whimsy

I have a tendency to get so caught up in the technically perfect side of photography that I forget to create whimsy. I was taught in photography class, so long ago, that photographs should be sensual. No, not sexual. Sensual. I think too often these two words are used interchangeable but they are very different. Here is a definition.

Sensual. 1: relating to or consisting in the gratification of the senses or the indulgence of appetite.

Five sense: Hearing, sight, touch, smell, and taste.

I was also taught that a photograph should tell a story. “What stories does your photo tell?”  So when I try to create a photo I ask myself, could I imagine touching the texture on that egg? Can I smell the wet grass? Does my photo tell you a story? I tend to get so caught up in creating these worlds of texture and stories that I forget the whimsy. 

I also find that sometimes when I’m trying to manage all the settings on the DSLR I forget what it’s like to just relax and let the photo happen. Toy cameras help me do that. Yes, you may have to think a tiny bit. Very small bit of  the thinking. Is it full sun or cloudy? Is my subject (focus area) close or far away? That’s it. Those two questions. No focus. No shutter speed. No f-stop. Just shoot and hope something magical happens. I do mean hope. There is also no instant gratification of a viewer screen showing you how you’ve done. You have to wait for actual film to be developed. But there are very few things we have to wait for anymore and waiting is not always a bad thing. 

 

So without further ado, The Girls

admittedly bad pic and bad post processing on my photo 

Hmmm…wonder what is on these rolls of film.

.

it's back

… with jazz hands.  Not really, but it did come back carrying a novelty(ish) yarn.  

For the past year I have done little to no knitting.  I know.  I know.  I used to dye yarn/fiber and knit (or spin) all the time.  Then I just stopped.  I carried some projects along, but didn’t knit.  I would meet with a few friends and carry my knitting projects with me but didn’t knit, just hung out.  I can’t specifically put my finger on it but I know it’s related to post-partum and quitting smoking.  It just didn’t work for me and I just didn’t have interest in it at all, even the spinning was put away.  I just excessively focused on Nuggy and nothing else.  

Slowly my mind has rallied and I’m feeling more and more normal.  Not the same obviously but normal again.  My friend wisely said that it just took me a while to find my new normal.  I think she is right; it took me a while to find my new normal and then learn to live with that normal.  

That same friend also has been gently poking me to come out to knit night at a LYS, Four Purls.  She would mention it or text me.  I just could never commit to it.  Then one day I felt I was ready.  Ready to go to knit night.  I packed up my everlasting bagstopper WIP that I had started using natural colored cotton (not the noveltyish yarn; I’m getting to that) and headed off to knit night.  I walked around, fondled yarn, and oogled the wonderful selection.  I also knit of course.  And laughed to the point of tears.  I also found that to my surprise I was attracted to the bling yarns and in particular some really soft recycled sari silk yarn.  It was bright jewel tones, soft, and slightly fuzzy.  My idea of a Novelty yarn.  Probably not really novelty yarn, but it is to me.  I didn’t buy it that night but it haunted me.  2 days later I had a Doctor’s appointment a couple of blocks from Four Purls.   It just happened that this Dr. appointment took no time and I had an entire afternoon to spare.  Somehow I happened to go to the LYS and somehow I bought 2 skeins or the silky goodness.  **ahem**

A recycled silk yarn handspun from silk weaving mill waste.  I decided to do a rather thick bulky version of the Wisp.  

That yarn and that scarf could be considered my gateway drug.  I have since bought the yarn for a sweater and 2 hats.  It’s only been 7 days since the first purchase.  7 Days.  I should probably be a little ashamed, but I’m kinda not.  I’ve got 3 more projects that I badly want to knit.  Yep, the knitting mojo is back.  Seriously, I’ve had to place a self-imposed limit on myself.  1 project for the car (traffic lights and trains = many stitches knit), 1 sock to go anywhere, 1 large project, and 1 just for fun.  

Here’s the breakdown: 1 project for the car = the bagstopper.  Its big needles and mindless pattern make for great red light knitting.  1 sock to go anywhere = I’ve been knitting on one pair of socks for over a year.  Shameful.  First sock is done, I’ll be finishing the second soon.  1 large project = Sweater (see below).  1 just for fun = um, I had to fit in the wisp somewhere since I had already started it with the silk wonderfulness.  4 projects at one time.  I can’t cast-on until I finish something.  Of course as most of you know I have several projects that have been chillin’ on the needles among all my WIPs for a long time.  One of which is the Noro blanket.  I’m not taking off the needles, but I’m just counting it either.  I’ll get to it, but cut me some slack; it’s a blanket after all.  

Oh, the sweater.  It’s the Flared Bottom V-neck Cardigan from Cascade Yarns.  The original version was knit using Cascade Venezia which is a great wool/silk blend yarn.  I used it to make a sweater that I will not discuss at this time.  All I’m saying is “felted”.  You can probably guess the rest.  Anyway, I decided to knit this sweater using Cascade Sierra a cotton/wool blend.  Not as much sheen as the Venezia, but soft and will have great drape.  Within 4 days I had 5”, not much as compared to what I used to knit but pretty good considering I can only really knit once Nuggy has gone to sleep.  

To wrap up this post…The knitting/spinning Mojo is back.  Oh, I didn’t even talk about the spinning…next time.  

.

ideas and innovations

It’s all about ideas and innovations.  But without time and money it seems that these two things are a bit harder to achieve.  Maybe not the ideas.  Those are the free part.  The hard part is the innovation which takes experimentation which is where the funds are needed.  Time is another challenge.  With a full time job to support the funds needed for the experimentation/innovations time for the experimentation/innovations is limited.  Thus I wait.  I do the small things that build up to the big things.  I outline.  I keep notes.  I plan (in my head, thus the need for the note taking.)  I research.  I wait.  
Speaking of waiting, I can’t wait for my parent’s muscadine grape vine to produce grapes this year.  I used to eat the grapes from this vine as a kid.  It is over 30 years old.  It wasn’t tended to properly as a grape vine, just allowed to do it’s natural meandering up and down a chain link fence.  I never really thought much about the vine as a kid, it was just always there.  I never even conceived of making wine from it.  It wasn’t until around 2000 when I took a trip to the Lakeridge Winery did I even think about this grape as anything other than just a vine in my backyard that I ate grapes from.  So now that I’m making mead, I’m excited to pair the grapes with the mead in what is called pyment.  Here’s my dilemma.  I tend to fuss with things and I’m having a really hard time not fussing with the vine.  I know nothing about viniculture.  If I start messing with it I’m afraid I’ll kill it or ruin it.  I keep telling myself to just leave it alone.  It has been there for over 30 years without my intervention, it doesn’t need me now.  Let me tell you, I’m so very excited.  Can’t ya tell?  I feel like I found a hidden treasure in an attic only this one is in a backyard.  Back to the ideas.  One idea (depending on the yield) is to do two versions of muscadine pyment.  1 using some grapes at the peak of ripeness (not a proper phrase I’m sure), and 1 using grapes that are a little past peak.  I’m wondering if like some dessert wine which use grapes that are overripe because of the concentration of sugars, I wonder if using these in mead will have the same effect.  With ideas come concerns.  I’m debating with myself over the juicing options.  Three options that I can think of.  Two of which are very similar.  First, putting the grapes threw the juicer.  Second, mashing up the grapes.  Third, mashing the grapes and then boiling.  I’m a little concerned with the boiling thing, I don’t boil anything in my mead so I just don’t want to go that route.  Idea juice or Idea mash?  Keeping in mind that I will have limited supply of grapes so I have to decide one way or the other.  
I could go on and on but I'm tired and will not bore you any longer.


.

walk before you crawl

Turn back now if you think this is about Nuggy.  It's not.  It's about me.  Be forewarned. 

Bottles.  Labels.  Carboys.  Tastings.  Corks.  See how I walk before I crawl.  The first jug of mead hasn’t even finished its primary fermentation and I already have dreams of a brand of mead that I can take to tastings and competitions and even sell.  Oh and then I’ll start a meadery…see how I get.   I’m already designing a label and thinking of names and slogans.  It’s all laid out in my head.  Why? I’ve wanted to own my own company for a long long time.  I think I’m just predestined to be a small business owner.  My first grand plan was to open a gourmet dog cookie shop.  I know, you don’t have to say anything.  Next was to own a small yarn shop.  Then I did have a small business.  “1,000 Petals” is my yarn/fiber dying company.  This has fallen to the wayside since becoming pregnant and having a baby.  Although I did love the creative process of color combos it was so time consuming to produce such a small inventory.  I’ve also had numerous ideas along the way, too many to name or even remember.  

Now…Mead.  Out of all the different forms of wine I’ve tried mead is my favorite.  Well, this and Ice Wine.  Side note: Mead is a wine made primarily from honey, water, and yeast.  From my initial research I believe that the upstart $$ for this hobby is fairly inexpensive.  As a matter of fact what should be the first 4 bottles cost under $20 to produce.  Can’t beat that.  I’ve already found a local raw honey producer.  Now, a bit of practicality, this will probably never be anything more than a hobby which is perfectly satisfying to me.  I think some bottles of mead made by hand will make nice gifts.   But does it really hurt to dream and plan for something that might happen.  And to be honest, if I really want this to happen I will make it happen.  So here are some of my big business ideas. 

I want this to be fun.  Thus the name: Bad Ass Hive Mead.  Slogan: “My honey can kick your honey’s ass”.  I’m hoping a friend of mine can come up with some art for this idea.  He does some really cool robot type stuff and I think it would be interesting to see what he could do with this idea. 

Aside from the fun design and conceptual stuff, I have some experimenting to do.  Mead, like wine, can be dry or sweet depending on several variances.  One of these variances is the type of yeast.  First experiment will be with 4 different yeast.  I’m also going to experiment with fruits, making the mead a “Melomel”.  Melomel is defined as mead fermented with fruit added to the honey during primary fermentation. 

Now, most people know that I’m pretty impatient.  You didn’t really think I could wait a year before having the first glass of mead.  Thank god for short or quick meads.  These can be ready in a matter of a few weeks.  They are not going to be anything special or spectacular, I know this.  But they will be homemead.  Get it…homemead instead of homemade? 

daydreamin from a cubicle

Why can’t we survive on only 4 hrs a day sleep? If I only had to sleep for 4 hrs a night I would get lots and lots done. It was a long night with the Nugget last night and the sleep fairy was no where to be found. She can be such a bitchh sometimes. She was probably off sprinkling sleep dust onto some teenage boy who had been up for 32 hrs playing WOW (World of Warcraft) while neglecting all us sleep deprived parents. Is WOW even a cool game to play anymore? Doesn’t matter. Anyway, I was sitting at my desk at work yesterday and while doing a very boring part of my job I started daydreaming about things I would like to be doing. Side Note: Does it really make me a bad employee for daydreaming at work or an honest person for admitting to doing something that we all do on occasion? So, I got to thinking about cooking, knitting, playing, relaxing, etc, the list goes on and on. You ever notice sometimes how weird a train of thought can be? How one thing can lead to another? Well, today I was thinking about “The Next Food Network Star” finale. Congrats to Aarti Sequeira! who had/has her own online cooking show and blog called Aarti Paarti. We (Paul and I) were so happy when she won. I recently found her show and blog and I’ve been catching up with past episode. Anyway, in one of her episodes she mentioned something about a type of frozen dessert called Kulfi from India. I thought she said coffee, so I started thinking about coffee. Now hang on for this train of thought. Here we go. She said Kulfi, I thought she said coffee and thought about hanging out at the coffee shop and visiting with friends. I’m southern and we call it visiting. I then thought about how I used to do a lot of visiting while knitting but the knitting mojo has been lacking recently. Then I contemplated that maybe the reason for the lack of interest in knitting is due to the absurdly hot weather we’ve been having. This made me thankful that I cut my hair short so that I can still be slightly stylish with my hair down instead of in a twist or crappy ponytail. It was so long that I couldn’t even do a stylish ponytail or twist, it was just a “keep this mop out of my face” deally.

Then I started thinking that I could knit a cutesy little beret/slouchy hat type hat which by-the-way Aarti wore super cute one in one of her episodes. This gave me a little spark of interest in knitting, thinking that it would be good for when it does eventfully get cooler. While wondering what type of yarn to knit this conceptual beret out of I started going through my mental index of yarn choices that I have in my craft room. Which led back to an idea I had last week for doing an open house of sorts to get rid of some of my crafting accumulations and get all my crafting stuff into one closet instead of one room. This led me to thinking about what I would like to do with the extra room and thinking about how it would be nice to have a spare bedroom for overnight guest or moving Nugget into a bigger room and making the smaller room into a guest bedroom/playroom. Then I thought about how much fun it would be to have people over more often to hang out with and cook for, so now I’m planning (in my head of course) a really cute guest bedroom. Not that having someone over for dinner would mean they would need a bedroom…weird, right. This led me to think about recipes I would like to try. And so on and so on… this could go on for another hour. The point. Is there a point? I know I had a point when I started. Well, here is what I go out of it. I would like to entertain more. I want to knit a lacy beret. I would like to fix up a guest bedroom. I would like to try making fish tacos (Aarti made them which made me think of another fish taco recipe I saw and how good fish tacos look). Now, this is why I need to survive on only 4 hrs of sleep of day.




.