Phabulous Photo Phriday - The Cardinals Elect A New BEKA!

Beka hasn't chosen a new name for her reign as The Beka, so we'll see what happens as she settles into her new digs.

(I have no idea what any of that means...)

But I think it's time for another Bekapalooza on the Phabulous Photo Phriday...

"Well it's dang well about time..."

And now, the poetic side of The Beka...

To sleep...

Perchance to dream...

Perhaps THE DWEAD PIWATE WOBERTS HAS COME FOR YOUR SOOOOOOUL!!

"Yo - photo boy. Yeah, you - Mr. Put-out-less-than-flattering-pics-of-The-Beka-and-make-her-say-things-contrary-to-her-sweet-and-loving-nature. Unless you want to be wearing drafty underwear for the next 5 years, KNOCK IT OFF!"

"An artist of my caliber shouldn't have to put up with poopy like this. Really."

Since The Beka is coming up on her first birthday, I thought a little perspective would help. Hopefully you can see this well enough:

On the right, adoption day. On the left, growing into the underwear-shredding machine we all know and love...

That was then... (June 16, 2012)

And this is now... (whenever the heck I took this pic - in the last 6 weeks. Maybe)

Then...

Now.

Then...

Now.

 *sigh* We're in SO much trouble. And really happy about it.

"You alright there, old man?"   "Bring it, furface."

Thanks for joining us for another Phabulous Photo Phriday. Tune in next week to hear BekaV say...

"About that 'no pets allowed' thing in the Palace? Fuggedaboudit."

Phabulous Photo Phriday - Running Man Edition

... I have no idea what that means.

Welcome to another Phabulous Photo Phriday, Philled with Phun, Phancy, and Phrippery!

Thus endeth the whole silly "ph" thingie. You can thank me in the comments section. Amen.

Anyway, I've been messing with photo filters and such this last week, so in a short little thing here, I thought I'd post a few of 'em. I do have a few that weren't so recent, to kind of get the ball rolling...

These first couple are from a ride on the Musketawa Trail, in the part I refer to as the Forest Cathedral...

Musketawa Trail, added some effects from iPhoto

Same place, different angle, played with the colors and exposure

I'm the village idiot of digital photo manipulation, since I just monkey around with iPhoto for the most part. People who are Photoshop wizards make me bow in awesomeness awe.

Mackinac Island, colors monkeyed with, vignette applied. Or something like that.

Then came PhotoMagic on my iPhone, kind of training wheels for playing with a picture...

BekaV, experiment #1. The fans dig it.

BekaV, experiment #2. I'm loving the 'painted on wood' feel. The Proofreader, on the other hand, ain't feelin' it.

BekaV, experiment #3. Feels like a party outside under the lights, which pretty much describes her personality...

BekaV, experiment #4. My friend The Gov thinks this is her "I am SUPERDOG" portrait. Yup. I see it. I feel it. Good call!

BekaV, experiment #5. My friend Paul pointed me toward MangaCamera which produces this sort of thing.

BekaV, experiment #6. I LOVE this one. Totally the precursor for BekaV: The Graphic Novel. Remember - you saw it here first!

And, I messed around with a scan from our wedding, actually a photocopy of a picture Herself's Dad took...

I love this picture - it always looks like I'm saying, "You alright, sweetie?" And she replies, "Dear Father in Heaven, WHAT HAVE I DONE?" And I respond, "Hey - I gave you any NUMBER of opportunities to come to your senses." Then she throws up on my shoe.

Ok - I might be reading a little too much into that pic. I put a sharpen filter on it in PhotoMagic, and I LOVE how it came out. So much, that I did one more thing to it...

Sharpened, vintage filter, and a border. Absolutely love this treatment of one of my favorite pictures from over 30 years ago.

Truth be told, sometimes there's no need to mess with anything... (with huge props to Papa Bill, who did a wonderful job capturing that special day!)

Why play around when perfection is already present? After all, in my eyes she still looks just like this... and always will.

Dat's da fact, Jack.

Thanks for joining us for another Phabulous Photo Phriday! Tune in next time to hear BekaV say...

"Perfection? You lookin' for perfection? YOU CAN'T HANDLE PERFECTION!"

Well played, BekaV - well played...

Phabulous Photo Phriday!! (now with extra protein!)

It's that time again!

No - not that time... THIS time.

Another Phabulous Photo Phriday!

And since I, the keeper of the Fluffy Goodness, am longing for spring, absence of snow, less mud (eventually) as BekaV continues to try and find ancient ruins in the back yard, and most importantly HITTING THE TRAIL ON A TRIKE, well, it seems meet and right (or is that MEAT and right?) to roll out with a bunch of...

TRIKE PHOTOS!!

(Meet? Meat? Bacon?)

(Mmmm... bacon.)

To get this party started, let's put up a really, really crappy photo from years and years ago...

Our very first ride to Rockford. 5 miles. Each way. Almost killed me, but in a good way. Who would have thought pedaling 480 pounds 5 miles was hard??

Make note of that signpost - you're gonna see it again. Ok, Sherman - set the Wayback machine for April, 2010...

This is a prototype of The Rover, the first TerraTrike with a 400 lb weight capacity. And this is Cal, 6 weeks out from bariatric surgery. A match made in heaven - really.

 So, that day the Rover was ordered, and faster than anyone expected, like in June or so...

Rover in da house! On the trail. Something like that...

The Rover arrived, Cal jumped on, and the adventure began...

Rover at the beach in Holland!

Rover on the porch in da UP!

Rover rides to Rockford!

Rover on our own three-wheeled Labor Day Bridge Walk... um, RIDE!

And the fans went wild!...

Vicki on her TerraTrike Tour. Spiffy bandage optional but highly recommended...

And there was great riding and rejoicing in the land...

Which came to a screeching halt after the snow flew... Although a few trips were made in the cold. Just not dashing through the snow, in a three-wheeled open trike.

And when the seasons rolled around, through some pretty amazing events, there was a change in the roster...

Hello, Big Blue!

Rover got deployed to a new assignment, bringing RoverLove to another grateful household, and Big Blue came home to become Cal's sweet new ride.

Nice fit, eh?

And so began the adventures of Big Blue...

Big Blue has been to Rockford!

Big Blue has been to Ravenna!

Big Blue has been to Ada! (Hi, Donnie!)

Big Blue has been to Cedar Springs!

Big Blue has been on a Bridge Walk! Um... ride.

Big Blue has been to Biggby!

Once or twice...

Perhaps even thrice...

ALRIGHT! A honkin' lot! There! I said it!

And where Big Blue goes...

My sweetie's first ride to Ravenna!

My beloved goes too! (Usually.) (Sometimes.) (Frequently.)

Ezzie the Wonder Dog in her plush ride.

Ezzie also enjoyed trike rides. And yes, we miss having her along...

Homegirl's first trike ride... cried the whole time. Up hill. Both ways.

BekaV? Well, she wasn't a huge fan the first time, and promptly outgrew the trailer. So her trike career is on hold...


But the biggies for Big Blue?

Big Blue made the paper!

Being in an article about TerraTrike in the Grand Rapids Press!


And, somehow Cal ended up on the TerraTrike website as the "face" of the Rover!

Yup - sometimes when you go to the TT site, you see my big ol' face right up there. And yet, they continue to do lots of business. Go figure...

Another biggie? Traveling to Mackinac Island... Twice!

The only State Highway anywhere with NO motor vehicle traffic!

With my beloved, the native Yooper...

Talk about a trike with a view! Oh, and the beach is nice, too...

 Where there be horses.

13" off the ground = watch out for horse exhaust!

Finally, one of Cal's favorite places...

Aah - that's the stuff.

The Musketawa Trail...

Heading from Marne toward Conklin

Where a part of my heart remains, even during the cold winter months.

Can't wait to get back out there!

Now, I'm not complaining - I love Michigan, I love the change of seasons, I'm really content...

February, 2012. Yes, I said FEBRUARY.

Sort of.

Even so, quickly come Spring. *sigh*

Thanks for joining us for another Phabulous Photo Phriday! Tune in next week to hear BekaV say...

"Ain't gonna put ME in no stinkin' trailer! HAH!"

Keep laughing, furface - we've got PLANS for you...

To Be Continued...