If this photo doesn't make you wanna pick up this duckie and rub your face in it's wet feathers then you need to back off the testosterone.
Duckie and siblings, seven total, were tooling around the pond appropriately named, the Duck Pond, on the campus of Appalachian State University this fine afternoon. Holy Moly, and I saw huge turtles, which thank goodness aren't duckavores, because some of these guys could swallow one of the baby birds with one snap.
I needed to sharpen my studio lighting skills so yesterday during a brief lull at work, I begged my friendly co-workers into posing for me. Gnumoon let loose with this pose which still makes me smile.
Later when I returned home, I was not only greeted by Annie''s wagging tail but also to the sound of the cello!. It has been way too long since the sounds of music have been in our house. Even youngest smiled when she entered the door. "I haven't heard that in a while," she noted...then awkwardly made a seque into a sales pitch about needing money to buy a prom dress.
She made me smile when she announced her group of friends would be dining at Dos Amigos instead of the finer establishments in town. "It's a tradition and we like the idea of going there dressed up in tuxes and gowns," she explained.
"Just don't drip nacho cheese on your dress," was my only maternal advise...
Yes, I have been having fun with Adobe Lightroom Presets lately, thank you very much. I find myself scrolling through hundreds of Presets and hitting the button just see what funky effect each has on a photo. I've found that largely Presets are garbage and easy to replicate in Photoshop, but still...Like Actions in PS, Presets are addictive. I compare my allure of Presets to my TTV phase. Rest assured, I'll quickly get bored with it and move on. Like teenage love, this too shall pass.
My hillbilly photo philosophy remains: Ya can't make chicken soup out of chicken poop. If'n a photo ain't good to begin with, no amount of bells and whistles will make it any better.
The alluring perfume of blooming lilacs beckoned me and the dog across the yard. Lilacs are the flowers of olden times, when smells weren't so plentiful and complicated or mixed with new-fangled scents such as microwave buttery popcorn.
Confession: The other day I kneeled on ground I had just dug and took in a huge musty whiff of earthy goodness. Of course, I did look to see if Puppy had visited the area prior. Fact: Puppy enjoys lilacs as well...to eat.
Many of you have written to ask why Gnumoon placed a password on her blog. What I am able to tell you is that she spoke her mind on a post and was subsequently verbally threatened for doing so. Andt it got worse when she realized her site was being 'mined' for more information about Pookie and others in her family. Until she feels safe, she will not unlock her blog. However, if you email me ( vfreeman@skybest.com ) a request for her password, I promise to forward your request as well as any words of encourgement directly to her.
My Eldest returned home this evening, for good. Ba-bye y'all, to the way deep south university. Just now I kissed her goodnight and gave her one of my hoodies to wear because most of her clothes are still packed away.
"It's colder here than in South Carolina," she said in an almost a surprised tone of voice. My Youngest rolled her eyes in response but seemed happily irked that once again she has a sibling roomate to have to work around. Besides, it is her turn to move away next to the same deep south state yet even farther away.
So my new office chair and I took a nice stroll down an ASU path today in hopes of finding a pleasant spot to take in the fresh air. I wish my eldest could have seen me. I would surely have been greeted with multiple eyerolls. As it was, the exam weary students I did encounter smiled in my direction, but probably only because I was carrying a huge lens and wheeling a freaky chair around. I was completely out of context--just like the Ron Paul supporters on the sidewalk this morning.
I needed this chair. My backside has not been happy with the gov't issue much-more-expensive seats provided at the job. While shooting dancers several weeks ago, I noticed one of these chairs sitting at a professor's desk. I read more, even all the negatives said about the exercise ball chair and because I rarely sit longer than 10 minutes at a stretch, decided to go for it.
My verdict? It is comfortable, if not a little bouncy and perfect for this Tigger-like gal who can rarely sit still for long.
And on to even happier things. A past Sunday school teacher was awarded the North Carolina Sportswriter of the Year award. Kudos to writer David Shaw for accurately summing up A.J. Carr's personality.
Carr may feel antsy in the spotlight, but you'd never know it by his gentle manner and soft, smiling eyes. As a do-it-all sportswriter for the state's second-largest daily newspaper, he possesses a journalist's version of bedside manner — the ability to put you at ease.
"Well, that's one of the most important things about this job," he said. "You want your subject to be comfortable. You want to be trusted and liked."
Indeed. A.J. Carr is not only liked, but beloved.
And look! There's D.J., aka known as David Jackson, aka "The Voice of the Mountaineers." He also was recognized at the NSSA awards as the the NC Broadcaster of the Year.
Who says good things don't happen to fine people?
THis is the same, lame lazy view from my deck, but I'm lovin' spring green right now. Eldest has completed all her exams, save a calculus something. One and a half days and she comes back to Boone for like, as long as the future is able to predict. Youngest is studying for AP Chem, as I write, and counts 16 days of high school remaining.
I totally ripped off Dooce's "Daily Chuck" and "The Daily Puppy" and have created "My Daily Annie" photo album. Click on the photo on the sidebar and you may or may not come up with a new shot of her. I figured I would chronicle her growth and didn't want to bore y'all with all the baby photos. I'm so concerned about your boredom and all...
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