Fone fling 1

So, I finally got myself an iPhone ('big 0' birthday present!) - mainly to keep up with the rest of my family, but just think what it will do: calls, messages, emails, diary, calendar, 'to do' list, web surfing, music, news, ebook reader.. oh yes, and camera too.  OK, it's a bit of an indulgence but I'm hoping it will become a real help to me especially because I'm deaf and find ordinary phones nigh on impossible to use.  For one thing, it means I can talk to my family (free) via 'Facetime'.  My daughter and I tried this and it was great - super clear picture, I could lip-read her and see her gestures.  It was actually better than Skype, which tends to break up a lot.

I have yet to fathom 99% of it but I did attempt a few photos during the week.  I thought it might be fun to 'dump' them on my blog every so often.  You can see whether I get more skilful with it as time goes on.  Since I'm used to a big heavy DSLR, it feels really weird.  So far I've taken at least five photos of my finger!

1. Indulgence at work on a hot day  - rhubarb pie and ice cream, thanks to my generous work colleagues
2. Spare action plans...that'll be Plan C then....
3. Exuberant little azalea in my tiny front garden
4. A reminder on a postcard
5. Building works at Salts Mill, making a grander visitor entrance
6. Family of geese on the canal, spotted as I walked home from work

Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible....

Happy Easter!  We're making progress with the decorating, but it all needs three coats of paint. And I'm full of cold too... It will be good to get back to normal soon.

A VPD

Well, I'd love to have been outside all weekend taking photos, but....

'The trouble with living alone is that it's always your turn to do the dishes.'   (Anon)

and make the bed and do the laundry and the ironing and clean the sink and vacuum and dust and defrost the freezer and all the other chores that seem necessary to prevent one's home sinking under a pile of clutter and grime.  It would be better to do these things on a rainy day but somehow a bit of sunshine lifts my heart enough to tackle the bigger jobs (as well as pointing up the dust and smears!) - Spring Cleaning indeed.  So I had a VPD ... A Very Productive Day....on Saturday.

'Housework is something you do that nobody notices until you don't do it.'  (Anon) 
'My second favourite household chore is ironing; my first being hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint.'        (Erma Bombeck)
'Nature abhors a vacuum - and so do I.'  (Anne Gibbons)
'My idea of housework is to sweep the room with a glance.'  (Erma Bombeck) 

Anyway, I could see no reason why I shouldn't still take photos, even if I was inside for most of the weekend!


PS So busy indeed that I missed a steam train coming through Saltaire.  Martin at Bradford, My Town caught it beautifully.  Sorry I missed it!

Time flies...

It's a typical November day here - chilly, misty, a hint of watery sunshine every now and again. The trees have shed most of their leaves; it only needs a few days of wind for the rest to drop, but the air is very still. I've had one of those ordinary days, catching up on chores, a bit of shopping, a short walk - but it's been good and I am so thankful for 'ordinary'.

I don't know where the time is going at the moment....!  My last few posts were auto-posted as I've been in London for a few days giving my daughter some support.  Pleased to report that mum, dad and baby are all well and thriving.  I had forgotten just how much time and space a tiny baby commands, but she is adorable and getting less tiny by the day - 2.2 kg now (that's 4 lbs 13 oz).  I find I spend a lot of time just gazing at her.... even though my role was meant to be cooking, washing and generally keeping the home fires burning.  I did plenty of that, actually.

Arrived home to find my internet connection was up the spout and I've spent two days trying to figure it out. My ISP has tinkered about with the service to increase the broadband speed - and kindly sent me an email with an incorrect user-name to re-establish my connection.  Grrr.  Anyway, eventually got it sorted, to my relief.  I really hate being without it.  And that problem solved seems finally to have allowed me to relax, after quite a tense few weeks.  So I'm really enjoying my weekend.  I might even find time to visit a few blogs again, which I have sadly neglected to do.  Hope you have a lovely weekend too.

PS: My title reminded me of a punctuation puzzle my high school English teacher once gave us to do:

 time flies you cannot they pass much too quickly

Done it!

So... I've finally done it! Bought myself a DSLR that is.  I've been wrestling with whether to or not for absolutely ages.  The scales were always finely balanced: investment v indulgence; lightness and versatility v better performance and so on.  But just lately I've been kicking against the limitations of my other two cameras - a Panasonic TZ5 compact and a Panasonic DMC-FZ18 'bridge' camera.  They're both great cameras in their own ways and have served me well for several years - and there will be many occasions when I will continue to use them.  But neither of them allow for full control over depth of field and neither of them take filters, and several times lately I have really felt I wanted those facilities.  Plus I really couldn't enlarge my photos to a commercial size and there have been a couple of occasions when that has meant I missed a chance to sell a print - not the end of the world for me, but it would have been nice.

I have no intention of being anything but a photographic hobbyist (and blogger of course) but there comes a time when your horizons need to be pushed just a bit further.  So I'm joining the ranks and starting on a new learning curve.  It might mean the quality of my photos takes a dive!  But I hope I'll soon get the hang of the basics.  (I aim to be reasonably competent by the time my granddaughter is born in early December!)

As you can see from the photo, I've bought a Nikon D3100.  I chose that for several reasons - crucially, that I could afford it!  It's had a good write-up in all the mags and it was recommended to me by John Gravett, who is an inspirational photographer and superb teacher. (He led the LPH photography holiday/workshop I went on in May.)  The final 'push' was that I got chatting to a girl at the Bingley Show who was using one and she said she really loved it.  My first impressions are good.  It has auto-functions that mean even a non-techy can use it straight out of the box but plenty of scope to take control too.  It feels good in my hands and is much more satisfyingly clunky than my other cameras.  But it's not too heavy with the 18-55mm kit lens.

Despite the fact that I should be well 'grown-up' by now and therefore quite well-balanced about major purchases - and I don't have to justify it to anyone -  I'm a curious mixture of delighted, scared (in case I find out I can't adapt to it) and horrified that I can think of spending all that money (when there are people starving in Africa...)  Is that just me or do other people have those kind of mixed feelings when they buy new gear?  Anyway, like it or not (!) I will be sharing my progress on my blogs.  I enjoy watching other people's experiments with new cameras and lenses and blogland is a good place to be inspired - so here goes....

Saturday story

Wet weekends are a pain for a dedicated photo blogger.... two precious days off work and no chance to get out and take photos... The only solution is to try an idea pioneered by my lovely and very creative blogfriend, Betsy, over at 'My Five Men'  and document my day's activities.  I'm sure she won't mind being copied - it's fun to see how other people spend their days.

Click to enlarge

1 Oops, a late start... a Saturday lie-in is a treat (Note special vibrating alarm clock for deaf person assumes person also blind... has numbers 2 inches high)  2 First cup of tea is the best!   3 Yup, it's rainin'   4 Breakfast: Puffed rice, some of 'Betsy's granola' (she's a star, that girl!) and some juice   5 Shower, wash hair, paint toenails   6 Load the washing machine   7 Get the Marigolds on and clean the bathroom   8 Wrap gift for a friend   9 Change bedding; love the way it looks all clean and love even more sliding into clean sheets at bedtime   10 Still rainin'   11 Lunch: homemade mushroom soup, ciabatta with blue cheese and more tea   12 Off to help celebrate a friend's retirement   13 Sneaked a peek inside the church where friend has been vicar for 25 years   14 Wishing you a long & happy retirement, Gordon & Lis   15 Negotiating the Bradford inner ring road (the lovely old building opposite is the Paper Hall, the oldest house in Bradford, built in 1640) - note sudden but short-lived blue sky  16 More traffic lights   17 Supermarket shop on the way home   18 Sit down with a cup of frothy coffee and a chapter of my book  19  Take out trash and check how the garden looks after all that rain   20 Watch tea-time TV News   21 Catch up on the ironing   22 What's for dinner? Chicken curry   23 Old-fashioned washing-up   24 Time for blogging :)

Happy days

Well, hello.... I think it's time to start blogging again after my short break.  I've had some busy, happy days:

❀ celebrated two birthdays - mine and my mum's.  No big fuss, but some laid-back celebrations with friends.  You may recall me saying my mum has not been well for several months.  I'm pleased to report she is responding well to treatment and I'm not nearly as worried about her as I was a while ago.

❀ did some necessary chores in the house and garden... I have herbs! I'm really pleased. As I've said before, I don't have a green finger on me, so anything that grows in my tiny patch is a bonus.  I just need to remember to water it as we are having some very dry weather again.

❀ ate lots - strawberries (and cream sometimes) and rather too many M&S Rocky Road mini-bites, a delicious confection of marshmallow, raisins, crunchy biscuit pieces and chocolate. Only 50 calories apiece.  If only I could just eat one...

❀ watched some tennis.  I've loved Wimbledon since I was a schoolkid, when for one glorious fortnight a year we were allowed to watch TV in our PE lessons, instead of doing unspeakably awful things running around with balls outside. (Hockey, tennis, no matter - I was terrible at everything and hated PE with a vengeance!)

❀ spent an exhausting but fulfilling few days in London, helping my daughter and son-in-law to move to a new flat - their first purchase after renting for several years.  They're thrilled and it was a pleasure to be able to lend a hand.  I packed a van-load of boxes and gave the new flat a good clean before all their stuff arrived.  As J now carries a neat little baby-bump, I was keen to spare her the effort of scrubbing floors and washing tiles down.  Pity it was the hottest few days in London since 1996... Phew!
There were a few teething problems - one involving 'the washing machine of doom' as my daughter termed it, which had been left behind by the previous owners.  It flooded the kitchen with stinky black water, which then proceeded to drip through the ceiling of the flat below - not a good intro to your new neighbours!  However, thanks to fervent prayer, a charming plumber and some very good-natured removal men, the problem was solved satisfactorily.

Now life is resuming its more usual rhythm and I hope to be able to get back to taking photos and posting blogs.  I have changed the blog name, mainly so I can escape the pressure of daily posts, which was becoming a bit too demanding.  I don't think you'll see much significant change but I am giving myself a wider scope than 'Saltaire Daily Photo' allowed.