Under a Blue Moon

I wanted to do a Tablescape Thursday kind of post (or is it supposed to be Tablescape Tuesday?) and after I got things all set up I remembered that my camera batteries are dead dead dead. 

So instead of glamour shots you get cellphone pictures. 

One thing I have been playing around with are some Photoshop Element actions that I got from Florabella.  I bought a set of Spring actions and now have my eye on her Luxe set.  

I'm hopelessly lazy when it comes to Photoshop.  I have figured out a few tricks that I usually do on my images to brighten and sharpen them.  But beyond that I haven't made the time to really figure out all that I can do.

Which is why I love actions.  Someone else figured out all the steps, recorded them and then I just have to click on a button and have them applied to my image.  It is genius. 

On my blog images I tend to like them a bit crisper and less faded, or hazy, than most of the actions in the Spring set but there are a few that I use all the time.  On the image in this post I used Vintage Spring II and then Sharpen & Defrag. 

Here is a before and after so you can see the difference (click on it to see it full sized):

The actions just add a nice light and creaminess to the image.  Not bad for a cellphone pic, eh?

Do you do any post processing on your blog images?  If so do you have any Photoshop tricks you like to employ or any favorite actions?
 

Painting by David Smith, Terwilliger & Jones Gallery

I don't know where this is but I want to be there.  It has to be cooler than Granite Bay, California. 

Isn't that stunning?  And it's a painting!  I know!

When I was driving down the road to our house yesterday afternoon my car was registering the temperature at 109 degrees.  Today is supposed to be hotter. 

I'll be sitting in front of the a/c unit with my feet in a bucket of ice water if anyone needs me. 

A big, heartfelt Happy Birthday to my dear friend Karen!  May your day be sparkly and full of joy.  Make everyone treat you like the princess you are!

My lovely niece Lizz is getting married in a few weeks.  She is having a beach wedding in the early evening. 

I have been searching for just the right thing to wear to this most auspicious occasion.  

The ceremony will be right on the beach and the reception nearby in a building that is meant to host events such as this. 

I wanted to wear something flowy and comfy but with the right amount of formality for the event.  I found this beautiful kimono on-line.   It is sheer black (burn-out velvet) with a floral design tastefully embellished with beading.  I thought it would look equally appropriate over a tank style dress or slim cut black pants and a tank top.

I ordered it – one size fits all – and it arrived a couple of days ago.  

One size fits all provided you are a size 10 or smaller.  Extremely frustrating on many levels.  Namely that I have a wedding to attend in a few short weeks and nothing to wear. 

I spent a very frustrating afternoon looking for something suitable.  My fault for procrastinating because all the Fall stuff is in the stores now.  Looking on-line wasn't any more productive.  Most dresses are sleeveless.  What is up with that?  

I've settled on THIS.  It has long sleeves.  I look good in blue and it has the added bonus of having a built in accessory. 

 

I feel as if this is a bit of a cheater post since the above picture was taken more than four years ago.  But it does serve to illustrate today's topic.

A couple of weeks ago I featured a book in my Friday's Favorites that I said looked interesting to me and was at the top of my to read list. 

I was lucky enough to win a $100 Amazon gift card from work last week so I ordered the book.  The Bucuolic Plague by Josh Kilmer-Purcell.

It's the story of two Manhattan gentlemen that, practically on a whim, buy a 100+ year old farm and try their hand at weekend farming. 

First of all I love this type of story – a modern day memoir of someone trying their hand at sustainable living.   Like Animal, Vegetable, Miracle – only with drag queens.

The author is the type of writer where as I'm reading I suck in my breath and think "I wish I had written that line."  He is so subtly witty.  I loved how he sort of accidently, without mentioning it to his partner, who so ardently opposed the idea to begin with, brought a herd of 80 goats to live on their farm.  And only had to come clean when they showed up on Friday night and he had to explain what they were doing in the barn (I admit to employing this same tactic when introducing new cats into our household). 

I had a hunch this would be a good book and I was so completely right.  I'm only about 100 pages into it and I'm already mourning the approaching conclusion to the story.

Makes me wish we still had our goats. 

Going….

….going….

Gone!

Or how I spent my Saturday.  Such a glamorous life I lead. 

There was an old lean-to shed type thing on our property that we have never ever used.  It was a gift from the previous owner.  We really couldn't see it from our house or deck so we could easily ignore it. 

Our neighbor (that lives behind us) said that he would help Rick tear it down with his backhoe/tractor thingie on Saturday so we could haul it to the dump. It was an eyesore for sure and their back patio looked right at it. It had a ton of ancient firewood, old cabling and lord knows what else in there other than a bobillion black widow spiders. And it is surrounded by waist high weeds where the ticks love to hang out.

Yep. I got to help. I was out there covered from head to toe with my wellies on and sprayed to an inch of my life with bug spray.  I thought one of us was going to die this weekend. Probably me. Bugs seem to love to bite me.

It took two dump runs to get rid of all the ancient crud that was in there.  We started on another ancient pile of lumber left from an old deck (again, a gift from the previous owner) but after Rick picked up a board and it had three scorpions on it we kind of lost our enthusiasm.   

Here's the job foreman surveying the demolition site.

 

This week I promise I'll have some prettier posts.  
 

I find myself utterly fascinated by the Persona Flickr set by J Trav (via Liquid Sky Arts).  The photos are a series of diptychs that portray a person and the contents of their purse, backpack or briefcase. 

I was surprised at how many people carry cameras around with them. But then he is a photographer so maybe he hangs out with a bunch of other photographers.

I'm fairly boring.  Wallet, rice paper wallet for checkbook and receipts (Kelly just gave me two new ones so I can retire this one), Japanese pouch with lip-glosses, Kleenex, nail polish (not sure WHY that is in there.  Rather risky if you ask me), pillbox, tape measure (ALWAYS have a tape measure on hand), long silver chain, perfume samples from an Etsy Shop, winning lottery ticket (!! Could be – haven't checked it yet), iPhone, anti-bacterial gel, perfume, sample of hand lotion, dental floss, little notebook and a pen. 

Missing are my eyeglass case, my passport and my keys.  Evan has the eyeglass case, my passport never made the transfer from my last purse and who knows where my keys are.

Is it the least bit insightful to my character or personality?  I like to smell good.  Need to carry 17 lip-glosses even though I generally just reach for one lip-balm.  I'm optimistic.  I'm prepared for a dental or measuring emergency.  

Okay who carries Popsicles in their bag?