Blurring a background

       One new thing that I have learned lately is how to blur a background, but keep the subject sharp.   This picture of my cat Bree is the original.

       I like the way Bree pops out in this picture.   The sofa in the background has been blurred.   This effect was accomplished with the help of my open source photo editing software called The GIMP.   I cut out Bree with the scissors tool, and then selected only the background to blur.