Sunday Drive

It is that time of year in Texas ... when everything is ugly.

We went for a drive this afternoon after picking up Jessie - to get a message to an out of the way family in the ward. Gary had touted it as a chance for me to take photos ... but - ugly trees grasping with their gnarled, arthritic fingers at the gray, overcast sky, fields devoid of crops, showing the garbage that has blown there throughout the year, everything flat, two dimensional, no color, monotone ... there was just nothing very picturesque.

So I went with what I had!

Who knew that there were so many dilapidated houses out there in the country? I would think, for some of these, that there would have been a law stating that they had to be demolished - since they were clearly beyond repair and a huge chance that chunks of house could fall on you ...

Sad thing? I didn't take photos of them, but there were many, many more than this, just as dilapidated and had people living in them.

Tenacious

Dog Days ...

It is not summer, you say? (AND it actually has been freezing in this neck of the woods) This 'title' kept going through my mind today and I was not sure why - so I wiki'ed it. And it is SPOT ON. Just not the number one definition. In Wikipedia it states under Dog Days:

Dog Days can also define a time period or event that is very hot or stagnant, or marked by dull lack of progress.

DULL. LACK. OF. PROGRESS.

Oh, yes - and I was even busy today. But I feel like I am doing nothing - nothing of importance, that is. I am in a slump. Can't even motivate myself (barely) to read my Photoshop books - how scary is that? I think it is SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder - not just sad, sad ...) I am looking forward to sunnier times. And I NEED A TRIP! I need to take photos! And my husband is in Istanbul - getting lost and not taking photos, dangit! I seem a wee bit desperate - I am going to go see how many miles I have on Continental and book me a flight to ... New York.

I actually had to set my alarm today to get up and take Charlie to the groomers ... first. It is a first come first served sort of place and I also had a vet appointment for her (gee willikers could this be why my title is Dog Days? Hmmmm ...) and had to have her beautiful in time for the vet appointment.

In between the groomer (and bill) and vet (and bill) was a completely free(!) meeting. Fun for me. My dog is expensive. She did not have fun while at the vet - me having not been able (since I tried SO HARD) to collect the required stool sample for them to check for heartworm and parasites ... they collected it ... um ... well ... more invasively. And then when taking her out to the car on the leash - I had it reeled in and locked at the shortest length possible to have kept her under some semblance of control while I tried to pay the bill. Opened the door for her, forgot that I was holding her leash, turned, while putting my hand in my pocket (with the leash in it) to grab my phone - right as she attempted to jump up on the seat of my Tahoe - quite a leap. Well, there was about enough leash to get her to the floor of the car, where she was suddenly jerked back, but like a trooper hung on for dear life, scrabbling for some sort of paw-hold - lost the fight and fell.

Ooops.

Sorry Charlie.

We are a pair when we are out and about town ...

Wondering where the fun guy (aka Gary) is:

And these days I find myself pining away for Norway in the winter. Sure, there were only a few hours of daylight, but it was primo quality light. Some time at the first of our move there, the wonderful owners wife (divorced - and thus the reason they did not need to live in an old 5000 sq ft hunting lodge - their loss was definitely our gain ...) mentioned that she loved the library (what we called the red room - less snooty - except the walls were covered in (red) shelves and it had a fireplace) had the most wonderful morning light in the winters. I wondered what she meant, shrugged my shoulders - put my stuff in the room, quickly renamed it 'Lori's Room' and spent hours with a raging fire reading a book and loving life.

The room was full of my treasures that I had found in my travels - the scarf from a scary, mean lady in the subway tunnels of Paris, the little houses from Amsterdam, my jewelry box from Bavaria, so many treasures and so nice to be surrounded by these in this bright, sunny room.

I had a Swarovski photo frame I had purchased in Germany and had set it on the window in the room one day. One morning I walked in the room to find the room aglow in green and yellow rainbows! It was beautiful! The sun was sitting just right in the sky to hit my frame and send the light through the crystals and painted the entire room for me. It was a sight to behold.

Today, I saw the low light coming in my back windows and it reminded me of that day, so I went and got my frame. Intensify this by 500% and fill an entire room and you get the picture:

Don't know what it was about Norway that was so magical - maybe that beautiful 100 year old hunting lodge, the country itself, the people, the peaceful two and a half acres of pure forest surrounding our house, the beautiful sunsets ... or all of it, but I sure miss it ....

... especially in the winter.

Sigh ....

... back to reading ...

... or booking a flight to somewhere.

Photoshop Fun

I am bored, and since Gary is gone ... why not abuse him?

I found a way to make skin look better in a magazine - so I tried it out on him:

Before:

After:

Whaddya think? I am sure he will be calling to yell at me when he wakes up here in a few hours.


And here is a trick you can do with hue/saturation. You can go in to a drop down menu and select the color you want to change / enhance / what ever.

Guess what I did?

Or did I change purple tulips to red? Hmmmm ....

And this rose was beyond repair when I took the photo - a bit past its prime if you will:

But take a dry brush filter to it and you really cannot tell!

I will really, really try not to dump all my experiments here on my blog tonight, but, well Gary is gone and maybe 5 days is long enough for crazy to start setting in ....




... and I am tired of polyurethaning the dang table - I'mma playin' instead ....

I think I want this dog ...

... maybe

Charlie is upset that I am laughing at another dog




See ... I don't have a piano - so it would work out!

My Wreched, Withdrawl'ed, Worrisome, Working Wonderful Wednesday ...

Wreched:

I fell down the stairs yesterday. I look like a handicapped, feeble 85 year old.

Enough said.


Withdrawl:

I packed her up and shipped her off today - the nasty beast:

Set up my laptop for the interim - until my 'Super Computer' gets here:

AND IT SUCKS!!!


Man, one itty bitty screen, a slower processor, no Lightroom, I am in serious 'real' computer withdrawl ....



Worrisome:



I quickly scanned an e-mail from Gary this morning that said something about jumping in a cab at the airport in Istanbul and that a taxi driver was kidnapping him. Hmmmm - Istanbul and kidnapping - I was a bit stressed but failed to re-read the e-mail to make sure I had it straight and worried profusely until I heard from him again. He mentioned that there was no worry (to my question about being kidnapped) that it was a cab driver TRYING to get him in his cab and Gary swiftly jumped into another cab - thus avoiding - whatever it was that was going on. He thinks a triple priced ride - I am thinking something more sinister ... my mind just works that way.


Re-reading his earlier e-mail - he mentions this CLEARLY and I could have avoided a HUGE amount of worry had I just paid attention ...



Working:



Gary left me with an assignment. I needed to put as many coats of polyurethane on the new table as the table top would need. Apparently I am using the polyurethane too sparingly since I have put on 6 coats and it still does not have that smooth, glossy finish that our other tabletops have (for protection). Gary had six coats would do. So I will keep putting on coats until it feels right ...



... but doesn't he look pretty:

And isn't that the prettiest table top you ever did see?

Wonderful:

Yesterday, I headed to Sonic for my daily drink (I know, I know, I am bad) and didn't have my Sonic card. I remembered being with Gary a few days before and handing it over when we were getting drinks, so I assumed he had it. He texted me back that he never got it back from the Sonic worker and didn't think about it at the time (neither of us noticed).

I called the Sonic and they said they didn't have one - so I got online to where I put money on it and shows our transactions. It showed our purchase that day, then it showed that the card was zeroed out ... all the money taken off it. I was SO DISSAPOINTED. The Sonic guys are my FRIENDS! Almost FAMILY! And someone had stolen our card and used all the money on it.

I went in today since they told me that they would give me a new one - complete with the money on it and it was explained to me that the worker didn't noticed that she had not given it back, had used it for the next transaction which zeroed it out and then realized her mistake. She set the money aside for when I called in, but was not working when I called yesterday.

Yeah! They are still my friends and won't spit in my drink as Gary suggested since I was pretty much getting one fired ...

and I have a brand spanking new card:

So ... other than needing to (and not) walking with a cane ... things are going rather well on this whimisical, wonderful Wednesday, hope yours went well.

The Travelling, Tricking, Tumbling, Tasty Tuesday ...

Travelling:

Gary is off. Headed to Turkey. He will be home Saturday so not a big deal ... chances are slim I can get any where near crazy in just 5 days ...


Tricking:

Charlie is on to her flea and tick pill. Her heartguard pill must taste like jerky or something tasty to a dog since she gobbles it down - but last month she up and decided she wasn't going to eat the flea and tick pill any more.

For YEARS I have used the trusty, tried and true method of wrapping the pill in some cheese, giving her a few bites of cheese first, and when she is in the swallow more than chew phase, I slip in the pill ball and then quickly give her another piece of cheese so she will quickly swallow it and take the next piece offered.

This trick has worked on ALL of our dogs. But somehow, she decided that she was tired of the trick and kept eating the cheese around the pill and spitting the pill out last month. Ryan found this enormously amusing. Me? ... not so much. I finally got her to take it.

So - today was the day again. She gobbled down her heartguard chunk. And why, why, why can't the flea and tick one put in a little beef bouillon or whatever the heartguard does and be done with it? Stupid company. I completely concealed the pill with cheese and started our routine. Charlie delicately sniffs the cheese I am offering - EACH TIME. And repeatedly refuses the pill ball.

DANG!

OK, I am not proud of myself, but I did ... twice ... try shoving it down her throat - but she apparently has that covered with a huge gagging, coughing thing and just spewed it back at me. I got mad and threw it in the garbage can the second time she barfed it at me.

I sat there really not wanting my dog to get fleas, and decided that there had to be something tasty enough for this stupid, stupid pill to sneak by. Got in the fridge and found some turkey that we had frozen from Thanksgiving and got back out - but was getting past its 'good by' date and so - I pulverized the pill, chopped up the turkey very fine, and just in case the pill powder wouldn't stick to the turkey, threw in a couple of tablespoons of ranch dressing for good measure - stirred it all up and called for Charlie to "come and get it!".

Oddly - she seemed a tad reluctant to come in the kitchen ...

Eventually, she slunk in and GOBBLED up the tasty turkey treat.

Stupid, stupid, stupid pill.

When it was time to go out, I was still mad at her, but sort of feeling guilty for shoving my finger down her throat ... twice. So I told her (while holding the camera) to say she was sorry. If she seemed repentant enough, I would let her go for a ride with me, if she didn't - no go.

Here is her reaction to my "Charlie, say you're sorry":

She stayed home ...

Tumbling:

So - my computer hates me. It is not like it is a secret, and yes, I am taking it personally. But I didn't realize how nasty it was until today. I have adjusted to not working with the tablet, not having music playing all the while knowing that I am going to pack this nasty beast up tonight and ship her back tomorrow - with my new one coming within two weeks. Until then I will use my laptop.

The hatred, by the way, is mutual.

So ... I am getting ready to pack 'er up ... I go upstairs to get the boxes that have been sitting in my craft room to pack her up in. Started hauling them down the stairs ...

... and decided to take the painful, bumpy way down and fell.

At the bottom, an uncomfortable lump of me and a couple of boxes, with my head laying on the bottom step, I said out loud: "Well, THAT is going to leave a mark ..." Which it will - a few huge bruises and I just might have broken a finger. I can't put any weight on it, but I can move it and it isn't crooked or anything - so maybe not - but hurts like the dickens!

I blame my computer ...

Tasty:

There is a new restaurant by me. It used to be called Red's Grill and served burgers, but recently changed to Bombay Grill and serves Indian food ... and it is FABULOUS! Since the owners are Indian - this is probably a better fit. We tried it the other day and really liked one of the dishes we got - so I ordered it today and left the dog sulking to go pick it up.

Chicken tikka masala with garlic naan to eat it with - it is divine - so y'all who live around here - since it was completely empty when I got there, they might not be doing all that well - go give them a chance.

Charlie decided that she WOULD definitely eat this:

But she is not getting any ...

Hope you had a totally terrific Tuesday!

Change of Plans ...

Gary was headed to Istanbul, Turkey and Iraq today - but I got a text this morning that he didn't need to leave until tomorrow and that he would only be going to Turkey, and that he would see me tonight.

HOORAY!!!

OK, his project is based in Iraq and he will eventually get there - complete with armed escorts and an armored vehicle - but - he just got on this project and I was not mentally ready for 'Gary in Iraq' so I am happy. When he eventually has to go - I will be more prepared.

What this did was free up his night. He was dying to finish up his table for the guest room:

He is out finishing it right now (putting the finish on) and then will move it in for me to polyurethane the top daily for a week or so ...

I will post another photo of it with finish on right:

HERE
when he gets done ...





Cause I so know you care ...

Christmas on MLK Day ....

Look at me ...



... all socializing with people and all that crap - not hiding behind my computer in an empty house. How so very odd of me!


Last night we went and visited with Gary's Aunt and Uncle, and his Cousin's family. We found out recently that they lived just 20 minutes away from us and were in Bonne (one of my bestest friends) ward. Small world.

Thing is? Gary didn't know them. I grew up with a passel (60 on one side) of cousins and knew everyone of them more intimately than I probably cared to. I had no concept of how you would not know your cousin and Gary had repeatedly, patently explained that they didn't live close and I wondered what that had to do with anything. Until this morning when I realized all of my cousins families graciously stayed in the small town where my parents grew up. My parents moved, but when it was time for a reunion ... there they all were in Shelley, Idaho and we would just drive up there and have the best of times. I guess there is something to be said for having your kin live close enough to get together now and again.

We started out with these Hurst's rather shakily since we were invited for dinner last week and I really, really thought that I was going to be feeling better, but Saturday night brought on fever, chills and vomiting along with the other things going on and ... call me crazy ... but I think it is in bad form to barf in a guests home. So I cancelled. Felt SO BAD. I am scum. They went to a bunch of work and I cancel Sunday morning. So - I would hate me - having no clue who I was anyway.

But we got there last night and had a wonderful time talking and getting to know them. Wonderful family - ADORABLE kids. Gracious, cute family - I am glad we went even though I was terrified being the socially backward person that I am. I hope I didn't act too weird ...


*************

So - MLK Day and Christmas?


ANOTHER SOCIAL OUTING!

Two days in a row!

Me!


Impressed?


Me too!

I'm very proud of myself, but this one is easy - it is a long overdue lunch with my two best friends Linda and Bonne to exchange Christmas gifts. And I needed every minute of the extra time! My presents have a theme: Favorites - my favorites I am sharing with them and so I put a little gizmo in as a little joke that stores 60 digital photos - so I was sharing my love of photography with them and put some of my favorite photos on them. Thing was they would not work on my stupid, crappy, going-back-to-Dell computer and it took me two more purchases thinking they were broken to figure out they would work on my laptop.

But got the last one on Thursday, had the photos loaded Friday and I am ready:

This will be fun - I know these guys so I won't be terrified going in - but still I am awkward in social situations ....



... thing is - I love these two to pieces because they just don't care and love me anyway ...

Getting Back on the Horse ...

Gary told me that we were going to order my new computer today to minimize the time I was without a computer. My heart was not in it so he started building something bigger and better than the last while I avoided all things computer.

Just hit the 'purchase' button.

Weird thing? We started with a better computer then we got a better, faster processor, same 12GB of RAM, same monitor (to match the one that was a separate order and we were not returning), same video card, only 2 TB of storage space (RAID0) - I learned my lesson there, a better sound card, some other extras and perks ....


.... and all for less then I paid for the one I am returning!


Life is weird.

Goodbyes ...

Ryan left this afternoon to head back to Austin and his apartment. He was home for over a month and I was sort of getting used to the mess - I just might miss the guy ...

Gary left a few minutes ago to go camping with the scouts. Fifty degrees and raining! Fun times ahead for him.

And I find myself in a familiar position ... roaming this big old house alone. It is amazing how quickly I revert back to my formula to ward off the loneliness and the quiet.

Photoshop.

I predict that I have approximately 10 inches of reading in store for me. That would be if you stacked the books one on top of another the depth would be 10 inches, not just 1o inches of text ...

Photoshop is a very powerful tool, but also very complicated. I don't aspire to even grasp a quarter of all it does, but a minimal working knowledge would be nice. For instance - here is a sheet of Photoshop CS4 shortcuts ... PAGE ONE OF FOUR:

So reading it is. I discovered in my 3" books very first few pages something I have been dying to do - have a two page Photoshop ... and it was so simple I actually slapped myself on the forehead.

And of course, there is the playing. Watching tutorials on how to do fun things with your photos. Like this 'painting':

Looks like one of those favorites I had in a few posts back, but look closer:

Seriously - how cool is that?

It is just a filter that you can download called Pixel Bender and I think I want to use it on a bunch of my photos and hang them on my walls - there is something soothing about it for me.

And soothing I need.

More goodbyes in store next week.

Gary leaves for a business trip of a week and a half on Monday - with an itinerary I don't have yet but Istanbul, Turkey and Iraq are on it.

Yeah.

I don't want him to go and there is a 50% chance it won't happen ... so I am keeping my fingers crossed.

That is Monday.

Wednesday UPS is coming to my house and picking up my computer. This morning it had a little hiccup, then a cough, then it barfed and spewed data, destroyed things, things breaking left and right - so all in all - today was not the best day. So will be saying goodbye to my Super Duper Pimped out Computer - and will actually be glad to see it go ....



... not so happy about having to start all over again ...

Just in the nick of time ...

That could be for so many things ...


Here it is talking about a couple of things.

One:


I finished! My Wild and Crazy Ride through my 'oh so boring and a bit worse than average' set of 63,777 photos. I now have a grand total of 1163 five starred photos:

The 'nick of time part'? I had to keep taking breaks yesterday or I feared I would poke out my eyes with a fork so I wouldn't have to look at another of those blinkin' photos ....



Two:

Brisbane. Queensland. Toowoomba.


We have moved back to the states. Enough said.


We have been very saddened as the news unfolds about the damage an devastation that has and will continue to inundate our adopted beautiful city. I have been watching the news and can get very little info about what 'our' situation would have been had we still lived there. We would have been evacuated.

This morning the news said they are starting to pump out the underground garages full of sludge and water in the business district - which is where we lived - so the shed in the lowest (3rd underground) floor would have been filled (well, OK, is filled - just not with our stuff ....). I am assuming we would have moved all that to the apartment and the car would have been gone - with us - where ever that would be ...

Last night I found a photo of the river and our apartment taken from a place I often took photos - directly across the street from our church and temple:

The caption says the rescue workers are corralling some run away pontoons. But I have read that all sorts of stuff is floating down that river. It doesn't look too high - they said it was 3 feet lower than predictions - but obviously jumped the banks since all the high rise buildings you can see are the ones whose garages were flooded:

It says that 2100 streets in Brisbane are flooded. Gary heard that the floating part of our much beloved 'River Walk' floated away down the river yesterday. You can just barely see part of it under Story Bridge here on the left:

BUT. As I say - just in the nick of time. We feel bad, and wonder where we would have gone - the only other place we know about is the Marriott - across the street from our apartment and also in the evacuation zone. It may have been our first experience in an evacuation shelter if the hotels were full - or maybe some wonderful church soul would have taken pity on us (but as it is in a huge disaster - they would all be in the ... er .... same boat as it were ). Or! Maybe we would have just gone on a photo shoot somewhere - Gary's office buildings (he had 3 offices) were also in the evacuation zone so no work ... unless our church had something organized to help - they do that often in disasters (come to think of it - of course, they are busy doing something - the question is what) - then I would be taking photos of that and Gary would be doing all the work!

I feel very grateful for missing this whole 'Worst disaster in Queensland's history' ... ever. And I am saddened that our beautiful city is full of water and sludge. I am saddened for the people there and what they are going through - so nice to us - I feel as if all 'Brisbaners' are our friends. I pray for a quick recovery and that the rains will let up ...