Whoops, just realized I never posted a link to my 12th photowalk photos. I was originally thinking I'd go out to Pittsburgh for my 12th photowalk - ya know, the whole twelve and E thing - but that didn't happen. John had a friend in town, and then he severely injured his back to the point where he could barely walk, so I had to take care of him some. We're still not sure exactly what he did, but within a few days most of the pain was gone.
Anyway, these were at the Deep Lock Quarry near the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. For some reason, I thought of dad a lot while on this hike, I'm not sure what exactly it was, but I really thought he'd enjoy this one. Here's the photos.
Somewhat related, I got a great new camera bag to use on my photowalks, it's a sling bag, so I can wear it on my back and then *swish* it to my front and grab the camera out of it easily and then *swish* it back to my back. Makes for some great hands-free walking and I never have to take the bag off, even when taking shots. So, I took your job away, dad, since there's no need for you to hold my bag for me anymore if you hike with me again :). You can see the bag here, and see some shots I took of it that include a bit more detail here.
Hope everyone's having a great week - it's almost Friday! Yay!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Blast from the Past
It's hard to believe I was once this young, this skinny, and had hair that blonde and that long.
(this was taken my junior year of college, I think. Either that or my first Senior year. Or, well, it was taken last week, depending on if you're talking about the picture within the picture or the entire picture as a whole)
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Photowalk11
Not much going on around here, other than the fact that I've been working on a website for myself as a side project. As soon as I get it up and running it will replace this blog, so be sure to be on the lookout for that so you can switch your bookmarks and/or rss feeds.
Last week was another beautiful weekend and I went back to Cascade Valley, but to a different trail. When I got there, I was the only car in the lot, but everyone wanted to follow me, apparently, because when I left there were 5 more - and I think I saw all of them on the trail.
It was still beautiful, though not a lot of photo ops. Be sure to look for the picture of me waving to you when you watch the slideshow!
Last week was another beautiful weekend and I went back to Cascade Valley, but to a different trail. When I got there, I was the only car in the lot, but everyone wanted to follow me, apparently, because when I left there were 5 more - and I think I saw all of them on the trail.
It was still beautiful, though not a lot of photo ops. Be sure to look for the picture of me waving to you when you watch the slideshow!
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Photowalk 10!
10 Photowalks have been done! It's a nice round number, so that makes me happy. I'm getting exactly what I wanted out of this project. First of all, I really think that my photographing and editing skills are improving, but what I really wanted to get out of this was being forced to get out of my house more often, and it's fantastic. Plus, as much as I love John, it's nice having that time completely to myself, too. And I'm rediscovering a lot of the metro parks that I really haven't been to since John and I started dating. When I started this project, I actually expected my photowalks to be more urban than nature - I wanted to walk around downtown and by abandoned buildings, so hopefully I get around to doing that eventually.
This past week was an interesting one at work, to say the least. This is the second time since working here that I've been through a major round of layoffs. The first time, many more IT people were let go, however, because it was right after a merger, and I hadn't been working there very long, I didn't know most of the people. I though, this time around, since I knew there would be fewer IT people let go, that it would be easier. I was shocked, however, how hard that day was. People I had been working with for years are now gone. Some very nice and wonderful people, and I wish them luck. I'm thankful for my job, of course, but there's still that little bit of guilt that you get to keep on working, secure in your own job, while other people - some with young children - have to scramble to find something else in this economy. And while they struggle, I'm sure, I'm getting estimates for having the exterior of my house painted, happily spending my bonus without worrying about where my next paycheck will come from.
Speaking of the house, it's always a stressful decision to have work done on your house, isn't it? I've got 3 estimates - 2 low and 1 high. I've eliminated one of the low ones because he doesn't do a primer coat, and didn't seem to do much sanding after the powerwashing. The other two estimates seem about equal one what *would* be done, but one is about twice as expensive as the other, so would I be getting what I paid for, or overpaying? A trip to Angie's List should help ease my mind.
I hope everyone else had a better week than I did, and if not, maybe some pictures from the Cascade Valley Metro Park will help: enjoy!
This past week was an interesting one at work, to say the least. This is the second time since working here that I've been through a major round of layoffs. The first time, many more IT people were let go, however, because it was right after a merger, and I hadn't been working there very long, I didn't know most of the people. I though, this time around, since I knew there would be fewer IT people let go, that it would be easier. I was shocked, however, how hard that day was. People I had been working with for years are now gone. Some very nice and wonderful people, and I wish them luck. I'm thankful for my job, of course, but there's still that little bit of guilt that you get to keep on working, secure in your own job, while other people - some with young children - have to scramble to find something else in this economy. And while they struggle, I'm sure, I'm getting estimates for having the exterior of my house painted, happily spending my bonus without worrying about where my next paycheck will come from.
Speaking of the house, it's always a stressful decision to have work done on your house, isn't it? I've got 3 estimates - 2 low and 1 high. I've eliminated one of the low ones because he doesn't do a primer coat, and didn't seem to do much sanding after the powerwashing. The other two estimates seem about equal one what *would* be done, but one is about twice as expensive as the other, so would I be getting what I paid for, or overpaying? A trip to Angie's List should help ease my mind.
I hope everyone else had a better week than I did, and if not, maybe some pictures from the Cascade Valley Metro Park will help: enjoy!
Monday, March 02, 2009
Photowalk 9
Sunday was FREEZING. And I mean, freezing. This was probably the coldest I've been on a photowalk yet, but I kept to it. I found a great little Metro Park that I'd never been to before (I really thought I'd been to them all, but apparently not!) (and thanks to the GPS that John's parents' gave me for Christmas, I was able to find it easily). I wanted to go there because the website said there was a lake with an overlook, and that sounded interesting to me. What I didn't know was that there was going to be a huge stretch of a wooden walkway going over the frozen pond where I'd be surrounded by cat tails. It was fantastic! (Does anyone else think of Grandma and Grandpa's house whenever they see cat tails? I do.)
Anyway, I shivered my way through these photos, and as you can see, I got some great shots of the mostly-clear blue sky with just dots of clouds. The second I got back into my car, the clouds took over the sky and turned dark and by the time I navigated to the main road (just a minute away), it was snowing. So I guess I had good timing!
I'm definitely looking forward to the warmer weather so I can hike an entry trail before my hands turn into icicles and I have to turn around, but I must admit, I'm also enjoying having these trails pretty much to myself and I'm afraid I won't be able to get as many unobstructed photos once the weather turns nice again.
Without further ado, enjoy the slideshow!
Anyway, I shivered my way through these photos, and as you can see, I got some great shots of the mostly-clear blue sky with just dots of clouds. The second I got back into my car, the clouds took over the sky and turned dark and by the time I navigated to the main road (just a minute away), it was snowing. So I guess I had good timing!
I'm definitely looking forward to the warmer weather so I can hike an entry trail before my hands turn into icicles and I have to turn around, but I must admit, I'm also enjoying having these trails pretty much to myself and I'm afraid I won't be able to get as many unobstructed photos once the weather turns nice again.
Without further ado, enjoy the slideshow!
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