June--Already???

Perhaps you have wondered how I put the photographs on my blog. and for those of you who have, I'm fixing to tell you how it works. I take each and every photograph shown on my blog, download them to Picasa, pick and choose, then upload them to a monthly album I make on Picasa Web Albums. Whew! I almost forgot the most important step--import them to this space!

With some frequency people who wander into my booth ask me if I've taken every shot, which, as you can imagine, always takes me by surprise. Thus, the same question might apply to my blog. Indeed, I've taken them all, and many, many more--you only see the good ones! Like this one of a tufted tit mouse ready to pounce on the Nuttery:

These are very, very fast moving birds who don't stay on the feeder for long. I know everyone will be happy to know that the generic Vaseline is working beautifully; squirrels are having to content themselves, at least in the front yard, with the droppings.

Although, I think in this photograph the stupid squirrel is eating an acorn he has dug up. The back yard feeders are still fair game as I've been unable to outwit them!

Are there any readers out there who can believe it is June 1? My word, this year is flying by and before we know it Christmas will be upon us once again. Not to mention my 59th birthday!!

Yesterday afternoon, following a lively morning playing bridge, I visited Miss Monica, who, true to form, took a very, very long time to cut my hair. As in two hours! My status update on facebook was, "Gail bobs her hair." I'm wondering how many folks who came across that update recognized the reference to Bernice Bobs Her Hair? At one time I could NOT get enough of F. Scott Fitzgerald.

I don't need to tell anyone how facebook has changed the way people communicate. Recently I asked for book recommendations and got quite a few. Most of them did not work for me, however, I should have remembered that it was Liza who recommended The Family Fang. A friend of Matthew's since childhood, she is one clever young woman. Have you been reading about the hullabaloo regarding their stock price? To my way of thinking a site that is almost exclusively "user generated" is not worth investing in because before you know it there will be the "next new thing." That's the way of the world isn't it? While chatting with David about the matter he made an interesting point about one reason there are so many users--it is free! Duh! He posed the question, "How many of those same users would continue on fb if there was a charge?" Probably not very many. A happy consequence would be the return of emails which I sorely miss. Time will tell now, won't it?

Soft rain is falling as I type this in the late morning--very welcome indeed. Before it did so, very early this morning I rode my bike five miles. Because Nancy wanted to see my hair, and you need real evidence that I'm riding, I got out my handy tripod and took this afterward.

Look how dark my arms are compared to my legs! Friends, that's called a photographer's tan. Never again will my hair look like this, well, maybe the next time I visit Monica, but I'll never get that perfect little bob action on my own!

 As you know I love flowering trees. Although I wish the sky were blue when I took this, it was not.

I've no idea what kind of a tree it is but those yellow dangly blooms are mighty fine.

Let's talk about laundry for a moment shall we? In this household laundry has always been a once a week affair despite having a large family. These days, Friday is laundry day because typically Bruce comes home from his travels on Thursday night. Doing the wash this week was weird because not only did Bruce not travel, he barely left the house. I cannot remember the last time there were no jeans in the mix! He and I discussed one of the weird things about working from home--when to take your daily shower. If you work from home you understand.

It may have sounded rather poetic earlier when I wrote the rain was falling softly, but the truth of the matter is, it is now raining cats and dogs on our freshly mown grass. This week Bruce did the honors with predictable results. :)

Thank you to all who liked the new bedding! Once a week I change the sheets and todays from the linen closet look like this:

Another perfect match right?  That said, I'm looking for some percale sheets which are a bit hard to find. Percale is crisp and cool--just what I need. There are sky high thread counts, sateen, organic cotton, you name it, but the sheets that feel the best are no longer readily available. Why is that?

While Trish was packaging my prints recently she remarked on how many hearts I have pictured in images from a cloud to a shell. Here's one more from nature:

Pretty cool huh? Is it any wonder people are so enamored of peacocks what with their iridescent feathers and gorgeous coloring? Add a heart-shaped eye to the list!

Initially I protested when Bruce decided to permanently move his office to our home, however, I've already grown accustomed to having him here, and as you know, am lonely when he's gone. I like, once again, having someone to prepare meals for--eating alone most of the time is tolerable, but nearly as fun.  His company is most assuredly preferable to the crime rag that is called The Orlando Sentinel!

Lunchtime beckons..

Gail

The Mercy of the Weather Forecasters!

That's how my business goes. If the weather prediction is dire, we are usually in a jam. That was the case yesterday morning as we woke up to high winds and cloudy skies. Of course, ever the optimist, I said it would never last and it did not. Bruce and I went back and forth--should we, or shouldn't we? We packed the vehicle. Bruce drove down to the park to find only two other vendors there. Calling Dana he learned that a decision had been made--no load in until 10AM, with extended hours until 5PM. The call was made at 7:30AM. Now what?

Coming home I made a leisurely breakfast and we actually opened our Sunday newspaper. All the while the wind blew enough to blow those rainy clouds away. We could have used the enormous rain the weather forecasters predicted, however, it never materialized. After cleaning up the yard and patio, we once again went back and forth, should we or should we? Despite the promising weather change we decided to take the day off because the lengthened opening hours might have compromised our ability to get to the memorial service for Kate in a timely manner.  Sales be damned!!

Instead we drove over to Cocoa Village, a darling little tiny downtown that I've visited just once before. Because Bruce had never been he agreed to the short journey. Arriving there it turns out they were having a little art and craft show. Nice. Trouble was that the high winds had driven some of the vendors home. No problem for us; instead of earning money we spent it, wandering around the quaint shops and having a delightful lunch at Lea's Bistro. One of the many cute little shops to be found in Cocoa Village:

Our meanderings over, we drove home, or make that I drove home because my little honey was a sleepy head. No worries--it was easy. We were anxious to see if our purchases looked as good in our home as we'd hoped and they do! I've yet to photograph them but you'll see them soon enough no doubt.

Because Kate was young I expected a large gathering for her memorial service and indeed it was. Arriving early, we watched as the other mourners took their seats. Promptly at 7PM, the service started, concluding nearly two hours later. I can't imagine the pain Regina and Kate's family are going through. The service was held at the same church where she married her current husband only 3 1/2 years earlier. Although the pastor did not show it, he must have been heart sick as well having performed the marriage ceremony so recently.

On a happier note I wanted to show you something that has made the last two weeks of sitting at my computer that much better. Every time I look up from the monitor I'm greeted by the sight of a beautiful pink tabebuia tree out my window. Walking Baxter last week we made our way to the house and even though Mike was not there we walked into the backyard for a closer look. Not only are the trees beautiful but as the blooms drop they carpet the ground below them.

The grass was so thick Baxter's little legs are partially hidden!

I had to keep backing up to include the entire tree. Won't be long before the pink is replaced by green but for these few weeks it is a glorious sight repeated all over the city. Speaking of pink, oh my, I went by Dickson Azalea Gardens the other day on my way home from somewhere.

Every path is bursting with azalea blossoms. Oh my! The park seems to have been a WPA project back in the thirties with little enhancement since.

Well, that's not entirely true because there are some newish handrails on the little bridges over the barely rippling Fern Creek.

The business about Fern Creek is news to me. You would think that after all these years of living in Orlando I would have known that indeed there is a creek named Fern, not just a street! Which reminds me of when we were at Fort Christmas I saw a reference to Curry's Ford from the 1800's which was so interesting. Driving on Curry Ford Road several times a week, I now know that it means more than just a street name.

Have you been missing the cardinals???

Isn't she pretty???

Not so pretty, but I did want to show my cute new blouse up close:

I must learn to be more photogenic!!! Perhaps that's not in the cards for me at this late date.

That said, last night they ran a slideshow of photographs of Kate. Bruce looked at me and said I've got to start taking more pictures of you. As not one, not two, but three people spoke about Kate, I couldn't help wondering what people will say about me at my funeral. I know it sounds all maudlin but it is something to think about every now and again. I remember sitting at my friend Bina's untimely funeral and thinking if all the people who are saying nice things now had said them while she was living how lovely that would have been.

On that note, while they are alive, surprise someone by telling them how much you like them, or how much they mean to you--that sort of thing. Both the giver and the receiver will be that much better for it! I can tell you that each and every reader, wherever you are mean very much to me.

with gratitude for life,
Gail

Weekend Update

Let's see...where were we? Right. We were waiting on Bruce to arrive to attend the art affair. While I was doing the same I took this photo of yours truly actually wearing the new dress:

Now you can see the fun little details I was telling you about. You can also see my hair done for once! I love that new dress, not only because it is super comfortable but because it has short sleeves, a dress feature that is very hard to come by in the stores.

Bruce never got home until nearly 8 which is late for us but we went downtown anyway. I love to see the clever things artists do when given a theme to work with. This one was one of my favorites:

While we were looking at it, a woman said--"those are actual old patterns she used for the poles." Duh....of course she didn't know she was making that remark to a woman who probably used some of those old patterns! Last year there was a dress fashioned from large black garbage bags, this year bubble wrap got the nod:

When I finally got to chat with Bruce face to face I talked to him about a Radiology conference on Friday. Although I'd had the postcard on my desk for weeks, I did not register. Why you ask? Well, it seems like the possibility of me working in radiology is growing ever more remote with each passing year. I am definitely at the unhirability age--is that even a word? Anymore, I'm thinking it should be. Nevertheless, he talked me into going, saying I might regret letting my license lapse. Late registration--$25 extra. Parking ticket I got for being five feet too close to a fire hydrant--$30. Wasteful, wasteful. The conference was once again at Florida Hospital. The talks were on a variety of topics, arthritis, pelvic floor MRI, radiation safety, quality control, and advances in neuro MRI. I must admit that during some of the presentations I was reading. We'll discuss the book once I'm done because not only is the story excellent but the author's story is as well.

Six continuing education points in the house.

Checking my email once I got home, I finally had news from Mt. Dora. No go my friends. Their choice was not quite as edgy as my collage which I can understand. Selling festival t-shirts is a priority and my image might not have done that. I'm fine with it because I never expected it to happen; glad to have been considered though.

Up bright and early on Saturday morning, the sky was beautiful as I was driving to Winter Garden before sunrise:

Seeing it in my rear view mirror I just had to pull off the road and take a shot! Not many folks on the road that time of the morning on a Saturday. The market was slow for me, however, I did have some folks who bought from me a week or so ago bring friends who also liked my stuff. It's all about not giving up when doing markets if sales are slow. Every time a customer buys something from me, someone else is bound to hear about me. Word of mouth advertising is all I have to go on. That's not a bad business model for someone like me. I did see this adorable baby sporting Garnet and Gold:

Sadly, our Seminoles did not pull off the upset on Saturday night, however, they kept the game very interesting during their 23-13 loss to Oklahoma. Because I was up so early on Saturday morning I was afraid I wouldn't be able to stay up and watch the whole game, but it was so exciting I hardly noticed it was near midnight when we went to bed.

I should always listen to Bruce. Well, that's a slight exaggeration, but he called me once he got to Lake Eola worried it might rain. I told him I wasn't worried, we have not had a drop of rain all week. Well, he was right, rain came down in torrents right around lunch time.

Very messy indeed. To appease him I brought the sides with me although I said he needn't bother putting them up. Mostly because it is more work for him which I didn't think was necessary. Well, you can imagine how wet I got while putting them up once the rain began in earnest! My poor hair; I looked like a drowned rat! Although it eventually stopped, more was threatening, causing Dana to shut down the market. The morning was super slow for me besides chatters, but just before noon, a young man arrived reminding me he'd bought from me a few weeks ago. Apparently his girlfriend sent him on a mission--to buy a lovely landscape I was showing. He also bought one of the wine canvases, handing me cash. How about that? As well, while I was packing up, customers came in buying six more prints. My day was saved! Calling Bruce we finished packing together during a light sprinkle. It is always a huge hassle to do this but it's part of being an outdoor vendor. Not a part I'm partial to.

After leaving me in the morning Bruce brought home a huge order Mr. Roger delivered to the market. I was optimistic in my ordering, hoping the shows will be good this year. Albeit only two...
It took him an hour and a half to put wires on the back of the stack of baby canvases you see piled on my work table--18 of them! Because I shot this one with my fixed lens you can't tell that there are canvases piled everywhere. I do so hope I ordered well, however, if you've been reading this little blog for any time at all, you know that it's never a sure thing. Often people ask me about selling photography and my stock answer is, "After four years I've learned only one sure thing--you just never know!"

Bruce took off again this morning, heading to Casper, Wyoming, a long trip indeed. It's not the going so much as it's the coming back which normally takes him most of a day. Because of the conference on Friday I had no time to mow the lawn so that's where I'm headed after some breakfast. Hopefully the pool guy will show up this morning to put our pool back together:

It's looked like this for the past five days because they are treating some stains that showed up, much to my consternation. It's kind of weird because it was almost one year ago to the day that work on revamping the pool began. The light was removed because not only are there stains on the wall below the light, but the six gallons of acid he added would probably eat away at the light. I'm happy to report that the treatment seems to have worked--hurray. Swimming can go on for only another two weeks or so which makes me anxious to have it back up and running. There's nothing like a jump in the pool after yard work!