Denise Kelly, Laura and Sue - Riverdance

Before the show. Galway, Ireland.

Denise and Sue

Before the Riverdance show at the Salthill Hotel, Galway, Ireland

The stage

We are waiting for the Riverdance show to begin at the Salthill Hotel.

Kelly and Sue

By the piano. At the Salthill before the show.

This is the Salthill hotel, Galway, Ireland.

The Promenade

This is the "boardwalk" made of cement (called a promenade) in front of our hotel. Galway, Ireland. We went for a walk and the saltwater on our faces was like microdermabrasion. No wonder they all have such lovely skin here.

The atlantic Ocean, Galway, Ireland.

This is in front of our hotel - the Salthill. It is raining - again! Alas.

Castle atop the Cliffs of Mother near Limerick, Ireland.

Cliffs of Moher near Limerick, Ireland.

Denise and Kelly the Cliffs of Moher near Limerick, Ireland.

Moss and small flowers on old stone wall at Bunratty Castle near Limerick, Ireland.

Kelly and Sue with thatched cottages near Limerick, Ireland.

Kelly, Sue and Laura at Bunratty Castle near Limerick, Ireland.

Denise, Sue and Laura at Durty Nellie's near Limerick, Ireland.

Kelly and Sue at Blasket Island

Kelly in an ancient Beehive dwelling in Dingle, Ireland.

Dingle peninsula - very beautiful.

The fishing village of Dingle in the rain.

Here we are: four sisters in Killarney, Ireland.

Laura, Sue and Kelly on the street outside our hotel in Killarney, Ireland.

Sue likes the fireplace in the lobby at the Killarney Hotel where we are staying for two days.

Cork, Ireland in the early morning sunshine. Very little sunshine of late.

Kelly by the fire at Cork, Ireland. The River Lee hotel is very modern.

Cork, Ireland

We arrived in Cork this afternoon and are staying at the River Lee Hotel.

Molly Mallone statue in Dublin

Laura and Sue outside government buildings in Dublin

Laura, Sue and Kelly in Ireland

Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin, Ireland

My three sisters and I are in Ireland for a two-week bus tour all around the coast. We came a day before the tour and stayed at the Shelbourne. Many celebrities have stayed here and it was at this hotel that the Irish co nstitution was signed in 1922. There is a room here with the constitution papers and such all there under glass. Very nice.

We're here

Hi all

We arrived! We slept a bit at the beautiful Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin
where they signed the constitution in 1922 and are heading out to look
around.


--
Sent from my mobile device

Finish the night with a walk on the boardwalk by the lake in the Moonlight

Great show under the full moon

Went past the marina in Toronto Harbour

Going downtown to see The Scorpions at Molson Amphitheater

And Miles to go before I arrive...

Horse in Field

So peaceful and such a perfect day.

Field with Barn

Another Ontario classic view. On the way from Toronto to Lake Simcoe.

Ontario farm fenced field with rusted junk

Classic farm furniture

Lake Simcoe splash

Lake Simcoe 1

Beth eats ice cream

Recording my new cd - hope it sounds like Joni Mitchell

Joni Mitchell is one of my all time favourites.  Along with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Wish I was there. But currently I like Ingrid Michealson, Amelia Curran and Gillian Welch.

Download Ulysses by James Joyce

"From January 1st, writings published during Joyce’s lifetime – Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Ulysses and Finnegans Wake – are available for publication and quotation without reference or payment to the James Joyce estate.


Joyce died on January 13th, 1941; originally, copyright in these works in Britain and Ireland extended for 50 years, until 1991. However, some two years after that date, EU copyright law was harmonised to bring it into line with German practice and the period was extended to 70 years."  http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/1231/1224309673276.html

Download Ulysses, Dubliners, here: http://www.kellyokelly.com/

More info here:

How To - Photoshop - Erase Background

If you have a solid colour background, you can erase the background all at once.  Open Photoshop (I use Creative Suite 4 and 5).  Open the image choose SELECT from the menu bar, and then choose ALL.  Copy the image (press CTRL-c) and open a new document, making sure that the "Background contents" field says: TRANSPARENT.  Paste your image here (CTRL-v).  Now to erase the background: from the menu bar, choose SELECT > COLOR RANGE then use the eyedropper tool to suck up the background color, then when the background is selected, hit delete and the background is gone.  

Remember to save the file as a PNG or a GIF or TIFF because a JPG does not recognize transparent backgrounds - it just puts a white background back on the image. 

Here, I took the white background off of my logo (kellyokelly.com) and put on an orange background.  It may have to be done more than once to get it totally clean.

Your next TV will be Flexible plastic - what? Oh yes!

Engineering Researchers at the University of Toronto have created the "World's Most Efficient Flexible OLED" and they tell us that when we want to hang our next 55" TV on the wall, it won't be rigid and heavy, it will be flexible and plastic.  As a matter of fact, they say you will be able to roll it up and take it with you.  Just plug it in when you get there and the electricity will light up the organic matter on the plastic - organic matter that amounts to - well, basically - the same matter as the dye powder that is used to make your blue jeans the colour blue.  What will they think of next?

Visit the UofT website for more information

"Organic Optoelectronics, is one of the premier reserach units of its field in North America. The group's primary interests reside in the application of semi-conducting conducting organic molecules and polymers for the design of useful optoelectronic devices, such as dye-sensitized photovoltaics and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). "

Knit items I have made recently

About Knitting.... I started a knitting club at work and when I went to book the boardroom, the lady who books the rooms said: "Are you starting a knitting club?"  I said "Yes".  "Can I join?" she said.  It is pretty popular. 

As I told my cousin, Elaine, I have just made: 1 pair of green mittens, 5 hats and one scarf. Now I am working on a sweater - but knit, not crocheted, although I do that, too!

My cousin, Elaine, said on Facebook: "Wow!! That is great!! Are mittens hard to make? Do you use 4 needles. i remember my mom knitting all the time when we were little. Can you post pics?? Have you knitted a sweater before??"

So... in answer to your questions, Elaine:

Mittens are fun to make!  I just made a pair of green ones that do not call for 4 needles, but I have made them using my mother's pattern for 4 needles and it was easy and fun.  I am kind of disappointed with the pattern I used for the 2 needle mittens because it is a little larger than expected. Lucky my daughter, Beth, has large hands. 

Yes, I have made a sweater before. Several, but I don't have the photo available right now. 

I will look for some pictures.  Below are some of the other things I have made recently and long ago. 

There is a blue twin-sized blanket for Beth (I made a pink one as well - crocheted).  There is a yellow cotton blankie that I made for Alicia when she was going into the hospital (for heart surgery at Sick Kids in 2006 - she's fine).  There is a Harry Potter scarf made for Alicia (Griffendor).  I also made two other Harry Potter scarves - one in RavenClaw for Renee (my eldest) and one for Kelly's daughter, Alex.

Also below are:  3 hats and one black scarf with a basketweave pattern on it. 

 

Here is a closeup of Alicia's hat.  Too bad I got the seam side!  LOL!  I would retake it, but ... maybe later.

Here is Beth in her scarf that I made in the colours of "The Bay" - The Hudson Bay company here in Toronto made a special scarf available for the Olympics one year using the colours that they use in their marketing material.  Beth wanted one, so I made one.

 Here is a closeup of the basketweave.  It looks a bit off here, but it is really nice.

  

Anyway, that's all for now. 

Denise

Toronto photo journal - September

Went up the CN Tower recently.  Great lunch.

Went to see Jimmy Rankin at the Docks (Sound Academy it is called now)

(had a birthday)

Threw stones in Lake Ontario at Kew Beach.  Dan throws rocks.  I keep telling him they don't skip as well...  kersplash!

Took a picture of the building I work in... can you guess where this is?

Went for a lunchtime walk and took a photo of the trees.  Nice.