Sunday, October 24, 2010

Good thoughts

I'm reading The Circle of Simplicity by Cecile Andrews. I really like her philosophy of living frugally, with a sense of "enough". Not self deprivation, but self-fulfillment.
Love her comments about eating out:

"I would much rather be sitting with my husband in a neighborhood cafe having dinner- meeting neighbors, reading, enjoying the feeling of community.
So my conscious choice is to do less cooking and eat out more often.  Now some of you are thinking, you could save so much money at home.  But living simply isn't just about saving money.  That's only one factor.  As we will see later, living more simply also involves building community, and for me, eating in neighborhood restaurants builds community.
I finally concluded, though, that eating out probably does save me money.  When my husband and I cook at home, we are just plain irritable.  I figure that eating out saves on marriage counseling and it's certainly cheaper than a divorce."

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Photography Class

I'm taking a Lifetime Learning class in digital photography and Photoshop. Such a lot to learn. I'd like a more powerful camera but will wait until I have more time to experiment with it; my point-and-shoot is doing ok for now. So far we've had field trips to
the Capitol,






the City Cemetery,










and the Park between Town Lake and the Long Center.


I've found some new settings on my camera that help me take pictures inside. I've tried the panorama setting but haven't had success. I've learned how to use Photoshop to a limited extent. All in all, a good class.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Found a house



I've offered to buy a house in Pflugerville. I think it will be quite comfortable and easy to keep up. Funny how I won't buy a pair of shoes unless they make me smile, but I will buy a house that doesn't. But I guess if I were wearing borrowed shoes, I might buy some that are only adequate.
It may be fun to decorate it and do a little bit of landscaping. There definitely need to be more trees around. So I'll plant at least one, so that I'll leave it better than I found it.

In yesterday's "Digging" garden blog, I saw an arbor that I might be able to copy at the new house. I definitely plan to take out some of the grass and put down some gravel or crushed granite. Less mowing, more texture. Better platform for potted plants.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

House Hunting

Been house hunting and not seeing a lot of beauty. Will keep looking.