Birthday Ocean Photos :)

Hi All :)

I truly hope you are all doing well and enjoying life wherever you are :)

So, I keep promising myself that I will blog more and then that "life" thingy just keeps getting in the way, lol :) I know you haven't heard from me much recently but I will get around to telling you all about the "WHY" a little later on in the year (I know it all sounds so mysterious, doesn't it :)

Well, anyway, as some of you know I LOVE to go to Sunny San Diego every year to get away from the Dark, Cold, Windy and Rainy Pacific Northwest Winter and usually this trip takes place around my B.Day at the beginning of March. :)

Well, this year was no exception and I went to San Diego to soak up some much needed sunshine, the only problem was it was Dark, Cold, Windy and Rainy in San Diego on my B.Day :(

I have never seen this Beach and Ocean deserted esp. on a Saturday, there are usually lots of happy people on the beach and lots of surfers in the Ocean, yep the weather was that bad. No a person in sight.

Of course the view was still gorgeous to look at and reminded me so much of the Pacific Northwest (which, BTW, I love too :)

So, I was going to show you my photos of the huge and crazy waves crashing across the beach but they are all so gloomy and dark. Then I had an idea, why didn't I show you just one shot and how I quickly worked on it to make it a "Happier" photo :)

Here goes :)

Click on photos to see larger images :)

Here is the Original Shot :) 

Now, I was out shooting this with my "big" lens and no tripod in what felt like a gale, so a little shaky image but.........

Next, I very slightly brightened the image by 5% and contrasted by 25% to enhance the definition of waves, spray and foam :) 

I then enhanced slightly with an auto "cool" setting which added a much needed blue tone to the Ocean and Sky :)

Then I added this layer from my collection that I have created over the years :)

I laid the layer on top of the photo and put it to about 68% opacity :)

So, I feel I got my Sunshine at the beach on my B.Day after all :)

What do you think? :)

Have a wonderful Tuesday :)

Happy Painting/Creating! :) T.

Pretty Pink Peonies From My Garden :)

Hi All :)

I hope you are well and life is treating you kindly :)

Well, again the weather here in the Pacific Northwest has been frustratingly wet :(

It is always challenging for me as a Gardener seeing, earlier in the season, first my Daffs and then my Tulips bashed by the rain and then over the past few weeks seeing my Poppies and now my Peonies smushed. After all the hard work it is sometimes almost soul destroying. 

Usually I hope that there will be a dry spell and the flowers will get to bloom to their full glory in the garden but watching the weather forecast on the local news the other night it was predicting rain for days and my Peonies were just about to hit full bloom, so I got out my trusty pruners and decided I was going to enjoy these gorgeous flowers in the house!!! (Shaking my fist, with pruners attached, at the menacing clouds above, as I went on my way, LOL! :)  

So, of course I couldn't resist taking some photos of the Beautiful Pink Peonies to share with you all :) 

They smell amazing too :)

Enjoy!!! :)

This Weekend it is going to be 84 degrees and so I need to go shake off all the raindrops from the flowers so they don't scorch! Seriously, they are more demanding than little kiddies, LOL!!! :)

Have a lovely Evening :)

Happy Painting/Creating! :) T.

Happy Friday :)

Hi All :)

I hope you are all well and are experiencing some Sunshine; we have had 3 days of sun here in the P.Town around and are giddy, we are breaking out the shorts and sun screen, LOL! :)

Beautiful Flowers on the grounds of our hotel in San Diego :)

Well, I was on vaca in San Diego for my B.Day last week and had lots of wonderful sunshine and swimming in the outdoor pool; Oh, a dream for this P.N. Westerner, esp. as it snowed and poured with rain in Portland while we were away.

My Hubby literally had to drag me on to the plane to get me to leave, LOL! :)

But, sadly all good things have to come to an end and then I came home to a diagnosis of Glaucoma, which on top of everything else I am dealing with healthwise was not what I needed to hear esp. after having such a wonderful week last week and finally recovered from my last CFS/Fibro relapse :(

So, have been trying to process that all week. :(

But today is my Son's B.Day and so I am going to take him and my Daughter out for lunch, hang out in the sunshine and have a few drinks! :)

So, Cheers to everyone and I hope you all have a wonderful Weekend!

Take Care, my Friends! :)

I will post some of the lovely photos I took in San Diego next week :)

Happy Painting/Creating! :) T.

WooHoo, More Rain :(

Happy Friday Everyone!

First off I really want to say a BIG "THANK YOU" to everyone who sent me such wonderful B.Day wishes. You Guys ROCK!

I had a lovely Day even if it was raining :)

And so, It is too funny, as I was browsing my blog roll before posting today I stopped by my Blogger Buddy Kelli at Bug Miscellany Blog and she has posted about the weather in the PNW this week and that is exactly what I was going to post about today :)

Seriously, it has been raining so much I don't remember the last time I saw the Sun, did it move and not tell me???

This is what I have been looking at all week!

click on images for larger photo (of course you want to see more rain (He! He!)

Rain thru the dining room window, looking towards the West and the coastal range (nope, can't see any Mountains there :)

So, I am so, so grateful for the beautiful flowers my kids had delivered for my B.Day! At least I have some lovely colourful brightness in the house :)

Close up of the lovely miniature Roses :)

Gorgeous guys, thank you, lyl :)

So, thank you everyone, for making my week, extra special :)

Here are the Flowers my Hubby bought for me for my B.Day, if you missed Tuesdays post :)

Hope everyone has a Wonderful Weekend!

Happy Painting/Creating! :) T.