Spring Daffodils

Well spring is finally fighting to show her lovely face in Cleveland! She has pushed aside her warmer cousin summer, after her brief visit on Sunday and now she is settling in for a few weeks. Well that is what we Clevelanders pray! No more rushing from winter directly into the warm grasp of summer. We want to relish in a few weeks of breezy spring days where the birds chirp a little louder, the flowers gracefully bloom and we still need a windbreaker.
These are the days I am longing for and the sight of these lovely daffodils offers hope. Here's to spring! How is your spring unfolding? I'd love to hear about it.

Eat, Pray, Love - A Review

I'm so happy I read this book and didn't buy into the hype surrounding the movie! I found it to be a very interesting and enjoyable read.


I enjoyed Gilbert's writing style - it was very conversational, and engaging. 

Her descriptions transported me to Italy and were so engaging at times I could really see where she was. The same was true with each of her destinations.

I would give this 3.5 stars.

A Day at Wildwood

Sunday I spent a few hours at Wildwood State Park playing around with Manual Mode on my Nikon DSLR and taking in the beginnings of spring.

Over the last few days I have played around with Storyboards thanks to the tutorials offered at the Coffeshop Blog. While I haven't been doing a great deal of writing I can say I have been working my Muse, and I'm having fun!

Here's a sample from my day at the park. Enjoy! Comments are welcome!

Welcoming Spring

Dropping in to offer you a view of my ventures by the lake yesterday. As I continue to seek out my Artistic Muse I have taken up photography again, and yesterday I took a walk around the lake for a little while to try and capture nature. I'm not sure if this is a Groundhog or a Beaver, but I found him to be rather interesting.
Much more to talk about later, but for now -take a gander at Bucky! I named him that because I assumed he was a beaver.



I'm also pretty proud of the watermark I created, thanks to the free tutorial offered by Kim Klassen over in her cafe. If you're looking for help with texture and Photoshop, stop by she has some very helpful information.

Finding your creative edge

I think I am really beginning to find my creative edge. It hasn't shifted over to my writing just yet, but I believe it will soon. The creativity of late has been with photography, thanks to the folks over at Big Picture Classes!

Picture Inspiration has really given me a lot to think about creatively. The weekly prompts from Tracy Clark are really inspiring. As an example, last week the prompt was Rhythm. The task was to find the rhythm in your life and capture it through your lens. I don't know that I truly fulfilled this goal, but it definitely has me thinking about rhythm and how to show it.

Motif was the next prompt, and I was really surprised by the many motifs we pass in our daily lives. The photos below were shot for motifs, but I really think the flaming fence has a sense of rhythm.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention Mastering Manual and Elisha Snow here as well, because without her weekly tips, prompts and assignments I would not have been able to capture these photos.

This is about the third posting on Big Picture Classes and I promise I am not a spokesperson, just a truly satisfied customer!

Mastering Manual Mode

For the last five weeks I've participated in "Mastering Manual Mode" a photography class presented by Big Picture Classes Online, and I'm really enjoying it! Today I finally downloaded the 522 pictures I have taken in the last couple of weeks, which is not all of the photos taken.

I recall someone saying you shouldn't delete your bad photos, well I'm not totally sure about that, but I can say that some shots that are not the greatest, can have merits. A case in point is this photo of the tree in my backyard. I like this shot, but I can say it is not the shot I was looking for.

It is bit over processed, but I was able to learn a thing or two about ISO, shutter speed, and aperture from taking this shot.

This next shot is much better and also is the end result of several shots taken at the Westside Market.

Keep an eye out for more photo posts! Now off to do some knitting. Have a great week!

Voyeurism in America - Enough with Charlie Sheen!

Have you watched the local news lately? What were some of the prominent stories, and did they effect your local community?

Today as I watched the 6 p.m. news the lead story was the passage by the Ohio Senate of SB 5 followed by two stories on home explosions in Portage County, but inevitably the focus switched to Charlie Sheen and his latest antics!

Everyday this week we have been inundated with stories about Sheen, and why is this important to us? Well I don't think it is important, but it shows how focused we are on the lives of celebrities - we are voyeurs. Are we really? I know I could care less about what is happening with Sheen. I sympathize with his family, particularly his children who are thrust into the spotlight because of his apparently unstable behavior.

As a point of clarification I am utilizing Merriam-Webster's secondary definition "a prying observer who is usually seeking the sordid or the scandalous."

However, in the grand scheme of things this is minutiae, and has no direct impact on my life. The shenanigans of Sheen will not lower the exorbitant rates at the gas pump, nor will it assist any of the middle class public employees rallying to have their voices heard.

I am truly saddened by what we as Americans call news, and what we long to see. Often it is the scandalous and salacious news from Hollywood, and other corners of the world where celebrities live the "glamorous" life!

Enough already, let's focus on what's most important and relevant - home, family and your own survival!