Up to Speed!

I knew my computer was running slowly, just didn't realize how slow. Now, my friends, I'm zipping around my computer once again. As well, when I left you on Friday evening I shared with you that I did not curse or shout at the Apple folks. I did. Only it was later when they wouldn't let Nick call me because he was helping others and they respect their customers time. Yeah, right!

It's not something I'm proud of but the store managers cavalier attitude made me do it. I blew up using words that don't jump easily or often from my lips. I hung up after he said he'd connect me to Apple Care. I'd had enough. Well, when I called Roger a bit later to order a few prints for Sunday I told him my woes. He offered to come by after he and Trish went out to eat and I jumped at the chance.

It's been dry around these parts, very, very dry. Friday after finishing my blog post, the heavens opened up taking care of that, dropping over an inch and a half of rain in short order. Looking out the kitchen door I saw that a large branch from Herb and Corrine's massive oak tree fell, landing sideways across their driveway. Not as large as ours, however, way too big for Herb, aged 82, to mess with. Bruce to the rescue! Donning our work gloves, we headed over for Bruce to use the chain saw and me to clean up. By now, the rain was mostly done for the night.

And that's where Roger and Trish found us when they arrived. Fortunately for me, Roger, the computer engineer Roger, not to be confused with the printer Roger (one and the same really), sat down and rebuilt the files in pretty short order. I don't really know how long it took because it was still working when we went to bed, but it's looking good folks. Hurray!

Saturday morning before sunrise, Bruce and I, mostly Bruce, planted some super cool flowers around the new tree. Mostly Bruce because there are ginormous roots making digging very challenging. I'll show you what the red ones look like in another post. Speaking of the tree, here's another shot of that bird we liked so well.

You'll notice the touch of orange under the gray wing which is what allowed us to identify this bird using the Audubon bird book Bruce's mom gave us some years ago. A tufted titmouse is the name. I've not seen it again, however, working at his desk yesterday while I was at the market, Bruce saw several of them. By the way, the dead leaves pictured are just from the transport--so far, so good.

The downpour of Friday night showed us a drainage problem just outside the back door which Bruce set about fixing on Saturday afternoon. Guess what? More rain once he got started. He's taking shelter under his canoe in this picture, however, not for long. He just got out there and worked.

The grass is finally coming along nicely, don't you think? Because of all this digging by dinner time he was pretty worn out. Earlier we'd discussed going out; instead after rustling up some food, we sat down for a Friday Night Lights marathon. Calling Jonathan, I told him I'd cried my way through the first episode. It is SO good. He assured me it wouldn't be the last time! I checked it out online, discovering that they do no rehearsals, use only three moving cameras, and let the actors ad lib when they feel it is appropriate. I knew it had a very organic (I know, overused word but the only one that will do) feel to it. I am hooked! Sadly, bedtime rolled around leaving us wanting for more. Another marathon session soon, very soon.

The rain continued most of the night, with thunder and lightening waking us several times. Waking to a drizzle, not to mention soaked everything, we pondered our about the market. The forecast was for some rain in the middle of the day with blue skies and cooler temperatures to follow. So, we went. Bruce dreamed up another easier set up which I think we may use for the hot months. The weather cooperated nicely, with not a drop of rain and indeed cooler temperatures. People came, some people bought, not quite as many as I wanted but I'm getting used to it now. I did enjoy my day, despite the sales slump, because so many folks came to visit. That's the nice thing about having been at the market for so long, people know me. Some people even like me.

Switching gears, I've got two articles from, you know where, to share: Keeping Up With Fashion , and then there is this: I Wish I Said This 
The fashion one is fun and clever, the food claims article more serious but important I think. Either people are pretty gullible, or, science is the new religion. Whereas once lots of folks believed that God appointed the time for our birth and death, nowadays, they seem to think relying on "science" is the way to go. Who is really in charge?  Ask those folks in Alabama about that. Or Louisiana, or Japan, or wherever "natural" disasters occur. Hmmm.....

After that little rant, how about if I leave you with something so beautiful it gives me pause?

15 Minutes Turns Into 7 Hours!

When I walked up to the Genius bar, carrying my iMac and a bag with three external hard drives and the cords that go with them, I'm sure Nick NEVER thought we'd get to know one another as well as we did.

I found out that he's an only child, rarely talks to his mother in Michigan, hasn't seen his father since he was a toddler, and spent a year "male dancing" if you know what I mean. He eats candy bars and soda for meals and is thin as can be. Plus, he's Jonathan's age.

I may very well have missed my calling. For as long as I can remember, people have always told me a lot. While working my patients told me the "darndest" things which constantly amazed my co-workers. Well, the Apple store was no different. Of course, when you sit there for hours on end, conversation ensues.

Fortunately, I didn't have to worry about this little guy

while I was gone so long because Bruce was working from home as I may have mentioned. By the way, Baxter, unbeknownst to me, turned 8 years old on May 3rd. We neglected to throw a party.

What did Nick do all those hours? One thing he did was discover my usb ports were just fine. Erase my hard drive, yes. Install completely new software, yes again. Back up all my data, check. This last part nearly killed me, and once he started it back up again, my fears, at least for the moment were realized. Mostly for the last, say two years or so, I've been using Picasa for my photo storage and editing. Gone!

But wait, he found it. Or did he?

This was the note he left on my computer while it reigned supreme on the Genius bar counter, or make that bar I guess. Actually, what happened is that around 5:00 I said I'd pretty much had enough, how about if I return at 7:30 before you get off at 8? I drove the six miles home just to get out of that mall! Working at his desk, Bruce called out for me to look at the bird feeder, which by now you know is providing us with lots of entertainment.

Neither of us know what kind of bird this, but I'll tell you this much, the male cardinal was none too happy that his territory was being invaded.

After making dinner for Bruce (I'd finally eaten lunch at Nordstrom around 3:30), I headed back to the mall. Nick was waiting on someone but eventually he got to me and showed me he'd found the Picasa pictures. Hurray! This time I did not lug everything back to the car, instead driving to the alley way behind the store. The iMac is heavier than you'd think.

So far, so good. Naturally I plugged it in the moment I got home, hoping for the best. During the reload, as if it were a new computer, he upgraded me to iPhoto 2011, which I was anxious to see. All this fiddling around has left me with stuff on three different hard drives, some data split between two or three. Basically, it feels like a mess, however, for sure the Time Machine is now working properly. Before leaving I asked Nick what should I tell folks was wrong. Software was his answer.

I was prepared to tell you all about it earlier today, however, the server for this blog was down--apparently for many hours. In fact, at this very moment, my last post has been wiped out. Plus, the bird picture above looks way better than what you are seeing. No clue what is happening.

Finally, after errands, cleaning and laundry, I sat down to type. Guess what? No Picasa=Unhappy Gail.
I phoned the store asking for Nick. Dan said he wasn't in but he'd be happy to connect me to regional service. I didn't shout, I didn't curse. Calmly I told him that after spending 2 1/2 hours on the phone Wednesday afternoon, and the aforementioned time yesterday, I was NOT going to talk to just anyone. I am still waiting for the return call 1 1/2 hours later.

You know something else? On Wednesday, after swimming and reading, I showered, washed my hair and put on a nice dress for my honey's return later. Normally I let my hair air dry for about an hour, then style it with the blow dryer. It needs that you know. WELL, staying on the phone forever, my hair dried into a crazy mess. And that's what it looked like all of yesterday during my mall imprisonment.

Thus, I am leaving you to go blow dry my hair before I look like a slob for the next two days. I'm hoping that once I turn it on, Nick will call and try to solve my problems.

Mayfaire 2011

I suspect, if you've been reading any of my recent posts, you are wondering how Lakeland treated me this year. Very well, thank you very much, although it was not nearly as wonderful as last year. Maybe I should retract that statement because even though my sales were lower, the weather was markedly better. As in, tolerable all weekend long, including the set up time.

We arrived just before the 4PM cut off time to get our registration package which included both the paperwork and goodies. Both kinds of M&M's, bottles of water, trail mix, pretzels and crackers. The reason I mention it is because both Bruce and I had to raid the goodie bag before we were done setting up to ward off famine. Please note in the above photo the blue umbrella behind my booth. Bruce fashioned a shade shelter for me to retreat to during slow times which fortunately were few. Because he was too busy to help at the show, he gave me a little knot tying tutorial hoping I could set it up by myself. I'm not sure if I did it right, but whatever I did worked. As well, please note the lovely green grass, unlike the pure dirt we faced in Ocala. Another great thing was that I faced the morning sun, rather than the blazing afternoon sun which makes an enormous difference, especially during the set up and take down. Here's what I had behind me:

Very nice indeed. The folks were nice, some repeat customers which is always a huge bonus, along with plenty of new ones. I drove back and forth this year, missing the awards party where Laurie Coppedge was announced as the $5,000 best in show winner. Astute readers may recall that she wins every show I enter. I'm never expecting a prize, probably because regular people like my stuff a bit. I'm at a loss as to the market for her kind of photography. Having said that, if you win big money like that at multiple shows, you don't really need a market, now do you?

By the time I got home Saturday night I was plenty bushed. Although it was bearable, it was hot nonetheless. Fortunately we had some leftovers to warm up for supper which we ate while watching the exciting Kentucky Derby. After a nice cool shower, a trip to Mr. Roger's house to pick up some prints I'd neglected to order, and a few minutes reading I fell soundly asleep underneath the fan set to maximum speed. Did I mention it was 9:00? Staying up late aren't I?

Good thing I slept so well because I had to get up around 5 in the morning to prepare the prints, dress for success and make the hour drive to Lakeland. Having driven it for three days in a row I can say it was pretty easy. I wouldn't want to do it every day or anything but it wasn't bad at all. Now, if there'd been an accident I'd be singing a very different tune about now. Oh yeah, it was Mother's Day wasn't it?

Somewhere I've lost some pink flip flops that I was pretty keen on before their disappearance. Bruce, otherwise known as my perfect husband (he denies it, but it's certainly true to me), remembered that and went on a search mission as only he can to find me some new ones for a Mother's Day gift. That darling boy had a pink theme going on, putting the shoe box in a pink gift bag with printed pink tissue, along with a PINK card. He's a doll for sure!

Jonathan gave me three DVD series of Friday Night Lights, a show he swears I'll love. Bill called later in the day, I think Matt phoned on the computer before we returned, and David presented me with a stellar bottle of wine which we picked up from his condo while there to do a photo shoot. He was so hoping I wouldn't be too tired and I wasn't.

What for you ask? David has amassed a one of a kind collection of wrestling cards, of which he's very proud. He wrote to the editor of a sports card magazine regarding same, convincing them of the news worthiness of his collection. To accompany the story they needed photographs and Dave told them his mom would be happy to help. And she was. Anyone who has talked to David for only a few moments on the subject of wrestling cards knows that he is passionate beyond all reason. We didn't send this one to the editor, but I liked it nevertheless. Probably should have moved that candle....

The alarm went off at 4:45 this morning because Bruce had an early flight to the Boston area which woke me as well. Been up since, mostly finishing up all the details involved with a show. As in credit card entries which thankfully all went through! A trip to the bank was also in order. Silly me, the teller counted $180 more than I'd put on the slip. Woohoo! Don't ask me how I did that but wasn't it wonderful it was in my favor?

A final word before I go. Our dear friends Sam and Mary Whited showed up at the show to encourage me AND let me run to the terrific air conditioned outdoor potty. I was never clear if they drove from Orlando just to see me or what, but I'll tell you this much, it was a delight to see familiar faces. Their lovely daughter Amanda accompanied them, wearing the style of the day, a maxi dress. Or a maxi as we called them "back in the day." Plus, Mary brought some scrumptious brownies. The Beatles sang it so very well: All You Need is Love

Thank you for reading dear loved ones. Forgive any errors if you will, by now I'm already getting sleepy. :)

We're Almost Off

The prints are ready:

 And, thanks to Bruce, the panels are all nice and fresh:

Once he gets off a conference call, we will head out to Lakeland. This morning, just after 5, Bruce packed the truck, but not before he vacuumed it!! Can you believe he vacuumed this morning? Neither can I. He wanted me to ride in style. :)

I am booth 61:Mayfaire
Last year, it was the very best show that I'd ever done before. Then I did Winter Park....
I will be oh so happy if I do nearly as good as last year. I know what I want for Mother's Day.
This cat could care less how I do:

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers in my little reading circle.

P.S. I told you those plants were growing like nobodies business.

Shopping

836 posts and I've never used this title before? What's that all about? It's not like I never shop, just not like I used to. Formerly, I was a slave to the grocery store; buying food for six people, day in and day out, will do that to a person. These days, not so much. Before I got all hot and sweaty mowing the lawn yesterday I made the monumental decision to go to Publix. For those of you not from Florida, Publix is an excellent grocery store whose motto is "Where Shopping is a Pleasure." My children who have moved away attest to that vehemently; Chicago being the worst of the food shopping cities they've lived in. Seriously, I think it had been two months since I'd gone through the whole store, aisle by aisle. Thus, it took me forever because I was looking at the myriad of products available.

Oh yes, before I forget, Publix is from Lakeland where I'll be this weekend.

One and a half hours later, and somewhat poorer, I next did the unpleasant task of putting things away. Once upon a time I had a large stand up freezer which made storing food so much easier, however, it was getting so old, not to mention that it wasn't frost-free, that we took it out of use. Speaking of which, Nancy suggested that I'd probably love As Always, Julia and was she ever right! These are more than letters, they are a history of the years when I was born. There are several letters back and forth regarding the "deep freeze" as it was once known. As well, the merits of frozen foods are debated extensively. It has been a while since I've started a book that I just don't want to put down. After the food haul, the lawn mowing, and lunch, I settled in for a bit yesterday afternoon letting the book transport me both back in time and place. Letters, how I miss a real letter these days.

While at the museum on Tuesday a woman came in saying that she'd been told that her candy shop off Park Avenue was the subject of one of the "plein air" paintings last week. Indeed it was. Although she liked it she didn't love it; the $1,100 price tag undoubtedly contributed. Because I had some time to kill before my hair appointment, I stopped in. Very cute place.

Surprisingly, she said they'd been doing very well. It's funny how people perceive things so differently. Talking to Angela later in the day, she thought it was silly that she sold candy like this:

I, on the other hand, thought it was fun. I amused myself seeing all kinds of candy I'd completely forgotten about. And then there was this:

One of the absolute craziest chandeliers I've ever seen. What a conversation piece this would make in your home!

As is always the case, I've got more to say but it's time to make myself presentable for our bridge group. They are always wanting me to wear something homemade and today I will not disappoint them.

How About That?

Although I got up super early this morning, as in before 5, I didn't discover until a few hours later that OBL was killed. Silly me, I brought the paper in, however, I left it in it's protective plastic sleeve until after I saw it on the Times website. Wondered what our headline would be... On facebook, my friend Polly used this,‎"I've never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure." - Mark Twain  as her status update, which seems entirely appropriate to me.




So, the cardinals have fooled me this year. While looking back at last year's posts from around this time, I saw the photographs of the baby cardinal, with brand-new feathers, or at least the start of them, perched on the edge of the shed roof. This year, until today, I'd not seen any evidence of either a nest, or a hatchling. Let me just tell you that cardinals are very hard to photograph, unless, of course, they are babies and can't fly. Yesterday afternoon while unloading the vehicle after the market the male cardinal lit on the feeder. Despite multiple prior attempts I'd not been able to get a decent shot. This time, I went inside, got my Panasonic with the long zoom and slung it over my chest, leaving it on in case he was still there. And he was:

Anyway, while bringing up the garbage can late this morning, I heard the familiar chirping sound a cardinal ordinarily makes. I searched and searched for a nest in the ligustrum tree, finding nothing. All of a sudden, I saw some movement and there was a baby, albeit much larger than the one pictured last year. Quite a bit cuter as well. The camera grab didn't work this time; once I was back outside he/she was nowhere to be found. Don't think for a moment I won't get obsessed and start searching every time I hear some chirping!


Because we work at Lake Eola, we rarely see it like visitors do anymore . Friday evening I suggested to Bruce that we become tourists, first eating at Relax Grill, and then taking a stroll around the lake as the sun set. It was delightful! On our walk we checked the swan's nest I showed you the other day, still a work in progress, however, we did see other baby swans. My camera that night wasn't the best for the job, so this morning as the sun rose I drove the few miles to the park. Lots of babies as it turns out. Here's a mother duck with her chicks tucked safely beneath her:

Not knowing too much about water fowl, I can only assume that the eggs behind her either haven't hatched already or won't. She definitely was keeping these little ones close. Last weeks baby ducks grew about double in size, and the white ducklings pictured were nowhere to be found. Even the nest was missing. The triplet cygnets were adorable with Momma and Poppa keeping them close.

I couldn't resist showing you them twice! There was some action on the lake between one of these swans and another with water spraying like mad! Check this out:

Territorial perhaps? It is really astonishing how fast swans can move when called upon to do so.


I love to be around water because there is always life going on, more so in the Spring I realize, but throughout the year something is always going on. Closer to home, our little body of water attracts life as well. 

As you can see, there were bugs galore for this tiny snake to feast on. As I was trying to get this shot he kept curling up and rolling over which certainly made for a more interesting photograph don't you think? Bruce scooped it up, tossing it into the bushes, however, a few hours later, the snake was once again swimming like it was his pool! Today, though, I've seen no evidence of the little rascal.


Bruce left before 5 this morning to catch an early flight which, explains my early bird status. I forced myself to send Mr. Roger my order, consisting pretty much of only paper prints because I've sold so few canvases of late. I can almost see you smiling as you read that yesterday sales returned to a more normal state. 
Whew!


So often, including yesterday, people ask me how I shoot some of my still life pictures. I thought you might be interested to see a set up shot which may, or may not, ever see print.

Always practicing! The kitchen skylight providing light, the foam core used for my packaging providing the back drop. Daisies, always daises. By now, you'd think I'd run out of ideas, however, every now and again, something new occurs to me. As well, you'd think I'd run out of words to write, but so far I haven't. Maybe one of these days..... 

The Royal Wedding Watching and More!

When I walked out of the house at 5AM, clad in my baby blue polka dot pajamas with matching slippers, the air was suffocating with both heat and humidity. Although the lights were already on, I knocked gingerly, given the hour. After being greeted warmly by Matt and I joined Angela already in front of the television where we remained captivated for the next 3 hours!

The pageantry! The trees in Westminster Abbey contrasting with the stone and RED carpet! The cars! The eyebrows! Yes, you read that right. Could you believe the church official's eyebrows? They stuck out and up about 5 inches from his face! The dress! Prince William! Pippa! The Queen in yellow from top to toe! And then there were the hats. Seriously, I was in love with those hats, aside from Prince Andrew's daughters. Did they look like tarts or what? The civility! The boy's choir! Really, there was not one thing that you couldn't just love. I don't know what station you watched it on but on BBC America, the filming was fantastic. Whoever coordinated that deserves an Oscar. Can you imagine the planning that went into where all the cameras would be located? According to Matt, who watched it in the comfort of his flat, the only time he ventured out was when they did the fly over which went directly over his head, the television was on a few moments delay.

I couldn't get enough of the coverage if I'm honest with you. I kept looking at pictures online after the happy event. With what seems like a world meltdown, it was so refreshing to see such beauty rather than carnage. I realized that I probably didn't watch Charles and Diana marry because I had 2 year old twins and a 5 year old at the time. Here's hoping this marriage is a keeper.

Speaking of children, today is our Jon boy's 28th birthday. Seems like only yesterday that he was my beautiful little baby. Jonathan was nearly born in our car. Have I ever told you that? After our friends picked up our three boys Bruce and I drove to the hospital which was about 4 miles from our home. I'd been in labor through church that morning, actually leaving the service to sit in the car until it was over. I was pretty uncomfortable then, which if you've ever had a baby, you know only gets worse! Anyway, as we were driving on Michigan I begged Bruce to pull over. I couldn't take the pain I said. Naturally, he declined. Once at the hospital entrance, they wheeled me upstairs and I began answering the nurse's questions. Finally I said, I can't talk anymore, she checked me and said, "You're having a baby!" My response--"I know that but have I dilated?" Oh yes, she said, you are at 9 centimeters. No wonder I was dying! About 30 minutes later, our Jonathan dramatically made his way into the world and I dare say, much of his life has been drama as well, mostly in a good way. Happy Birthday dear son!

The other day, thinking about our trip and what I'll take to wear, I decided to clean out my drawers and closet.

The largest pile on the left is the give aways. The pile grew to twice this size and then some after this:

Nancy has generously offered to clean out my closets while she's here house sitting; although I've just done it, my idea and her idea of a neat closet are quite a bit different. She works magic!

Matt and I had what is probably the longest Face Time conversation on record yesterday, planning the trip. I'd done hours upon hours of research last Saturday, however, I needed his input on train schedules and likes and dislikes. We are making very good progress. More details as the 60 days until take off pass.

Well, off to the market my dear readers--wish me luck!