My Summer Bucket List

I wrote an article in my last newsletter about keeping a summer bucket list to try and ensure that we make time for fun this summer. It tends to slip away far too quickly.

One thing I put on my list that, according to my DH, should NOT be there, is to take a picture of something every day.  Those of you who participate in Project Life and Project 365 will be very familiar with this idea, but it is new to me.

The biggest problem with this is that I already take FAR too many pictures.  Now, I already hear someone saying, "There's no such thing." But, my hard drive begs to differ.  Despite having a 640 Gb disk, it is still over 70% full.  Earlier this year it was at 90%.  I will admit to having had over 20,000 pictures in iPhoto.  It's a wonder that my computer worked at all!

So, I went Pro - Flickr Pro - to be exact.  For only $25 a year, I can get unlimited uploads.  That means all 20,000 of my pictures will be safely stored off-site.  Yes, I am a bit paranoid.  I have a Time Machine backup and most of my pictures are also saved on CDs, but that won't help if a tornado comes through!  Now I have 9,644 pictures on nicely organized and safely stored on Flickr. And only 11,808 more to go...

All of this is great (and no, I don't get paid for saying so), but it does not address a very cool feature I just discovered about my Flickr account: the archives  feature. I know it sounds like a boring computer thing, but check out this screen shot I took of my photos from June 2012.  How cool is this?

My Flickr Pictures for Summer - so far.

It is definitely going to be in my 2012 scrapbook.

If you want to use this, you have to start from Your photostream  and then you can select Archives.  Once you get there, you will have a choice to select the whether you want the pictures you've uploaded for a given month or the pictures taken on a given month. Make sure you select the pictures taken option if you want a cool calendar reminder of what happened that month.

It seems the Flickr will choose the last picture taken on the day to show, but if you want to change that, you can always go and change the time of the picture you want to see on the calendar.  It's a bit clunky, but it works.

Do you know any other cool Flickr features that are especially good for scrapbookers? If so, please share.

On The Road Again: Enchanting New Mexico

Wow, I can't believe it's been close to two weeks since I've posted. We were on spring break, spending a delightful trip to the "land of enchantment."  Well, that is what they call New Mexico.  I'm not totally convinced, but do admit we saw some very enchanting places.  I was not enchanted about having to drive several hours to see them but at least I was able to tangle in the car!
Here are a few shots of the enchanting part of New Mexico as well as some of the tangles I did in between.

The view from our deck on the only day we had clouds!

 
A bit wiggly from the car. Working out a new tangle, along with some old favorites.

Don't the top of the stalactites look tangled? (Inside Carlsbad Caverns)

More stunning Carlsbad.

Last week's Diva challenge: huggy bear, with Fengle, Zander, BTL JUS, Onamato, and Crescent Moon.

White Sands: a world apart.

Hope you enjoyed your 5-minute tour of the land of Enchantment.

Backyard Beauty

If you've tangled for any length of time, you will surely find yourself looking at your world with a fresh set of eyes.  Where you used to see flowers, trees, and buildings, you now see patterns.  Instead of looking at the big picture, you will probably find yourself looking at details. 

Last week, I was out walking around the yard looking at all of the beautiful changes spring has brought.  I have always enjoyed the flowering trees and budding trees, but this year, I also enjoyed the weeds!?!  Really.  Some of the most obnoxious weeds have the coolest patterns.  Did you know?  If you don't have any in your yard, come over here.  We have all kinds!  Here are some of my favorites.

 Next week, I will pull them.  This week, I will draw some.   I hope you enjoy these pictures.  Let me know if they inspire you to create a new tangle.