weekend report: do overs

This last weekend, my old friend Jess and I were able to head to the Bay Area to be with her mother and meet her aunts.  It was our "do over" weekend...the one that was cut short in March because I went to my sister's house instead.  We treated ourselves to hours of watching the food network, a trip to The Delta (in Stockton) in the motor home, horseback riding, wave-runner-ing, gourmet eating, and quite a bit of drinking, tequila that is.  It was really rather diverting!



And with that last trip of August, I bid adieu to my summer.  I've been travelling so much and now it's time to settle back into life.  That should prove quite difficult since we have to pack up and try and find a place in Seattle.  Oh moving...

If anyone in the area spots a 2-bedroom house for rent in the city, let me know!
the weekend report
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a manual to moonlight

The past few nights, the moon has been unreal.  In the time I've had my DSLR, I've managed just about every setting except for FULLY MANUAL (focus, setting, etc).  I have been quite frustrated in the education process, to be honest, and gave up for a bit...shooting instead about 80% manual.  But the moonlight begged, completely pleaded, to be caught.  Here's my process...sparing the technical jargon...mainly because I am still unsure what exactly I did.


Here are my subjects..mini calas and one lone dahlia.
The kitchen light is on here so I can actually see my subjects.  In the complete dark, the screen from the camera blinds me (even though there is a sensor that darkens it when I am looking through the view finder)




Here the settings were picking up on the ambient light from the dining room, but still wasn't what I wanted.




Here I was happier with the exposure, but not the focus.




An improvement in both exposure and steady focusing.



This one was a bit too dark


But this...this one was what I was trying to capture...how the moonlight back-lit the glass in such a magical way.



A portrait version.



I was so happy to have learned something so momentus, and that night in bed looked through my pictures with intruige.  As soon as I turned off the light to go to bed, I noticed how stunning my curtians were also grabbing the moonlight.  I had to get my camera again and start the whole process over.  I have about 6 failed shots of the one above, but finally captured it in the end.


p.s. Did I mention that lots of wine helped these events come about?  If I were too sober, I would have been impatient with the process and given up long since.  
canon T1i en images learning
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weekend report: the family, the ocean





Every year, my saint and his family head to Ocean Shores, Washington.  It's completely not enough time, but it is one time a year that we all finally get to be together (aside from Christmas).  Last year, we all watched Jenn's prego belly with anticipation, but this year, we all got to hold our lovely Olive Jade.  She is 6 months old, and cute as a friggen button.  I took my journal and books, but truly, there was nothing more I wanted to do than casually leaf through magazines and spend long hours after meals just talking with my family.  They truly nourish me, each of them in their own ways.


Mom and Dad because of their great adaptability as parents.  They've made the transition from raising their kids to having an adult relationship with them.  They engage our ideas as peers and refrain from unsolicited advice or correction, deciding instead to release their fears and buoy us into trusting ourselves as humans.  I find this remarkable; time and time again, it has made me seek them out for advice and wisdom.  These two could seriously write a book about parenting.



Brian and Jennifer because of their "automatic setting" (to borrow my friend Andrew's phrase) of optimism and happiness.  I am not wired this way, so it is really quite nice and importantly balancing for me to be around them.  I see them continually embracing life with a trust that in the end, things will always be okay.  Despite being different from my own mental process, I find it refreshing, I guess.  They've had a baby this year and it's just been really endearing to see them come into themselves as parents as Olive comes into herself as a human.  Olive is remarkably hungry for life, and I just love to stare at her while she attacks her toys and somersaults herself in your arms.  She is a continued source of laugher and sheer joy to us all.



Tim and Julie because they absolutely know how to have a good time.  The phrase, "throwing caution to the wind" might not truly capture their ability to play.  When I was taking a yoga class, the teacher encouraged us to find a spot on the wall to practice handstands.  I am rather uncoordinated at handstands, but she assured us that the benefit was in playing, not in achieving.  Once I could imagine myself as a child, unaware of my own silliness, I could see what it might mean to really play again.  I think of this when I think of Tim and Julie.  She is 26 and has had a rather shitty year, but she'll run out to the ocean like a crazy person, not caring about anything but pursuing the wind in her face and the sand kicking up below her.  Despite this carefree nature, they both still have immense substance.

Abbey because she is so eager to please and well-behaved.


And my saint.  My saint because when I reach into the far-off places of my imagination, both past and future, I cannot dream up a man more suited to loving me exactly as I would wish.  Nothing in me has ever settled down to be with him...or settled at all for that matter.  Plus, he is my favorite person to take an afternoon nap with.
en images family ocean
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Crawling out of my (bloggy) pants with excitement!


See that montage?  Recognize the bottom right picture?  
Well my very favorite SF blogger put it together and featured it on her blog:
sfgirlbybay!!!!!

I should play it cool, but man I feel giddy!
And famous!

It feels nothing short of magical.
Here's to a magical weekend for you!!!!
blog community blogging congratulations to me
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if you lived with me...

...then you might notice two of my following habits...and since I am feeling confessional today, I thought I would reveal them here.
Morning
ONE:
I've begun this (I think) good habit of refusing to turn on my computer in the morning until after I've sat in quiet.  My house may not be quiet, but internally - I try to quiet myself.  This may include a pensive cup of coffee while staring out at the cedars, but it almost always includes journaling and reading.  Perhaps it's a lingering desire from my more religious days ("quiet time"), but  I find that without this sacred space, I am quite anxious and unfocused throughout the day.  This morning, I sat with the most delicious cup of Ethiopian coffee and read a few excerpts of Dillard...from both Pilgrim at Tinker Creek (my favorite chapter "Seeing") and A Writing Life.  I also journaled and had Carson and Rilke at the ready.  It is no formula for a good day, as even now - I still feel anxious to begin the day.  But I believe it to be a soulful practice.

Bobby Pins

TWO:
I have this horrible (though Joel calls it endearing) habit of leaving bobby pins in my wake.  Joel has found them in bed even...and I don't go to bed with bobby pins in my hair, so I have no idea how they get there.

Afternoon Sun
Hold
Lying Around
If you lived with me, you might also notice that every afternoon, I get down on the floor and play with Clara.  I make sure to stick my feet in the warm light streaming through the windows.  I find a great release in simply lying on the floor, playing, daydreaming, watching my niece discover movement and shapes.

What would I notice if I lived with you?
Do share if you dare...
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