random reflections

Chautauqua '07

We arrived at Chautauqua Institute this afternoon for a week of lectures, classes, reading, taking photographs, walking, and relaxing. The weather is beautiful, although a bit cool. The charm of this place never wears thin.

Up and Running #4

I'm caught up with Jessica's Sprague's class unless a new assignment shows up in my inbox tomorrow. Now I need to catch up with Amy Sorenson's Write Now assignments. I love both classes, but the digi scrapping one is more challenging and thus, more appealing. So here's #4, done without any templates. Had a bit of trouble with the stamp, but thanks to the message board, solved another problem. By the end of this course, I should be pretty familiar with Photoshop Elements. Next week while we're in Chautauqua I'm signed up for an intermediate course in PSE. I think I'm ready and one of my goals for the summer will be accomplished before mid-July. Awesome.

Filigree

6-27  Her Space:  My Space

Filigree - Ornamental fine wire work.

Digital Layout 3

I'm learning a lot from Jessica Sprague's Up and Runnning course. Her video tutorials are awesome. Easy to understand, and I love being able to see and listen at the same time. The best part is when the course is over, I'll still have access to all the videos. I'm afraid I might need them so this is a great feature. This week we started using alphas and brushes--totally new to me. In addition, I'm using an older version of Photoshop Elements so everything doesn't work quite the same way. Nonetheless, with the help of the message board,  I finished this layout this morning.

Final Catch-up?

6-26 Her Space:  My Space

6-26  Her Space:  My Space

Personal Assistant

Here’s today’s food for thought at A Fancy Word for Simple:

Your job is to focus on my personal happiness, she said, & I've got big plans, so break time is over.
---Brian Andres, Storypeople

I wonder--especially on Mondays--what it might be like to have a personal assistant. Someone whose job it would be do to all the things I don't like about my life . . . What tasks would you assign to your personal assistant?

• Grading papers (but I’d be happy to look at the papers of kids who need extra help when the PA is done)
• Routine paperwork
• Paying bills
• Scheduling appointments (nearly impossible with an elementary school teacher’s schedule—which is why I do a lot of doctor/dentist appointments during the summer)
• Planning dinner
• Loading and unloading the dishwasher

I’m sure there are others but these come most immediately to mind.

Up and Running #2

I've caught up with one of my on-line courses. Here's my second digital layout. I'm really getting into this!

Catching Up

The last week of school ate up all my time. I fell behind in my on-line courses and on the Her Space:  My Space challenges. Here a few to catch up:

6-24

6-23

My Write-On Journal for Amy Sorenson's journaling course on BPS.

6-21

6-20 Press:  my great-grandmother's iron. I use it as a weight for books/layouts while the adhesive dries.

6-15

Up and Running

I'm taking Jessica Sprague's online digital scrapbooking course "Up and Running." I have her book Computer Tricks for Scrapbooking and I read her blog regularly so I was pretty sure I'd learn a lot in the course. I've completed my first digital layout (ever) and she made it really easy. Every day we get an email with more tips, kits to download, and midweek assignments. One more day with kids at school, three more days altogether, and then I can concentrate on the fun stuff. Here's the first layout:

Boat

6-14-07  Her Space:  My Space

Our boat just went in the water and into a much  improved slip on the Genesee River which takes us out to Lake Ontario.