So, Typepad told me their working the problem with excessive pixelation of photos, but they have no idea when it will be fixed. That I'll have to live with the pixelation until they do.
That's not the response I wanted to hear.
Nice. Especially since I actually PAY for this service every month.
I may be shopping around for another blog service.
So what's a girl to do in the interim? Well, post photos, of course!
Another photo for the pixelation test. I'm wondering now if it's a problem with pixelation or over sharpening. Sigh.
Typepad implemented a new "posting" screen. Typepad calls it the "Compose Editor", but I'll just call it posting screen because it doesn't sound quite as technical. :) It's simply the place you go to create new posts that you see here.
If you're a Typepad user and don't have the new posting screen yet, then don't be alarmed. It hasn't been fielded to everyone just yet.
It has a bunch of new bells and whistles that I love. There were a few snafu's that Typepad fixed promptly.
But one thing I don't love, and it's a snafu that Typepad is still trying to fix, is that photos look really pixelated. Typepad sent an email out to all members saying this was fixed. But, my photos were still looking very pixelated on the screen after the fix.
So I sent Typepad an email and they told me the problem still exists when a photo is saved at a resolution that's less than 800. So I'm going to give a try uploading a 300dpi large file to see what happens.
I do have a texture over this, so that's going to make it look different from the start.
Ummm, not sure if this was the best photo to test this with. Darn it. What do you think...does it look really pixelated to you? Well, I'll post another photo tomorrow and see how that looks. :)
We're getting ready to get a big storm here. We definately need the rain. Dry as a bone around here, and some of my outdoor plants are looking so wilted.
Had a fab foot-loose-and-fancy-free weekend. Nice to have those sometimes. Busy, but in a good way.
Saw the movie Sex and the City Friday night. It was excellent. I only watched the TV show a few times, but loved it. Definitely a chick movie. I'm not sure every guy will want to see it. Most guys just won't get it. See it with girlfriends, if you can. Before the movie we ate dinner at this fab Italian Restaurant, Mama Cucina.
On Sat, went to "A Celebration of the Vine" with some of my favorite people. It was an excellent wine tasting event. Lots of food and a fantastic band. The weather was HOT HOT HOT. I thought I was going to melt! We got there at 11am, and left at 3pm. Before we went home, had to run a few errands. But once I got home, first thing I did was shower to cool off. Then took a nap. Didn't have to cook, thank goodness. We had left overs from Friday.
We hung around the house this morning awhile before heading on over the the bookstore for a light "brunch" and magazine browsing. Did a tab bit of shopping at Target and TJ Max, stopped for a pizza at Dolcie Vita, and headed home.
This weekend we'll be bookin' all over the place.
Friday morning, sleep in. Tidy up the house and wash a few loads of clothes (booooooooooring).
Friday evening head out to "dinner and a movie" with some girlfriends (seeing Sex in the City). The hubs and his friends are going to a ball game.
Sat morning, sleep in. In the afternoon, meeting up with another couple for a Wine Tasting festival.
Sun morning, sleep in. Take a few things to Goodwill (part of the purging leftovers).
Then hopefully, have Sunday afternoon to relax and play in Photoshop.
Busy week planned (all good stuff).
Have a great weekend!
How do you like this little guy? Saw him while we were staying at Barboursville. He wouldn't come out of the woods to say hello, but at least he didn't run off and didn't seem afraid of us.
One of the things that I was thrilled about when we visited Barboursville was the variety of gorgeous plants on the property.
Hundreds of them, all in varying stages of maturity and blooming loveliness.
A photographer's dream. That is, if you like to photograph flowers. Which I definitely do.
Unrelated to flowers. I haven't been sleeping well at all the last two nights. I've been waking up at around 2 or 3am and then not able to go back to sleep for a few hours. I let out a big groan when the alarm clock goes off at 5:30am for work. I'm beat because of it. Plan to hit the bed early tonight!
When I was out with my friends at the antique mall, I couldn't stop taking photos of us in the mirror. Every mirror we passed was a candidate for a snap (and there were lots of mirrors in that place).
When I looked back on all the photos I took, I can't believe how many involved a reflection of some kind.
I guess it's because I enjoy getting in the photo, yet I also want to take the photo. Ummm, doesn't really work. Except when you take the photo in the mirror.
Bad thing about a mirror is it can be very hard for the camera to auto focus due to the reflection. So most of the time I manually focus, which I haven't quite mastered in the D300 yet. And it does take a little extra time to manually focus, which I usually don't want to take when I'm out snapping photos left and right.
Here's one of all the girls. Just ONE of the mirror photos I took. :)
My friend, Cindy, came down from Fredricksburg yesterday.
We met up with two other friends, Deborah and Brenda, for a girls day out. We try to meet up every few months.
Started off at Deborah's house in the morning with Mimosas, bagels, and pastries for breakfast. After which we talked and caught up on what's going on in our lives.
Then we headed over to the local antique mall for some quality shopping. Deborah, Cindy, and I all found things we couldn't live without. I bought a $3 Duraflex camera to experiment taking TTV photos. Deborah bought her Mom something. And Cindy really hit the jackpot with one of those old type drawers with a ton of slots, a flower frog, and a neat holder for her beads.
Had to ham it up with some vintage hats. Work it girls!
Soon we were famished, and decided Bone Fish Grill would be the place to go. Deborah's daughter met us there, and we had a terrific time chatting, eating, and having a few glasses of wine.
Then for dessert we decided to head on over to The Dessertarie. We had coffee and cake. And there was a jazz band playing. Too fun.
Didn't get home unitl almost 11PM!
Had a ball!
As you know we've been cleaning and simplifying around our house.
I've been able to get rid of a lot of things, without hesitation. Seriously, I've been able to donate stuff that I never thought I'd be able to part with. I love it. And the more I do it, the easier it becomes.
But then I run across the simplest thing that stops me in my tracks, both physically and mentally. Something that floods me with memories the moment I see it. And I know I can't part with it. It serves no purpose what-so-ever than to feed my memory.
Take this little basket of dolls, for instance. I ran across these little ladies as I was cleaning out my Christmas boxes last weekend (I have about 15 of them, and want to get it down to 2-3 at most, if possible).
I don't know how they ended up in my Christmas stuff. The basket belonged to my grandmother, who passed away several years ago. I distinctly remember her having these dolls, and putting them in the "hands" of larger dolls with dresses she would crochet and give away as gifts. They were the larger doll's "baby doll". :)
I'll tuck them away again, and find them one day long after I've forgotten I've had them. And again I'll have those memories flood back. So me, that is priceless.
At Barboursville Vineyards, we stayed in a little historic building on the grounds called "The Cottage."
The Cottage is what remains of the slave quarters on the once thriving plantation. It's a modest size building when compared to the other Inns on the premises (the are three other larger Inns). But it could not have been any less grand.
I remember laying in bed in the evening, before turning off the light to go to sleep, and looking at the huge beamed ceilings. The uneven brick wall that covered the fireplace. The stone floor. And I couldn't help but think of all the people that once lived and worked there. A few generations, to be sure.
Can you imagine the events that must have occurred in and around this modest little home since 1780? I thought in wonder what might have transpired between those walls. What daily life was like for these hard working people.
The Cottage was surrounded by lovely, well maintained flower beds. So gorgeous. I've never seen so many lovely flying bugs and butterflies in my life!
More photos to come this weekend. Need to process a few more (doing a little at a time since I took a bunch of pics!!).
Have a fantastic day! I love you!
Twenty-four years ago today I made the best decision of my life.
And that was to marry the man of my dreams.
Every day I realize how happy this man makes me.
Not a day goes by that I don't realize how lucky I am to have a person like him next to me.
He's the finest person I've ever known. Smart. Kind. Outgoing. Extremely caring. Loves people. High moral standards. Uber fun to be around. Can tell a joke like no one else I know. Has a fantastic sense of humor. Keeps me laughing. Puts up with all my photography and scrapbooking-related projects (more than puts up - he's totally supportive and encourages me in every way to pursue my passions, whatever they may be). And he tells me that he loves me every single day. I could go on and on and on.
He's everything that I am and everything that I am not.
I love you honey. Love, love, love you. You complete me. You're the chocolate icing on the chocolate cake. Trust words.
Since all my wedding photos were taken with a traditional camera, I had to scan this one in! I remember this very well!
We had a ball this past weekend visiting and staying at Barboursville Vineyard. I was in in photography heaven, and can't wait to share a bunch more photos of the trip.
We had our first tasting of the trip right there at Barboursville Vineyard. The wine was pretty good, and we bought a few bottles. I can't remember exactly now which kind we bought, but I'm sure is was a Cab (my fav) and one or two whites.
To know what we picked up I'd actually have to get up off my butt and check our stash, and frankly, I don't have the energy to go down stairs to our wine cellar (hahaha - er, I mean our wine rack in the bottom shelf of our our pantry).
Anyway, the tasting room at Barboursville was wonderful! And since we were there during the week (Thursday), there was hardly anyone else there.
I loved the wall behind the tasting bar, in the photo below. The photo doesn't do the size of the wall justice. It was made from old boards that were stained from years of having been exposed to wine spills and such. Very rich looking. They may have been boards from old barrels. The Barboursville Vineyards sign was painted over top of all the richness.
Just got back from 4 days of vacation at Barboursville, VA. Me and the hubs went with very good friends.
We spend two nights at historic Barboursville Vineyards, in the most amazing and quaint cottages I've ever been in.
The Vineyard is on historic property, with structures dating back to 1814. It was just amazing.
Every day we were brought breakfast (yes, it was hand delivered to our cottage) of the most delicious food on the planet. On the last day we were there, we took our breakfast outside to dine "al fresco".
We ate at the on-sight restaurant, Palladio, twice. Once for lunch, and another time for dinner. Wow. That's all I can say. Spectacular food and service.
We visited a few other wineries while we were there.
More photos to come later.
This is a photo of the dining table inside the cottage on the day we arrived. It was set up with a full bottle of wine, wine glasses, napkins, and light snacks to nibble on.
If only working this hard really would reduce my buttocks. I'd work around the clock, 24/7.
But in reality, I think it actually increases the girth. No exercise. Calories have to settle in somewhere! And unfortunately, they tend to settle in with my hips, or parts thereabouts.
Been crazy busy at work. Good thing I really like my job.
The hostess at a local restaurant had to stand inside this car greet customers as they came in. How fun is that?
