Hiding Space

Josie finds a really good place to hide from the dog!

Blog Mostly Recovered!

Well Sparky, 
My blog is now
almost completely recovered! 
I still have a few miscellaneous photos to reload to posts, but most of the posts are done.  In the end, I had to go through almost every post and reload the photos on each one!

First I tried to just recover the photos from the Recycle Bin and restore them.  That captured some of the photos that got deleted but not all of them.  It did not restore them to Picasa or to the web album for "Blogger".  Some that I deleted from the "web album" were just gone.  Luckily I still had copies in other places on my computer.  So, I had to swear alot, stay up way too late, and look up a bunch of stuff online.

Then I tried re-uploading the photos in groups to the web album that Blogger draws from, hoping the photos would re-appear.  My posts wouldn't sync up to repopulate the photos - even with the correct, matching file names!  So, I had to swear some more, fume, look up more stuff, tinker, have a drink or two.

So, I resolved to go through each post and upload the pics for each - for about 155 posts. Luckily, I've been a lazy poster over the years!!  Otherwise, I'm not sure I would have done it.  My neck got sore, my eyes got blurry, I stayed up way too late, I had bad dreams.

I did contemplate just letting the whole thing go.....and starting over with something new.  After all, I have virtually no readers anymore now that I'm out of the EDM loop.  But I didn't want to lose all of the things I've entered over the past 5 or so years.

Now, I need to figure out how to back this all up!  And I need to read more about Picasa and the web albums - and send them feedback about my experience (as if anyone will care, but I've seen posts from others who have had similar troubles).  It seems to me that one should be able to remove a photo from an album and not necessarily remove it from one's computer - and be able to retransfer photos back to the original account if desired.

It's been a MAJOR PAIN!!  But I did go back and fix some photos and edit some stuff. It also gave me a chance to better organize my photos.  I had them saved haphazardly in several different folders,  using different formatting.  I have a bit of OCD, which is a helpful trait when doing something like this!

EP

I'm Ticked OFF!!

I have totally screwed up my blog!!!  I tried a feature in Picasa to transfer/migrate my photos from one email account to another.  I thought it would be great to consolidate my photos. Then I was weeding out some of the photos from an album - not realizing that I was totally DELETING them!  Of course, I now realize it's my fault for not reading the fine print.

The Picasa site says that the blog will be able to link to the new location - IF you link both email addresses as authors to your blog.  I'm using an old Yahoo account for this blog, and when I attempt to add my gmail account, it tells me I can't (because both are connected via Google and only one Google account can be used for sign in purposes).

I was able to add both email accounts as "authors" as the instructions told me to do, but the system still wouldn't access photos from the second (new) account as the instructions said it would.  And OF COURSE, once photos are transferred to a new account, Picasa says they can't be transferred back!!!!  What the hell???

I was able to restore my photos from the recycle bin, but that doesn't put them back on Picasa, which holds the blog photos.  And even though I've reloaded a number of photos to Picasa and the web album that Blogger uses, the blog is still not picking them up from either Picasa account.

GGRRRR.....

If I had a Hammer.....

I Can Control Bees With My Mind

Unfortunately, I can relate to this.....





Smiley Face!

Art is Where You Find It!



Smiley Face - on the back of a bathroom stall door where a coat hook used to be!



Can o' Worms

Maupin Whitewater Institute Sketches, July 2011

This week I attended the Whitewater Institute in Maupin, Oregon.  It's a four-day training program on community college outcomes and assessments.  Maupin is east of Mt. Hood and is in the high desert area of Oregon.  Each day we had class and then took a raft trip on the Deschutes River.  Our raft team was GREAT, even though we had a few mishaps along the way - poor Katy got bounced out of the boat twice and I whacked her on the head with my oar once.  Also, Tracy did a somersault off the front end into the river.



Bridge over the Deschutes River near Maupin

Rafts tied to the Imperial Hotel dock

Beavertail Overview

Blue Heron on River

More Beavertail Hills

Yellow Headed Blackbird

River Rocks Picked Up Along the Deschutes

Words of Wisdom from Yvonne, on Supervision Issues



Sunriver Sketches, July 2011

These are a couple of sketches I made in Sunriver this year.  I didn't take too many pictures or do alot of sketching.  We stayed at a new Meadowhouse condo this time, I think it was #70 something.

Lyrics from the song "Human" on my iPod for walking

Sketch of trees in back of our condo

Big Island Sketchbook Drawings, Hapuna Beach, June 2011

Sketch of random guy on the beach

Black feral hotel cat who visited us for daily snacks

More hotel feral cats

Gecko on bamboo

Palm tree outside our lanai

Completed Fish Paintings

Here are the finished paintings that Ann and I completed last night. 

Her's is on the left and mine is on the right.  They are each 24x36" in oil.

Now we have to decide what to do with them!

Conference in Florida

I recently visited parents in Texas and then attended a conference in Clearwater Florida.  The hotel was right on the beach and here are a few shots of the water!  The weather was in the high 70's/low 80's.  Water temperature was around 65 degrees - a bit cold, but a woman from Canada and I both got in for a swim!

Fish Paintings

My painting buddy, Ann, and I are working on a diptych this term. We found two koi paintings and have been working on them sporatically this term. As you can see, we have different styles and are trying to merge them. These are photos of our paintings from a couple of weeks ago. Ann's (left) is more impressionistic and mine (right) is more defined. I'm trying to mess mine up some more and worked on it again last night. I still have to put in some green grasses along the bottom and add some more white to the fish and water. These are 24x36 in oil.

Ray is One Year Old!!

Here's my baby at one year old!  Ray's birthday was January 13th.  He's got all of his fur and is about 14 1/4 inches tall and weighs about 21 pounds.  He's gotten alot more confident and is following up on his New Year Resolutions to:

1. Chase the cats more

2. Chew stuff he shouldn't

3. Eat anything he can fit in his mouth

4. Not come when called unless there's food 

I think he needs to go back to doggy school!

At right is a photo of Ray's Dad, whose name is Keenan.  He is from a breeder in Lebanon, Oregon called IvanLee Shelties.  Keenan is a champion!

Puppy Painting Update

I finally got back to my painting class for one night last week.  I was able to work a bit more on the body, face and background.  I haven't figured out how to paint the bottom background and shading yet...will have to see how that goes.  With my new job I haven't had much time for art this term.  : (

Naughty Puppy!

My darling puppy Ray decided that my glasses would make a really great chew toy!  He went to town and here's what is left of my glasses.  I was able to wear them for a few days, even with the crewed up temples and scratched lenses.  But then they split right down the middle of the bridge. 

I tried to order new frames online.  They were an old Guess brand and I found a pair for $75!  Then the company wrote that the frame is no longer being made.  So last night we went to Binyon's and I looked at the new Guess frames.

Luckily, I was able to find a new frame with the same lens dimensions as the old ones.  The guy was able to pop my lenses into the new frames and I was set!!! 

The new frames are purple on the exterior and blue on the interior.  They look kind of black, but not quite. 

So, all is forgiven. 

I did buy Ray some new doggie chew toys

Fall Painting and Ray 9 Months Old

It's been awhile since I've posted anything to my blog. Things have been busy with the beginning of fall term. I have a new job that is much busier than my previous job, so that's taking alot of time. I have lots to learn!

I'm not really taking a painting class this fall, but I can go in and paint with the rest of the class whenever I am able. I've only gone twice this year and here is my start. This is a painting of a cute Chihuahua from the dog park. I don't know her name, but I thought she would make a good subject! This is in oil, 12x16".

I'm also posting a picture of Ray. He was 9 months old on October 13th. He's 17-18 pounds.

Ray at 8 months old, A Graduate!

Ray Playing with Classmate in Puppy School

Here are my most recent pictures of Ray. They were taken on September 8, 2010.

You can see that his hair is almost grown out, he has alot of fringe around his face, his nose has grown longer. He's about 17 pounds. I'm not sure how tall he is now...I'll have to measure him again

He finished Puppy School and has learned: sit, shake, down, heel, leave it, watch me, walk on a leash. He doesn't DO them all the time but he's getting better, and he's gained alot of confidence!

 

Ray the Graduate

Ray at Dogpark - 7 1/2 months old

Here's Ray on August 29, 2010. I took him to the dog park and got a few shots. He's about 7 1/2 months here and is really getting his longer, adult coat. He's also got a really great tail!

I also took some pictures of his dog park friends. We go to a great park that has one area for big/active dogs and another area for shy/timid dogs. Ray goes the shy/timid area and plays with the other smaller, quieter dogs. Many of them are the little white foo-foo types (Malteses, Bichons, and many poodle mixes), which are pretty scrappy. I'm thinking of painting some of the dogs as my art projects for fall.

Ray on July 6, 2010 - 6 Months Old - in Sunriver

Here are pictures of Ray from July 6, 2010. He was almost 6 months old. Ray was born on January 13, 2010.

This was his first trip to Sunriver, in central Oregon. He loved playing in the tall grass and meeting neighbor dogs. He traveled in the car pretty well, but still got sick a few times.

We spent a whole week there, so he had time to adjust and did really well on his first trip!

Ray on June 27, 2010 - 5 1/2 months old - at Local Park

These are a few pictures of our new puppy Ray from June 27, 2010.

He was about 5 1/2 months old at this time, weighed about 13 pounds. Still soft and fluffy