Catching Up in Springtime

Wednesday, 4/10/13

A friend has moved his book review blog over here and it has stimulated me to get back on this site and do some more work - on myself, as usual.

I had a little health scare earlier this year and my unthinking, only somewhat conscious, response was to run around like a chicken with its head cut off, and commit myself to a bunch of stuff.  I've gotten myself appointed to the Board of Directors for the HOA of my rental property; I've joined a local photography group which meets once a month and talks about what is happening with their camera work (which means I have to do something); I've signed up for an online class in early childhood education so I can beef up my resume, and get a part time job when I need the money.  Gawk!

I did tell my real life book group I'm giving myself a sabbatical because not enough people are participating and I'm tired of feeling like I'm dragging a bag of books.  I'll just read what I want to read for a while.  And I'll read Richard's book blog.

Quitting

I just discovered that my postings here can be migrated to Google Reader and from there can be shared by whoever is reading the posting.  Not private enough for me.  Dang.

I'm off to write somewhere else.  Don't know quite where yet.

Ok, I do love this picture of Greta Garbo, and I now know that it could be "photoshopped" so that the background could be eliminated.  The picture would be much better without the clutter.  Now:  focus.  I don't know if it is as good as it could be.

This is an old photograph so I hope I am better now, but I do love this picture of my sweet dog.  She was about 4 years old here, I think.

That was not the photograph I intended to download here but there it is.  Does it look well focused to you?  I can't tell due to my less than perfect eyesight.  I so want to be able to take pictures which are sharp as a tack.

I definitely have improved my habits of cluttering my life up.  Not yet as clear and clean as I want it to be, but much better than this old photograph.

I post this to remind myself to "keep my eyes on the prize".  Really, having specific goals is so helpful. 

I still need to do something to improve the focus issue in my photography!

Painful Tuesday: Dang!

Sunrise!  Out my front door! 

OK.  I fell down yesterday, probably cracked or broke a rib or two, hurt my left wrist, bruised my right boob.  I am moving very slowly today.  Will be going to see a doc., no doubt.

Photography is hard to fit into a busy life

But I know that is an excuse.  If I really loved this craft I'd practice whenever I could.  I do take pictures often, but I do not focus on goals for improvement.  I think that might help.  I think my composition is fairly good, but the whole focusing issue is something which slips through my fingers.  I need to think hard about that issue and come up with some ideas on how to fix it.

This seems to be a completely modern 4 year old girl.  That is my iPhone she is using, better than me, some of the time.  That is her helmet for bike riding, which she totally is comfortable wearing.   Wow.  When I was 6 or 7 my mother would not let me have a bike.  Looking back, and knowing more today than I did then, I think it might have been due to lack of finances, rather than her reason, stated to me, of "too dangerous".  It was dangerous back then.  No helmet, and bikes were pretty much full size or no bike.

It is an interesting thought experiment.   Have the important things changed all that much?  The kids are curious, kind, laugh a lot, want all sorts of stuff they can not have, like candy, and don't want to have quiet times, or go to bed.  That all seems very much the same as it was 60 years ago.