Things I want you to answer for me:
1. Is Photoshop easy to use? Because I’m just not that crazy about PaintShop Pro, and I’m thinking about getting Photoshop (eventually, even though it’s kind of expensive) but if it’s not super-simple to use for stupidheads like me, I’m not going to bother.
2. Bev asked We have heard a lot lately (and for a long time) about the horrendous conditions in puppy mills. I never hear anything about “kitten mills.” Do you know if there is the same problem for pet shop kittens as there is about pet shop puppies? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of there being an issue with kitten mills, but I know someone out there knows the answer to this, so share!
3. Um. That’s it, actually. I thought there was more, but apparently not!
So, I’ve been meaning to mention this, but kept forgetting. Remember Romeo, that old beagle who showed up in horrifying condition, and we kept him for a few days before we found him a new home with the vet tech at the vet’s office? And she took him the day we had Spot put to sleep?
A few weeks ago, Fred went back to the vet’s office for something – I can’t for the life of me remember what the issue was – and he found out that as it turned out, Romeo was fine for a couple of months, thriving, fitting in well at his new home. Then one day he started getting very sick and started going downhill quickly. They found a mass and it was cancer (they think it was pancreatic cancer), and the very next day he was dead.
The vet tech was sad, but said that given a chance, she wouldn’t hesitate to take him again.
I thought you guys would want to know.
So, when I moved upstairs, as you all know, I also started using the upstairs bathroom. The problem is that when I was downstairs, I had a desk that I used as a vanity, and I could keep all my extra shit in there. But I wanted to use the desk as a sewing table, which meant that I needed to move all my bathroom shit upstairs, and the problem there is that I have A LOT of bathroom stuff, and it wouldn’t all fit under the sink.
After much looking around and measuring and all that, I ordered this storage armoire from JC Penney. I actually ordered it at the beginning of April, but it was out of stock and took a few weeks to get here. Then the box sat on the front porch and then in the front room before Fred put it together over the weekend. I tried to figure out how to put all my stuff in there without having to pile it on the shelves, and then later in the day he was running an errand in Closeville, so I went along with him and ran into Big Lots, where I found plastic bins that I thought would work. Not only did they work well, they fit perfectly, and now all my shit is neatly arranged and all my bathroom shit is stored away in the upstairs bathroom, where it’s supposed to be.
(pic) The only issue is that I can’t hang my towel on that towel rod, and hanging the towel on the hook on the back of the door doesn’t allow it to dry in the 23.75 hours between showers. The only solution I can think of is to put a towel rod on the back of the door. I think that would work out okay; I don’t like hanging my towel over the shower rod, because I don’t like the way it looks.
(pic) Possibly I mentioned that I have a lot of bathroom shit.
(pic) Lots of hair stuff (the stuff I actually use on a day-to-day basis is in the medicine cabinet). You can never have too many extra bottles of shampoo!
(pic) I have ten tons of lotion, and yet I hardly ever use lotion. Go figure. I imagine I’m searching for the perfect lotion that will make me WANT to use it every day when I get out of the shower.
(pic) Stuff for my teeth.
(pic) Extra soap and contact stuff.
(pic) Bath bombs and salts, and in that little bag? Makeup. Lot of makeup for someone who never wears it, no?
And there you go. My bathroom organization. I actually considered labeling each bin, but I think that would be a little over the top.
Shaddup.
Sometimes, when the babies are hungry, it looks like Kara is under attack, what with them all climbing on her and squirming and kneading.
It’s so cute I pass out from the sugar shock.
(pic)
(pic)
Inara’s eyes are definitely starting to open, and I think Zoe’s eyes are starting to as well (though I can’t quite tell). Kaylee and River, not so much. The shelter manager said eyes open around 10 – 14 days, so I have a few more days before I need to worry. I’m going to run a warm washcloth over their eyes later today in case there’s any gunk holding their eyes closed.
Kitten pictures may be scarce for the next few days; bright light can damage their fresh new eyeballs, and I cannot for the fucking life of me get a decent nonflash shot in that room, since it’s so dark. I mean, I’ll keep trying nonflash pictures and share whatever I get, but don’t hold your breath and don’t worry – there’ll be ten thousand pictures a day when I don’t have to worry about making them blind.
A few more kitten pics are up over at Flickr.
(pic) This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a snuggle.
Previously
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: So, Fred has now been officially neutered.
2004: All I have to say about the kayak is this: those fuckers are HARD to get out of!
2003: Except that best laid plans and all that jazz.
2002: I love old houses with deep porches.
2001: No entry.
2000: Even now, Fred and I talk about that, and we refer to it as my “Walking the gauntlet.”
Robyn, I use Paint Shop Pro X, and yes it does have a hard learning curve, but I tried out Photoshop first and I think it was even harder!
Sorry, but Photoshop in general is NOT easy to use. It’s a very intensive and overwhelming program. There are some things that are easy to do. Pioneer Woman has tutorials that are simple to follow and net great results. But the program as a whole is not for casual users. (it’s also quite expensive)
Take a look at Photoshop Elements. It might be more useful for you.
I’d second the Photoshop Elements suggestion. I’ve been trained in the use of Photoshop and have been using it for years, so it’s become quite intuitive to me… but, it takes a LOT of work and practice to get to that point. I still learn new things about it all the time. Photoshop’s a very powerful tool, but you would definitely need to get an instructional book about it; or take a class if that’s available.
On the flip side, there are tons of websites and forum dedicated to helping people with Photoshop.
I’m a graphic designer and use Photoshop EVERY DAY. It’s open right now. It is NOT easy–I’ve been using it for 20 years, and still find stuff I don’t know how to do (people in my office think they can do what I do if only they knew how to use photoshop–that drives me crazy–if only I owned a scalpel, I could perform your surgery for you, too!).
I second Photoshop Elements. Will have everything YOU need w/o all the stuff I need, and much simpler. But there’s still a learning curve. I’d get yourself a good book as well, like “The Missing Manual.”
I highly recommend playing around with Picnik.com instead of PhotoShop. I happily pay the $24/year for Picnik; it’s very easy to use, web-based (so you don’t need to install it on multiple machines), and makes uploading to Flickr, Facebook et al very simple.
Photoshop isn’t exactly easy, which just echos what everyone else has said. If you’re looking for photo editing, you might want to try some online tools. There’s now a free online version of Photoshop and another popular one called Picnik.
Hey Robyn, How about hanging a towel bar on the right side of your new cabinet? You could get a
nice wooden one to (kinda) match the cabinet!
Another graphic designer here, Robyn. I 4th the Photoshop Elements suggestion. You can buy Elements for $99. Full version of Photoshop is $650. Yeah.
Digital Art Student here! Photoshop, to me, is easy but I’ve been using Photoshop 7.0 for the past 8 years (It’s TOO EXPENSIVE o.o;;) but play with Photoshop CS3 in my classes and at the school here.
Oh yeah. It has a high learning curve..
I 5th the Photoshop Elements suggestion. Elements is just a condensed version with less stuff to screw up. I have to plea with you: Play with it at first.. don’t expect good results immediately (:D Impatient? You? NEVAH!) and the Healing Brush will soon become a good friend.
I 5th the Photoshop Elements suggestion. It’s pretty easy to use and has everything I need. I’m wonder if your new computer already has it on it? I’m thinking my computer came with it but I could be wrong!
Also, my sister swears by Aveeno lotion:)
Fred could move your towel bar to a different spot ya know:)
I LOVE the cabinet. I wish my damn bathroom were big enough for one.
My son gave me photoshop and for a year it has sat here unused , because I found it too overwhelming. Maybe if there were a month with nothing else to do……
I’m still using good old paint shop.
Yeah, photoshop is a PITA. I have a copy of Picasa (free google software) that I think is pretty user-friendly. It’s obviously not hot-shit like Photoshop, but, well, it’s FREE.
have you thought about putting a little towel rack on the side of your cabinet? just a thought.
ah, there’s this too: http://www.picnik.com/ for free / cheap photo editing. I have a friend who likes it.
Hi Robyn,
I have Photoshop Elements at work. I hate it, but it’s because I’ve not spent much time figuring it out. I’m not creative and our needs at the law firm are cropping and a little removal of annoying things like figure numbers.
On the kitten front. Most pet stores buy domestic shorthair cats from people who bring in an occasional litter. It’s like ginny pigs and hamsters. Most people can call up and say they have babies and if the store has room, they take them. On the pure breeds – hmmmm I’m sure there are kitty mills. Never heard of them. I’d never buy a pure breed cat – and if I did, I’d find a breeder online. I’ve only bought one cat from a pet shop and he peed on my bed. The Humane Society would not take him, so I had to have him put to sleep or hopefully a vet tech took him home. That’s what I keep thinking – I could not find a home for him and he’d pee while I was sleeping. Not good.
1. There is a open source version of Photoshop called Paint.net 3.30.
http://www.filehippo.com/download_paint.net/
I believe Pioneer Woman knows quite a bit about photoshop and has a section on her website with tips.
2. The only thing I know about “kitten mills” is that some people breed cats for the polydactyl toes but wind up with some genetically messed up cats instead. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polydactyl_cat
Chiming in here, I’ve used Photoshop Elements for years and I still don’t use most of it; I would never spend the money for full Photoshop, although I have been trained on it and it is, indeed, hard. As for the kitten mill question, I’ve thought about this, too. I don’t think there are kitten mills because ordinary run-of-the-mill kittens always seem to be available somewhere locally. I think the only kittens that are bred intentionally are purebreds, and a lot of those dealers are also local. I would think that a mill trying to churn out, let’s say, purebred Persians, wouldn’t do very well and it would be clear right away that the cats weren’t healthy.
I had a similar problem with figuring out a good way to hang wet towels in the bathroom. We have a towel bar, but if you want to hang more than one towel at a time, it doesn’t really work.
I bought some stainless steel “S” hooks at the harware store. They’re about three inches long, and I put three of them over the towel bar (equal distances apart) and now I hang the towls on the hooks. I was surprised at how Martha Stewart-y it looks. I bet you could do the same thing over the shower curtain rod, if you don’t want to move the towel bar behind the door.
I think you would like Digital Image Pro. It has all the bell and whistles and a very easy learning curve compared to the Photoshop and PaintShop. I use it for Digital Scrapbooking all the time.
Good luck.
Definitely try Photoshop Elements. It frequently is bundled with scanners, so maybe check around if you know anyone who bought a scanner recently and isn’t planning on using the software. The “Teach yourself Visually” and “Missing Manual” guides worked really well for my dad when he was learning Elements. Photoshop Elements should have everything you need without being too overwhelming.
Hey Robyn:
I use Photoshop Elements too. I took an online course, I still find it difficult to remember everything, I wish I had taken better notes, but the 4 or so things I remember are very useful. I’ve also played around a little with the free portion of Picnik in flickr and it’s seems similar to Elements. I recommend $99 Photoshop Elements and then if you decide you need more than that get regular Photoshop later and you’ll have already mastered a great deal of it.
I have a towel rack system that I got at Bed, Bath & Beyond that goes over the hinges of your door and has 4 rods to hang towels from. Very nifty, very neat and not expensive at all.
Gimp is also a good photo-editing program and it is free! Definitely a learning curve though.
I know less than you about Photoshop. I’m no help there.
Thanks for the update on the beagle, sad though the news was. I’m glad to hear the vet tech had no regrets. I’m sure the Romeo didn’t either.
Love the caption under the snuggling kitties. I could be content if that’s how the world ends.
Also loving all the kitten photos. I’m so intrigued by them and their development. Years ago I read that non-skittish cats get that way with lots of human interaction in the first few weeks of life.
I use Gimp, too. It makes Photoshop look positively friendly. 😀 I like it, though.
Another Photoshop Elements user here. Depending on what exactly you want to do, I think it would be more than sufficient (and a heck of a lot cheaper too!).
I second Bella’s over the door towel rack: http://www.organize-it-online.com/itm_york3towel.html
(although I’m sure you can find them cheaper at Target, Walmart or Lowes).
When you first posted about Romeo I wanted him so badly that I wondered if I could possibly take a trip that involved picking up and bringing home a dog. When I told my husband about it and showed him the pictures he thought Romeo was here in our state and I was crazy. When I told him where Romeo was it confirmed aforementioned craziness.
I am glad to hear he got the love he deserved at the end.
Your bathroom stuff looks like my bathroom stuff. So much make up for someone who rarely wears it, TONS of shampoos, lotions, shower gels… the BEST part about needing Home Care every day to help me shower and dress is that it is part of her daily duty to put body lotion on me. I’m finally using up all my body lotions!! I even NEED to buy more soon! And foot cream, she puts lotion on my feet and gives me a little massage!! Yeeeehaw!
Yup – Photoshop Elements.
I have a retractable towel line in my shower. They’re almost impossible to find. I just ordered a new one from the net. Some things you can’t live without!
Ladybug, thanks for mentioning Pioneer Woman — what a great site! Robyn, I like Photoshop, but I’m not great at using it. I took a class at the local JC which got me a student ID card and I was able to buy Photoshop at the student price, which I think was half the regular price.
Thanks for the update on Romeo. I was recently thinking about him for some reason. I’m glad that his last days were spent with a person who loved him and cared for him very, very well. That vet tech is a doll.
Love the armoire, and you have it organized so nicely!
It’s possible to download a free trial of Photoshop at Adobe’s site (fully functional for 30 days). You will have to register to be able to download it, but the process is relatively quick. Then, I would recommend looking for some good tutorials regarding whatever you want to use Photoshop for. Without any reference or orientation Photoshop can be quite overwhelming.
True, Photoshop isn’t easy to use, but I’d always recommend Photoshop Express. It’s much cheaper and has about 75% of the same functionality–plus some really good shortcuts because not all of us are trained graphic designers. Whee.
Love them kittens. Love them!
I’d say Photoshop is not easy but maybe give GIMP a try, it’s a photoshop-like program and it’s free. That way if you hate that, you won’t feel so bad about having shelled out the money.
Note to self: scan comments first. Ha! I wonder if there’s a name for that, repeating what someone else has already commented and said.
I think Photoshop Elements would be good for you. We have gotten free versions when we’ve bought a new scanner and a Wacom tablet. I don’t know what you want to use it for, if it if for photo editing there are books by a photographer named Scott Kelby who writes exceptional books that are easy to understand. I didn’t take any courses in it, just followed his books and I find it very, very easy to use for the basic things at present. There are still a lot of things I want to learn to use and use well but for photo editing I think the PSE would work for you without going to a PS program that would cost a ton.
Is there a better pair of words than squirming kittens? I think not.
Thanks for the update on Romeo. That old man got a well deserved happy home, if only for a short time. Well done on all of you for making it happen.
C: “I wonder if there’s a name for that, repeating what someone else has already commented and said.”
You could call it “echommenting.” I have no idea how you’d pronounce it, though.
Robyn:
“Possibly I mentioned that I have a lot of bathroom shit.”
There’s something in there that I’m trying to tease out, about the bathroom being the generally accepted place for shit, unless one is a cat (or a small dog who lives in my house)…
I’m sad to hear about Romeo, but happy at the same time that he had a good life at the end, and that he didn’t suffer long. *snif*
Your bathroom= O.C.D. I’m just saying!
I personally don’t use paintshop. I use picnic.com. I loved it so much I bought a subscription (something like $25 a year, but I honestly can’t remember exactly.) And you can upload directly to your flickr account, which I also love.
For me it was much simpler than others – which is what I need. Simplicity.
My neighbors didn’t take very good care of their cat’s litter of kittens and their eyes got all matted and infected. I called the vet and was told that Visine’s Tears would work to help open their eyes and clear them up. It worked great! I would sneak (shhhh) into their back yard twice a day to put the drops in the kittens’ eyes and feed them & mama. I also just used it on my cat a few weeks ago when one of her eyes got all goopy.
I’m a graphic designer and love photoshop. Is it easy to use? No, not really BUT — if you’re looking to do the same things over and over, it’s not so bad. There’s ways to learn the basics and it’s fab for doing batch processing of albums. I’m about to do a package up for a client to do the basics — if you like, I could send you a copy of that. Just message me and the info in there will be all you need to do with easy directions to do it.
Aw, poor Romeo. May he rest in peace. I’m glad he had a “forever” home, even if it was only for a few months.
Was that a jar of Heel of Approval I saw in one of your bins? I love that stuff! It works great if you remember to use it regularly (unlike me).
We have a free standing towel warmer and I love it. It dries the towels totally and they are toasty warm when you go to use them. It’s also great for drying hand washables.
Photoshop Elements came bundled as a trial version or something on our computer (a Compaq which is somehow connected with HP) so I would look on your computer to see if you have it. If so, play with it then decide if you want to buy the license for it to use the full software. I have ACDSee on our computer. It came with one of our digital cameras and I liked it. Very easy to use, even for someone who has no clue when it comes to photography. I just update it every couple of years when something new is added to it. Also…doesn’t Vista come with some sort of photo stuff on it? That was why they discontinued Microsoft Digital Suite…because Vista supposedly had it (or something similar) included in the operating system. Just my two cents…for what it’s worth.
Also..I too am glad that Romeo was loved at the end. So sad.
And…love the bath cabinet. We have no room for anything like that in either of our baths. I have those baskets too…got them at Target for I think 2 for $5.99. I have two under all three of our sinks (2 bath and the kitchen) to organize the crap I keep in there.