Howdy from the hometown of Brad Pitt!

(No, I haven’t seen him yet. I promise to keep you posted on that.)

After 12 hours on the road yesterday, a pretty good night’s sleep in our hotel room, and a day spent with cousins and Auntie and Grandma, we are BEAT.

A couple hours in a jumpy place this afternoon might have something to do with our exhaustion. It’s certainly the cause of my ringing ears…

Anyway, I promised I’d give you my “secret” to the “expert” photo collage yesterday.

So here is how I achieved gorgeosity in my photography:

Ready? You might want to take notes.

1. Go to Picasa.com.
2. Download Picasa, a free and easy photo editing software.
3. Play with Picasa for a couple weeks, including creating the lovely pink glow in this photo on the blog.
4. Upload beach photos. Edit them, adding light and heightening color when needed.
5. Stumble upon the “create collage” command.
6. Select favorite photos and PUSH THE BUTTON to create a collage.
7. Bask in the praise and wonder generated by the gorgeous beach collage that results.

That’s it. I haven’t used Picasa a lot, but it came highly recommended. And so far, me likey.

Okay, so tonight we go back to Grandma’s to grill burgers. Charlie is napping right now. I’m watching CNN, for lack of better programming. OH! But before I forget:

Dear Hotel X,

Really? Seriously? Does your average guest actually clamor for FIVE variations on ESPN, plus National Geographic and History Channel? What happened to Food Network and HGTV? Do you really expect us to stay a whole WEEK here without our Next Food Network Star? You delivered on the free wireless internet, but c’mon! Design Star just started a new season!

Anyway. Kids are making sounds in the next room that mean they’re either dancing or wrestling or jumping on the bed. Gotta go.

You might want to pray … For the hotel guests in the room below ours.