Camera Critters - Birds and a Marmot

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Took these first four shots a couple of months ago, shortly after getting my 35 mm SLR. In fact, I think it might have been the first roll of film I shot..




Such tranquil scenes...

Some of the bird life at Virginia Lake in Reno, NV. I'm lucky enough to live about a 10 minute walk away, so it's a favourite place of mine to go..

That little island, in the second photo, is known as Seagull Island and usually just resembles a large blob of gulls. I think most of them were out on the lake, the day I took that photo..



My first attempt at taking a shot of geese in flight. Definitely a tad shaky. They don't look quite as blurry on the originals, but seemed to have developed it on the upload.

I think that a telephoto lens is definitely on my shopping list .... along with a macro lens :-)

How long away is Christmas??? :-)

This was taken the other day, when I walked up to a field about a mile and half away from us. It has a colony of marmots living there, who are a source of endless entertainment.

Both photos were taken with my small point and shoot digital. I also shot two rolls of 35mm, but they're currently away being developed. Apparently, the old two day service is now a five day service!!

Sending them out to be developed, is a little cheaper than the 1 hour option.

Time to look into developing my own, methinks !! :-)


This might look like a field of rocks, but it ain't :-)

If you look about the center of the shot, you'll see the marmots head poking out of it's burrow. We spent quite a bit of time eyeballing each other !

I'm hoping the 35mm shots, will show it up a bit better..


Mr Marmot scampering around..

Well, I'm pretty sure they are marmots. Perhaps someone could verify that for me?

Now go to CAMERA CRITTERS and join in the fun.

Friday Foto Finish Fiesta - Sacha

It's Friday and it's a Fiesta !! At least it is, thanks to Candid Carrie ! :-)


One of my favourite photos of my eldest granddaughter, Sacha. (Click on the photo to get a larger version.)

It was taken, about 2 years ago, at a wedding in New Zealand. She was the proud flower girl.

I made the dress she is wearing and sent it over to her.

It almost didn't arrive, thanks to USPS. However, thanks to the courier company, that USPS uses, who went above and beyond what they had to, it made it in time..


Happily scattering flowers. :-)


This one cracks me up, every time I look at it.

My son-in-law, Chris, is doing his bit in getting Sacha ready for the wedding, by painting her toenails..

A lovely Father/Daughter moment :-)

Don't you just love that look of concentration :-)

Why You Should Never Judge A Book By It's Cover...

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to her actual performance ..

Go Forth Woman And Get On Yer Bike !!

But ... do not overdo it, especially when you're just getting back into the exercise thing !!

Yesterday, I walked about 1 1/2 miles up to this field so I could photograph some Yellow Bellied Marmots, that live there and then I walked home again. About 3 miles in all.

Then I biked over to a friend's house, who is away for a couple of days, so I could feed their dog, then I biked home again. About 4 miles in total.

Then we took our dogs for a short walk..

This morning I'm feeling it !!!


Meet my pretty pink lady.

I haven't named her yet, any suggestions ??

She's a girl's bike, 'cos I'm short and I have short legs! :-)


She's a little bit fancy, with dual suspension.

That means she has this suspension spring here and also some in the front forks ... which makes going over bumps, etc ...very nice..


And best of all, it has a lovely, big, comfortable seat, with these gel insets. Very cushy !!

In fact, this morning, my bum is about the only part of me that doesn't hurt !!

However, perseverance is the key and I know that I will eventually get back to the fitness level where stiffness, after exercising, will be fleeting.


Not that I'm going to be climbing mountains anytime soon, but you get the picture :-)

Weighty Matters Monday #3

I had a .4 of a pound , weight loss this week.

Not great, but I'll take it. At least the scales were moving in the right direction !!

I'm still fighting the comfort eating urge. I'm pretty stressed right now, for various reasons.

J, is still job hunting. He has a job interview, this morning, that he's hopeful about. I'm trying to not get too hopeful and excited about it, but at the same time be supportive. It's a very tough job market, right now..

It's also difficult having him home all the time. Don't get me wrong, I like spending time with him, but I also like my solitary time. Most of my time is spent with people and that usually involves me doing something for them or listening to them. There is not much time when I can just unwind or be quiet within me.

I am extremely homesick. I really, really want to go home. I miss my kids and I very much miss my grand kids. I haven't been very good at staying in contact, lately. Mainly because I find myself feeling a little depressed because I'm here and not there. It hurts. It's also something that I'm going to have to overcome, because not having contact is just as bad !

I'm also not very good at letting people know how I feel. I guess it's a hangup from my childhood, where I wasn't allowed to express emotion, where I was constantly told that I was no good, would never amount to anything and needed to stop whining because there were people worse off than I was..

Boy, I didn't mean to write that much..I guess there is a bit bottled up in there !! I will admit, that I am very tempted to delete most of the above, however, that again is something that I need to stop doing. Keeping it all inside me is not helping my stress levels, which in turn is playing havoc with my weight loss and my health..

Writing this down is one way of figuring out what is going on with me and how to strategise it..

I've been doing a little reading lately, about stress and it's affect on weight. This article has a lot of interesting information and links in it, on why stress may lead to weight gain and how to begin to combat that. I'm going to work on following some of the suggestions. Interestingly, journaling is one of them and writing down some of the stuff that is bugging me, is certainly helpful..

Janine, a blogger I follow, at Journey To A Mini Me is a real inspiration to me. She has lost an impressive amount of weight after WLS. Way to go, Janine !!!

Recently, she challenged her readers to make four promises to themselves. There were four beginning statements, that were the base of these promises. They could be about weight loss or other things in your life. So these are mine. The beginning statements are in red .

I CAN lose weight and achieve my goals in life.

I WILL take steps, even if they are small ones, each day to achieve those goals.

I WANT to move forward and get out of this rut I'm currently in. I know that I CAN do this because I AM stronger than I give myself credit for.

I WON'T let myself down anymore.

I now challenge you to write 4 statements about yourself, using the first two red words, in each statement. You can also add 'I' statements, as I did in the third one :-)

Okay, now I'm off to have a shower and then I'm going to walk up to this area,


Which is about a mile and a half, from where I live and photograph a colony of marmots that live there.

What have you planned for your day ?

Camera Critters - At The River

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I recently bought myself a OM-G SLR 35mm camera and have set myself the challenge of going back to the basics and learning good, old-fashioned film photography.

Unfortunately there is not much in the way of classes for 35mm in our area, as people are turning to digital, so it's turning out to be very much trial and error !!!

But I'm having fun doing it :-)

The following photos are all unedited, except for some cropping on one. My next challenge will be figuring out how to use GIMP... :-)

The details come out better if you click on them to enlarge .... I found things I'd missed the first time..

These were all taken down at the Truckee River, in Reno.


I had the aperture set wrong on this one, which is why I think the ducks are so dark. However I love the way it's captured the choppy water and the reflection of the buildings above..




Watched these two for awhile. They were catching and eating something in the water. It was fascinating watching them ride the wind stirred water...


The Truckee River is very cold at this time of the year, as it is fed by snow melt from the mountains surrounding us.

Despite that, this young lady was having the time of her life chasing stones that her master would skim across the water for her.

I had to laugh at the look on her face though, when she realised that the stone that he had just thrown her, was indistinguishable from all the rest in the river bed. :-)


She went bounding through the water, kicking up clouds of white spray. So enthusiastic.

When I was looking at the photo after I'd clicked on it, I noticed that there is a goose standing on the other side of the river, keeping an eye on what is going on.

Now go to CAMERA CRITTERS and join in the fun.

Friday Foto Finish Fiesta - Down By The River

It's Friday and it's a Fiesta !! At least it is, thanks to Candid Carrie ! :-)

Monday was a beautiful day, so after visiting the DMV, we meandered down to the Truckee River.

I had fun playing with with my 35mm SLR film camera. Still trying to get the hang of it, but I thought some of the shots came out fairly well, despite me having the F-stops wrong...

But, that's all the fun of learning !!!

For most of the photos, you can get better detail if you click on the photo.


The hubby looking contemplatively at the river.

I messed around with the colour on this one, with a photo editing program and still haven't got it right ...


We stood and watched these kayaks, for ages.


Isn't the water a beautiful blue !!

It was darn cold though as it is snow melt that feeds the river. Despite that there were a couple of kids playing in the river. BRRRRRRRRRRRR !!


Looking across at the kayaks playing in the water. It was fascinating watching them flip in the white water..


This fellow was taking quiet nap in the sun.

Sadly he is one of the many homeless that we have in the area.

Many of them are mentally ill and there are not enough beds in the shelters for them. Programs that were in place to help them, have now been discontinued because of the current economic climate.

Sometimes I just have to shake my head...

My Kiwi accent got me into trouble ... again ...

I stopped in at my local fast food joint, at lunch time, to get something to eat.

The ensuring conversation, between me and the counter person (CP) went something like this...

Me ... ' I'll have a Caesar Salad with FF French dressing and a bottle of water,
please'

CP ... ' That will be $2.80, thank you. '

Simple. Right?

Then I noticed that he was filling one of their drink cups up with ice.

Me ... ' No, I didn't want it in a cup. I want bottled water. '

CP ... ' You want what? '

Me ... ' I want bottled water. '

CP ... ' Sorry, Ma'am I don't understand you. '

Me ... ' I want a bottle of water. '

At this point, one of his co-workers came over and asked me what I wanted ..

Me ... (feeling mildly frustrated) ' I want a bottle of water. '

They both looked at me blankly as though I was speaking a foreign language..

Me ... (very slowly and clearly) ' A__ B_O_T_T_L_E__ O_F __W_A_T_E_R .'

They both looked at each other..

CP2 ... 'You want the bathroom ?'

Me ... (wondering how I could pantomime a bottle of water) ' No, I want a bottle with water in it. '

More blank looks from both of them ...

Then I had a minor brain wave ..

Me ... (pointing at menu board) 'Look, Dasani bottled water - $1.49. '

Big smiles from CP 1 & 2 ...

CP ... ' You want a bottle of water. '

Sheeeesh ...Isn't that what I've been trying to tell you for the last five minutes!!

Mind you, it didn't end there. I phoned the hubby to tell him about the conversation and he thought I was saying 'Mushrooms and water' ...

Sighhhhh ... though I'll put that one down to cellphone reception and give him the benefit of the doubt...

Honestly, I don't think my accent is all that pronounced. This link takes you to a previous post of mine, where I was trying to tell a 911 operator where a DV incident was taking place.

It has a little video on it, where you can hear the sound of my voice. Admittedly, am speaking slowly and precisely...but .. well, you be the judge :-)

I Finished It !!!

I actually finished about three weeks ago, however, I hate sewing my knitting together, so that part has taken a little longer..


I'm not 100% happy with the way the collar sits, so I think I'll probably unpick the stitching and sew that part up again.


I've already started on my next project.

The yarn is a pretty Rose Heather 100% wool and the pattern is an interesting Arran. Fairly plain, but with an intricate cable knot..

I had started another sweater in the same yarn and had completed the front and one arm, but really wasn't enjoying knitting the pattern, so started this one instead.

I'd also love to master the Intarsia method of knitting. It's a little different than Fair Isle Knitting. It's sort of like making an mosaic or an inlaid floor..

Some of my favourites for this style are ....

Kaffe Fassett who uses a variety of colour in mainly geometric designs






Or Kim Hargreaves, who has some wonderful tapestry/painting like designs..



I'm a sucker for Dragons, so I'd love to do that jacket on the left...

Both of them use interesting textures in their designs as well. They're not knitted with just one particular yarn, but a variety that compliment each other..

I'm also pulling out my sewing machine, with the intention of finishing some sewing projects that I have sitting around ... and getting into quilting.

All with the aim of keeping my hands and mind busy, which should distract me from food!! :-)

So what craft projects have you got going on ?

Would appreciate prayers and good thoughts at the moment. The hubby is out putting his resume out for some jobs that look hopeful. It's been 4 months since he was laid off. Definitely a tough job market out there.. :-(

Weighty Matters Monday #2

Okay, I have good news and bad news...



The good news is that I didn't gain any weight ...

The bad news is that I didn't lose any either ...

It's been and up and down week.

I've done pretty well on making sure that I keep up my fluid intake, an area where I was having a problem. I've certainly been feeling better, physically, because of that.

There were a couple of days, where I found myself getting into that vicious, mindless, eating cycle. Partially through boredom, but mainly because of stress.

Fortunately, most of the food I have in the house, currently, is 'good for you food' ...so I guess there is some conselation in the fact that while I over ate, it was in the 'good food' category. I do also get that it really is not a good thing, though and I am back on track, stress and all!

I also went for a couple of good walks. Took my camera SLR 35 mm camera along, as one of my aims is to work on mastering the art of 35mm film photography.

I shot a roll of black and white film, as well as a couple of rolls of colour. I'm looking forward to seeing how they turn out, especially the B&W.

My aims for this week...

* Keep up my fluid intake.

* Find something else to do when I find myself in the comfort eating cycle.

* Get daily exercise.

What do you do to distract yourself when you find yourself wandering around looking for something to midlessly eat, otherwise known as 'grazing' ??

Okay, onwards to a better week, at least weight loss wise !! :-)

Camera Critters - Meandering Around The Lake

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HAPPY CAMERA CRITTERS ANNIVERSARY, EVERYONE !!!

We are fortunate to have a small lake, less than a 10 minute walk from home. It's one of my favourite places for watching the local wild life...

I wandered over on Tuesday, to get some practice in on the 35mm SLR I bought. I far prefer the crispness that film photography gives, however, the downside is that you have to wait for the film to be developed!

These shots were taken with my digital camera ..



I happened to glance to my side as I was walking and noticed this pretty, little, lady keeping pace with me. She posed obligingly so I could snap this pic.


This handsome fella, dogged my footsteps for awhile. I think he was hoping that I'd hand out a bit more food..


Sadly the lake appears to be falling victim to our current water woes. The water normally comes up to that line of rocks in lower, left, foreground..


This would normally be a stream, feeding into the lake, that is usually full of ducks.

After a fairly dry Winter, we have had a series of good, wet, late Winter/early Spring storms, so hopefully that will mean the stream will be running with water, again, very soon !!

Now go to CAMERA CRITTERS and join in the fun.

Friday Foto Finish Fiesta - Spring Has Sprung !!!

Or has it ?

Yesterday, when I went for walk ...


The sky was a brilliant blue, with white puffy clouds ...


The trees were reclothing themselves in green ..


The blossoms were blooming ...

However, this morning ..


' MUM !!! The white stuff is back !!! '

Oh, what a difference a day makes ....

It's Friday and it's a Fiesta !! At least it is, thanks to Candid Carrie ! :-)