Never Too Old To Learn

I love my photoshop class! I learn to do stuff, like how to put Scott and Tiffany on the beach on their wedding day. The class is full of seniors so we go very slowly - this is good because I'm a slow learner. But what I like best, besides learning some really cool tricks, is that all the people in the room have this great attitude towards life, even if some of them are loud, disruptive and don't pay attention (sounds like Kindergarten!). They are there to try something new and have fun. Isn't that what life is all about? My ultimate goal is to be able to create scrapbook pages on the computer. I'm totally addicted to my paper and scissors so it will be an add on to my hobby, not a replacement hobby. This way I will be able to enclude scrapbook pages on my blog. Tell me you are really excited about this - I know you aren't but I like to think everyone shares my enthusiasm for photo creations.

Note: spell check won't work so you will have to ignore any errors

Baby it's cold outside!

These pictures were sent to me by my friend, Joe, who works up north in Alberta. (Fort Mac). I did some math and figured out that it is 100 degrees Fahrenheit colder there than it is in Huntington Beach. I am not writing this blog to brag about the weather here, as I've been accused of doing on more than one occasion. The purpose of this blog is to point out to people who live here, that they are big babies. Everyone walks around in their winter coats complaining how cold it is. Get over yourselves! You don't know cold until you can't feel your fingers or toes and every breath feels like you're swallowing a chunk of ice. My heart goes out to everyone who is freezing in the Great White North, but remember, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
Here comes the advertising pitch - The Hotel California is now taking reservations. We can't guarantee you won't get wet, but we do guarantee you won't freeze to death! Oh, Joe we'll see you this weekend!

Little Known Fact

Mark likes to grow orchids - I haven't figured out if he just enjoys a challenge, or if it's the thrill of having one actually bloom that supplies the motivation to keep him purchasing these plants. Let me just say that orchid shopping to him is what shoe shopping is to most women. On our road trip this past weekend to SLO (that's the very fitting nickname for San Louis Obispo) we had to stop in Carpinteria to check out the orchid greenhouse. We had been there before and you can't believe the number and variety of plants. Needless to say he had to look at everyone, and it's a darn good thing the place had a chair for me to sit in while I waited. Of course I shouldn't complain because this was a wine tasting trip and tasting wine to me is like trying on shoes for most women. I really don't understand the "shoe" thing - why buy shoes when you can buy wine?
By the way, the large picture at the top of this post is our front porch with two orchids that are blooming for the second time, and two orchids bought this weekend. Our gardener (well the condo's gardener) looks at me like I'm nuts when ever he sees me. I wish I could speak Spanish so I could explain they are all Mark's plants!

Photo Shop and the Great Wall of China

I got Photo Shop for a Christmas present and have been playing quite a bit. The class I'm taking at Huntington Beach Adult School has taught me to do a lot of interesting things. How do you like the picture I created by placing myself at the Great Wall of China? Hey, wait a minute, that is me at the Great Wall! The picture was taken by my good friend Richard. Standing on that wall was a surreal experience and a huge thrill.

It looks like Europe

but it's the Getty Villa. Mark and I try to do a little exploring in LA once in a while and today we went for dim sum in town, followed by a trip to the newly renovated Getty Villa (not to be confused with the Getty Center). That Getty guy must have made a ton of money! I won't bore you with details, even if our tour guide did. I swear they take lessons here on how to repeat the same information ten times in a half hour tour. Let's just say there once was a town buried by a famous volcanic eruption in A.D. 79. Getty decided to recreate the Villa dei Papiri by replicating the excavation site, so he'd have a museum to house all his Greek and Roman artifacts. Seems so California to build a place like this in Malibu and fill it with art from ancient Rome. Anyway, the place is beautiful and full of neat stuff and we both enjoyed the day. The bonus was it was cloudy so there were no crowds - people here are such wimps when it comes to weather.