Blogging

I'm actually very relieved this little blog of mine doesn't have many, if any viewers. I used to blog prolifically on another much more private forum.

The words just used to pour out of me. I decided to start up another blog here as I really needed a fresh start. However as soon as I did that the words stopped pouring.

There were many reasons for that. Mainly that the big events in my life suddenly became something I wanted to keep incredibly private and those same events were all encompassing. I couldn't write enthusiastically about stuff publicly that I desperately wanted to keep private, and I couldn't think of anything else worth writing about.

I also started to explore photography via Instagram. That was a huge turning point for me. I found I thoroughly enjoyed that. It was something I found I loved learning about. It doesn't seem to expend so much of my energy. So I poured most of my creativity into that.

Energy is something I have to treasure and spend very wisely. I have a condition called Mastocytosis. I try and not go on about it, but it is a difficult condition to live with. It's a chronic illness affecting my mast cells and in turn affects every single system in my body. I'll do a post at some point explaining it.

The upshot is that although I love blogging, this one doesn't have the same flow as my old one. I'm sad about that. But I'm very happy that I'm blogging at my worst into an abyss. No one or very few people are reading this.

That could make me feel a wee bit pathetic or indeed, I could look on the positive side and see it as very freeing.

One of my New Resolutions is to try and be more creative in many ways.

I'm possibly doing the most basic and primitive creative things this year.

I'm having a baby. 

I haven't really mentioned that online as I have some family members whom I don't wish involved, I don't think they do either to be honest. (But I have a feeling they snoop.) That sounds so harsh, but honestly it's for the best. I just feel so protective over the life that growing and surviving inside me. I just want loving and positive thoughts heading towards the baby.

This isn't my first pregnancy, but as I put it, it's the one that has made it the furthest so far.  I have kept it extremely quiet as I can't quite believe that everything will be okay.  My masto can make life difficult and as I had to change my meds over the last few years as we were trying, my health hasn't been the best. Oddly this pregnancy has been smooth, but the masto side of it hasn't. So I battened down my emotional hatches and tried to do what I had to do to get through it all. On some days that felt like all I did was sleep!!

But as my time draws near I refuse to live under the worry I'm jinxing myself by mentioning it. I'm having a baby. It's really happening.

It's very scary to write this on such a potentially public forum. Which is why I'm glad I have so little traffic on this part of the blogging highway. Highway, Ha! it's more a farm track.

However I know that many bloggers have started because they became new mums and needed a grownup outlet. That and I'll like a wee record of this year. This year that, no matter what the outcome is, will be life changing.

I'll leave this here. This wasn't the post I intended to write but that's okay. I'll come back to that one later.

oh,

Happy New Year!!!

Colour and Crochet

I love this time of year. I really do. And mainly it's because of the colour that seems to explode from nature.

I've been in heaven with my camera.

I seem to be obsessed with leaves and berries.

My garden is just full of colour. I feel like I'm seeing it for the first time this year. I must have missed it last year.

I'm still recovering from that 'lurgy'. It's been lingering for way too long, but I'm hoping I'm on the mend now.

The result of that is that I've not been particularily productive I'm still plodding along with my current WIP, my autumnal Granny Blanket.

 It's not a complicated pattern and I like the mindless repetition of it all.  I'm enjoying and plan to spend the afternoon indulging in some hooky goodness.

I really liked the photo with the pink flowers and have stored that away for a possible future project.

However I have had this particular stash of wool for a few months now.

 
I'm determined to finish the autumnal blanket first. But can't wait to play with all this wool!!

Hidden Treasures.

I think I mentioned before that I am getting quite obsessed about photography. In a strictly amateur way.  I stumbled on a group of photo's on IG of something called 'Macro Photography'. It wasn't something I was that aware of before, I mean I'd seen it before but didn't really take much notice. But these photo's realy struck me.

When I got my Lumix I played around with the Macro mode and was absolutely smitten. I loved seeing things, ordinary things, from a completely fresh perspective. It was like a whole other world.

But then my husband surprised me with a macro lens for my iPhone. He does love a gadget, even vicariously. It arrived yesterday.

I'm going to digress for a wee bit now. We are both still under the weather a bit..Will this cough EVER go away?

 I had a meeting in town and we met up for dinner, Pizza Express. I love going out for anything either drinkable or edible. I get it from my gran. She always went for a cup of tea every time she went shopping. A habit I continue to this day. I get a wee thrill, even if it's a McDonalds or a greasy spoon, I still love it. I'm a simple soul.  My husband knows me well and will indulge me. I honestly couldn't face cooking so Pizza Express it was.

So as soon as we got home I was presented with my new lens. Its a 'Ztylus, Revolver Lens Attachment'.  Very simple and easy to clink onto the phone. The initial instructions were great.

After that it got a bit hazy. As in there was no other information. But You tube is an amazing thing, we soon (Well, I say 'we', really it was Mr M) found a review and after that I was flying.

This lens is better than the macro setting on my camera, at least that's my first impression.

The first pic I took was of the arm of my chair. A rather tasteful, muted, closely woven tartan cover chair (ahem). This is what happened.

We both almost recoiled in shock.

But it was getting a bit too dark and we were both exhausted and a had some stuff to do around the house. So I put it away until today.

Another wee digression, Archie is still wearing his cone of shame so requires supervision in the garden. No walks until we've had the all clear from the vet. Luckily I have a rather large rambling garden. So he's never bored and can run around with me to his wee hearts content.  He uses his cone to scoop up gravel and all sorts of stuff. I had to kiss a clump of carnations goodbye yesterday as he managed to dig 'em up and chew on them in the blink of an eye!  I've taken to having my coffee sitting on the front steps, sometimes huddled under a brolly, watching him.

So I let him play about me as  I played with my camera. Which may have added to the general fuzziness of some of these photos, he likes being the center of my world, does Archie! He's in for a shock after Christmas.

I contented myself with trying to get photo's of dew drops on the leaves.  It's not as easy as you'd think, even though it's been made as simple as is possible. But because you are taking pics of such small things every movement you make is amplified on the camera. A bit like shaky binoculars. I was attempting to take freestyle pics of plants which were moving in the breeze.  So initially I was a bit frustrated. But I managed to take some passibly good photos.

When I looked at them on my computer I could see how out of focus they were or just focused incorrectly, But that's okay. I think I'm going to enjoy practising.


I then spotted my old mossy garden wall, so off I went to see what that looked like under the macrolens.

It's a whole other planet on there. I caught pics of things I couldn't see with the naked eye. Little heart shaped funghi, tiny clumps of moss. Amazing textures and colours.

This world we live in is really a wonderful and spectacular place.

The thing I've found though with photography and with Instagram, is that so many people do take it rather seriously. I'm very obviously an amateur, I'm not trying to convey a message, find myself, tell a story or indeed present myself in any particular way. There's nothing wrong with doing any of those things in fact I'm wondering if I should, more to the point I'm wondering if I want to do that. I don't think I do.

My IG gallery is a miscellaneous collection of selfies, pics of the cats and dog, a diary of what I've been up to, including the cliched food pics, and some arty experiments. But then, I think, if you look at my gallery you'd find out a lot about me as a person.



Although at the minute it'll be inundated with close up photo's of my garden!!










 

Oh I do like to be beside the sea!

It feels like Autumn is here already. 

In many ways it is. It is my very favourite time of the year. I have never gotten out of the habit of seeing Autumn as a time of new beginnings. It's my Birthday soon so I think that contributes to my habit of starting new resolutions, hobbies and the like around this time.  

My new love appears to be amateur photography. It's easy to get hooked in this era of Instagram. I am an addict.

It all started with my OU course last year. I had to take photo's of my work and actually be imaginative. That struck fear and a sense of dread into my heart. 

I started using Instagram as a tool to practice, because goodness knows I needed to practice and I love it.

There are so many really talented people out there. I find it so inspiring. I am also in incredibly nosy individual and IG offers a peek into so many lives. 

I like I can post something and then come back later with a fresh eye and critique it. I like that friends and family can get a wee glimpse into what I've been up to or what Archie's latest escapade is. 

I love seeing photo's of the mundane right through to the spectactular..... and it makes me smile when some folk get quite snobbish about it all.   Decrying the person who loves selfies or taking pictures of their meals. 

With the arrival of Archie and forseeing the need to record events happening in life, we took the step of investing in a fancy schmancy camera. Mr Mimosa's idea really, he's been trying to buy one for the last few years but other things kept cropping up. The one he chose (I always let him pick gadgets, it's a gift he has) is a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000 a bridge camera.

To me that means there's lots of buttons and dials and things to click. I was a bit daunted to say the least. 

However slowly but surely I'm getting the hang of it. My IG feed is busy. 

But as I adore beaches and will go to one whenever I can, that means lots of beach photos....

and shell photos.....

and seaweed (with the occasional jellyfish) ...

and of course, adorable little Archie.....

All in all it's been quite a summer. I think I can sit back and think it was certainly a summer I'll never forget, but one that turned out extremely well. In fact pretty perfectly. 

I can only hope that Autumn will be as good. I'm already gearing up to go searching for photogenic golden trees, leaves and forests!