A whole month!

Wow! It has been a whole month since I last posted. Talk about time flying. I guess I've been too pre-occupied with other things to take the time to get back to blogging.

One thing that has taken place since last time, I have installed Photoshop Elements to my computer. I've yet to take time to play with the program a great deal, but am looking forward to enhancing photos. I have been taking my camera out with me more often when I'm out and about to try to snap some pics. I will get to posting some of those as soon as I get to figuring more details out on the program.

Another thing I have been doing since the weather has improved is take the dogs out on more walks. Granted it's not every day yet like I'd like to do, but the warmer weather is on the way. It's not always a great walking day yet. In fact, lately it's been pretty cool and windy - especially windy. It still feels like that March lion hasn't moved on to allow for those lambs like the saying goes. I think our North Dakota weather is a bit late in coinciding with the months this year. It's been so dry, with burn ban warnings and grass fires this month. (Two homes were lost according to the news reports). We received a bit of rain a few days ago, but those April showers could certainly come around a bit more while it's still April. Regardless of all those calendar sayings . . . I am so looking forward to warm weather, sprinkling rain or not, and some calm (low wind) sunny days. I would love to be out there on a walk with the dogs or in the yard soaking up some warm sunshine!

I have been spending quite a bit of time in the basement. I really love the way it looks now that it have been re-arranged. I've still got a lot of sorting and organizing to do with my art supplies. But my desk in the basement works extremely well as a study area for my on-line classes. I am enjoying my classes through Rasmussen College. It's nice to take them all on-line. I enjoy setting my own class and study times. It seems my internal clock is set at the midnight hour. I find myself gravitating to my best, quiet times at night. Sometimes it's all night! There have been several nights lately I lose all track of time while reading or doing homework and researching topics that when I do go to look at the clock it's three or four o'clock in the morning. There have even been a few times I look to see with shock that it's five or six in the morning. I need to work on that. I think I'll have to get a timer or mount a big clock right in front of me! It's truly amazing how I get so much into something where I don't notice where the time goes.

I'm enjoying each one of my classes. I look forward to working through the web classes. So far I haven't enhanced this blog with some of what I've learned. But that day will come. I'll find some time to just play one of these days.

I certainly love to look at other blogs for inspiration! The latest Artful Blogging magazine came out. Pat went with me to Barnes & Noble this afternoon so I could pick up a Mocha Frappucino and I saw it on the shelf. It's always so much fun to see what others have done with their blogs.

I'll call it quits for today, still have some things to finish for class this week - better get to it.

Lots of work to do

I've still got a big job ahead of me sorting and purging in the sewing studio. I have to admit I've been stalling and have found plenty of other things that "need" to be done also -- like clear the clutter from my computer. Man, talk about a big job there! First I saved stuff I knew I would want onto a CD and thumb drive, then did a full restore to take it back to factory specs. I went to Office Depot and picked up a Photoshop Elements 6 & Premiere Elements 4 package. Once I get that installed I want to spend some time learning my way around the program. Hopefully I'll be able to post some photos of my progress in the studio soon. I took some before pics showing all the mess and clutter before I got started. Right now the room looks so large and open without all the extra "stuff". So large and inviting I hate to just fill it up with stuff I'll never get around to using. Definitely needs some sorting and purging!

There are still a number of programs I need to re-install onto my computer. I've got a publishing program I used on my previous XP computer. Now with Vista I'm not sure how it will function. Hopefully there's a patch for Vista on-line so it runs properly. When I was at Office Depot I saw the program was still being sold and there was no Vista version or update on the shelf. I hope that means a patch is available. It's the program I used previously to create my sewing patterns and write up sewing instruction sheets. I want to start doing that again and I really would rather avoid the expense of buying another publishing program.

Okay, it's off to get busy on some more projects.