October

I am on my laptop while my husband watches football and I don't have my graphics in the laptop so this will be my first post without a graphic at the top.

I have started working on winter wallpapers and Personas. Kind of fun as I am having to hunt for more graphics. Last winter when I was making them I really didn't have a good hold on PhotoShop so didn't know as much as I do this year or how to do things so is a lot more fun this year and hopefully better designs.

Today was the first day I haven't done any designing at all for a long time. But I think it was good to take a rest from it. Just keeping a computer with everything updating constantly is a full time job. Firefox has new updates every other day seems like. And all of my extensions still won't work with the latest version. I have had one that I like called Gmail Manager that is so handy because it keeps your Gmail icons on the lower taskbar so you can see if you have new mail for more than one address. I had a hard time finding the update that would work with the latest Firefox so had to do a lot of searching to figure that out. It is hard for an old lady!  But keeps me on my toes. The one problem I am having with the new FF 7 is a jittery window and I don't like it. It is on my desktop and laptop so I tried opening FF in Safe Mode without any extensions and it was still jittery so I don't think it is my computers, but a problem with FF. I don't think I am the only person it is happening to, but you never know.

I have made some new Halloween designs and some are on line. One is called Haunted Halloween House and the wallpaper has become very popular. But the one I like the best is called Halloween Spirits and I will post that one from the preview on line:

Halloween Spirits

https://www.getpersonas.com/en-US/persona/435097

 

I am still getting letters from people that like my work and that makes me very happy. I work so many hours a day on them so I get gratification from receiving letters. Thanks to all that take the time to write. I try to answer all of them.

 

Well I am going to sign off for now and will get back soon with some winter ones. I hope everyone is well and in good spirits! ☺

♥ to all!

 

September

Top of Mount Baker

http://nature.desktopnexus.com/wallpaper/794443/

I am so bad about posting here, aren't I? I get so busy working on designs I forget to post and then I notice it is a month almost and I haven't checked in. Well, I am still here. We went on a photo shoot Wed, and I took a lot of pictures but as anyone who takes scenery pictures, most of the time they don't turn out like you hope. The one above turned out really well. The sun was working with me this time! But we didn't get to go up near as far as we wanted because our vehicle overheated! You have all read my complaints about no summer weather, well we are having it now and it is in the 80's which is something for this area and it is supposed to get hotter over the week end.

For once I guessed right on a Persona that I thought might be a popular one and it was the one I showcased last month, Purple Prize.  It got popular very quickly for some reason. Well, it is nice but a lot of them are nice and just don't go anywhere so I figure it was just luck!

I really don't have any news since I work all the time! So I know my blog is not very exciting, so sorry about that.

One recent thing is the Japanese corporation that bought the huge farm across and down the road from us is trying to get more development AGAIN! We have been opposing this for 20 years and so far have been successful but I am in doubt this time since the new majority of our County Council is backed by realtor's and developers. And of course any development helps out their pocket books. I must say I don't have a lot of respect for them anymore when they believe the dribble they spew. Farm land should be farmed, not golfed on. I wonder who they think is going to feed our nation if they develop every acre of farm land. We went to a Planning Commission hearing last night and I got up and spoke and told the truth about the farm and the crops it has raised since we moved here 45 years ago.  ENOUGH! I can feel my blood pressure starting to raise!

So back to work I go. I have made a lot of autumn designs, both wallpapers and Personas and wanted to post the one I am using. I called it Autumn Love. 

Autumn Love

 https://www.getpersonas.com/en-US/persona/430739

You all have a great September. Till next time.

August Summer

Purple Prize

https://www.getpersonas.com/en-US/persona/427552

We are finally getting some heat! I know everyone else has been sweltering but we have been lucky to get 70° here and we have finally made it. Our first really good weather has been this week and it is supposed to last through the week end. Hurrah!!!

I think I had mentioned getting an inexpensive video camera. Well, we got it, it is easy to use and it allows us to share videos with people through a program that is in the camera itself. And then I discovered Windows Movie Maker.  So made a little movie and actually put it on You Tube. I thought I would share it with you all. We were taking care of our one year old great grandson one day and my husband decided he would attempt to use it.  So you can check it out at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1oR4C0dlVs/ and you can tell we were having as much fun as he was. I just wish I could have deleted our voices and just kept his but I either can't or don't know how! Am still in the learning process. But let me know what you think of our beautiful great grandson.

I have been working too many hours designing as usual. I added one at the top of this post that I like and am using. It is funny because I will make one I think will really catch on and it doesn't! So it may not become popular but I like it and that is what counts, right? So hope some of you that like purple will enjoy it. Then I will notice one that I made a couple years ago and actually forgot about is on the Up and Coming list! So apparently I haven't got a clue about what people really like.

I am going out for a bit so enjoy this marvelous sunshine. I have laundry out on the clothes line and better get it in also.

Have a great week and hope the weather is good where you are.

August Already

Floral Elegance

https://www.getpersonas.com/en-US/persona/422770

 Frog Loves Strawberries Too

https://www.getpersonas.com/en-US/persona/423871

Hello everyone and happy August to you. We have sunshine today as we should in August!

I posted two designs I thought turned out well for me. The first one, floral Elegance took a long time to make as their was almost 60 different layers I had to put in. The wallpaper to match it is on line also. This is the Persona I am using myself I liked it so well.

The second one, Frog Loves Strawberries Too was a fun one to make and I was tickled when I tried it on my screen. Fact is, I laughed out loud. So I hope others enjoy it. So many people are into frog "stuff". I have gone through different phases of liking something such as frogs. I had daisies at one point, where I had a daisy clock, mugs, etc. Then the owl phase, Native American phase and of course bears. I have a quite a few bear figurines, etc. in our house and outside, too actually. We have some big concrete black bears in a flower bed even! 

Well, hopefully our friends in the other Washington will come to a decision and get a vote soon. That is all we hear lately on the news, etc. My husband was reading an article to me out of the paper yesterday saying people are investing in wine and gold. I laughed and told him that was why I bought wine. He said not buy wine, but invest in wine. So I answered back that buying the wine and drinking it makes you feel better anyway. I think he finally agreed with me!

Well, I am going to get back to work. For some reason today I don't feel any enthusiasm for designing and my brain is kind of blank. I am sure something will inspire me soon and I will get some ideas. 

I hope you hall have a good week and take care of yourself and your loved ones.

Till next time.

Movies

Butterfly Blues II

https://www.getpersonas.com/en-US/persona/420532

I was so excited about my latest accomplishment I had to write about it on my blog! I am learning how to make movies. Right now I don't have a video camera but the digital camera I have actually makes short videos. I had tried to use it once before, unsuccessfully I may add. But we had one of our great grandsons for several hours last week and it was lunch time. We have our 54 year old Cosco stainless steel high chair that my grandmother had sent money for when our first son was born. We re-did the upholstery when our grandkids were born so they could use it and now our great grandkids are using it! So it has gotten lots of use. Anyway, we had him in the high chair and we were feeding him. He had a spoon in each hand and decided he wanted to try feeding himself. So I got my camera and thought I would try the video again. And it worked! It is not the highest quality but it is so cute and he was proud of himself.  Great Grandpa would help put the spoon into the yogurt, etc. and he would get it into his mouth. We all thought it was pretty cool, so when I found out I actually had video of it, I downloaded Windows Movie Maker and went to work. I had so much fun learning something new and have made about six different versions of it. 

So now since I have a new hobby...I went to my favorite "store", Amazon and ordered an inexpensive camcorder and can't wait till it gets here. We have an old cumbersome one that must weight 10# and cost three times what the new one did, but it is just too hard to use.

I wish that we had had such technology when our kids were little. We had to use a square camera with black and white film, take it to someplace and wait a week for it to be developed! Actually I think they had color film back then but it cost more to be developed and we didn't have much extra money. But I do treasure those photos.

I have been quite busy working on wallpapers and Personas, though and the one I have  posted above was on the up and coming list in first place this morning. I have noticed people seem to like the color blue in designs, because I have made several with blue and they get quite popular. I did go through some of the ones that no one was using and hadn't gotten much use and deleted them.

We are actually supposed to have some sunshine this week end and we get to see another great grandson so it will be a good week end. I just wish I had my new video camera....

Till next time...have a good week end and keep using Personas and writing to me. I love hearing from you.

Names???

Peony Pride

https://www.getpersonas.com/en-US/persona/415781

How is everyone doing? Enjoying the summer? It sounds like the eastern US is have a really hot spell. After thinking about it, I think I like our cooler summer better. The heat can just sap the strength out of you and as you get older you notice it more. The problem  the Pacific Northwest has is that it can be 60° one day and 85° the next and that is kind of hard to take. My Mom used to tell us kids to always take a coat because you never knew what the weather was going to do.

I have been working away as usual and enjoying it so much. I like making the wallpapers almost better than the Personas, though. You have so much more space to work with. I usually make a wallpaper first and then "try" to get most of that into this little tiny space at the upper right corner of the header and sometimes it is nearly impossible and sometimes it is impossible. Then I feel kind of like a failure...

For some reason I have been making a lot of Oriental designs lately. I think it is fascinating how I become fixated on one type of design and then go off onto something else. 

The design above, Peony Pride has become quite popular and I love making the floral/butterfly designs. But then, what compares to the beauty of flowers and butterflies? 

The one problem I seem to be having now is naming the design. Mozilla doesn't accept a title if another one with the same name is already on line, which in a way is rather dumb. What would it hurt to have two or three designs with the same name? Desktop Nexus doesn't bother with the names. 

I recently made a Persona to honor a local football player that was wisely chosen by the Tennessee Titans to play this year. He is a very talented athlete that could have played pro baseball or football but he chose football. I don't think we missed watching any of the college games he played in that was televised. The local newspaper even had an article in our daily paper about the Persona so I have made the big time! But it did please me.

A few weeks ago I wrote about  how playing music helped me out of a depression...and I am still doing it. If I find a song I like, I can play it over and over all day long. The latest tune I enjoy was sung on the television show THE VOICE. Blake Shelton and Dia Frampton sang "I Won't Back Down" and did it even better than Tom Petty. Listen to it sometime and let me know what you think. I have to say the title pretty much says how I have lived my life. I don't back down. My Dad told me over and over that you have to watch out for yourself, because you can't depend on anyone else to do so. Maybe next time I will tell you how my husband and I started a group that fought a development on a 500 acre farm across the road from us. But that is for another time....

Have a good week everyone and tell your loved ones you love them as you never know what is going to happen. I tell my husband I love him every night before we go to sleep.

Summers Here

It is the day after the 4th of July and summer is finally here! For the first time in awhile we had really nice weather for the 4th.

But now I will start getting sad, because this is the first year in many, many that I won't be able to ride my bike. I guess I should be happy and proud that I got to ride it last year when I was 71, but I told myself on every ride last year that it was the last year and for my own sake  it is for the best. I bought this bike new and have had the best of times on it. I had been riding motorcycles for many years, dirt biking for fun and then competition. I did really well, too and have the trophy's to show for it. At that time they didn't make motocross gear for women so I had to buy boys or mens. I rode in a marathon one time in January and it was 5 ° and so cold the kerchief I had over my nose and mouth kept freezing. But I loved it!

Then we got road bikes. I wasn't about to ride behind my husband so bought my own. The last one I bought was the one I have now. I saw a picture of it in a bike magazine and knew it was just what I wanted and it wasn't even in the shops yet, but I waited for 3 months and when they got them in, I traded my old one in and got this one. And have loved it since day 1. My husband even liked it so well, (after I finally let him take it for a short spin) that he traded his in and got one the next summer. 

The best part of summers was when we would load up our gear and take a road trip. We had a favorite cabin we would stay in on the east side of the mountains where it is much warmer and less traffic. When you are riding you smell the smells and feel the air. Those were the best of days and I will treasure them forever. 

So, it is kind of sad for me that I know those days of bike rides are over for me and I get jealous when I see people riding on the nice summer days.  But I guess I should treasure the memories and look at all the photos we took. So that is why I am sharing a picture my husband took of me last year on our last road trip.

This post has nothing to do with Personas except some of the photos I have used were taken on some of those bike rides. 

I just wanted to do a little sharing while I took a break from designing. More on that later. Not to get back to work!

Have a great week.