Blibber Blabber

No rhyme, no reason

 

Hey, everyone!  We're in Orlando now-- got in at 9:30 EST last night.  Decided to drive straight through instead of staying in GA overnight.  In an hour or so we're going to check out and head over to WDW and the Polynesian.  Looks like good weather for our stay ('cept for rain, but I don't mind that, so that's moot).  I can't wait to see the hotel- this is the place we've wanted to stay in since way back when we started wanting to take the girls to WDW (probably 1994), so we're all excited.

I'll probably post more in the coming days, since I'm always up WAY before everyone else.  Have a great week, in the meantime. :)

posted by: athenawj at 08:09 | link | comments (2) |
disney

My cat Salem's been missing since 9 p.m. Monday night.  It's an understatement that I'm worried.  We've looked all over the neighborhood and in the woods around our house for him, called him countless times... I don't know what happened.

ETA: Holy shit- ten minutes after I post this, up moseys Salem to the back door!!  Yes, I let him in right away, and yes, I burst out crying.  Damn cats!

We used to keep a collar and tag on him, but he lost it so many times that we quit.  He's getting one again.

posted by: athenawj at 07:25 | link | comments (5) |
crazy kitties

 Fuckin' allergies.  

They've been at their worst this year.  I can't even say how many times I've begun sneezing, felt the telltale swelling begin in the soft tissue at the back of my throat, and run for the loratadine.  Nothin' like livin' in a bowl.

This morning, I ran outside and watched a murder of crows chase a huge owl from tree to tree.  I KNEW we had an owl-- but this morning, I finally got to see him!  As big as two crows, grey, with beautiful white-ringed eyes.  Poor thing.  He was probably just looking for moles, but those crows are so damn territorial.

(hey, I got to write "murder of crows".  Cool.)

Been playing around with different colored backgrounds in my lightbox...

I'm thinking photography for Christmas...

posted by: athenawj at 14:43 | link | comments |
photography, animals, vacation

I had an unexpected cry tonight; you know, one of those cries which you don't know's going to happen until it bursts from you.  A quick one- sobbysobsob- and then it was over, soothed by a caring husband and a few corny jokes.  I needed the cry, and I needed the jokes.

On a semi-related note, my kids are getting older, growing up (physically, you know), and the empty-nesting is still brewing.  I hate it.  I love them.  It's hard to face that they're not babies anymore, even though they'll always be my children.

Probably TMI, but I was so happy to see ole... eh, whatever the old 'uns called periods, this evening.  After being very regular for close to two years, it's not nice when the red flowers are eight days late in being delivered.  Oh perimenopause, how you suck.

Two weeks til we leave.

The moles are getting ready for winter.  You can tell by the gigantic trio of mounds in a corner of our yard.  I can't wait til they start in on some of our neighbors perfectly manicured lawns.  Yes, I'm evil.

My youngest sister called me from a beach in Maui two nights ago.  That was pretty cool.  She was watching for a comet.  I forgot to tell her to get me a postcard.

I'm sad for all the wildlife in the San Francisco bay tonight, and wish I could do something for them.

I think I'm done with Disney for awhile after this trip.  I want to explore more, although we do need to take a trip to PA to find some towns we're interested.  I want to see Europe, and meet Mr. Calm's family and his cuter-than-cute cousins, and strangely enough, I want to see Japan.  Strange because I've never had the urge before.  Funny how photography and Ninja Warrior will do that to someone.

Yes.  I got the urge to go to Japan because of Ninja Warrior. And I don't even want to be on Sasuke.

posted by: athenawj at 21:59 | link | comments (2) |
pain, family, kids, memories, dammit, vacation

 Ugh, I hate daylight savings time.  It takes me awhile to get used to the change.  Add to that waking up yesterday morning at four having a full-blown allergy attack.  I tell you what- I RAN for the loratadine.  And Ollie, I'm sorry to say, is no longer allowed to sleep with us.  I hate that, because Salem still pulls his alpha male shit, but what else am I gonna do?

I got an email from the gallery owner of the Seattle gallery.  I sold three of my five pieces during the show's run- actually, I sold four.  Apparently the sold dot fell off my title card while the owner was out, and one of the pieces was sold twice.  Heh.  And there's yet someone else who wants the same piece, so I'm doing a commission this week.

Believe me, this is a good thing, although I'm now swamped with things I have to do before we leave.

I had an interesting conversation with M., the owner of the gallery here I show at.  She said that she thinks I'll do really well this holiday season; people seem to really like my stuff, and I price them at prices that are affordable.  My answer was pretty simple: I'm not making things to have them sit around my house.  I want people to be able to buy them, and even though I've been selling for less than a year, I don't underprice myself.  I make my money and time back, and a little more.

Eh.  I had a little bit of a dissertation about those who sell huge pieces (and then the small ones) who price fairly, and then the unknowns who don't, but it's not worth it.  I just hate it when I see a piece I love, and yet it's so astronomically priced that only the riche can afford it. Bleh on them.

Since I finally started selling prints this week, and have extra money, I splurged and bought a Diana + camera.  It was the shutter lock that convinced me more than anything, and the fact that the ebay listing I was watching for a used Windsor shot up to the price of a new camera.

Yeah.  Another camera.

posted by: athenawj at 05:59 | link | comments |
art , photography

Got my black and white pictures yesterday.  I definitely know now I'm going only the negatives-and-upload route; I like being able to "fix up" the pictures a little.

Best ones:

I love the dreamy, speckled quality of the garden and chair one.  I also got a great multiple exposure of YD, but since it's not the best picture of *her*, I won't post it. But I did put it up on the fridge, heh; though I don't think she's seen it yet.  She came home late last night from a friend's after seeming to have a reaction to the friend's dog.  I know another friend's dog bothered her like that, so it may end up she's allergic.  No worries keeping a dog out of THIS house- I am SO not a doggie person.

Other good, wonderful news: we finally got both the girls' absences excused for our trip!  It was just hard as hell to get ahold of the principals, but once we did, it took only a minute for them to say okay.  The girls have a week off before we go, for T'giving, so they can get all their work done then.

Wahooooo!  Three more weeks, and I... am... outta here!

posted by: athenawj at 06:27 | link | comments |
photography, kids, disney

Holga-riffic

I don't think I mentioned here (or maybe I did and forgot) that I got myself a Holga- one of those cheap plastic cameras that take 120 film.  I also got a Duaflex III (my Granny's longtime choice of camera), and a Brownie Starflex off fee-bay, and have been doing TTV (Through the Viewfinder) photography.  It's fun, although I didn't like having to edit out the gigantic cat hair that showed up on all my pictures after I went to the farmer's market.

Anyway.

The lab uploaded my color prints yesterday, and I spent a little time tinkering with them.  I'm not sure if it's the film or the camera, or the fact that I've become so used to digital, but I'm not used to such graininess in my pictures.

Anyway, I'd taped the Holga up pretty good, so most of my pictures were light leak-free, but this one in particular struck my funnybone in a bit of a morbid way:



If that reminds anyone of the photographer's pictures in "The Omen", well, I was reminded of them, too.

YD (after seeing the pictures, walking out of the kitchen, moaning): "Oh, M's going to heaven, and I'm going to hell."

Hee.

Getting my black and whites back tomorrow.  If my super-macro works well enough, I'm just going to start photographing my negatives, inverting them, and printing them myself (or not).

I'm also halfway done with two new dolls: Snow White and Rose Red, inspired by one of my favorite childhood fairy tales.  My mom has a lot of first editions that she's saved all her life, and still has the book she read to us from.  I'll glaze them tomorrow, then put their hair on, glue the arms in, and dress them.  Then they're off to the gallery on Sunday!

But for now, I'm off to re-read "Speaks the Nightbird", since I finished McCammon's latest book in two gulps last week and need MORE.

posted by: athenawj at 21:04 | link | comments (2) |
art , photography, books