Gill, Chris and I went to the zoo yesterday, where I took this picture of Toba, a female orangutan who likes to hide. Evidently a zoo keeper gave her a bed sheet to wear since she feels more comfortable when she is covered. I felt kind of sorry for her. She reminded me of a mentally ill lady I once knew who wore a white bed sheet all the time. I never knew why, but I never saw her without the sheet. Maybe Toba gets cold, though, or maybe there is another reason she does what she does.

Check Chris's Xanga  site... she has a video of me interacting with a bear at the zoo.

I need to try to post more often, even if the only pictures I have handy are old ones. These are photographs I took that I then enhanced using the tools in Photoshop. The first is columbines taken at the Myriad Gardens in Oklahoma City.

This is from the vacation Chris and I took to the Chesapeake Bay several years ago.

I took the photograph from which the enhancement below was done in Arkansas. I added the mare and colt from a photograph I took almost thirty years ago before I even heard of digital cameras.

The scene with morning glories below was in Eureka Springs, Arkansas when Chris and I were there some years ago. We loved the little town and hope to go back some time. It is a great place to take pictures of interesting houses and northwest Arkansas has some absolutely beautiful scenery.

I'm really anxious for spring, and have begun to do a little work in the garden. I ordered 22 new lily bulbs -- wonderful Orienpet lilies. Orienpets are hybrids created from crossing Trumpet Lilies and Orientals. Since I don't have a place to put them, I'm digging up some plain jane Asiatic lilies growing in a perfect place for lilies. I think my new lilies will be happy there. I am planting the bulbs I am digging in pots. Actually, Chris will have enough to plant a big pot, too. I am not finished digging them, however. I'm out of shape so I can't put in too many hours doing it and I have to wait on fairly nice weather, as well.

I always seem to post my valentine flowers on xanga, so I guess I'll do it this year, too. They are carnations with just a few tulips mixed in. I really like carnations because they smell great, are pretty, and last so long.

Rosie is feeling better. Since I posted to xanga last, she has been on a new diet -- a canned food we get from the vet that is supposed to be very easy to digest.  And except for one day when she ate a few worms that had crawled up onto the sidewalk to keep from drowning in the rain, she has not had a tummy ache. I've never had a dog before with such a delicate digestive system. I have hopes that if we are diligent about her diet and don't give in to her pleas for something tastier -- plus watch her like a hawk when she is outside, that she can stay well.

I've got to get busy and pick out new images for digital nuts, an online group of which I am one of the moderators. It is a group for people who love to make art from digital photographs. If you are interested here is the yahoo group.. and the galleries on pBase.

Rosie Joy doesn't feel well today. In fact there have been lots of days when she feels kind of icky -- not at all hungry and with a tummy ache. I think it made her tummy feel better to lay on the sofa back this way. Part of the reason, I'm sure, was that the sun from the window felt good, too. It looked so strange I took her picture.

I sure wish I knew what was behind her general lack of appetite and failure to gain enough weight to not look skinny. We will probably have her checked for worms again, but this has been a problem of long standing-- before and after her bout with a tape worm a couple of months ago. In fact it has been a problem from the beginning. There is usually a couple of days a week when she just doesn't want to eat....and on the days she does eat -- it is very little. Poor baby.

Freezing rain -- snow -- sleet -- we've had it all, as much of the rest of the country has. It is thawing today finally, and I hope enough that when night falls along with the the temperatures, there will not be enough slush still on the roads and sidewalks to freeze into ice again. I took the picture from which this image was derived soon after the freezing rain that covered everything in ice, including the plumes of the pampas grass outside the back fence. Those birds are waiting their turn at the bird feeder my husband keeps filled with birdseed -- especially on cold winter days.

 Gill, Chris, and I went on our monthly outing today. It was very cold outside, so we chose wisely to go to the Museum of Art. We began by having a lovely lunch at the Museum Cafe. We all had Brie and Apple Arugula Salad, which was made with Arugula, raspberries, cherry tomatoes, diced red onions, walnut crusted brie apples, raspberry vinaigrette. It was delicious. That's Gill below.

Of course, we didn't stop there. Gill and I had Cappuccinos and Chris and I split a Vanilla Bean Crème Brulee. Gill was a good girl and only took a bite or two.

After lunch we looked at the exhibits. There was a temporary exhibit of American Impressionists, which was very good. I would have loved to take pictures there, but it was forbidden. We also took in the permanent exhibits. Hands down, our favorite was the Dale Chihuly art glass collection. Our museum has the largest collection of his work anywhere in the world. The remainder of the pictures are Dale Chihuly's work. Click any of the images to see them larger.

  
Chris and Gill are sitting in front of the huge Chihuly glass sculpture in the entrance of the museum. It towers up to the third floor and is something to behold. We had a lovely time.

Rosie Joy had her first birthday yesterday. We celebrated surviving her puppyhood by taking her to Pet Smart and picking out a new collar, a new toy, and new sweater to wear on her walks when it is cold outside. I let her keep the sweater on this morning long enough to get a shot of her wearing it. It doesn't stay pulled down very good when she is running around, which is what she was doing when I snapped this picture. She is ambivalent about the collar and sweater, but she does love her new toy and played with it for hours yesterday, throwing it around, attacking it and shaking it -- and shaking it -- and shaking it. It squeaks, of course. What fun!

I was tagged by Gill_L
The object of 4th picture tag is to:
1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer
2) Select the 4th picture in the folder
3) Explain the picture
4) Tag 4 people to do the same.

I actually had to choose the filth folder because the fourth folder in "My Pictures" doesn't have pictures in it, but presets and texture files I use for Photoshop when I enhance photographs. The fifth folder, however does have images in it and this is the forth. It is an enhancement of a photograph -- one of my favorite daylilies named Red Flag

I took this picture of one of Gill's cats when we were at her house for tea on Boxing Day. The cat was really on the floor like a good kitty. I put her on the table at the Empress Hotel in Victoria, BC -- just for fun. This is actually just a portion of a larger "painting."

We got together today to make Candy. Chris and I have have pretty much adopted Gill as part of the family, so of course, she had to come if we were going to make candy again this year. We made far more than any of us needed, but it was fun. Candy Day(s) was a tradition started by Mom many years ago. We weren't really sure that we would continue the tradition after her death last May. After all, most of the candy was for her to give to her friends at the Retirement Center where she lived the last few years of her life. But we decided we'd scale way back and keep it going. It just wouldn't seem like Christmas without Candy Day. Gill helped us last year for the first time, which as it turned out was Mom's last.  We thought of Mom many times today, but it wasn't with sadness, really. It was a good day.