Well, I am hardly a “girl” anymore. Maybe you’re thinking that the title should read “Give that woman a camera.” Since I never had any children I still consider myself a girl. So there.

Take my camera away from me and I feel naked. Stripped. Even if I find nothing over the course of a day to take a photo of, the feeling of loss is the same. Rick took my camera to work a few weeks back to experiment mounting and using my lenses with their {company hi-speed} cameras. I felt weird all day long. I sent him at least three or four strident messages by chat in the afternoon. Don’t forget my camera. Please. How can one become so attached to an inanimate object like that where you can feel its loss?

Some people quilt, sew, or knit and they are passionate about it. I knit, dabble with embroidery, and am starting to learn how to hook rugs, and while I enjoy doing all of them, I am not passionate about any one of those things. For me it’s photography. The camera has become my way of expressing myself. Like I’ve said before, whether I’m good or bad does not really enter into it. As long as I am satisfied with my photography results, enough said. I’ve expressed myself in my own unique way. Many of you have been kind enough to comment on my photographs, and to that I would like to send out my thanks to you all. I am glad you enjoy them. I am not a professional. In fact, pretty far from it. I think I might have a good eye, but my skills are sadly lacking for taking photos off the auto modes. I’ve been trying hard to correct that, but when the dogs are romping through the snow, I grab the telephoto and set the camera to sports. I can’t think fast enough to get a good image without auto mode. Is this a bad thing??

What I really should do is take an in-depth class, but instead I rely on a few books. Let me tell you, I am NOT good at reading and acting on what I read. I’d be much better off with a hands-on class but that isn’t going to happen anytime soon. Normally those kinds of adult education classes are held at night. I don’t want to go to classes at night since we live so far away from a decent sized city and I don’t do well at venturing out at night. I am a homebody at heart, and I want to be home at night and not out by myself. So, I struggle with myself. Take decent photos on the auto modes or experiment off them? I’m trying to wean myself away, but mostly I find I don’t have the time to compose a shot manually. Lazy, I guess.

I tried using Rick’s old camera with its metering system as a way to help me, but the metering system in those old film cameras is very different from the new digital ones, so the same shutter speed and aperture settings in the old camera did not carry over to my Rebel. So disappointing.

I recently bought this book seeking some guidance and I really like his writing style. What he says just makes sense to me. He doesn’t talk over your head, and at the end of each chapter he gives different assignments to practice what you’ve learned.

I also can’t get rid of any of my old cameras, all of them film. I did gift my first digital Rebel to my friend Carolyn when I got this camera. And when I get my new Rebel for Christmas this year that also takes video (hint, hint, Rick—are you reading this?) I will probably sell this Rebel. At least the camera body but maybe not all the lenses. I have at least three old Minolta film cameras withering away downstairs. How can I get rid of them? They are now vintage!

I have one digital camera, a cross between a point-and-shoot and a DSLR, that I need to list on eBay. I bought it because it was highly recommended by a good friend who is a photographer and it had great user reviews. It was kind of strange because I struggled with that camera. Rick looked me straight in the eye one day and said “You know, I don’t think the photos you are taking with that camera are as good as what you’ve done before.” For whatever reason, that camera and I just didn’t jive. I’m not quite sure why.

This fun little camera and I get along just fine. I got this one for Christmas.

It’s an instant camera made by Fuji like the old Polaraids that are now extinct. It gives tiny credit card size instant prints. We mostly use it for impromptu photos of the dogs and cats when they do something cute, so it sits on our countertop near the phone in the kitchen for easy grabbing. Pull out the lens to turn it on, get your subject in the frame and click the button. Out pops your print from the top of the camera!

I don’t know exactly when I knew I liked taking photographs. Probably after I left my first husband. I spent a lot of time with the old Minolta as a way to fill time on the weekends living on my own. You might have found me at Flatiron Reservoir, up the Big Thompson or Poudre Canyon hunched over some flower or other. I took the best photos with that camera. I entered a photo contest sponsored by our local camera store in Loveland, Colorado (Western Camera) and Hugh (the owner) was sweet enough to comment on my photo and encourage me. It was a photo of a rose growing in my flower garden. My father also encouraged me and helped me grow within this time frame as he was always a good photographer, but as an artist, he mostly took photos so he could paint from them. Not for the sake of photography itself.

The rose photo that started my obsession with a camera, scanned in from original.

I was always drawn to flowers and macro photography from the start. I can’t say why. People don’t really interest me that much, but nature does. Maybe because nature does not pose, nor does it realize you are trying to capture its image. It’s pure; unadulterated.

Some of those early photos I took still hang on the walls of my house, just like they helped to decorate my nearly bare apartment that was furnished with a king-size waterbed, an old couch, and large, empty wire spools that served as end tables and dining table.

When I started this post all I really wanted to say was that I am not complete without my camera, and look at all the other stuff that spilled out as I typed. Things I had not really thought about in years. Interesting ...

Ideas for blog entries radiate out from my mind like the spokes of a wheel. Which way to go? Which one to choose? I think about them all: Bella wants computer time; Pookie would like to be talked about; the Paul Revere curtains are all photographed and waiting for their moment; I finished my slippers; I started my rug (hooking); and probably more, but these are the ones foremost in my mind right now. I sit down to write and nothing comes out.

I hope that one of those will find their way into a slot so I can move forward. Soon.

It’s both of those things out there this morning. Not only is it pouring rain, but the wind is howling and the trees are doing a frenetic dance to its tune. The rain is being lashed against the windows. By looking at it out there you’d expect it to be really cold. But it’s 51 freakin’ degrees! Yesterday it never got above 33 degrees during the daylight hours. Cold and damp, too. If it had stayed cold we’d be having a blizzard.

It’s not really cold enough to have a fire going, but I started one anyway. It makes me feel better. I liked this rather creepy reflection of the fire and the rattan chairs in the sun room. Do you see Mrs. Cardinal on the bird feeder? Poor thing!

I am going to hunker down inside today. No way am I going out in that gale. I’ve already got the ingredients for dinner, (either Chicken Fingers with Chipotle-Honey sauce or Cornflake Crusted Chicken Fingers with coleslaw) so no need to do any grocery shopping. I am almost finished with my slippers and I hope to finish them up. Just one more sole to go (and I am halfway through that already), and then all the sewing up and weaving all the ends in. I have a good book to read too. And ... the Food Network is back!! Thank goodness! The dogs have some tasty filled bones that I bought the other day for such a rainy day occasion to keep their boredom away. Bella just went to the door asking to be let out. I opened it. She just stood there sniffing the air, watching the rain pour down and decided she really didn’t want to go out after all.

Wherever you are today, no matter what your weather is, I hope you stay warm and dry! I’m just glad to be staying home.

I know I mentioned these slippers briefly in a past entry and I promised to follow up on them and give more information, so here it goes.

The pattern is from Fiber Trends: Felt Clogs which can be found by following the link. I swear this pattern is like magic. Like any good recipe, it never fails. And it’s so much fun to knit up. I especially love the shaping parts. Once you know the pattern you really don’t have to keep reading because you know when you come to your slipped stitch it’s time to decrease and turn.

I first learned how to knit these cozy slippers (to me they are not clogs!) in a class taught by Julie at My Sister Knits back when we lived in Ft. Collins. {OH! How I miss that yarn shop! I could cry just thinking about it.} After that there was no turning back. I couldn’t be stopped from offering to make them for everybody I could think of.

The actual pattern calls for using two strands of worsted wool, but I knit them the way that Julie did. With Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Bulky, so only one strand is needed. Plus, the Lamb’s Pride is 85% wool / 15% mohair which gives the slippers extra fuzziness when felted. I can’t imagine using anything else although I have seen other yarns used with the pattern and I didn’t think they came out looking as nice.

I always make them two color: one color for the sole and cuff (you’ll need two skeins of whichever color you choose); and one skein of yarn for the body of the slipper. If you make the largest men’s size you may need an extra skein for the body, as when I made Rick’s I had just barely enough! I double sole them, so the first sole is knit first and incorporated into the body of the slipper. The second sole is worked separately and joined on to the first. Some people put leather soles on them but we like them better without it. The leather sole takes away the soft, cushy feel. Of course without the leather soles you can’t walk outside when it’s wet in them because they work just like a sponge!

Here is the slipper with only one sole, the seam still needing to be sewn.

The pattern has the slippers being more of a scuff style where you can slip them on your feet but we prefer a higher heel, so I knit four extra rows before continuing with the cuff.

Close-up of the cuff.

The pattern calls for a more complicated joining of the outer sole, but again, I follow Julie’s easier join. It’s a matter of picking up a stitch from the first sole, knitting that stitch plus the next stitch on the needle together, then binding off as you go along. Simple!

The outer sole joined but not seamed.

Here is the slipper before felting next to Rick’s foot and next to his old slippers to give you an idea of how big they are to begin with. At this point you are wondering if they are ever going to fit properly!

Now for the felting process! I toss the slippers in a pillowcase using a rubber band to keep it closed. I also toss an old pair of sneakers into the washer along with the slippers to give extra friction for faster felting. Use the hottest water possible, only allowing the cycle to run until it’s ready to spin. Don’t spin your slippers!!! Take them out, gently squeeze the excess water out of them (I am lucky enough to have a laundry tub next to the washer) and reshape them while letting your washer finish its cycle by itself. Here they are after the first run-through.

Reshaping the slippers after each cycle helps to keep lumps and bumps from getting set in. You want a nice smooth surface for your slipper, now don’t you? Put them back in the pillowcase and repeat the process until you reach the desired size. Mine typically take three wash cycles before they reach the right degree of felting and sizing. Here they are after the second cycle.

And the third.

See what the mohair does for them? Look at the fuzz!

When you’re satisfied, gently press most of the water out of them but don’t wring them out. Shape them carefully by getting out all the little dips and kinks that might have popped up during washing. Just remember that they will dry in whatever form you put them in!  Place them on a thick towel to dry. I like to stuff mine with balled up plastic grocery sacks for the first day or so. It helps them to keep their shape. You can take them out when the slippers have dried sufficiently to hold their shape on their own. It will take several days before they are fully dry. Sometimes I put mine on our heated towel rack to speed up the process. Don’t worry about right and left; the slippers will conform to your feet once you start wearing them.

Behold the finished slippers!

Nothing else left to do now except put them on your feet and let them glory in the warmth and coziness! Rick swears he never needs any other kind of slipper ever again!

I am making myself a new pair now as my old ones are worn through. It’s time, don’t you think?

I hate stripping tinsel off the tree. Why is it that before Christmas all the decorations look so festive and after Christmas they just look tired (or maybe I am just tired of looking at them) and you can’t wait to take them down. Once it’s over, it’s over for me. Kind of like deflating a balloon. That’s about how I’m feeling. Yesterday I took down all the “fresh” boughs and tossed them out. They were brittle and shedding needles everywhere, making a fine mess to clean up. So, the dining room is completely de-Christmasized but the living room is not. I did take all the tinsel off the tree and the snowflake ornaments, leaving only the garlands and the lights. Hopefully today I can finish the job. The outside decorations will just have to stay up a few weeks longer under we can get the ladder out to take down the wreaths.

Here’s how Bella feels about the whole Christmas-(toy)-overload thing.

We had a surprise snow on Sunday afternoon, almost a mini blizzard. It was not predicted, yet huge flakes of fluffy snow fell for about 3 hours. The wind blew and the snow was really falling horizontally. So pretty! We ended up with about two inches of snow, but it was blowing and drifting so it’s hard to tell how much we really got on the level. It’s also frigidly cold! We’ve had a lot of wind lately and it’s not my favorite thing. It finds its way through every little crack and crevice of the house. We had both the fireplace and the wood stove going all weekend, so we were cozy and happy playing our newest Mario Wii game.

PLEASE, PLEASE, don’t take my Food Network (and HGTV) away you big bad stinkin’ lousy Cablevision! I hate you! On Sunday I tuned our TV to the Food Network channel hoping to watch Iron Chef. Instead of Iron Chef I got someone yakking about why Scripps has pulled “your” Food Network and HGTV channels. My first reaction was to throw the remote through the screen, but of course then I wouldn’t have any TV at all. But ... but ... WAAAAAHHHHHH! I called the number listed to complain but I doubt it means anything to them. We are being held hostage for no fault of our own. Here’s hoping they work out some agreement money-wise that they can both live with without sending our cable bill sky high. 

I’ve been sort of a slug over the holidays with company and Rick home a lot. I need to get back into my groove again of walking the dogs each day, knitting, learning how to hook, trying new recipes etc., etc.  And, I have these two new books to help me with the hooking and knitting bits.

The Fearless Knitting Workbook (which I got for Christmas) has lessons like this:

How fun does that look? The Basic Rug Hooking book looks great too but I just got it the day before yesterday and I haven’t really had a chance to look at it in-depth just yet. I’m anxious to get started and see how I like it.

So, I have plenty of things to keep me busy, Food Network or not. Here’s to getting back to routine!

Side note: I just read over this entry before hitting the publish button and realized it makes no sense at all. Oh well. Just what’s on my mind this morning! I’m hitting the button anyway ...