Sunday, February 28, 2010

CRUMBLING ROADS

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Yesterday we visited a Blues Trail marker. There are a lot of them scattered from Memphis to Louisiana in the state of Mississippi. The photos here are taken of the newest one added just this past November when Robert Plant came to commemorate the opening where WC Handy heard his first slide guitar while waiting for a train here. Strange day for me yesterday trying to explain to an elderly lady who Robert Plant was but she was nice enough to request my address in order to send me photos of old blues legend in Tutwiler. If it weren't for Plants appearence here...I would have made the birthplace of Muddy Waters or BB King my first point of exploration.

Nothing but cotton fields, crop dusters, and leave it to me to find my cypress trees! No knees though. Nothing to eat for miles, even in the small towns of Webb and Tutwiler and Paros just wouldn't behave. He pooped there in the middle of town where Plant stood. Embarrassed and apologetic, the lady just said it was ok and that Tutwiler was dead. Well...I have NEVER been lost for words until that was said! The thought on the quote of Dante's hell about 'Abandon all hope, he who enters here' was leaping around my head as I stammered for something polite to say :/

Didn't make it to Morgan Freemans 'Ground Zero' blues club in Clarksdale and had to bring Paros back for a nice long walkabout. Jim had been out of town all week last week so he was due for his walk. Weather seems to be coming about and at least we are finally reaching the 50's for highs again.



Speaking of weather...prayers to those in Chile's earthquake. Small dead towns and crumbling roads. Definitely gives ya the blues.




Wednesday, February 24, 2010

SKYWAYS

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Other than being really busy on facebook playing 'Farmville' with a friend whose birthday is in a month, I've been busy with Photoshop and my new filters Dreamsuite and Eye Candy creating her a wallpaper, icons etc. I think it is some of my best work yet! I just hope she is the kind of person who changes her wallpaper often ;) I've decided to sport it on my computer and as the entrance to my site (that's still not open :l). She is 6 months older than I am and I've known her for about 20 yrs. when I first started internship at the local vet in Slidell, La.; Ponchartrain Animal Hospital. I call it "My Aries Friend" and it has inspired me to do the other 11 signs of the zodiac and research more into the Greek Mythology and celestial navigation so I have some new links and bookmarks. It was also interesting on crossing paths with the book of Enoch in my research for her signs prophets and apostle as well as the tale of Aries, the Golden Fleeced Ram that inspired the legend of Jason and the Argonauts.

Total PS, dreamsuite filter, and Eye Candy for the fire I smudge to create the "Fire Burst Sun Flower" along with some awesome fonts that have now become my favorite listed in the file info in copyprighting and found at Dafont.


As for some other signs here, my Gemini hound had an awesome weekend and got by with a few things on his outing Sat. Coming up the drive our 3 resident deer were standing in the yard and he broke loose and leaped ontop of Jim hounding away. Waking me up at 4:20 am to scare hiccups from him, he knows where to come when they are bad enough to aggrevate him. He adores his 'rides' but definitely a hound to chase the big game like Canis Major in the Atelier Typographique above from the Urania Mirror Celestial Atlas (above; wikipedia).


Serious. Or should I say 'Sirius' from the skyways ;)



Friday, February 19, 2010

HIT AND RUN

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Well...nowhere on the road lol but in here for sure! Been sooo busy in the graphics programs, Facebook, tutorials, emails, online groups, and other stuff that it seems I have neglected my favorite little blog/journal site :(  Really love the layer styles and creating my own layered textures, styles and now on to cleaning up shapes and fonts for .png embellishments for when I do a digital scrapbook. I have always wanted to do a real one too but never seem to have the chance or around a group that does this kind of thing. Oh well...I'll be ready for when the day comes because I'll have lots of digital versions everywhere and ideas too. The ones posted here with the names are signature/avatars I did today for my daughter, a grand daughter, and my dear mom who adores fairies, gardening, decorating, etc. I always enjoy her flowers and gardens in the spring/summer.


Speaking of Hit and Run...Tiger Woods did the same today. Good for him! I do not care about golf or what he did in his personal life. I was sick of it in the news. I understand the publics demand for a face off because he was selling his brand, and image, and he didn't live up to it. What pulled me into listening to his apology today was when the news mentioned he was in Mississippi for sex rehab. I thought 'OMG...I'm already having troubles finding professional services...how is he going to turn out after all this?!?' So I stayed tuned and it tugged at me a bit with his sincerity. I also learned he was/is a buddist and walked away liking the man. I believe he did get caught up in his fame and things will be different for him from now on. Doesn't mean I will like golf though. That is still a hit and run lol! 

And what is wrong with me lately for doing graphics on a white background?!? I have also been learning to save .png files so I can rerender the layer styles to the same image if necessary. Seems a lot of these free sites have a problem uploading them so I have been putting them on a white background. My mother would be proud ;)


Well...I'm back in black so let me hit ya with this cause I gotta run!





Tuesday, February 16, 2010

TRAFFIC STOP

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Some days you just don't mess with.


They just inspire you :P



Our boy after his long winter's walk with his Papa Jim.


Monday, February 15, 2010

One Lane But Not Nation

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Woke up this morning to more "snow sludge" and took this photo out of Paros' window. Headline News said that EVERY state in the US has snow on the ground right now except for Hawaii and that 68% of it has snow (some area in a state won't have snow). I don't mind snow so much but when it's rain mixed with snow to produce this 'snow sludge'...yuk! And Paros has to be walked on the pavement to avoid all the muddy areas...lol...that he creates! He saw 3 does hanging out by the trees seen here and had a fit to go play with them. He really wants a large animal, whether it's the labs next door or the deer around here, to run with. The Shih Tzu is just a fun thing to taunt and doesn't keep up with him outside too much. I can't imagine what he'll be like when we expand the fence area out an acre this spring.

It can be pretty in the winter and we can see the lake through the bare trees (shot below). The pic didn't come out too bad since it was shot through the glass pane of the window but the very last shot below of the front yard was captured from standing on the outside balcony. You can see the one lane that runs up here and after receiving an email from church about us not being 'one nation under God' this morning with a link to it's message...I couldn't help but feel a little down. I hope they are just getting this. We've had the freedom of expression through  prayer removed from us since the 60's. It was 20 years to hit me about the silence in school and I can remeber I was in the second grade when prayer stopped. It was that each separate religion could keep their faith through saying the prayer to God so Jews could join but Atheiasts would sit whereas a Muslim girl would sit and pray in silence. It opened my mind to the different religions in which I persued heavily in boarding school as well as today. I go to a protestant church with my catholic bible and have several different ones (including the Noble Quran) along with a tolerence of everyones preference. Mine is no longer tolerated though nor are we "One Nation, Under God". I guess we should utilize National Prayer Day while we still have it (1st Thurday in May...fixed from floating by Reagan).


Nuff depressing stuff for now.


Sunday, February 14, 2010

LOVER'S LANE

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Whew! The dogs are clean, it's a beautiful day with the high of 51, valentines greetings are sent, and steaks are to be put on the grill so we can enjoy the weather before snow hits again tonight. They are calling for 1-3". I can see me locked in the den or computer room...frozen. Maybe I'lll create some snowflakes in Photoshop or something. The one posted here with all the hearts was sent out to friends and I created one with a poem I sent to the ones I feel close enough to share something crazy and corny like that from the heart (hehe...pun intended!). I'm no poet but well...ya tend to get all mushy when you think of the ones that you feel really close too. This one was done in a wallpaper too on the next page (wallpaper link above) and created with layer styles in PS along with my new dreamsuite 1 filter.

With all that out of the way...the only thing left for me to do is to clean the bedroom. It's 70% settled in...just have to hang the TV, art, and valances. Jim says our bed looks like a 'doggie day care center' most of the time but everytime I put their toys in their cages or on P's new pillow by the window...they just drag them back up to us in bed so we have to keep a blanket down ontop of our comforter for protection. LOL...they even have a you tube song and video called "There's Dog Hair In Everything I Do" and she mentions thinking about shaving her dog. OMG I wanted to immediately email her to let her know it doesn't work!!! Probably why I got a commercia vacuum for Cmas for col.


Well I'm off to play outside and prep the cages for a pass to lover's lane so to the one's out there I forgot...here ya go. Post it, print it, email it, call it your own...it's 4 U ;)




Saturday, February 13, 2010

BLACK ICE

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How ironic things come into play and seem to cross paths. The news today mentioned all the black ice about and in my email was a link to my breeder who had an appearance on a Greek animal TV program with Paros' sister, Ice (who is black btw)! Although she was speaking in her native tongue, it made me want to pull my language kit down and studying so I can catch future shows. It reminded me of some they air on the animal planet here in the states but this particular program showed them training cats to sounds (opening food, clanking bowls). She is at 16:02 for anyone interested and the link is above. Woo Hoo, Evi and Ice!!

Although it has been nice and sunny here today with the high of 49...we are expecting more snow tomorrow and Atlanta got 4" of the stuff yesterday. Some of it was to hit us but we lucked out so OMG...what's a dog to do?!? It looks like bath time as scheduled (dog art font below with another layer style).
Well lol I bet my friends and family will NEVER try and get me to join another one of those gimicky web spots again! It kept showing whatever I was doing so the wall filled up with me adding links, joining charities I already donate to, interchanging my igoogle and yahoo pages (you can get facebook on igoogle) and adding widgets that I find too tacky to place here, although I have some on the bottom right. I have a bible quote of the day above my horoscope which is above a swear word trying to get "The Dog Whisperer" widget to work!! How incongruent. I did find a couple of cool widgets, the Saints for a friend, Tarot readings for a daughter, Mardi Gras countdown and Afghan Hound one I posted here...then discovered I could make my own widget for this site! LOL...I did just that but didn't make it available to the gallery. The link to Dogstar where Cesar Millan's dog "Daddy" has a dog diary spot also contains pet food recalls, games, pics, ask a vet, and other interactive and informative pages. Really liked this site and want to check it out in detail since I'm through 'widgeting' lol! 

Well, even though I should be studying CSS and start working on the .com, .net, and .org sites I had fun. Pat Gilbert from the Afghan Hound group sends the best jokes and has a K9 Seminar I think our club could benefit from. I would like to help with the monies to get her here...or maybe me there? I do plan to see my girl in California by next summer.


Just like last time, I'll delete the widgets after playing with them but it's been a fun 2 dog days with them, the links, and even watching black ice on the net and not the road ;)

Friday, February 12, 2010

WARNING! WARNING!

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I am starting off today by WARNING those of you who are offended by bad language...RUN!!! Seems this week I've had issues with my renegade tongue from the grooming incident and was sent the joke on the VERY bottom. Although I do not post other peoples work (except 2 photos here with credit)...it was how I felt about the pet services in my area :/ It is the joke with the fire (would post credit but not sure where it came from other than through email from one of my online groups...hehe). For the rest of you who know me when I am on my soapbox...scroll all the way down and this other joke posted here, well, just decided to post it too anyway since we are having all this snow and breaking records in the south. I have a friend in Biloxi, MS. on the coast and another in La Comb, La. out driving in it today so the one here with the snowman protest on global warming is for ya'll ;)

Playing with layer styles in PS today from graphicsoft. Nothing I was out looking for but with a little tweaking and layering the styles, I'm getting close. So much for the expensive filters I bought but in time I will learn them and become faster. Love the iron effect on the butterflies font (hehe...good ol' Iron Butterfly from the 60's...pun, pun, pun!). I'm getting close to the jewel tones I want too and it is an excellent learning source for the settings. I plan to join their forum but may go play some "Farmville" game on Facebook with my daughter or girlfriend when they pop back online.


Glad tomorrow is groom day so I can get the soap off Paros. He won't be greasy for valentines day which also happens to be heartworm time and my parents anniversary. Missing the dings that come stoked in PS so off to hunt them down so here comes the joke only instead of buying cookies....for me its delivering the pet services...teehee.

You've been WARNED!!


Thursday, February 11, 2010

*%#?@!

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Well...the weather today is calling for snow with rain...then a light snow. What the hell is that?!? Sludgy ice mud?!? And what's up with the weather around here? I mean, it used to only snow about once every 5 years and now we get all this stuff :/  And I was wanting to order the Wacom drawing tablet for my computer. If it means opening the door to the Fed X people....forget it. I'll just play with dreamsuite for now (doggon font with dreamsuite 1's filter...DimensionX).

Spent most of the morning reactivating my Facebook account just to view pictures of my grandchildren and well...a friend finally got her a spot on the web. Don't know what happened with her windows live and Deja vue,  Deja vu....isn't this like My Space?!? Whatever happened to everyone over there?!? I think facebook is worse! It's where the masses go and reminds me of how everyone got sucked into the AOL trap (lol...never went there but somehow get sucked in signing up to view these other dumb ass sites :/). Ahhh...I love them anyway so what the hell.

I figured out what was wrong with everyone. Infarcts. HLN mentioned so much brain death ensued with improper diets and around here...eating wheat germ, honey or raw sugar for sweetner, raw fruits and vegetables are uncommon. Although catfish is popular here...finding fish high with omega 3 isn't as common. Could be the drinking water too :l Posting insert from dog cookbook...one of P's favorite recipes from "The Good Food Cookbook for Dogs. He had peanut butter cookies (hehe...for hair growth) last night and tonight is having chicken stew (frozen skinned chicken breast with brown rice, carrots, and broccoli). Believe it or not is comes out cheaper than canned dog food. I have him on a holistic kibble and reading "Better Food for Dogs" which is the best for detailed information on diets and the canine food recalls (I think the dogs eat better than most people around here :/).

As soon as my brain thaws I think I'll shoot some more pics but getting tired of these walls and all this sludge and ice/rain/snow stuff. Wouldn't be bad if something were on TV but Dexter and Sons of Anarchy won't kick off their new seasons for a bit and living in the Delta, local TV isn't available to us if we paid for it. Wish Hugh Hefner wouldn't have gotten new girlfriends or I could be watching "The Girls Next Door". I miss Bridget and her comatose pet pal 'Wednesday' :{ Reminds me of the Shih Tzu.

GOT MILK?

Monday, February 8, 2010

BRIDGE MAY ICE

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And snow and ice it did. 3 times so far. The holidays have been too cold to open up the computer room and Jim has been away out of town in North Carolina through the new year but I did get him 3 days around Christmas. He left the snow out there only to come home to more of it. His co-worker stayed behind and they finally just transferred him out there; right after purchasing 2 Tn. walkers (posted pic here). At least he won't have to live out of hotels and motels anymore ;)


 We had plans to drive to Louisiana to watch the Superbowl but had problems renting a large enough SUV to accommodate P's cage. I wasn't about to trust him to a kennel with all the issues I've had with pet services in the region. Let's just say there won't be many photos I'll share of him for awhile after this one (an afghan in an afghan lol!) but did put a hefty order into Petedge for grooming equipment. I'll have more than the facilities around here lol and maybe offer services to others suffering the same, who knows. It was the last thing I wanted to go back into but God has a way of moving us to where we need to be ~sigh~

Speaking of our father...here is a link to "Drawing Heaven" about an astounding 12 yr. old prodigy that paints and plays music because she says he tells her too. Her mother was atheist and her work is amazing! She has been painting since 4 and the concept of God was never discussed in her home. I also never knew the silence there was when Buzz Aldrin took his first steps on the moon was due to his taking communion. NASA said it was best not to radio it because Ohare..atheist b*tch...would have protested. I'm not against atheists really. Just when they tread on our grounds of freedom of expression and speech. Weren't we "One Nation Under God" anyway? We have to suffer their silence so I guess our freedoms were obliterated to hell :/

Some good news at least...Saints won and Paros (note the "M" for "Marley") may get a running pal! I should've thrown the Shih Tzu to all these groomers to be the guinea pig to test their abilities lol!


Well...it's still cold and snowed in Memphis today. We just got rain so nothing but mud. Watching for black ice though as the signs say..."Bridge May Ice" in cold weather.