Yay!  I finally managed to do a multiple image that I like.  This is Taz in the Sea of Cortez circa 2008. 

I still haven't figured out the cropping/sizing issue, I just got lucky with these two different sized pictures.

And, because it's my blog and I can do what I want...

I combined some old calligraphy with some even older poetry with a photo taken in Mexico last year. 

 

Only took me about 57 attempts to size them to fit eachother. 

Well, they still don't quite fit perfectly, but it's as good as it's ever gonna get.

That was actually kinda fun.  I'm gonna have to dig through the archives and see what else might work.
Hey, Lesley - do you like my seagulls?  I must've inherited my artistic (ahem) abilities from Dad eh?

Later:
Yep, I'm enjoying this.  More ancient calligraphy and a photo of a door in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

 

Don't worry, I'll tire of this sooner or later.

Gettin' there

Okay, so I still don't have one that I love, but my efforts at superimposing are showing improvement.

Playing with Picasa

Yes, I realize that these aren't new pictures.  I've discovered Picasa, and the whole bunch of new photo editing tools that goes with it, so I'm just playing around with them.  I wasn't really happy with the limitations of the other collage maker that I was using so I turned to my cyber-pal in New York for help.  (Hi Monica)

Hmm, I just noticed that that little one 2nd from the left needs to be cropped.

I  like the idea of superimposing muliple images, but there's some kind of trick to doing it properly and I obviously haven't mastered it yet.  Monica says it's easy, so I guess I'll keep on trying until I perfect the technique. 

See, this one just gives me a headache.

This one is slightly better, but I still don't like it.

  

Another type of collage that's super easy to do.

Gringos in Paradise - Malana Ashlie

I was psyched to read this one.  A middle aged American couple move to Honduras.  Right up my alley, I thought.  Wrong!  First of all, she is a tad new age-y for me.  I mean whatever floats your boat and all, but that's just not my style.   Mostly, I just wanted to slap some sense into her!    She did reform her thinking by the end of the book, and even started to learn some of the language, but too little too late for me.

 

Example:  She's too lazy to get off her ass and cook and clean her own home, so she hires a local maid. (I'm allowed to be judgemental - I paid 10 bucks for this book) She is then bewildered when said maid has no interest in learning English. (Ms. Ashlie spoke maybe 6 words of Spanish at that point).  "But I was just trying to help her..."   Yes, well, wanting to help her would indicate that you think she has a problem.  She is Honduran, she lives in Honduras and she speaks the language of the country fluently.  She doesn't have a problem.  You can't communicate with her - YOU have a problem! 

 Another example:  She bemoans "will I ever fit in here?..."  Then she goes on to describe how most of her neighbours, and in fact most of the people in the town, stroll around the streets in the evening until their houses cool down enough so they can sleep.  They chat, they share gossip and news, the children play etc. etc.  Then she proudly says that she and her husband have air conditioning, so they don't have to do that.  Will you ever fit in?  Um, I don't think so.

Rain Song

Rain Song - Alice J Wisler

I know, I know, I said I wasn't reading anything else for awhile, but I lied.  Oh, come on, that's not a big surprise.  Have you met me?  Have you ever seen me without at least one book on the go?

So, you thought the murder mysteries were out of character for me, this one was (are you sitting down?) Christian-lit. 

Uh huh!  (I can see that look on your face, Melody)  A Kindle freebie, obviously down-loaded in error, but I decided to read it anyway.  It was good.  I liked the main character;  a woman born in Kyoto but brought up in North Carolina after a tragedy that took her mother's life.  Struggling to remember anything about her early life in Japan while distancing herself from all things Japanese.  The religiosity was subtle enough that it was easily ignored and didn't detract from the story.  Might even enhance it for some people (I'm lookin' at you, Debbie)  Would've been a better book if the author had written twice as much because there was a lot left to wrap up, but maybe that's the sign of a good book if it leaves you wanting more.

Okay, now we're off to the vet to get Taz up-to-date on all of her shots in readiness for our trip to Mexico.  Gonna ask for some tranqs for her too so maybe she won't pant & drool on us for 4 solid days of driving.   Poor little girl is a nervous wreck in the van, it'd be nice if she could just lie down and relax for a few hours at least.  Having done that trip with her a couple of times now, I know that one of us is gonna need drugs!

Later:
Dinner tonight was Spicy Coconut Shrimp Stew served over rice and it was absolutely delicous!!!  (If I do say so myself)  Found the recipe here.  Blogger is doing maintenance on the web site so I can't upload any photos right now, I'll pop it in later.  (although her photo is better anyway.)

Murder mystery marathon

Bloody Twist - Carolina Garcia Aguilera

Two For The Dough - Janet Evanovich

I had to read these two murder mysteries back-to-back to compare the two authors.  I read Janet Evanovich's first Stephanie Plum mystery (One For The Money) a few weeks ago and it really reminded me of another series that I had read years ago.  Couldn't remember the name of the first author though, only that it had a Latina investigator in it...  Carl to the rescue!  Thank you, Carl.   I should've known to just ask you in the first place.

So, Lupe Solano is a private investigator living in Miami, Florida and Stephanie Plum is a bounty hunter living in Trenton, New Jersey.  Other than that they're pretty much interchangeable.  If you like one, you'll like the other one.  Lucky for me, I like them.  Lucky because between the two there are about a hundred titles to read.  (Yes, I'm prone to exaggeration.)

Bloody Twist got on my nerves a little at first.  I'm okay with the concept of repetition-for-emphasis, but I found myself talking back to the book. "Yes, your client is a high-priced call girl in South Beach and she's a virgin.  Yes, that's unusual.  We get it -   can we move on now please?"   Not sure if she quit doing it, or if I just got used to it, but it didn't bother me once I got past the first few pages.

Kinda weird that I'm enjoying these because I'm definitely NOT a murder mystery lover.  Also not a big fan of formula type novels, but what the Hell, they're kind of fun.  I like knowing that there are so many titles available that I can pick one up every once in awhile just for a change of pace.

P.S.  Relax.  I'm done reading for awhile.

The Ocean Inside

The Ocean Inside - Janna McMahan

Sure it's chick lit.  So what?!  This is a perfect read-at-the-beach kind of book.  A well-written story about a family in crisis.  It takes place in a small island beach community on the coast of South Carolina, which just happens to be high on my list of places to see, so I quite enjoyed the "scenery" as well as the story. 

Books

I've decided that I don't really like the way the BOOKS tab at the top of the page is working out, so I'm going to try something different.  Bear with me while I test it out.

Raising Jake - Charlie Carillo

This was a Kindle freebie and I enjoyed it.  A double bonus.  Just a nice, warm & fuzzy story about 3 generations of men connecting.

Early morning walk

Headed up to Tom Campbell's hill early enough this morning to catch the sunrise.

 Perfect spot to contemplate a new day

Everything was all pink and glowy

So pretty when the sun hits the buildings

 Taz being a show-off up on the wall

 ♫♫The morning sun when it's in your face really shows your age,

but that don't worry me none, in my eyes you're everything♫♫

 

 The pathway isn't quite as colourful as it was last week, most of the leaves have fallen from the trees now.



(Same path, last week)

Gracie & Taz love to run in the tall grass

Showing off again.

Just goofing around with some processing toys

This one would make a pretty cool watercolour, maybe I should dig out my paints & brushes

Or, maybe just let the computer do it for me!