Has it really been three YEARS!?

i guess there has been much water under the bridge since i was here last...so many changes in me, that i have no idea where to begin.

Beginning at the beginning would take far to long to write, so let me just go back to 2015...that is when i made the decision that i was done with winters in the north,  and that is when i totally lost my heart to the Outer Banks in NC....wow! 

I took on taking care of my bean, Luke when my daughter landed a job in NC,  and decided to take it and move the family there from Fredericksburg, VA.  She needed someone to watch him (he was 2 at the time) until she could get him in to a preschool on the island.  Within the first month, after gathering Luke up everyday and exploring the island from Corolla to Hatteras, i knew there was no way i was going to be able to go back north to live.  Call it strange or weird, but i felt like this was where i belonged. I have always been a beach person....loved the ocean, the beauty of it, the sound of it and the ohhhh so many moods of it.  I love the storms as much as i love the tranquility...AND the bonus for me is the people, the nature and the art here.   The pace is also an incredibly appealing thing...i do not feel so revved up and pressed to get things done.  I find the pace of the Northeast positively anxiety causing.  

A phone call was made...a strong decision on my part that i NEEDED to be here...and i needed NOT to be up north....and i quite simply was done.  I did go back to jersey on the promise that in January we would begin the house hunt in OBX.  Complications almost thwarted that ...a sick cat in need of an IV caused a postponement...and then almost a second one.  The person we rented a place from which to house hunt, was so kind...and took the chance of allowing us to bring the sick cat with us, so we could Sub Q IV him as needed.  To this day, the owner who took pity on me remains one of the best friends i have ever met...along with his amazingly smart dog and his girlfriend!

People here are so very friendly....even with me being a yankee!!  People  look out for one another here...say please and thank you and hold doors for you!  They even offer to help get your groceries into you car!! Children say yes sir and yes ma’am!  (not ALL of them, but MANY of them!)  They are also eager to help you in any way they can...and that leads me back  to my first friend that took the chance and rented the apartment for a week...He saw my photos and was so impressed he introduced me to someone he knew...a videographer, telling him...”You have to see her stuff...she is SO good!”  

Long story short...i was introduced and was told i needed ....reallly NEEDED to get my stuff seen and so i should have some advertising done.  i assured him i most certainly had NO budget for that...just starting out in a new place...when he stopped me and said, “i do not want your money...i want to help you become known.  People have helped me get to where i am...i want to pay it forward.”  AND he has!  Within 2 months i was on my way to Nairobi, Kenya to shoot documentaries...i have gotten my work into two stores and soon a restaurant...and i just completed the shoot of another documentary on the history of salt...with filming and still photography in NJ and Manhattan.

For me the best part of all of this is the confidence growing in me...someone that never had any at all...and now having the feeling that i CAN do this...i CAN succeed and succeed on MY terms.  Daily reminders that i have talent are all around me, and i am learning that i can admit this and not be pompous and braggy.  I recognize that i was born with art in my blood and altho i have taken the long way...i am well ON MY WAY!  i do not aspire to be in front of the camera...i only aspire to make art that people can appreciate and allow me to live quietly with my art, my cat and my books.

I have included a few shots so you can see what i have been up to.  i hope you will enjoy this visual part of my journey! :) the last photo is called Flow of Blessings and truly that is what i have found.

Well, well, well....Here I am again...........

It has been a long hiatus! Unintentionally, so I will try and explain.

I tried changing things on my Blog.....like how it was presented.   Then, suddenly i noticed that there was no place to add a new post.  No tab, no button, nothing.  I tried going out of it and then back in....nothing.....just my old blog photos and a list of posts....and nowhere that i could figure out  how to get back to a place that i could add new stories or photos.   After many MANY frustrated tries, i simply gave up, chalking it up to “YOU need to concentrate on making your business work...you have no time for blogging”...or attempting to, since i really am not all that sure i know what i am doing with a blog anyway! i took it as a sign....and i forgot about it.

Low and behold, today i looked at someone’s, and thought, OK....why not give this another try.  Start over, fresh.  So i clicked on something that said “start a blog” or some such thing, and low and behold it brought up MY very own  HeLLo WoRLd blog!!  Complete with the ability to post a new bunch of words!!!

Am i excited!!??  You BET!  i still have no real time to devote to a blog, however...since i suffer from periodic insomnia, the wee small hours might be when i get it done!!  i do love to write...almost as much as i love photography....

so.....here i am again!  Not sure if you are as excited as i am...quite possibly not, but i will do my best to entertain you, i promise....if not with words, with some of my photos :)

I have begun another new class...this one called Be Still 52, by Kim Klassen.   A year of Still Life and wonderful lessons on technique and staging and textures and words... if you do not know Kim, let me just say that i am ADDICTED to her classes...this is my 5th one i think.  Love her and her work to pieces, and  have learned more than i ever dreamed i could (you know....that hard to teach an old dog new tricks thing).

i have included a few things i have done for this class, and i am totally smitten with Still Life now!   i hope you enjoy them.  I also hope that i get better at figuring out this whole blog template thing, since i have seen other blogs with nice big photos and i keep getting these wee things stuck in here with my words!!  Wish me luck....and hope you have a beautiful week!

Sometimes...Take I and Take II

I embarked on a new twist....experimenting with SP's.   I am not very comfortable in front of the lens, so i decided to push myself and see what would happen.  Sometimes....i just need to do that.

I have a Flickr contact, whose photos just simply flat out awe me.  I know i will never be as amazing....but she inspires me to try.  When i say i could look at her photos for hours on end, i am not kidding...they simply leave me awestruck.  This shoot happened because of her and i can only hope that she is not insulted by what i have attempted here!  i was SO afraid to post this on Flickr.  I do not want her to think badly of me...because believe me i know this does not even scratch the surface of her work...and i am SO honored that she even added me as a contact back!

I did find out one important thing....probably more that have not struck me yet...i was much more at ease doing this type of shot incognito!  I am very VERY self critical and do not feel in the least photogenic.  Sure...i get a decent shot once in a million that i actually like of myself....but they are few and far between and are always a big happy surprise to me!

These 2 shots are identical, but processed differently and i like both for different reasons.  One of my reasons for liking the shot at all is the emotion it conveys without ever seeing a face.  The concept of a portrait without seeing a face is rather a strange one to me, but yet i like it.  It really makes you look at the photo and sense the person as a whole, not based on what they look like.  I feel less vulnerable and less judged....other than maybe folks (like my family) think i am quirky and strange when i do this!  Blessedly i have a generous helping of artsy friends that understand and indulge me by tagging along when i get one of these whims.  We laugh....a lot!

I titled this "Sometimes, i just need a hug..." and it is one from a small set that is titled "Appeasing the Darkness".  Take II of this shot is rather like an illustration for a book...more-so than a photograph...altho, it IS a photograph....the same exact one as above, with an entirely different editing take on it!  I love editing....for me it is artistic magic, that i can make happen with any photo i want! i do love magic!!  SOMETIMES..........you just have to do what you love, but ALWAYS you should love what you do!

An Apple a Day...

“Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” Apple, Inc.

My apples needed some fresh air and sunshine, with a touch of cool breeze, so i took them for a walk in the egg basket. They did said they were ok with that, but i know they really wish i had an apple basket for them. Here they paused for a respite on my Adirondack chair near the little fish pond. They think the sun makes them sweeter....i hope they did not sweeten the Granny Smith too much....i like those tart!

Oh, the quote?!? i like it. It reminds me of someone i know! ;)

Altho, the part about changing the world....that part i am not sure about. This person i know probably won't do anything that comes close to that...but hey, dreams sometimes come true. Of course this person does not dream in that grand of a scale....this person is much more simple than that.

i wonder... can you change the world with a smile?

Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's i know!   

South Carolina, Beaches to Plantations

I just returned from a bit more than 2 weeks away.  This time of year is a good time to head south, especially if still in the grips of mother nature's winter hissy-fits.  It was not a whole lot warmer in Virginia (The first 9 days of my trip), but i was certain once i moved on to South Carolina i would be home free in the warmth department.  Not quite true.  i am was not complaining, even when i heard it was warmer and sunnier back home in NJ.  The scenery and history more than made up for it....i mean it was not like it was freezing, and the overcast skies were incredibly helpful to getting some very nice light for shooting.

Mt. Pleasant was our first stop after leaving Fredericksburg...about an 8 hour drive.  We arrived just after dinner to a nice rolicking thunder and lightning storm.  i love storms...in the morning it was overcast but i just HAD to see the ocean, so we drove a whole 12 minutes to Isle of Palms....and little by little the sun began to peek through...enough that i got some color while foraging for beach treasures and taking a lovely nap on the beach.  When i was ready to leave, i looked like a sugar cookie...the wind had covered me head to toe with the finest sand i have ever seen!  We headed into Charleston, to the Phoebe Pember House...a quaint B&B in the historic district of the city.  The next day we spent touring the whole historic district on foot....from the Central Market to the parks at the tip of the peninsula, and i happily snapped away at the beauty around me!  The third day, we took the car and headed out to visit 2 plantation houses...quite different from one another, but related by family ties...each was owned by sons of the Drayton family.  the history was fascinating for both places, and they were quite beautiful in their own way.  i was partial to the 1742 home, in impeccable condition, and altho it is now part of the Historic Register of South Carolina, it is still used (unfurnished, with no electric or running water!) for family reunions of the Drayton descendants and the descendants of the slaves and servants that lived there pre Revolutionary War.

i love traveling....especially south, and especially near beaches.  i am a misplaced Southern Soul at heart, with a tremendous love of the sea.

Add Your Own Sky...

Add your own sky....oh, if only we could do that in
the real world!

i am not sure how you feel about that but i know that beautiful sunrises and sunsets make me a much happier person overall!
i would occasionally add a starlit sky, or a tumultuous sky with bolts of lightning to match my moods.  It would be kind of fun.

i had a lot of fun with this challenge from my 2B class.  i also struggled with it, as i never should have tried it when i was tired.  That being said, i did, and i stuck with it until i finally figured out what step i missed!

the photo to the right was done with a sunset sky that i had in my archives...unfortunately the skies here in Northern Virginia have been rather cloudy the past few days...and someone stole my warm ;(

Ironically the second sky was taken very near to where the first one was taken. there is a spot near a shopping center where i live in NJ, that has wide open spaces for sky shots. 

Both of these skies were really pretty, and altho hard to

tell, the bottom shot had pink, and white clouds in the baby blue sky.  i did enjoy this challenge and am looking forward to warmth and nice skies in SC next week....and it would be nice if it complied with my wishes while i am still here in Va too!

Cinderella Dream...Cottage to Castle

I went on a spur of the moment jaunt with a friend to check out a few Antique places in the area.  She is new to "West Bumblefuk" as she calls it out here in the wilds of Northwestern NJ, having lived on the east side of the state, since....well......as long as i have known her!  

She found a wild and very different carved mask for a special spot on one of her walls....i personally think it would make a fabulous focal point for any of her walls, as she has quite a few pieces that would work SO well with it!  I managed to find a very vintage little suitcase....to go with my slightly larger vintage suitcase.  To make matters even better, both were on sale for 20% off!

When i saw the challenge from Kim Klassen for this weeks lesson,  i was elated! i have never tried tinting...other than APPLYING a preset tint with my Nik software. (BTW, Silver Effects Pro is AMAZING!)

I was pretty certain that i would mess up SOMETHING when i tried it myself, but to my astonishment it worked the very first time!!  i was very exited because i had the perfect photo in my mind from the little excursion to the antique shops.  This particular shop had quite a few very cool chandeliers....from the most ornate and sparkly to rusted metal.  I fell in love for the look of the sparkly crystal against the very vintage, peeling paint doors that she used as a backdrop in the shop.  i am VERY pleased with how this looks!  The whole thing just reminded me of Cinderella....going from the wretched cottage to the beautiful sparkly castle!  i used a slightly warm graduated filter, combines with a very pale pink.  i am smitten with the look!

The Mask....and my sweet little vintage suitcase!!  Yes....the mask is strange....but i think it is very cool!  My suitcase....well, what can i say....it was love at first sight!!  It will make it into some SP's along the way and some portrait shoots as well!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!  Can't wait to peek at the tinted shots! :)

Beach, Spa.....Ahhhhhhhh

I know...we were supposed to choose our favorite color and do our homework centered around that.  i was far too excited to give this a try...somehow i think i missed this in Beyond Layers homework....i had a lot on my plate last year! Anyway....i had no time to gather blue....i adore blue, always have.  i do admit to having had a fling with pink this past year...and that is hanging on still, but blue still remains my true favorite color.

i find myself dreaming of Summer, often.  (At this point i would actually be thrilled if Spring would make an appearance!)  To keep myself from going totally off the deep end and out of a straightjacket, i maintain my studio room in beach decor and colors....the room is white but accented with the colors of the beach.  I had done a few spa type shots with my shells and sea glass and came across this one.  i decided that i would experiment with my first Color Board, using this shot!  That explains the reason it is not all one color.....with apologies to Kim!  i promise i will do another one in just my favorite colors as soon as i have a little time on the weekend.

Working in Elements 11 after very nearly mastering Elements 10 was a bit frustrating.  i have trouble locating things and therein lies my escalating frustration level with 11.  I adored my E10 program and could move through what i was doing with confidence....with E11, not so much!  i am sure i will grow to love it just in time to have to upgrade to 12! I can't seem to get used to how simplified it looks....and i am thinking it is cleaner looking because they hid things!! I feel like i am on a scavenger hunt every time i use it! i now am beginning to open it and say to myself, "OK, ready for another adventure, Susan?  Don't get frustrated....breathe....it will work out!"  i find the pep talk helps a bit!

i hope to streamline how much time it takes me to do these lessons by the time the end of April comes.  i am heading to Charleston, SC. for a little vacation...i will be bringing all my work, and paraphernalia with me, so that i don't fall too far behind.  i will be gone the week BEFORE going to SC, dog and apartment sitting for my youngest daughter...then possibly home for a few days before leaving again.
i don't want to get behind to the point that i feel overwhelmed, so therefore, i will be packing everything i need so i can try and do the lessons at night....because during the day i will be soaking in my beloved south, camera in hand!! :)

Miracles DO Happen...

Here i am....late as usual!  I knew it was too good to be true that last week i finished my homework and was not doubled up on anything for a change.  Things have a way of reverting back to that when life suddenly jumps in and tosses you a few fouls.

Let me just start by saying that i have a very, VERRRRRY long way to go with this whole text on a path, text on a shape thing in CS5.  For this past week, CS5 has been one gigantic thorn in my side....and so it continues!  Given the kind of week i have had....Monday a biopsy (still awaiting results), Tuesday zooming around trying to find backsplash tile and countertop and making decisions on sinks and stoves for the kitchen remodeling, wednesday, sitting for 2 of the three grands, and again a bit today after realizing this morning that THIS Sunday is Easter and rushing to the store for things ofr the egg hunt here and the lunch...tomorrow another round of tile stalking, and a bit more shopping....oh, and did i mention i just began a 30 day Clean Eating Challenge, which has boosted my energy level to the point that i now fall asleep quickly when i GET to bed around 11 or 12, but find i am awake around 5am....WIDE awake.  My wish for longer days seems to be coming true!

Tonight, after dinner, absolutely determined to get my text to behave itself on some sort of path, i decided to bypass CS5 until i can give it my undivided attention (read: Sometime this summer at the beach on a rainy day!) and just go with Elements11.  (just when i had gotten E10 down to a science they make me get and learn another and i am not quite sure i am liking the changes....it looks a bunch more simple....but so far i am finding it more confusing).  I am pleased to announce that after an hour of twiddling with it, i have finally produced 2 that i can deal with!  One (the sweet easter eggs shot) of Kim's, and my shot taken at my very favorite secret garden.....which for some reason made me think of Easter last week when i was there.  The words, He is Risen, popped into my head when i saw this metal stake that looked like a cross....and the burlap brought to mind a burial shroud....it stuck in my head as i was walking away....nudging at me to go back and reel off some shots.

That's it for tonight...altho my 3 year old Lileigh Bean PROMISED she would let me do my homework today if she could stay with me instead of going home...."pacuz, Mmmm-ma, I love you TOOOOOO much!"...she lied!  We had a lot of fun....but this did not get done until tonight and that bean that i love TOOOOOO much back, wore me out!!

Have a wonderful Friday and a Blessed Easter....Passover....or whatever your heart desires!

Oh, My!! :)

Oh, My!!  i did it!  i did a chalk lettered piece....again, not wonderfully wonderful, but i like it!  it was relatively easy to do, and i am ok with it.  The second part of the challenge was a Layout...and i really REALLY did try to do it in CS5....but i am abysmal with that program, having had it for awhile and not ever being able to make it do what i need it to do.  I fight with it more than use it and get frustrated and then stop, switch to Elements 10 or 11 and just do what i have to do there.  To my credit, i do go back to CS5 when i am not frustrated and try again, until the frustration returns.  i seriously need Kim classes for that program....sigh.  To ease my frustration i worked this challenge out in my favorite summer beachy colors.  i am SO beyond sick of winter.

The last challenge for 2BD8 was a Matte Finish shot.  That was really quite fun and gave such a pretty look to the shot of the vivid blue orchid...made it so much softer.  This style would fit quite nicely with the card sets that i make, and the ease of the recipe makes me inclined to use it more often.

OK....I am pretty sure that by the time i get this posted there will be a 2BD9 waiting for me, but i am so delighted that i actually finished a whole challenge on time that i am just sitting here smiling!! YAY me!  i guess i do work better under pressure, as i have a ton of edit work to do, and i am in a good place with that so far too.

Hope you all have a delightful week and i look forward to perusing your shots...such fabulous inspiration for my artistic soul!!

Experiment in Chalk

This is just a quick post and run tonight without a very big story!  i played with a chalk text on a texture with another texture on top. i am not thrilled with it, but it is almost midnight, and i am tired.... my youngest daughter surprised me and drove all the way up from Manassas, VA. to spend her 2 days off work with me! She did not tell me she was coming....

SO here it is...for now this is what i've got....til tomorrow possibly...or wednesday.....maybe....DANG, so much to do and so little time!  I still need to do a template-less template shot and a matte shot....and probably this weeks homework and two edit jobs......sigh.....when it rains it pours, or in this case, snows.  i hate snow....

See you soon!

POV...Shots From Above

Kim Klassen 2B D6....revisiting a lesson on POV (Point of View)
Perspective is a funny thing.  It can make you see things so differently,  expanding how you think of things, and opening new worlds of exploration.

Looking down on Lileigh Grace's "princess dress and work boots" i saw more than the mess on the floor.  I saw the scattering of little girl hopes, wishes and dreams.  The moment of a whim, that came to life, danced and twirled, and then moved on.
Looking down on Faith the Wonder Dog (trust me she deserves that name for all her troubles, as it is a wonder she is still among the living!) i saw the love and hope in her eyes.  The subtle hint of begging for perhaps a dropped morsel of something from me at the kitchen sink, or from the snack bag as i was doling out portions to my grand beans!
Looking down on the warn and tattered old book on my windowsill, i saw a well used and loved source of knowledge.  Where seeds of interest and curiosity took root and grew for someone long ago.

Perpective..... POV...........it is ALWAYS worth the visit and the revisit, for you never know what you will find.

Short piece tonight...sitting for a 1 year old that only sleeps about an hour a day, and a three year old with boundless energy and no naps makes for a VERY mellow Mmmm-ma this week.  Normally i am up, playing and editing and enjoying my time in the quiet of the house....but for now i think i just need some sleep, because "sitting" is a misnomer with these 2.....it rarely happens!

Follow the Light :)

Have i told you lately how much i enjoy my 2B class!?  I popped in this evening to find the most wonderfilled wonderful and inspiring chat from Kim....just when i was beginning to feel like the dreary of winter was never going to end, and have been lamenting the nasty cold and wind of the past week.

Kim talked about light.  A subject dear to my heart.  I simply ADORE light!  i can not live without it streaming into my life and my house.  It baffles me to go to my daughters houses and find curtains closed and blinds shut tight....what IS that???  like living in a cave....i run around opening curtains and blinds after they leave to go where they are going!

i live in a house built over 3 time periods....the oldest section dates back to the mid 1700's....the other sections are additions to the tiny one room farmhouse, and were added in 1826, 1920,  and the last addition in the early 1930's.  i often "follow the light" from room to room when doing photo's inside.
Early morning light at the front of the house...late day light at the back of the house.  Midday light on the covered porch...and i am lucky enough to have a white room off the kitchen with loads of late afternoon light.
The photos i chose to include here were taken in mid morning, at my open front door in the 1826 section of the house....in the room that was probably once a parlor of sorts, but is actually my dining room now.

There is nothing more beautiful that light streaming inside.  it brightens more than just the room. It makes my spirit soar!

Inside Out....

2B, Day 4

Anxious to get busy on this very interesting and fun assignment for BeyondBeyond!  i snagged a few minutes before i had to run out to sit for my 2 grand beans last night and played in my edit room with the shots i took during the afternoon.  The first one was done "cold"....because that was how i felt after carrying out my inside things and staging them in the dusting of snow in the woods.  I do not tolerate cold well and it took me some time and a hot cuppa, to be able to edit without shivering!  I loved the muted tones and how the glass matched the colors of the winter woods and the little chest.  As i was finishing up, i got the reminder text that i needed to be out of here in 20 minutes....so i promised myself i would try another rendition....one a bit warmer, with a texture and a quote.

I had the chance to do that today after church, and the luncheon in honor of my grand bean, Noah, who had his church Dedication ceremony today (like a Christening elsewhere).  I find photography to be SO magical.  The mood evoked from one photo can be totally changed with a bit of playtime in editing....
i very much like both of these, altho they are the same, they are really quite different, don't you think!?

In the warmer version, i used the Kim Klassen texture Isobel in Soft Light at 100% opacity, and the lettering is Pea Annie at 66% opacity, using the dark greenish brown color from the pine needles on the ground  to the left.   OR....i might be all mixed up and those instructions are not exactly what happened!  i really need to start writing things down!!

I am SO over the moon with this class.  It pushes me to engage myself fully in the assignments... sometimes to the point of agonizing over the creative aspects.   i sometimes am a complete creative blank and this PUSHES me to regroup....to stretch and reach and challenge myself to do what i KNOW in my heart i can do.  I do not always win in my challenges, but i do feel good that i try my best and give it my all with each one...you can not fail, if you try....you can only fail if you fail to try.  :)

A Little DOF Art :)

Well....in spite of some more glitches in the machine here, i managed to get 2B Day 2 under my belt!  I Adore playing with depth of field with my shots, and took the opportunity to do so while Lileigh Grace was engaged in her artwork.  She is progressing quite well for a 3 year old, might i add!

i ALWAYS have my camera with me when i go to her house to visit or watch her and Noah Jacob.  Usually, the camera and just the EF 24-105 zoom lens, as it is good for drive-by shootings of the photographic kind as well as shots of the beans!

i normally shoot in manual mode, but have been known to throw it into AV for a different effect.  Experimenting with my equipment is something i love to do.  There is no fear of failure...there are exciting lessons to be learned and i learn best with the hands on approach.  i am a show me kind of gal! (Therefore i am hoping i can figure out why i can't access the Vimeos anymore...another glitch) So here are my DOF shots for the day 2 lesson/challenge.  Now i am off to make dinner.....ever the at home challenge with a ripped up kitchen and no ovens....and with all the issues i have been having and trying to solve all day with my email, the day flew by without accomplishing half of what i needed to do.

i promise, Kim....i will step back and revel in my laundry....each piece of clothing will get my complete attention and i will not think about all the other stuff that needs doing, so that i am not frazzled.  I am hoping that your "doing dishes" trick works for me, altho i do LOVE doing laundry!  Yes, i know....i am a "sick puppy", or as a friend never misses a chance to point out, an "odd duck"!!

Keep on clickin'!!

Take a Moment...

Take a Moment...

I have been away again.  I had a call from my mom.  My dad was in the hospital.  She did not ask me to come down, so i asked her if i should.  My dad is 91, mom is 83.  She seemed relieved, and when i spoke to my dad, he actually sounded rather good....but agreed that it would be helpful.

i had set up a flight ....or so i thought, after going round and round with someone from the airline to use a ticket that we had not used and needed to use by March.  When i went to check in online, the ticket was issued in my husband's name.  A frantic call to the airline brought rude answers from someone that barely spoke english.  After a frustrating 5 minutes or so on the phone i requested a supervisor.  She also spoke broken english and refused to help, saying it was "policy" not to transfer the ticker.  I asked her why the girl who booked it took my name and asked if i was the passenger, before completing the transaction  AND then told me to have a nice flight and that she hoped my dad would be ok.
She had no idea why...but the rule was it could not be changed.  i told her to cancel it, and hung up in tears.  My parents were expecting me the next day at noon.

i ended up having to book a train....24 hours down....and another 24 hours upon return.  It was the only reasonable priced way to get there without waiting for a reasonable airfare in a reasonable amount of time to help them.

I spent 10 days satisfying myself that they would be ok when i got back to NJ.  Since my return i have been playing catch up with life at home.  i am looking at this mug....this culpa hot cocoa and thinking that the verse on it is how i am feeling at the moment.  i need a good old fashioned hissy fit!  let it all out and start fresh.  I feel it coming on....probably tomorrow at the unemployment office.  I came home to find that they have put my file into "pending", because THEIR phone system was overloaded and i could not get through to them there or online since mid December "Due to the effects of Hurricane Sandy, and the influx of claims".  The wait times exceeded 3 hours each call i made daily no matter the time of the call.  Life goes on and i have barely enough time to finish the chores here, never mind sitting by the phone for 3+ hours.  Typical bureaucratic BS, which i am running out of patience with.
SO....if you hear something loud and long tomorrow, it will be the sound of me and my HISSY FIT!
Happy Monday!

Back From the Dark Ages....A Story of Survival

I am back!  It was such a mess, and i am grateful that it was not worse for us here.  My heart goes out to all those that lost SO very much due to the storm.  Our damage here was insignificant in the bug scheme of things.  The lives lost and devastation was mind boggling to see....what i could see, without power for 14 days.  No internet, TV, lights.....it was far from pleasant and yes indeed, i whined a lot!  Not proud of that.  Let's just say i would have made a nightly lousy pioneer woman.  i have a very rough time with winter and the lack of light when things are "normal" here....this darkness by 5:00pm with dimness by 3:30pm was killer.

My iphone was my umbilical cord to the world....poor thing was charged by generator or car charger constantly so i would be able to stay in contact as best i could.  I need new eyeballs....asking santa....as mine are exhausted from viewing that tiny screen.

The winds picked up and it began raining on the afternoon of November 3rd.  By 7:00pm we had been experiencing flickering of the lights....and by 7:45pm we were plunged into what would become 2 full weeks, almost to the hour of living the pioneer life.  We live on acreage and had secured everything as best we could during the morning.  Our driveway (almost a 1/4 mile gravel lane off the street) is lined with 40-50 foot tall pines, as is the perimeter of our pastures and backyard.  They were swaying gracefully starting in late afternoon....by nightfall they were tipping and whipping around in a frenzy.  After losing power and being plunged into interior darkness, i lit candles and sat in the kitchen fiddling around with some editing on my charged up (thankfully) iPad.  Around 10pm, i got up to make myself something hot to drink, the heat was now off, along with the well pump and yep, the toilets. While standing at the sink filling a pot with water (the last in the lines until the generator fired up in the morning) i heard a sickeningly long drawn out cracking sound.  Panicked that a pine was headed in my direction and through the house, i bolted to the middle of the room, when i heard the thud...i put the pot on the stove (thank heaven's for propane!) and grabbed a flashlight.  The first victim of Sandy....a HUGE pine had fallen perfectly placed between the row of pines in the rear yard and the wooden  jungle gym that is the love of Lileigh Grace's life at the moment! I warmed up and listened to what was now a constant roar of wind, with whopping gusts occurring for good measure.  The next day we found out the winds topped 75MPH constant and over 100MPH in gusts.  We also found 20 or so of the huge pines had met their fate...3 across the driveway with 4 or 5 more uprooted and leaning...one in the large pasture, snapped at the base, and many in the perimeter down or leaning.  One at the pasture entrance had crushed the metal gate.....it looked like a pile of flat pipes on the ground....the trunk wedged between the plow blade and attachment to the snowplow for the truck.  Lost a large Cedar, which also crushed a fence and another massive pine that took off the corner of the overhang on the barn....it looked like a war zone.  Back by the swings there were 3 large ones snapped, all missing the swing set and a whole group of them precariously leaning on others...destined to also come down.  It was a most depressing sight.  When we were able to move the trees from the driveway, my husband set off to try and help the folks that needed tarps for roofs that had trees through them.  He has been running non stop from 5am to 8 or 9 pm daily for the past 2 weeks, trying to get to as many folks as he can....but we are a very small operation, with only a couple crews.  By day 7 of no power and being lied to by the power company, everyones nerves were frazzled.  We had just been through this the fall before due to a snowstorm that came around Halloween, while autumn leaves were still on the trees...we had no power for 9 days.....this appeared to be even worse.

I just decided to post this shot...taken the day after the electrons returned to my wires.  The joy on my face is so evident!  It was 66 degrees, sunny and warm....i had not been out to shoot in two weeks, and just needed....REALLY needed a day of fun!  This shot was taken by my dear friend Sharon.  She sent it to me to use an my icon shot for Facebook.  i am very self critical and most shots end up in the delete bin.....but i LOVE this shot!  She captured my soul and my being!!

I hope that everyone is healing and helping those in need from this devastating storm.  Being the beach person i am, my heart breaks for the people of the coast...and i do hope that people with cell phones, that can spare a donation, will text 90999 (Red Cross, Disaster Relief for the Hurricane Victims) and allow a $10.00 donation to them to help.  We are Jersey Strong, and we will be Jersey Restored Strong.
I have donated and also taken a load of winter coats.  Pay it forward for my blessings is what i do.
Have a wonderful and thankful Thanksgiving, all.

Looking Down...another perspective of life.

I think i have been missing for awhile.   For those of you that are new to my world, i happily got a new grand bean in September and have been very busy with all sorts of bits of life for the past month.  i am making progress catching up, only to find that other things have slipped to the back burner...and so it goes.

i am preparing to host my fall boutique the week of November 10th, with a number of artists joining me.  I am grateful i have so many people around me that make beautiful things, and that there are so many that know the value of these beautiful homemade gifts to give their family and friends over the holidays.  I did the boutique for 16 years....then took a hiatus to help my sister in law with her twins that were born premature.  I kind of "let it go" after that, much to the disappointment of my artist friends and my great bunch of shoppers!  Suffice it to say, people were still asking "when are you going to open The Shepherd's Daughter Boutique again!?  I miss that!"  SO....this year i caved.  I lost my job in June, and thought, why not.  i will have more time to devote to it and can stay open the whole week instead of just opening on weekends like i used to.

I must be certifiably insane, as i began my photography business in January and things as they usually are, are slow to start....but now of course they are picking up....right when i need to gear up for this event...AND a big shoot this coming weekend!  One thing i can not do is take a little time to play...i know what happens if i don't, and it is not a pretty sight!  My classes with Kim Klassen are a huge part of my sanity keeping repitoire, and this weeks challenge was try looking down shots.  It just to happens that last week, i did just that!  As i walked past 2 of my sweet beans, i glanced down at them on the flor and what i saw was a whole new view of Lileigh Grace and her brother, Noah.  She spends a lot of time taking things away from him and not sharing....after being the "one and only" for a little over 2 years, and finally realizing he is not going back where he came from, she seems to finally be making peace with the whole thing!  Here, she feeds him from his sippy cup,  "Because, Mmmm-ma, he spills."
she tells me matter of factly.

Km, this is for you.  I had no time to stand on a chair yet this week, and these two looked so cute from my above view!  I hope you enjoy seeing part of my world from another perspective!

Soar....as best you can!

I am SOOOOOO behind in my lessons, thanks to a month away to help my daughter as a labor coach and to become settled into the lovely disruptive routine that babies bring!  I am struggling to catch up...but making slow progress, juggling between 3 of Kim Klassen's classes.  I am seriously considering nominating her for sainthood, for her patience with me! I may crack her yet...she has not gotten my questions of the day today! ;)

The lesson in Beyond Layers today was in Photoshop and holy cow, do I need help learning that!  I was beginning to think I was REALLY, SERIOUSLY in over my head as I watched Day 72's video!
(Thus the questions I will be submitting to her shortly!)

The top photo was my original shot....so to practice the cloning tool, which I am used to in Elements (altho i can't seem to make it larger than a set size there) I moved the Pelican and got rid of his other foot splash.  I added text and texture, and futzed with some opacity and blends and did a little erasing of my over zealous work with the paintbrush tool!

I am not totally thrilled with it, but am pleased that I was able to follow the steps....sort of...sometimes after a few DUH! moments!

Bottom line!  We can ALL SOAR....at our own pace and in our own time!  Believe!!

OK....back to the computer for more catch up time!

My Littlest Big Interruption!

Life has a way of throwing curves...at my age you would think i would know and expect that!  Enter Luke Maddox...Sept. 5th 2012.

My daughter was due on Sept. 2nd.  Her doctors told her they would induce her the week before so he would not be too big for her to deliver.  She was a high risk pregnancy for most of it, and they wanted no issues.  They set up a tentative date for induction....Tuesday,  August 28th...with the words:
 "Don't think you will make it through the weekend."  The weekend came and went.  Monday she went to her doctor visit and they decided to cancel the induction, because Luke was not in exactly the right place and that meant inducing would increase her likelihood of a C-section.  She was told..."things are progressing...so probably before the weekend." Ok....now i have been here a full week because of the first indication of impending birth. (It is a 5.5 hour drive to her house and she wanted someone here, since her husband was going to work until the day she went into labor.) Another week, and weekend passed....no Luke.  Another doctor visit, scheduled for Tuesday the 4th....and she wakes Tuesday morning in labor.  OK!  Here we go!!  2 days past her due date but that's ok...we are ready! (she more than anyone)

To make a long story short....missed her Tuesday doctor appt.....intense labor for 21 hours and 2 hours of pushing....and they decide it was C-section time at 4:00am on Wed. the 5th....Great Grandma's birthday!  By 4:30 am, Luke was back in the room, with mama and daddy....and me!  i was there as a labor coach, along with my son in law, but when it got to be delivery by c-section, i had to stay behind and wait...but not long for the happy moment!

I have been quite busy for the past 2 weeks.  My daughter was hit with a wicked bout of postpartum depression and so i opted to stay thru this week, when her husband had to return to work.  I am enjoying my time here, but working hard to make it all easier for my daughter.  She is finally beginning to feel better and calmer...  more self assured that she can handle things and is getting some sleep. i am getting some precious bonding time with my 3rd little grand bean...and will be supremely sad when it is my time to go home.  Luke is doing well...in just 9 days has gained 11 oz., and is sleeping in 3-4.5 hour stretches overnight.  I, on the other hand have a lot of catching up to do....both back home in NJ and with my 3 classes...blessings to  my teacher Kim for being the amazing and sweet, understanding teacher she is!

Yes, babies may be tiny, but they bring an avalanche of big delightful changes to your life!