Thursday, November 17, 2022

PLAYTIME!

 I am a bit slow putting my latest post together from the park, so I thought I would share a real simple graphic I did tonight.  It didn't take long.   I have a wonderful free graphics place I go to - pixabay.com -  and I always thank Sandra at Mad Snapper as she told us about it in a post a long time ago.  You have heard me mention it before as I go to it often.  Today I got a 'tube' of a young couple sitting on a bench in the rain.  I wasn't looking for it in particular, but it popped up and I took a liking to it.  It looks like this when it arrives and after putting it into Paint Shop Pro, it has no background.  Below is a screen shot I took so is not a transparent background png. file, but a regular jpg. file and I shared it just so that you can see the difference.  I also found a separate graphic from the same place for today's signature.


In my Paint Shop Pro I add an extra layer to the above, and filled that layer with a dark blue. As the street lamp looked illuminated, I chose my color to make it look like nighttime, and it turned out like this.  The rain was already included in the original tube, which is hard to see when it is transparent.


And then you can add a message.  I chose this one.


It jogged a memory.  On our first date I packed a picnic, picked Gregg up from his ship and drove him to Dartmoor.  Dartmoor was, and still is, my all time favorite place.  Well, actually, it's a toss-up between Yellowstone and Dartmoor, but for nostaligia purposes let's say it's Dartmoor today.  They are on a par.  We both enjoyed a good walk even back then, and it was a lovely day with not even a breeze.  Except, that when we were within a couple of hundred yards of getting back to my mini, the heavens opened up.  It was a torrential downpour and rain pelted down.  We didn't have a brolly between us, and it certainly wasn't the romantic scene that we see above. All the time I took to pick the perfect casual outfit for our date, and with not a hair on top of my head out of place, his nicely pressed shirt and khaki's, well...it ended up with us both looking like a couple of drowned lettuce leaves.  I didn't know about waterproof makeup in those days, if it was even available.  Can we say streaks?  We nose-dived into the car, took a good look at each other and laughed our socks off.  We didn't care what either of us looked like and 46 years later, we still think about our first date and have a good chortle.

If you have any first date stories to tell, care to share?  I would love to read them.






42 comments:

  1. I love your first date story! My first date with my husband he took me to a restaurant that was closed but we just played the night by ear and had a great time.

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    1. That's a lovely memory, thanks for sharing it Christine :)

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  2. Love your creativity. And that first date shows that you both made the right choice.

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  3. Your art works are superb! Look really good

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  4. The art work is wonderful as is your story.

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  5. Hello,
    Love the Happiness is image, well done. What a sweet memory. Take care, enjoy your day!

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    1. Thank you Eileen, happy you enjoyed both :) You take care and enjoy your day also.

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  6. That was a charming first date story, Denise. Our first date lasted well over 12 hours starting with lunch and progressing through a movie, outdoor concert, and dinner. That was over 25 years ago and we remember and celebrate the date every year since.

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    1. Thank you Dorothy, and I loved reading yours too. Lovely that you still celebrate that first date :)

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  7. I had totally forgotten about pics of a about pixabay. I do love your graphic today and I also loved your story and did get quite a few Chuckles picturing it in my mind

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    1. And that makes me happy Sandra :) I showed Gregg what I had written and he started laughing at the memory straight away.

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  8. The image is a time capsule capturing a special moment in your life. I loved your post. It made me smile and feel happiness.

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    1. Thank you Carol, happy you enjoyed this. That it made you smile and feel happiness made my day :)

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  9. I absolutely love this image and your drowned lettuce leaf story … so poetic. Laughter is an important key to a good relationship. In some ways, my husband's humour has been my umbrella. :)

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    1. So glad Penelope and thank you :) Laughter? I totally agree and the same for mine as your husband :)

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  10. You have some major skilz, with graphics and telling a story.

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  11. Delightful all..... -smile-

    Thank you for your comment. It sounded as if you have knowledge of caring for a loved one......

    Gentle hugs
    🍁🍂🌰🍂🍁

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    1. Thank you for the smiles :) And you are very welcome . I have had some experience, and have had several family and friends who have been in your shoes. I wish you only the very best of health, for you and for your loved one.

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  12. How fun to be able to manipulate the graphics. Your first date sounds like a scene from a comedy. It is so good to laugh with each other. Our first date was to a movie called 'What's Up Doc' with Ryan Oneil and Barbara Striesand...a comedy, 50 years ago.

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    1. It is a lot of fun Ellen and thank you. When I first got on the Internet, so many years ago now, I joined a lot of online classes and those lessons I learned, thankfully stuck for the most part :)

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  13. What a good story. As far as I'm concerned, you are like The Mad One, a computer graphics expert. The things you did to make these images have my head whirling!! They are truly wonderful though, and so much fun to see! And they do make me think of that frst date with both of you.

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    1. Now that's a great compliment Ginny, thank you :) So glad you enjoyed these, and my memories because of them :)

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  14. Seems like my comment maybe dd not go thru?

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    1. Sorry Ginny, both messages came through. I moderate all my comments and sometimes it takes a while for me to get back on the computer :)

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  15. Oh Denise, what a sweet first date! Laughing together is so important. I can picture you two in beautiful Dartmoor enjoying each other even soaked. My first date with my husband was a hayride. We laugh about this time still. He wanted a kiss and I refused.
    Your graphics are so professional. Thank you for sharing them and your lovely story.

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    1. I am happy you think so Martha Ellen and thank you :) Laughter is the best and you're right, it is so important. What a lovely memory of your own first date. Thank you for sharing that. You made me smile about refusing that first kiss :)

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  16. Wow..... that one with the blue background and the rain looks perfect.

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    1. Much appreciate you saying so Haddock, thank you :)

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  17. Thank you for sharing your first date story.

    All the best Jan

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    1. You are very welcome Jan and all the best to you too :)

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  18. Beautiful artwork! It wasn't a first date, but while visiting the future hubs in his small hometown, we had no car. We'd taken some of his photos to the local newspaper, and instead of waiting for his Mom to pick us up, we walked probably 2 miles to his home. It started pouring rain, and we didn't care, as we just laughed and kissed along the way, jumping in puddles. Not bad for college kids still be able to play like little kids. Nice memories even if wet. Linda in Kansas

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    1. Much appreciate the kind words Linda, and I loved reading about your date. Thank you so much for sharing that.

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  19. How lovely is that - you certainly did well adding the layer to it.

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  20. That is a great prompt for a memory. I'll have to think on it.
    When you use Google to search for images, you can use their tools to search for free or creative commons, as well. My granddaughter taught me that! :-)

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    1. Hi Jenn, and what a great tip. Thank you so much! Thank your granddaughter for me too :)

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