Pardon Me

Pardon me Miss but would you mind if I sat down beside you and had just a small sip of your coffee?

Happy last day of October and may Halloween treat you with only the good kind of tricks. Don't eat all your candy in one setting.

Getting Pumpkin Girl Ready for Winter

Test run for our new engine pre-heater and fitting the new gust locks as we get Pumpkin Girl ready for winter.  We are looking forward to a bit of early winter flying and photographing the scenery.

Happy Wednesday! Hump day!
Funny that this terminology has made a come back.

Enjoy each moment no matter how small or grand.

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Raw Photo Post Production

This is my formal self-welcome to the digital age and a new way of thinking about photography, which of course might not be new to you but it is still a fairly new concept to me in the way I practice the art of photography. This ol' dog is learning a few new techniques and I owe all the thanks to our oldest son for the introduction to the program RawTherapee. You might think that I should not tag myself as “ol’ dog” but you should know that I am the daughter of photographers and have been developing my own film and printing my own photographs since I was 10 years old. I will always be able to taste the fix in the air at just the thought of the word darkroom.

So as I baby step into my new darkroom and learn to operate the digital enlarger along with mixing the digital chemicals to obtain the perfect exposure, contrast and saturation, I am delighted to know that I just might be able to accomplish a respectable piece of work.

Here are two of my first raw post-processing photographs using RawTherapee.

Before

After

Before

After

Here's to the start of a renewed hobby and baby steps!

Photos were taken along the spit in Homer.

Enthusiasm

Are you looking for a place to find your enthusiasm?
Is there something missing from your day to day?

Me too!

P. Sherman 42 Wallaby Way Sidney. You in?

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P.S. this is code for we need something new in our lives.

What new and joyful activity or project are you thinking about adding to your day to day?

New Town is Turning Around

Do I feel a connection to my new home, to Anchorage? Sometimes I do yet there seems to be a lot of obstacles in my way between comfortable acceptance and pushed away discouragement. My coworkers aren't as forthcoming with the friendliness that I am used to, and since this is where I spend the majority of my time it adds to the level of discouragement I feel. Having lived in Fairbanks for the majority of my life, where there always seems to be an instant connection between you and the new person you have just met, and fast friendships are easy to form, it is a disappointment to find the people of Anchorage to be standoffish, snobby even.

I was warned before we moved here that folks in Anchorage do not welcome new comers to town with open arms but like all naive folks I had high hopes that all would be splendid.

Each day I pray for grace and peace in my heart. Each day I thank the Lord for all his blessings. And each day the time I spend at work gets a little bit better. I am thankful for each day’s joyful moments and will continue to bask in the good that comes my way.

Change is never easy and finding the happy new normal can be a challenge, one that I will strive to rise up to and triumph over.

Turning around my new town into something I want it to be!

Indebtedness

There are those days when you reflect on your life and it comes to mind that there are some special people that were there just at the right time when you needed a little help. Well in my case this was a time when I needed a handful of help and these gentlemen towered to the occasion.

I am indebted to your gratitude and kindness. May the day treat you well.

Finally ~ All is Right in the World

Winter has arrived in Anchor-town and finally all is right in the world for me. It was a nice long fall but it was time.  Bring on winter, bring on peace on earth and the season of extra love.

Drive safe my friends!

Flattop Mountain

So can you guess which one of these peaks is Flattop Mountain?  

Yup you're right!

Happy Friday friends near and far!

Smart Enough

I was recently asked what courses I was teaching at my new job at UAA and my reply was “Oh I’m not smart enough to be a faculty member; I am just an admin in the college.” As I reflect back on this moment in time I wonder what in the world possessed me to give this answer. Why I would use such self-defeating words towards myself and the person I was talking to is beyond me.

I am smart enough and I am more than ‘just an admin’, I am the glue that holds the department together. I set the stage for the success of our students and our faculty. The work I do takes an immense amount of organizational skills to complete the multitude of tasks in a timely manner, meeting all the deadlines with ease might I add. The training required to wade through all the different computer databases to retrieve copious amounts of information is numerous and ever changing. I am not just – JUST – I am so much more!

I am smart enough and could be that faculty member but that is not the path where my choices guided my life. There are many factors that contributed to where I am today. The generation in which I was born, my community and family culture, and our financial status all had a huge influence on the choices I made, and the directions that I turned when I became a young woman.

When I was a young person I remember hearing on many occasions that college was a waste of time, that it was just a piece of paper. Then when I was first attending college it was a popular comment among my extended family that I was simply there to get my MRS. Degree. To them it was merely a small, off the cuff comment that somehow had a huge impact on my life.

Was that all I was destined to be, a Mrs.?

I thought so at the time and decided that spending money on a college education, a piece of paper was not feasible so I turned to career training instead and at a young age became a Mrs. I was soon blessed with two sons and I stayed at home with them when they were babies. I would not trade those five years for anything, not even all the riches in the world.

Does it take brains and smarts to be a good Mrs. and to be a great Mom? YES! Is it admirable and courageous to be a full time Mom? YES! Raising your children, being a true Mom to them, is the most important job you will ever claim title to on your resume, your curriculum vitae.

So why would I say such words as I did that evening? I truly do not know, but what I do know is I regret saying those words and hope to never again hear self-destructive words in my ears from my own lips.

We are all smart! We are all exceptional! We are all mighty! We only have to find our hearts goal. Is an education important? Yes! Whether this education is in the form of career training, apprenticeship or college coursework, all of these come in the form of a piece of paper and open multiple doors and numerous opportunities.

And throughout all my choices in life I am exactly where I was meant to be and in fact I am very pleased with who I am and where my life has lead me.

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Galapagos on the M/Y Grace

Princess Grace Kelly's royal honeymoon yacht, today offers the most unique cruising experience in the Galapagos Islands.

Who wants to joins us?

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P.S. this video from YouTube does not play on smart phones, you will have to find a computer.

Click HERE for the YouTube video.

What Do You See?

So tell me, what do you see? 

Great Grandma's Art

Today I celebrate the joy that fills my heart seeing my Great Grandma's art.  She was born in 1901 in rural Nebraska and spent her teenage years living in Wyoming.  She was a teacher, a musician's wife, a fashion statement on a small budget and chief deputy tax clerk of Eugene Oregon when she retired.  I am truly blessed to have gotten to know her as a young person and to now have some of her belongings and journals.

Passing along the joy of family past to the future!  May we each have a story worth telling, one filled with love and happy memories.

Sky's the Limit

The sky's the limit when it comes to adventure and going places to see the people that you love. 

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High Five Friday for Alaska

High five Friday for Alaska ~ If you have always said "Oh I want to go there", then do it!  Just DO IT!

High five for living in a place where dreams come true!

Moose on Campus

A young momma moose and her young one, that was born this spring, hanging out on campus.  Geese and bears and moose oh my what a busy campus this is in the middle of busy town Anchorage.