New post? - After all this time?

I had no idea it had been over a year since my last post. I know I made a conscious effort NOT to post because we haven't been traveling - at least not to any degree - and traveling was why we started the blog.
But the times they are a'changing (to paraphrase Dylan) and I suddenly realized that I wanted to report what was going on in our lives. That and some very positive feedback from "strangers". I say strangers because the positive comments were / are coming from folks I don't really know very well. So besides the ego-stroke, I realized I did in fact have things to say that folks might find interesting / worth-while.
So, how to summarize 12-months of life in a few postings?
In no particular order of importance:
We have been trying to sell our house since November 2009. Everyone who sees it loves it, but with the economy in the "pits", no one is getting out their checkbook. So...
The house comes off the market later this summer (assuming no one buys). Then...
We are going to start a private gallery - showing my photography and good friends photography / art over the next "years(?)"
Then there's my new photographic venture - one I'm very, very excited about. I have discovered a way to transform an "ordinary" photo into a "work of art". I am hesitant to call it a work of art because that implies more than I want. But my concept is to take an "ordinary" photo and transform it into a unique piece of art that is reminiscent of Monet and other impressionists painters. Everyone who has seen samples can't believe it's NOT a painting. Plus since I plan to transform customer's (best-loved?) photos into a painting-like object-de-arts that they can hang in their home / office, they will truly have an original piece of art that they can can take credit for. Plus it will have a unique meaning to them and their families.
I will report more on this as we go along. Plus I am starting a new web-site to host this venture with more details on how to create your own work-of-art. It can be found (eventually!) at www.waynehowardphotography.com But for the moment one can get a glimpse of what I'm about by visiting www.aMUSEingJourneys.com and clicking on Galleries / Transformations.
At the moment we are hosting our daughter / grandson for a 2+week stay. Great fun - very time-consuming.
But it is my intention to begin posting new thoughts / information here without such long gaps.
Thanks for your patience.