip file that you will need to download but I promise there aren't any viruses or stuff like that. And it's a quick read and has some really nice photos. Check it out here: Captured. You can subscribe to her email list and you'll get a copy every month.

What Makes a Good Picture?

What makes a good picture? I've studied the "rules" of composition, I've learned about centers of interest, yet, following these rules doesn't always make for a good picture. And good pictures don't always follow these rules. There are pictures that I really like that don't obey the rules and yet I really like them. Why is that? The picture shown here doesn't seem to have a true center of interest, no one thing that says, "look at me". And yet I really like this picture. Of course, I like most anything that is very colorful and these spools of yarn are definitely colorful.

I guess like a lot of things, it's a matter of personal taste. And this picture suits my taste just fine.

LOLCats

I recently came across several internet sites that feature LOLcats. I couldn't help but share a few with you. Expect to see more occasionally. They make me laugh.

BRRRRR!!!!

It's just too freakin' cold here in Atlanta. Whatever happened to "HOT"lanta? I mean, get real! This is the South. I want my warm back!! Do I like walking down my driveway and hearing my footsteps crunch? NO, I DON'T!! Do I think a white blanket covering the grass is pretty? Only if that grass is on Lambeau Field in Wisconsin and I'm in Georgia (where the grass should be a nice shade of light brown right now) watching a football game on TV! My little Yahoo! Widget tells me it is currently 31 degrees outside and it's 3:50 PM and the sun is shining brightly. Stella can have her groove, I want my WARM!

Clay Carnival Comes Late

Well, the post *about* Clay Carnival comes late. After all, it was held in early December of 2007. But I still want to do the post and show the pictures. Clay Carnival was once again (and probably for the last time) held at the Imperial Palace Hotel in Las Vegas. Three days of polymer clay classes, 3 classes a day! Yikes! I got a chance to hook up with my friends from last year, Vickie, Lisa, Julie and Donna, and we added a few new members to the "family" this year, Rita, Susie and Sandra. Our family is growing by leaps and bounds. The original family had a meet-up at Lisa's condo on Thursday night for chips, dips, etc. and we exchanged the little items we had made for each other and did an early poker chip exchange. I had spent the entire day Thursday walking the strip and taking pictures. Sure wish I had already gotten my wonderful camera. The pictures turned out ok, but the new camera would have done a much better job. And I didn't take a single picture during the classes.

Clay Carnival was fun, but very tiring. And because of the number of classes that are squeezed into every day, they all have to be either very simple classes or they become classes that you can't finish. I've decided that I much prefer two day workshops with a single instructor. Or at least an all-day workshop rather than 3 classes in one day. I'm glad I did Clay Carnival and I'm glad I got to spend some time with my "mother" and my "sisters". On Saturday, Lisa, Vicki and Sandra presented me with a pacifier and a baby bib with the words, "I'm the Little Sister" embroidered on it. Too much fun!! I wore it to the Pizza Party and had a great time with it. It is so sad to think that I will probably never get to see most of "my family" again. I know that I won't be returning to Clay Carnival. Vickie and Sandra live in Canada, Lisa lives in the Bahamas and Susie lives in California. Julie lives in North Carolina and I hope to get to see her at the BRPCG Play Day in April and Rita, who lives in Singapore, actually spends quite a bit of the year in Atlanta and I get to see her at the GAPCG meetings. (She left last week to return to Singapore, but she'll be back and I look forward to having her return to Atlanta.)

Now for the pictures:

1. Venetian, 2. Venetian, 3. MGM Grand, 4. Caesar's Palace, 5. Paris, 6. New York New York, 7. Mirage with volcano, 8. Venetian, 9. Siegfried & Roy, 10. Toby & Rita, 11. Forum Shops at Ceasar's Palace, 12. MGM Grand Lobby, 13. Venetian, 14. MGM Grand Staircase, 15. Casinos, 16. View from Hotel Room - Day, 17. Hotel Room View - Night

Yeah, Baby!

Life is so good sometimes!! Nothing like a lunch of Buffalo Wild Wings' hot barbeque wings to make what was already a good day into a great day! I just can't get enough of these things.


And I am so loving it that I can take pictures like this! My new camera ROCKS!!

Learning to SEE

Learning to SEE is also one of my goals for this year. I look at the work of other photographers and I say, "Why didn't I see that?" I looked and saw a wall and a chair. They looked and saw some really great shadows with interesting angles and colors accented by a really unique chair. I looked and saw a stack of dirty tires standing beside an old service station. They looked and saw some really textured circles with interesting patterns next to a vintage piece of history. I want to SEE like they do.

My Word

It seems the fad fashion on the crafty blogs this year is to pick a word to represent the upcoming year. A word that can be your goal. I've decided that my word will be CREATE. I spend way too much time on the computer, way too much time in front of the TV, way too much time wishing I could create things. And not nearly enough time actually creating. So this year - CREATE - my word and my goal. I want to play with Sherrill Kahn's painting techniques and her "what if?" philosophy. I want to get better at my photography. I want to work on my finishing techniques in polymer clay to make my pieces as professional looking as possible. I want to get my art journaling underway. I have a note posted on my computer at home and my computer at the office - "Do Something Creative Every Day." Now I have to get busy doing it. As the country song says, "A little less talk and a lot more action."

Saint Gene and I had dinner tonight with Jo, my friend and polymer clay mentor, and Bill, her husband. She and I exchanged our Christmas gifts. She made me a beautiful pair of dangly (sp?) beaded earrings - she knows I'm part magpie and love things that sparkle. I gave her a pendant and earrings set which I forgot to photograph before I gave them to her! You'll just have to take my word for it that they turned out great and I think she really liked them. Guess I'll have to make one for myself and photograph that one! I took a picture of Jo and Bill as my picture for today. I'll get it posted in a day or so. (Done)

I also spent part of today moving files off my computer onto CDs. I have lots and lots and lots of downloaded zip files that don't need to live on my hard drive. Right now I have 12 CDs full of "stuff". I want to move these files to DVDs but I don't have a burner so that will have to wait. My computer has gotten so slow lately and I'm not sure why. I know I need more RAM but I'm sure moving some of my gazillions of heavyweight scrapbooking files from the hard drive to CDs will help. Of course, I may spend a fortune on CDs!!! But anything to speed up the ole' computer.

I also noticed today that my picture from yesterday is labeled 2007!! So not true!! It was taken January 5, 2008. Some habits are hard to break and 2008 is still new.

If I Could Save Time in a Bottle

I would probably choose a bottle like this and a day like today. It's been a quiet, peaceful and productive day. I finished a polymer clay pendant/necklace a la Kim Cavender that I'm really pleased with. It's a Christmas gift for my polymer clay mentor, Jo, and I hope she likes it. She and I always do our Christmas after Christmas. I'll post a picture of it before I give it to her.

This little bottle (and it really is quite small, maybe 4 inches tall) hangs in my kitchen window and has a tiny little metal tag with the word "creativity" as part of its hanger. It was given to me a few years ago with a note that said this was my "wish" bottle and that I could fill it up with all of my wishes since it could magically hold them all. I've always loved this little bottle, the color is perfect, I like having it hanging in the window and the idea behind it is wonderful. It's today's picture taken with my fabulous new camera.

Blank Page Syndrome

I start an on-line series today about art journaling. The object of the course is to do a short assignment given by the instructor every day for 21 days to get us started in art journaling and to help us make it a habit. Getting past that first blank page is always a major hurdle. Add this new series to my quest to take at least one picture a day and I might be a little pushed for time! I've never been able to journal consistently. I have a seriously strong and forceful internal censor. But since our first assignment is uber easy, maybe I can break out of what our instructor has labeled "Cloudy Thinking". I'm going to make it a fun journey so off I go, waterbrush, 3H pencil and pen in hand (not all the same time, of course!)....

And, yes, this counts as my photo for today since I took it about 20 minutes ago!

January 1, 2008

Happy New Year!!