Love Live Laugh

Back in February, the captain and I had an eventful afternoon in Orlando when we drove from our winter getaway into the city to visit the Central Florida Fair. We discovered upon our arrival at the front gates that the fair was closed, but since we try to treat our outings as adventures, we didn't let it spoil the day. Instead, I wandered around outside the fence, taking photographs of what I could -- thankful, for example, that the ferris wheel was located near the entrance.

I've shared some of those photos here on my blog, and here's another. You might think that this image took a lot of time to prepare, but it didn't. It took only a few clicks. Oops......not clicks. Taps. Yup, this is another iPhone creation.

WordFoto is the newest addition to my iPhone; the latest find in my never-ending quest to discover cool and fun iPhone apps. All I had to do to create this was open up the app and bring in the photo, then choose the words I wanted to use (more than 20 phrases are included in the app), then choose from among eight different styles (you can create custom styles as well). Done. There is an option to do a little fine-tuning, if I'd wanted.

It's that easy. Even better, WordFoto allows you to use whatever words you want, so I gave "eat write create" a try and came up with what you see below. Some images work better than others, depending on the styles you prefer, so a little experimentation should be expected. But it's fun and it creates something pretty nifty in just seconds. Give it a try!

The ducks are back

We've lived in our current home for many, many years. I can't remember when the ducks first started to visit, but it was a long time ago. Every spring, they grace us with their presence. Sometimes, we see them only once during the season, other years -- like this year -- they visit a little more frequently.

They're out there right now. It's the third time we've seen them in the past few weeks. There's always the male and the female; we've never seen them solo, and we've also never spied any babies. Can they possibly be the same pair? I have no idea how long ducks live, if they mate for life, or really anything much about them. I do know they're beautiful. They love our pool, and why wouldn't they? It has yet to be cleaned and chlorinated for the year, so it's perfect for them. They're also not fearful of us. The captain was out mowing the back yard this afternoon and they basically ignored him.

They may be out there right now, but I can't show you. My camera batteries are all dead, so the artwork features a photo I took two years ago. It contains a lot of textures and brush work, use of layer masks, and more. My muse was making a lot of noise today so I finally gave in to her and had a go at some duck art.

On a journey

I've been neglecting this poor little blog of mine. Sometimes, life just gets in the way.

I'm on a journey right now and, unfortunately, it's not one where all of you can come along for the ride. Not this time. Some amazing things have been happening of late. Good things. Good, but very personal. Someday, I know, I'll share them here. But now is not the time.

More artwork is on the way. My muse, who's been pretty quiet lately, is starting to rumble and get pretty noisy. I'm going to try to listen to her.

Black-and-white?

I am a huge fan of colour, but lately I find myself attracted to black-and-white photography -- not just when viewing the work of others, but in my own creations as well. When I'm working on an image in Photoshop's Camera Raw interface, I often select the Convert to Grayscale option to see if the conversion appeals to me. More and more frequently, it does. I'm now taking a critical eye to my photos, trying to determine if the colour enhances the image or distracts from it.

Take the photograph above. Roll your cursor over it (in other words, slide your mouse pointer onto the image) to form your own opinion -- when you do the rollover, you'll see the colour version, which is the image I chose to post in my Flickr photostream. But I was so undecided about that decision that I almost put both versions up. I really like this image in black-and-white, but yet I think the colour version highlights the grunge. In the end, I decided to go with the colour because of the photograph's delicious decay.

As a side note, this amazing architectural element was found right here in Toronto. Walking south on Yonge Street early one summer evening a few years ago, south of Bloor Street, camera in hand, I happened to glance up and was so surprised to see this beauty. Who knows how long she's been there? I stopped to take photographs (of course!) and the captain and our son and his girlfriend kept walking, only to realize I was no longer with them -- not the first time this has happened -- so they backtracked to where I was standing. We'd all walked up and down Yonge Street many times, yet had never noticed.

Makes you wonder what else we miss. We see but we don't always observe.

It's an addiction

When I was in grade five, my father bought me Scrabble Junior for Christmas. I quickly moved up to the grown-up game -- the one with the wonderful wooden tiles -- and have had a passion for this board game ever since. I have so many different versions, even the fancy one with the rotating board. But perhaps the best yet is the newest one in my collection -- the Scrabble app for my iPhone. It's also available for the iPad, should you have one of those.

If I could describe this app with one word, I don't know if I would choose "addictive" or "excellent". How about addictively excellent? Leslie and I had been playing Words with Friends (another great app and one we're still playing) and now we typically have a Scrabble game constantly on-the-go as well.

You do have to like words to like Scrabble; if spelling and wordplay are not your thing, then you likely wouldn't enjoy Scrabble at all. I'm a word junkie, so Scrabble is most definitely my thing.

Election Day 2011

Don't forget to vote today!

The newly-minted Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

I did it -- woke up at 4 a.m. to watch the Royal Wedding. It was spectacular and worth every minute of lost sleep. It was a true fairy-tale experience, complete with a beautiful bride and her handsome prince and all the pageantry one could want. Imagine .... Catherine Middleton woke up this morning as a commoner and a few hours later, became royalty by marrying the love of her life, Prince William. I find it all so terribly romantic.

I loved Kate's gown, the brilliant scarlet of William's tunic, the music, even the trees in the Abbey. All in all, a truly joyous event -- with not one but two balcony kisses!

Here's to the happy newlyweds!

(Photo © The British Monarchy, found on Flickr.)

Fred Astaire, Smooth Criminal

Fred Astaire - Smooth Criminal by djsammyjunior

Back in February, I was intrigued by a book Leslie was reading. Lunch in Paris: a love story with recipes, written by Elizabeth Bard, is a classic fish-out-of-water tale -- an American who finds herself living in Paris. The library had quite a long waiting list but my turn finally arrived earlier this month. I finished reading it last week and definitely recommend it. It's a charming tale with passages that made me laugh out loud as well as ones that brought tears to my eyes. Bard makes a life-altering choice to leave behind her familiar North American lifestyle and move to Europe, where life is indeed quite different in so many ways. I particularly appreciated her honesty about this transition.

I'm sure you'll love the story as well and will, of course, be tempted by all the recipes included. Trust me, you'll be hungry. In the book, I found a link to the author's blog, Lunch in Paris, a delightful offering where Bard essentially continues chronicling her adventures in France. The blog is a must for fans of the book. While reading the blog's older posts, I came across a fascinating snippet of information that has nothing to do with food whatsoever. Instead, it's about one of my favourite entertainers, Fred Astaire.

Bard writes:
Instead of doing our budget last night, G. and I spent the evening comparing Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal to “The Bandwagon” with Fred Astaire, the 1950s musical comedy that inspired MJ's choreography. Leave it to my French, tap dancing, cinema buff of a husband to know such a thing.

Bard's husband found this video online and she shares the link in her post; I just had to share it as well. MJ and Astaire? You bet. Amazing. It's a long clip, but do watch all the way to the very end. It just gets better and better and better.

And do try to get your hands on a copy of Lunch in Paris. I had to return the book before I got a chance to copy out the recipes I want to try, so I think a trip to the bookstore is in my immediate future; this book is a keeper.

Easter memories

they were an easter gift, two cute little ducks

i named them donald and daisy

but they grew fast

and they were messy...

they drove my grandmother crazy

i came home from school one afternoon

and donald and daisy were gone

they were too big to keep, my grandmother said

they've gone to live on a farm

i was only seven, an innocent child

happy my ducks had their freedom

until i overheard the adults that night...

the farmer was going to eat them

i rushed out of bed and confronted the room

outraged at their deception

but they weren't really sorry

and sent me to sleep...

the ducks never again to be mentioned

(true story -- this, and devouring a huge chocolate bunny at one go,
are my two earliest easter memories)

HAPPY EASTER!

Freshly baked delights

Fancy some Hot Cross Buns for Easter?



How about some Roasted Onion and Walnut bread?

(Apologies to those who are either dieting or avoiding carbs.....)

No, I have not been baking. I photographed these yummy delights with my iPhone at a new bakery that's opened up mere steps from our favourite diner. What serendipity!

Cliffside Hearth Baking Company is the bakery's name and, after what I've tasted, I highly recommend them. I know I don't normally blog about where I shop, but I'm impressed with what I've tasted so far and wanted to share.

So far the captain and I have bought and enjoyed both their baguette and shortbread cookies and today we brought home the roasted onion and walnut bread you see above (I bought the one at the front of the basket). It was still hot from the oven and I could hardly stand the drive home, I wanted to tear into it so badly. It was worth the wait; it's absolutely delicious. Hot cross buns were also purchased today, but those have yet to be tasted. I have no doubt they too will be wonderful.

We were in on the weekend for their Grand Opening, but today when we stopped by it was much quieter. I chatted briefly with Camelia Proulx, one of the owners, who advised the best way to store these freshly baked delights is to put what you don't eat on the first day inside a freezer bag and freeze until you want more, then defrost on the counter and -- the secret to perfection -- reheat in a very hot oven for only a minute or so. The bread will taste freshly baked, she told me. Fresh bread without preservatives goes stale so fast, so this is a wonderful thing to know.



The interior of the bakery is small and charming, with warm brick walls and numerous wicker baskets of bread as well as loaves artfully displayed on wooden shelves. Camilia and her partner, David Aplin, do all the baking on the premises. They have sweet offerings, such as the hot cross buns and cookies, but the focus is definitely on bread. Do pop in for a look if you're in the neighbourhood. (I'd say to tell them Lennie sent you, but since they don't have a clue who I am, that would be pretty useless!)

Cliffside Hearth Bread Company

(in Cliffcrest Plaza)

3047 Kingston Road

Toronto (Scarborough), ON

Experimenting with Orton

Have you ever read a Photoshop technique in a magazine or online and been absolutely itching to give it a try? That's how I felt after reading about the Orton Effect over at the More Musing blog. Oh, I'd heard about it before, but never sat down at the computer to give it a serious workout. Until now.

And now I'm getting addicted. I've tried this effect on images of old cars, flowers, stone angels, photographs I've taken of other people, even self-portraits I snapped with my iPhone with the help of a bathroom mirror. The softening effect, almost mystical with some images, is very attractive. Have a look at the orange VW van I photographed in Cocoa Beach back in February. Below, you see this photograph with the Orton Effect applied. Roll your mouse over the image to see the "before" photo. No need to click, just slide your cursor over the photo below:



(Just in case that rollover trick doesn't work for you, you can see the before image HERE and the after image HERE. I do apologize if the rollover isn't happening for you -- this is a new trick for me and I'm not sure if it works on every browser.)

Best of all, the Orton Effect is easy-peasy. The full instructions for this nifty technique can be found at Muse University - Orton Effect. There are two methods presented; after my experimentation, I prefer Method One -- on the van above, I applied the Orton Effect using Method One, reducing the opacity of the top (blur) layer just a smidge. I also added a slight edge burn as well. I first tackled this effect on a photograph of an old red Chevy, then tried it on an iPhone photograph of yet another VW van. Click here and here to see those images.

So, why don't you give this a go yourself? If you do try it, please leave me a comment with a link to your blog or Flickr account so we can all see your creations. Happy Photoshopping!

Shopping remorse

We all know about buyer's remorse -- you lug a purchase home only to stare at it and wonder what on earth possessed you to buy it. But then there's the opposite, which I suspect we all know about too. That's where you don't buy something and very soon after, regret the decision.

Sometimes you can dash back to the store and breathe a sign of relief when you find the item of your desire is still on the shelf. But that's not an option when the item you wish you'd bought is now hundreds or even thousands of miles away because you were on vacation when you saw it. And it's not an option when the very store where you saw your goodies has gone out of business. Worse, you knew they were going out of business when you were there and you still weren't savvy enough to snap up the items on the spot.

Yes, I'm talking about myself here. There was this wonderful store called "inventory" in Titusville, Florida. It specialized in vintage items like kitchen collectibles and it was going out of business. This was a couple of years ago and while I did buy some neat things there, to this day it still irks me that I let some goodies just slip through my fingers. Like all the stuff you see here. Oh, I took pictures. But the blue daisy plates? Left them behind. The red Pyrex that I constantly covet? Amazingly, I left it on the shelf. The Pop Kola bottle (only a dollar!) that would have looked wonderful with a single flower in it? Left it behind. The milkglass mugs with the avocado-green harlequin pattern? Even though I collect vintage housewares in that 70s classic colour, I didn't buy those either.










It's not the first time I've saved my money and then regretted it, and I know I'll certainly do it again. Pop on over to my Stuff I Did Not Buy collection and have a peek -- although I confess that not every photo represents something I seriously thought about buying.

How about you? What do you wish you'd bought?

Mortal Muses and me

Big news, everyone ... I'm absolutely delighted to announce that I'm the guest muse over at Mortal Muses today! Please, pop on over and have a look around.

The theme for the next several days is "transportation" and I'm kicking it off with "on the road", where you'll see this image as well as a wonderful photograph from Hannah Bryant. I'm musing about road trips, a subject near and dear to my heart.

As you all know, this theme couldn't have been more perfect for me. I'm always up for a drive -- across the city, across the province, even across the country, which I've done once. Two hours, two days, two weeks .... it doesn't matter to me. I'm an excellent co-pilot and will even spell the driver should he (or she!) be in need of a nap; all I ask is time to gaze out the window, camera at the ready, just in case something interesting comes into view.

Do you remember that old Pathfinder commercial, promoting the idea that it was the perfect vehicle to drive to South America? I wanted to do that too. Still do.

Many thanks to Tammy Lee and all the muses for offering me this wonderful opportunity. I ♥ you guys!

Strolling along St. Clair

Looks like some sort of digital collage, doesn't it? It isn't. It's an iPhone shot I took today (edited with the Lo-Mob app to give it the grungy edge), shooting from the sidewalk into a beauty salon. It was a very pleasant sight -- there were spring flowers planted in window boxes outside the shop's window, along with other plantings, a very cool aqua bicycle just inside the shop, and the sun shining in caused the french text lettered on the salon's window to reflect on the apple-green sofa in front of the bike.

More iPhone shots from today's stroll on St. Clair Avenue West:

An APPetite

No surfboards for us today. It is snowing in Toronto. Heavily. The weather report a couple of days ago claimed we would get light snow today, that wouldn't stick. Hah! It looks like Christmas outside......which is why I'm staying inside.

Since returning from our winter getaway, I've been checking out new apps for my iPhone. And, surprise surprise, they are not all photographic ones -- although my favourite new app is Instagram. And it's free! One of Instagram's features is the ability to share photos, but that's not why I like it; I love the filters it lets you apply to your shots. The above image was created using Instagram, as was the one below. If you love your iPhone's camera, this is a must-have app.





By the way, that's a Frownie. It's green in honour of St. Patrick's Day, and was mint-flavoured, but normally a Frownie features chocolate icing. King's Family Restaurants is, I believe, a small chain of restaurants in Pennsylvania and that's where we stopped for lunch early this month, just south of Pittsburgh, when we were on our journey home from Florida; Frownies are their specialty. It was delicious.

Back to the apps. MapQuest 4 Mobile is another new favourite of mine, similar to the MapQuest web site I'm sure you've used many times. This app lets you find gas stations, restaurants, lodging etc., but I downloaded it for its ability to provide both driving and walking directions for any routes you want; it will even tell you where to go, just like the GPS you use in your car. Pretty valuable for a free app, wouldn't you say?

Speaking of free apps, and I do mean speaking, don't miss Merriam-Webster Dictionary. This freebie features a dictionary that not only gives you definitions but also provides synonyms, just like a thesaurus. And my favourite feature? You can speak your word rather than type it, which is perfect when you're not sure of a word's spelling. It also has a voice feature giving you a word's proper pronunciation. Neat.

Instant Heart Rate is another free app I've been using. For me, it's ideal, as I have a terrible time finding my own pulse. With this app, you cover the iPhone's camera lens with the tip of your finger and it picks up your pulse from that. There is a paid version with more features, but the freebie suits me just fine.

Finally, an app that's not thrilling me. Sleep Pillow Ambiance is a free app that claims to be a white noise machine. This interested me as I've determined that one of the reasons I sleep so well when we're in Florida is the constant sound of the ocean waves hitting the shore. White noise machines are expensive so I downloaded this app to try and, well, it's a good thing it's free. To me, the app's ocean waves sound doesn't remind me of the ocean at all; it sounds just like water in a bathtub. It certainly doesn't make me sleepy!

Any new iPhone apps that are your favourites? I'd love to hear about them.