Hmmm..camera confusion

3 posts in 2 days...how about that, huh? Again, if you are just tuning in you need to go back 2 more posts to figure out what's up here.

As I am taking all those house pics (reason in previous post) I just realized that my super cool new "photography" camera does not have the range that I need to be able to get the full room image into one shot. It doesn't zoom out enough. But my point and shoot does. My problem there....now I am used to the super crisp photos coming from my nicer camera. Ugh....what to do, what to do.

Below are a couple of reposts of the Guest Room, Master Bedroom and Master Bathroom with the point and shoot. For my purposes I think the point and shoot works just fine.


Master Bath






Master Bedroom

Guest Room

I know I've posted pictures of the Guest Room months ago but if you did not catch yesterday's very long post check it out to explain why a new updated picture is here. ....getting ready for something kind of exciting that involves staging and house picture taking.....

For those who have not seen house pics yet here's another room on my list of rooms that will be coming online over the next few days.

Getting Ready

2 months since my last post, huh? Not too bad. I wonder how many of you have given up on this blog altogether.....I just about had. So much has been going on that both this blog and my little pet photog blog and even my pet photography have all gone to the wayside. Why you ask? Big things are in the works around these parts and I am super excited.

I have wanted to own my own business for gosh knows how long. Mostly, I don't do well with authority, nor do I like schedules other than the ones I make, nor do I like routine. Mike says I am free spirited and it's probably true. I should probably be living in a tree in the great NorthWest....wait.....do they take baths and shave? Ok, that's taking it too far. Seriously, let's say I won the lottery...the big one. I would be perfectly happy having a chef and a maid (while I remain unemployed mind you) so I could focus my energy on living life with Mike and traveling mostly. Charity and travel....and a fun hobby like photography. That should do it.

Mike has listened, with much patience, to ALL of my latest and greatest ideas....and there are many...bless his heart. Every day is a new day......book ideas, screen plays, creative projects, internet ideas....the list really does go on. Then I landed on this one particular idea which Mike got most excited about. He agreed there is real potential here and we know the business model works. Now I am in full launch mode. As soon as the website is ready.....I will officially be an ENTREPRENEUR!

What is it, what is it......well, I can't just tell you. I have to give you the story leading up to it first. I am my dad's child....everything starts with a story.

So this guy in Bham is running the real deal (but mine is going to be infinitely better!). He charges a flat fee to list For Sale By Owner properties on his website. We used it and loved it. I tried with all my might to get him to let me help him expand....I tried commission only deals....franchise fees. He wasn't biting. So....if you can't join 'em...beat 'em I say.

We tried to find FSBOs when we moved to GA and it was awful. There are a couple of poorly built sites near Atlanta. Very un-user friendly. As for Lagrange and the surrounding towns...nada. I guess they only have craigslist as an option....that won't cut it. You have to market your FSBO just like a realtor would....people want to research homes online and to rely on a passerby to see your sad little Wal Mart FSBO sign is not going to help matters.

During my first visit to Lagrange we ran across an FSBO and met the owners at the house they had planned to flip. Turns out their own house was for sale (with a pool, yum!) so we followed them to their house - also FSBO. I asked how many calls she had received. None. So I explained my little idea and she loved it. She thought the area needed this. So, tada....ask and you shall receive.

I think I am the President (is that title too much? over the top?)...of www.???.com. I'll share the site address later once it's live. The only hold up now is the website which should be ready in another couple of weeks or so....fingers crossed! I still have some promotional material to finalize but I am ready for action....ready for my first clients!!

It's a FSBO internet advertising company that charges a flat fee listing - we'll build a personal web page, take professional photos, design sales flyers, give them custom designed yard signs and I'll even add home staging to the list if they so desire. I think this just might work!

So, I need to upload a sample house onto the site so the first customers get a feel for what they are paying for. I am trying to get our old house uploaded as a sample too since I have all the photos from there but we're having image size issues.

My next option is my own house here. And taking full front to back images fulfills the request so many of you had to see our new house. I am just doing a few at a time as I am detailing this house to nearly the same condition I would if I was selling it....and lord knows I can get crazy with the cleaning. We have lots to do on the outside.....mowing, shrub trimming, and something odd that needs to be cleaned off the white exterior. Inside...well I just need to get all my cleaning and "staging" done. So, here are the first few for those of you who have not seen it yet. More in the days to come.

View from LR into DR





View from Kit into Hall and DR


Main hallway


Half Bath


View from DR into LR


View from DR into Half Bath

West Point Marina

I think we have a fairly large lake area here and I am pretty sure the entire area is called West Point Lake. From what I am told there are only 2 marinas - much fewer than the smaller Guntersville Lake area. We were coming back from Auburn yesterday and decided to side track and check out the marina in West Point.

Not sure how I ended up with only one picture of interest. Oh well.

Butterflies and Fireflies

I saw a little group of fireflies in the backyard a few nights ago. I remember seeing dozens upon dozens if not hundreds when we would visit my grandmother's house in Guntersville. I am convinced their population is dwindling though I did some research and no one seems to be able to verify this is true.

I did learn that the the fire fly light contains the chemical, Luciferin, and the enzyme Luciferase, which have medical uses such as helping code genes, testing food for bacterial contamination and measuring the effectiveness of some drugs in treating tumors. They say harvesting in the mid west could be impacting those populations. Hmm...I think it's impacting fireflies in general if this is the source.

And where have all the butterflies gone while we're at it? These small pale butterflies are just about the only ones I remember seeing over the past few years.

Savannah

We took our first ever trip to Savannah this weekend and we asked our moms to come along. Wow - what a beautiful city....and those trees.....just gorgeous! I did not get to squeeze in any ghost tours on this trip which, according to my very good friend, is a good thing otherwise I might not have enjoyed my trip so much!

A super fast stop at the Tybee Island beach on our last day. Seriously we were in and out in 5 minutes thanks in part to the scorching hot sand which forced us to run half the way down the beach. Second, there is zero parking and if there was a space you had to pay $10 for the whole day. We grabbed an open condo space just so we could see the beach before heading home. I prefer Destin.


We ate lunch at the Crab Shack on Tybee Island. There are alligators, exotic birds and lots of cats....thus the Cat Shack.



Gotcha!


We joked about what process the insurance guy would use to try to give value to this restaurant. Sure, lots of beach places throw around the word "shack"...but this place literally was. No ceilings, shade from the trees, lighting and misting machines hung from the trees, no walls and what few "structures" were there for things like a bathroom or kitchen were made from wood scraps.



There were even cats lurking around while we ate. Not for everyone I assure you.


Alligator farm at The Crab Shack



The river front in Savannah


The marsh land about 15 minutes outside downtown Savannah. We probably missed a good meal at Pearl's Salwater Grille. Oh well, next time!




River front store - just loved the hydrangeas and historic buildings. I wanted to try my hand at some more "professional" family shots around this area but we didn't make it happen. Gorgeous old woodwork, stone walls and the most interesting cobblestone streets I've ever seen - maybe next time.


Can someone put a stop to carriage rides? At least in the heat. Sad horse was old and so thirsty. I wanted to set him free.


This was as close as I got to my planned "ghost tour". A picture as we whizzed by on the trolley. This house was supposedly built on top of an old Indian burial ground. Bad idea, very bad idea. They said it was recently exorcized but there are still spirits looming outside at dark. I am not saying I believe everything I am told....just repeating is all.


Gorgeous gardens that I am supposed to recreate in our back lot. Maybe I will work on just drawing it out until this hot hot heat goes away!





Gotcha again!


Beautiful tree lined streets. Planted, as I learned, in 1861 by the tree commission.





One of the most haunted houses in Savannah...at least one that was documented by Taps. According to my personal "spirit advisor and historian" - you know who you are....all of Savannah is haunted.


Trolley time!


Standing in the hot hot sun waiting to get on the trolley. Only Spring, Winter and Fall visits in the future - at least if you want me to go!

Front porch stories

The mom's came down for a nice 2 day visit. We had a good drive to North Georgia. There was plenty of rain so we used that as a good excuse to rent movies and eat pizza.






Wow, I got a picture of the elusive "Judy-cat" species. That rare, temperamental breed that is never caught on film and when it is it most often snarls or shows its teeth in an attempt to warn off enemies (or those with cameras). Crap, I guess I am half Judy-cat too.


Mike - green is your color!


Always up for pictures and story listening....or travel or parties or....well, just about anything!


Mike - the consummate story teller. How did he get my dad's genes and I got stuck with 100% of the Judy-cat genes?