August Break! Day one: Morning light!

This month, I will be participating in August Break by Susannah Conway. Above I've posted the prompts in case anyone is interested in doing this too, and by clicking the link, you'll be taken to her site for more information. The point is take one photo for everyday of the month but also to slow down and appreciate things and stuff around you, to live in the moment and so on. 

This month is a bit of a celebratory month for me as this is the last week of school for my Bachelor's degree. In a way, I feel this project is perfect for me because I finally get to just "be" for a little bit, I finally get to decompress and come to new projects with a fresh mindset and a little rejuvenation, but most of all excitement for the challenges ahead. Plus I am going to have a graduation party at some point- not sure when yet but there will be cake and it will be green with black flowers! 

Without further ado, I shall post today's first photo, Morning light.

I love morning light, there is something, a feeling that is cooler than afternoon and evening light. It's as if the world has a blue filter on and the light seems more pristine, pure, and new. I always get a sense of freshness when I look outside in the morning. One of my favorite past times is watching Narcisa sunbathe in the morning. She'll sit before the patio door and watch various bits of wildlife and bugs, the wind in the trees, take baths like she's doing here, and sleep. It's a happy, peaceful, and quiet time.  

Some Photography pics, Ghost shows, and Cats...

Freyja

Homework for today was still life and playing with light. My subject of choice was my statue of Freyja. I set up a tri-fold presentation board in the dining room- because we have a large window to let in natural light-, threw black fabric over it, and darkened the room for some shots. I used an LED flashlight for other shots as well. 

I really like this one because of the overhead direction of the light

For this one I used a table cloth I found in the craft/dining room. 

Narcisa

While I was setting up with the table cloth, Narcisa decided I had made the scene expressly for her.

She didn't even want to move when I set Freyja down. She's kind of giving me cross eyes as if to say "Pbbt!"

Ellie wanted to have her picture taken too. 

I picked up the Witches & Pagans magazine this month. So far I have read the Heathen articles, an article on Hestia, a reader's spiritual journey article, and one on Green Magic. I have a couple more that I want to read as well. There was an advertisement for Hekate's Sickle Festival. Taking place on Halloween/ Samhain weekend, it looks really interesting and fun. I would love to go, but Amanda and I don't think that we will be able to manage it this year. Perhaps next year. The magazine is accepting submissions for a couple of things and I might submit something eventually. I am going to keep an eye on what they want and go from there.  

So while I am doing homework today; tonight my ghost shows come back to SYFY. I've been watching Ghost Hunters and Paranormal Witness for several years now and enjoy them. It's time for fall when they come back on the air with new episodes- although I have been feeling the pull of autumn for a couple of weeks now. 

Well, I am taking a break from my photography class for the day in favor of writing my new media publishing final paper. 

A semi quiet start to the new year.

Rum Geisha © Hannah Richardson

First, I think I need to change and update all of my passwords again. It could be nothing but it could be something. I just opened up blogger and started a new blog where I got a message stating that I just logged out of another location and would I like to log back in. Grrrrr! 

My New Year started quietly with a few games of Rummikub and me coaxing Skoora's mom into drinking a whole bottle of wine. She's not really a drinker. The 1st was spent taking my time in doing almost nothing. I didn't go to the family new year's party, instead I went to Skoora's work and kept her and her assistant manager company for an hour or so. After we got home her parents came in along with a friend from their church and we visited with him meanwhile a Monster High movie was playing in the background. Skoora was kind of nervous about getting ready for her residency. 

Skoora worked the 2nd which made things more difficult for her in terms of being ready to go. Still, we got her packed, last minute errands run, and off to the airport in time for her flight. I was a bit worried since the North East was getting slammed with a winter storm but her plane landed safely, the only down side was that she had to spend the night in the airport last night until the bus could take her to the T (subway) in Boston this morning. I stayed up until about 3 am worried even though we sent text to each other and I spoke to her on the phone a couple of times. And despite not getting but a few hours of sleep the night before and being very tired, I just couldn't go to sleep until I knew she was out of the airport and on her way to the college campus. Then it was a matter of her not being next to me in bed. But exhaustion finally won and I fell asleep. 

I actually slept until a little after 1 in the afternoon. I really hate sleeping that late but didn't let myself get too upset about considering the circumstances. I haven't really done a lot today either. I've mostly played Game of Thrones Ascent on facebook. I saw the ad for it last night and decided to try it out and off and on today I've played. It's a time waster but it is interesting and fun. 

I did manage to get out of the house today and aggravate my back while doing it. I placed a hold on a few jewelry making books and went to go pick them up. After we had dinner, I took Skoora's mom, and Skoora's visiting cousin Amber to Hasting's. I was going to pay for the coffee and Amber's coco but Skoora's mom decided that she would. Then we parted ways in the store, they went to look at some things and I went to look for other things. Skoora's mom kind of rushed me when we met back up again despite me telling her that I was still looking. She wanted to get a book and then I guess decided that she didn't want to wait in line and put it back. In finagling my wallet and my purse, I managed to turn wrong and that's how I managed to make my back hurt worse this time. 

Back at home, Skoora's mom and dad watched Monster's University with Amber and I went out to watch for awhile. I stayed until the end of the movie but couldn't sit through another one. Since then I have been holed up in my room editing some photos, looking at what I have on my deviant art page, and yeah, that's about it. I should have logged on to play Guild Wars but I just didn't feel like it. I wanted to read but I didn't feel like doing that either. Writing was on my mind but again, I didn't feel like much of that. 

So here I am again, it's the middle of the night. I'm by myself, the cats want to go in and out, and I can't sleep but this time, I really wish I could! I don't think I will sleep very well until Skoora comes home.

Oh and my friend Christine B is coming to visit on Sunday. I'm not sure how long she's going to stay, but I don't care. I don't know if she will buy any fabric or not but she's asked me to make some pillow cases for her.   

In lieu of... and a picture

Picture © Hannah Richardson

The picture above is one I took of my little Yule display in my room. I was fiddling with my camera and I still haven't gotten the hang of ISO settings and taking candle pictures with the lights off. I played with the picture in pixlr express, hoping to take some of the graininess away. But there it is and for what it is, it's pretty.

As I said in my last post, a friend had the idea of me writing a short Christmas story in lieu of writing the dreaded 'what I've been up to this past year' portion of our Christmas/Yule letter this year. Well, I did it. I wrote a short, four page story, and in doing so I remembered why I really don't like writing short stories. There's never enough time to go into as much detail as I would like, I have to move things along faster, and it feels weird after I've been used to writing novel length stories. Even the fan fiction I wrote several years ago, and the collaborative written role plays were and have been as long as novels.

But, I can't afford to mail a novel length Christmas/Yule card to everyone so four pages will have to do.The story might not even remain four pages because I only just finished the 1st rough draft. Skoora and I need to go over it together tomorrow after she gets home from work and edit it. I'll need to fix the errors and make the necessary changes. I also might end up writing a little bit for those we don't send the story portion of the letter to. Just a short little blurb, nothing too detailed or personal.

Honestly, when we get all the mailing done, I will feel a little relieved. We have so much to do and I realized today that there are only 10 days until Christmas and 7 days until Yule. Oh boy! Not all of the ordered Christmas/ Yule presents have arrived and I am afraid that some won't come until after both holidays. I haven't really decided what I am going to cook for Christmas dinner. If I left that up to Skoora's mom, we'd have ham and cheese buns. They are okay, but I am used to a big Christmas dinner so I'm going to cook one. I know I am making home-made mac'n cheese. Skoora's mom requested it and I definitely want mashed potatoes and gravy. I'll bake some pies and make my little snacks, but as for a veggie dish and the meat portion, well, I still need to sit down with Pinterest! I'll do that tomorrow though.

Oh and I still have to make/finish a few presents too. I had to wait for some supplies to come in the mail since my local craft store didn't have what I needed.

In other news, Yoda has managed to sucker a nibble of cheese out of Skoora's mom and I this evening. He's not even supposed to have it anymore, but he doesn't get treats and he won't eat canned cat food, so we try to give him a little bit of a treat now and then, especially since the other cats get them.

Yesterday a package came in the mail. It contained four mini Funko vinyl My Little Ponies. Since Skoora and I weren't having the best of days, in fact it was kind of bad, we decided to open them. We got the Dj, Spitfire, Bon Bon, and Lyra. I thought perhaps the tails moved and was remarking so and at the same time Skoora and I both twisted them a little. Guess what? The tails don't move and if you twist them, you twist them off. Or well, we managed not to pull them completely off. But, we were able to fix them with the soldering iron. I know that's not what it's supposed to be used for but it worked and that's all that matters and the tails are snugly back in place and don't even look like they were bothered in the first place.

Also, while we were playing the card version of monopoly, I grabbed a round, plastic Christmas ornament from one of the center pieces that were on the tables at the family Christmas party. I dusted it off and put it in my mouth. Skoora  and her mom both watched me do this and neither one of them made the connection of what I was about to do. I popped that ornament out of my mouth and it flew across the table and smacked Skoora right in the glasses. She was so startled and confused, it was priceless! I almost peed my pants from laughing so hard. Better yet, I did it to her again when she came into the bedroom for bed.

Speaking of bed, it's time for me to crawl in it.

  

Heh heh heh, it's snowing! It puts the lotion on it's skin or it gets the whip... I think?

A coat from Elle

I don't know where "It puts the lotion on it's skin or it gets the whip", came from or if I am even quoting my friend right, but I thought it was semi appropriate for the time of year it's becoming. It's snowing again for this morning and at the moment it's not really sticking, but melting. I am, of course, happy to watch it fall although it is getting a bit colder faster than I expected it too. That's not really a problem for me except that I don't have a coat or even a jacket. In fact the only think I have is a tartan I for my Irish SCA garb for my Senior Project and a wrap around shawl-like-thing fro wal-mart. They will get me by, for now.

I've decided that I am going to make myself a coat instead of trying to find one that fits. I am fat and we don't have a lot of money so I am not going to order a coat from a catalog only to have send it back because it doesn't fit. On top of that I inherited my Dad's long arms and quite frankly, I am so tried of sleeves not fitting. Oh and did I mention that I am pear shaped and have a short torso on top of that? Yep, anything I buy has to fit me in the hips and then of course it's too big for my shoulders. Not even my boobs compensate. Yes, I want to make myself a coat that is tailored to fit me properly. I have a pattern but it needs to be expanded and Skoora's mom told me she knows how to do that sort of thing. Yay for me. However, I have a sneaky suspicion that it's going to take holding a figurative gun to her head to make sure she hold up her end of the deal. She knows all she had to so is show me how to do something or explain it to me and I will do it. That's what we did when making my skirts for my Halloween costume.

The coat above is what I am hoping to make, but because of my shape, I'm thinking about making the coat fitted to my waist and then bell it out from there. Not too much mind you. And I might make it have a steampunk flare.

Yesterday was a cooking day and oh boy was it! I think we started around 1 in the afternoon and didn't finish until after 9 or 10 pm. Needless to say we have some food for awhile and I can still make a roast and also chicken enchilada soup. Of course it took us so long to do make everything because most of what we made had to be baked and Kaiser rolls take up to  two hours to make and bake and Bierocks take about the same. I also made breakfast burritos and those about an hour or so. Add in that I have a bad back and had to sit in an office chair in the kitchen to cut cabbage (I ended up getting some on the floor much to my annoyance), and that I had to make dinner during all of this too, and it took awhile. But despite the pain it was fun. Skoora and I pretty much got flour everywhere. We are going to need to mop the kitchen floor to get all of it up.

Of course I am paying for working in the kitchen yesterday, today. I hurt so bad, even with taking medicine and sitting with the heating pad. I'm not going to be doing much of anything today. But I have edited some pictures that were on my camera and managed to get dressed. I have to put away some laundry, the easy stuff that goes in the dresser, and get the dirty stuff that's in the hall into the laundry bucket (when I get the clean stuff out). I'm kind of procrastinating. Yoda is curled up next to me and I just don't feel like moving. I just want to spend the day writing and cuddling my kitties. I doubt that's going to happen though, especially since I need to get up and move.

Penumbral Lunar eclipse, books, and dark spots.

Vampire Academy book website

Yesterday I finished the Vampire Academy series. Loved it!!! I especially liked the themes of the books, the parts where the characters talk about doing what's right, being honorable, and owing and taking responsibility for their actions. Yeah, there's that teenage angst and rich kids being snooty with excessive senses of entitlement, but there is also a lot of growth in the characters from book one to book six. I'm really excited to see what they do with the movie. Of course there is also the draw of a really gorgeous Russian actor named Danila Kozlovsky playing the part of Dimitri Belikov, too, but cute actor's aside, I really am looking forward to it. The movie comes out in 2014.

Side note: I've actually tried to find some of Danila Kozlovsky's movies online to watch, even tried to see if they were available for purchase and rent with English subtitles, but have come up empty so far. Since I haven't learned Russian yet the subs are pretty essential. I kind of hoped since a couple of his films seem to be big ( and look really good) enough in Russia, that they might be available here too.

Books and movies aside, tonight is the Penumbral Lunar Eclipse. I'm lucky enough to be in a part of the world that can see it. I should start being able to see the moon about 4:40 pm and the sun will set about 5:55 pm according to a site I... can't remember the name of. I'm going to take their world for it and start looking outside at 4:30 this afternoon. I am hoping that I will be able to get at least a decent picture of it.

As for me on a more personal level, I haven't been doing so well. Nothing's going on with Skoora, we're fine. It's other stuff and it's pretty serious but I don't want to talk about it at the moment. Well, I do, but I don't know that I am really ready to. I will leave it as that it is scary, really depressing, and I don't know how things are going to play out for me- that's actually the scary part. Oh hey! Blackmore's Night just started playing on Pandora. Cool!

I also haven't decided if I want to sign up for National Novel Writer's Month next month. I participated during the summer but since I don't know how things will turn out in the next few weeks, I'm a little hesitant. I don't know, maybe it will cheer me up a little or it could backfire. I also have Christmas Presents to make and those are going to take me some time... Hmm... Well, I'm not going to fuss with any of it right now.     

Hell's Gate Camping Trip

This picture was not taken by me. 

At the beginning of this week Skoora and I headed down to Moscow to visit some friends before gathering said friends up for a small camping trip. Our destination was a place in Lewiston but no one in my car seemed to know or remember the name of the place.

The drive was nice except for a little patch of road just before you get to Lewiston. You have to drive through a bit of mountains and while the road wasn't bad, the strong gusts of wind were enough to put me on edge.

At first we went the wrong way, because whoever designed the streets had to have been drunk or high, but we figured it out and got on the right track again and finally arrived at the camp ground. When I saw the signs I couldn't help but think 'Hell's Gate, well that's an uplifting name'. Honestly, I wasn't expecting much since the mountains surrounding the camp were brown and grassy, with an absence of trees. Everything around, city and Snake River aside, looked kind of barren. The further we got into the park things changed. Lush, green grass blanked the ground. Tall trees stood, providing shade. There were small cabins, a nice place to use the bathroom and shower. Plenty of camping spots with fire pits and picnic tables, even electric hookups. Really, this park has a lot to offer but I couldn't help but feel like this was a planted park. A place where people came in and planted the trees and grass to create a space. Not that there's anything wrong with that, I just don't know if I feel exactly cheated or not. I can't explain it to myself so I have no hope of explaining it to you.

After we pulled into our spot we set up camp. There were two runs made to the Clarkston Wal-Mart, the first of which I had gone on. I opted out of the second one since my back was killing me and I wanted to keep a fellow camper company. I feel bad because I don't really know him and ended up rambling while everyone else was gone. I have been assured that was okay and I'm glad because honestly that hour and half would have crawled on if we'd spent it in an awkward-I-don't-know-you-so-I'm-not-going-to-talk-to-you kind of silence.

I did get a couple of pictures before it started to rain. They aren't very good but it's a new camera and I'm still trying to get used to it.

Speaking of the rain, once it started it didn't really stop. Everything was soaked and I think everyone's tent leaked in some fashion. Everything we left out on the picnic table was soaked and where there is darkness and moisture there are earwigs. I actually went to bed early half because I was in so much pain I couldn't stand it anymore, and also because earwigs were dropping down on me from the tree I was sitting under. EWW! Worse, when I was laying down in the tent trying to sleep, I could see them crawling on the outside of my tent in the firelight. Also, someone let their dog take a crap outside our tent during the night. I don't know who but it wasn't a pleasant thing to wake up to.

We left early the next morning. We'd had enough of the rain and someone of my fellow campers had to get back to town so they could shower and go to work. It's been a couple of days and I am still recovering from the trip physically. I didn't play and bounce around like my friends, in fact I took it easy but somehow, the chair I was sitting in, the drive, already being in pain, and getting in and out of the tent just really fouled me up. Still, aside from the bugs and back pain it was a good trip. I just wish my parents had been there with all of their camping stuff. My Mom and Dad would have cooked us a fantastic meal in real camping fashion. My Dad has all sorts of stories from when he worked on the Dude Ranch in Colorado he could have told, plus my Dad has a banjo. Sure, none of my friends would have really enjoyed a bluegrass element but I sure would have.

Actually one of my fondest memories was when I was little and there was a night full of severe weather. There is a support beam and pole that runs through the middle of the basement and my Dad put me (and my favorite stuffed animals) next to it on a pallet and stood a mattress set up, the box springs on one side of me and the mattress on the other. Mom lit candles and sat somewhere, I'm not sure where because I couldn't see her, and Dad set up a spot for himself in front of me. He took out his banjo and played and sang for us until I fell asleep. It was awesome!     

Foggy Brain

Yesterday my doctor's nurse called me and wanted to know if I would be comfortable upping the dosage of my Fibromyalgia medication. I said that I was and so I was instructed to take an extra pill in the morning. I am back to having a semi-foggy brain and being sleepy and sometimes lethargic. That doesn't really work for me as far as writing goes but I am going to try and fight through it and see what I can get accomplished.

As it stands, I don't have too many plans for writing today. I left off in a good place the last time I worked with my vampires so when I open the document and am ready to tackle them again, I'll just be able to pick up where I left off with no problem.

I've been feel a pull and tug to start working on one of my fantasy stories again. It's a little weird, when I work on that story I sometimes feel a tug to work on the vampires and vice versa. I suppose I am going to have to do what I used to do when I lived at home with my parents and have several documents, each of them different stories, open all the time. Or at least the notes pages.

I spoke with both my parents, one of my aunts, my grandparents, and my cousin Shi-chan today. It was really nice and I learned something interesting about an ex-abusive-troglodyte of Shi-chan's sister. Seems he'd gotten out of jail and was going to get pulled over by the police. He, of course, ran and drove through a private property fence, jumped out of the car and jumped into a sand pit that was full of water. So far they haven't been able to find his body. If he died in there (from drowning) then his body will resurface in a few days. If he made it out no one has heard or seen hide or hair of him. Honestly, I hope he died. It would be karma for all the horrible things he did to my cousin's daughter, to my cousin, and to my family.

On a lighter note, it's a really nice day today. I am planning to try to go for a walk after Skoora and I are finished at the library. There is a nice park near where we live that abuts the river. There are several little paths we can take to get to the water and I think it will be nice to sit for a few minutes and just watch the river flow by.

Well, I'm off to get a few letters written. 

Hopes for more regular updates, Cat pictures, and holiday events

Today I wasn't feeling very well so I did a search of cute cat pictures on Google and stumbled on a site that featured a story of Misao and her cat, Fukumura. It's actually a really good article and has links to the photographer's site, who just so happens to be her Granddaughter. I found the granddaughter's book on amazon and it's nestled in my wish list.

As I said over on my craft and culinary blog, we have been busy and with that, I've been a little too tired to really write and post any blogs. I am hoping to get back to more frequent postings now that things are starting to settle down a bit. We will have lots of company during the upcoming holiday weeks. We are expected to have Kitty Kat, her brother (for a night and a day), and The Dot. Doesn't seem like much but when you've already got four people in a small apartment and add more, it's a bit tight. We'll be fine though.

Well, I have a couple of other blogs to finish for the Detangled Writer's site.