Settle in, grab a cup of coffee and enjoy your stay here at Shelly's. The pie is great, the coffee pot is always on and soon you will find this to be the best place in town. SOON TO BE AMERICA'S MOST READ BLOG

Thursday, June 18, 2009

SHE WHO LIVES IN THE SHADOWS






Occasionally I look at the calender and break out in a cold sweat. I realize that object hanging on my door is just heavy paper stock with pretty pictures, but recently flipping its pages has caused the passing of time to shoot off into hyper drive.

January, February, March so forth and so on—it all moves through this time frame we call days, weeks and months. So now the door of the cafe is covered with dust, old paper cups and plastic trash bags. The winds of time have blown scattered thoughts into a heap of unrecognizable trash blocking the entrance.

I have spent the last few days attempting to tidy up the place, pour out the old coffee from the coffee maker, and put some rhubarb pie on the shelf. Perhaps a few new customers may stop by if we put some smooth jazz on the new sound system.

So, what's been going down? Well some of you know I have been lured into the world of high finances, rolling the dice and gambling online, hoping to scare up a few dollars here and there. The game—E-bay. Odds were good for a while as I dug through box after box of old, rare and vintage books, then a pile of collector “stuff” that always filled up one corner after another since after I undertook the joys of apartment living.

Truth is I had a goal in mind and met stage one rather quickly and with great joy. I purchased a $700 plus scanner to restore old photographs, slides and negatives. I started first by looking at downsized hundred dollar film scanners, which more or less were toys. As I kept reading articles by those who know more than myself, I was forced to slam on the brakes before the next level, which would have been over a thousand dollars. The scanner is an Epson 750 Pro, for those who are interested. With it came three separate programs such as Photo Shop and Silverfast for restoring and editing film and/or digital pictures.

As you can see above, and sorry I only kept one "before" picture (PLEASE CLICK ON BEFORE PICTURE OF THE GIRL), but believe me the other photographs were in pretty rough shape, the results are pretty amazing. There is a learning curve and climbing though the curves has become a hair pulling event, but soon there will be victory and knowledge will fill my damaged brain.

I haven't even started on the hundreds of slides and negatives strewn about my room, but time will handle that problem also. Right now, between learning and real life, I am still working the e-bay game trying to reach goal number two--a new computer to run all the programs I have downloaded. My Sony is still a great computer, but it was built before duo processors and other nice things that live in the black box which I know not what makes it tick. I will avoid trying to speak Geek.

There is always a great story. I write many of them, but this is a story of victory because as most of you know I live on a very limited income. There is no good months or bad months, just months of little chunks of government dollars. The idea of going into a business that required well over a thousand dollars was to me, impossible, but E-bay, plus all my junque has allowed this to happen. I hope by mid-July to have the new hand built computer sitting under my desk. If not, then I will continue to trudge on until that goal is met. To me, what has already happened is not only a blessing, but a miracle.

In the months to come I hope to start a new blog site and download rescued orphaned photos that time has erased. Old photos can be very telling. The car guy above is one of many unknown people who once existed, who, well likely nobody knows, but now he is with us again. Of course, as a business, I want to restore family photos, slides and negatives to climb out of the government sponsored poverty program.

Not to worry, a few stories and photos will grace the walls of Shelly's Cafe. So here I am again. So as I wave howdy, I must return to the decades time has forgotten.






12 comments:

JamesonLewis3rd said...

Good to hear you're doing okay.

Just call me Shelly said...

Thanks. I am glad to hear that also. Sometimes the lady gets the blues.

Barb said...

Those are wonderful pictures ,and I really admire the way you (and the programs ) cleaned them up.You could make those girls look a little fatter .Seriously they look so sweet and innocent.there dresses were so elaborate,3 and even 4 layers.
Do you fall in love with the people in the pictures and make up a story for them? The girl looks like she is newly in love,and the man in the car fears the one he loves ,doesn't love him.(sigh)
It is really good to see you ,even if you are "blue".
keep on keepin' on.

Barb

camojack said...

"I have spent the last few days attempting to tidy up the place, pour out the old coffee from the coffee maker, and put some rhubarb pie on the shelf."

Mmmm...rhubarb pie; I haven't had any of that in awhile.

Good to "see" that you're back...

Just call me Shelly said...

Barb

If you noticed Snidely Whiplashe's eye the one is a glass eye. I am rather sure because it looks fake but you have to click on the picture to notice it. In the old photo, which I am sorry to I didn't save, you would have never noticed that. Now, some 100 years later we discover what time forgot.

I love it. I hope to find more b&w photos around, maybe my thousand of readers can help. (ya sure)

Camojack

The rhubarb is ripe and being begged to bake up into a pie. Got 10 pounds of sugar?

Beerme said...

Wow! Sounds like you may have something, there! There ain't nothing like doing a job that you love. Especially if it's appreciated, which it IS!

Just call me Shelly said...

Beerme

The idea started as a way to go through all my slides and negatives but as I researched I went from a home scanner to a monster.

I'm not surprised, I always wanted the best when it came to cameras--though I usually had to step down from the top of the line to a real good camera.

The same story with a scanner. Yes there are better ones like the Nikon Cool Scan but you are talking over a thousand dollars.

What I needed was a top notch scanner so as not to do half butt work for myself or others.

Now the idea has moved to a home for orphaned vintage photos, especially ones that tell a story.

I have no idea where I will get them, but I am sure they will arrive here.

camojack said...

There is only about 3 pounds of sugar at "La Casa de Camo" (my rambling estate) at the present time, but I could certainly ship you 10 pounds of sugar if'n it would gain me a rhubarb pie...

Anonymous said...

Great stuff, Shelly. I'm always fascinated with old photographs and modern attempts to improve them through digital technology. Preserving history is a great gift to our posterity. You go, girl!

Hankmeister

Anonymous said...

BTW, camo, I just had strawberry-rhubarb pie for Father's day compliments of my wife's culinary skills. Mmmmmmm mmmmm good!

Hankmeister

Hawkeye® said...

Hi Shelly,
Sorry I didn't comment sooner. Actually, I've been here a couple times and looked at the photos but never commented. My bad...

(:I) Best regards...

Unknown said...

I thought you might find this picture interesting.