I Need Help!

Help with Picasa, that is.  Well, I probably need help in other areas, too, but that’s a topic for another day.

The other day I posted some sunset pictures.  I edited them by using Picasa and they turned out okay.  I wanted to put them into a slideshow but didn’t know how to do that and get it on Live Writer. 

I have become a big fan of Live Writer, but I’m still learning to use it, too.  I haven’t downloaded the new beta version of Live Writer because I barely know how to use the current version.  Besides that, Dave always tells me to be wary of beta versions of any programs because the reason that it is the “beta” version is because it may still have bugs in it.  Well, don’t programs sometimes have bugs in them even after the beta version is gone and the “real” version is out?  But that’s a rant for another day.

Back to Picasa.  I am slowly making my way through the Geeks on Tour videos.  They provide a lot of information, but unfortunately, it’s not always the information that I need. 

 

I know how to watch a slideshow of my photos in Picasa, but I don’t know how to export a slideshow (if export is even the correct word).

The other feature that I tried to use was Geo-Tag.  I downloaded Google Earth and it came up okay and I found the location that I wanted to highlight, and I was able to Geo-tag the photos.  But again, how do I get the map to load onto Live Writer? 

The final area of Picasa that I need help is with is getting any edited pictures into Live Writer.  I am slowly figuring this out, but the way I’m doing it seems cumbersome.  I store my pictures in my computer’s C drive, not in Pictures.  One of the Geeks’ videos said you don’t need to save Picasa files.  Well, obviously I do need to save or export, or else I don’t know how to get the edited photos into Live Writer.  I added the Picasa Link plug-in to Live Writer but that doesn’t work unless I’m online.  The whole point of Live Writer is to be able to write a blog offline and then publish it later when I have an internet connection.

I did have a bit of success with Picasa.  I created a collage of the sunset pictures.  But I don’t like how they look in a collage.

I like my ocean collage a little better.

Today I feel very technologically-challenged.  I want to make use of all this new technology, but it’s a struggle to learn it all!

Sunset from our Back Yard

Last night as Dave and I sat down to watch a bit of television, I happened to notice this view of the sky outside our back door.  I grabbed my camera (I’ve learned to keep it handy) and took these photos. Our new neighbors to the west recently built a new fire pit and the smoke from their fire last night got included in these pictures of sunset.   The time was around 8:30pm and my camera was aimed toward the southwesterly sky.

Thanks for reading my blog, even when it’s a “nothing happening” day.  Well, the sunset happened, but that happens every day, whether we notice it or not!

Empty Spot

Our motorhome parked at home It’s a sad day.  Our motorhome is not in its usual spot in our back yard.  We took it to Camping World this morning for some warranty work.  The main issue is a problem with the bedroom slide.  A part needs to be replaced and since the part needs to be ordered, it could take up to ten days for the part to arrive .  A few other minor things need to be worked on, also.

Waiting to be checked in for service at Camping World

Our next RV trip is planned for August 20, so we hope the motorhome will be ready by then.  In the meantime, we are thinking about taking the car and staying in a motel (horrors!) and possibly going to the Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA) conference in Redmond, Oregon. 

I didn’t even know that FMCA was holding their convention in Redmond this year.  Roberta and Wayne of Our RV Travels mentioned in their blog that they are going to the convention and planning to attend one of the Picasa seminars taught by Chris and Jim Guld of Geeks on Tour.  Roberta introduced me to Geeks on Tour and I recently joined their site, which offers video tutorials on many topics, not just Picasa.

We can’t go for the whole conference (August 11-14) so we have see if it makes sense to pay the high daily rate ($65 each per day for non-members but includes seminars and entertainment) as well as making the four hour drive each way from home, and besides all that, paying to stay in Redmond/Bend.  Have any of you ever attended one of the FMCA conferences?

The temporarily empty spot in our back yard.  How sad!

Thank you for reading my blog!

Heart Patients Reunion

15 months ago I had open-heart surgery.  My aortic valve was replaced with a mechanical valve.  I had the surgery done at Kaiser Sunnyside Medical Center in Clackamas, Oregon.  In April, 2009, a new cardiac unit opened at that location.  Before then, all Kaiser patients in the Portland area were sent to St. Vincent Hospital for heart surgery. 

When I had my surgery done at the end of April, 2009, the new cardiac program had just opened and only ten people had been operated on before me.  I was number 11. 

That’s me, number 11, at today’s reunion

Fast forward to today.  This reunion was held to celebrate the successful first year of the new cardiac center.  Dave went with me to the reunion.  We were shocked when we saw the large number of people in attendance.  There were hundreds of people there!

That’s me peeking out from behind and left of the tall man in the black t-shirt.

The open-heart surgery count is, as of today, now up to 422 and the stent count is around 375.  Since the time that I, number 11, was operated on, they have done almost 1000 surgeries. 

Dr. Yong Shin, my very competent cardiac surgeon

Kim Carlson, the fabulous R.N. and coordinator for the cardiac care unit.  (Too bad it looks like my eyes are closed—I don’t know how to fix that with Picasa!)

Dr. Davis, one of the my  anestheseologists.  For this picture, I tried out the “crop” button on Picasa.  It worked great!

We mingled with the other former patients,  talked to some of the staff members, listened to a few short speeches, and ate the heart-healthy lunch that was provided.  

Lunch tables

Dave took all the pictures of me and also the picture of the group photo.  We were both impressed with the organization that went into putting on this event…everything from the many volunteers in various parts of the parking lot with signs so we knew where to go, to the booths with games for children, and of course, the heart-healthy lunch that was provided.  All the former patients and staff were in great spirits.  What an uplifting and dare I say it, heart-felt, event this turned out to be!

The Drive Home from Astoria and My First Picasa Pictures!

We drove home from Astoria this morning.  The trip took a little over two hours.  I took some pictures and when I got home I got them loaded into the free Picasa program from Google.  I played with a bit last night, so I kind of knew what I was doing.  I’m still learning, though.

Driving east on Oregon State Highway 30, we came upon the inevitable flagger.  These guys were installing a new telephone pole.  We were soon on our way.

The highway follows the Columbia River, but we couldn’t see it much after we left Astoria.  We are happy when we get our first glimpse of it again as we near the bridge that crosses the river at Longview, Washington. 

 

While crossing the bridge, we got a good look at all the logs being transported abroad.  This place was busy today! 

In the following sets of photos, I am going to show you the difference between the photos I took and the same photos touched by using Picasa.  All I did was apply the “I’m Feeling Lucky” and the “Straighten” options to the following photos.

Original photo:

Picasa photo:

After Longview, we turned onto I-5 south.

Original photo:

We saw more logs at Kalama, which is also a river town.

Original photo:

Another glimpse of the Columbia River before I-5 turns away.

Original photo:

Turning east on Highway 14 east towards Camas means that we are almost home.  If we had kept going south on I-5, we would have ended up back in Oregon.

Original photo: (Pretty pathetic, right?)  New, improved version:

So, my verdict is that editing my photos with Picasa is a great success.  I still need to learn a lot more about the program, but I’ve made a start.  Thank you to my blog followers and online friends Roberta, Al, Rick, Jerry, and Gerri, all of whom gave me advice and/or encouragement regarding my photos!

Along the Astoria Waterfront, OR

Welcome to another new blog follower, Al, whose blog is Travel with the Bayfield Bunch.  Al is an ace photographer and he has already given me some tips on how to improve my photographs.  Now I just need to follow his advice.  I am new to photography, and I have an uncomplicated basic camera, so I’m always surprised when my pictures turn out at all! 

Dave and I bicycled along the Astoria waterfront this afternoon.  Along the way, I stopped to take a few pictures.

This is the Maritime Museum, one of the highlights of Astoria.  (That’s my bicycle in the picture.)

Astoria is slowly turning the old canneries into tourist destinations.  The following photos are of Pier 39. 

One of the popular tourist activities in Astoria is to take a ride on the Waterfront Trolley.  That’s the bike/walking path on the left of the trolley.

Not all the buildings have been refurbished yet.

It’s always fun to see ships in Astoria.  Four of these grain ships were all lined up on the Columbia River.  
Here’s another interesting old building.  We saw for sale signs and for lease signs on this one, the old Fisher Bros. Linen Thread Company.

Fishing boats at the marina

Tomorrow we head for home, which is only a two hour drive.  We’ll be back again to visit one of our favorite cities, Astoria, Oregon.

Thanks for visiting along with us!

Travel Day—From Coos Bay north to Astoria, OR

Flag flying at Lewis and Clark RV Resort This morning we said goodbye to Tom and Cindi and left Mill Casino RV Park at 9:15 am.  We enjoyed our time there but now we are heading for home.  Since it’s been hot at home the last couple of days, we are going to stay along the coast for the next two days.  In order to make our drive home on Tuesday as short as possible, while still staying cool at the coast, we decided to spend the next two nights in Astoria.  

We got the last site available at our favorite park in Astoria, Lewis and Clark Golf and RV Resort.  We used the 1/2 price discount from Camp Club USA for the first night and paid for a $30 back-in site for the second night.  During the winter this park allows unlimited nights at the 1/2 price amount, but during the summer they limit the discount to one night.

Alsea Bay bridge at Waldport It’s only 225 miles between Mill Casino and Lewis and Clark park in Astoria, but it took us seven hours to make the drive.  Highway 101 is a beautiful drive, but it’s not known for speed.   Lincoln City had lots of very slow traffic, as usual.  Seaside takes a while to go through, but wasn’t too bad.  We stopped at the Tillamook Ice Cream and Cheese place, but didn’t go inside because they looked very crowded.  Besides, we didn’t want to be tempted by all those goodies. 

Crossing the bridge at Newport

At Tillamook, we left the ocean and drove through dairy farm land 

Outside of Garibaldi

The train ride at Rockaway Beach was ready to leave

Nehalem Bay

The ocean north of Manzanita

It’s hard to see the ocean through the trees

We were glad to get to Seaside because that meant we were almost at Astoria

This helicopter was giving tours

The last bridge we crossed before reaching the RV park

Today was spent driving.  Tomorrow we plan to go for a bike ride along the Astoria waterfront.

Thanks for following along on our journey!