Please Stand By AKA That Escalated Quickly....

I had only meant to take a month off from blogging to let come creativity perk for some other projects I was toying with...and here I am almost FOUR years later. Don't get me wrong-I had my moments of " I really need to update so they know I'm alive" ....but as you can see the\is never came to fruition.

Where did the time go?

Shortly after my last post a series of events took place in my life that ended up with this blog that I swore would keep updated quickly feel to the wayside.  

Afore mentioned series of events.

I have used my FB page as a timeline reference to organize the highlights and give a somewhat consistent chronological timeline....but as with all things me, this is subject to change according to my random sporadic thought pattern.

What you may ask, caused this epic extended vacay from the blogosphere?

I think updating one category at a time will allow me to retain most of my sanity. 

Stay tuned! 

Day Two-Easy Does It

Day two was rather uneventful but deserves a mention  of sorts, even if it pales in comparison to yesterday's  more obvious adventures.

We woke up and began our day in a bit more leisurely fashion; Mariah insisted that we skip all the waterfalls and head straight to see Grandma. This actually ended up being a great idea as unexpected rain was in our midst...well we were in its midst. One minute we were in a downpour, the next nothing. There was no drizzle in between. It was rather odd.

Last peek at the sun

On a positive note, the heavy rain did help me discover that one of my  wiper blades has a small defect . Right in the middle of the blade.  At eye level. On the driver's side.  It leaves the tiniest line and it about drove me crazy as my eyes were automatically drawn to it.  Tomorrow will involve me trying to do something about it, since the nearest Jiffy Lube is a hundred miles away, give or take.

Mariah and I had a few lengthy conversations that ranged from creating a new universe for  Spoterina (who still lives, much to my surprise) to wanting to teach Grandpa and Grandma how to surf this weekend.

We arrived in the early afternoon and I swear the drivers are crazier than I've ever seen them here.  Like omg where are the cops crazy.  If there is one thing I've learned from my several vacations and short stint of living here...the cops will be on an out-of-stater like nobody's business so I stay right on the speed limits  (Years of my mom's reminders are going through my head even now).  So although I was almost taken out twice, I was a good girl and listened to my mama.

Snapped from the back deck this evening

Pulled up to the place with butterflies in my stomach because my dad is here and I haven't seen him for 12 years. (long story for another blog).  I walked in the door with all the fear of a five year old child and it fell away the second we laid eyes on each other.  I'm not saying the heavens opened and the birds sang but I am relieved that it was mostly the pre-trip anxiety. 

Mariah was so happy to meet her grandpa.  It was weird for me, however, as they are really showing their age. More than I'd expected.  I have accepted that their aging is a normal and appropriate thing in life, but man..that much, this soon?

Lots of hugs helped both of us I think, and we can now get on with the  business of serious vacay.

                                                                                                                                                           

Took Mariah down to the pool and there were a few other parents and kids there and wouldn't you know it....the three year old started belting out 'Let it go 'and within three seconds we parents, shaking our heads, were treated to an impromptu concert by every. single. offspring. present. It could be worse. I think.  I admit the acoustics are kind of echo-ish in there and it sounded kind of neat.

I did get to meet the Chihuahuas they brought with them-Astro and Tootsie.  I call them psycho and teeth.  Pics will follow in the next blog or so. They are pretty sweet dogs, and they make me giggle.

I finally cracked the camera out of the bag and grabbed a few shots off the back deck as the sun was setting, after all, what's a blog post without a few pics?

Not camera shy-flew right by me

I know this is all over the place tonight but there is always something to say and I'm conscious of my word limit.

Tomorrow is a new day for adventure and I look forward to sharing it with you!

The cold never bothered me anyway.

-Robyn

Nostalgia

 

"Whats wrong with a bit of nostalgia between friends?

I think nostalgia sometimes gets too much of a bad press."
-Terry Eagleton.

I'm feeling pretty nostalgic this afternoon. Not the wistful, regret-filled diatribe that's so common in today's society. Not the 'what should have been'  or 'I wish I would have' variety but rather the nostalgia that is filled with good things. Nostalgia that is filled with contentment, joy, and a sense of rightness that the past was fulfilled in the way it was intended. A more clichéd metaphor could describe it as a soft warm blanket, soothing to the heart and soul.

 

This weekend the weather has been inconsistent, moving from sun to rain, thunder, hail, and a mix of clouds playing out in a typical early-spring pattern. I revel in the warmth when the sun peeks through for five minutes and shiver when the dark clouds creep over for twenty.  Coda (my puppy) couldn't care less and just gives me that 'puppy face'-you know the one- when it's time to go in.

I finally got started on my big project to find, edit, and upload older photos to my Flickr.



Not all of the photos are of the best quality but I posted them anyway as they are a good benchmark for me and the progress I've made so far and a reminder that  I've still got so much more to learn.  I will admit up front that there are a few that have me wondering "What in the world was I thinking of?" when I took them.

I  realize that to get where I want to be I will need to invest some concentrated time in learning how to use my old Adobe Elements (version 5) that I picked up at school one year and never installed.  Once I get comfortable with that I will make the decision whether or not to upgrade to the newest version of Elements or take the plunge and pickup Photoshop CS5 (or whatever the current version will be at that time). The financial investment is a concern, but if it's meant to be it will happen.

 "One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn't pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself." -Lucille Ball
 

 

 

 
I'm back to my normal, hopelessly optimistic self these days. It was about time, don't you think?

 

 

My morning started off well enough-I wanted to continue my editing  from last night's session. I was looking through my hard drive for good editing music and realized I hadn't listened to 'Fly to Paradise', the Virtual Choir 4 project  created by Eric Whitacre, a modern composer extraordinaire. I sang in VC4 and the experience was amazing.  It still brings tears to my eyes and I can't wait until this year's project is announced.

 
 

Of course this led me to find some great mood music and I've been off and running all afternoon.  I really enjoy editing my photos because it brings back the moods and feelings I had when I took them. I'm sure it's different for everyone, but I'm pretty visceral and it's almost tangible as I sharpen, contrast, and play with the saturation.  I get a similar feeling when I'm working on a chapter on one of my books in progress, creating something to convey emotion.
 

 

 

The next big project is to figure out which ones to print out and hang in my house.  I have to be selective to keep the result from being a chaotic mess.

I thought I'd share a few of my recent edits with you since I haven't done a photo post in awhile. 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed them.

Until next time,

Robyn :)