Two Finds

My two finds...the "brushstroke" app on iPad, and a dwarf dahlia.

 

DAHLIA 'Starsister Red and White'

original photo edited in "Brushstroke"

(original)

 

I love Dahlias, but I don't have room for these large growing showy perennials in my garden. I found a great variety of dwarf Dahlias at the garden centre that can be planted in containers. In our climate, Dahlias have to be dug up and overwintered inside, but I can just bring the containers inside for the winter!

 

 

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FRIDAY FINDS

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Textures, Mud And Bubbles

1. I found Kim Klassen's  Textures In Ten (free) texture tutorial. I have been joining in on her "Friday Finds" meme for a couple of weeks. I always admired the textured photos, but didn't know how to achieve the look. Well now I do! Thanks Kim! If you are interested in fabulous textures, click on over to Kim's site.

 

 

2. These are my first attempts at using "real" textures, which is quite different than having an online photo editor overlay one on top of a photo. It's not much more difficult though, and you have a lot more control over the final result of your finished photo.

 

 

3. There are subtle differences in the two photos. I like the second one the best, as I was trying to spotlight the main flower.

The original

4. In other randomness today. It's raining, the snow is melting and the backyard is a muddy, seedy, peanut shell MESS. Wow, spring yard work is going to be heavy duty this year.

5. I am addicted to acquiring useless interesting iPad apps. Bubble Explode is the latest. As if I don't waste spend enough time on the computer already, now I have another techno gadget to play with! Ah well, I'm sure the novelty will wear off in a few weeks!

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FRIDAY FINDS

TODAY'S FLOWERS

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Beep (my granddaughter) is joining in on some memes this week.

She's thrilled when people drop in to Beep's Blog (Click here)

Faux Painting

1. Hubbers got me an iPad mini for my "it's not my birthday" day, which is actually on Saturday.

2. The mini is the perfect size for me. Smaller than the regular iPad, but with exactly the same functions, it fits into my purse perfectly!

3. Of course the first app I bought was 'Waterlogue', which will convert your photos to a watercolour like painting. I love it!
 
4. I think the app really appeals to me because I used to paint, which I can't do anymore, due to some disabilities from Multiple Sclerosis. My vision fluctuates from day to day, and I have intention tremors.

5. I picked up the camera when I had to put down the paint brushes. Photography became my new medium. 'Waterlogue' is obviously not painting, but converting some of my photos with it is fun, and makes me happy!

 

 

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FRIDAY FINDS

TODAY'S FLOWERS

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Gerbera

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TODAY'S FLOWERS

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1. It was our 31st anniversary this week. Hubbers brought home a beautiful gerbera bouquet. They are a lovely pale pink colour with chocolate brown centres, but they didn't photograph well, so I did a little cross processing. I like the way it turned out.

 

2. He also got me that iPod I wanted! It's pretty cool! I have been spending time loading my CD's on it, and perusing the iTunes store. What a fun little gadget! 

 

3. I have another dentist appointment tomorrow. That iPod is going to come in handy, I'll just stick those buds in my ears, crank up the volume, and be blissfully unaware of the shrieking drill.

 

4. All my seeds have arrived from the online seed stores! I grow organic heritage veggies every year. I think I bought way too many tomato varieties, 10 in total. I guess I will be making a lot of tomato sauce after harvest!
 
5. It snowed yesterday, again. At this rate I may have to get Hubbers to build me a greenhouse if those seeds are going to ever get planted! 

 

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Bright And Cheery, In the Midst Of Dreary

 

1. There's nothing better than fresh flowers to brighten up dreary winter days.

2. I like the Lomo camera edit I used for this photo. (high contrast photo with vignettes and soft focus) I am really interested in true Lomography, so I added a Lomo camera to *my birthday wish list!

3. Of course I no longer acknowledge *my birthday, so it's actually on my "no it's not my birthday, but gifts are welcome anyway" list.

4. I don't have an iPod. I could never figure out why people wanted to walk around with music playing in their ears everywhere they went. That is, until I put those cute little buds into my ears, and listened to Hubber's pod. It blew me away!

5. So, I have also put an iPod on my "okay, if you insist, you can give me a present for what used to be *my birthday" list!

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RANDOM 5 FRIDAY

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FRIDAY FINDS

TODAY'S FLOWERS

 

*the day that used to be celebrated as my birthday, is not until next month

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Random Bread

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1. I love fresh home made bread! I really enjoy making it, but it's been pretty difficult to do since *MS has robbed me of much of the muscle strength required to knead the dough.

 

2. I tried a bread machine, but I use organic ingredients, and there is no such thing as organic "rapid rise" or "bread machine" instant yeast, so the results weren't that good.

 

3. I picked up a fantastic book last weekend at the bookstore, "The Bread Bible" 

by Rose Levy Beranbaum. Each recipe has instructions for making bread by hand, or using a stand mixer or a food processor! 

 

4. Hubbers bought me a KitchenAid food processor last Christmas. It's a beast of a machine, weighing at least a ton, so I only ever hauled it out of the cupboard once or twice to make coleslaw! I never even considered kneading bread dough in it...duh!

 



5. Well, now the food processor sits on the kitchen counter, and I can make fresh delicious organic bread every day with ease! My first bake (above), was a basic soft white loaf, and it was yummy. Tomorrow, Honey Whole Wheat, then Pumpernickel...Golden Semolina...Ciabatta...Seven Grain, well, you get the picture!

*MS- Multiple Sclerosis

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A Snippet Of Time

On last week's Random 5 Friday, I posted that I was going to de-clutter my hard drive, starting with my thousands of photos. Among those thousands, I found this one!

 

It's not a particularly good photo technically, but the feeling it evokes in my heart, outweighs the merits of technique.

 

Beep, our granddaughter with a chocolate mint ice cream cone in October 2013.

 

 

We had spent the day at the beach, (it was an unusually warm October), and on the way home, we made the traditional stop for a "cone" at the local ice cream place, that has been there for over 60 years.

 

1. Sifting through my hard drive, is like finding that old shoe box full of photographs, that has been tucked away in the back of the closet. Captured snippets of the good times, waiting for rediscovery, to be enjoyed all over again.

2. Those images, moments frozen in time, are also a reminder of just how fast life flows.

3. It's hard to believe that "Miss Beep" is 9 years old already! It seems that not so many years ago, it was my daughter running back to the car with her ice cream cone (cookie dough), at this very same spot. And many, many years eons before that, I was the little girl with the ice cream, (orange pineapple).

 

4. Life has come full circle.  

 

5. And, grandchildren complete life's circle of love.

 

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RANDOM 5 FRIDAY

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FRIDAY FINDS

THE WEEKEND IN BLACK AND WHITE

 

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