Evanescent.  I just learned me a new word today.  Who’da thunk it?

Sorry I have not had much to say for the last number of years but hopefully that changes in a few months, maybe sooner, not for sure right now.  I know I am about to take at least a couple of months off after Memorial Day weekend.

I knew I was canceling my cable service, Comcast, due to constantly being overcharged for months now and not able to completely correct the various issues with my bill.  I had never dealt with this company before now & read all the complaints before going with them anyway.  Live & learn, it can happen to you too!  I had no issues the first year with my introductory offer locked in but after that year and one upgrade deal that turned out to be $33.00 more than the agreed upon amount of $142 which was still way higher than the deal advertised for only $109 per month.  They gave me a partial credit with more to come, but reneged on the deal numerous times so I’m done.  Been charging me $176 or more a month!  Probably sending a complaint to the FCC when I am done with them.  I don’t expect they will just let me cancel.  I actually expect them to pull stuff on me after the fact like sending some type of “cancellation bill” or claims they didn’t get all the equipment back.  That’s how much I don’t trust them now and will wait and see so I can give a full report to the FCC when I do file a complaint so everything’s included.

I will choose another service after I get a break from it for the summer.  Will give me a chance to create again instead of being distracted because I want to watch things and get my money’s worth out of this service while I have it.  I might do another post before I stop for a while.  This is some of the things I’ve worked on in the past in various media and with my computer graphic software of which I have three.  Photoshop, PhotoImpact & PhotoDraw.  Most are about 10 years old or more with some functions no longer supported by the company and as such no longer work like 3D in PhotoDraw 2000 because of their constant upgrades to Windows through the years.  I rarely touch Photoshop Elements 7 & 9 preferring Microsoft PhotoDraw when I need it.  The PhotoImpact edition I have came out in 1999, a year before PhotoDraw was introduced by Microsoft I purchased at a good price in my college bookstore.

I used to do restoration work on old photos back in then 1980’s for a couple of professional photo labs without the help of any software like we have now.

I have been suffering through yet another diet the last couple months trying to get rid of about 20 extra pounds after hibernating all winter with cable.  Was nice though.  Spoiled the heck out of myself.  I started keeping a journal with the approximate calorie, fat and carb info for everything I ate.  It helped me become aware of the nutrition in my food and make needed changes.  I still freak when I have a couple of slices of bread I want to use so it doesn’t go to waste but I don’t want the added calories and have other left overs that are more nutritious.  I’ve never been a big bread eater in the first place but did purchase it.  I pride myself in never wasting any food but thinking like that will put on the pounds for sure.  So will snacking on seeds and nuts thinking they are healthy but realizing just how many calories and fat is in them.

I made a “Pineapple Dream Desert” the other day for a treat after giving up cheesecake and ice cream, my favorites.  I’m not fond of just any sweets but what I do love I must have like chocolate at least once a day.  I created a “Diet Pineapple Dream Desert” in honor of my 11 lb weight loss.  I was about to go berserk feeling so deprived.  Click on the original desert name for the full recipe.

I did not make a crust, just the top sprinkle.  Whip all the ingredients together as you would any whipped desert and chill a couple of hours to firm.  Not bad but not as good as a cheesecake, fair warning.  Also found this great snack food called Cosmos Creations that I think may put a crimp in my diet plans. Like the coconut crunch in moderation.  Must be a Christian company because days later I was reading the back and found Psalm 89:11.

I have also added an additional 8 crates to my wall shelving.  I’m eventually going to sand them all better and stain them a darker color as well as input those battery stick lights in some of them for ambiance when I can find some that are decent quality.  I tried those years ago with my under the stairs storage and they eventually fell off after getting knocked.  They were cheaply made.  I will post the another picture once I complete that time-consuming project one day.  *WARNING: Again, would not recommend doing something like this with young children who could easily pull it down on themselves.  

I actually might just sand them and use white wash or milk paint.  I like both effects.  Viewed them on Pinterest.com.  I plan on being creative as far as placement once in a while now that I have 20 to work with.

I plan on starting and finishing a number of collages while I’m away for a while.  I will post them as soon as I’m online again.  In the meantime I’ll share some of my old work.

Lamp post collage

My first nude oil. Interesting technique before I started studying with other artists.

Rose transfer in center of large plexiglass with stamped border.

This is what happened with I drew a picture from my head. Not happy with it

More fun with a glue gun.

Acrylic cross on canvas with stamped border done in monochromatic metallics.

One of my childhood art projects in copper.

Stuck this “negative” bird

In front of a “negative” snow scene