Laying down in a bed of clover is such a picturesque thing to do, don’t you agree? But, beware: lying in a bed of clover for the sake of your photographs, may result in your stomach getting covered in bug bites!
I didn’t realize that I was getting bitten while we were taking these photos, it was only after when the bites started itching that I realized that I had eleven bites! I suppose I should have foreseen this happening, but I didn’t even think about it! But, even though the bites were rather uncomfortable for several days, it was worth it, because it was actually rather fun lying in the sweetly scented clover, listening to the hum of bumblebees. Next time I just won’t wear a tie-front shirt, I guess.
As for this outfit, I really don’t have anything new to say about it. This is the dutch wax skirt I sewed up last year, which has proven to be a wardrobe staple. I always reach for this skirt, (and my floral one of the same style) as it is surprisingly versatile even with the crazy dutch wax print, and goes with so many of my separates and accessories. For this particular outfit, I paired it with a navy blue tie-front blouse and pearls. I am always hesitant to share outfits that don’t really have anything “new” in them, but I don’t know why. I enjoy seeing how other people remix their outfits and I don’t even usually notice that they have shown that blouse six times before, so I’m not sure why I place such a stipulation on myself? It’s not as though I have a massive wardrobe with endlessly new outfits for every new occasion. Though if I ever got around to finishing up all my sewing projects I might!
Do you have certain items you always reach for when getting dressed? Have you ever gone and laid in the grass and ended up regretting it!? 😉
(you can totally see my sunburn, which turned into a tan line, in the photo on the right! 🙂 haha!)
Oh! Could it be the postman at the door? I am not expecting anything, yet I can’t be sure. . .
There among the parcels, is a letter addressed to me! Folded and sealed- who is it from? What could it be?
It is poetry written in letters so fair, with sweet phrases meant only for us two to share. . .
And though he is absent, his words are so dear; I whisper them softly and he seems to be near . . .
So here among the garden hedge, only the flowers and me,
I read those secrets that will secrets remain, and remember them pleasantly.
This, dear readers is an exciting day for me, because this is the post that almost wasn’t.
I had an idea to dress up and do a themed photo shoot last month, since the lilacs were in full and glorious bloom and I wanted to take advantage of it somehow (and also I haven’t done a “dress up” post in a while). However, despite the fact that I thought we would be able to get some pretty fun photographs, everything seemed to be against me and my sister, who was helping to take the photos. We battled the sun shining where it oughtn’t to have, the attack of the killer mosquitoes, the hot day that had not yet cooled off, despite the fact that it was heading into evening, and the gale force winds that came up just as soon as we stepped outside. We conquered the elements, but once we managed to get a few photographs, my camera battery died. So, fortunately we were able to switch to using my sister’s camera, but then my memory card which has been having problems lately, started saying that it was full (when it wasn’t) and so we kept having to delete outtakes as we went along (which you are not supposed to do directly from your camera). Well, finally we managed to get our photographs, and we weren’t too mosquito bitten either!
We looked over the photographs, and I saved them off of my memory card. Then, I did a bit of research to see what was causing the problem with my card. I discovered that it probably needed to be reformatted on my computer and not just my camera. So I erased the memory card clean with the disk utility on my computer, and then reformatted it on my camera for good measure. Every step of the way, the computer and camera asked me “Are you SURE you want to delete all photos/data on this card”. I kept clicking “yes”. Well, you can probably see where I am going with this story. . .
I was visiting my friend a couple of weeks ago, and wanted to show her the photos, but when I went to pull up the lilacs photos on my external harddrive- they weren’t there. They weren’t there! That was one of those moments where your heart drops right out of your chest and settles somewhere down around your feet. I searched through everysinglefolder; even the folders from nine years ago, but the photos were not there. I looked through the folders on my computer too, in case somehow they had got dropped in a different location. I was pretty heartbroken over it (as much as you can be about photographs, I mean) but then I just had to accept that they were gone forever. Remember how I erased that memory card?
Well, once I got home, my sister suggested that I look in my iphoto folders. It didn’t make any sense that they would be there, because I don’t use iphoto all that often, and I always upload my images straight to my harddrive for safekeeping. I had already looked before, in my recent iphoto folder uploads, but they weren’t there. However, when I looked under “events”, what should appear before my eyes but the very photos I had despaired of never seeing again! I didn’t tear up when I thought I had lost the photos, but I did when I found them again! My sister can vouch for my excitement upon finding them!
So, I have no idea how those photos were mislaid and managed to find their way to the iphoto folders, but I am so glad that they did. And the moral of the story today is, don’t change up your routine and put photos in one place, when you always put them somewhere else. And, double and triple and quadruple check that you have your photographs saved, BEFORE you erase your memory card clean!
Have you ever lost photographs due to a technical error, or were you able to get them back somehow?
(ps- I don’t have a “him” in my life right now, so this is all entirely make believe, but wouldn’t it be sweet to read love letters amongst the lilacs? Also, that “letter” is a handwritten poem I found online, called “Night” written for “Miss Mary L. Jacob’s Album” by “A.G. Archer Henry”. So who knows, maybe it was a “love letter” after all?)
Hello everyone! It’s just been one of those weeks, where you seem to be running the entire time, but when you get to Friday, you look back and are not really sure what you did, since nothing seems to be checked off of your list, and yet you know that you were occupied with something during that time. . . Here it is already Friday, and I haven’t even had a chance to get a blog post up until now!
The past couple of months have really seemed to be very busy for me, for some reason. My photos from the past couple of months, when I looked through them, are mainly of a few things: snapshots of my artwork in progress, photos where I was testing out new photography techniques and playing with my lenses, and lots and lots of photos documenting this changing of seasons from Winter to Spring.
It feels like I am going through a bit of a “change of seasons” right now in my life too. Lately it seems like I have been running around in circles, trying to do everything, but not getting much accomplished. I seem to have lost my rhythm somewhere along the way, and in pouring more of my energies towards my artwork, (and starting a creative business) I have in turn been neglecting other areas of my life, like this blog, and my sewing and other crafts, and even, dare I say it, fashion.
I am finding it difficult to balance my all of my interests and responsibilities. By focusing more of my time into my artwork, I have taken my focus away from other things, like reading blogs, sewing, and crafting. I have tons of ideas of things I want to do- blog posts, clothes to make, illustrations to paint, hats to create, work to do, and the list goes on, but- alas- there are only 24 hours in the day. Finding the balance between all the things I want to do, and all the things that I can realistically do is hard. I’ve never been good at multitasking! I think I need to take some time to refocus and narrow down what is really important: the personal things I should be prioritizing, like studying my Bible, focusing on my health, being a good employee at my paid job, and even taking time for simple things like reading books (remember those things???).
Maybe I’m just feeling this way because I am tired and it is 11:30 at night and I am trying to get this blog post published before the clock strikes 12! So, before I risk rambling on ad naseum, I will just end this now. 🙂
Do you have a difficult time balancing all the things you want to do and don’t have time for? How do you find a balance between prioritizing the important things, and yet still enjoying the less important things?
Spending time on some new artworks, and a happy sight: a brand new pack of pens!
Always make some time for some tea and letter writing.
We got a Spring snowstorm, then a few days later saw these crocuses popping up at my Grandma’s house.
Testing out my 1.8 f/stop with a pencil box and Barbie. That blurred background is making me all heart eyes 🙂 ❤
Remember that rime frost that I posted back in November? Well, these pictures were taken the very next day. One day the cold fog blew in and froze the world into a beautiful sparkling white wonderland, and the next, the sun came out from behind the clouds and melted it all away.
Rarely have I seen as beautiful sight as a bright sky blue backdrop behind frosty white trees glittering in the sunlight. I was glad when I noticed that the sun was peeking out that day, because by the end of the day, the frost had completely melted off, and we were left with bare branches again. But we didn’t have the bare branches for long, as the area I live in is very foggy, so we are always guaranteed some good winter frosts. In fact, the frost blew in a couple of days ago and the world is encased in sparkling diamonds again. I don’t think the frost will melt off for quite a while either, as we are currently in very cold temperatures (-30 degrees Celsius right now!) so unless there is a strong wind, it’s going to last for a while. In weather like this, I’m happy to look out my window and enjoy the view, without feeling the need to brave the cold in order to get some photographs! Photos would be nice but. . . 😉
Sometimes, when you get up and look out the window as you start a new day, you just think “Wow” and quickly grab a coat and your camera and run out the door to take pictures. Sometimes you are even in such a rush that you don’t grab a touque or gloves, and once you get out the door you realize just how cold that wind is too. But, the sacrifices one must make, are totally worth it on days like this. 😉 These photos are from a week ago, when we had such an incredibly beautiful few days of frost. I recently discovered the differences between “hoar frost’ and “rime frost”, and all these years what I thought was hoar frost, is actually rime frost. Rime frost is when water droplets, usually from a heavy fog, freeze to the outer surfaces of objects creating a white hard ice. It is often blown in with a wind and sometimes creates bizarre ice formations. Hoar frost is when frost grains grow larger than a regular frost, and is common around open areas of water.
The pictures I got on this day are of a heavy rime frost, when the world was white and beautiful. The fog was still in close too, and it created such a soft, quiet and eerie atmosphere. The frost has since melted off, as soon as the sunshine came out the next day, but it was amazing to see for the few days it was here.
Here you can see how the wind blew the fog in from one direction, creating the horizontal ice formations.
It’s Narnia! Ok, it’s not a lamppost, but close. . .
Here you can see that the pine tree was not completely covered in ice higher up, as the fog must have not swirled in that direction.
Have you ever seen a rime frost? Or a hoar frost?
Ps. You may have noticed that I have not been as active on here lately, or on the internet in general. I have been pretty overwhelmed,stressed, driven insane, busy getting ready for the Christmas craft sales I mentioned I would be in a few months ago, but with one down, and only one more to go (this Saturday), I am hoping that life will be back to “normal” soon. Although, then we’ll be right into Christmas time and so perhaps things won’t slow down at all. . . . 😉
