Photo Practice

I love taking pictures but once they're taken and safely stored on my computer, I rarely do anything with them.  Partly because I simply don't know how to do much of anything with them.  I can use a red-eye reduction tool from Microsoft Picture Manager and occasionally touch up some blemishes with Photoshop but most of my Photoshop editing comes from trial and error.  Most of the books and tutorials I've seen on that program must assume some type of base knowledge of it because I'm usually just as lost at the end as I was at the beginning!

But when I read Shreve's (Honey Rock Dawn) tutorial I was too excited!  I had to try it out - it was clear, easy to understand, and here are the results.  The first photo I altered was of my Prince Charming:

The next two are variations of a photo I took on a trip to San Francisco in December of 2007. 

The first one I simply added a border to it, again following Shreve's tutorial.  The second picture is the same as the first one, but I tried out the sepia look on it.  Makes it look very old, and I really like the effect!

Introducing...

Bugsy.

Her given name is Bagera (after the black jaguar from Disney’s The Jungle Book).  Shortly after Gerald and I moved to a farm house in the country our vet told us he had a kitten he was trying to find a home for and wondered if we would be interested.  I wasn’t too keen on the idea but Gerald thought it would be great to have a friend for our eldest cat, Simon.  Seems this kitten’s mother was a stray who lived in the back of an abandoned pick-up where she had her kittens.  When this pick-up was towed to town Bugsy had no choice but to go along for the ride.

Gerald and I picked her up on a Wednesday afternoon and she alternated hissing and yowling at us the entire way home from town.  As soon as I put her in the house to introduce her to Simon, she arched her back and hissing, started hopping sideways.  Simon just looked at her - he was such a mellow guy and so accepting of everyone.  I put them together in our bedroom, thinking that would force help them get to know one another.  It must have worked because they became inseparable.  Everywhere Bugsy went, Simon followed and likewise, everywhere Simon went, Bugsy followed.

After 11 years she still hisses but has ceased the hopping sideways while doing it! 

Introducing...

Bob.

Bob is my kitty.  Not that the others aren’t mine or that I don’t love the others but there is just something special about Bob.  He sort of attached himself to me and I have become his human.

This is Bob’s story from Catster:

A long time ago I lived with a man, his wife, and their son. I was left outside most of the time and didn't really like it. One day the man told me that he was going to give me away because he and his wife were going to have another baby and didn't want to bother with me any more. I didn't quite understand; I was a good boy. I talked a lot and tried to be really friendly, even with their little dog. I never scratched the boy even when he pulled my tail. I didn't know what I had done wrong. The next day the man loaded me up in his car and drove me to his work. He left me in the car for awhile - it was November and I was cold but soon he took me to another house, put me on their porch, and left. I was all by myself and kind of scared but didn't want to act like it so I decided to look around and see what I could find. There was this big white garbage bag and the stuff in it smelled so good to me - I was hungry. I chewed a hole in the bottom and pulled all the good smelling stuff out. I had so much fun eating all the neat things and playing with the stuff I didn't want to eat!

Even though I was having fun I was still a little scared - I had been on the porch for a long time and nobody was coming to see me. I started to get sad but then I heard another little kitty on the other side of the big wood door. She talked to me and sounded like she would be so much fun to play with, if only I could meet her! She told me to wait for awhile longer and then her mommy and daddy would be home. Maybe then we could play together. As it started to get dark I wondered if she really knew what she was talking about but then I saw lights and heard a man and a woman talking. I wasn't familiar with their voices so I wanted to make my best impression. I sat up really straight and tall in the middle of all the things I pulled from the white bag and waited for them to see me. The woman opened the porch door and seemed really happy to see me. She scooped me up and told me what a handsome boy I was! The man didn't sound very happy. I heard him tell the woman that she needed to do something with me and that I didn't need to stay there. She promised him that she would clean up the "mess" I made and then she would do something with me. She walked into the house and sat me down on the floor so I could finally meet the kitty I had been talking to all day! She was such a nice kitty! She and I began playing and I was so happy.

That night I laid on the lady's lap while she talked to the man. She told him that she needed me to stay (I was surprised because really I was the one who needed her to let me stay) and that she would take care of me. The man wasn't too happy but he said it was her decision, she knew how he felt about a fourth cat. She told him that I needed a name and she wanted him to name me. Without really giving it much thought he said, "Bob." She seemed to like that so she told me they would call me Bob and I would be able to live in their house with them, the really nice kitty, and the two other kitties that didn't really seem to want to get to know me.

The next day she took me to a strange building and I was worried that I was going to be left alone again. But she didn't leave me! She stayed with me even though she let some strange man, the "vet," poke me with sharp things and do a test for something called leukemia. He said the test was negative and I saw my new mom smile so I think that was a good thing. A couple of weeks later the nice kitty who was my best friend had the same test done but it came back positive. My mommy was very sad. She said that maybe the retest would be negative but a few weeks later it wasn't. Mommy cried a lot but the nice kitty, Tigger, and I talked. We decided that she wouldn't get sick for a long time and maybe that would make mommy happy. Tigger stayed with us for a couple more years and mommy was very happy. Then one night Tigger told me her sad news. She said that it was hard for her to breathe and she thought that she had stayed around long enough. She said that mommy used to watch a movie called, Fried Green Tomatos. Tigger remembered that in one part Ruth went to sleep and Idgie was sad. But the housekeeper told her that a lady always knew when it was time to go and Ms. Ruth was a lady. So Tigger told me she was a lady and it was her time to go. I didn't care if she was a lady or not, I didn't want her to go, I loved her. The next day Mommy took her to the doctor. When mommy came home she was very sad. She cried and cried and I didn't know what to do. I tried to be a good boy but I was sad too. Mommy told me that Tigger had been very sick and she didn't wake up when she went to sleep.

I still miss Tigger and Mommy does too. I can still see her even though I don't think mommy can because sometimes when we're playing mommy will ask me what I'm doing by myself. I'm not by myself but I guess she doesn't know that! That's how I got my mommy and daddy and am very happy now. Mommy lets me sleep on her pillow at night and I never get in trouble, of course, I never do anything bad!

Introducing...

Feebe.

Feebe is just Feebe.  She has no formal name and no middle name – she is simply Feebe. As Gerald has explained it, Feebe is a diva, and divas stand alone.  This was not intentional as we did not try to further her idea that she was a princess but nothing has stopped her from acting the part.  Given her humble beginning, I suppose she is entitled to some degree. 

In the fall of 2002, as I was driving home from work one evening, later than usual, I spotted a small calico kitty in the middle of the road.  The two cars in front of me swerved around it, however, I stopped.  I got out of the car, and did the whole, “Here, kitty, kitty, kitty,” thing.  I fully expected it to run away as soon as it heard my voice but she did quite the opposite.   She ran, full speed, over to me and put her paws up on my knee, purring and meowing the whole time.  I didn’t really know what to do but I did the most logical thing I could think of: picked up the kitty and got back into my car. 

I slowly drove the rest of the way home; all the while this happy little cat was running around my car, jumping on me, the dash, the steering wheel, etc.  When I pulled up, Gerald walked out to the car to meet me and froze in his tracks as he saw this kitty laying on the dash of my car.  He just shook his head as if to say, “Here we go again!” 

We took her into the bathroom as to not expose the other cats to her in case she had something they could catch and get sick from.  We sat in there and talked for about 30 minutes, trying to figure out what in the heck we were going to do!  Finally it was decided that she was too fat and friendly to be a total stray – she had to have an actual home.  So we drove down to where I found her and I canvassed the houses – knocking on doors and asking everyone that was home if they were missing a little calico kitty.  No one was.  We drove the rest of the way into town and happened to see someone still at the vet’s office.  I guess we asked nice enough because they allowed her to stay over the weekend but the condition was I had to pick her up on Monday.

First thing Monday morning I called the animal shelter to see if anyone was looking for their cat.  No one was.  I called the newspaper and put a ‘found’ ad out, thinking I would get a call.  I didn’t.  Reluctantly I called the vet’s office and asked them to test her for feline leukemia, give her a check-up, and vaccinate her.  If I had to take her home she had to have a clean bill of health.  That afternoon I picked her up and we went home.  I thought we had a new kitty.

Friday evening as we were eating dinner, the phone rang.  It was an old guy who said he saw our ad and thought that it might be his son’s cat.  (His son lived about ½ mile from where I found her, on the other side of a creek.)  He added that his son probably wouldn’t care if I wanted to keep it but if I was going to, “throw it out the window,” I could drop it off at his house – it was a barn cat after all.  He gave me his son’s phone number and told me I should call him the next day.  I was crushed.  In just 5 short days I had gotten attached to this little kitty.  I liked her and best of all, Gerald liked her.  That night I sat in the living room in the dark with the little kitty and cried.  I didn’t want to give her back but I didn’t want to say I wanted her as we already had three others at the time.

The next day, as I was scooping litter boxes, Gerald came into the room and said, “If you want to keep her, we can keep her.” I did and we did.

Introducing...

Toulouse.

Anderson Toulouse, to be exact. He came to us as a four month old kitten, small, lonely, and with sharp teeth. Actually he was the neighbor’s cat but since the neighbor didn’t want to be bothered with him, he became ours.

I’ve always had a soft spot for New Orleans and in the winter of 2004 I went back for the first time since I was two years old. Gerald and I spent our 7th wedding anniversary there and it was definitely memorable. From the stabbing that took place two blocks from the haunted B&B we were staying in, to the fortune teller who read my palm at Jackson’s Square, to the dirtiest and best place I’ve ever eaten, I’ll never forget what “my” N.O. was like.

Eight months later, Hurricane Katrina hit and the city I identified with was gone. Then one night after two weeks of watching CNN non-stop, Gerald called me out to the patio. There sat a little striped kitty with no tail. He opened his mouth and let out the most pitiful cry – he sounded so alone and so sad. When I gave him some food he was so excited to eat, he allowed me to pet him. I think it was at that moment Gerald knew we were about to have another cat.

For two weeks I fed him twice a day, left water out for him, and made him a place to go when the evenings got too chilly. I was battling with myself (and kind of with Gerald) as to whether or not we ‘needed’ a fifth cat. On October 4th, that battle ended and Toulouse came in the house. We quarantined him in the bathroom for the night and the next day he went to the vet for a check up, shots and neutering. Our house has not been the same since! This is our Toulouse:

Slow Starts

When all our clothes stop fitting, this means one of two things; 1) Our dryer is set on super shrink, or 2) we need to lose some weight. Sadly, I think the dryer is working fine.

I’m no stranger to losing weight; most unfortunately, once my weight loss goal was reached (and exceeded) I thought I had won and I didn’t have to try anymore – the battle was over. This mindset seemed to be working well and for 2½ years as I had no problem with my weight, I was very happy where I was. However, life has a habit of getting in the way and that’s exactly what started to happen. Over the last 4 years I’ve managed to gain back 35 ± pounds of the 100 I lost. Some of this is due to stress, some to lack of exercise, some to my diet, and probably some to medication. Nevertheless and no matter what the cause, it has to end. So when over the weekend Gerald suggested we start getting up early and going for walks, I readily agreed.

The alarm clock began screaming at us at 6:00 Monday morning and Gerald hit snooze. Although I had just been dozing for the previous 45 minutes, I fell sound asleep for those 10 extra snooze minutes. After the alarm started screaming a second time I jumped up and got dressed. I pulled on my long underwear, basketball shorts, and UC Berkley hooded sweatshirt. Gerald opted for just shorts and a shirt, which he soon found out, was a mistake. I forgot to put my contacts on so I had to go back upstairs to do that. I grabbed my gloves and stocking cap and we were off. I jogged next to Gerald while he walked and after about 30 seconds I decided I would be better off walking too…After about 20 minutes, Gerald was still cold (admittedly I was too) so we decided to call it good and go make some coffee.

Tuesday morning when the alarm screamed at us at 5:30, we decided it would be better to walk every other day and start off slowly, and we hit snooze three times before getting up to go have coffee.

Wednesday morning we decided that it’s best to spend some time getting used to getting up early, and we went downstairs for coffee and breakfast.

Thursday and this morning we did just that – got up early and it seems to be working – each day is getting easier and hopefully next week we’ll be able to bounce up at 5:30, feed the cats and be out the door by 5:45. We can walk for 30 minutes, and then have 30 minutes to eat breakfast before we have to get ready for work. It will be nice if this routine can be started and actually stuck to!

What Sick Days Are For

When I've just suffered through an incredibly long and difficult winter, the first signs of spring (green grass, leaves, flowers, longer days, warmth, etc.) make me almost giddy! So yesterday when the forecast for today said highs in the 80s, I knew I had no choice but to be "sick" this afternoon. I messaged Gerald and asked if he was game to skipping out on work and told him all the things we could do to make the afternoon productive (he readily agreed).

Of all the things on my list, we settled on landscaping around the East side of the porch. When we first moved in, there were hideous Euonymus bushes surrounding the porch. -they must have been there for 20 years and not once were they trimmed. In fact you couldn't even see the porch door as they were covering the front of the porch as well. In the summer of 2007 we (okay, okay, Gerald and Jeremy, not me) tore them all out using a chain and a truck.

Last year we rebuilt the porch and hired someone to take a bobcat and level the ground in that area so we had a blank slate to start with and sometimes that's much easier than trying to modify an existing design. Monday afternoon we went to the nursery and looked at the various plants, trying to get an idea of what we wanted to put in there but we struck out. We couldn't decide on anything. Everything we looked at and liked we had no idea what would go with it and if it would even look good. The goal was low maintenance so that meant a lot of things were off the table which further complicated things.

So after lunch today, we decided the first step should be to make the actual bed in the shape we wanted as to have an idea of how much space we indeed did have. We laid out the metal edging we bought, formed it into some nice curves, and pounded it into the ground. After trying to get some ideas from landscape designs on the Internet, we headed back to the nursery with the idea to go with ever-green type plants. But again we were striking out – nothing seemed like it would go together and we were both starting to get frustrated. Finally, Gerald suggested we go with the very first idea we had and that was using native grasses, a shrub and some flowers. We bought a Maiden Grass, a Little Bunny Grass, a Hamlen Dwarf Grass, two Blue Fescue, a Texas Quince, a Columbine, and some other flower that Gerald liked.

After spending $125 at the nursery, we went to Home Depot to get some mulch and weed block fabric. $110 later we headed home to finally start planting. It only took about 1.5 hours to get everything planted, the fabric down, and the mulch spread out. In the end we were successful. It looks awesome and SO much better than it did before. Saturday we plan to go to a landscape supply place to pick out a few rocks of various shapes, colors, and sizes to set around between the grasses and give the finishing touch to our “sick-day” project!