A Sunday in January

It’s been a beautiful weekend so far and here at the old manor house on the hill we’re watching the Baltimore Ravens play the Houston Texans in a home game today. Actually, I’m not watching at all, and had to look up to see who Baltimore was playing. I’m really not into football but I like the background noise that it makes. It’s kind of comforting.

My blogging friend, Caroline, {Constantly Evolving} introduced her readers to a new set of actions that are a really good deal. I purchased a set with 24 different offerings for only $25 at K. Miller Photography.

Thanks, Caroline ~

All of the photos in this post, with the exception of the last, were processed using the Chunfen action set. An action is a recording of a sequence of commands and operations in Photoshop. So rather than perform ten or more different things, you simply press a button and then adjust accordingly. I love actions.


K. Miller Photography





I used Tinto to process this one with the house in the background. I was standing in the little woods in front of the house. I love the radial blur and the softness.





The rest of the shots in this post were taken inside. It’s cold out there today! These are some of the books that are piled up on the built-in library shelves in the room we use as our living room. I guess I have a lot of books on Maine. I think I used Balla Lite and Harvest on this one, turning off some of the layers on the latter.

That’s a Lotta L’s in that last sentence.





If my walls look rustic, it’s because they are a little bit. The action brought it out some.





I thought the play of light through the lace curtains looked pretty here in the dining room. I didn’t stage anything for these shots – I don’t think I’m all that great at that sort of thing. And yes, I have feathers tied with a bow.





When we find feathers on the ground, I steam them over a tea kettle of boiling water to clean them. I don’t remember which action I used on the dining room shots but I believe it may have been Balla Lite.





This is a sweet present from my friend, Margie, who teaches art at our school. She made this for me, using things she found and modeled it after a prototype we found at ABC Home & Carpet in NYC. There’s a photo {here} of the original. I love this gift.





Tinto used on Margie’s gift and the photo above of the geraniums in the dining room. When I first downloaded my actions from this set, I wasn’t sure if I really liked them. But once I began playing with the layers, I changed my mind. Tinto has a layer with a lot of red in it and I lowered the opacity considerably for this one.





The mantle in the dining room where I have a couple of framed prints. The wave image is a recent purchase from someone who comments on my blog. I had no idea she had an etsy shop and fell in love with this print.


CheyAnne Sexton on Etsy





And finally, my little buddy on one of my newest acquisitions, a rug from my friend, Hilary, at Crazy as a Loom. George thinks it’s a really soft place to lie but I’m planning on using it for myself, where I stand to wash the dishes. Sorry, George.


Crazy as a Loom Rugs


The sun is shining and it’s beautiful here in Maryland, and quite cold which is as it should be for a day in January. This time last year, we had snow on the ground. Here’s a link to the post, below.


Winter arrives on silvery-toed slippers

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Until tomorrow, my friends . . .