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.

Birthday Trip to San Diego :)

Hi All :)

I hope the world is being kind to you and you are all doing well :)

Last week my Hubby and I spent the week in Sunny San Diego, celebrating our B.Days together, which was wonderful and to have all that time together, amazing. :)

 It was wonderful to see sunshine everyday, spend time outside, walking or swimming everyday or just lying by the pool or sitting casually outside dining and also, visiting with Friends. :)

Of course we came home to rain and more rain but I still have my photos to keep me mentally in the San Diego Sunshine :)

I didn't take many photos this year ( a 1/3 of what I took on our last trip to San Diego) I was really there for some much needed 

R. & R. :)

But, of course, I did take a few photos, Hope you like them :)

(Sorry, for the repeats for those who have seen some of them on FB, already)

ENJOY! :)

Click on photos for larger images :)

1st photo taken on the day we arrived, 2nd on the day we left, I love taking shots of planes landing in San Diego because the airport is so close to town the planes fly low over the buildings coming into land, it is so amazing to experience for me, I am a huge plane fan :)

It has become a tradition of sorts that I get a pedicure in the Hillcrest neighbourhood when I get to San Diego, it is a fun area, lots of great food and we pop into our fav. Greek restaurant too! :)

Oops!!! Surfer Down (he got back up really quickly :)

Palm Trees in the Sunset :)

Awesome surfing waves (alas, not for me but I do wish I had had the opportunity to learn, maybe when I am 80 :)

Beautiful Big Bow on the Hotel Del Coronado as they celebrate 125 years :)

The Chandelier in the foyer of the Hotel Del :)

Lots of people leisurely riding around on bikes :)

Some of them really shouldn't have been; it was quite comical watching people who obviously hadn't ridden a bike recently trying to come to a wobbly stop for a speeding car or pedestrians

(I know I am cruel but it was hilarious :)

There were some beautiful waves in the Sunshine :)

Picnickers on the Beach :)

I never usually get focused dusk shots (that look like picture postcards) as I tend to go for the abstract; I do not use flash and with a 300 mm lens (heavy) and I won't use a tripod either (I want to do my own photography, not do what everyone else does, LOL!!! ) But here is one I am quite proud of, (He! He!)

Sunset and Reflection :)

I LOVE these 2 :)

The Sunset reflecting on the Ocean makes them look like paintings :)

I hope you enjoyed these :)

Let me know what you think :)

Have a lovely Weekend :)

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.

April Giveaway!

The Sun is Shining YAY! It always makes me feel Happier :) So, now I am in the mood for a Giveaway. (YAY! AGAIN :)

I am very excited to do this Giveaway because I wanted it to coincide with the celebrations for Mother's Day!

So, here it is! April's Giveaway!

One lucky person will receive FOUR, yep, you read that right, FOUR 5 x 5 Rose prints of their choice (choose from ones posted below) from my Photography Etsy Shop (value; $48.00)

It is very simple to enter :)

You must be a follower of this blog

Just go to my Etsy Shop and Heart it :) Check out all the lovely photos too :)

Leave a comment here on my blog telling me what special ways you celebrate Mother's Day!


(Sample photo of how you might matte your prints :)

(You could choose just one colour or four different or mix and match, it is up to you :)

So that these can be ordered and delivered in time for Mother's Day you can enter this Giveaway until Midnight (West Coast Time) on Friday April 23rd.

SO HAVE FUN :)

Happy Painting/Creating! :) T.

Good Morning Monday!

Well, first let me wish you all a Happy Monday and for those of you celebrating President's Day, a happy one of those too:)

I was very excited this morning after I switched on my computer to see I was one of the winners in the giveaway over at the blog of Green Leaf Reviewer Thanks Jenn :)

Oh and I woke up to a little watery sunshine, so another awesome, I'll take it :)

One of my New Years' resolutions, hopes, expectations was to give myself more time to read books. I have always been an avid reader and read every morning for 20 mins. or so with my morning cup of Tea.

I had hoped to read 2 books a month that were over 300 pages but that was a tad too ambition for the time I have available to read and so I backed off to one book a month, what is the point of sitting down with a good book if you feel pressured to read because of a silly expectation.


So, in January I read "Open" by Andre Agassi, it was a very interesting insight to a man I have watched grow up playing tennis on TV. We are huge tennis fans in our house and have followed his career, just taking him as he comes and not making judgement on him personally (but perhaps his game, occasionally) I have never thought of him as a Prima Donna but after reading this book, not so sure. It is a great read and full of details about his life.

I am on track to finish "In a Sunburned Country" by Bill Bryson by the end of February (no pressure though :)

If any of you are unfamiliar with Bryson he is a writer who travels with a twist. He has a great sense of humour, is an American who lived in Britain for 20 years and then moved back to America, he has written many books about his life experiences and always brings amazing details and random facts that inform and enlighten. Well worth the read.

On a random note, I realised as I was typing this, that I started the year with Author double "A" and moved on to Author double "B". Not on purpose, must be subliminal OCD. (He! He!)

Well, hope your week has gotten off to a great start :)

Happy Painting/Creating! :) T.

Holiday Fun!

It has been below freezing here in Portland for the past week and with the windchill, well let's just say it is a little nippy. But the sun is shining and being the outdoorsy people we are here in the Northwest we go out undeterred. This past Sunday my Hubby and I went to a local area in Portland, we love, called Sellwood. It was bustling, regardless of the chilly weather, and people, I think, were just enjoying being outdoors.

This horse (well 2 horses actually :) and carriage were a fun addition to the festive atmosphere. I managed to snap a few photos as it passed us by. The horses were so calm as they transported some very excited children and adults back and forth along the road. The sound of the sleigh bells was very magical, I guess we truly do associate that sound with the Holiday Season. :)

Hope you enjoy! :)

Don't forget to enter my Holiday Giveaway :)

Happy Painting/Creating! :) T.

SummerTime in my Garden!

Here are more flowers from my garden, this time photos of the garden in the SummerTime. ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!

My Favourite rosebush, "PlayBoy" and "Iceberg", (yes, 2 in one! :) the moles have disturbed the roots and it isn't flowering right now, but I live in hope that it will be back flourishing next year.:)

I love having Butterflies in my garden!

Happy Painting/Creating! :) T.