Week in the Life. (Update)

Well, my week is going pretty well. Quiet as usual - but quiet doesn't mean bad... I learned that earlier this year.

Saturday, I met Kathleen for lunch at Michelle Marie's. Awesome! I had a delicious lemon bar after lunch (chicken salad sandwich) and then took this mini chocolate overload cake home to share with T. Yum. That makes a good day any way you slice it.

Laundry day. Sunday. Uck. But it has to get done at some point so I might as well get it over with. While the laundry was going, I made a dent in sorting my scrapbooking stuff... I wish I had an actual room to devote to it and my computer but maybe some day... I also sorted out my books and material to send some to Amy and I will donate the rest to the library.


Monday after work I did more cleaning and took a relaxing walk around the neighborhood. I'm beginning to look forward to my afternoon walks. Time to think and just stretch out and observe life around me... golfers, kids, animals... plants. Dinner was yummy chicken tika masala at ShangriLa (and garlic basil naan).


Today was busy. I did my exercising this morning and then had to go to the bank because paychex messed up our direct depoists at work. Then I ran over to the mall to get my clinque products and grabbed some shirts at old navy before picking up lunch at quiznos and heading to work for the afternoon. Work itself was slow but I managed to keep awake.

I'm going to go read a bit before I go to bed. Night.

Week in the Life.

This week I started following Ali Edwards'latest challenge - to celebrate the everyday for a week by taking pictures and making notes of the little day-to-day things we tend to loose in the shuffle. I love her blog. I read it every day without fail. She just comes across as such an amazing person.

I've been cleaning all afternoon. T took me to our favorite restaurant for dinner and then I reorganized my bookcases - pulling some books to donate to the library. It doesn't look like much yet but I think it looks better than it did... Preparation! That's what I should call this cleaning thing. Since we all know that on Friday, I will have bought lots more books at the library's book fair.

Preparation! I like that.

Pets.

Happiness is having a pet. Happiness is not quite there when said pet hits you with her tail for a good twenty minutes before 7 a.m. because said pet is lonely. Sharing my pillow and having me pet her in my sleep was clearly not enough.

That said, I don't think it was all the cat's fault. She is usually pretty good and I know I had problems getting to sleep last night. At least she had the good taste to stay up with me after I had given up trying to go to sleep. The ultimate insult would have been for her to curl up somewhere and immediately fall asleep. Right?

HDR Photography

I love High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography. I love all the new bits of information you find hidden when you combine the files together. It gives me that little rush that I got from developing photos in the darkroom but without that nasty chemical smell or worrying if I wound the film properly or any made any other mistakes in the developing film/photo phases. Mistakes I am good at.

One of my favorite sites for HDR photography (with some great tutorials too) is Before the Coffee. I love the images Ferrell McCollough creates and his candor on the various programs available to acheive HDR. His book Complete Guide to High Dynamic Range Photography offers great examples to those who want to learn HDR and those who just like looking at the pretty pictures.

I don't think HDR works well for every shot but it can be a fun way to experiment or get a complex lighting shot to work.


If at all possible, use a tripod. Any movement from handheld shots can ruin anotherwise great image. Take your time (this is the one I have trouble remembering). Try different angles and don't always go for the easy shot. Most of all, have your camera with you because you never know when a great opportunity will arrive.

All images are my own creations.

Create art and share.

I love the work of Kal Barteski, [i] LoveLife!. Her paintings are just amazing and her blog is always charming. No matter what my mood seeing what she writes about I find myself smiling and just happy to have checked in with her. Seeing her stuff makes me wish I felt comfortable with paints and drawing. She just comes across as such an inspiring person - someone who finds joy in the simple moments of the day that we sort of forget about and that is amazing.
I have to keep that in mind every day. I'm not as good about that as I would like to be. I get bogged down in the little details that float in front of me and miss what is important.

That said, I'm going to go and create. Later.

Walks.

If I could sum up the best way to clear my head, it would be a nice walk. Well a walk anyway. I just got back from another one. I generally take one a day Tuesdays/Thursdays because I work the afternoons. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays might bring one or two or more depending on my mood, the weather and whether T wants to take on when he gets home.

I never really thought about it before but I just feel better after a walk. When I had my dog as a kid, I'd spend so much time walking (and talking to the dog) that whatever issues/problems I had would be solved. Other times, I'd come up with stories to write or various other imaginings.

Having a bad day? Take a walk.

New camera.

I've been playing with TTL for the past few days. I bought a cheap Kodak camera from an antique store up in Healdsburg earlier this week.

I'm not real good at it yet but I've been enjoying the process of looking at the world another way. TTL has made me move slower and really concentrate/focus on what I'm shooting (this can only make me a better photographer in the long term, even if I get bored in a week or two).

Two of my creations from this morning:

Sewing.

I admit that I haven't had my sewing machine out lately. The last thing I remember sewing was a pseudo-curtain for the storage area under my loft stairs - like in 2002. Overall, I enjoy sewing. I like the quick process and having a finished item in my hands much quicker than knitting or crocheting (both of which my mother and older sister have failed to teach me - all my fault). I don't have the patience for counting stitches. The downside of sewing is picking out all the mistakes.

That all said, I dragged out my sewing machine earlier this week and started a project. Go me. It was a simple tote bag and it took me a couple of days to do it. I only had to pick out stitches once when I sewed a handle on twisted so I rate the whole experience as a success. Go me.
Dixie offered to hold down the material after I cut out the pieces I need so they wouldn't launch a rescue mission. Her bravery was noted and we will have to save some random threads for her to bat at later as a reward.

Today, I finished up my tote bag and spent the rest of the afternoon petting the cat and watching Law and Order (what else does life need?).

T's parents are down tomorrow for lunch. We're probably going to take them up to Healdsburg because they've never been. Should be fun - unless it's pouring then walking around the square might not be as fun.

Beautiful Rug.

I'll admit to not really being a home design geek. T and I only just bought our first piece of furniture after being married for 3 years. We still have a combination of our old pieces from our parents' homes and hand-me-downs from our parents and friends. Sad but true. But in all honesty, I'm surprised we found a sofa. That all said, it's crazy for me to admit that this Ocean / Seaglass rug by Angela Adams. I love the colors, the design, the pattern. I just want to curl up on it with a good book and take a nap with the cat.

Lazy Day.

Wonderful Sunday. We slept in late and just relaxed all day... well, not counting the part when I went to the gym (go me) but still it was a good day.

I have to say I love our new Lazyboy loveseat (Gibson style) more every day. We only got it Thursday afternoon but it's so comfy. The picture is the exact color we got too. It might not be the prettiest loveseat ever created but it's got to be one of the most comfortable. I should know. T. and I did some power showing nearly two months' ago on a whim and, at our very last store, found the perfect one for us.

The high back is great for T's height. You sink into it when you sit down. I almost can't wait for winter just to pile on the blankets and curl up on it.

Honest, it's heaven for your living room. Looks aren't everything!

Lunch.

Yum. Today was a beautiful day. T & I drove up to Healdsburg for lunch and did some shopping. We ended up eating at this great bar and grill called HBG. My tomato salad was delicious. The patio was wonderful (even with the street noise and a bit of the chill).

After lunch, we checked out the stores on the square as T had never been up there and I had only been there once after some work related meetings (no time for shopping then). I found some colorful handmade paper (I admit that I'm a paper hoarder), note cards (more paper) and a book (composed of paper).

Overall, I'd say that it was one great day. Relaxing.

Rusty "water tower"

After work, I took a walk to the local library to pick up some books. On the way back, I wondered down a side street and found an amazing thing at the end of the road. Not sure what it was actually, but I love photography old things so it made my day whatever it was/is.