Lunar Eclipse

Last nights wonder was pretty cool....okay it was cold too, but it was pretty cool!

Creative weekend!

Three days in a row off this past weekend and boy did I fill them up with lots of creativity! Saturday David and I got up early, scanned through our recipe books and planned an elegant supper for six. We haven't done this in a while and forgot how much fun it can be - we love being in the kitchen together, and shopping - we toss a coin for who gets to wash out the bathrooms and who gets to vacuum. Off for our Sat am walk to the coffee shop (three miles return) and then home to call up some friends for an evening of impromptu dining. Grocery shopping and home to start the preparations.

Spinach stuffed mushrooms - David made these - mmmmm. Steamed asparagus wrapped with cream cheese and prosciutto (thank you Brenda for this yummy idea - they were fabulous again). Mexican rice full of peppers (jalapeño included) fresh herbs and spices, Cajun salmon steaks -from scratch = David prepared all the seasoning. A very delicious Sonoma salad - pine nuts, cranberries, sunflower seeds and orange vinaigrette. Some fresh bread and dip.

Set the dining room table for the event and even pulled out the silver and the china - looked quite nice. Forgot to take a picture when the candles were lit - next time! Those are tea light in martini glasses filled with little clear plastic beads. Very elegant!

Sunday was a busy day too. A guest for lunch after church, a brief nap because I was out shooting the sun rise that morning remember? (see one post down!) and then I started into a project I am working on for the health region. My manager is retiring and I am putting together a coffee table book for her with old photos and staff photos...so last week on my lunches I gathered old photos, had someone identify them all for me and spent four hours scanning and editing them in Photoshop today- I think it will turn out quite well. I just need people to submit some current photos and send me the "copy" for the book. Thats the hardest part.
And today - Monday. I finished my last two page spread for the year 2000! YES!!!

Then I went through and arranged, by event, all my 2001 photos - and we start again. 2001 will not be as long as 2000 - which I believe is close to 50 layouts - we did so much stuff that year!

2 page spread on our talent night in Dec 2000. Lots of pictures - Becky Higgins layout sketches pg 192 to the rescue! Some new paper and some old rub ons and stickers.

I also was quite inspired by a pencilines sketch (love this site)so I did a page from Feb 2007 as well.

I really like how this turned out and it was fun to do! This was our black tie dinner in Toronto when David's company won 50 Best managed companies in Canada. Very classy evening! Look at that very handsome couple!! :)

Everyone have a super day!!

Julie

Saskatchewan Sunrise

Got up early this morning for some photos....it was cold!! North wind!!

SNOW much FUN

Just one more two page layout and I have finished archiving all our numerous family events for the year 2000. It has taken almost a year. LOL at this rate I will never catch up! Used Basic Grey paper and letter stickers - still love those! and their newest font is so nice - can't wait for the new line of BG coming soon- some white chip board cut at JSI! for the letters and Me and my Big Ideas glittery snowflakes..and a few embellishments from the stash.
My next layout is a challange - for me that is! About 15 pictures - and really poor ones at that - but I can't leave our fun Christmas talent show out of the album. I hope to get it done this weekend..and then! on to 2001 - but first perhaps a few recent photos that I really like!
Thanks for letting me share.
Julie

Jesus Vs Religion

Mark Driscoll is a very cool Pastor of Mars Hill church in Seattle - very cool! And God is using him in a mighty way to speak truth to thousands - especially the most troubled people of Seattle. I hope to post a few of his talks. This one is 5 min and 35 seconds and it is worth listening to.

If you believe that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior, you may be convicted of your religeosity. If you don't believe in Christ you probably find that all those religeous people out there turn you off ever wanting to find out about Christ.

Listen and find out what Christianity really is all about.

Scrapbook Widower

My husband handed me an article in Macleans mag the other day. . "Here, read this, It is funny" And it was. "Their houses a mess, their wives MIA, some husbands wonder where it will all end" is the byline. Do you know there is an Australian husband who blogs about being a scrapbook widow? Too funny. I got to thinking about my own husband...hmm how does he feel about my scrapbooking. I can't say I have ever heard him complain about my scrapbooking addiction but then again I can't say I have ever heard him complain about much at all other than minus 46 windchills - and who doesn't! I actually think he likes my scrapbooking because when I have a free evening and head into the scrapbook room it means he can veg on the couch with the 'clicker' and channel hop to his content. I won't say anything to him about being lazy and sitting in front of the TV...how can I after spending four hours in front of my copious supplies? We are both content so why rock the boat?


As most of you know I work in a retail scrapbook store
Just Scrap It! so I have access to all the new stuff, most of
which I have purchased before it even gets to room temperature! I buy a lot of stuff...but that is part of the reason I work there. I hear so many women say at the till after a purchase - throw the receipt in the garbage, the less evidence the better...and no I don't need a bag, if he sees me come into the house with a bag he will know, I will just incorporate it into my stuff right now. I laugh! but then it occurs to me that I have never heard my husband complain about how much I spend on scrapbooking supplies....perhaps that is because I am the frugal one in this household! or maybe because he has a liking for very expensive golf clubs.....hmmm maybe I am missing something far more subtle here.

Okay I digress...click here for the link to the Macleans article that quotes Allison Orthner saying "..some women spend more per week on scrapbook accessories then they do on groceries" ALLISON!! This is NOT helping our cause here. LOL

How does your husband feel about your scrapbooking?

winter in saskatchewan

SASKATCHEWAN

It's winter in Saskatchewan
and the gentle breezes blow

Seventy miles an hour

At twenty-five below.

Oh, how I love Saskatchewan

When the snow's up to your butt

You take a breath of winter

And your nose gets frozen shut.

Yes, the weather here is wonderful

So I guess I'll hang around

I could never leave Saskatchewan

'Cause I'm frozen to the ground!

10,000

Oh my goodness! I had 80 page loads and 47 visitors yesterday - wasn't expecting that! And it put me over the 10,000 hits mark - and yes I have been very diligent to remove my own IP address from my counter. I even tested it to make sure it was NOT counting me...cause I visit my site a lot!! hehe My 10,000th visitor came from Winnipeg - YAHOO!! My home town!! Yup born and raised there. So wow!

Double blessing!! I got an e-mail from Canadian Scrapbooker yesterday!! YUP they are interested in publishing a two page layout I submitted eons ago. Life is full of surprises. Now I just have to figure out all the product I used and convince my son and dau-in-law to package it up carefully and mail it off. Watch for it in summer 2008!!

Oh and when I am not working, working out, taking a course or going to evening committments, I will get some cool photos uploaded with shots from my new lens. I am particularily interested in getting a landscape shot with my wide angle...okay and some great macro shots too.

Have a blessed day!


Julie

Photoshop Montaging!

Day off work (from both jobs)- yahoo. Plan was to go to the gym and then get some badly needed housework done around here but I made that number one mistake of sitting down at my computer...at 7:15 am this morning...it is now 1:46 pm and I am still here...a tad hungry and the house is a mess. And no, I didn't get to the gym. However, the day was not a total loss. Check out my new banner. I have been trying to do tutorials in Photoshop on collages/montages. I have trouble following the instructions - rebel that I am - but I managed this new banner. Don't ask me how I did it because I forget already...but I have started the process of learning. I used my own photographs for this...recognize the cats eye ink all you scrapbookers?

I just finished another one done using photomerge command - which is cheating and doesn't do nearly as nice a job - but it was a great photomerge with photos of my son's new car. I went to save it and my computer told me I didn't have enough RAM! WHAT???!!! And promptly threw out the whole montage. So I am now turning to a few other items on my to do list today, #1 being eat something. But before I do, I will share another effort (below) from this morning...although my header is my favorite work of art today. :) Regarding the header...I did spend an hour playing with the HTML code to get that header to go all the way across the top of my blog and it will not!! Blogger does not seem to have an answer for me either. Here is a montage of some of my photos of a Saskatoon winter.

It's a start and next day off I will plug along again and see if I can actually become more proficient at montages - ie actually remember what I am learning. Here is another one - actually my first of the day and not my favorite - but I learned a few things with the magic wand tool.

Thanks for letting me share.

Julie

Shopping Spree!

Oh my!! I went to Don's photo yesterday with the intention of getting some advice on some teeny red spots on my camera sensors - a few pixels that were causing grief. I also wanted to pick a few brains about cameras. Those guys know everything in there! I use an Olympus E-500 digital SLR and I am ready to invest in some serious lenses - but do I want to stay with Olympus or take the plunge and switch completely over to Canon or Nikon? Ralna (and Deb) loves Nikon - and for good reason. My son Mark is Canon guy. Both these companies take about 80% of the camera market. But Olympus is up and coming in it's camera technology and they make excellent lenses - so Don's photo tells me.

Just advise - thats all!!! Well the camera expert Dan (Dan at Don's! haha) was fantastic - fixed my pixel problem in seconds - really! and then advised me (after lots of discussion) to stick with Olympus - they make excellent lenses and the new $1,700.00 E3 Olympus has all the features and then some of the best Nikon and Canon's. My current E 500 doesn't at all, but it is okay for now. Start saving for the E3.

Yes well this was all good news - remember you are NOT spending any money today. Just advise and get the sensor problem looked at. But my husband bless him loves to treat me and, get this, he started asking about wide angle lenses. His reasoning being if you are going to stay with Olympus dear (and your sensor problem is now fixed) then start looking at the lenses. I was tickled pink that I wans't going to have to replace the sensor on my camera - I was up money already! With his encouragement and Dan's salesmanship and knowledge, I could see this might get expensive.


Dan was terrific and spent tons of time with me showing me all the differences in the various wide angles available - I was getting talked into a purchase here - yikes. Then David says - show us some of the macro lenses - wow - played with this Macro for half an hour - I love it!! When Dan brought out the telephoto 1000mm lens - oh my - he said I could shoot giraffes in Kenya from the Congo! This was getting rediculous - the telephoto goes back on the shelf right now!

So Happy birthday to me! A month early! Had I gone in there by myself this would not have happened - but when you see the lens that is perfect, he offers you a deal AND your husband is encouraging it - well whats a gal to do???? ...think of the Visa points. This husband of mine is dangerous.

My new 50 mm Macro! Takes incredible close ups and portraits!

My new Olympus Zuiko 12-60mm 2.4-4 wide angle! Ohhh time to travel with this baby!

..and no, it is not pink!

Watch for lots of pictures...like I need more pictures to scrapbook!

Dan also convinced me to always shoot in RAW - so another learning curve with CS2. I need more time for all this fun stuff!

Enjoy the football game today!

Julie