Granny Sue is “plum tuckered out.”

The past couple of weeks we have kept the two grandsons while their mother has gone back to begin a new school term. It seems there has been a two week time lapse between when mom’s school term began and the boy’s pre-school and kindergarten classes started.

Talk about shaking things up around the house!  Whew!

I now know more about Tinker Toys, Legos, Transformers and Matchbox cars than I ever thought I would — same with Spiderman, Batman, and Sponge Bob Square Pants. We have played games and had “arts and crafts.”  Puzzles, stickers, stamps – we got those out too!  We have talked about earthquakes, volcanoes, tornadoes…you name it.  We counted forwards, backwards, and by 10’s.

The new house being built across the street even played a role in our daily activities and discussions.  We watched the footers being poured, the foundation laid, the studs and rafters go up, and even the roof put on.  The  concrete trucks and big dump trucks coming and going were fascinating to the two boys.  Each day the boys would note the progress made on the house.  It literally was growing and taking shape right before their eyes!

A television program stimulated a conversation regarding “war.”  That brought up some difficult situations and positions to try to discuss with a 6 year old.  I’m not sure I’m wise enough to explain why people have to die in war and the difference between the “good guys” and the “bad guys.”  Heavy stuff.

The mornings were filled with play.  Sometimes it got a little wild and crazy.  I guess that’s to be expected with a three year old and a six year old.  However, the “time outs” were relatively few and far between.

If I made it to lunch time I knew I was home free since quiet time followed lunch time.  The younger grandson had to take a nap and the older grandson seemed to enjoy the peace and quiet in the bonus room.  He won’t admit it, but I think he rested (translate napped) a bit.    Psst…don’t tell, but Granny Sue often took a nap during quiet time too!

What’s really interesting is that the favorite part of the day – for both the grandsons as well as for grandpa and grandma – was time in the kitchen making the afternoon snack!  And, more often than not, the favorite snack was “Cini-minis.”

Both boys could spread the butter on the Crescent roll dough; sprinkle on the cinnamon/sugar mix; and roll up the dough.  I sliced the rolls into smaller pieces and placed them on the cookie sheet.  We laughed and giggled and watched the timer while they baked.  And, after taking them out of the oven, it was easy to drizzle icing on the freshly baked rolls.

The hardest part of making “Cini-minis” was waiting for the go-ahead to eat their freshly backed treat!  Yum!

I must admit when the boys went home in that afternoon I was tired and ready for a break.  BUT…the house suddenly became VERY, VERY quiet – and lonely.

“Cini-minis” and the youthful  enthusiasm of grandsons in the house equals a wonderful “Recipe for FUN!”

It struck me while I was putting on my make-up this morning.

It’s true.  I am becoming my mother.  When I look in the mirror, I often don’t recognize myself.  I’m changing.

When I was younger, I often wondered why my mother allowed herself to gain some extra weight.   I promised myself I would never become overweight.  After all, I knew all the important information – exercise on a regular basis, eat properly, maintain a healthy lifestyle.  In spite of that knowledge, somehow I am changing; looking more and more “fluffy.”  That, coupled with my gray hair and a little…er, maturity, is causing me to become the spitting image of my mother.

On top of that, I find myself changing and acting more like her every day.

I didn’t used to, but now I lay my make-up out on a towel, just like she did.  And I keep my make-up in a plastic container under the bathroom cabinet – just like she did.

I think of her when I put the tablecloth on the dining room table, smooth it out just so, and set the table with tender care – just like she did.

As I walk through my house, I think of the fun Mother and I used to have decorating her house; artfully placing various keepsakes and mementos in just the perfect place, turned in just the perfect position.  When we would finish a new project, I noticed she would sit and stare for the longest time.  She always had to admire and enjoy our handy work.

Yup.  You guessed it.  When I hang a new picture or re-arrange something in the house I find myself standing back and admiring my handy work, sometimes even starring for quite some time – just like she did.

I haven’t started shaking or stirring the ice in my cup…yet.

Early in my digital photography days I questioned why anyone would want to “Photoshop” an image; often altering a piece beyond recognition of the original capture.  My position has dramatically changed.  I now find that using software to optimize or enhance an image is just one part of the creative process; often a very important part.

People change.  Philosophies change.  Technology undergoes change.

Change is inevitable.  I’m learning to “Never Say Never.”

Texture credit:

Flicker users Nascos3 and Tassiesim

Whew!  I think I’ve worked longer and harder on this post than any other Vision and Verb post.  And sadly, I doubt that you — the reader — will realize and/or appreciate my hard work.  *smile*

So, where to begin.

A couple of posts back, I mentioned that I wanted to learn how to make photo collages in Photoshop.  More than likely that skill is Photoshop 101 for most of you.  But for me, the one who has never had any formal training in Photoshop and strictly does everything “by guess and by golly,” that was at the “master’s degree level.”

Ginny suggested purchasing an inexpensive subscription to Picnik.  She’s right about the wonderful creative opportunities available there for a very reasonable fee.

Toni, in an email, offered her help.  I emailed Toni back and said, “You know, it sounds logical to me that I would open a new document, add images to the document, use the “Ctrl T” to size and arrange the images, and voila — have my collage.”  She replied “Yup.  That’s about it!”

After scratching my head and throwing away numerous messy attempts, I finally did a good old fashioned Google search and found “CoffeeShop Free Stuff,” which included a free storyboard template.   Again, I would imagine that most of you are already familiar with this site.  I’m an old dog who doesn’t always know all the new tricks.

A little history:  Following my career as a teacher, I worked for a couple of years with the Salvation Army at the local Family and Youth Center.  One of the many responsibilities I had as the Assistant Director of the Center was to run the computer lab.

During adult computer lab time I helped provide one-on-one instruction on the computer.  Most of the adults who frequented the lab did not own their own computers but came to the lab to explore the various aspects of the computer with the expectations that in the near future they might purchase a home computer.  For the majority of the participants, their primary goal consisted of learning to use email and perform Internet searches.

From time to time a few of the individuals would bravely ask about using Word, Excel, Publisher, and PowerPoint.

The principal thing I learned from observing the adults exploring MS Office, etc. was they needed to have a specific purpose or goal in mind.

If I simply showed them how to open a new document in Word and had them start keying in words, it meant NOTHING to them.  However, when the adult group undertook compiling a recipe collection to share on a web site they helped create, the various functions of Word came alive and had real life meaning.

I felt that way this week while attempting to create a photo collage in Photoshop.

Once I decided my goal was to share a photo collage (albeit a primitive one) here at Vision and Verb,  several of the concepts became more clear to me.  While it’s nice to use storyboard templates that are acquired from resources like CoffeeShop, I think I now have a better understanding of the process and probably could produce a collage independently.

Since I’m rambling, why in the first place did I even want to create collage to share more than one image?

This past week-end, along with hundreds of thousands of other photographers around the world, I participated in the 2010 Scott Kelby World Wide Photo Walk and I simply wanted to share a few of the images I made during that walk.

So there.  Now you know.

Now what.  Is there a moral to my ramblings?

I think so.  This “old dog” CAN learn new tricks.

And, I’ve noticed that so many others of our little community are working toward learning new tricks by taking on-line classes, viewing tutorials, attending webinars, etc. — probably even reading good old-fashioned books.

Here’s to life long learning!

Cheers!