Monday, January 2, 2012

Bracken House | Typical of Colonial Williamsburg


The main room in my cottage is one room deep. As I sit in my living room I can see views of both the front and back. It is so nice to be able to catch the breezes when the windows are open in nice weather. My kitchen is almost the same except for the small entrance vestibule. My front door is glazed at the top and there is a french door from the vestibule into the kitchen so I can still enjoy both exposures. Then I have a hallway off the living room that leads all the way back to my bedroom at the end of the house which is also one room wide. The bathroom is on one side of the hall and the guest room is on the other. I love the layout.

I have a center chimney with a fireplace in the living room. On the other chimney wall there are enclosed staircases going downstairs on one side and to the attic on the other.

The first two iPhone photos are from a book in my architectural library:
Colonial Williamsburg Its Buildings and Gardens
by A. Lawrece Kocher and Howard Dearstyne 1976

In The Woods Last Fall

I am trying to post some earlier iPhone photo so I can delete them from my camera roll. I took this in October before we had that heavy snow that ended up breaking so many branches in the woods. We are having lovely weather in the low 40s today and I'm looking forward to a walk or two with the Wonder Dog a little later when the wind dies down. Enjoy your last vacation day before reality sets in again.


Saint-Leon-sur-Vézère - Medieval French Architecture

The peaceful village of Saint-Leon-sur-Vézère is located in the part of the Dordogne known as the Périgord Blanc. Dordogne is itself a department of the region of southwest France known as Aquitaine. Handsome medieval houses like this one dot the landscape. ©erjkprunczyk

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Another Bulb Photo Edited with Snapseed

Tell me when to stop and I will. I'm having such a good time playing around with my new free photo editing app. I learned a new word today too. It's iPhoneography so I guess that makes me an iPhoneographer

Best Brick House

with the best landscaping ~ swoon. It's perfect in every respect.

John Crump House - Williamsburg | Before and After Restoration

An 18th century house shown before the turn of the 20th century. I photographed this image from one of my books on Colonial Williamsburg.

The same house after restoration. You have to see the before picture to be able to fully appreciate the after photo, don't you? Such a labor of love.

Another Narcissus In Progress

I have bulb forcing vases all over the place in my cottage. I always look for them in thrift shops and at tag sales. This bulb is really reaching for the ceiling and the flowers should start popping out any day now.

I added a lot more information to my previous post about these bulbs so be sure to scroll down to find out about a free download for those of you with iPhones and iPads.

Forcing Narcissus Bulbs

I started forcing my narcissus bulbs way before Christmas and they are just starting to come to life. It must have something to do with my thermostat setting which is pretty low. That's fine with me because they last much longer in a cool environment.
This arrangement is right beside "my seat" on the sofa. I hope you like my first iPhone photo of the new year.

I did a little photo editing with SNAPSEED for iPhone and iPad. It was the iPad app of the year for 2011. It's not that easy to use on the iPhone bacause of the small screen but it will be awesome when I get the iPad 3 when it comes out. This app normally costs $4.99 but it's FREE for a limited time. Download it HERE. Video lessons for Snapseed HERE -- keep scrolling. Click photos to enlarge.