Time Passes By...

I opened up a new blog post about 7 days ago and since then it has just sat empty because I don't know what to write.  I'm trying to finish up that writing I mentioned a few posts back as well as a ton of other work items.  I'm also trying to make a concerted effort to stick to a routine each day that incorporates physical exercise (strength, cardio, and core), water, eating right (and less -- so I'm recording which is a chore I hate but it really does help), meditation, journaling, and matwork.  Between the energy needed for those two things, I haven't been doing a whole lot in the creative department.

But let's see...what can I share?

I've done one sketch and a partial one since I last posted about it.  I'm not getting in 1/week but at least I haven't let it completely drop off my radar.  The beaver (who sadly have not returned) was pretty challenging because I've never drawn water before.  I think it's okay, but I liked the challenge of trying to do something I was afraid of (the water).  Then a few days ago, I started in on a chipmunk that we have in the barn...adding a bit of color.  I didn't finish it although I probably will the next time I sit down to draw...

I've been reading but the book I was working on was an epic novel over 700 pages in length and so it took some time to get through...A Little Life.  I just finished it yesterday and the beauty and horror of that book will be rolling around in my thoughts for a very long time.  I needed something light to counter it and so I took a look at my book challenge and saw 're-read a beloved book from childhood'.  There are so many -- I was an avid little reader back then.  Beverly Cleary.  Judy Blume.  Anne of Green Gables.  So many horse stories!  But one kept coming to mind -- one that I probably read 50 times as a kid -- Harriet the Spy.  And so last night I downloaded a copy and started reading.  Oh, how much fun it is.  I remember so many of the details (showing again how many times I read it) and I think it's as enjoyable reading it as an adult as it was reading it as a kid.

I'm knitting but not as much as I'd like.  I think that finishing up (at least the knitting part of it) 1 big sweater, 1 sleeveless top, and a shawl in such a short amount of time burned me out a bit.  And I haven't found something I 'just can't wait to finish'.  I picked Alice back up which was stalled because I'm changing the sleeves and was a bit scared to attempt that modification.  I can do things like add waist shaping  or adjust stitches to make a better fit, but sleeves are a mystery to me -- the caps at least.  But I pulled up some other patterns to copy the general idea and finally got a sleeve done.  I haven't sewn it on yet to see how I did, but I think it will work.  I just have another sleeve (1/2 length rather than full) and the neck to do and that project will be ready for blocking.

Finally...you may be looking at that photo above that has a green blob in it and wondering what the heck it is.  Seeing the Northern Lights has always been a bucket list item since I was younger and first heard of them.  The first time I saw them, I was working in Fairbanks in 2012 and it was a bit anti-climatic because we were in a hotel in town and the light wasn't great -- you could see the shifting patterns but it was pretty washed out (dark skies are best!).  Since working up here, I see them fairly frequently...at least a dozen times per year.  And now instead of just seeing them, I want to photograph them.  3 years ago I got a wireless, programmable remote to do that very thing but I kept putting off figuring out how to use the darn thing.  I understood, in general, what was needed to get the photos but was afraid to try.  And of course, it seems that the lights generally are visible between 11pm and 2 am and only in the fall when there is enough darkness to really see them...and they last about 30 minutes...so catching them is a bit challenging.  The other night, I went out to go to the bathroom at 230 and even without my glasses, I could see the lights.  For some reason, that night, I thought -- try it.  Get the tripod, get the camera and just take a few pictures and see what you can get.  That photo above is the best I got and frankly, I'm pleased with it as a first attempt since a) I've never tried this before and b) it was 230 in the morning and my thought processes aren't exactly running full strength.  The barn roof is in the lower left, and the posts of the fence are on the bottom as well.  You can see 2 problems right away...one is that I REALLY need to clean my lens.  I don't notice it normally but on a long exposure, it's pretty darn noticeable (yes, that is dirt, not blurry stars!).  And 2, it's a bit early in the year still I think since that light you see in the bottom right is the sun coming up at 0230.  But the thing that was cool is that this photo got me excited again about challenging myself with photography.  The next day I figured out the remote so that I can deal with the long exposure better than I can on my camera (and do even longer exposures) and that led to finding all kinds of cool things in the menu and learning a bunch of interesting techniques.  It's been a very long time since I've actually learned something new with my camera and it felt good.  So hopefully I'll have some more chances to catch the lights on 'film' before the end of the season.

That's about it.  You can see time passing by on the 'bou with antler growth and kids shedding their cuteness.  It moves by fast.  What are you into these days as we move into August?

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Now playing:  Catfish John -- Allison Krauss/Nitty Gritty Dirt Band/Jerry Douglas