Keyboard Shortcuts for PS

I use PS7, but I think these shortcuts work for all versions. Just upload the file and print it out for future reference!

Hope the link works for you!

http://www.gigasize.com/get.php/-1099773304/PS_Keyboard_shortcuts.pdf

I've been tagged!

I've been tagged by Amy and I must list 8 facts/habits about myself and then list who I'm tagging in return.



1. I spend WAY too much time on my laptop. I tell myself in the morning, "okay, just check your email, your forums and then walk away...". Never happens! I don't spend all day on it, just longer than I should.

2. I can't stand the sound of windshield wipers. When I'm driving, I set it to the slowest speed I can possibly tolerate. If Doug is driving, he usually puts them at the highest speed and I grit my teeth and seethe inside. I especially go nuts when it's stopped raining or slowed down and the wipers are still on high. Once, he got upset with me for telling him to turn them off, so now I have to grin and bear it and anxiously wait for the rain to stop. If he happens to run into a store or something, I quickly reach over and turn them down. If the wipers squeak -- it's even worse!! I can't explain it but they drive me NUTS!!!

3. I once met Colin James. Doug was his chauffeur in 1991 for a gig here in town. He drove him and his crew to and from their hotel. We got to watch the concert and afterwards DH introduced me to him. We got to talking about how much he loves fishing. We invited him to go fishing the next day and he accepted! He came over to our house, came inside, had a coffee. He autographed Doug's guitar for him and signed one of his CDs. We spent the day at the lake and he caught a few bass. While he was gone fishing with his manager and Doug, my niece and I prepared a BBQ. I went inside the cottage and noticed his clothes on the chair. I tried on his cowboy boots! haha, I wish I had taken a photo of them. But I did get a few pics of us and him!! Doug had to work that night, so I became chauffeur and drove him to the airport! What a great memory!

4. I do not like to travel by car. I'm fine within the city limits, but on long trips I am not completely relaxed. I find road trips are long and boring and unsafe. I would much prefer to travel by bus or train!

5. I write in a journal every day. I started in 1990 and I have not missed a day since. I also keep one at the cottage.

6. I love eating cereal at night instead of dessert. A bowl of Fruit Loops, Golden Grahams, Corn Pops or Reese's cereal is just the right amount of sweets for me! Yummmm.

7. My eldest daughter's middle name is Quinn -- named after Quinn Cummings from "The Goodbye Girl"

8. I am not religious, but I am very spiritual.


I will tag:
twinsmom
handpuppet
michelle davies
hahcc
leahca
armance
dar

I heard on CBC radio recently a story about how some developers and communities are trying to ban the use of clotheslines! Apparently, in some communities this bylaw is already in effect! WHAT???? I don't get it! The energy use of the dryer alone has GOT to have an impact on not only the individual home-owner's hydro bill, but on the country's overall energy consumption. THAT can't be good for global warming and the environment. And what about the toxic chemicals that are infused into each and every dryer sheet that is being 'fluffed' into our clothing and out into the atmosphere from our dryer vents? Then those dryer sheets are thrown into the trash where they take a really long time to decompose! Not to mention the allergies that a lot of people have to scented things and perfumes - and we're pumping out those scents through our dryer vent into the air!
Clothes that are dried outside even SMELL better!
And how much of an eyesore can a line of clothes really be? They're only on the line for a short time. A neighbourhood doesn't look great on trash day either. All those garbage bins and blue boxes out on the curb for everyone to look at! I'm surprised that they haven't been banned too! Maybe we'll soon have to put our garbage out into neat, tidy, cedar lined fancy boxes - all the same. I'd much rather look at some t-shirts and towels on a line that icky, dented, stinky trash cans!
I mean, C'MON - it's a clothesline!! We've been drying clothes on a line for centuries - I just don't get it.

The MICE

**Warning - a mouse was killed in this story.

I HATE MICE. Okay, I don't know how many of you have to deal with mice in your humble abode. I don't know how many of you are animal rights activists and would frown on our mice catching methods, so if you're one of those 'live trap' kinda people, perhaps you shouldn't read anymore!!

When we first bought our camp four years ago, the place was run down and had not been occupied for over 10 years. Needless to say, there was a LOT of evidence of critters in there. We gutted the inside and burned all the paneling, [it was really just painted Ten-Test], swept and washed it down. We insulated and put up vapour barrier. Doug patched every hole and crease and crevice he could find with spray foam and steel wool. Whew - no more mice.... for a while. Every once in a while they would gnaw their way in and we'd have to search for the hole again.

So, over the four years we've had the place we only really had mice in the camp a few times. For the past year we had been mice free -- until a few weeks ago.

We were relaxing after supper one evening and right in front of us this mouse had the audacity to run right in front of us to make it's way under our fridge [where we always keep a can of mouse poison]. WELL, was I mad! Grrrr. I hate mice. Well, let me rephrase that. I hate mice INSIDE. They always look so cute in photos or as cartoons, but in MY camp they become ugly, dirty rodent devils! I'm not one to freak out and scream or jump on a chair. I'm not afraid of them, but they just don't belong in MY camp!! The thought of them crawling around on my furniture, my clothes, MY BED makes me so angry. So Doug and the dog were on a mission. They both sat vigil by the fridge until the mouse finally came out and ... WHACK!!! It was a goner!! I'm not into mouse massacres, so I covered my ears and sang "la la la la" while Doug did the deed. Gracie was happy to help and wagged her tail at the whole ordeal.



So, you think the story is over? Nope. Fast forward to last week. We have trapped a few more mice since then.

It is so discouraging to come back after a week or so and find mouse poop in the cutlery drawer. The little rodents even chewed apart my silicone basting brush. There was poop in my kitchen cupboards and in my dresser drawers. Not to mention the stench in the camp from the rotting carcass of the mouse we managed to trap. Now, this isn't uncommon when you've got a mouse problem but it amazes me how quickly they can take over. Take over your house, your camp, your sanity!!!

On Saturday, I spent the day at the camp alone. Doug had to work overtime. I was on mouse patrol. It took me a few hours, but I cleaned and disinfected my cutlery and dishes. I moved furniture and lifted the vapour barrier and insulation in a few places and found some nesting materials and TONS of mouse poop. Put on my face mask and cleaned it all up. I patched a hole with steel wool and went to bed feeling secure, thinking I had solved the problem.

Well darned if there isn't a mouse sitting in the middle of my floor the next day! Geez!! AND in the middle of the night that night I heard the snap of another trap! Where were the #%&*! things coming in?? So once again we started moving furniture. I was pretty sure they were coming in in the bedroom, so we started in the corner of the bedroom I had not yet checked. Sure enough, there it was. A hole about the size of a quarter. It was right where the bedroom wall meets the main camp. I went outside and stuck a stick in the hole to show Doug where it was starting from. He stuffed it with a bunch of steel wool and put up some lumber on the outside.

It all makes sense now. Doug is doing some renovating and come to think of it, that's when we noticed the first signs of mice --- just after he had taken a few boards off of the outside siding. We set 5 traps before we left today. Put more poison in the cans. Here's hoping that those traps will be empty.

I HATE MICE.

My Sign

We had a fantastic four days at the cottage. Got back this afternoon and already we're wishing we were back there. The weather couldn't have been better and the water is divine. So refreshing.
Doug and I finished putting up the roof trusses on the right side of the addition. It took us twice as long as someone who knows what they're doing. It's hard trying to figure out the angles of the cuts! But hey, we're saving money by not hiring a contractor!! :)

I finally finished my camp sign. I am so happy with the results and it looks so darn cute on the path. I goofed up a bit though. I don't know how many times I checked and double checked that I had the arrows pointing the right way. But, lo and behold, I had goofed up on the Main Camp sign. I had the arrow pointing the wrong way. So I had to cut the ends to make it point right. Now I have to paint the ends again and put the waterproofing on, but it doesn't look too bad. Doug thinks I should add one more sign, like Alaska or North Pole or something! The 'Fish Shack' is really the outhouse. I have it decorated in a fish decor. The Warehouse is Doug's shed/workshop. But I call it the warehouse because it's HUGE. The bird house on the top was originally on a very tall pole. I think it must have been made by the original owner of the camp. It recently fell off the pole and I kinda put it back together again and thought it would look great on top of my sign post!

My next project is to fix my Sun Dial. The painted numbers have worn off from the
sun and weather.

Silly Bling

Hey, I figured I'd close out the week with another photo from the vault. I'm just not into shooting jewelry, so how's this for some bling!
I was 19 in this photo. I remember dressing up, just for the fun of it. Excessive makeup and anything shiny I could find! I don't even remember who took the picture.

I'm off to the cottage for a few days. Looking forward to getting my new-to-me Macro lens. I really hemmed and hawed about buying a non-brand name lens, but this is how I see it. Instead of waiting for months to save up enough money for a Pentax 100mm or a Tamron 90mm, [they're about $550 CDN], for less than $150 including insurance and delivery, I will have a Phoenix 100mm to play with!! If I end up loving it - then great! If it doesn't meet my expectations, then no biggy!! It should be delivered on monday or tuesday. Can't wait to play!!

Ciao all, have a great weekend.

Another Past Blast

How's that for a necklace??
I just can't get motivated for this jewelry theme. But I am having a hoot looking at my Oldies CD. There are so many photos that make me laugh.
This is DH and I in 1985. I made the cat's costume. My guy sure is a good sport -- those green pants!! I remember them being a favourite pair of mine. I made them in Grade 8 Home Economics!! I wish I still had them because I would totally wear them!!
Now what possessed us to dress up as Cat and Acid Rocker I'll never know! You'd think we could have found costumes that complimented each other??
Anyhoo - hope you had a giggle too!

My First SLR

I was looking through my old photos, thinking I might find another retro look at some jewelry. Couldn't find any, but I came across this photo!
This is Christmas time, 1974. My boyfriend [and now DH] bought me my very first SLR - a Canon TLB. Ah, those were the days!!
I had been shooting with an Agfa 35mm rangefinder for years. I can't remember if I asked for an SLR or if he just surprised me with one, [it was a very long time ago!]
I've still got my old Canon, but I haven't used it in EONS!

What's that on your ears???

Being the ever individual, hippy-wanna-be teenager that I was, I used to march to the beat of a different drummer sometimes. One look at this photo now and all I can say is, "what was I thinking???"

This photo cracks me up every time I look at it. This is the photo that was taken for my parent's Church directory. My two older sisters were gone and married, so that would make me about 13 years old, [likely 1971]. So this is Mom in her wig and Dad looking like he's on something! I was into making my own clothes and the vest and the neck choker [ha - there's my plug for Jewelry week!] are my designs! Was I cool or what??? Funny thing is, I thought I WAS!

Ellen DeGeneres thought this photo was funny because she showed it on her TV show in May 2006. I never in a million years thought she would show it, so I didn't watch the show the next few days after submitting it! My cousin called me and said, "Umm, I think I just saw an old picture of you and Uncle Lionel on Ellen!" Doh! I missed it!!! I even watched the re-runs religiously to see if they would repeat it. Darn it all.

Anyhoo, you might think that I was a fan of Star Wars and Princess Leia!? Ummm - Star Wars wasn't released until 1977!!! Makes me repeat again, "What was I thinking??"

Heirloom Brooch

My Mother was raised in Holland. Being the only girl in a family of 6 brothers, she likely got spoiled by her mother with all the girly things. When my mother came to Canada, she was given many pieces of jewelry that belonged to her mother and her family. One piece is a gold brooch that holds a special significance in our family. My mother wore the brooch on her wedding day. My sisters wore it on their wedding day, as did I. I look forward to the day that my girls will wear it. I am not a fan of yellow gold and neither are my girls, but to know that the tradition will be upheld is a very treasured importance. I couldn't find a better photo, but here is one of me with the brooch on!

Doggy Socks

Turns out we didn't go to camp. Rain in the forecast and only 15 degrees C!!! WTH??? Where did the heat go? Sheesh.

I know these aren't shoes, but the story behind this is quite funny. A little history...
Our Gracie has been plagued with allergies for most of her 3 years of life. Until we found out that a vegetarian diet helps a lot she bit and chewed and scratched and itched constantly. She still scratches quite a bit, but not near as much as before. She also gets ear infections. To help ease her discomfort, I often put drops in her ears, calamine lotion on her belly, antibiotic lotions between her toes. After swimming I take a baby wipe and clean between her toes and wash her belly. The parasites in water are her worst enemy -- and she's a retriever! She LOVES the water.
All I have to say is, "it's time to fix your ears/belly/feet" and she stops what she's doing and succumbs to my nursing. She is such an agreeable dog. It's actually the cutest thing how she seems to know that what I'm doing helps her. Anyway, because she is so agreeable, you can do almost anything to her.
Gracie LOVES my daughter's boyfriend, Jay. She practically turns herself inside out when he's around and she vies for his affection always. I had just done laundry and Jay pulls out 4 of DD's tiny tennis type socks - the ones that don't even go up to the ankle. He put one on Gracie and at first she started to shake it off. Then all of a sudden she got this look on her face that said, "okay, do what you have to do". He proceeded to the put the other three on her feet. The crazy girl just sat there taking it all in. Maybe you had to be there, but it was the funniest thing ever. Jay was in hysterics laughing.
That's my Gracie!!!

Tall Sneakers

I was saving my favourite pair of shoes for my post today. But first, the story....
In 1971 when I was 13 years old, my mom, dad and I traveled to the Netherlands for an extended holiday. One month visiting my mom's 5 brothers and their families. Being 13 and totally into fashion and fads and everything fun, I was so enthralled with the trends in Holland. They were WAY ahead of us in terms of setting the styles. One of those trends was HOT PANTS!! Now, in Europe Hot Pants were very popular with the prostitutes. NOT that I was around any prostitutes, but Hot Pants had become quite the rage. I was hooked - I loved them! I remember a suit I bought. A little black bomber-style jacket [similar to a jean jacket] with tiny coloured flowers and Hot Pants to match. Now to go along with those Hot Pants that I bought, I needed some funky shoes. I wish I could remember where I bought them, but my calf-high runners were the COOLEST things I had ever seen. They are light blue denim sneakers, very similar to the punk sneakers of today.
When I returned to Canada, I was entering Grade 9. I wore those Hot Pants and sneakers to school! Wow! Shy little ol' me was getting looks left and right. I was so thrilled to be wearing a style that no one else was. It didn't take long before Hot Pants became popular, and it also didn't take long before they were BANNED at our school!!! To this day, the students can not wear any shorts shorter than the tips of their fingers when their hands are flat at their sides!
My daughters have worn those shoes to school, in plays, for Halloween, for 70's themed parties, etc. They are great shoes.
Anyhoo, I digress. Where is the photo you say?? Well, I went to the basement where I store the shoes. Not there. Then I remember that my daughter had loaned them to one of her dance students for a piece in Recital. Eeeks. Where are my shoes?? I am totally freaking out over the possibility that they're gone. I would surely die if they're lost. [I tend to get attached to old childhood keepsakes]. I'm sure that my DD knows where they are, but she's been so busy lately I can't seem to get her to LOOK!! As soon as I find them, I'll post a pic. They really are very cool for shoes that are 36 years old!!



***ETA -- THEY'RE FOUND!!! DD had them in the closet all along. I don't know how I missed them. I'll see if I can dig up a pic of me in the Hot Pants!!

Klompen

My mother was born and raised in Arnhem, Holland. She met my father overseas during World War II. He was an army cook and they met at a community hall at a dance. He was French Canadian and spoke little english. She was Dutch and spoke little english. To this day, we always wonder how they understood each other. However, they say that Love overcomes all!
I'm sure you've all heard of Wooden Shoes, aka Klompen. They really are used and worn in Holland, even today, particularly with Farmers. They were always left outside the door before going in to the house. At Christmas time, the children would expect treats from Sinter Klaas in their wooden shoes on St. Nicholas Day!
I have an old original pair of wooden shoes at the cottage. Right now I'm not really using them, but I'd like to make them into planters to hang on the wall.
Just last month my mother visited Holland, Michigan and she brought this Klompen back as a souvenir for me.

Boot Planter

These boots are at the foot of a HUGE Pine tree at our cottage. I'm not sure when I first saw this idea, but I've had some at my house and now these at the camp.
It tends to get pretty dry in between our visits, so the flowers are a little wilty.
Thanks for looking!!

Bowling Shoes

My dad loved bowling. I remember when I was very young, [under 10 yrs] my parents would often take me with them to the bowling alley for their weekly league games. It was such a loud place, but oh, so cool! I don't remember what I did while they bowled, but I still have vivid memories of that Alley. My parents didn't bowl for many years then got back into it after they retired and joined a senior's league
After Dad got cancer of the sinus, he had a tough time with surgeries. You might remember a previous post of mine where I mentioned that he wore a prosthetic nose. He still bowled after that for another year or two. Then both of them just stopped.
When Dad passed away, I got one of his bowling balls with his name engraved in it.
These are his shoes from w-a-y back!!!
I've got them on my wall in my office, which is decorated retro style. The big blue bowling ball isn't his - just a yard sale find!!

The Shoe Tree

A few years ago I saw in a magazine a very unique family project. The family had a walking trail behind their cottage that they had made and cleared by themselves. I wish I could remember more of the story, but I just loved their idea. They found a large tree near the beginning of the trail and each year they would attach a pair of shoes.
I thought the idea was so cool I just had to steal it!
We too have a trail that leads from the back of our property, up a hill to a 2km winding trail. It was perfect for walking until last summer when we had intense, damaging winds that felled several h-u-g-e trees right across the trail in several places. We can still use the trail, but we have to either go around, under or over the trees.
We've had our camp for almost 4 years, so this fall we will be adding one more pair of shoes!
As I mentioned in a previous post, I am making a sign post and one of the signs will lead to our "Shoe Tree Trail".

Artistic Hands

The Festival so far has been great. It rained for a few minutes today, but then the sky cleared, the sun shone and the temperatures rose! Turned out to be a beautiful day. My girls danced at a few venues and their group got rave reviews.

Meghan dancing at the Drum Circle.



Djembe player at the Drum Circle



Drum Circle participant





One of the many on-site artists



Peter Elkas
I know you can't see his hands in this shot... but look at his eyes!! Just LOOK at them. Besides being an amazing artist, he is just so darn dreamy!!!

Dancing

My daughters are performing in the annual Northern Lights Festival Boreal this weekend. The earthdancers are putting on three brief performances, one each day. They had a rehearsal last night - in the pouring rain!
Tonight they performed at Main Stage to a pretty big crowd. Tomorrow they perform on the Amphitheatre stage accompanied by the Drum Circle. Sunday they will perform in the Arts Village.








Daughter, Meghan!


Daughter, Lauren!

My Hands

I can finally post!!! Being at the cottage and using Dial-up there doesn't allow me to upload or download photos - too slow! We had a great few days at the camp. The weather was great. One cloudy day, but still warm. Doug got lots of work done on the addition and it's looking great! We had a nice sauna and swim and I puttered in the yard. Blueberries are just starting!
For the last week or so, I've been working on a project for the camp. It's kinda kitchy, but cute. I made 5 little directional signs: Main Camp, Fish Shack (outhouse), Warehouse (Doug's big shed), Shoe Tree Trail and Sauna. I painted them with Folk Art paint and coated them with several coats of Varathane. I'm going to attach them to a post and put it up in our back yard. I think it's really fun! When it's all erected, I'll be sure to post a pic!
So, this pic is of me scraping the bark of the tree, which is the post for the signs. I remember when I was a kid how I LOVED to peel/scrape the bark off of branches and trees. I even got in trouble with our neighbours for cutting branches off their Hemlock tree and peeling them.