February 1, 2011

• Desktop Educating

  I have always been a minimalist.  HUGELY.  I don’t like a lot of stuff.  In fact, if my house gets messy, it adversely affects my mood, and it’s not a pretty thing.  Which is why we have 5-minute ‘toy scrambles’ here at my home – because I can only take so much, before it drives me insane, and with five children home ALL DAY, each hauling stuff out… it can get crazy, hereabouts.

  I’m very minimalist in my computer work, too.  Considering how much is on my weblog, you have to admit that it’s pretty streamlined and easy on the eyes.  My desktop has always been the same way – the background was very similar to the green on this site… slightly different in pattern, but very dark green swirls and easy to look at.

  I’ve read on the AO e-lists that some mother’s use their desktops to put up pictures of the artist/print of the week, but I like having hard-copies so that we can flip back thru the art book.  That’s just me, though.  And I write on the back of the pictures what’s unique/special about them, and y’just can’t do that with a desktop picture!  Besides, up until now, I’ve liked my plain, minimalist screen.

  This year, I’ve decided to go against my own grain and do something different:  each month, we’re going to have a different desktop on Mama’s computer, so that the kids can see different places and things that are in this big, big world of ours.  I thought it’d be fun to ‘visit’ different countries each month.  It would’ve been nice to do a monthly study on a different country, too, but right now we’ve got our hands full with our normal AO (over)load, and are doing a State a week, on top of it.  So it’s better not to do that just now.

  For January, I chose Switzerland… and I know that this doesn’t exactly look Swiss, per se, rather more Alps-ish.  But it’s something we don’t have here, reflected the season, and gave them an idea of somewhere they’d never been before.  They have loved looking out over the edge of our hiding spot and down into the depths of the ravine, watching the trees get smaller and smaller.  Seeing how an avalanche took off the tops of the trees all the way down.  Seeing how clear it is, getting denser and mistier as it descends into the depths of the crevice below.

  Today is the first of February!  I wanted another winter-ish scene, but something very different from this.  So we decided to head north to Russia!  February’s big holiday is Valentine’s, so I thought the Red Square would be great.  But then I found THIS picture, and changed my mind.  The pink/red sunset was just gorgeous… but it wasn’t big enough to be the kind of background I wanted.  So I found this one, and took it to Adobe, and added red until it had the same sunset-like, pink/red look.  Isn’t it pretty?  The center building is the Basilica, the tall one on the left is the Kremlin, and the patch of snow behind the Basilica on the right is the Red Square.  The best of ALL worlds!

  I’m going to have to find TEN more wallpapers for our year, but luckily I have a whole lotta time – months, LoL!!  It should be fun, and we’re having a little at-home adventure thru my desktop.  Very fun!  I’m thinking March might be Ireland, April the Vatican (hehehe!), and maybe we’ll head to China or Japan or India for May.  Whatever we do, and wherever we go, it will be something to look forward to!

  • 11:11 am
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