Dog days

Sunny and upper 50's today...time to give this smelly dog a bath!

Consider this a second shadow shot...

“The most affectionate creature in the world is a wet dog”

~ Ambrose Bierce

Evening shadows

Hey Harriet's Shadow Shots
Last weekend 47 bloggers showed off their shadow shooting skills...

Corner by mudroom

Opposite corner looking into kitchen...my shadow

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Also, big thanks to Lisa B. who gave me this award for my
"Very great classy attitude"!

Fashion

A post on this blog (Here, There, Elsewhere and More) regarding vintage fashion photography had me checking out another site showing the work of publishing giant Conde Nast's photographer, John Rawlings.

click mosaic for original post

Great photos, but I want the clothes!

"Fashion is architecture: it is a matter of proportions."
~ Coco Chanel

Mish Mash

Ever had one of those days?

You know the ones...the days nothing goes the way it should. After seven hours of driving and running errands, I catch a glimpse of myself in my car window reflection and realize I have two different earrings on. I come home to play with the dog...lost ball (third time this week), unload the car, carry everything in, step on cat, *eye bottle of wine* continue putting away groceries and assorted purchases, take new shoes out...spend 1/2 hour trying to remove price stickers, *eye wine bottle again* give up on stickers, go to office to load new yellow printer cartridge only to find out Cyan means blue-not yellow. Sigh.

dang stickers!

On a happier note...I received my giveaway package from Round Rabbit! Yay! Thanks Nancy! What should I make with these? Any ideas besides necklace?

Then I checked blog comments, and read new posts. Have to give a shout-out to Cathe Holden who is offering free downloads on her blog. Check out my new e-mail image in the left side bar. (Cathe also designed the Thank you for visiting my blog image.)

Thanks ladies...the day ended well.

This is home

"Home is a name, a word, it is a strong one; stronger than magician ever spoke, or spirit ever answered to, in the strongest conjuration."

~ Charles Dickens

Oregon is mostly known for being very wet.

It rains a lot which means it's very green...on the other side of the mountains...where I lived for 40 years.

Central Oregon's High Desert is something else entirely. It takes some getting used to...a dry, brown, rocky climate is not where I ever imagined myself living.

Part of the problem may be the conception of what the desert is...based on its definition:

desert, noun. a region so arid, it supports only sparse vegetation or none at all.

But there is beauty here...

Deschutes River

Crooked River Canyon

Steelhead Falls

This is home.
Where do you live?

(This post was recycled from a year ago)

Tablescape update

A few people have asked about the table display I did last Friday for the Redmond Chamber of Commerce function.

It went well, and although I didn't attend the function, I did receive positive feedback from both the Chamber Events Coordinator and Office Manager...and I noticed a photo of my table is on their website.

My table...bottom, left

Winning

Have to say, I like it!

Last week, Green Chair Press was having a calendar giveaway and I'm happy to say, I was one of the lucky winners!

Nifty, eh?
This small calendar will work perfectly in my kitchen.

Thanks Susan!

"I can no other answer make, but, thanks and thanks."
~ William Shakespeare

Paying it forward

This is my friend Chelsea. We've actually never met...we're virtual pals. But we have plans of meeting, drinking margaritas, and hula hooping (don't ask). Soon.

Chelsea's shop, Eighty 8 Words, is open again just in time for Valentine's Day.
(There's even talk of a Diva pendant being added to the line!)

Advice from Chelsea: "Hey Fellas- there's a word in here for your gal! (Hint: don't pick hormonal, that's only funny if SHE chooses it) With V-day on the way, might I suggest that you blokes busy saving your cash for a ring worthy of her greatness, surprise her in the mean time with "betrothed."
Trust me, she'll melt."

Chelsea recently found out she was going to be the lucky recipient of a
brand-spankin'-new MacBook (gratis).

She's sharing the love and paying it forward, and I'm the lucky one this time. Chelsea created a new blog header for me (look up!) which prompted an entirely new look for my blog.

Huge thanks Chelsea! I'll be paying it forward, too.

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Just found out an interview (of me!) is on the Green Leaf Reviewer blog today.


Click here

Gong Xi Fa Cai

2009
The Year of the Ox

Image from here

Outtakes

Tea & Honey Bread's Shutter Click & Chat: Favorite Photo Outtakes

Scenic shots from last spring. Deschutes River, about ten miles from our home in the High Desert of Central Oregon.

First three shots didn't quite make the cut.

Not quite right...

nope, not yet...

getting closer...the mountains are nice...


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Here's the money shot:

Shazam, huh?

My Saint Bernard

Probably the only one I'll ever have.

This is an antique advertising plate from the turn of the (last) century.
The words next to the Saint Bernard's face say:
Compliments Joseph Langer, Bisbee, N.D.
(I have a hound dog plate, too...I love them!)

Shelf shadows

Hey Harriet's Shadow Shot (Australian) Sunday

"Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see."

~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Marketing

I decided to take advantage of Overnight Prints' offer of 100 free postcards to design some marketing material for Mark's business.

Cicada Studio created the header

I like the cards I designed for him much better than the cards I designed for my biz...wish I would have found that font for mine.

Photos on my card by Philip Clayton-Thompson

Back of card:

Speaking of marketing the biz, today is the day I'm decorating the table for the Chamber of Commerce event I posted about here.

Both the postcard and my business card will be incorporated in the design...

T. Kimberlyn Designs created my biz card

wish me luck!
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Finished display at event center

The speeding photographer

Oddly, some of my best photographs are taken when I'm in the car, speeding down the highway, camera held up to window. Strange.

Central Oregon ranch along Highway 97
January 2009

Perhaps I'm partial to the view...

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I also want to thank Sweetpea Surry for this award:

According to the award rules, I'm suppose to pass this along to 15 (fifteen!) other worthy blogs. Out of sheer laziness, I'm going to suggest a peek at my blog roll in the left side bar. These are my daily reads, the ones listed at the top of each section are the blogs most recently updated.

Have fun and share the blog love!

We have a winner

I picture myself as a stylish desert dweller...a chic hat and scarf and I'm set for Central Oregon's High Desert winter weather.

The truth is, until I received this hat as a gift, braving the outdoors on my twice daily walks with Trux have left my ears feeling like popsicles. I've tried scarves wrapped around my head, ear muffs, stocking hats pulled low, neck warmers pulled high and combinations of all of them.

Practicality is winning out.
Being warm is more important than looking good, right?

Right?


Elmer Fudd replaces Coco Chanel.

Sigh.

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On to the giveaway...the winner is:
Chronicles of a Country Girl

Kate, e-mail me your mailing address and I'll send you this
Iris Art Deco candlestick as your surprise gift!

Thanks to everyone who left a comment, and thanks for following my blog!

Today in America

We have a new president.
Change is here.

Gemini Studio


I'm feeling fairly giddy with relief
and
hope.

"We've been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope.
But in the unlikely story that is America,
there has never been anything false about hope."

~ Barack Obama

MLK Day

"I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear."

~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Diana Bracy, mosaic photo fabric art

A piece of America

Tea & Honey Bread's Shutter Click and Chat: "I think we need to take this party to the Inaugural Ball-Show me a piece of your America. I'll take the good, the bad and the ugly. Hmm..."

"Let the word go forth from this time and place, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans."

~ President John F. Kennedy spoke these words in 1961,
the year of Barack Obama's birth.

Barack Obama
Inauguration
Tuesday, January 20th, 2009

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A little bit of America: the good, the bad, and the ugly:

Click photo

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Yesterday, I had my 100th person sign up to follow my blog.
I'd like to celebrate with a giveaway.
If you're interested in receiving a surprise giveaway item, leave me a comment
(and a way to get in touch if you win) on this post.
I'll randomly choose a winner on Wednesday the 21st.

Red chair

Our cat, Cammie, prefers the red velvet chair...of course she does.
A shadow shot sans cat...

Check out Hey Harriet for other shadow shooters.

White House re-do

After reading more about the upcoming White House residence transformation, I've learned the only photos available to the public will be of the family sitting room. (There are twenty four rooms in the private residence, the remodeling budget is $100,000.00.)

The following photos are from the last five remodels. I completely understand the White House is a museum, but these are the living quarters. Make it look like a home, not a showroom.

All photos from the White House Museum

W.

Clinton

Bush the 1st

Reagan

Carter and/or Ford

Shades of golden yellow, cream and beige dominate the walls and carpeting. With so much sunlight streaming in through that window, this room could easily handle a dark wall color.

A plea to Mrs. Obama ~ shake it up a bit...add some vibrant color!

How about rich chocolate brown for the walls?


Or a Spanish red?

Room found on Benjamin Moore Color Viewer

Final bit of ranting: there's beautiful hardwood under the rug...let it show.