Camera Crazy

What, you may ask, is Gail blogging on a Sunday morning for? Isn't she supposed to be battling the elements, and hawking her wares at the market? Indeed, that is normally the case, but today she is planning to spend her time at home with her poor, tired husband who is still sleeping I might add.

Last night was the charity event which turned out to be quite nice. There was an excellent crowd for a rainy day which surprised me. I'm showing you the outside of the building as we approached. The torrential rains of the day quit around 6, making for a balmy evening.The gallery is in the bottom floor space, the upstairs used to be the stage for a small theater company which has grown since moving across the street. The latest incarnation was an movie theater, run by the University of Central Florida, showing great documentaries and foreign films. Sadly, funding ran out forcing the place to close, but not before I formed wonderful memories (not to mention shed buckets of tears) of gre…

That's our new word for the day. Naturally I didn't make it up but I wish I had. I read it in the Times and I'm adopting it because it's so clever. Don't you love it when people come up with these sayings. Actually I wonder where the word "vacation" originated. Bruce is looking for a little "staycation" this Monday. I didn't even realize it was already Labor Day....duh.

Our neighborhood is in mourning right now. Remember the tree that fell apart from last week? Take another look at the picture to get the scale in your mind--the owner is on the left. Yesterday while engrossed in taking the cheese pictures, I didn't hear the chain saws going. When we stepped outside to carry Blair's things to her truck, I saw the unthinkable. The magnificent oak is now completely gone, stump, and all. I imagine the inside of their house feels completely different now that they have loads of sunshine. Angela called to complain about how it completely cha…

On my way home from errands I heard the above phrase used on "All Things Considered" regarding the DNC, somehow, it seems appropriate for all of us. Whether we are a student writing a paper wanting the professor to "buy" our ideas, in a relationship, a doctor recommending treatment, a traditional sales relationship, a contractor selling the completed, or not, work, and the list could go on. Just a thought....

Speaking of the sale, I'm referring to our cheese vendors at the market. Blair asked me on Sunday if I would be willing to photograph the cheeses they sell for a website. Naturally, yours truly, said, "sure." Looking back I'm not quite sure I understood what I was getting into; approaching me around 3:00 is an excellent idea if you want a favor,by that time I'm usually so hot I'll agree to anything.

Nevertheless, a promise is a promise. She showed up this morning with a very large box of fine cheeses, actually sixteen different fine che…

OK, so the first image has nothing to do with a dinner party, but that's fine because this is my blog, and I can post what I want.

Saturday night found us at Bruce's mom's house in Zellwood. She lives in a spacious, manufactured home in a 55+ community, although I doubt there are too many people at the younger end of the spectrum living there. Judy and Cris, Bruce's brother and sister-in-law, were married one year and one week ahead of us, meaning they just celebrated their 36th anniversary. As such, we had a celebratory dinner. Mom is no longer buying gifts, but sharing some of her "treasures" with the family. Black candlesticks belonging to her parents were our gift. Bruce, in an effort to start a lively discussion, brought up the presidential race, which was quickly nixed due to differing persuasions. On our way there it poured, the last of Fay, thankfully. Unfortunately for many folks the misery continues as flood waters rise. Aside from the messy yard, we…

Finally a small break in the rain---just enough time for me to start the clean up.Last evening was probably the worst of the storming with serious rain and wind battering the trees as you can see. The backyard has a big branch from our neighbor's tree and the front walk holds all the debris I could gather from our front yard. These are the times that try home owner's souls. Why, oh why, do we live on a corner lot? I got the lawn mowed in time for the rain to begin again. Bruce will need to take over from here, a chain saw is not something I've mastered.

When I looked out around 8 last night I saw one of the patio chairs had blown into the pool. I've been calling Lisa around 9 each morning to get the forecast because you already know how I feel about the tv people. Of course there's nothing I can do about whatever is going to happen, but just the same, I want to know if there is an end in sight. The storm itself is nothing like some we've had, but it just won'…

The rain continues to batter and the wind continues to blow. Seriously, it's worse today than the previous two days with rain falling all day long. I finally had to leave the house for a bit today, this is what I saw upon my return. This is at the end of our street--seven houses away. I had to go around the block to get to the house and for a moment I was nervous that one of ours could have fallen during my absence. I'm so sad because this tree was spectacular. If there is any silver lining for my neighbors it is that it fell into the street ensuring the county paying for the clean up. It can cost thousands of dollars to take a tree like this down.

Here's what I went to see:

The World of William Joyce features the work of one of the most dynamic and talented picture book artists working today. William Joyce has won two Emmys for his popular children’s show that aired on the Disney Channel, William Joyce’s Rolie Polie Olie, an animated series based on his Rolie Polie Olie pic…

The storm remains a bit of a mystery--no one knows where it will go. As such, it came through our area overnight with high winds and rain. Today the rain continued throughout the day, not hard, just steady with gray skies all day. I'm posting a picture of our yard from across the street. Our neighbors did not stop their paper during their absence, so I've been picking it up daily for several months now. I thought for those of you who haven't seen our place I'd show all the large trees that become worrisome during a hurricane. The large oak from which the staghorn fern hangs is half the tree it was before Hurricane Charley. The trees provide an oasis during the hot summer months; I've no interest in taking them down unless absolutely necessary. I moved the baby car away from the house because there are still dead branches in the oak that could damage my little MINI.

Baxter was whimpering to go out around 5:30 this morning. I got up, checking for any damage, which is …

If you had watched any television in the last few days you would think the world was ending. Although the tropical storm was days away, hourly updates began on Saturday while I was watching the Olympics. You just want to throw something at the tv! During our season of hurricanes four years ago the "meteorologists" (I use that term loosely because I don't believe all those folks that broadcast the weather deserve the label)kept telling folks to hunker down--please make them stop. Anyway, so far there have been a few rain squalls, but not much else. Jonathan called around 3 because he'd heard it had it Orlando--it wasn't even raining then. Allegedly it will be stronger later on, we'll just wait and see.

Yesterday afternoon I was practicing the manual focus on the Nikon. As you can see, I need more....although Baxter does look pretty cute doesn't he?

I have some good news to report--I got a call this afternoon that they have chosen not one, but two photos I e…

Many of you know that Bruce and I met for the first time in 6th grade, but waited until 8th to become "boyfriend & girlfriend." After eight grade he decided to be test the waters a bit, but came back to me on September 25th (my mom's birthday), and we've been together ever since. Today it is extraordinarily rare to date only one person seriously in your life, but it has worked for us beautifully. Bruce is an extraordinary man, I've been a lucky girl to have found him so early in my life.

The night at the Ritz was awesome. The setting is beautiful, the companionship couldn't have been better, and the restaurant was wonderful. I really wanted a picture of the two of us, knowing that my baby camera would never cut it, Bruce went back up to the room to get the Nikon, and the server was kind enough to take this. He took a head on shot, but I like this one better. When in St. Lucia four years ago a person took a picture of us with this pose and it is precious …

I forgot to tell you about something funny that happened to me yesterday. I walked into the Mount Dora Art Center to not only look at the art, but to use the bathroom. This lovely stained glass window greeted me while in there. Waling in I saw a woman helping two other women with a purchase, so I didn't realize that the center wasn't really open. I found that out when I went out into the gallery to leave and found the door locked. I couldn't open it and was a bit stymied as to what to do. Fortunately some people were visible on the sidewalk outside, and I rapped on the window to get their attention. One of the guys was kind enough to go upstairs next door and find someone to unlock the door! That's a first. The oil paintings are from a Florida Highwayman exhibit. They got their name because they used to sell their paintings out of the back of their cars along the highway.

Watching the Olympics is inspiring. It serves to remind me that it is perfectly ok to take gazilli…

As you can imagine I take loads of pictures of flowers--hey, you know the title of the blog! I decided to embed a little slideshow of some that are good, some not so much. You be the judge.


I took a field trip today to Mt. Dora, a charming town about 30 miles from Orlando. Because I was so close I decided to drive into Tavares, another small town in Lake County I'd never seen before. Both are pretty sleepy, but Tavares is more so. I believe Mt. Dora has grown more because of art; here's what I'm getting at. Some years ago (obviously I don't know how many or I'd tell you) Mt. Dora began hosting an outdoor art festival accepting only top notch artists. The word got around and these days around 250,000 people attend each spring. People coming to the festival saw the natural beauty of the area (gigantic lakes), the close proximity to a city, and there you go. I had a yummy salad for lunch in a quaint restaurant.

Unfortunately I'm not feeling up to par, so all of it …

Market Praise
Lest you think I only take photos of flowers.....

In final market related stuff--today's picture is of Roger, his wife Trish in black, and their two dogs, Max and Samantha. It was about this time last year that I began selling prints made by Roger. They were just cruising around like this last July when I met them for the first time.

It was with dismay that I looked at the scale this morning...down to 104.5 (digital scale). In this house it appears that I need more calories, and Bruce needs less...what's a cook to do?

The Olympics are spectacular, especially the swimming; I only wish they could put it on earlier. It is pushing my limit to stay up till even 10, so naturally I missed the dramatic relay race on Sunday night. It's just not the same in a re-run.

Have I told you these two kitchen tips before?

When I was feeding my mom during her illness (not a great description, but I can't think of any other way to put it) I used to make her deviled eggs for the nex…

The title refers to an overheard loud mobile phone conversation. Although mobile phones are convenient, hearing the stupid things people say to each other at high decibels is an inconvenient truth. The aforementioned speaker didn't look much like a braniac to me.

These are some new flowers I've planted out by the pool. They are so cheery but the lack of rain is going to make watering a top priority. As you know, it wouldn't quit raining a week or so ago, now it won't start.

I overslept this morning which should have told me something...I should have stayed home. A shut out--the first in a long time. The saving grace was that it was not blistering hot, with much lower humidity, making for a quick morning.

This afternoon I delivered the canvas I'm donating to the March of Dimes event. Amazingly the receptionist asked me if I did the Baldwin Park art festival to which I replied in the affirmative. She said, "I bought two of your large images for my living room.&…

A Spectacle to Behold
Let's just say at the outset that I love the Olympics. Last evening we attended an art opening at the gallery where I may be featured, however, we didn't stay too long because I was dying to see the opening ceremonies. It did not disappoint, in fact, poor Bruce had to listen to me ooohing, and aaahing at every new scene. I'm so sorry we missed the lighting of the torch, as well as the drummers, but what we saw was magnificent. Because television viewing is so seldom done around here I'd forgotten ours is not working too great. The picture freezes making for a bit of a jarring viewing experience; this may force us to get a new one.

I am missing my Brucer.

Jonathan sent me an e-mail yesterday asking if I was going to do the 8/08/08 thing on flickr. I'd spent some time trying to get the most interesting shot of this gerbera daisy and hadn't thought too much about it. He reminded me how much he'd loved what I did with 7/07/07, I figured why …

Remember how I've been harping on the big storms this summer? Apparently one of the many lightening strikes was close to home. My dear neighbor Regina's remaining giant oak tree was hit a week ago Sunday. Not only did she lose the forty year old tree but multiple appliances and computer problems resulted from the strike. She was out to dinner and the only sign of a problem was her dead phone when she returned. A few days later the leaves on the tree began to brown. Although she had a surge protector it wasn't enough. The sad thing is that she lost two massive oaks in the hurricanes a few years ago, and now this one. The street obviously doesn't look the same without the canopy it provided.

Last night at this time I was mowing the lawn thinking it might be cooler. Good thing it wasn't tonight as the temperature at 7:45 is still 91 degrees. For six weeks the rain was incessant--now it hasn't rained in almost a week. The plants and grass are drying up quickly in th…

you could have fried an egg on the sidewalk, not that I'd want to mind you, but still...

You would think we were farmers in this house if you knew how early we got up today. Around 4:30 Bruce woke up worrying about some work detail. I woke up asking if it was time to get up. He decided to go to the office before he drove down to Vero to check on something. I laid there for some minutes and thought maybe since I was already awake I would do the same. Not go to the office per se, but get out with my tripod in the dark. I've had quite a lot of interest in my night photos of downtown and thought I'd add to the stash. As you can imagine I'm pooped right now after my early start. Bruce is still hard at work at the office. He's a work Ironman!

On the other side of downtown is a lovely area called College Park. I get people at the market from there asking if I have anything from their neighborhood. So far I've not found a whole lot but there is a nice view of the skylin…

I hope August ends the way it's begun. Between yesterday and today's market, I sold as much as I did all of August 2007. Today one of the smaller canvases was purchased to go to Scotland if you can imagine. Remember how thrilled I was the first time one of my prints went overseas? I'm still just as excited. However, the heat has taken its' toll on me and I'm worn out. I'm feeling much improved, in fact, I begin to think all the symptoms have gone away when they raise their ugly head again. The dry heaves aren't daily anymore thank goodness but they haven't gone away entirely. The same can be said about my feet problems and the ache in my side. The good news is that they are no longer constant; it just seems like it's something I'll have to live with. Hopefully I've satisfied everyone's curiosity regarding my health. :-)

Today I'm posting another little album from the trip last week. I just had to share the little boy with someone. He …

It seems as if it rains earlier, and earlier each day. This has me worried about the market on Sunday. Perhaps we should take a Sunday off for two reasons. Bruce could use the rest and I am wearing a huge cold sore on my face. If you have to have a cold sore it is better to be on your face because it is less painful. The pain is worse when it is just coming on; by the time it is hideous you hardly feel it, especially on your face. It takes a bit of guts to go out in public with one of these as large as mine but I'm doing it. In fact, we are meeting Jane and Michael at Ceviche tonight for dinner. Hopefully they can ignore it.

Because this blog is called Camera Crazy I like to show you what I'm doing sometimes rather than just write about it. I picked up some glass beads at Walgreens for $2 and was trying to make something interesting with them. You can see the tripod in the one picture. I set it up because I was trying all sorts of camera settings, even a 5 second exposure. I j…