Just Playing

OK I have now surpassed Chapter 2 of "Photoshop for Dummies." Books give information that I just don't need... it gets confusing for petes sake. This gal is telling me just what I need to know ...love it! So here are some pictures that I have been working on. Now I really should have posted the original but Ella gets home from school in 2 seconds and so playing time is over. Maybe I will try and do that next time.

-I have learned a little about layers
-the opacity in layers
-blending modes
-how to add type
-how to add textures
and all sorts of little things.

I am having a complete ball playing around with my pictures

We went to Alamo hay and grain to look at the chicks on Saturday. I have never seen anything so adorable. Ella and I could not stop screaming and talking in really high voices. We might have to build a chicken coop and buy a little friend.

I am grateful for some new skills.

OK Let's Try This Again

Oh my heaven's I want to learn Photoshop. Finally about 6 months ago we got Adobe Photoshop 6.0 an old version that came free with our scanner. So I bought 2 books on it ready to go, and about chapter 2 I had no clue what in the sam hill they were talking about. One of those books was "Photoshop for dummies." I am not sure what this is saying about me but seriously does it have to be so complicated?

So I am trying a new approach.

I stumbled on this website "Kim Klassen Cafe" and she is teaching a 10 day free course on the basics. So I am going to see if Kim can help me understand anything...anything at all. My first class was today and so far so good. I will certainly keep you posted. If you are interested here is the info.

I am grateful for people that understand things and then try desperately to help dummies like me. :)

The Simple Things

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.

Confucius

Sometimes in life big events make me happy( i.e. Kate and Williams wedding.) But more often than not they are the little things adding up. Simple things that happen each day that make me smile, bring me joy and just make me happy to live on this planet. I have to be less busy, quieter,
and pay attention.

These are the subtle moments that will be lost in minutes if my life is too complicated.

OK just because I feel like it I am going to list a couple of miniscule things that put a huge smile on my face.

fresh cut flowers in a vase
a strangers smile
my child's genuine smile
a daffodil that has just broken through the soil
a clean house
singing my favorite hymn at church
having a good laugh but especially with my kiddos
finishing an amazing book and wanting to read it over... right then
fresh cut hair
watching the sun set over the ocean
planting flowers and watching them grow(especially impatiens when they spill over my pots)
ok just anything to do with flowers
the sound of my children's laughter
the night sky
the perfect temperature during the day (78-85 degrees)
rain hitting the roof while I fall asleep(especially at the cabin)
or a diligent Mama bird taking care of her babies

My kids and I watch this Mama bird every spring.
She/offspring has been laying her eggs in the same birdhouse for the last 4 years. We can hardly wait until her delicate eggs hatch and we hear those itty bitty chirps. They get stronger with each passing week until they are really loud chirps and we know it won't be long until they learn how to fly and leave their cozy nest.

The reason I even bring this up is reason #93 of why I love the camera. Taking pictures makes me relax and just notice what is going on around me.

So anywho a couple of weeks ago my kiddos wanted to see if we could get a picture of the mama feeding her babies. They are demanding, hungry little things and they are just a chirpin all the time. They practically scream when the Mom is in the nest. We had so much fun sitting there quiet so she would forget that a family of humans was watching her. (Pretty difficult with Charlie there but we managed.)

So I got out my camera and sat. Just a simple moment and if I am quiet enough and pay attention it will add up to a lifetime of wonderful.

Today I am just grateful for simple things.

Spring Fever

It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so! ~Mark Twain

My heart is aching for the true warmth of a spring day. The kind of day that I would find myself in the backyard, sitting on a chair with my legs stretched forward, and my eyes would be closed with my face raised to the sun. The warmth would be perfect because I would never have to shift my body from the suns burning rays. I would stay sitting there for far too long. But I wouldn't care. I would just relax, with that feeling of total peace, as I listened to the happy kiddos playing close by. Eventually a cloud would come or the light would begin to fade or a child would be hungry and my trance would be broken. But inside I would still feel the warmth and it would calm my restless soul. Doesn't that sound just perfect? Oh I really do have a serious case of spring fever...is it almost here?

My yard does remind
me that the calendar says its spring...I just can't feel it. I can't feel the delicate warmth that this season inevitably brings.

This tree is in my front yard and it is so beautiful that there are not words in the dictionary to describe it. I even looked. The word pulchritudinous means beautiful but I can't say it so it doesn't count. I gasp when I pull up to my house and when I am in my kitchen I stare at it. I decided that it needed to be wherever I was. It is in vases all over my house. I put a huge vase in my bedroom so I go to sleep looking at it. Big vases are in my kitchen and family room. I remind myself a little of Meg Ryan in "You've got Mail," because I hold my vase and walk from room to room like she does with her daisies. I just can't help it ...for if the sun won't come out and calm my soul then these blossoms certainly will.

I took all these pictures today to try and capture the beauty. A camera will never tell the whole story but these bits and pieces are more than enough.

Oh happy day to capture this stunning little bee tending to his work on my spanish lavender.

You can see why I gasp when I pull up to this. I mean seriously look at that tree!

Samples of my vases..oh I hope they last I have my fingers crossed.

I am beyond grateful for this beautiful world.

Hurry up Spring

All across the country we are aching for spring. Even though we have had our glimpses in the bay area, it is far from consistent. Each day is a crap shoot and we range from a perfect sunny day to down right cold. (I am fully aware that cold is all relative but believe me 50's seems cold...I'm serious)

So how fitting that Becky's assignment is spring postcards. How perfect is that? The only thing that took my excitement away was seeing that the thrive project is over. What fun it has been to head over every Tuesday to farmgirl paints and see what new assignment she had in store for us. It was so great to learn from Becky and to see all the other talent out there. So thank you Becky and fellow bloggers, it has been a pleasure to thrive with you all. Postcard #2

I am thankful for all things spring. I am thankful for the warm days and the chilly nights. I am thankful to drive up to my house and see the azaleas and crocus blooming. I am thankful for God's reminder that everything that dies will indeed live again.

Everyone needs to see the flowers

Now seriously, I don't mean to make anyone upset or depressed. It is just simply the facts. While most of the country is buried in snow, the bay area in northern California is at its finest. The morning blanket of fog and gentle rains that are considered our winter, turn our usual golden hills into a rich velvety green. The mustard flowers blanket those hills adding their yellow onto an already perfect canvas. Groups of wild daffodils line our freeways as if we are driving in the middle of someone's own expansive garden. Everywhere I go ivy and moss crawl up the trunks and gnarled branches of the trees. I pinch myself every season I live here but winter in California is truly exceptional.

When Becky's thrive project was on color I knew I needed flowers. My sister Tiffany every winter calls me and says, "I am flying out to see you--- I need to see the flowers." We go every year to the same place on the way home from the airport. She literally runs for the beautiful planters and puts her face right in the middle of the primroses. She then states matter of factually that she will now be fine until spring arrives in her neck of the woods.

I of course headed to the same spot yesterday afternoon with little Charlie. I let him play in the fountain as I conspicuously snapped away. So here's a little reminder from me that spring will soon be here.

I do have to leave a little disclaimer here--- even though the weather has been near perfect as of late, I have to deal with earthquakes. Two weeks ago I was woken up by 5 earthquakes. They were small but extremely unsettling. I bet bad weather suddenly looks appealing... right?

I am grateful for Charlie and flowers!

Simplicity

When I headed over to Becky's blog today for our next challenge in the thrive project it was simplicity. How fitting for so many reasons. What a wonderful word....simplicity. I love the way it sounds and what it means. Life is seriously nutty. But if I consistently remind myself to simplify, I find myself enjoying the small moments. The quiet moments that would have got lost in the shuffle. Maybe it is something as fleeting as my child's smile or laughing at their silly joke. I don't want to miss these things but unless I remember to simplify chaos will reign and before I know it another day is done.

Well now I know the same thing applies in photography. Don't clutter your backgrounds, pay attention to your subject, and tell a story with your photo. I used to only take pictures of people. As I have tried to branch out and look at things in a different way, it has lead me to take pictures of anything and everything.

A few years back I found this beautiful little nest in my topiary. I loved the little birds handiwork. What a beautiful, delicate nest this mama carefully made for her babies. It reminded me that as mothers we all have built a little nest for our babies. Some day they too will fly away. Love the moment...simplify. After the nest was abandoned I gingerly brought it inside as a reminder that today I still have my children under my wings. It will not last forever. Cherish them and simplify. So today it was fitting that as I walked around the house looking for something that meant simplicity this is what I settled on. So here is my picture for the week. Thank you again Becky for your explanations and for your project. I have loved to see what the challenges mean to everyone. It has been such fun!

Now for some technical stuff. Please help. I shot these using lots of different white balance settings. What white balance do you generally use? The auto setting or one of the others? On another technical note my aperture was wide open for these but how do people keep track of their shutter speed. I was on my canon's manual setting but I have no idea what shutter speed I was on. I just looked at my meter to make sure I wasn't over/under exposed. If you happen to stumble on my blog please leave a comment and let me know. Thanks so much!!

(Just as a side note I bought the eggs to put in my nest in a darling boutique in San Francisco. I had three but alas I found it smashed in a thousand pieces in my living room. )

After I took my picture of my nest I headed to Costco for my ridiculously long list. It was not long before these darlings caught my eye and I placed them in my basket. I just couldn't help myself. When I got home and put those perfect colors in my white kitchen, I just sat there staring at them... simplicity. So I added this picture too. :)

I am grateful for small reminders that consistently remind us to simplify so that we can cherish what is most important.

A Gift: Lines and Contrast

Ever since I was a little girl I dreamed of going to France. I know I guess we all do to a certain extent, but I grew up loving all things french. My Dad knowing this, told me and all my siblings, that if we learned french he would take us to Paris. Here is my ticket and I was thrilled.

I lived in Toronto, Canada when I was 10-13 yrs old. In the public schools you had to take french. Perfect...here's my chance. But we moved back 3 years later to America and french wasn't offered until high school. Yes! I get another chance. Here we go again but this time around I am not as motivated. I actually didn't care about learning french. I forgot my dream.

Now it's off to college. I remember my dream again and I am going to learn french. The only thing that could of gotten in the way of that dream was a boy. The most wonderful boy I had ever met. The most wonderful boy in the world. I was in love. I had many dreams but they were all different now and none of my new dreams included going to France. I married my love and all of my important dreams have come true.

Two years ago my wonderful dad remembered my childhood dream. I was going to France for 2 weeks with my 3 siblings and our spouses. I was 38 years old and I was flying on a plane for France. When we got to Paris we immediately felt the gravitational pull of the Eiffel tower. We couldn't get there fast enough for the Eiffel tower is the sign. The ultimate sign that I was in Paris. When we got there a huge storm blew in and I mean huge. We all just sat there huddled around with our umbrellas. Then the storm was over. In its wake it left the most beautiful rainbow. I cried. It was a gift.

When I saw what Becky's challenge at farmgirl paints for her thrive project this week, I remembered my gift. I remembered the intricate lines of that incredible landmark. I remembered its dark colors against the gray sky and I remembered the rainbow. I remembered that because of a camera, I was able to hold onto this memory forever. Thank you Becky for your explanations and your challenges. They have really gotten me thinking and trying. I am so grateful! So here we go again and this is the picture for the week.

Thank you Dad for making so many of my dreams come true...I love you!

Rule of Thirds

I love photography...always have. I am slowly trying to learn to take better pictures. What seems to take other people five minutes to learn has taken me substantially longer. I seem to have trouble setting aside the time to just delve in. However, I am enjoying the process and isn't that the most important thing? I was over at an amazing gal's blog named Becky at farmgirl paints and she and her friend Suzanne at privet and holly are taking a photography class and giving some great tips for taking better pictures. Becky is even having a little photo contest called the thrive project. Every Tuesday head over to her blog for the latest. I am thinking it is just the thing I need to get me to pick up my camera and have some fun. So thank you Becky for getting all of us amateur photographers out there involved. I have really enjoyed all the great tips! Now I have never used Mr. linky and all this other stuff so I am hoping I am going to do this right. Cross your fingers and here we go... Here is my picture for the rule of thirds and it happens to be my honey and my Ella in San Francisco.



Thank you again Becky and happy picture taking!

Madeline and Ruby

This is for you Annabelle. I have so many I couldn't decide which ones are best but this gives you an idea. Like I said we were a little late in the day so the lighting was harsh but you certainly get the idea... Madeline and Ruby are beautiful.