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Posts posted by Rene Marker
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I watched a show where a guy had kept different HDs for different number of years specifically for testing longevity. It was interesting to learn the storage degrades even sitting in drawer, and also a drag to realize that they don't last forever. That's sad that you lost those layouts. Especially your beginning ones, it's nice to see how far you've come.
I still have the layouts. They've been printed and I have the jpg's as well. Just lost the pspimage files.
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I went to many concerts when I lived in Toledo and I was in my 20's. Acts like Rick Springfield, the Beach Boys (with an opening act of John Cougar), Boston, The Lettermen to name a few. As a child my parents and I would go to the Ohio State Fair for a weekend and catch some entertainment there as well. A few I remember were James Brown, Herman's Hermits and the King Cousins. As a college student some friends and I would go to the state fair. We saw Mac Davis and heard Helen Reddy from outside the grandstand. Then in 1989 thru 1991 I again went to the state fair just to see the Oak Ridge Boys. Went by myself the first 2 years and my parents went with me the last time. When I was in high school, the Lettermen came to a small town close by so saw them there as well. Our seats were very close to the small stage and they came out into the audience. In 1995 a small town nearby had Marty Stuart. He was one of my faves so a friend and I went to see him. Got up close there as well! The last 2 concerts I went to were in 2018. I saw Home Free and the Oak Ridge Boys
I can no longer tolerate live music of any kind. Most have the instruments so loud that I cannot hear the actual singing. The only reason I could tolerate the Oak Ridge Boys was because I knew all the words to their songs! Home Free is a ccapella so no instruments drowning out the actual singing.
I've done layouts for the photos of concerts I do have but unfortunately, no photos from those in the 60's and most in the 70's. Film was expensive and lighting wasn't always great for picture taking.
All that to say that a highlight for me was in 2000. A mall in Lima had a yearly event called Family Fun Fair. They would bring in entertainment that performed where the big fountain was in the middle of the mall (fountain was off and a stage in its place). They had Peter Noone aka Herman of Herman's Hermits that year. I went and sang along with every single song he sang. He also signed autographs and took photos with people so I stood in line for that. I had no paper with me but did have a Longaberger sales flyer and my camera. I had him sign the flyer and got a photo with him.
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Yeah, OneDrive is a pain in the you know what! When I got a new laptop, I was trying to use my Dropbox account to send something to my cousin. The dropbox it had me using had none of my files or folders. Turns out it had created a whole new Dropbox for me. I couldn't even log in to my years old account! Then I realized that OneDrive was turned on. Like you Sue, I did some research and figured out how to turn it off. Amazingly, I could then log into my old dropbox account. The other thing I don't do is have my computers sync through my MS account. I have different backgrounds on my 2 computers and if you do the sync, it will put the same background on both computers as well as any files in any of the folders set up by MS (documents, photos, videos, etc) will be copied to the other computer. I keep very little on my laptop and mainly use external hard drives with it with the data. Then I just plug it in the desktop to copy any changed files to it. My laptop is mainly for genealogy work these days. Years ago, I would use it for scrapping when I went to retreats. Digital kits and photos took up too much disk space so again I used external hard drives.
I have multiple external hard drives with backups of my data and stuff I don't need that often. But once I got the faster fiber internet, I did sign up for an online backup (iDrive, not an Apple product). External hard drives and thumb drives can fail. About 4 or 5 years ago I was cleaning out a closet in my office and ran across an old external hard drive. I think it was one that I used to save older digital kits and some of my earliest pspimage layouts. When I hooked it up and plugged it in (so old it had its own power cord), it did nothing. Computer couldn't read it and the lights on it wouldn't come on. It was dead. So I lost that stuff. So far that is the only external hard drive that has failed me.
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Pepper would always follow me to the basement. Back in those days, it was partitioned off into various areas. I would be going down to do laundry so only in that area that was to the right of the steps. There was a big family room about 15 feet away from the steps to the left. You couldn't see in that room from the laundry area. Quite often I would go back upstairs and close the door in the kitchen and go do other things. The dogs were old enough that they didn't follow me everywhere in the house.
Eventually I would notice that Paige was around but not Pepper. I would be checking the bedrooms where doors would have been opened and closed and still no Pepper. Finally I would think to open the door to the basement. There would be Pepper just lying on the top step waiting for me to open the door.
There were also times he would follow me in to the bedroom when I was putting away the laundry and I wouldn't know it. When I finished and left the room, I would shut the door. Again, it would take me awhile before I realized he was no where to be found. Then I'd open the bedroom door and he'd be sleeping on the bed... he slept there at night so he was just taking advantage of the quiet time with no Paige around!
I no longer have the separate rooms in the basement so when Peyton follows me down, if she doesn't run up the steps ahead of me, I look around to make sure she isn't still down there. I didn't have those rooms eliminated until I had her for over a year and she did get stuck down there at least one time. And, like Pepper, she will follow me to the bedroom and has gotten left in there as well. She is more vocal than Pepper and will let me know if I leave her behind though!
And, in the almost 14 years I had Paige, she never got left behind in a room or the basement. But then she didn't follow me everywhere either. She'd lay on the couch in the office and just watch me come and go!
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When I cleaned out the basement 9 years ago, I found some 78 records that my Mom had. They had been down there since 1964. When I picked them up, a couple of them started to crumble. So they went into the dumpster.
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When Pepper was just a little guy, I would put him in the bathroom and close the door when I went away. Then if he made a mess, it was easy to clean up. I would put a bed and some toys in there along with a bowl of water. (The rest of the house was carpet which is why he didn't have access to it when I was away).
One day I came home and I couldn't open the door very far at all. Maybe 2 inches. From the photo below you can see that I had 4 small drawers and 2 doors right inside the door. Pepper had somehow pulled one of the drawers nearest the door out so that it blocked the door. Uh Oh! But there was a way to get in the bathroom. The 2 doors... they are to the laundry chute. Yes, I could just throw my clothes down there into a bag hanging below it when they were dirty (Mom demanded that when they built the house). So I thought that I could go down to the basement and using some kind of long pole maybe open the door and push the drawer in. Well, that didn't work. I'm short and couldn't get anything high enough to reach the door.
Not knowing what else to try, I saw my neighbor was outside with his 2 young children. I asked Tony who is quite tall if he could figure something out. He was unable to get it either but then he thought maybe his son (the older of the 2 kids) could crawl up the chute, open the door and push the drawer closed. But the son didn't want to do it, he was scared. However, his daughter begged to let her try. So I ran upstairs, Josie went up the chute with Tony's help, opened the door and crawled out. She closed the drawer and I was able to open the door.
Then, not to be outdone by his younger sister, up comes Kaleb!
Pepper was happy to see all of us! And, I never shut the door with him in their alone again. I had to figure something else out.
And, I still have the laundry chute even though I had new cupboards put in 8 years ago. Sure beats collecting laundry and carrying it down the stairs when it is time to do laundry.
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O is for Ornaments.
My father loved looking for sand dollars whenever he was on a beach. In 1981 and 1982, they spent a couple weeks each year at Hilton Head Island. He collected a lot of sand dollars, brought them to bleach them. After that he painted them white. Mom arranged with the art teacher to paint Christmas items on them. On the back she noted the year and the place collected. He found a whole lot more the 2nd year than the 1st year. Mom added a red ribbon on them for hanging on the tree. For quite a few years, they adorned our Christmas tree. Mom also gave quite a few away to family and a few friends.
A couple years ago I was going thru the boxes of Christmas stuff that had been on shelves in the basement for years since I had no idea what was in them. Most had been packed away by Mom. I found a box that was all the sand dollar ornaments. I no longer put up a full size tree but I bought a 3 foot pre-lit tree to sit on my marble table and decorated it with these ornaments. I leave the ornaments on it when I put it away each year. I gave an ornament to the children of my cousins and still have plenty for me. I love looking at it and it gives me comfort as I feel Mom and Dad with me during the hardest month of the year for me.
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Here is a layout of my parents and I. This was the last photo taken of just the 3 of us before Mom passed away in 1996. Mom's expression was typical since Dad had probably made some comment (which he did a lot). We rolled our eyes a lot around him! The kit was a mega kit from Scrap Orchard (no longer in business). The layout was based on a Sketch from a group of girls that put on a "Sketchapalooza" event for a number of years. It was 3 to 5 girls that designed sketches then released them to those that signed up for their event. The last couple of years they included templates for the digital scrappers. The layout was created in 2012.
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This is one of the first layouts I did back in 2008. Everything used were probably freebies I found during a "Trash to Treasures" blog hop where designers put individual items on their blog for free. I think the photo was done using a template that was free as well.
I think this is the only photo I have of me with both sets of grandparents. I have photos with my mom's parents but none with my dad's parents mainly due to there being 52 grandchildren in the Marker family compared to 6 grandchildren in mom's family. My grandma Stoll passed away 2 years after this photo was taken. My grandpa Stoll was the last grandparent I had when he passed away in 1995.
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I like this option. Soon as splitted the threads was mentioned, I thought, oh oh, I'm going to forget to look at that thread and miss something good. I'd rather only go to one "What are you working on" thread. If you do it for that thread you'd have to do it for all the threads, all the challenges, workshops etc. The easiest seems to be to mention it in your post. Some I see are using both programs in one layout which is pretty cool I say. Either way, I'll make sure i keep up on all the posts.
A trick that can be used is on the top right of the page (right above Recent Posts) is an icon and wording "Unread Content". Clicking on that will bring up every post that you haven't read no matter what forum it is in. You can then click on the title of the post to read it all. Using the back arrow when you are done will take you back to the unread post listing. I know people that love this on other forums but it isn't my preferred way of reading posts in a forum.
I always go to the main forum when I log on to the site. On that screen, I can tell what sub-forums have new posts in them since the name of the forum is bolded. I then click on each forum to see what threads have new posts because the title of the post is again bolded. I never miss threads with new posts this way. I can choose to look at a thread or not look at it if I want. And, with each bolded thread title, the dot next to it can be clicked on to take me to the newest unread post. So if I choose not to read the thread at the time, I can go back to it later and it will take me right to where I left off. Using this method you can read all posts in a thread at one time in order.
You should have seen all the bolded titles and highlighted dots I had when I got back from vacation. Some I ended up not looking at so when I was back on the main screen, I clicked on the "bubble" next to the forum name to "mark all posts as read". Then it was a fresh start from there.
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What happens if you've used both Affinity and PSP? Would you post it two places? Seems like extra work and redundant at the same time, and uses a lot more upload space for the Campus that could add to costs for Carole. Not sure how that part works.
I only use one of the programs on a layout so that wouldn't be a problem for me but then I don't post many layouts.
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Jacques fantastic that you made a script but I have a question: Why should I use a script as my iPhone gives a simple possibility to change HEIC to JPG, which I use frequently to share my HEIC photo with someone that needs a JPG photo. PSP 2023 and Affinity both can handle HEIC and the printing service where I make my albums does too.
I had some photos of me texted to me by the person that took them on the bus trip. They were in HEIC format. This person also does not understand what scrapbookers do so photo format means nothing to them. They also did edits on a couple of pics and after the edit, they ended up being in PNG format. All they know about photos is that they can take them with their phone. I would rather they just share the HEIC format with me and then I can do what I want with them.
The other problem I've run into in the past is when someone texts me a photo, they have the phone set to send a compressed version. Now whether that is the size their phone is set to take photos or just the texting size, I don't know. I had a bunch sent to me from a family reunion that were small. Thankfully, with PSP AI resize, I was able to enlarge them enough so they looked good.
FWIW, I do not use an iPhone. I have an Android so all photos are in JPG format to begin with. And, I always choose to send the full size image if I text it to someone. So I can see where Jacques script could be useful.
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Personally I like the separate threads because I know which program was used when I open one of them. I can always look at both threads if I want. I do think that for the new users that are only using Affinity having a thread just for that program would be a good thing. I know I would be put off if I was an Affinity user and was in a thread that had a mixture of programs being used even if it is specified by the poster which program they are using. If I'm learning Affinity, I want to see what Affinity can be used for.
I also liked having the separate workshop threads for the 2 programs but did notice that there was posting in the wrong threads that caused confusion. I do think us as posters should be more mindful of where we are posting. It really isn't that hard to read the title of a thread to see what it is for so that we are posting in the correct thread. Carole is really trying to make things better for us, let's help her out by being better about where we post.
I do agree that having only one thread for challenges is the way to go for that.
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I am doing something like you with the states. When visiting my family I buy a coaster for the states they live and for the towns/cities I visit and the National Parks as well. I know I will never get all the states or national parks, therefore I choose the paces I visit with them. However I didn't use them for my letter C. I have difficulties with the light reflections on glass too and had to choose something else for some letters.
My mom also used a road atlas (paper maps back in the day) and used a highlighter to mark the roads they took on their travels. I still have it. Dad had been to various countries when he was in the Navy and Mom had traveled with her parents when she was growing up. She didn't include any of that in the atlas or the state magnets since she was only documenting the travels with Dad (and me as a child). There were a couple of places she wanted me to go to and I was only able to do one of them before she passed away. Dad's Navy reunion was in Washington DC and that was one place she wanted me to visit. She wasn't feeling well enough to go so I went with Dad. It made her happy that I got to experience it. I would like to go back because there are some memorials that weren't there 29 years ago when I went that I would like to see. She also wanted me to go to Denver. Still haven't been there but it is a good possibility I will next year.
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ABC: N is for Navy Yearbook.
When I did the letter H (History Books), I also found tucked away on the bookshelf a book from my dad's time in Navy bootcamp. I don't remember it but more than likely I found it in the basement with some other things from Dad's Navy days 8 years ago and just put it on the bookshelf. I took the time to look through it and I could just picture my Dad as an 18 year old going through boot camp and the friends he made during that time. I knew then that I had to use it for the letter N since I wasn't happy with my other choices.
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ABC: M is for (State) Magnets.
Many years ago, Mom would buy a magnet for the states she and Dad visited and they were on the refrigerator for many years. They were made of flexible molded rubber. I know they are in this house somewhere but I can't find them. However, when on vacation I decided to get a magnet for South Dakota and Iowa (new states for me). They are now bright and colorful so I also got one for Ohio. One night I made a list of the other states that I have visited so I could buy some of them as well but we never made it to another shop that had magnets the rest of the trip. Got the list for the next trip and will try to add those other states. Will have to add a few Canadian provinces as well on the next trip!
I wanted to do my Dad's medals for M but no matter what I tried, I could not get a good photo. The place that created the shadowbox did not use non-glare glass so no matter the angle of the photo, there is a reflection on the glass.
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ABC: L is for Lone Sailor
Dad was a Navy veteran and he got this small replica of the Lone Sailor statue when visiting the Navy Memorial in Washington DC about 30 years ago. It has had a prominent place in the house all these years. It now sits on the desk with a photo of Dad when he was the Commander in the local VFW and a layout of Dad and his brothers that served in the military. Above the desk hangs a shadowbox of the medals he earned during his 4 years in the Navy. He took the time to get everything for it about 20 years ago and Martha gave it to me when he passed. The flag from his funeral sits on top of a bookcase close by (my ABC letter F).
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I wasn't sure for the longest time what I wanted to use for the letter K. Then I broke my ankle and had to spend most of my time on the couch. I only use a desktop for PSP and Affinity so I didn't touch either program for a long time. I couldn't sit at the desk and ice my ankle. I wanted to get it to where I could at least still go on vacation (and I did, even taking the time to ice my foot on the bus).
Now I'm home, the ankle is better but won't be totally healed for another month. I can spend more time on the computer so I figured it was time to catch up on the ABC's.
ABC: K is for (First Car) Keys.
I found these in a box in the basement when I cleaned it out 8 years ago. Mom and Dad had keys made for me so I could drive the family car after I got my license. Being a big fan of the Charlie Brown comics, I had a Lucy keychain for them. I got these keys Christmas 1971 and they were my favorite gift that year. I was 16 but didn't have my license yet since I needed to take driver's ed in school and I was in a class that went from Jan to June. But Mom let me drive her a lot of places since I had my permit to get lots of practice.
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Timeline: 1986-1991, ages: 31 to 36.
I found the photo in this layout in an old magnetic album my mother had put together about her teaching career. My dad and I had a surprise party for her when she retired and I was the one taking the photos that night. Evidently someone else was taking photos and got this one of mom and I hugging. My dad is standing in the background. I don't remember ever seeing this photo before so it was a complete surprise. Kit was "I Will Remember" by LJS Designs (Sweet Shoppe Designs) and the template was "Portraits" by Fiddle-Dee-Dee" (no longer available).
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In the emails, I saw the theme "fishing", and thought, "Aha, I have a good picture for that!" So I did a layout. Then I logged in here to find it's the Alphabet Theme! Oh well, no point in letting a layout go to waste. It felt good to be "playing" once again.
There is a challenge in the challenge forum for fishing...
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Do you mean you keep a small jpeg for yourself in place of the thumbnail?
Most template designers that do psd files also include a 600x600 jpg file in their downloads.
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I heard about them being a possibility for me. I was following a FB group that focuses on Northern Lights and Astronomical Events in Ohio. I actually learned something new about them. Besides the KP factor, there is another data factor that will indicate a favorable showing of them. It is the Bz indicator (no idea what it is measuring though). The way they were talking in the group is that for it to be favorable for Ohio, that number needs to be a negative number of at least 10. Those who saw the aurora last May and last October were saying the number in May was a negative 10 and in October was a negative 40 (I missed these because I was in Cape Cod!). Someone shared a website where you can track this information in real-time so I have bookmarked it. (spaceweatherlive.com).
I did go outside when I saw the negative number was around 7 and took photos but really got nothing.
There is another website that I have bookmarked that shows the Aurora Viewline for the current day and next day. Aurora Viewline for Tonight and Tomorrow Night (Experimental) | NOAA / NWS Space Weather Prediction Center
NOAA also has a page on that website for the 30 minute forecast for viewing. This page shows the southern hemisphere as well. Aurora - 30 Minute Forecast | NOAA / NWS Space Weather Prediction Center
I'm also lucky that one of the weather forecasters I follow on FB (and watch on a local station) is very interested in this and he will post if there is a possibility of it happening for the viewing area. So I always get a heads up.
Carole, I sure hope one happens between August 22 and September 3 since I'll be much farther north... taking a bus trip that includes Maine, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
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Yes, it is.
Although I have a 3600x3600 already set up in the Affinity presets. It is under the category "Print" in the New Document menu.
To make a new preset, at the bottom of the New Document menu right above the "Show on Startup" check box, there is a small icon that says "Create Preset" when you hover over it. Click on that, enter a name for the preset and choose your settings and save. (Typing this from memory so not sure of exact steps).
Any presets that are custom will have an * at the end of the name.
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For me PSD files don't show up too, but most of the time they have a small jpg example that at least shows how they look. That allows me to find them quickly.
True, but I do have some really old psd files that the designer did not include a jpg preview. But I don't use Win Explorer to look at items when I'm scrapping, I use Picasa. I pull everything from it and just drag and drop to the layers palette which preserves the file name in PSP.
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Timeline Album Challenge - July 2025
in Challenges
Posted
Timeline: 1992 to 1997 Age: 37 - 42
My parents started going to Florida after Thanksgiving but only if I would fly down for Christmas. Thankfully, I had a boss that understood me needing time off at Christmas every year and had no problem with it. He knew come January 1, I'd be working long hours until April 30! I worked in a CPA firm and I did payroll taxes in January for clients then also worked on tax returns from the beginning of February to April. Payroll taxes had to be done in April as well No one in the office was allowed vacation from January 1 to April 30.
My parents rented a trailer in a park in Fort Myers. They had a little clubhouse to hold events in. In 1993, the hospitality committee had Santa and Mrs. Claus come for a party a few days before Christmas. We went and had a good time. Mom and I got our pictures taken on Santa's lap. Dad sat on Mrs. Claus lap and gave her a kiss for his picture.
I had scrapped this photos over 20 years ago using my paper supplies, so this is actually a new layout. Template by Scrapping With Liz (retired) and the kit is Retro Christmas by Meagan's Creations available at Sweet Shoppe Designs.