Showing posts with label blogging your way. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogging your way. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Camera Play: Things Around The House

Testing 1, 2, 3

I told you guys I was taking the Blogging Your Way ecourse  with Holly Becker of Decor8, right?

Well, it's going pretty well so far. There is a ton of information to get through and I even had 'homework' to do. This week has included lessons from her husband Thorsten on photography and cameras. On top of what I'm learning as a Blogging Your Way student, I also subscribe to Carla Loves Photography, a blog by professional travel/editorial/portrait photographer Carla Coulson and she is doing a series on photography/camera basics.  Yay! Thank you Thorsten and Carla!

I can use all the help I can get. I've been relying on 'auto' far to long and far to 'often'. So I've been reading what Thorsten Becker, Carla Coulson and my camera manual have to say. I'm playing around a bit and doing some test runs to 'get to know my camera better' and hopefully in the end, take better pictures.  I have a long way to go, but I know I will love having more control of what my photos look like when I get the hang of things.

Since I'm in my home office, I just took a few shots around the place to give the lessons and settings a little test run. So, in no particular order, Things Around The House:


Lucan is sleeping behind me. (It might have something to do with the fact that he's right next to the wood stove which is cranking.)


Did I tell you we successfully grew winter squash? We ended up with about 4 small acorn squash and 7 decent butternuts.  Not a huge take, but delicious none the less.


The geraniums are in for winter.  If you've never brought your geraniums in, might I suggest you do. They seem to acclimate pretty well and bloom all winter. I am no green thumb and they do awesome for me.  I just put mine on my windowsill (away from the wood stove). Some are already in pots on my stoop out back while others I have to transplant to pots from my window boxes. It's worth a little extra work to have pretty flowers blooming all winter. Agreed?


I found this old bottle in the woods across the way on a recent walk with the hound. It was really stuck down in the dirt and had been there a good while.  I've searched on the internet to see if I can come up with 'what was in it', but haven't had any luck yet. It says 'the one and only' around the top and it's measurements are metric. I did find that Newcastle Ale used this tag line, but this doesn't really look like a beer bottle and I couldn't find any pics that showed any of Newcastle's bottles being clear. Still a mystery.

It is way beyond time for me to clean out the tote bags that hang behind our front door. They hold things like the dog leash, my pruners and garden gloves, binoculars. However, looking at the state of them, I'd say they're holding a lot of things that don't need to be in there. I better get on that......or at least put it 'on the list'.
 
Funny thing, these pinecones.  I've been collecting on way back from walks with the dog.  They're small and they were all really closed and tight. I thought they might be neat for Christmas crafts. Well, poof........they opened overnight. Just like that. Who knew?
 

If you're like me and are trying to improve your camera and photography knowledge, might I suggest you check out Carla's blog?  She has a wealth of information and making photography a career for those interested in that, as well as improving your skills for people like me.  If you want to follow along with her current lessons, you'll find Lesson #1/M is for Manual here.

Hope your Tuesday is going well. It was a wintry mix this morning, but it's gone now and just left cold air in it's wake. Hence, the wood stove cranking.

Make it a great day, it's a great day to have.

Ciao for now,


Friday, November 1, 2013

Free Printable & Freeform Friday

Do This! No.......Do This!

Is your head spinning from everything you have to do? You don't know which way to turn? I can help.  Cross my heart and a pinkie swear.

If you need help organizing your day to day, a place to list your to-dos and check things them off so you actually feel like you've accomplished something, then this is for you.

A free printable weekly planner.  You can three hole punch it and stick in a binder, if you're a binder kind of person. Or not. Your call.

People will call you organized. You'll start to feel like a weight has been lifted off your shoulder by the mere act of organizing your to do list.  You'll be referred to as 'the one that gets things done' from here on in.

Are you ready for all the responsibility that comes with that?

You sure?

Then go ahead- download and print.

(click on image or link below it it)


https://www.dropbox.com/s/6s9532z8sanva8v/WEEKLY%20Planner%20From%20Mercantile%20Muse.pdf


Hey, did you notice the new button in the sidebar? This one...........

 http://decor8blog.com/courses/

I'm going back to school. Not in the traditional sense, but still.

I've wanted to take this course for quite awhile and I missed out on the last one because I hit the 'register for this class' button, too late. The class was full. I could have kicked myself in the pants.  I was determined not to let that happen this time.

The course is offered by one of my favorite bloggers, the very talented Holly Becker of decor8.

I love Holly's sense of style, how she manages to juggle a gazillion things and still make it all work, and of course, her blog.

I'm really looking forward to this and am hoping I will be able to soak up lots of good information from Holly and the other teachers (Naomi of Bakers Royale and Lisa of Liz and Jewels and Holly's husband Thornsten). They'll be covering topics like: staying true to your brand, turning ideas into actions, current blog trends and predictions, growing your audience, photography, photo styling, camera settings, macro photography....the list goes on. It's going to be a jam packed 4 weeks at a time of year that is notoriously busy for me. 

I'm up for it though, and hope to finally be able to make the Muse the place I dream of it being and better place for you and I to be.

A Question for You

Yes, you.

Karen, over at The Art of Doing Stuff, asked her readers 'where they were' today and I think it's a fun idea.  I know some of you are in the US, some in Europe, down under and beyond.

So I'm just wondering, where are right now? Give me the details.  I'll start.

I'm in Stratham, New Hampshire, USA. 10 minutes for the coastline of the Atlantic.  15 minutes to Maine, 15 minutes to Massachusetts.  I'm typing away from my home office, which in all actuality is a corner of my living room sectioned off with a bookcase that has some open cubicles to I can spy my office companion Lucan across the room. 

And you?

Freeform Friday

Here we are. Friday again. I'm ready. This song just makes me feel good, just like new shoes. A good way to start the weekend. Click here if you're reading by email.



No set plans here, though I will most definitely be celebrating my birthday which happens to be Monday.  That's the way I roll. Milk the birthday for as long as possible.

What's happening in your world?

Oh hey, don't forget to comment here, for your chance to win my Emerson quote print!

http://www.batesmercantileco.blogspot.com/2013/10/what-inspires-you-wednesday_30.html 

Make it a good one, gang and I'll do the same.


Ciao for now,








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