mermaids on the half shell

my studio/workspace

I know it doesn't look spacious

but I tend to create small things

like these mermaids

we collected clam and mussel shells from our days at the beach this summer

and I've been making hand drawn mermaids

... all for Sophie ....

Team Sophie in my Etsy shop

Team Sophie webpage

The Walk to End Epilepsy: October 28, 2012 @ the Rosebowl in Pasadena

(for each $10 seashell, I am donating $10 to Team Sophie)

coming soon

... re-entry is slow ...

what have I been doing?

visiting with family

going on picnics

working at the fair with 4-H

drawing mermaids

watching the high school marching band

and the sky above me is aways a joy to behold

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mermaids,

altered matchboxes,

painted sea glass,

... upcoming posts ...

crafty

my sister (i.l.) is visiting and we got to crafting yesterday

making matchboxes to be exact

we took up the entire dining room table with our joyful mess

... and it's been hot here ...

 I totally get it that our hot is not the same as your HOT

but we still down the iced tea like crazy

peachy sun tea

the "pause that refreshes"

no tea today

:)

I'm going to be taking a blog break for a little while

summer life with my family is taking up all of my time

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I'll post my photos here and there

(like I've been doing)

but the next 2 weeks look totally crazy

I'll also make the rounds and visit folks

... my favorite late night wind down activity :)

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here's a beautiful song I wanted to share
it's only 3 minutes - you'll be glad you took the time - sip your tea and listen along:

Sonnet 18

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate;
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date;
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
-William Shakespeare

morning bicycle

number crunching

yesterday's adventure:

Northwest Railway Museum

Snoqualmie, WA

funny thing about my post title

... I used to work in accounting ...

A/P number crunching for a home builder

(I like this kind much better)

tea and yesterday's photos

I'm sitting at my Mac this morning going over yesterday's pics

(Newman's Own Royal Tea and a biscuit with two jams)

I love taking pictures with my camera

... but what I love even more than that ...

is fixing them in iPhoto

I almost always have to straighten them:

I crop them to get out any stuff in the background that I don't want:

I fix the exposure so the colors really pop:

adjust the contrast and the sharpness to bring out details:

smile :) at the fun day we had:

adjust the color :

(this tunnel picture was really pink for some reason)

and sometimes just breathe a big "ahhhh" when something simple came out so amazing:

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where were we?

we had a picnic at Gold Creek Pond off I-90 at Snoqualmie Pass

and explored Iron Horse State Park and the historic Snoqualmie Train Tunnel (all in the same area)

it was a beautiful sunny day up there (3000 feet)

a very overcast day at home (sea level)

sometimes it's a change in altitude for the better weather

although I'm always game for a change in latitude instead (Maui for one)