Packages of Opportune Moments

Is there anything better than coming home from a long day at work and finding a package on the doorstep waiting for you?  Even if you were the one who ordered whatever it is, there is still a thrill in the arrival.

Last night was no different.  I received a package.  I knew it would be there, because I checked the tracking until it said "delivered."  As I sliced through the fiber tape and fought my way through the inflated air packaging bubble things that my son loves to stomp on (because they make the most satisfying BANG noise when the pop), I held my breath until I had in my hands the ultimate prize.

My brand new Canon Rebel T3 DSLR.

*sigh*

I have literally waited years to own one of these bad boys.  I have the Rebel TI SLR, which uses film.  I also have a Minolta and a Pentax K1000 (Japan), as well as my Dad's original Yashica, that doesn't work, but I will *never* get rid of.  I have relied on point and shoot digital cameras since my son was a baby to capture images, which got the job done, but isn't quite the same.  Trust me- you can tell the difference between a point and shoot picture and a DSLR picture. 

Now that I have one, my poor family will have no rest from the pop and flash of my camera.  And while they grumble and glower at me sometimes, they know that I am capturing our family history, seizing moments, that eventually, will be what's left of long and happy lives.  A visual documentation of laughter, stories, adventures, and all the varied emotions along the road. 

It was my Dad and Mack Hickey who taught me how to take pictures.  Mack Hickey was my art teacher in high school, who taught me about framing a shot, darkroom procedures, and all the other "professional" aspects of photography.  The one thing, above all others, that Mack taught me is that in order to be a successful photographer, you must view the world as if you were constantly looking through a camera lens, so that it becomes second nature to see the amazing shots.  Still, he cautioned, even the greatest photographer might only get 4 great shots out of 24.  It was all a gamble.



January 2012, right before sunset



But, my Dad taught me something different.  He told me just to snap pictures.  Not even to look through the viewfinder- just take the pictures and see what they become later.  You’ll get some plain, goofy, serious, out of focus, hastily posed……….but then you get the ones that completely capture the person and who they are.  This theory of photography works especially well in the digital age, when you can snap until the card is full.



Trail Running in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park

I use both these theories every day, in photography and in life.  Sometimes, a decision must be framed out and set-up just so.  Sometimes, the opportune moment comes around and things just happen.

Irish

Birthday Blanket

When I turned 7, my Gramma made me my very own quilt.  I still have it- it has a puppy in the very middle, with pinwheels all around it.  My son now sleeps under it.  :)

His 6th birthday is in June and I started working on his own Birthday Blanket last month.  I know it's early, but I want to make sure I get it done in time.  I'm not a quilter, but I can knit, so I am making him a patchwork knit blanket.  I'm pretty much just making rows of different colored squares in a simple garter stitch.

 I'm knitting on size 15 needles with Lion Brand Homespun yarn in any color I can find it in.  It's a very soft yarn that is (more importantly) machine washable and dryable!

The weather here has been extraordinary for January, so we were able to go for a walk on Monday down the hill to our neighbor, which is a giant cattle farm.  The owner is leasing it out to an outfit from Texas- apparently the drought has gotten bad enough that he chose to truck his hundreds of livestock to the green hills of East Tennessee.  We couldn't be happier with the change- the hired hands are nice enough to let us wander in and out of the barns and even introduced us to the orphaned calves, who ate right out of A's little hands, much to his delight. 

On the walk back home, we found two magnificent treasures:  a tiny bird's nest and a green glass Coke bottle.  The nest has been added to our collection, while the coke bottle is soaking to get the gunk out.

This Spring, I may invest in some beehives.  I've been interested in them for awhile and have made a new friend who keeps bees and is teaching a class about them this Spring, which is open to any who want to attend.  You can find out more at My Barefoot Farm.  It's towards the bottom of the blog entry, but she's going to cover all the bases of beekeeping.  I, for one, am really excited to attend!! 

We have a local beekeeping club here, called the Clinch Valley Beekeepers Association that I've seen at some of the local festivals.  They always bring some good honey and a displayable hive with them, which was a big hit with us.

That's all for now- I'll be attempting to write a little more frequently than I have been.  

Todays' quote: 

"The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in."   ~Morrie Schwartz~

Irish

A Crafty Weekend

Last Thursday, I went to our local yarn store, Loopville, for some single point knitting needles.  I came out with 2 skeins of yarn and two sets of single point needles.  Oh, and a blue-bird button.  A would like it sewn onto his scarf, which I need to knit before Christmas.  He picked a merino wool blend in a rainbow of colors.  It is gorgeous.  My kid has style!  When I got home, I found a box waiting for me with my chunky yarn and size 15 needles I've been waiting for to try making a poncho/shawl for myself.........

The other skein of yarn I bought is a secret, because the recipient of the finished product reads this blog and I want it to be a surprise.  After Christmas, I will show it off though..........  Eventually, I am hoping to move beyond knitting scarves and into fingerless mittens and hats and blankets.  One day at a time...........

I also bought a book called One-Yard Wonders, which has 101 sewing projects and they all use 1 yard of fabric or less.  (The books includes patterns for most of the projects.)  I immediately dug into the pile of fabric upstairs and pulled out some prints that I can't wait to try creating with.

I also went into my closet and pulled out a blue spangly half-circle skirt I made a year or two ago that is now too big for me.  I also have the left-over scraps, so between the skirt and the scraps, I have enough to make a blue spangly bag!  (And probably a headband too!)

What it was:

 

What it will (hopefully) be:

Let me state, right here, that I am not an accomplished sewer of things.  The skirt was made with a lot of help from my Mom, who is an accomplished sewer of things.  My goal is to become as good as she is at it.  So, please don't tell yourself that you can't do it, because if I can, you can.

As a result of all this craftiness, I have had to organize my things.  I had embroidery floss and beads upstairs, wool felt on top of the kitchen pantry, yarn and needles in the living room, and all the scissors are hidden where little hands can't get them.  So, I went to Lowe's and purchased a large clear plastic bin and found a set of three smaller plastic clear bins that fit inside.  Luckily, a bin I already had fit inside too!  I now am the proud owner of a craft bin, with containers for knitting needles and smaller skeins of yarn, embroidery floss and thread, beads and buttons, and paints and brushes, as well as room left over to keep large skeins of yarn, wool felt, scissors, and some fabric.  It's already full..........hmmmmm.........

We also finished the TreeHouse this weekend!!  JT did most of the heavy lifting, but I helped where I could, especially in tight spaces, while he built the stairs.  I also made the sign, which reads, at the bottom:  NO CRITTERS!!  BIRDS ALLOWED.  A loves birds. 

Right now, my main crafting focus is on finishing up Christmas presents.  After that, I have a list of things I would like to try, including the knitting I mentioned above, attempting my spangly purse, and doing a couple of the other projects in the book, as well as patterns I have seen on Ravelry.  (You can friend me- irishTNgirl).  I am trying very hard not to get ahead of myself in all areas of my life.  I have a habit of looking way ahead and forgetting about the present, which has its pros, but also has a lot of cons.  Having a "5 year plan" is one thing; trying to live 5 years ahead of today is another.............

Irish
 



Smart Mama, Dumb Phone

With the upswing of social networking, e-mail, texting, and smartphones, it is possible to stay fully connected almost anywhere you go.  I don't know what the exact statistics are, but most people I know that have cell phones own a "Smart" phone, such as the Blackberry, Droid, iPhone, Android, etc, etc.  I had a Blackberry for a while, until its untimely demise and replaced it with a Droid.  I was plugged in.  Constantly.  If the phone dinged, pinged, or buzzed, I had to check it.  The little green flashing light, indicating some form of message, was like Odysseus' sirens, calling me insistently.

On top of this, it cost money.  At the time, it was $30/ month.  Not much until you start adding it all up.  Cost of the phone, cost of the data plan, and then there is the cost of the time taken away from your real life.  Those minutes when you aren't really paying attention to your family or your surroundings add up.  What seems like a few minutes will add up into hours and then days, depending on your usage habits.  This was pointed out to me in sharp relief when I spent a week at Cape Cod with my son, my sisters and their families.  While I was there, I made it a point to leave my phone behind 90% of the time.  If we went to town, I took it, but that was it.  I took pictures with my regular digital camera.  One of my sisters, who considers me a techno-geek of sorts, was constantly caught off-guard when she would ask me to look something up, call someone, etc and I would reply that my phone was back at the cottage.  The first time, her mouth dropped open and she was speechless. 

So, I went low-tech and used my "upgrade" to get a DumbPhone.  The fanciest thing about this particular phone is that it has a QWERTY keyboard to make texting a little bit easier and a small camera, which takes mediocre photos.  I must admit that the transition was odd.  I missed the nice camera and ability to e-mail photos the most of all the features.  The lack of having everyone's updates, tweets, and comments was almost a relief.  The only statuses I needed to worry about were mine and my son's. 

It surprised me that my friends had the most difficulty in my choice to "upgrade" to a low-tech status.  My nights are no longer disturbed with the dinging of my phone and I find messages waiting for me about how much I miss out on with my "non-internet phone." 

In reality, I am not missing out on all that much.  I am gaining time with my son, who is growing up WAY too fast.  I am out in the yard, helping to build a treehouse.  I am in the garage, fixing the chain on his bike again.  I am making dinner, while he sings the Christmas songs they have been learning at school.  (Voice like his mother- sounds like an angel when he sings.)

So, consider this, especially right now, during the busiest time of the year, which is supposed to be all about family, not phones.  Be present in the moment.  Enjoy the glow of the family around the table.  Technology has its place and it can be a useful tool to bring those together who are far apart, especially with military deployments. But when the phone dings or bings or buzzes, ask yourself which matters more at that moment- the e-mail/text message/ FB alert that just came in, or being in the moment.