I can haz bubbl?

Ollie was doing some bird watching from inside our back porch. It was so gorgeous outside I wanted to go out on the deck and take advantage of the sun. 

Of course, this scares away the birds - their feeders are really close to the house - so I grabbed some bubbles and entertained Ollie while I worked on my burn.

(I don't tan; I pink!)

Back Porch

In the afternoon, the sun peeks around the side of the house and lights up the back yard and back porch.

We hung bird feeders outside the back porch windows to entertain the cats. They're both indoor cats, but Violet loves to talk to the birds when they get close to the windows. Ollie stays quiet, but is totally enchanted.

Here is Ollie, watching one of the birds take flight from the bird feeder.
Do you see the bird?

I wondered why my plant was flat...

Then I discovered Ollie on top of the plant.

Snoring.

Testing my webcam

I’ve got a webcam on my computer that I haven’t really used… because I’m a little scared to. And like many gals, I’m pretty critical of how I look so I don’t like to see pictures of myself let alone share them with other people.
Today the little voice in my head yelled “Get over it!”
So I got over it. This is me.

Now I have a question to ask you… How does the color look? I’m not sure if my camera is off or if my computer’s color settings are all wonky. This picture looks very lavender to me. I’m wearing a chartreuse t-shirt and my walls are frappuccino beige.
I’d appreciate any comments on the color… and any kind words about my picture.
Thanks!
-Pam

PS: I fiddled with it and came up with this version. It's a little better... What do you think?

Rachel's love for longboarding, part 2

Yesterday I showed you Rachel's workshop and told you how she's been building longboards. I included a video of some guys on the Ceviche longboard.

Today I have to show you the Whirling Dervish longboard. This is what got Rachel totally hooked on the sport - and the art of building these boards.

I want to mention that I talked about her building presses to create the concave and camber curves in the wood when she glues the layers of wood together. You can see at the beginning of this video that the board with the green wheels has an arching curve down the length of the board. This is the camber and it gives the rider some flex and turn control when riding the board.

Hope you enjoy the video. It's amazing how much their skating looks like an art form or some kind of modern dance. Oh - and they're not falling off. They're sliding - they wear special gloves to protect their hands and reduce friction on the pavement. That's part of the sport/art of longboarding.