More fun with Photoscape

I entertained myself for a long time last night applying various filters to pictures in my files. Flower pictures work especially well with the color and monochrome engraving filter. Sometimes also the cartoon filter. People do NOT work at all with these. I will have to do more experimenting, but I suspect that learning about color manipulation will be useful in pictures of people. The cat pictures really lent themselves to the monochrome engraving filter. The brown cats worked well with the cartoon filter. On the other hand, Raquel, being almost solid black, was not a candidate for the cartoon filter. The impressionist filter worked well with any photo that had interesting areas of color.

Raquel in black and white

A while back I downloaded a free version of Photoscape, software to manipulate digital images. This past weekend I was playing around with some of the filters and found this one, which makes a picture look like a wood block print. I have always loved wood block prints, so was thrilled with the final result. Just think of the ways an image like this could be used.....

The Next Generation

We could only stand it 5 days with no cats in the house. It was TOO quiet!!! No furry beings holding down the back of the chair, no reason to shut the door to the office or put the food away. On Sunday the 5th we decided to visit the local shelter and see who was waiting for a home. They had a batch of kittens and lots of adult cats. Of course, being cats, they were all precious and we could not make a choice, so we decided to think about it and come back later. The girl at the shelter gave me her cell phone number in case we couldn't wait until the following weekend. Well, a few hours later, friends gave us a call and said they had something for us. The something turned out to be a 10 week old, long-haired, black female kitten. It was love at first sight! A few days later, I called the shelter and went there during evening feeding and play time (total chaos!) and brought home a 10 week old, short-haired, orange tiger male. And so, here they are, the next generation....Clovis and Raquel!!!!!!!

Wonderful words of comfort

Q. What is your only comfort in life and in death?

A. That I am not my own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death—to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.

He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven: in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.

Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.

These wonderful words are from the Heidelberg Catechism, question 1.

A Time to Say Goodbye

Today we said goodbye to Little Man. He arrived in our lives during the Spring of 1992, so was over 17 years old. 17 years is 6,205 days, and Little Man was a blessing and a joy on every single one of those days. On May 26, we said goodbye to Cammie. She was sweet and brave to the end. Now, for the first time since 1980, we do not have at least one cat in the house. It is a time to be sad and also to remember with fondness all the things that made them special to us. The pain of losing them is deep, but the joy they gave was worth it.