The Heart Remembers

Today, this 911 we come together to remember our World's Family members...may we always reflect on our challenge as the survivors...

As individuals and as churches, we have need to determine if our mission is to light candles and to keep candles lit, or to blow candles out. I still believe that one candle and that candles united in purpose create the World’s path of creation and life, or can be used to ignite the fire of destruction. If we seek Peace, whether the War is between Nations or the War is between peoples, our own stone and our own flame is really all that any of us have control over.

- Jane Marla VerDow







Dear Daisy, 2004


As the story begins, the author caught in a personal struggle of survival under conditions felt oppressive, writes to Daisy. As the reflective search for self and path unfolds, the 9-11-01 story strikes as a Holy War between extremists of Nations. Before the dust settles, 10-28-01 brings world chaos personal. Living the aftermath, the author struggles to forgive and declares through writing an Epistle as part of her emancipation pathway that violence as a rightful expression and worship of God is not the God of her faith.

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Another Character

The next character: Jordash

Day #1. Our trip home First few days playing fetch. And lounging around the yard.And as first days turned to first weeks, exploring what was there. Maybe taking a moment...or not, so Mom could catch a picture.

Pool time to cool off. Puppy Pad And before "nite-nite" taking a few moments for snuggle time.
House training age 9-10 weeks

"Yes, Mom I'm being an angel."

"No Mom, I'm not diggin' up Grandma's flower garden." (age 15 weeks)

Lounging around the house. Age 20 weeks. 43 lbs.

Jordash's playroom. A moment to reflect in his chair after checking out the traffic, what the neighbors and the squirrels are up to outside.

How I arrange his crate in the morning. "Time I gotta go to work"

Rearranged by Jordash and how I find his crate when I return from work. Friends tucked in for "nite-nite".

Playtime after work. Time now for yard fun. Week 21.

Enjoying his freedom now totally trained to his Invisible Fence.

"What the...did I see that right?"
"Look Mom, I found a brick!!!"

To View other Characters click on Labels below for this blog:

bedtime stories for children or writing for children or Characters.

For additional Author's Photography, words and picture images.http://lakeontarioshoreline.blogspot.com/

Old Photos: Method versus Presentation

This Photo was photocopied (multiple attempts) to gain this degree of clarity for a scrapbook. Paper selection for photocopying was crucial.

Below the same photo is digitally presented. Notice the exposure variation to bring out facial features as well as the muscle definition of the horse. This photo during the process of enhancing was literally "destroyed then brought back out" to gain this effect.

For a wall framed or mantle framed picture, the dark frame without matting I chose for my home display is "gorgeous". I love this one.

Here in this presentation form (on screen) does not compare to the mantle framed presentation (lighting contrast photo to frame). My mantle photo? The definition of the horse muscle tone is beyond my wildest vision of what could be possible!!! and the viewer can't help but sense the mystic nature created by the snow and lighting.

Old Color Photos

These two photos started the same color influenced by the time of day of photo and era of processing.

The coloration of these original photos make it more complicated and require multiple adjusts of exposure, saturation, and temperature.

Factors of concern during the transition process: exposure and time of day/sun direction (see shadow that may/may not be left in photo); time of year and skin tone; clothing color; and sharpness of facial features as well as degree of sharpness of environment distance/depth. The time of year the photo was taken being winter, I chose to alter the sky tone and brought greater contrast bare ground to snow.

Since it is a family joke regarding how many pictures have been taken over the years, generation after generation, with the shadow image of the photographer also in the photo, I may leave the photographer's shadow as part of the photo. For family historical purposes (part of the story behind the picture theory), often the image of the photogragher can be identified.

Finding the balance between these factors impacts and reflects the quality of the restoration and much is personal preference.

To complete the restoration, note the film/paper aging showing up as spots on clothing. There are spots of color fading on the ground also but due to the coloration, exposure and saturation adjusts I made previously on this photo those seem to blend natural into the environment of ground and sky. But the clothing color fade/loss spots distract too much from the photo and decrease the appeal or value of the photo so those I would take the time to remove/color blend using a program such as Adobe Photoshop.


For additional Author's Photography, words and picture images.http://lakeontarioshoreline.blogspot.com/

Visit Author Website http://www.risingsparrowpress.com/ for writing and self-publishing resources. Also find Hard to Find Resources on history, travel, rare/old book finds, and arts/literature.
Rising Sparrow Press assists you to write, collect and restore the yesterdays and today.

Create the legacy others will treasure tomorrow...

Photos Then and Now In Process

This photo can be restored to this level with HP Photosmart

Notice the fingerprint smudge near subject right thigh.

With coloration and saturation adjusts the fingerprint smudge can remain in the picture but appears to fit more with the background, less intrusive.

Notice in both of these restorations the natural field setting has disappeared or becomes less pronounced or distinquishable. What was a picture taken in a natural field may in later generations be interpretted to have been a studio backprint photo. This young man was an immigrant landing on US soil and later years a farmer with few if any pictures available of him in his natural environment. How fitting that this picture setting is a natural field and how much of his life story can be felt through one picture? This is where writing the story of the picture, labelling place or setting aligned with the photo or on a separate paper secured in the back of the frame maintains the integrity of the original photo.

The above photo snapshot is also in process of restoration. This change was performed with HP Photosmart. The original photo coloration patterns and lighting (and by nature of the subject and environment) appear to be sun sensitive as to time of day the photo may have been taken. So, this feature I chose to expose and build upon for the final photo presentation.

To clear the remaining blemishes and or film-print aging on either photo a program such as Adobe Photoshop could be used.

For additional Author's Photography, words and picture images.http://lakeontarioshoreline.blogspot.com/

Author: Jane Marla VerDow, Dear Daisy copyright ©2004; Independent Publishing: Rising Sparrow Press, est. 2003.Visit Author Website http://www.risingsparrowpress.com/ to learn more about author’s upcoming titles or for writing and self-publishing resources. Also find Hard to Find Resources on history, travel, rare/old book finds, and arts/literature.

Rising Sparrow Press assists you to write, collect and restore the yesterdays and today.Create the legacy others will treasure tomorrow...

Playtime for a Publisher

Been spending a few days, no better say months, searching what it means to be a publisher. The author part is pretty simple...find the words and find the time to put them to paper. That is simple if the words come or you don't end up spending more time and effort editing out than putting down or just not into writing at the moment.

So time in limbo, that's where all this pondering the publisher side comes in.


Where I could ponder for hours, no better make that days at a time is on an image...somehow my memory pulls closer or a story comes alive when I am playing with lighting or editing out an old watermark on an old photo. For all the modern ways to capture moments on micro there's something almost mystical about taking a photo from a time period of film...like the people come alive for me, I start to sense the day there with them, and then I'm lost in the process. Time becomes irrelevant then...time then to now or even in this now.


I love to see what can be removed from...



















Enhanced becomes...

And I love when they transform into something like this...

For additional Author's Photography, words and picture images.
http://lakeontarioshoreline.blogspot.com/

For resources and book.
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The Wise Kid

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.
Scott Adams, Cartoonist Dilbert

Perfectionism. That's what gets in the way of writing and creating. Gets in the way of anything productive, for that matter.

Children's writings often get closest to truth. At least truth that I can understand.

“Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.” Margery Williams, from The Velveteen Rabbit

Today I was feeling most unpurposeful...there is such a word, at least in my mind...today.

Challenging myself to work, when play seemed more on target. Challenging my plan because the details were less than in some finished state. Why bother with some next blog post or some next step when for the life of me I could not picture where it was all leading or what "it" would be, and especially no answer to "why"?.

So this morning I was reading a post from a Forum friend. Same, or at least a close similar thought there. Words saying something about taking advantage of the moment and meaning not getting too caught up in the end product. A recent past she described, taking advantage of an opportunity that was on offer rather than try later, alone, perhaps days or months later. Her's today, What a website would be in final form? Mine today, What is this blog's purpose and how does this one fit with the (2) others I write?

My wise kid smiled connecting, reading her post. Ah, my wise kid, the one I can always count on to be there, or I should write, to be here with me.

My wise kid's advice? My wise kid's thought on the subject...the comeback...

The only one who really needs to be concerned with the final version presentation is the Undertaker.

Since I'm not interested in that job...guess I'll settle for being less than perfect along this writing-publishing pathway. So this is today's post. It fits today...for me...

Where it fits the finished product and Plan? I have no idea. And...I smile.

Jane Marla VerDow

Author: Jane Marla VerDow, Dear Daisy copyright ©2004; Independent Publishing: Rising Sparrow Press, est. 2003.
Visit Author Website http://www.risingsparrowpress.com/ to learn more about author’s upcoming titles or for writing and self-publishing resources. Also find Hard to Find Resources on history, travel, rare/old book finds, and arts/literature.

Rising Sparrow Press assists you to write, collect and restore the yesterdays and today.
Create the legacy others will treasure tomorrow...

For Publishing information visit: http://www.recordfootsteps.typepad.com/

Book of Lives and Legacies

Author Jane Marla VerDow honors Candaisy "Daisy" Mitchell in the National Women's Hall of Fame, Book of Lives and Legacies.

On this day, January 21, 2008, the day we set aside to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. and to remember his "I Have A Dream" speech, the Civil Rights Acts, the marches and protests for civil liberties and freedoms, I would like to honor the woman who first taught me about "Dr King".

Our shared story is told in Dear Daisy, my first novel inspired by and dedicated to my "adopted Grandmother". The Lake Ontario Shoreline of Upstate New York is the place I call home and where my heart will always center to the farm, this place God gave me to connect each harvest season with Daisy. I will forever be grateful for this relationship and for the wisdom Daisy shared with a "boss man's" child under cherry and apple trees. It will always be etched upon my heart that Daisy, my Angel friend on Earth 1959 through the 60's, years later mystically reappeared my Angel from Heaven to guide this grown child on her pathway back Home.

A quote from Dear Daisy expresses best why Daisy is honored in the NWHF Book of Lives and Legacies...
"I hoped the World would sense the role Black Grandmothers play today, and especially the role Colored Grandmothers played in the transition from "slave" or "free slave" to soil and fruits; each day establishing roots and opportunity branches children and children's children know today. This would be my dream. My heart pictured Daisy's rightful time to speak, an "illiterate" adopted Colored Grandmother, a poor migrant traveler rich in Soul and Spirit bridging generations and color divide, a leader in Dr. King's positive peace army."

She will forever be known to myself, friends and family by her less formal name, "Daisy". She didn't need a civil rights movement. Her presence, love and compassion told all there was to learn. Daisy used the canvas life gave her and planted seeds in fertile ground; hearts.

Daisy, my friend, Love Always,

"Miz Jane"
(Jane Marla VerDow)