Thursday, July 12, 2012

Still Alive, No Thanks to Me

Yesterday was one of those days that left me breathless.

I got up and cleaned the house as usual, but had to take Babe, one of my mastiffs, to the vet for a checkup. She had an ear infection (as usual), so the ear cleaning and slobber shaking was one for the record books (I caught a couple of slingers in my hair, so simply wrote off the day as one where I hoped I wouldn't have to go anywhere.)

Home to work, where I worked on the revisions for THE OFFERING, due at the end of this month, when the UPS man brought some outdoor curtains I'd ordered.  Our back porch gets the afternoon sun, and in the summertime it's simply too hot to sit out there--ever.  So I saw these curtains in a catalog and thought I'd give them a try.  Fortunately, on our back porch there's a high bar with circle rings through it, installed there by the hurricane screen guys.  (We put up super duper protective screens when we're under threat from a hurricane.  Which has been exactly ZERO times since we had the things installed.  And took out a second mortgage to pay for them.)

But I digress.

So I stopped working to haul out the 20 foot extension ladder to hang the curtains.  Unfortunately a thunderstorm was rolling through as I figured out a way to hang six curtains on ten rings and one string, and as I stood atop the extension ladder, it occurred to me that being high up on an aluminum ladder wasn't very smart when lightning was flashing all around me.  So I kept climbing DOWN the ladder, waiting a while, then climbing back UP, but every time I went up the lightning would flash again.

Anyway--finally I got the last curtain hung, and my ladder shifted.  Now some folks will call Jesus's name as a curse word, but trust me, his name was the first thing that flew through my mind when that ladder shifted with nothing but me and a flat concrete floor, but it was definitely more like a "take me home now and don't let me lie here on the back porch with a broken neck and two mastiffs slobbering on me until my husband gets home, which will probably not be until almost ten p.m." prayer.

(A few years ago, during February, I tried to hang curtains on that back porch--found that two painters' drop cloths were the perfect measurement to cover the opening top to bottom and side to side.  But they were HEAVY and they had a tendency to MOLD, so when the wind wasn't whipping and ripping them to shreds, the rains left them moldy.  I think they lasted a couple of months, then I couldn't stand it any more. But that's when I became quite adept at scaling said 20 foot ladder.)

These new curtains are supposed to be weather proof and they're short--they're more like a fringe of flags than drapes.  I'll be happy if they simply dim the sun a little bit.

Anyway--got the curtains up, didn't fall off the ladder (thank you, Lord!), and went back to work. And then my computer alarm chimed, reminding me that despite my sweaty appearance and slobber-strung hair, I had to be at a board meeting in ten minutes.  It's not like I'm an essential person on the Homeowners Association Board, but I am the one who keeps the minutes, so they DO call if I'm missing.


So I ran out with my computer, went to the board meeting, and made it just in time.  Fortunately, the meeting was brief, so I was soon back home and working again--finally finished my page quota around nine. As I went to bed, I consoled myself that tomorrow (today) would be my SPCA day, which is always a lot of fun.

So this morning I went to the SPCA, and found that the path to our "pho-dog-raphy studio" was underwater--completely flooded.  So I had to find a new spot to take photos, and thank goodness I only had to snap three dogs.

I had also planned on snapping several cats, so I went out to my car for my lights and stands and all that stuff, then hauled it all into the cat wing--only to find that we now have SO MANY CATS that there wasn't a spare inch of workable space for me to take pictures in!  You have to have an enclosed space, or the kitties will run away and possibly get hurt, so the kitty photos were a no go.

So I came home to post-process the dog photos (I just love saying that), and then I caught up on cleaning my house.  Tomorrow it's back to work on revisions.

And that is all the excitement my life can take today.  :-)

Enjoy the photos:  Freckles, Dugan, and Tanner.  Fun little pups.









~~Angie 

Monday, July 09, 2012

Autographs for Kindle books? Yes!

It had to happen, you know--someone found a way for writers to autograph their books on the kindle.

It's happening at kindlegraph.com, and it's as simple as typing in the name of the book or the author you're searching for.  If they have supplied a signature for their books, you can have it delivered to your Kindle.

Now--these are not actual signatures, of course, because no disembodied hand is going to visit your Kindle in the middle of the night.  Neither is any writer in their right mind going to send their authorized signature into cyberspace, where it could be used to apply for credit cards and sign up for false mortgages.  But kindle graph does supply a nice signature, and it's cursive writing, not printing, which is more than I can say for the signatures of most students today.  :-)

 A few minutes ago (actually, it took more than an hour), I painstakingly entered the code for all of my Kindle books so this service is available just in case you, or anyone else, wants a nice generic signature for your Kindle edition. So in a way, it does come from me, even though my signature looks nothing like that.

On another note, my mastiff Charley was sick yesterday--let's just say, for the sake of delicacy, that he had an upset tummy.  And got us up twice last night because he had to urgently go outside.  Except that he never made it.

Which means that I spent a lot of yesterday morning cleaning carpets, deodorizing my house, and vacuuming.  And when I took Charley to the vet, yes, he had a genuine infection and will be on medicine.  Poor old guy. He's ten years old, which is getting up there in mastiff years, but he's sweet as sugar and I'd hate to lose him any time soon.

And if you think of it, my son's dog, Shadow, is having his leg amputated this (Tuesday) morning.  He has a malignant tumor on that leg, and my son has decided that he wants to go ahead and give the eleven-year-old dog a shot at a few more years . . . or maybe a few more months.  I tell you, that boy has a heart of gold.  Usually.  :-)

Have a wonderful day!

From the home front,
Angie 

Free Kindle Book: Snapping Shelter Dogs

As a kick-off promotion, I'm happy to announce that Snapping Shelter Dogs will be available FREE from July 9 through 13th.  And you don't have to have a Kindle to read it--you can download the free Kindle app for iPad, iPhone, Blackberry, Android, or even your computer!

And I've already begun work on SNAPPING SHELTER CATS.  :-)   I just need a few more weeks to snap a few more.  :-)

You can download your free copy of Snapping Shelter Dogs here. 

and if you need to download the free Kindle reading app for your device, here are the links for that:


Kindle
Kindle Touch
Kindle Fire
Kindle Keyboard
Kindle DX
Kindle (2nd Generation)
Kindle (1st Generation)
Kindle for PC
Kindle for Mac
Kindle for iPad
Kindle for iPhone
Kindle for Android
Kindle for BlackBerry
Kindle for Windows Phone



Thanks for helping me spread the word!

~~Angie


Saturday, July 07, 2012

A Ten Dog Day

Our SPCA has had very few dogs up for adoption and then, wham! We got slammed.  Last night I counted twelve dogs that needed photos, and ten of those were remaining this morning.  So I piled everything in the car and went over there.  It was a hot, hot day, but I sure enjoyed my time with the doggies.  

Bella 1



Bella 2



Bentley



Chiquita



Macie



Marley



Nala



Odie



Oreo

and Rusty

And you know what?  Either I'm getting better at this, or word is getting around in dogdom that they just need to come in and sit pretty for a few treats.  :-)  

~~Angie
And here they are . . . 

Thursday, July 05, 2012

Cats at the SPCA

It occurred to me that I might as well put together a book called "Snapping Shelter Cats"--after I photograph more of them and learn how to handle them better.  I shot 11 cats today, and they won't sit on command.  I pretty much sat on the floor and tried to catch them as I could, with mixed results.  I'm sure there's a method; I just have to figure it out.

But here are a few of the shots I got today.  Some very pretty kitty cats out there!












Tomorrow . . . back to work!

~~Angie 

Wednesday, July 04, 2012

New e-book Releases: Snapping Shelter Dogs

It's official!  Yesterday I put the finishing touches on my little ebook, Snapping Shelter Dogs, and uploaded it to Amazon Kindle's platform.  And you don't have to have a Kindle to read it!  You can read it with the free Kindle app on your computer, your iPhone, or iPad.  The complete list of readers follows below.

Hint:  the photos will be black on white on a Kindle, but in full color on any instrument that has color (like a computer or iPad).

Download the free reading apps at these links:


Kindle
Kindle Touch
Kindle Fire
Kindle Keyboard
Kindle DX
Kindle (2nd Generation)
Kindle (1st Generation)
Kindle for PC
Kindle for Mac
Kindle for iPad
Kindle for iPhone
Kindle for Android
Kindle for BlackBerry
Kindle for Windows Phone
Snapping Shelter Dogs isn't intended to be an encyclopedia on photography or shelter animals (and yes, we talk about cats, too), but a simple point-by-point manual on how an average person with an average camera volunteer at a shelter and begin taking pictures of beautiful animals who desperately need homes.

You can order the book here.  And please, even if you don't order the book, will you please spread the word about it?  I'm publishing this myself, so there's no orchestrated push from any company.  This news is going to have to spread via word of mouth.

Photo by Jim McCook


Here's the primary reason I wrote the book (other than my overwhelming compulsion to write about my latest obsessions):  Until the Tampa Bay kennels are finished,  every penny of the royalties will go to the Tampa Bay's SPCA Kennel Renovation Project.  So 70 percent of the purchase price will be going to update our old, un-airconditioned kennels that are sorely in need of an update.


Photo by Jim McCook
Photo by Jim McCook

So please, please, announce this book on your blogs, your Facebook pages, and email anyone you know who loves dogs.  Even if you don't want to become a photographer, maybe you'll simply enjoy looking at the pictures.  :-)   (I put in a LOT of pictures to illustrate things I've learned to do better. ) And of course, the dogs are always adorable.

So please help me spread the word. I'll be posting photos of the kennel renovations as they get underway, and I'm hoping that this book will help in some way--large or small--to help the thousands of animals who come through the Tampa Bay SPCA.  We're the most densely populated county in Florida, so we get a lot of animals, including many from other counties.

Bless you for helping spread the word.

Always,

Angie