Bits and Pieces

* I should be asleep, but I took a late nap and even Benadryl isn't putting me to sleep tonight. I'm tired, just not sleeping.

* I made soup yesterday. Chicken with vegetables. Thankfully I have Sergio to help me eat it because I don't know how to cook for one. It's a family size pot of soup, but I'm missing the family.

* It's been an emotional weekend. Processing life can be teary even after all this time. It doesn't help that I dropped my favorite camera lens at the park on Saturday and broke it... It may be a very long time before I can purchase a replacement. I'm trying to remember that I was once perfectly satisfied without it, but I'm still sad.  :(

* I went to the pottery studio Friday evening and again this afternoon. There is something comforting about being surrounded by familiar faces, each of us with a ball of clay in our hands. Perhaps it is a distraction, perhaps therapy. Maybe a bit of each.

* More than likely this little sculpture will be lost to the sands of time, like so many before him. It was actually broken when I took it out. Too much being jostled about. This is why I don't do much building at home. Or maybe that's just a good reason not to.

* I am looking forward to being back at work tomorrow. Little arms and slobbery kisses are the best therapy for me. My only regret is I will be home too late to catch my little grandson before he goes to bed tomorrow evening. He's been away since Wednesday morning. He and his mommy are visiting Minnesota. We miss them.

* Pained moments are teachable  moments. It's been an emotional weekend, but a profitable one too. God is good. He put two special people in my path at church this morning; my beautiful Bethany appeared in front of me in the foyer after first service (and again in the Ladies' Room), and my sweet friend Brenda spotted me when I popped into the gym to see the missions tables on my way out the door. Long hugs from old friends mean so much. I am loved and I am blessed. Jesus loves me this I know.

Sinus of the Times

It was a beautiful morning, just a little fog here and there, perfect for snapping a picture or two on my way to work. I had my camera card inside the camera this time, but when I turned it on, a little red sign said, "Change the battery pack." Both my batteries were dead. So I did what any sensible person would do. I went to work without taking any pictures.

Today was rough. My body told me I needed to stay home (or go home) and sleep, but my mind said I had to be at work. Working in a daycare is a lot like being a mom. Somebody has to tend the little ones, and chances are those little ones with the green, runny noses, are probably the ones who got me sick in the first place. So there I was, putting on a "brave-ish" face on the outside, and wanting to collapse in a heap on the inside. I went to the drugstore on my lunch hour and came out with Musinex. The good kind.

I have already had a nap (around 6 o'clock) and now I am hoping to drink my lemon and honey tea and go to sleep for the night. I have things to do tomorrow and my camera battery is all charged up.

Lucky Me

I was the lucky recipient of a surprise package this afternoon. The puffy mailing envelope was addressed to me with the return address of my cousin Kathy. At first I suspected old family photographs as we had recently been sharing bits of family history, but the package didn't feel like photos.

Inside the yellow package I found a wonderful surprise. A brand new, handmade camera strap, a cool one with an integrated wrist strap and and a built in pocket to hold an extra camera card or cleaning cloth. The only request? To give her some feedback on how I like it or what could be changed. (I already think I love it and I've only had it a few hours.)

Not only is the strap attractive, but I love the idea of a pocket to hold an extra camera card (for those times when I inadvertently leave mine inside my laptop and take off with an empty camera. That pretty little cleaning cloth is a great idea too. Now all I need is an afternoon to go out shooting... That will be the real challenge, finding an open afternoon and an available friend. I'm thinking a Friday sometime or maybe even a Saturday since I'm all booked up Monday through Thursday at work.

If you're all feeling jealous, I'm told she's planning to sell them in an Etsy shop starting in September. She designed and makes them herself and I think that's pretty cool. I'm honored to have been blessed with this unexpected gift. Thanks, Kathy.
:0)

The World Through Different Eyes

I am amazed at how often looking at the world through a camera lens has caused me to actually slow down and take in the scenery. It isn't that I didn't previously notice the world around me, it's just that capturing it in pictures brings a deepened appreciation.

That little squirrel who lives in the weeping birch tree outside my window? I'd likely have smiled at his antics but perhaps not have slowed down to absorb what he is doing had I'd not hoped to take his picture. H doesn't only run around in the branches, but he is fiercely protective of his space. He has claimed an old knothole in the tree as his own and though I don't know that he actually lives in there, he does use the space to store his food. I've seen him carry a peanut up and tuck it away before going back for another.  He can carry a rather large apple up into the tree too. He left one sitting on a branch as though it was an everyday occurrence. He doesn't care for company, especially of the gray squirrel variety, and he makes rather fancy tunnels in deep snow, even tunneling underneath to come up right where I dropped another apple a few days back (and I thought he didn't care...).

I spotted a cardinal on my feeder this morning for the first time this winter. It's kind of nice to have several different angles (windows) to catch photos through. Too bad that big truck came roaring down the road and scared everybody away.

PS. My mouse malfunctioned this morning and so I am attempting to learn the skill of using the touch pad on my computer... So far, so good.

Cellulitis

I showed Ben my broken camera this afternoon. He, being a guy, pressed extra hard on the shutter button and *voila!* it took a picture. I am somewhat relieved.

My brother Tim has been in the hospital with cellulitis for over a week now. I have called the hospital several times and always find the nurses very nice and willing to share his progress or lack thereof. Apparently the doctors had hoped for a more speedy recovery and are looking to try another antibiotic or two. On the more encouraging side he has been up sitting in his chair, has also taken a walk around the nurses station, and is well cared for. Though we are somewhat apprehensive about visiting for fear of upsetting him, I am thinking a visit is a bit overdue. If my sister doesn't take Mom tomorrow, I just might go for a drive, buy him a Frosty, and visit myself.

Blah, Blah!!

It appears I may soon be in the market for a new camera. Blah! I dropped mine in the kitchen the other day. The batteries fell out on the floor and the camera card door popped open, but since it fell on the linoleum, I wasn't too concerned. If fell off the picnic table and onto the concrete porch just weeks after I bought it and, other than a scratch or two, survived miraculously well. It looks like I should have been a little more concerned than I was because, although it turns on and displays previously taken pictures, it refuses to take new ones. The button doesn't click and the zoom doesn't move. Double blah!!

Okay, so now it takes pictures and the zoom moves, but I have to squeeze the button really hard to get a photo.

Hummingbirds

I bought two new hummingbird feeders when I was out on Saturday and today I chanced to see three birds at once. They were buzzing by playing chase, not one of them realizing that there were more than enough feeders to go around. So far they are still not sharing airspace, but maybe given some time they will learn to get along. And, maybe if I can learn to relax, I will get a chance to enjoy their presence in my backyard.

These particular photos were taken a few years ago when we had a camera that took much clearer brighter pictures. I wish now that I had kept it and eventually sent it in for repairs, but how was I to know? Afterall, I bought a camera that was supposed to be basically the same. Oh well, this one has videos with sound.

Taking Pictures

I decided to take the camera in to the camera store and get some advice. The zoom is stuck out, which means the lens is out too, and it won't go back in. I can't take any photos because there is no picture in the view finder. I can, however, still see the pictures on the card and transfer them to and from my computer. The cost to fix it? Likely between $150-$200. The cost of a new camera very much like this one, $300. It was also suggested that I email Olympus and ask what the estimated repair cost would be but I'm thinking it may be smart to start saving for a new one rather than send this one in for repairs. Between selling blueberries and babysitting Sara and Alysa (I don't charge full price for either), I could have the money in three or four weeks providing that I don't need to buy anything else... I can always hope. (Maybe I'd better start praying too.)

These are my Black-eyed Susans. They're so pretty blooming in the summer, a little splash of sunshine in my yard.