Welcome to my Blog

Welcome to my Blog.
Please come right in and stay a bit.
Pookas are known to be mischievous spirits, but some of them are really quite nice.
May you encounter only pleasant moments while visiting here.

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

The last 2 courses were such fun, I decided to take another one.
This one is less on scrapping but more on art prints oriented.

I'm not really a fan of way out dark
grunge but I still like to learn some of the techniques.
 Lots of texture layers and some
critters and a flower blended into
this frozen scene.
 Vanished - as if blown off the
islands and only silent reminders
standing tall.
They always make me wonder why one of these dudes has the big rock on his head. Did the others not get one or did they fall off?
Our little boardwalk at Lake Sumter
Landing. The evening photo, now a sketch, also received textures and one of my tangle creations, a star fish.
These are all techniques from the new course.
It is still quite warm here, during the day we still reach the low 80ºF
but evenings and early mornings are very nice now.

Saturday, October 19, 2013


 Just finished another course in Photo Art Blending.
 I simply admire the grey cells that thought up all these functions and the people who not only know how to use them, but also figure out different  combinations. Luckily there are those who will share their wisdom and teach. 








I found this brave little Vinca growing where there was no visible soil, just concrete. Good to keep in mind for the times when things seem impossible to endure.
This Coleus blossom was rather on the big side, never saw one like it before. The green leaves behind it actually belong  to the Amaryllus that bloomed in spring. Somehow the Coleus managed to pop up between.












I love how blending in textures and gradients can change a photo to look like a painting.



This photo remained untouched but a couple of frames adds some interest to the layout.














The Discovery was transported to its final resting place, what a sight
that was.













Somewhere in Italy, a butcher shop.


Saturday, September 21, 2013


The Tetons a little bit enhanced. What a beautiful
state Wyoming is.





Travertine Terrace   







 

This photo of part of the Zion Natl. Park just called for a some changes.









Night, creatures and a little ground fog
and there you have the perfect place for a Halloween party.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Storm Clouds







 My blending classes are finished and now I'm having a great time playing with all sorts of photos.
Rooftops of Gubbio, Italy












Adding multiple textures, changing
hues and adding a few surprises
will change a simple photo into a
work of art.
Add caption



 Only textures were blended in and the color was altered, but it changed the mood of the photo completely. It lets you feel some of the
mystery of this ancient place.


Wednesday, July 31, 2013

More tangles

There is nothing so exciting as learning something
new. I'm having such a fun time tangling away.
Now I'm thinking about Christmas tangles for some nice cards.

My dear friend traveled to Mongolia, got up right at the crack of dawn to take pictures of the sun rising over the Gobi Desert.
Looks like a big red marble until some clouds seem to flatten it a little.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Time to post a few more Zentangle drawings. Still practicing but also learning more. It is a really fun activity and all you need is paper and a micro pen. 



 I like the tangle frame just have to find the right kind of picture to use with it. In the meantime I enrolled in another class learning how to do some really neat blending work with Photoshop Elements. Can't wait for another new lesson tomorrow.
I wonder if there might be some bored folks out there wanting to clean my house and a few other tasks for me while I'm so very busy blending and tangling.  Chances are I better get myself into the right gear and hop to it. Actually, my right index finger could use a long rest before it might just fall off, (ugh).

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Yikes, double photo!

Oh boy, I just realized that I posted the wrong Crape Myrtle photo and now it is in there twice. So how about some lawn decorations that pop up all over the place with all the rain we've been getting. Wish they were edible.

After the 4th of July

The 4th of July was a quiet kind of a holiday in our house, for a change.With our daily thunderstorms trying for a grilled traditional menu is a "hope for the best" plan. Hotdogs don't take long but if you're thinking of nice ribs, that might just remain a thought only. 
The layout was made with a free kit by BoBoBernie. I love the altered art elements.

My Crape Myrtle finally is in full bloom. From farther away it looks like a lilac bush, but up close there is a huge difference. All those tiny blossoms are amazing.

I found something new to try out, Zentangle. This was my first try and it was pitiful enough, not really knowing what and how and the wrong pen. It is a lot of fun though and I thought maybe I can use it for my cards.



Needs a lot more practice but in the meantime it is relaxing and fun.

Monday, June 24, 2013

Not sure if this is a sign that I'm getting better at this or not. This time not months or even weeks passed by for a few words and another layout. My best guess would be that it is too darn hot to venture outside which gives me more time for inside activities.
Leaving a store by way of the back door I noticed this little wallflower (and a weed) growing from a tiny hole in the concrete. I could not discover any soil but obviously the little Vinca
found a way to reach it.

After my Crape Myrtle was cut way down earlier this year and there was nothing to see but some bare branches sticking up, it is now in full bloom.

There is an entire clan of Mourning doves living, nesting and multiplying in some of my plants. That was o.k. by me but then they decided that my porch was actually much more fun, so much shade, and they held their meetings all over the rockers, floor and whatever else could be used for perching.
Unfortunately they are quite messy and left poop all over everything. After washing the cushion covers and scrubbing everything else I really did not want them to move back. Not knowing what would discourage them I thought maybe something that not only moved, but also sparkled.
I glued 2 old CD's together so the shiny side faced out and then attached fishing line and hung them from the porch roof.
So far, so good, I noticed that even in the dark the showed up, reflecting the lamp when the light breeze kept moving them. So far no feathered guests, just hope remains a poop-free zone, LOL.

Monday, June 17, 2013



This is the first time one of my Caladiums outside bloomed.The new leaf behind it is still curled up.
These summer flowers were taken inside the Roman Colosseum.                                                                            
Larkspur is my favorite flower. It brings back some good childhood memories.




Foxglove and Larkspur make a beautiful combination.

Good grief, I still have not figured out how to get my photos closer together. With me it seems to be a hit and mostly miss exercise. One of these days some kind soul will sent me a tip, I hope. So used to work in PSE and it just does not work the same way here.
So I always try to fill the empty space in between by
babbling right along.
I just do not have a lot of interesting things to say and I darn sure do not want to bore the socks of my friends when they might take a peek at my blog.


It seems that time flies by and when I look at my blog I realize several months have sneaked by again there I had such plans not to let that happen.
I seem to be having fun most of the time or I would know when another month zipped by.
Hurricane season started and we have our daily thunderstorms again. There is always wind blowing the clouds away after a bit. That is a nice way to get the grass green and all the plants sprouting and blooming. I don't like it when the entire sky is one great grey cover, it is so much more interesting when there are all sorts of shades of grey.

I never tire of taking sky photos, clouds, sunsets and an occasional sunrise.

When you're a night owl it takes going on a trip for me to get out of bed with the sun.



There are a few moon photos but, unfortunately
my little camera is not so good with night and far away photography. That is o.k. though because it takes great daylight photos.
 Here we have some scary-looking clouds rolling in. Sometimes they do not bring a single drop of rain, the wind blows them right along and the rain hits somewhere else. Needless to say that mostly happens when we really could use a good downpour.

Then suddenly there are some blue patches to be seen and the dark clouds get a silver lining.


I love the clouds here, they sometimes are so low
that I feel if I could just jump high enough I could touch them and, of course, there are always so many things to be seen in the cloud formations.
Bears and dogs and elephants. Faces that seem to be full of character rather than young.






Saturday marked 7 years since I moved to Florida.
The neighborhood has change a lot since that day.
Now most of the trees are mature and there are lots of birds. I love hearing the Mockingbirds sing but I must say they really are a bit on the nasty side. Calling them territorial is a huge understatement. Not only do they chase other song birds away, I have watched them make a hawk go into overdrive to get away from them.
There comes revenge sometimes, twice in recent months there were feathers in the yard from someone's dinner and one time a hawk came diving down right into the tree and flew off with a small bird.
Now that is just more nature than I want to experience. Watching some bunnies frolicking on the lawns is much more to my liking. It seems like I have made up for missing a few months looking into my blog.
I hope my friends enjoy the photos, that's the reason I make and display them here.

Hope you all have a wonderful summer (which does not necessarily mean there won't be anything new until fall, LOL)
t


Sunday, March 24, 2013



It seems that I'm getting slower and slower posting anything. Here it is almost the middle of March and Easter is on the way.
 Carina gave me 2 new Orchids. They are so lovely.
Orchids have more varieties than any other flower. So many different shapes and color variations.

One huge Orchid survived several nights of hard frost and the blossoms are still well and beautiful.


Springs seems to take a little longer to arrive this year. We've had some rather warm days, warm enough for summer clothes only to be followed by yet another cold front.
High winds most of the time and very, very dry conditions which always bring the danger of fires.

After I looked at the 3 photos of the single blossoms I discovered the face. 
It seems that Gremlins frolicked around in my blog. My last 2 entries have vanished. On the other hand we had St. Patrick's day last week and the Gremlins might be perfectly innocent this time.
I sits very still

Now there is a fierce guard puppy watching everything that might be going on here when I'm not looking.The Banana leaf seems to be a more alert watcher than the pup.

Shamrocks in a glass globe? It is such fun  to play around with
photos and PSE. There is always something new to learn
and try out and the best part, this hobby does not take as much space as some of my hobbies.
.Winter seems to be hanging on this year, even in Florida although we keep getting almost summer temps only to turn cold again. We keep switching from Heat to A/C one a week. At least we do not have to cope with snow. 

This is what spring is supposed to look like.
HA, no Gremlins, no teed off leprechaun, just me forgetting to click "publish". Sad! Really should do this more often.