March 18, 2011

Play time

I couldn't resist a second post.  Having to stay home and forced to have time to play, I goofed off quite a bit with the Bamboo tablet thingy and Photoshop Elements.  It's amazing how much a simple line drawing can be tweaked with the tap of a finger!  I did a quick wiggly image just to play with, trying to figure out code like, "Dodge" and "linear burn."  Confident I would flunk a test on the topic, I still had a blast playing.  This is fun stuff!




Room with a View

This week I've tried to get some time in the studio while I deal with home issues, but it's been a challenge.  The biggest and most time consuming project we have ongoing is the renovation of our raggedy old garage.  Our house was built in 1955, so the bazillion-ton nasty garage door is years past its prime.  We decided to replace the garage door and get an opener other than the 2x4 piece of lumber we've been using to prop it open.  It's a miracle that no one has been killed!

To install a garage door, we have to actually have a ceiling, not just the flimsy criss-cross of junk wood to which the former homeowner precariously attached a non-functioning garage door opener.  The boys of the house have been talking about remodeling the garage and putting in a train table for years.  The time has come.

Right now, everything we had in the garage is on the deck.  Worse, the place best suited to protect all of the precious holiday decorations and my power tools is the portion of the deck that is the first thing a visitor sees when they walk in my house.  We look like we're waiting for the film crew for the tv show "Hoarders" to arrive.  I have to explain to everyone coming in that we do not save everything we've ever received.  It just looks like it.  This will be my living room view for the next four to five weeks, all the more reason to hide out in the studio as frequently as possible.

Today I have to sit in the living room with my laptop, playing with my Bamboo graphics tablet with my back to this mess and available for the electrician when he has questions.  I can live with a little chaos.