Memories

Have you ever thought what a blessing memories are? I have. I think that is one reason why I love scrapbooking and genealogy. Both preserve memories for the future generations but at the same time they trigger emotions that remind me of the times that have already passed. I cherish memories even though some are not as pleasant as others. Each of these memories are blessings in their own right.


Garden Gnome
©2006-2008

Photoshop® For Real Life

Oops!
November 26, 2008

Anyone who reads this blog or my other blogs have already seen a lot of Photoshop® in action. I use this program daily which I still find rather amazing considering up to a couple of years ago I used it solely for resizing photos. It all started with wanting to make a custom blinkie. You know those little blinking graphics on websites and blogs with cute little sayings? Since then I have come a long way with my latest Photoshop® achievement being creating a rather humourous photo at the request of my husband using three different photos and several techniques. Unfortunately I cannot post the actual picture here because it shows the three musketeer aka hunters with the deer behind them all put onto a different background. I must say I am rather pleased with myself! Next to that I'm rather pleased at how the new backgrounds and headers came out for my blogs. Since so many have asked how, I put the method I used on my homemaking blog. I still have to do a fully customized background for my cooking blog but the header is custom made. Making the backgrounds and headers were so easy to do that I will be using this method quite often in the future.

What I really need is Photoshop® For Real Life as you can see from the oops. With a few clicks this mess would have been cleaned up from the comforts of my desk. My desk would always be tidy and the house would always be in order. I could click away any physical imperfections and have perfect hair every day of the week. I could change the colour of our rooms at whim, add accessories as desire and quickly click away any problems. Those grey November days could be warmed up with a couple of clicks to add bright sunshine and a filter to warm the tones. I wouldn't have to buy new clothes or shoes because a click or two I could have a different outfit every day. A click or two would mean perfect food at least visually all the time. No more crooked muffins. Now think about all the possibilities. Yep, I'm convinced I need Photoshop® For Real Life so it's on my Christmas list this year.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2008

Wordless Wednesday

Sunrise Through Trees
November 23, 2008

Garden Gnome
©2006-2008

CSI

CSI Cast Season I

One of my ultimate favourite television series next to the Law & Order series is CSI: Criminal Scene Investigation so you can imagine my great pleasure when I discovered one of our satellite channels basically shows CSI most of the day. HGTV and Foodtv have taken the back seat for the time being. I'm in seventh heaven! I can catch up on CSI episodes I haven't seen yet and surprisingly judging by this week that is a lot. I have to say I was disappointed to see Warrick Brown leave last season and even more surprised to hear why. I'm glad to see Sarah come back this season. Here's hoping that she will stay. That's where I'm at on the original CSI. On CSI: Miami I really like Horatio Cain much to the dismay of one of my girlfriends who seriously detests the guy. His mannerisms can be irritating but that makes it so much more likeable. CSI:NY has to be one of my favourite spin offs with Stella being one of my favourite characters.

There is a reason why these types of shows appeal to me but I'm not quite prepared to share why just yet...

Garden Gnome
©2006-2008

Hard Economic Times

Everywhere you look the topic at hand is the current economic times with a heavy emphasis on recession. The writing has been on the economic wall for quite some time yet for whatever reason many folks refused to believe hard times could be right around the corner. I hear the fear in their voices and the words they write. At the same time I see some of the folks displaying the most fear refusing to cut back on spending in any capacity so that confuses me. Even when you've cut back as much as you think you can there is always opportunities to cut back further.

Frugal tendencies might not seem like much of a blessing. I have no idea whom I inherited my frugal tendencies from but I am very blessed to have them. They have served me very, very well over the years. I have done my best to use these tendencies to benefit our family and I know some have been passed on to not only the next generation. I hope they will pass these and perhaps add to them to the youngest generation in our family.


Garden Gnome
©2006-2008

Sad iPod

Sad iPod
November 16, 2008

A few years ago our children gifted us with an iPod for our anniversary. My husband was elated and set about filling it with songs. Even though it will hold pictures and videos the primary function quickly became music. About a month later the iPod had a horrible submersion accident causing what we thought was instant death but after leaving it alone for 4 days to dry out, the iPod sprung to life! My husband set about making the car and boat iPod friendly. A Bose sound dock joined the iPod must haves. The set-up resides in our bedroom when not in use.

My husband took the sound dock and iPod to hunt camp. The guys could listen to music 24/7 the entire trip without ever hearing the same song twice! It worked perfect fine during hunt camp but Sunday night when my husband set up the sound dock to play while drifting off to sleep to be greeted with the sad iPod icon for no apparent reason :(

What I love about Apple products is their support both online or by phone. It appeared we might have to take the iPod to the Apple Store for repairs. Monday morning with the help of Apple Support we went through the various tips to get the iPod working again to no avail. Nothing we did worked at first and it was very frustrating but by Wednesday night we thought it was to the point we could try restoring the software. Thursday morning the much awaited for check mark appeared but that's it. I let the iPod charge all day thinking the battery might be going but it charged nicely. When my husband arrived home we set it up to sync. Amazingly we were able to restore all the music, all 8 days worth. Oh happy, musical day!

Oh and I did notice this time took 4 days to restore as well. Hmm, 4 must be a lucky number...

Garden Gnome
©2006-2008

The Doe

The Doe
November 11, 2008

The hunting members of the group had been unsuccessful until Tuesday when one of the non-hunting members looked out to see a doe within a few yards of the cabin. Without over clothes or even putting on safety gear the doe was felled a short time later. Considering there were other hunters in the area this likely wasn't the smartest move on their part even though hunters likely would not be that close to the cabins. They put on the safety orange vests and hats before going into the woods to retrieve the deer. The traditions of the hunt camp are that everyone shares in the meat from the kill and part of that year's kill goes to the next hunt camp to bring good luck for another successful hunt.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2008

Water Rejuvenates

Stormy Skies
November 10, 2008

The hunt camp cabin backs onto a small, peaceful Northern Ontario lake. Vacationing in a location on the water is lovely but better still is being able to live on water front property year round as we do. Still if our friend ever decides to sell the cabin we would be first in line to purchase. Not that the opportunity is likely to arise as these types of properties tend to be passed down through the family. There is just something about living on the water that has a calming effect on the soul. Oh sure sometimes the water is rough due to storms but even then there is beauty. Sitting at the water's edge on a sunny day letting the wind blow through your hair while the water sparkles as it dances is a pleasant way to spend the day.

If you don't live on the water take every opportunity you can to rejuvenate your body and soul by spending a few hours as often as possible sitting buy the nearest water source you can. Pack a lunch and sunscreen as well as a comfy folding chair. Then find a nice quiet spot where you can soak up all the benefits of the water. It's a good time to reflect and ponder Don't forget your digital camera! Enjoying the rejuvenating effects of being near the water is not just for nice weather either. Try visiting on a rainy day or during the winter with snow on the ground. You would be surprised at how much this inexpensive activity can do to make you feel wonderful.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2008

Wordless Wednesday

Silver Birch
November 10, 2008

Garden Gnome
©2006-2008

Inside the Hunt Cabin

Warm & Toasty
November 10, 2008

I have to tell you that I love both the look and feel of wood! It was the secondary selling feature for this house only out shadowed by the location. The inside of the hunt cabin is finished almost exclusively in wood giving it a warm, cosy and homey feel. The main source of heat is Old Betsy here and believe me in Northern Ontario that fire needs to be stoked quite often. The wood stove is utilitarian so you don't get to enjoy the ambiance of the fire but that's ok as the primary purpose is supplying efficient heating for a cabin that really could do with some sealing. The cabin is closed for the winter primarily due to location. It lies in a area that receives higher snowfall and the owners live quite some distance from the cabin meaning they would have to travel treacherous winter roads to get there and then the road conditions could always worsen while they are there. So hunt camp is the shutting down the cabin for the winter trip as well. Until next year...

Garden Gnome
©2006-2008

The Log Cabin

Hunt Cabin
November 10, 2008

In the past couple of entries I spoke of my husband going to hunt camp. This really isn't a camp as in Boy Scouts with tents and roughing it but it is more rustic than home life. The group of guys that go all all good friends with one of the guys from the group owning the log cabin. A couple in the group including my husband do not hunt and have no desire to do so but go along for the camaraderie. My husband and another good friend tend to act as the hunt camp cooks.

The cabin is a log cabin heated with a wood stove. That means the main small room is warm or even hot when the fire is stoked up but mornings can see the cabin quite chilly if the fire dies out through the night. Log cabins tend to be rather leaky letting in both cold air and rodents especially when they are used seasonally. This cottage is no different in that it would need some serious winterizing to use it during the cold winter months in Northern Ontario. It was considerably colder there than at home and they did get snow overnight the first night there. Extra warm clothes and blankets were a must even though it was early in the cold season.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2008

Independence

This past week my husband went to hunt camp. Now I could have stayed home and in many respects that would have been a very easy choice. Instead I decided on a whim to go visit the kids, parents to oldest grandbaby and parents to youngest grandbaby. I called the kids for driving directions, carefully packed clothes and toiletries checking everything twice, tossed in the laptop and iPod® Touch, the cell phone, the chargers, a bag of goodies for the kids then I checked everything again. I made a final round through the house making sure everything was secured and set just right. Then I was on my way for the very long drive of which I would make without a stop unless absolutely necessary. A few hours later as I turned into the driveway of parents to oldest grandbaby I gave myself a quiet pat on the back. I did it! In that instant I realized I had regained a bit of independence lost and that was a real blessing for me. It might not seem like a lot to others but to me it was a huge step forward. What a blessing!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2008

Ungrounded

Morning Moon
November 6, 2008

It has been a rather interesting week for me although my blogs did not really reflect this. My husband left last Saturday for hunt camp so I spent a couple of laid back days by myself then headed up to visit the kids. The first stop was the home of oldest grandbaby where Grandma had the wonderful opportunity of learning all the new tricks of toddlers. Trust me on this one there is only so many times Grandma can watch Dora the Explorer or play chase the nakked baby game but Grandma found a lot of other ways to entertain a precotious toddler. Then oldest grandbaby was lost! Grandma and Dora (yep a large replica doll) had to go on an adventure find grandbaby bringing a lot of squeals and giggles from the couch as we searched. Finally we found grandbaby which was a very good thing because her Mommy and Daddy would have not been happy with Grandma if we hadn't found grandbaby!

Wednesday after a lovely meatloaf dinner Grandma and grandbaby cooked, Grandma loaded up the car and headed to visited youngest grandbaby thanks to the very useful driving instructions from Mommy to oldest grandbaby. Driving around the GTA after dark is not something I enjoy doing because of night time glare and missing turns but the instructions were clear and concise so I was able to find my way quite easily. I arrived at the home of youngest grandbaby in time to enjoy little miss who was supposed to be getting sleepy but decided that sharing the latest baby entertainment with Grandma was a bit more important. Talk about a little cutie! Great big eyes with a ready grin that goes from ear to ear then up to make sparkling eyes is just simply adorable. Grandma visited with grandbaby and Mommy while Daddy worked on the design for a mural for grandbaby's new bedroom. Grandbaby played the I want your attention now! game with Daddy by peeking over the couch back then letting out a squeal. This little one is crawling a bit but the indications that walking is going to be preferable over crawling.

The weather turned nasty Thursday so Grandma decided to leave a bit early as Grandma doesn't like driving in slippery conditions. Besides Grandma was getting very tuckered out and had canning to do before Grandpa arrived home. But first Grandma had to unwind...

Garden Gnome
©2006-2008

Wordless Wednesday

Colours of the Wind
October 22, 2008

Garden Gnome
©2006-2008

Remembrance Day 2008

I come from a strong military family with ancestors that were instrumental in shaping the history of Canada. I grew up surrounded by relatives who had fought for this country. Some of them made the ultimate sacrifice and while they are no longer here they live forever in our memories. If this video does not bring tears to your eyes, nothing will. On the 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11th month we honour our fallen with 2 minutes silence from shore to shore of our great nation, Canada. Please join our nation in showing our respect and how thankful we are for enjoying the freedom they fought so hard for.

Remembrance Day Tribute

courtesy of
Global TV Edmonton

Garden Gnome
©2006-2008

Look Twice Save A Life

Sunday I came across TheBikersVoice.com while dropping my card for Entrecard. The blogs is asking that the following post be reposted to bring awareness that motorcycles are everywhere. This post really hit home! We are not bikers although my husband had a motorcycle several years ago when the kids were young. At the time he was both self employed and was also working in another job outside of the home. One day he was coming home from the job when a transport flew past him causing the motorcycle to become airborne for a few seconds. The for sale sign went on the motorcycle that night! So when you are out there on the road, please be courteous to other drivers and take extra caution for motorcycles. Please drive defensively, considerately and safely so that both you and others on the road can arrive home to their loved ones.

Look Twice Save A Life
Motorcycles are Everywhere

I saw you hug your purse closer to you in the grocery store line. But you didn't see me put an extra $10.00 in the collection plate last Sunday.


I saw you pull your child closer when we passed each other on the sidewalk. But you didn't see me playing Santa at the local Mall.

I saw you change your mind about going into the restaurant when you saw my bike parked out front. But you didn't see me attending a meeting to raise more money for the hurricane relief.

I saw you roll up your window and shake your head when I rode by. But you didn't see me riding behind you when you flicked your cigarette butt out the car window.

I saw you frown at me when I smiled at your children. But you didn't see me, when I took time off from work to run toys to the homeless.

I saw you stare at my long hair. But you didn't see me and my friends cut ten inches off for Locks of Love.

I saw you roll your eyes at our Leather jackets and gloves. But you didn't see me and my brothers donate our old ones to those that had none.

I saw you look in fright at my tattoos. But you didn't see me cry as my children where born or have their name written over and in my heart.

I saw you change lanes while rushing off to go somewhere. But you didn't see me going home to be with my family.


I saw you, complain about how loud and noisy our bikes can be. But you didn't see me when you were changing the CD and drifted into my lane.


I saw you yelling at your kids in the car. But you didn't see me pat my child's hands knowing she was safe behind me.

I saw you reading the newspaper or map as you drove down the road. But you didn't see me squeeze my wife's leg when she told me to take the next turn.


I saw you race down the road in the rain. But you didn't see me get soaked to the skin so my son could have the car to go on his date.

I saw you run the yellow light just to save a few minutes of time. But you didn't see me trying to turn right.


I saw you cut me off because you needed to be in the lane I was in. But you didn't see me leave the road.


I saw you, waiting impatiently for my friends to pass. But you didn't see me. I wasn't there.


I saw you go home to your family. But you didn't see me. Because I died that day you cut me off.

I was just a biker. A person with friends and a family. But you didn't see me.

Repost this around in hopes that people will understand the biker community..


EVEN IF YOU DON'T LIKE US, RESPECT OUR RIGHTS TO RIDE WHAT WE CHOOSE AND TAKE A FEW EXTRA SECONDS TO BE SURE WE ARE NOT IN 'YOUR' WAY

Please Note: The author of Look Twice Save A Life was not given on TheBikersVoice.com post.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2008

Sharing Knowledge

This past week I have been up close and personal with Adobe Photoshop® as I gave each of my blogs an updated look. This is a program that I used occasionally simply to resize photos up to about 2 years ago. Now I use it almost daily. As I was tweaking away at creating backgrounds, headers and other graphics for my blogs it amazed me at how far I have come with being able to use Adobe Photoshop®. Now I am a quick learner and likely would have mastered a lot of my current skills with this program on my own at some point through experimentation but mastering them faster was made possible through the help of many wonderful people online. Many people have made Photoshop® tutorials, brushes, patterns, videos and so much more available online, free of charge simply because they enjoy sharing their knowledge. There are Photoshop® forums and Yahoo groups where some of the friendliest people you will ever meet are will answer questions, troubleshoot and freely share their knowledge of how to do a particular technique using Photoshop®. These kind souls who give freely of their time to help new users of Photoshop® are a real blessing. My thanks and appreciation goes out to each and everyone of you.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2008

It's official!

Mommy to oldest grandbaby had an ultrasound for soon to arrive youngest grandbaby. It's official! Youngest grandbaby is a ________!!!!!!!!!!!! Stay tuned for more details on this little one. We are extremely excited as this will be our third grandbaby. I tell you your own children are precious and awesome. Grandbabies are all that and more!

As parents we were so blessed to watch our children grown from tiny babes into mature, responsible and delightful adults. It seems like only yesterday they were little ones. It amazes me to see the wonderful people they have become. Now all but one have become parents so we get to enjoy grandbabies and grandchildren who are teenagers. And the circle of life continues :)

Garden Gnome
©2006-2008

Update 2

By now you have a good idea of where I'm going with the design for this blog. I hope your eyes weren't too strained and I thank-you for your patience. Those who know me know that I'm very much into scrapbooking. For some unexplained reason I didn't think to use my digital scrapbooking skills for designing my blogs even though I use a lot of those techniques for the photos. Last weekend I found a website that was doing just that. Looking at the lovely backgrounds it immediately dawned on me that I could easily make my own designs using Photoshop. So I sat down and started tinkering. The background and header you see are the end result. I hope you like it.

There will me more changes throughout the afternoon and evening but most will be rather subtle tweaking. I will let you know when the changes are complete and again I thank-you for your patience.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2008

under construction

Updating: Later today I will start doing a complete make over of this blog so you will see some weird things going on as I test and tweak. It's not your eyes. Elements will appear, disappear or move to new locations. Don't worry as things will soon be back to normal with a whole new look after the dust settles.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2008

Wordless Wednesday

I Want Stanley
October 18, 2008

Garden Gnome
©2006-2008

autumn

Autumn Beauty
October 22, 2008

We are now well into autumn! While the air is turning chilly and the days are getting shorter there are still enough nice days to get a good amount of outdoor winterizing done as well as simply enjoying being outdoors. The fair aroma of wood smoke coming from nearby chimneys mingle with the distinct smell of autumn. Leaves flitter and dance their way to the ground on calmer days or whip about in a frenzy when the winds are stronger. The water takes on a cooler look yet still sparkles when the sun graces us with it's presence. Waterfowl make their presence known both in the water and overhead. We really are very blessed to live in such a beautiful area in our little corner of planet earth!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2008

updating blogs

Sorry, no picture today. I have been quite busy most of the day updating my cooking blog. It is still a work in progress that likely won't see completion before morning but it is getting close. I've learned a lot today with all the tweaking so that's a good thing. In celebration I even made a new 125x125 ad for the cooking blog! If you have the chance to stop by, please let me know what you think. This blog and my homemaking blog are next on the adgenda but I will make announcements when I start the updates.

Updating is always difficult especially for someone like me who really likes to stay with the tried and true. All four blogs while they have distinctive features can benefit from a little pizzaz. There's frustration when you try a background and it works one way but if you try it another way it does. There is the tediousness of creating graphics, testing and then retesting, tweaking and retesting before you get just the right look. There's annoyance at checking the links in the sidebar to make sure they are still working. There's the hard look at elements as to whether they are doing what you want or not. There is sadness at finding out a program like BlogRush that you participated in and gave up part of your blog real estate to has up and shut down. It is equally frustration when you have widgets that are designed to bring traffic and or advertising to your blog only to find out they serve inappropriate ads or they are being run by extremely anal control freaks dictating to you what you can and cannot do on your own blog despite the fact that they are where they are today because of us bloggers. You have to decide whether or not to remove the widget or not and that is not always an easy choice but some are making it easier. Then there are the advertisers but for the most part as long as you are not doing anything illegal they don't dictate what you can and can't blog about. At the same time you do have to stay on top of them so that the advertising fits in with the theme of the blog. Well all of this is part of blogging and that means the blog by default is constantly evolving. And that is where I'm at this week.

I'm a blogger :)

Garden Gnome
©2006-2008

Daylight Savings Time Ends

Don't forget to change your clocks and check the batteries in your smoke detectors.