"Mainely" Maine

   

 In 2018, my husband and I completed a goal of visiting all fifty states together with a cruise to Alaska. The plan then was to revisit; go to places in those states we had yet to see, and to enjoy more International travel.  We were able to get to Lake Tahoe and travel the Pacific Coast Highway before life changed in the world and little to no travel could be enjoyed. Car trips across Colorado and Tennessee have been fulfilled in the last year, but I didn’t do any air travel for over two years. I eased into those again with quick trips to Chicago and New York, masked and cautious

Last week, we enjoyed a vacation…the kind that isn’t worked around the job, or a visit to see anyone. The kind that’s a destination, a plan, a goal, a bucket list check-off…the kind that you turn off the cell phones and enjoy, be in awe of beautiful scenery and amazing places. The pre-pandemic kind, the kind that says maybe we’ve turned the page and things will be “normal” again (whatever that means). However hard it is to breathe with those masks, and I was masked in the airports and on the planes and in certain places, it felt as if I could actually breathe life again just by embracing  something I’d taken for granted. Travel. A real vacation and it had been three years. Living again. Deep breaths. 

Maine. Acadia National Park. Bar Harbor. Blue Hill. Stonington. Castine. Camden. Rockland. Rockport. Bristol. Boothbay Harbor. Portland. Cape Elizabeth. Freeport. State Parks and Lighthouses. Harbors and Mountains. Lobster Rolls. Lobster Dinners. Whoopee Pies and Blueberry Pies. Fresh Seafood. Ice Cream. The week was full but it was relaxed; I ate whatever I wanted and didn’t worry or care about the calories. Vacation. No worries. Appreciating life again…those calories can be counted next week, just as all of those missed calls and text messages can be returned when one gets home. It felt so nice to live again.

Finally, I’ll share a few iPhone photos of gorgeous scenery here, because I’ve yet to go through the photos I took with the Canon. That will take me a while, but I’m looking forward to it. I’m also looking forward to the next trip around Labor Day. A short one. Another bucket-list goal. 

As always, thanks for reading everything I’ve shared here over the last ten years. It is appreciated. 

Photograph Updates

 I think Fine Art America has finally fixed the issue that the majority of its users disliked: that the most popular/highest sales images were being shown first to viewers as a default option. We finally have the option now to show the latest uploads first...something that had always been our choice: to arrange the images in the way we wanted them shown, and one that I'd always utilized. Newest first. Hoping that it remains "working" with no more hiccups.

Sharing some more images here. They're simply screenshots with the higher resolution photographs available on the site. 

Btw, as usual, I can't quite get the spacing between the images right. 😕

Thanks, all.

More to the Playlist

 The following songs remind me of summers past. One hit the charts early in my college years, while another was released as I neared the end of my university years. They bring back memories of people, the University Center, an old beat up hand-me-down car, and a new stick-shift (manual transmission) I bought myself. I learned to drive it after I bought it! 

The other songs came much later, and I've no idea the time of year they were released, but they remind me of good times during the summer. The 4th of July holiday, the beach (particularly Hilton Head or Kiawah Island, S.C.), fresh produce stands on the side of the road...watermelon, peaches, corn on the cob, tomatoes. 

Adding to a very long playlist of great songs...

Youtube shares: 

The Motels - Suddenly Last Summer

Kim Carnes - Bette Davis Eyes

Sade - By Your Side

Dido- Thank You

Dido - White Flag 

Madeline

"In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines lived twelve little girls in two straight lines...The smallest one was Madeline..."

 

It seems I'm forever going through boxes that have been packed away. The latest, and hopefully last, has been sorting the original American Girl dolls (and all of the paraphernalia that goes with them) which belonged to my daughters when they were children. It's time for those things to be passed on to the adult kids to handle and do with as they choose. 

As it always seems to be, there is a hitch of nostalgia along the way. Not only with those dolls, but I found some books that meant something to me early in my life. I later bought the series for my daughters. 

I adored the Madeline books (by Ludwig Bemelmans) when I was a child, and the greatest memory of watching television back then was this little story which aired periodically. When? I can't recall. Perhaps it was on Saturday mornings when network cartoons aired until about noon; more than likely it was simply a special now and then that glued me to the television. I remember sitting mesmerized, reciting the words to memory. 

Of course, Youtube seems to be the source of opportunity whenever a memory or idea comes to mind; simply search and you're likely to find a long lost song, commercial or television show. Such is the case with the beautiful Madeline airing "back in the dark ages" 😊. With a little smile, I'm sitting at my computer this time, yet still mesmerized and reciting the words from long ago. 

If you have a few minutes, take the time to watch this little Youtube share. Thank you, as always. 

Fine Art America Glitch

 Lately, I've noticed there has been a Fine Art America glitch that affects the order of photos which can be seen by viewers visiting the site. This is the same for my Pixels website, which is through Fine Art America. 

When I upload photos to my Fine Art America site, I allow the latest upload to be viewed on the first page. So the order is from the most current images to the oldest. With nearly 500 images, there are numerous pages. However, when simply typing in the URL of the websites, clicking on a link to the websites, or searching on Google or Bing, the first page on the sites shows photos that were uploaded around 2013. Since I have sold images on FAA since 2012, I'm uncertain just how much of my current (the last eight or nine years) work can now be seen by the public.  That's a loss of potential sales. 

I've reported the issue to FAA, and I hope the problem will be corrected. Below is a screenshot of what the first page should look like, in addition to screenshots of the last few uploads.. There are about eight other pages that aren't appearing. 

Thank you.

Forever Young

 Music video #3 of good music from Youtube. I like sharing these, and this particular song meant so much to me as a parent when Rod Stewart released it. The words resonate, and nostalgia hits hard whenever I hear it now. 

Forever Young, performed by Rod Stewart; songwriters: Bob Dylan, Jim Cregan, Kevin Savigar, Rod Stewart 

Eye in the Sky

 My new "hiatus" is allowing a little freedom to post at random, whatever and whenever I feel. Sharing another great song from a while ago. 

Music, lyrics...all complete. Use your imagination with the amazing intro...it tells so many stories. What do you see?

Eye in the Sky by The Alan Parsons Project.