Fabulous Fotos Follow Fall Foliage . . .

Images captured on my morning walk; coffee cup in one hand, a camera on my shoulder, and a dog at my side.

What could be better?

Peter the Bulldog with his owner circa 1925 . . .

PHOTOGRAPH
Kathlyn Newby and Peter the bulldog
ENGLISH, c1925

This is a scan of a postcard my friend Jill brought me years ago from Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood in London. I had an English Bulldog at the time and I know just how this little girl felt about her pet.

The dogs in my life thus far have been muts, Scottish Terriers, English Bulldogs, and my current and all-time favorite is Webster. He is mostly chocolate lab with a little pitbull thrown in for good measure.

Pets add such dimension to your home and your life.

An organized craft cupboard . . .

Another page from my magazine clippings drawer. Once again, there is no information on either side but we all know where this came from, don't we? Martha Stewart Living, year unknown.

It would be nice to have a free-standing antique cupboard to use for this purpose but you could probably do the same thing with something new from Ikea. It is not too early to be thinking about gift wrapping either. The season will be here in a flash. I always marvel that June and July sort of drag by, and then somehow August evaporates. After Labor Day the days just whiz by and then all of a sudden the holidays are here. The more organized you are, the more you can enjoy them!

I am posting this as inspiration for myself. I am going to tackle my studio today. It is a real mess; mostly just paper and "blog clutter" if you know what I mean. I will be able to work more efficiently when all of my horizontal surfaces are free again. I have to wrap and mail a big package today and it is virtually impossible right now.

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work I go. Maybe I will even Whistle While I Work! I think I am going to enjoy today's project.






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September in a nutshell . . .

SEPTEMBER ~ Back to WORK, Back to SCHOOL, Back to BOOKS!
This historic reading poster says it all, doesn't it?

I always loved the first day of school with everything new. New clothes head to toe, new bookbag, new 3-ring binders covered in blue canvas, new pencils (always painted yellow), new black and white speckled composition books, new lunchbox, new teachers, and new butterflies in my stomach.

Did I forget anything?

DETOUR! Giant Dragonfly ahead . . .

This is one of my favorite photos of my mother taken some years ago. I added the dragon fly. Doesn't it look real?!!! The insect is a scan from an early 19th century entomology engraving. I deleted the background and moved it to the tree. Then I added a drop shadow.

I use Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0 as my editing software. I might have been using either 4.0 or 5.0 when I did this exercise. I call it Photoshop Fun!

If you like this photo manipulation, please look at one of my very first posts using the same photo and a GIANT MOTH.

I am sad to report that the magnificent tree has been cut down by the town of Mendham, NJ. The roots were lifting the sidewalk; such a shame. Only part of the centuries-old trunk appears in this snapshot.

Labor Day is way too early this year . . .

Am I the only one who feels cheated when Labor Day falls on the first day of September? The thermometer shows that summer is NOT over yet!

Have a safe holiday.

Greenie Queenie ~ Queen Elizabeth goes green . . .

Is that an oil spot I see on the ground beside Queen Elizabeth at Balmoral? Be gone! She has instructed her police bodyguards to trade their gas-guzzling Range Rovers for black mountain bikes whenever possible.

The switch to bicycles is designed to reduce fuel consumption and establish a greener way of guarding the Royal Family during their summer break. The officers are pleased to be getting good workouts and saving fuel at the same time.

This is nothing new for Queen Elizabeth; she started going green more than two decades ago. The main castle's boilers have been converted to burn wood chips instead of oil and she is said to go around Buckingham Palace switching off the lights. Good for her!

The Queens company, The Crown Estate, has purchased the world's largest offshore wind turbine known as the Britannia project.

The company is also involved in the development of offshore windfarms in Scottish waters.

I think it is wonderful that she is so proactive instead of just sitting back and leaving it for Charles to do on his watch.

I hope she discovers the wonderful photos taken from a helicopter of "London from Above, At Night" on The Big Picture. When she sees how many lights are turned on she will probably go out and buy one or two more windfarms!

Pansy faces . . .

I am still going through my old photos to see if there are any worthy of publishing on my blog. The single rain drop on the purple flower commemorates the nice gentle rain we had last night; the scorched grass is getting greener already.

Pansy faces are always appreciated and they send their best wishes for a safe Labor Day weekend. Enjoy!

The name pansy is derived from the French word pensée meaning "thought", and was so named because the flower resembles a human face; in August it nods forward as if deep in thought.