we are going to keep him.  I just can’t go through that again.  We are looking at solutions to the issues four dogs present … chain link fence, doggie door, and one of those anti-bark collars that mists a citronella-based deterrent when they bark.  (We think that we’ve been “pegging” the wrong dog for barking … we thought Willie was doing most of it, but we’ve discovered that Jami’s five month old chorkie has a very deep bark and may be the instigator to some of the “symphonies” that we’ve been “enjoying”.)  Also, everyone but our Golden Retriever will be scheduled for surgery (spaying, neutering) as soon as fiscally possible in hopes that that will help, too.

He came and sat with me for a good while this morning.  I don’t think he was mistreated while he was gone, but I think he was wondering, “Why do I keep going for these long car rides with strangers?” 

And thank you to everyone whose comments have been such a comfort and encouragement.  I really appreciate your friendship.

Well, we drove him up to meet his new family and they were surprised at how big he is.  I made it clear in my emails that he was a standard size Yorkie, not one of those “handbag” puppies that are so popular as accessories rather than living, breathing members of the family.  Anyway, after some discussion they decided to go ahead and take him with the understanding that they would give him a month …

I should have never let them take him.

Not two hours after we parted paths, she called and asked if she could bring him back in the morning because he’s just a good bit larger than what they were wanting.  They’ve talked about it and decided that they should really start with a puppy and one that won’t be more than 5 or 6 lbs. at most full grown.  She apologized plenty and said how sorry she was …

I’m trying very hard not to be angry with her … or myself for letting him go with her to begin with.  At the first sign of reservation, I should have put the brakes on and said, “Maybe this is not a good idea for your family or Willie.”

Stupid me.

I have the name and number of a lady who has a rescue shelter, but I’m not quite sure of the details yet.  I need to get more information regarding the shelter’s policies and procedures.  Or else I need to put an ad in the paper that says, “Purebred standard Yorkshire Terrier — $250”  For some reason people seem to put more value on an animal they have to pay for.  I don’t know.  I just want him to have a family that will love him.  Because he is an awesome dog.

our Yorkshire Terrier goes to his new home.  We really have too many dogs (four currently) and it’s somewhat irresponsible to keep that many when we find it hard to give them all the attention they need.  So I sent out an email to a bunch of my friends and my shutter installer’s wife happened to mention our little man to a friend of hers at work.  Single mom, teenage daughter … I think this is a match made in heaven.  The mom tells me her daughter wasn’t this excited at Christmas.  She has already bought him a new crate (we don’t have a spare to send with him) … they asked all the right questions:  what does he like to eat, please send a picture of the crate he sleeps in so we can get him the same kind, does he like treats, what kind … Mom is taking off Monday and Tuesday from work to spend the day with him and get him used to his new home.  Daughter’s boyfriend works at Petsmart and she’s been asking him for all kinds of information …

I love the little guy, but he would make the transition the easiest of our pooches, and these folks sound like they will give him the love and attention he needs.  They know that he will need to be “retrained” since the move may result in some housebreaking “backsliding” and they are okay with that.  Their house has stained concrete floors, except for two bedrooms, so she said accidents will be easy to clean up while he’s figuring things out.  This was really important to me … that they are patient.  See, we found what we thought was going to be a good home for him, but he had two accidents in less than two days and they brought him back.  Even after we made it clear that it might happen.  I’m glad they brought him back, because I think this family will love him much more.

This is going to be quick, as I have to meet some folks at 9:00 a.m. this morning.  Our photography instructor gave us a heads-up on an upcoming assignment … portraits.  We have to do some portrait shots (after some additional instruction this next week).  At first I thought, great!  Because my girl is a bit of a ham and very photogenic.  No problem getting her to pose as needed.

Until Mr. Man said, “Your model must be 18 years or older …)

ARGH!

He said, “Kids are easy and in addition, you can’t be objective about your own kid or grandkid …”

Well, I’m not sure I agree with him, because I’ve tossed plenty of substandard shots of my girl, even though she is the most beautiful child I’ve ever seen.  I think I can tell a good shot and a not-so good shot.  LOL  But I do see what he’s saying.  So I woke up this morning after dreaming a good part of the night, “What sucker can I get to help me out with this assignment????”

Here’s a heart-breaking article by Ann Coulter.  Give it a read and let me know if you agree.

After we finished eating, we drove down Beach Drive in Surfside and I took a few photos.  This has been the site of some controversy the last few years in that Texas law requires public access to all beaches.  As you can see from this photo, erosion (from the effects of the Houston Ship Channel and the rock groins, if I understand correctly) has taken a good bit of the beach with it over the years.  A number of little beach shacks on the front row were tied up in legal battles because while they once were set back from the shoreline, they now actually stood on the public beaches.  Several of them have been moved or torn down, but there are still a few like this one still standing.   As you can see, these houses are not safe any longer since so much of the sand has washed away from under their foundations.  While I am sympathetic to the individuals having to relocate, I can’t feel too sorry for them.  These are things that you have to consider when choosing to live someplace like this.

I particularly like this shot … a storm was blowing in.

This old barn is on C.R. 457 between Bay City and Sargent.  I was driving home from measuring some windows for a possible client and spotted this beauty on the side of the road.  I am really trying to keep my camera with me at all times …

I’ve been dreaming about taking this class for YEARS … literally.  Now that I’m in it, I’m wondering if I wasted my money.  Don’t get me wrong.  I am learning.  But I have some issues with my instructor.  Well, actually not my instructor, but my instructor’s sidekick.  They own a photography business together.  The actual instructor is the techno-geek.  The sidekick is the “artsy fartsy” one.  His words, not mine.  He’s the one that’s ticking me off.  I think he is so impressed with his “artsy fartsy-ness” that he can’t be bothered with technical questions.  In the first class, he emphasized that we have to learn how to work our cameras … that’s not something that he can teach us.  Read the manual over and over again until we understand it.

Hmmmm.

Well, my homeschooled kid tested at Post High School level on reading comprehension last year.  I guess I could set the curriculum we purchased this year on the kitchen table and say “good luck.”  Read it and read it again until you understand it.  I’m off to do a little shopping and get my nails done.

Get my point???  Yes, we’re responsible for familiarizing ourselves with our cameras, but I’m paying HIM to lend clarification when something is not clear to me.  I actually said, jokingly, “What if the manual is Greek to me?”  His response?  He is currently trying to figure out how to do something with his Nikon and he’s read the book 14 times and still doesn’t understand it, but he’ll keep reading it until he figures it out.  Sounds like a huge waste of time to me.  Why not find someone who can help you work through the challenge a little more quickly?

Last night they split the class in two — one half practiced with depth of field while the other practiced with fast and slow shutter speeds.  Artsy-fartsy stood in front of a dark background tossing a ping pong ball in the air while we took pics using different settings … striving for blurred images (that’s a first!) and crisp images in mid-air.  When we first went in the room, he said “Set your cameras at 1/15th …”  Well, on a Canon Rebel XT, there is NO fraction on the menu display and that threw me off.  Another girl was having some problems, too.  Instead of coming over and assisting us, he just said, “Let me know when ya’ll figure it out.”  We finally did, but it really ticked me off.

Then we got stuck with him on the depth of field work, too.  He was explaining that you can focus 1/3 between the object in front and the middle object to get a fairly good focus on both.  I’ve always been told that there’s no such thing as a stupid question, so I (foolishly) asked if that’s the same thing as focusing on an object and then recomposing your shot.  He said, quite dismissively, “No, that’s locking your focus.”  And then turned to the next person.

The last part of class was the evaluation of the self-portraits.  There were some good ones, a couple of really good ones and one really GREAT one.  When mine came up on the screen, everyone seemed to like it pretty well and Eddie (the real instructor) commented that I’d sent him a book with it (explanation of the settings I used and how I got the shot).  He said he liked that (more information) and asked me to tell the class.  So I did, and Artsy-Fartsy interrupted me when I said something about focusing the camera and running around the corner … he said, “It’s a little out of focus …” and then said, “What kind of glasses are you wearing that you can hold the book that close to your face?”

Unless something changes quickly, I’m renaming him the Artsy-Fartsy JERK.

1.  I love photography … my first camera was a Polaroid One Step that shot the little square pictures out and then let you watch the “miracle” develop right before your eyes.  LOL  From that point, I borrowed my mom’s instamatic until my parents gave me a Canon Sure Shot in 1984, before I went to visit a friend for spring break in Virginia.  I had a wonderful time taking pictures on that trip, and I’ve never stopped since.  Sadly, that camera bit the dust (I wish I’d kept it … it was really neat in that it had a “telephoto” lens that screwed to a mounting ring on the front of the camera … very unusual.)  I had another Canon Sure Shot, and then for my 10th anniversary in 2002, my husband bought me a Canon Rebel 2000.  A couple of years later, I dipped my toe in the digital pool with an HP 735, and last year for my 15th anniversary, my sweet husband gave me a Canon Rebel XT. 

I’m not real big on posed shots, preferring candids (“sneek and shoot” heh heh …) and architecture.

2.  My favorite book of all time is probably “Gone With the Wind” … I was in seventh grade the first time they played the movie on t.v., I couldn’t watch it because of a church function.  So I checked the book out from the library.  Then my parents gave me a 40th anniversary edition with a foreword written by James Michener.  I read the book SEVEN times in one year, until my mother threatened to take it away from me.  The shortest amount of time it’s ever taken me to read it is just under two days, breaking only for potty breaks.  LOL

3.  My favorite author of all time is probably James Michener.   After reading the foreword in GWTW, I had to find out about this fellow who wrote historical novels.  I read Centennial, Hawaii, The Fires of Spring, Sayonara, The Drifters, The Source, Chesapeake, Tales of the South Pacific, The Bridges at Toko-Ri, and Caravans.  I must confess that I had a difficult time with Poland and Texas … but my understanding is that his later works relied heavily on the assistance of graduate students at The University of Texas – Austin.  So they are not “pure” Michener, like the earlier works.

4.  I can’t stand Hemingway.  Or Faulkner.  Hemingway didn’t use enough adjectives.  Faulkner used too many.  And literature teachers who insist on finding symbolism in each and every comma of a work should be shot at dawn.