This is me at work. I have recently come to realize that it’s not that I don’t like my job, I simply don’t like going to work every day. That could be a problem. With all the bills I have to pay I will probably still be going to work when I’m using a walker …Oh well. Meanwhile, I’ll fill my mug with fresh coffee and dream of traveling. I have recently been invited to be a member of the National Geographic Society. They don’t just invite anybody, you know.
Bokeh is an effect that is a little tricky with my cell phone camera, which I’m trying to use to capture all the images for this 30 day photo challenge. My understanding is that technically, a bokeh image should areas of light that are blurred or out of focus. I can get one or the other with my little Samsung Galaxy S, but it has proven next to impossible to get both in one shot. Honestly, I’ve been trying to get this shot over the course of the past few days. It’s time to move on, my friends. So here’s an image I took a while ago at Longwood Gardens, which has half a bokeh (the out of focus part):
Orange. The color that rhymes with nothing. The Halloween pumpkin still sits on the front step, and it’s still orange. It’s even still whole, for some reason. I guess the local squirrels were turned off by this year’s choice of “bumpy pumpkin skin.” We thought it appropriately gruesome for Halloween, though.
Instead I’m giving you a shot of our little electric fireplace with it’s realistic looking flames. It’s a cold winter sky outside, Fritz is curled up in his bed, and we’re getting ready to pop some popcorn and put a movie on. If I close my eyes, I can almost hear the fire popping and cracking.
A few more days of winter break left, and I’m being completely lazy about them. Some years I make grand plans to do major projects around the house; I rarely complete them. And then when the week is over I’m both tired and frustrated. This year break kind of snuck up on me because I’ve been so busy at work, and then I got sick on my last couple of days at the office. So what has happened this year is that I wake up each day and plan the day ahead. I have to say, it has worked out pretty well. Dinner and a movie with a good friend I don’t see nearly enough during the year (with bonus visit to meet her sons’ fishes before dinner). Lunch with mom-in-law today. Fritz did get a bath the other day. I probably should vacuum tomorrow. And there is a small paint job I could easily finish in a morning. But that’s about it for my winter break projects this year. I think I need to spend more time in front of a fireplace. Even if it is electric.
As you can imagine, I’ve been looking forward to this post since the moment I opened my Christmas present from my sister-in-law and laid my eyes on these beauties. These are the most stylish rubber boots I have ever seen. Yes, I said rubber.
I admit it. I often get caught up in the modern world and fail to appreciate the many conveniences I have in my life. And then one day I’m sitting with my father as he looks at the ballpoint pen in his hand and he says something out of the blue like, “It’s hard to imagine that your mother and I both learned to write by dipping our pens into inkwells.” Yeah. Whoa.
My house was built in 1924, the same year that my father was born in Chillicothe, Ohio. In fact, although it was 800 miles away from my house, the house he was born in and grew up in is very much like mine. So every once in a while I look at something in my home — the stone steps out front, the wood floor, the steam radiators — and I think about what it was like for him growing up, and for whoever grew up in this house. Coal furnace, ice box, “washing machine” that rolled into the kitchen once a week, 1 bathroom for 6 people. A simple thing like turning a knob and having a flame at the ready, must have seemed pretty miraculous when it first appeared.
Despite my best intentions, the 30 days of consecutive posting just ain’t gonna happen. We’ll pick up where we left off after Christmas, how’s that sound? In the meantime, please enjoy your family and friends and whatever holidays you celebrate at this time of year. Try to get some rest in there, too, my friends. 2012 is looking to be an interesting year, to say the least!
Yes, I missed a day, and I do apologize for that. I’m battling a nasty head cold that just won’t go away. Today’s challenge was indeed challenging. As any photographer knows, long exposures work best under dim light. And then the most interesting subjects are usually something in movement. (Think fireworks, car lights, etc.) I tried my best to take a long exposure shot with my trusty cell camera this morning, and this is what I got.
I don’t know if you can tell what that is, but it’s a lightrail car going past me on a busy street. It would be a cool shot at, say, 5 p.m. If you will allow me a “re-do” at some point, I think I will do just that.
Ever since I read today’s topic, all I keep thinking is:
I see a little silhouette of a man
Scaramouch, scaramouch will you do the fandango
You’re welcome. Now while you try to get that song out of your head, here’s a silhouette of a local landmark, decked out in holiday lights, for your viewing pleasure:
These eyes are a short walk from my office …
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