It’s another rainy day here in Colville. I did manage to go out inbetween rain showers and mow the lawn, but only because I think today might be the only opportunity to mow for the next week. Rain, rain, rain. I hope it clears up by Friday, we’re suposed to be showing the house to a prospective buyer.

In the meantime, since it’s been so rainy and too wet to do much outside, I’ve been playing with layers- textures and masks. Like what you see? They’re available for sale through my Exposure Manager site-

http://lawatha.exposuremanager.com/scripts/expman.pl?rm=overview_gallery&dir=galleries/4

My brother also has a shop on EM- his site is http://cbjohnsonphoto.exposuremanager.com/g Be sure to check out his “Bonnie and Clyde” set- I love it!

The photograph in this entry was taken by my daughter, Lori. I loved it, and just couldn’t resist playing with it. I added a texture layer and a mask layer, played with the levels… and voila. I love this and think I might just have to print a copy to hang in the spare bedroom.

I had every intention of posting to this little blog of mine on a daily basis once we got home from our Winter road-trip, but unfortunately it hasn’t worked out that way. On the way home, I caught the dreaded flu from my husband, which turned into bronchitis and laryngitis. After 3 weeks of the flu (most of it spent coughing and with a terrible headache), the flu turned to a headache that just won’t quit. Not counting the 3 weeks with the flu, I’ve had this headache for 6 1/2 weeks now. I’ve been to the doctor several times, the dentist, and the ophthalmologist. I’ve had an MRI, dental x-rays, and an eye exam. I’ve been on 3 different medications. Nothing helps, and nobody has figured out what is causing the headache. I’ve been doing my own research and that’s a dangerous thing. Good grief, I’ve come up with a multitude of possibilities, the most serious are “hemicrania continua”, and “rebound headache” (aka MOH – Medication Overuse Headache). My symptoms fit… but who knows? I’m off all over the counter and prescription meds now to see if it is rebound headache, then it should go away on its own. If it doesn’t go away without the meds, my guess is it’s really “hemicrania continua”. Next week I’m going to the chiropractor to rule any problem out in the neck. I’m waiting for an appointment with a headache specialist- hopefully if all else fails, he’ll be able to get this headache under control and I can get back to playing with glass, posting on the blog, etc… I sure hope so!

In the meantime, if any of you have a dull never-ending headache across the back of your head, allong with sharp stabbing pains on one side of your head (mine are between my eyes, behind and under my left eye) that last for a few minutes to an hour or so and appear at various times throughout the day for no particular rhyme or reason… I’d like to hear from you. Has your doctor been able to come up with a definitive diagnosis for you? Have you found anything that helps eliminate or at least reduce the pain? Any ideas to help cope with the 24/7 headache? I would appreciate any feedback.

Paphiopedilum Explosion!

Originally uploaded by debrasin

This photograph was taken by a Flickr friend of mine. I love the orchid, and the photography is amazing. I couldn’t resist sharing- it’s just beautiful, Debra, as is all of your photography!

I shot this orchid at the US Botanic Garden in Washington, DC. What a beautiful place that is- so many different plants from all over the world.

This beautiful orchid is the newest addition to my gallery at Exposure Manager. Please stop by and take a look around. If you see any of my images you’d like to buy a print of, they are on sale for 20% off through the end of May. All you have to do is enter “Spring” in the coupon code upon checkout.  Thanks for visiting!

http://lawatha.exposuremanager.com

My older brother and I both love photography.  It seems like whenever we get together whether it be in person, on the phone or via email, there’s usually some mention of photography.  Recently he has been doing a lot of weddings, sports events, etc… as a little business on the side.  He did some research, and discovered Exposure Manager, a web site where you can post your images and sell prints, enlargements, gift items such as photo mugs, photo mousepads, photo puzzles, etc… (Here’s the link to his site if you’d like to take a look at his photography:  http://cbjohnsonphoto.exposuremanager.com/ )   I took one look at his page and knew I wanted to give Exposure Manager a try as well.  I only have a dozen or so photos on there so far, but I will definitely be adding more as time allows.

Please drop by my site at http://lawatha.exposuremanager.com and take a look around.  I’m having a “Grand Opening Sale;  If you purchase anything from my shop via Exposure Manager from now until May 31, 2010, just mention the code word “Spring” when it asks for a coupon code word, and you’ll receive 20% off your order!

We listed the house for sale last week. If you’re looking for a little bit of heaven on earth, this might just be it. 3.4 acres on White Mud Lake (not a very flattering name for such a beautiful lake, now is it?) with a 15′ x 30′ goldfish pond. 2 br, 2 bath, newer appliances, lighting and flooring. 2 car garage plus a workshop. Lots or privacy yet only 5 miles to town!

3 days in a row, the temp hit at least 70. WoooHooooo! That’s the warmest it’s been here since last October. And it’s about time, let me tell you!

The *boys* – Casey and Bailey, wasted no time once the weather warmed up. They’ve been in and out of the pond dozens of times in the past 3 days. They are as happy as I am that it finally warmed up. : )

Palm Beach, Florida

I can’t believe I haven’t posted to this blog since September 9.  Life’s been busy.  We sold the house, the sale fell through on the day we were to move (grrrr!)  We decided to take a road trip and avoid the long cold snowy Winter in Colville.  We left home mid-December and towed the cold back east with us.  Our first day in DC was beautiful, and the snow caught up to us the day after… the biggest snowstorm in DC in years, wouldn’t you know.  Then around New Years, the cold followed us down to South Carolina, and on into Florida-  “It never gets this cold, at least not for this many days in a row”.  Yeah, but that’s because we’ve never been here in January.  We take it with us everywhere we go.  Actually, it has finally warmed up the past couple of weeks, and we’ve come close to 80 a couple of days.  Yay!

We’ve been to see Chris and Allison in VA;  Myrtle Beach, SC;  Hilton Head, SC; St. Augustine, FL; Stuart to Palm Beach, FL; Ocala, FL; Carrabelle, FL; and now Pensacola, FL.  Next up- New Orleans, LA; Jackson, MS; Mission, TX; Los Angeles, CA; Eureka, CA; and then home, some 3 1/2 to 4 months after leaving home.  I love a good road trip!

For a look at more road trip photos, http://www.flickr.com/photos/lawatha/

A beautiful (but stormy) day at the beach

Fall is definitely in the air. The swallows and bluebirds are long gone. The butterfly bush and black eyed susans are about the only flowers left blooming, and foliage is beginning to take on the hues of Autumn.

Summer came and went. It began with excitement- the happiness of selling our home in only 5 short days. In this economy, that was cause for celebration. Alas… after seemingly endless close of escrow date changes, our buyer backed out of the sale. The day we were moving to an interim apartment, the realtor called and said the deal was off, the buyer was “fed up” with waiting for his bank to fund the loan. WHAT? We paid first month’s rent and security deposit on the apartment, we paid for boxes and tape and travel to and from Liberty Lake several times, everything was boxed and sitting on the deck waiting to load into the truck… how could this happen? Talk about MAD. Wow. Madder than a wet hen, as the saying goes… that was me.

This morning I visited the blog of a sweet friend who has two very close family members battling cancer, as well as she herself battling stage 4 inflammatory breast cancer. Reading her update was a refresher on what real problems are. A reminder that no matter what happens with the house, whether it ever sells or not… it’s nothing compared to battling cancer. It’s nothing compared to facing the loss of a loved one. It’s nothing really compared to any REAL problem. Thank you for that reminder, Renee… somehow you always manage to put things in their proper perspective, without even trying.