Catch-Up

I joined Kim Klassen's 2nd Beyond Layers or Beyond Beyond or Beyond II....I am not sure how to refer to this, but you know what I mean, 2nd class in her Beyond Layers series.  The first one was a year long, and I do believe this 2nd one is the same length.  I started out with a bang the first time around, but then slowly began to skip a week here or there...shame on me.  I always have such good intentions, but somehow I always get off-track.  Kim gives such great instructions, I encourage anyone that wants to know anything about layers/textures in Photoshop/Elements to take one of her classes.  I think she even has a couple of freebies to get you started.

Well, this time around I didn't even get started with a bang, again...shame on me.  But I am catching up and here was our 2nd assignment.  To take multiple pictures of the same subject at different angles, points of view and then pick 3 of my favs and make them into a collage.  She even provided the template for the collage and ofcourse instructions on how to do it.  Here is mine...remember my little jar with the chalkboard label from Anthropologie....so many ways to use this sweet thing.  And by the way, I totally blame Kim for all my purchases from Anthropologie (I dropped a few dollars there last Saturday) with all her talk and beautiful cups she tempts us with.  And now it is on my radar.

OK....you haven't seen one of my selfies lately.  I pooped out on the last 2 weeks...the 1st one was a silly pose (I don't do silly well) and the 2nd one was in the dark...I just never came up with anything showing me in the dark.  I just seem to be in the dark most of the time anyway, shoulda just taken any ole pic...but that's not what they were going for.  So this week it is a dyptic...2 photos that make up a whole in other words 2 parts of your body...any part or parts.  That I could relate to...so here is mine. I know, silly me.  I probably could have used this one for the silly too....whatever!!

And today is the 2nd week in Madge's Rurality...a new link-up that she started last week due to a couple blog sites dropping their weekly memes.  It seems like many of us enjoy the rural parts of our lives even if we do live in the city.

This rather plain white barn was again in DeKalb County...don't ask me exactly where, I never know, I just drive and shoot, shoot the camera that is.  I have never gotten lost in any of my wanderings, the roads all seem to be squared, follow one, turn left, turn left again and you end up on the same road you started on.  Life is so much simpler in the country, at least roads are anyway.

And because yesterday was Abe Lincoln's birthday another Abe quote....

"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt."  ~ Abraham Lincoln

Until next time,

Wintertime??

I woke up really early this morning about 6:00 AM, dark, and still no snow. (we have now passed the all time record for longest time without measurable snow, 320 days) As I walked outside to pick up the newspaper off of the driveway and gather the mail from the mailbox, the sky was just beginning to get that soft peachy pink color,

there was little sound except for the drone of cars on the busy street a few blocks away and then I heard it....chirping of birds in the tree above me.  I looked up and saw two robins.  This is January 10th, I usually don't see robins until sometime in early March.  What the heck??  Are we skipping winter this year??

I am having great fun trying to come up with different angles and ideas for the "Selfie" Now You project....I know you will get really tired of seeing so much of me for the next year, I know I will.  It's fun right now, but as the weeks unfold, looking at me will become rather boring.  I think the joy is in discovering yourself, knowing that maybe it is somewhat uncomfortable to expose yourself so publicly, but it is also very liberating.

Later a walk with my camera reveals that eventho there is no snow, there is a beauty in the remains of summertime flowers with their textures and promises of returning in the spring.

Linking with Deb at This or That Thursday and Danielle at Cool Clicks Thursday.....

"I've learned that the older I get, the more I say "I don't know."  When I was younger, I thought I knew it all."  ~  Age 65

Until next time....

Why?

Why do grocery store flowers not have that glorious rose aroma.....?  Yes, I am still taking pictures of these roses I bought last week at Trader Joe's.  They are dying but they are as beautiful now as they were when I first bought them.

Why does juice always taste better from a pretty glass.....?

Why do hydrangeas seem to soothe my soul fresh or dried......?

And why did I decide to do a "Now You" 52 weeks of self portraiture class?  Over the next year you will probably get to see every square inch of me (well not every square inch) and I did not use the "remove wrinkles, smooth skin" effect eventho it took a lot of self-convincing not to.  So here are my first attempts for the class.....

No make-up, end of the day selfie....still figuring out the how's and why's.  Oh Lord, look at those sagging jowls and what is that under my eyes??  Could it be bags and wrinkles?  See, that's where that "smooth skin" effects would really come in handy.

One of my better features....small, flat ears (giggle)

So there you have it...the first selfies of the year.  Some people may think this is brave, but heh, when you are going to be 70 on your next birthday which is just a couple of months away, I say what's left to hide at this stage in the game.

"Laugh a lot, and when you're older, all your wrinkles will be in the right places."  ~  Anonymous

Until next time....