It’s funny, how quickly autumn has snuck up on me. It’s not just the way I’ve suddenly (finally!) got to shift away from all-flowers-all-the-time—the light is changing (or disappearing entirely), my routines are changing, all of it.
I love it.
birds
Project366: #211-220
PhotographyRoutine is the killer.
I kind of knew that before. I said back in June that part of my problem with photography lately is that I’m stuck in a bit of a pattern right now: I go to the same places over and over, at roughly the same time of day, travelling the same routes. I’m not seeing anything new, and that’s made it hard to see photographs I haven’t already taken.
But this week confirmed it. I finally broke out of that pattern and did something a little bit different, and started feeling inspired again. (‘Started’ being the key word, there.)
Snapshot #133 | 10 Things for 11 August 2019
PersonalCurrently…
1. trying… a new notebook setup.
2. making… an actual plan to try some of the (literal) hundreds of recipes I’ve got saved.
3. catching… another summer cold. I am having the worst luck with that this year.
4. worrying… that I’m about to become one of those insufferable Instagram ‘plant parents.’
5. going… back to the drawing board with Violet Lane.
6. missing… the merlins. They didn’t come back this year, which is sad—I loved watching them—but it does mean that the juncos have been hanging around more. They’re fun, too.
7. watching… some fantastically inspiring movies.
8. buying… a raincoat. I’ve needed a new one—or any water-resistant jacket with a hood, really—for years, but it’s taken me this long to find one I don’t hate.
9. seeing… a few connections I was missing before.
10. waiting… for a couple of very cool deliveries. (And they—mostly—arrived on time!)
Project366: #161-170
PhotographyIt’s been ages since I’ve been this happy with a group of photos.
The subjects are still pretty mundane (flowers! ducklings!) and I still kind of feel like there’s not much going on, but I like these photos.
Project366: #151-160
PhotographyI’m starting to feel good about my photos again. Mostly. This batch isn’t amazing, and they’re mostly from the phone—I’ve gotten over my cold, but the one time I felt well enough to take a real camera out in the past ten days, I promptly got hit with a brand new wave of symptoms—but they’re not just flowers, and they’re not just random stuff I can see without getting up off the couch.
Snapshot #128 | 10 Things for 2 June 2019
PersonalCurrently…
1. getting… back to work.
2. talking… myself out of dying my hair pink. Or teal. Or any colour other than blonde. I miss real colour desperately but I know I can’t be bothered to maintain it.
3. planning… the next draft of Violet Lane. I’m ready to start writing on Monday.
4. experimenting… with the whole bullet journal thing again. Turns out the setup I was using didn’t work as well as I thought.
5. trying… Beyond Meat burgers. I was pleasantly surprised—not the best burger I’ve ever had, but perfectly good for something store-bought, and far better than any other veggie burger I’ve had. I’ll have them again. (That said, I do want to finally try making my own veggie burgers this summer.)
6. catching… up on my podcast backlog! Completely! As of right now, there is no backlog. Which means I’m tempted to go looking for something new, to start the cycle all over again.
7. making… plans for the site redesign. Now I just need to pick a day to tear everything down and rebuild.
8. meeting… the new ravens! Over the past few years, I’ve managed to become friendly acquaintances with the local pair; this year I got to see their fledglings! (Which, yes, meant I was standing in the middle of a public path talking to four ravens like they understand English. But four ravens! 😍)
9. starting… to build my DVD/Blu-Ray collection again. I got out of the habit, but as streaming services multiply, it makes more sense to me to buy anything I want to see more than once. Now I need to figure out how to store these things.
10. refining… my goals and updating my inspiration board.
Snapshot #124 | 10 Things for 7 April 2019
PersonalCurrently…
1. hoping… that my merlin friends are going to be back this year. (Do they return to the same nest year after year? I don’t know.) I think I heard one yesterday. (Note: that second photo is very slightly graphic, in a nature documentary sort of way.)
2. tracking… down some Cadbury creme eggs. I had to go to the fancy British grocery to find them and they only carried five-packs, but it turns out the British ones are better than the ones they make for the Canadian market, so that’s something. Craving satisfied.
3. tidying… up my Evernote account.
4. deciding… what I’m going to make for Easter dessert.
5. planning… a new semi-regular thing around here. Only reason I haven’t launched yet is because I can’t figure out what to call it.
6. getting… used to the coffee grinder I got for the office. (There’s a bit of trial and error involved when it comes to quantities.)
7. trying… some new skincare stuff. Half-convinced it’s snake oil, but my skin does feel a bit better.
8. finding… my big-picture inspiration again.
9. looking… for a copy of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. I’ve had an urge to watch it again for the first time in years… and yet. (I prefer physical copies for movies that I want to keep.)
10. wondering… when it’s going to start feeling like spring. They’re calling for a snowstorm tomorrow.
Snapshot #100 | 10 Things for 6 May 2018
PersonalCurrently…
1. thinking… about moving to a lighter shade of blonde. I’m tempted to go really light, but let’s be honest: I can’t be bothered with the maintenance it requires. (I’m also having one of those moments when I desperately miss having pink hair. But again: maintenance.)
2. trying… to get good photos of the merlins who’ve moved into the neighbourhood. (And feeling kind of torn. The merlins are adorable, but so are the chickadees and juncos that they’re definitely hunting.)
3. making… this cake. I went a little overboard (ganache! black cocoa!) but it was fantastic.
4. wondering… how many times Creative Screenwriting is going to sell their email list. The magazine folded years ago (which is too bad, because I liked that magazine), and look: a new batch of screenwriting-related spam.
5. struggling… to establish a good running routine this year. The weather has not been on my side. Yes, I could run in the rain. And at some point this summer, I probably will. Just not yet.
6. putting… the office in order. It’s still a work-in-progress, but it’s already so much better than it was.
7. managing… to avoid Infinity War spoilers. (Mostly. As much as possible.)
8. spending… all my time & money at Ikea. (See #6, above.)
9. having… a really busy week. Hopefully, things will even out again soon.
10. starting… to crave iced coffee. Soon.
