Wait, Is That a Little Joy Creeping In?

With my husband on the mend and starting to get out and about, back to a more usual routine for him, I am less fretful and anxious. Deep sigh of relief.

I had a great afternoon yesterday and spent a couple of pleasant hours making a clay face. I'd gone to the Open Mind Bookstore in town because I wanted to meet the artist who made the wonderful Him and Her dolls I wrote about some months ago. I deeply appreciate the opportunity to talk and to work with the clay - heh, even though my little face turned out to have a bit of a duck-bill looking mouth. Since I LIKE ducks, this is not a criticism.

After I headed home, I took a little detour along the river road, as I'd seen a couple of nice vistas on our way home the other day from a Fresno medical appointment.

I'm Still Waiting for the Pass Part of This Too Shall

One thing I can be grateful for at the moment is that spring is springing, the sun is coming out and the roads are drying out. The last post had me complaining about stress, and it's not over yet.

About a week and a half ago, my beloved husband had a heart attack, and luckily he got it taken care of early enough that it sure looks like all will be well. He spent a couple of days in the hospital, had a stent installed, and he's got a new sack of pills. First checkup yesterday found the cardiologist quite happy with progress so far. Hurrah. Do not be fooled if you think my tone just now is nonchalant, I stuck to his side like a limpet the entire time he was in the hospital.

Meanwhile, rumors are flying at work of an impending layoff. I suspect (worry?) I will be joining the ranks of the unemployed soon. The uncertainty isn't fun either.

Meanwhile, we have enjoyed a good wildflower/bird walk this last weekend, our first in a few weeks. We started a Monday night yoga class, which we both greatly enjoyed.

Luckily A Title is Not Strictly Required

The last couple of weeks have been a bit challenging. I'm in a "This Too Shall Pass" phase just now. We drove north to Oregon last week to attend the very sad funeral of a close friend.

This week has seen me embroiled in a situation at work that is unpleasant on so many levels. Yes, I know where to find the most up-to-date version of my resume.

Tomorrow, I intend to do one of the things I love best, go for a walk in the great outdoors. Practice mindfulness. Maybe scratch the heads of some friendly equines, if any of them are around.

I really enjoyed this video of Temple Grandin - she is a fascinating woman. I read a quote of hers a couple of months ago: "Cattle is my favorite animal." I don't know exactly how I feel about cattle - mostly I find them dumb poopy things but I suspect that eventually I'll be compelled to write more about it. The holy cow and all that.

Internal Conversations

This scenario plays out almost every morning.

P Horse 1: Mmm, I love this cereal, that was good. I want another bowl.
P Horse 2: Unfortunately, that's going to have to be it till later, remember calories and all that?
P Horse 1: But it's good, I like eating it.
P Horse 2: (Silent annoyance)
P Horse 1: (Silent petulance)
Stomach: I hate to break it to you 1, but I'm a little bit full here and don't forget you haven't even had your coffee yet, so that extra cereal may taste good, but I won't appreciate it much.
P Horse 1: Sigh, fine, I'll wait till snackie time. Are we there yet?
P Horse 2: Don't worry, it won't be long. Let's just drink a nice cuppa and watch the birds, OK?

At dinner tonight, and I don't remember exactly how we got onto the topic, my husband put me in mind of a very pleasant memory from my childhood. My grandfather on my mother's side was the very very best at reading to little girls (moi) and I remembered one of my favorites: the Just So Stories by Kipling. I can still hear my grandfather toning: "Go to the banks of the great, grey-green, greasy Limpopo River all set about with fever trees". I had to look it up so I could remember the rest of it again.

It started raining relatively early this morning, right while I was working on taking some pictures of the daffodils that have popped up. I gave it up at that point, not wanting either my stuff or myself to get wet. It kept up a steady rain, or at least a sturdy drizzle, most of the day. We still haven't even caught up to last year's rainfall level, we need more, are you listening up there? (Ha ha, that ought to work.)

This photograph is one of an almond blossom on the tree we planted three or four years ago. It is just starting to bloom now, there are lots of great looking buds swelling. Maybe this year, we'll get to the almonds first.

I did fiddle in Photoshop obviously - I did do a straight photo of the blossom and it was nice but I have a deep fondness for the abstract and semi-abstract not that that's a technical term or anything. For those with a fondness for the f/64 style of photography - Ansel Adams and so on - I can see that it's way too loosy-goosy. I probably should be more reverent and worship at the feet of the gods of photography.

I probably shouldn't want to slit my throat if I hear the phrase "tack-sharp" one more time. I start wondering, what if the tack referred to isn't sharp? What if it's a pink fluffy tack, or a bent tack, what then? What if you decide to throw an infrared filter on your pretty picture and then push a few more buttons?

Learning New Stuff. Hard Process

I've been debating what I want to do with this blog. I do post on the other blog, not as much as I could or should (whatever that means) and I keep a public journal on my favorite site Calorie Count. I don't want to stop this one though, so I think today I'll talk about what's up at the moment with my creative process.

Some years ago, I really got going with art work, learning to draw, sorta, and doing pastel paintings and silk painting. At some point I guess I burned out on it a little bit. At the moment, I seem to be in another period where all that pent up art is pressing on me to come out. I'm writing a lot and in the last couple of years gotten quite interested in photography.

Four weeks ago, I started a class in Photoshop. I've been using Photoshop Elements, and taught myself quite a bit just using a manual, but decided I wanted to take the next step up. I've really been enjoying that class, and have learned a lot - but mostly that at the moment I've barely scraped the surface of what it can do.

Meanwhile, I decided to buy a new camera, as I've been a little frustrated with the little unit I had. Got some good photos out of it, but again, time for an upgrade. This time, I really took a leap and bought a Canon 7D. I realize that I basically have no clue what I'm doing and spent the better part of today in a state of utter frustration. With the help of my husband, who does know what he's doing, we methodically sorted through my problems with focus and figuring out what buttons do what.

This was exhausting. I didn't get any decent photos today. But ultimately,I don't really mind that. I didn't stop learning. One balled up knot of a problem got unsnarled and the path is ahead of me. Tomorrow, I'm going on a Valentine's Day hike with my sweetie, we're going to do some birdwatching and yep, I'm taking the new gadget. Must.

Today's photo is from the old camera, but the new Photoshop. When a friend saw this, she said: "Seventies much?" Maybe so.

A few weeks ago, I bought these wonderful dolls from one of the galleries in Oakhurst. They are made by a local artist, Julie Mitchell. I just picked them up the other day from the frame shop, who put them in a fabulous shadow box frame and today, we'll be finding the right place to hang them.