Exhausted

I'm back from the 1.5 day Arts Expo, but I'm so tired I can't hold my head up right. In fact, my left eye and right cheek don't feel like they are in the right place, and I keep expecting to see a later Picasso portrait in the mirror. I've got one more deadline due tomorrow lunch time, so I'll be back on the weekend. Howzzat?

Mainly Natives Plant Nursery

My friend Georgina worked for the same manager A, but for a heck of a lot longer; she left the place after me, and we started our respective journey into new lives about the same time. I sold a piece for the first time in September 2005; she opened the nursery in March 2006.

It's amazing how much of the physical work she did herself or with hubby Grant in building the nursery. She's quite a petite woman, but very fit.

This was taken for her records earlier in the game. Now, in their second winter, the mursery is pretty popular and because we plant things in the winter when it rains more, on our last visit, the nursery had big gaps where the plants had been wold. Good on them!

Yikes...

I signed up for this Top of the South (Island of NZ) Arts Expo about a month ago; it's like a match-making event introducing artists and galleries/shops to each other, and hopefully more galleries/shops around the country would become interested in selling Nelson art.

I had to go check something with Arts Marketing yesterday and just realized this is like a Mini Trade Fair - and it's not that they haven't been telling us this all along, it's just that I didn't see it that way. So it's 10AM Saturday, and we install noon Monday, and in addition to wanting to roll out a couple of more scarves to show, I have to think of decoration, and some paper guff they can take away.

Talk about having been asleep for a month or two! And the season for hibernation is not even here yet.

Oh, the Weather

We had about 12 hours of fantastic/horrendous weather from last night to this morning. I'm trying to sort out the few photos I managed to take.

Meanwhile, here is some info: NZ Herald, TVNZ, Stuff, and The Nelson Mail. National Radio said we had 75mm in one hour this morning; I thought it was more.

We live on a hill so no damage here, so I can say, it was fantastic viewing. But I know some people's houses have flooded. And there were some fantastic photos from the air port this morning, but I can't find them just yet.

Helen Thomas on National Radio

No matter what your political leaning (though it helps if you are towards the Liberal/Left end), you don't often find a journalist who has worked continuously since the time of JFK, in the age of restructuring and redundancies. Katherine Ryan, the Kiwi interviewer, used to be the political editor on National Radio. (They've been rebranded Radio New Zealand International, but I can't be bothered with the longer name.)

Pod Cast, Feature Guest, Helen Thomas, Tue 22 May; I'm not sure how long this will stay on their site.

Magazine Subscription

I've been noticing something about myself, again.

I spot a nice magazine in a bookshop, and buy it, and I read it cover to cover. If I like it, I do it for the next couple of issues, and decide this magazine is worth subscribing, so I do.

And when the magazine start arriving, I stop reading it altogether.

The latest casualty is a New Zealand food magazine called Dish; it has comparatively little ads, and not a lot of luxury travel articles, but mostly what you can buy and cook in New Zealand. (Well, some of the ingredients can be found only in the bigger cities, but it's still in New Zealand.)

I love this magazine; it's beautiful and the articles are short-ish (great for my attention-span), and it used to be quarterly, so I had plenty of time to read, but I just get it out of the plastic bag and stack with the other issues.

This weekend, though, I thought I needed to change my habit, and went through the two last issues, (not reading, but going through it) cover to cover and found out it's going to come out every other month in future. And it's really a good magazine, because the focus is strongly on the fruits and veggies of the season. Which means, reading it three months later doesn't do much good. (But the issue a year ago works.)

So, I'll make something out of this issue in the next week or two, I promise.

The Dog Pic of the Week

By Isabella of Naples, Florida. (It was posted a while back, but I just found it 30 seconds ago.)

This is an interesting photo; it's all white and pink and beige and so Hollywood-like; about the only thing that looks real to me is the tiny Yorkie.

More Rugby

Here's a longer Rugby clip titled "All Blacks Best Rugby Tries Ever" from YouTube. I don't know about the "ever", but great ones from the 90's; lots of Lomu (11), lots of Cullen (15), and Wilson (14), and lots of other players I can name.

The reason why I'm proliferating my blog with rugby now is I'm trying to get psyched about the World Cup in France this year. In 2005, the British and Irish Lions toured NZ and had about 999 matches (well, I think 6) all over New Zealand. After the first one, I was rugbyed out, and haven't watched a single game since. But international rugby in New Zealand is like...

Cullen, the relatively small young blond chap, started around the same time as Lomu at about the same age; I always thought if they didn't start at the same time and were about the same age, Cullen might have had even more fame and fortune, because he is also a great player. I think he is in Ireland now. There was a race horse named Christian Cullen, also, possibly named after this player, and it did very well, too. Wilson represented New Zealand in both Rugby and international cricket. Amazing.

There are far better footage of Lomu somewhere. I must go look for them. A selection of Haka video clips here.

Sexist

I make many assumptions on the gender of a person based on mundane things.

Yesterday, I happened upon a terrific exhibit of paintings by Golden Bay painter Robin Slow. The title of the exhibit was "It is a treasure hidden in the blood". The first thing I noticed were buttons (like the ones on your clothes) embedded in paintings - not in a tacky way, in fact they were quite beautifully incorporated and sometimes painted over. So anyway, buttons: it must be a woman painter, right? And I didn't even notice the name Robin.

It turns out it's an elderly man in Golden Bay, who used to play with his grandmother's basket of buttons. The title refers to many things, the indigenous Maori people's ties to the land and/or place, their bloodline/family. His paintings had lots of indigenous symbols and he used lots of interesting material, like soot, and two kinds of ground stone, one for a beautiful browny red color, one for gray.

There is a beach in Golden Bay where massive amount of sand is taken regularly to make an expensive beach in Wellington look pretty. The main painting's theme was this, and it was scary and beautiful and dark and gold at once.

I can't find images of those paintings, but here are some of his older (?) ones from Monza Gallery in Takaka, Golden Bay. Here's an article in the Mail when he recently had an exhibit at the Suter, our public gallery.

Black Day

"I had a Black Dog" is an illustrated book written/illustrated by Kiwi Mathew Johnstone, about his experiences with depression. It's humorous and describes well how depression feels from the inside, but some days, it's too real I find the book itself depressing.

Yesterday I found out the local Mental Health Family Support Group fieldworker Mike is from Michigan, and I dropped by his office; he lent me a couple of books. One is "The Noonday Demon - An Atlas of Depression" by Andrew Solomon and this, he said, describes the many different ways depression can show up, and it's supposed to be written for laypersons. Another is "The Quiet Therapies - Japanese Pathways to Personal Growth" by David K Reynolds. Now I did not know that there were Japanese "therapies", because we don't talk about it and just get on with life; Mike explained that "therapy" is possibly a term Reynolds assigned to the various stress-coping mechanisms the Japanese developed, but, heck, I'll read anything that doesn't rely on mind-altering drugs. And Mike is such an interesting man.

The man fronting the campaign for depression awareness is another great former All Black John Kirwan, and he's now the coach of the Japanese team for the World Cup later in the year. I'm not worried by how much they loose, I hope the Japanese team enjoys the experience of playing under the legendary JK.

JK just organized two games between Classic All Blacks vs some kind of a Japanese team, and we're talking Lomu, Spencer, Mertons, Marshall and Wilson. I'm kicking myself for not knowing about this beforehand, because I would have shouted Dad a ticket to the game in Tokyo. Heck, Ben and I might have gone home around this time.

Here's JK in his best (as a player) form, and of course we've known him only as a former All Black, and until recently, the coach of the Italian team. And for your stats book, All Blacks won over Japan 145-17 in the early games of the 1995 World Cup, a record victory, but boy, did those Japanese boys have fun; they knew they were playing against giants, and we saw the disguised Japanese grin on their faces the whole 80+ minutes.

Gone.

Rosy Glow Nelson was really gone. All the shelves had been cleared. There was a woman sitting stunned in her car just when I arrived. She was trying to read the tiny sign on the door. Perhaps it wasn't only yours truly that didn't know it was closed.

Not a Woman of Few Words

OK, this is the story of the biggest humble pie, ever.

I was approached by this woman last Friday; she's an art student at the Polytech, and she came to my Exhibit last January. She's very enthusiastic, and interesting. Long story short, I got to spend a couple of hours today talking about art and work and exhibits and things. And on the whole, I really enjoyed it.

But here's the thing. Repeat the name of my blog. So you know, I can talk anybody's ear off, but boy, so can she. And you know, how I develop my career is a very touchy subject with me; well, for ever interesting sentence she utters, she has about 4 or 5 sentences of career advice. So for the first time in my life, I mustered enough courage to tell her I like her, but she's got to back off with the career advice, or I can't hear anything else she's saying. And she uttered so many words I was exhausted listening for the interesting bits; but I did enjoy her interesting bits on art, life, her course content, designs, that I hung on.

Now here comes the giant humble pie; I realized this is exactly what I've been doing to people around me most of my life. I grew up in a family where we were pushed to be sociable, so at home, there's a constant chatter, and I feel uncomfortable with silence, unless I'm with just Ben alone. And I think as I talk, so if I don't talk, I can't think. Well, I couldn't until this art thing happened. But I found it utterly (yeah) shocking and horrifying to think of all the people I must have worn out. SORRYYYYYYYY! I didn't know any better!

So good on me for mustering that courage to ask her to back off, but boy, what a huge humble pie for me. I'm glad it happened.

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't as if I was letting her do all the talking; I interjected my contribution whenever I could; there was a young chap sitting with us part of the time, and I just hope we didn't push him over the edge.

Property Ownership in New Zealand

In some ways, I think we'll never ever understand New Zealand.

So, we had that water problem. Our water main comes down from the road, and splits into two; one comes to our house, another goes to our neighbors', and since the leak was before where it splits, we're supposed to split the cost in half. So, normally I would consult them for fixes, sure.

But on April 13, I watched my water get reduced to a trickle in the morning, and I had to get that fixed before the weekend so I rang the plumber in the morning. (As it is, it didn't get fixed until late in the afternoon.) To be honest, I don't remember what time; all I can tell you is that all morning we just had trickle. And then I rang my neighbor in the middle of the day to let Him know I had a plumber fixing the problem, and he wasn't overly concerned then, or he didn't tell me.

I got the bill, paid it, and then let the neighbors know how much it cost (I left the bill and the note in their post box because I kept forgetting to go over there), and She rang to confirm the amount, and I rang back to clarify, and they gave me a check and a wee note asking me to let them know before I ring the plumber in the future. So I rang them to remind we had nearly no water that morning, and He tells me I still should have rung them first anyway.

Don't get me wrong, these are nice, respectable professional people and, well, very tolerant of our horrible garden.

Back home, unless it's family or emergency, you don't phone people before 10AM (or after about 10PM). When we first came to New Zealand, seeing how early these Kiwis get up, I asked a Kiwi couple what the protocol might be here, and they told me, probably 9AM/9PM, though younger people can be phoned later than that.

I consider our getting back water an emergency, but not enough to ring them first thing in the morning and consult. If the situation were reversed, I'd be glad they took the initiative and got themselves water, and frankly, I would have given them the check in a Thank You card because I didn't have to lift a finger to get the situation resolved.

I don't understand it; He was talking to me about "the point of mutual (something)" like I was a five-year-old, but I was totally, 100%, absolutely flabbergasted my mind went blank. So what's the protocol? Kath? JB - how dare you go on a holiday when I need you! Is there any other Kiwi who can advise me, please??? HELP!!!

Days like these, I just want to a house with 2m walls all around us - neighbors might appreciate that, too. We're not popular people.

Digital Camera is Officially Great

I was waiting for the most elegant bread & butter pudding at the Red Art Gallery cafe today, reading the Zest (lifestyle?) section of the Christchurch Press. And I found a recipe for Walnut Ginger Biscuit, so what do you do? Click.

Just six months ago, I found a great recipe for canele in a magazine while eating at Zest (no relation) Cafe, so I asked permission to take it out for 20 min, ran to the nearest stationary place, had that page photocopied, and ran back to Zest. Boy, times have changed.

Oh, the B&B Pudding - it was so delicious and beautiful and elegant that... of course I didn't even think of photographing it. Sorry, next time.

Organic Fruit Cake

I just received this from Lyndal Steggall of UK (?). Thank you, Lyndel. It's not the spice cake recipe I had it mind, but sounds too delicious and beautiful not to pass on, so knock your socks off, fruit cake fans.

Me, I had been under the impression for years that fruit cakes were terribly time-consuming to make, so I never tried, but I can manage this, (except for the storing 6-8 weeks part.)

It's getting cooler and cooler here in Nelson; the autumnal leaves are well over halfway gone, and though it may sound strange to you Northerners, festive Christmas food starts to look more tempting this time of the year. So I'm thinking, mulled wine and fruit cake. What do you all drink with your fruit cake?

Meanwhile, I'm still looking for that spicy cake recipe; anyone?

*****

This cake is made by first simmering the dried fruit in a buttery cider and sugar syrup so they're plump and tender before baking. A hint of chocolate gives depth and color without a distinctive chocolaty flavor.

Preparation time: 20 min plus soaking over night.
Cooking Time 2 1/2 - 2 3/4 hours

INGREDIENTS:
250g raisins
250g sultanas
250g apricots, chopped
400ml strong cider
225g butter
250g unrefined organic sugar
2tsp ground cinnamon
50g dark, plain chocolate....70% ( I used about 75g)
4 medium eggs, beaten
125g mixed nuts, roughly chopped
250g plain wholemeal flour
100g white flour

Everything should be organic to qualify as an Organic cake as the original recipe was.

PREPARATION:

On the night before cooking, place the raisins, apricots and sultanas in a bowl and pour in 300ml of the cider. Cover and leave to soak overnight.

On the day of cooking, cut the butter into chunks and place in a large pan with the sugar, the soaked dried fruit, the cinnamon and the remaining cider. Heat gently, stirring frequently, until the butter has melted. Continue to cook over a low heat for 10 minutes or until the fruit has plumped up and the juices are thickened and syrupy. Let the juices bubble gently and don't cover the pan. Remove from the heat, stir in the chocolate and leave to cool for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 140C/285F. Line the base and sides of a 20cm/7 inch round (or 18cm/6 inch square) tin with baking parchment.

Beat the eggs into the fruit mixture, then stir in the nuts and flours until evenly combined. Turn into the tin and level the surface. Secure a strip of brown paper around the tin with string to prevent the cake drying out during baking.

Bake in a preheated oven for about 2 hours until firm and the skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin, then turn out.

It can be stored for 6-8 weeks, wrapped in foil. Keep moist by feeding once or twice with 4tbsp of cider.

That's if you can wait !

*****

And here's a web site that Lyndal is possibly associated with: www.waitrose.com.

Boiling

I was writing something that required me to think back to 2000 when I left my last job. And I'm furious.

In that last job, as a result of the Nth wave of restructuring, I had to do something half the time and report to A, and something else the other half of the time and report to B; these two didn't agree on exactly what/when I should be doing, but instead of ironing out the problem between them, or among the three of us, they gave me conflicting orders and told me off for being difficult.

In retrospect, A had it in for me from the start. When she was appointed to her position and became my boss, I naturally congratulated her, to which she said, "You won't be able to get away with the things B lets you from now on". I remember standing in the middle of the front foyer, stunned.

A routinely scolded me, though I was 41 by then, and after a while I couldn't even make decisions and work intelligently, which frustrated B and everybody else in that department. So I quit the job; both jobs. (In the end, if I remember correctly, all of us who had 50/50 positions left or transferred because it just didn't work, though under better management, it could have.)

What really boils me to this day, is that just before I left, she pretended to be concerned and asked me what I would do; I told her I can entertain myself, and had already enrolled in one distance-learning course at Victoria University in Wellington. So after I was gone, she announced that I left because I wanted to study in Wellington. I had heaps of people come up to me in town asking me if I was visiting Nelson on a break!! And they knew Ben was working at the Polytech!! In Nelson!!!

I was so overwhelmed with the experience I didn't go near the Polytech for seven months after that, and in a tiny town like that, that's tricky, because it's one full quadrant of the downtown area.

Oh, her parting shot: at around 4pm on my last day she called me into her office and told me, "This is a very small town and I can make it difficult for you to work again." The thing is, this is a small place, and it doesn't work to go and confront her, because she's kind of well-connected. Not that I have the guts to do that.

The whole saga makes me boil even after seven years.

Toasted

I did my second speech at the Toastmasters today, and well, it was pretty bad.

First, I had this script that I worked on for three weeks, on lettuce. Seriously. I've been interested in the cutting vs. tearing of lettuce leaves in salads for over 30 years, and I had all the scientific, aesthetic, and personal pros and cons, but I just couldn't make it a bit more interesting.

So Monday afternoon, I scrapped that, and wrote a whole new one on the design process of a particular shawl of mine. (I've got to get out of this habit of scrapping ideas Monday afternoons before I speak at noon, Wednesdays.)

But as I practiced in the car at the Polytech car park, I got this strange feeling that I've had a few times in my life. You see, most things, I finish just in time, or a little late. Somethings I finish very late. But on the rare occasion, when I finish early and have time to review or practice or feel smug, nothing good happens.

Ditto today. I think I practiced too much, and rather than starting to memorize my script, I stumbled more and more, and when I was finally speaking, I stumbled even reading my own script. Shame. I was brilliant at 10:45AM.

I'm noticing another thing. I have to repeatedly read my script out loud, and exaggerate my enunciation, in order to get some words out right. And I can't pronounce, when speaking loudly, some of your run-of-the-mill everyday words clearly. And I wondered if even such things as facial muscles and the tongue get lazy as one got older, that we have to make an extra effort to speak c-o-r-r-e-c-t-l-y. I just couldn't say the world 'recreate' this morning, so I had to replace it.

Oh, and I had a huge humble pie moment. When we had the open-to-public meeting two weeks ago, we all had to fill in an evaluation form for how the meeting was conducted. I was being my honest, stupid, uncouth self; the minute I finished it, I thought I really needed to add something like "It was a ripper of a meeting, well done, superb, congratulations!", but I didn't. What I wrote was... "When I don't have a role, I get bored." I mean, how immature is THAT!!

Anyway, I got what I deserved today. President Nick named me next week's Toastmaster - that's the grand MC who has to include witty remarks and intelligent saying whilst conducting the day's proceedings. I was hoping he'll let me do something, but I thought we'd start small, like a Word Master/Uhm Counter, (grammarian in the book.)

And I forgot to photograph the building or the meeting to go on our website-under-construction. Otherwise I would have posted a huge picture of Nick the Sheriff right here.

Looking for Spice Cake Recipes

A while back, maybe before last Christmas, I came across a cake recipe which had lot of spices like cloves, nutmeg and/or allspice. I can't remember if it had fruit peels; I don't think it had nuts. And I can't remember where I saw it.

With winter approaching fast, I'd really like to bake something like this. Does anybody know a good cake recipe like this?

Bl**dy Good Lightening Shot

From Delta, Colorado, USA. I bet it was loud! I can't stop giggling; I love thunder and lightening.

Two in Two Days

This is the original Rosy Glow Chocolate in the township of Collingwood, in Golden Bay, where Mum M started the fabulous business. Alert readers will have noticed I've always had a link to them at the top of my Nelson Comfort Products section to the right. We went for an afternoon drive to Collingwood this afternoon and could not help ourselves, so we stopped by, and as always, asked for something that is not available in their Nelson shop, owned and opearted by daughter M. To my utter astonishment, the young woman who served us told me the Nelson shop closed in April, so M can concentrate on caring for her partner, who is unwell.

I was instantly sad for me, who goes to M's shop more often than any sane chocoholic should, for not having instant access to the seductive aroma of dark chocolate, M's lovely conspiratorial smile, but most of all for not knowing she had closed because I hadn't been there for three or four weeks.

M is young and bright and beautiful, in addition to being a killer chocolatier, and though I don't know her partner, I'm almost certain he's a lovely, kind man. I had no idea M, who created tangible love and dream and happiness every day, had such a big struggle in her personal life. I feel so sad for her and her family.

That was the second sad story in just as many days.

*****

At times like these, when I have a friend in a difficult place, I've always rushed to Rosy Glow to send some love and encouragement. Mom M is going to take over production from Collingwood and their chocolates can be ordered by correspondence. I'm not sure if they've made arrangements so we can order via the web already, but if you would like to try some of the best known chocolates in New Zealand, please try the link.

Not Another Hobby?!

I'm not one for antiques. I like looking at nice things friends picked up at antique shops, or seeing them beautifully displayed in magazines and on TV shows. But in real life, I can't stand the 3D's of antique shops: dust, damp and dinge. Ben, on the other hand, can wander up and down a shop quietly and pick up interesting things, dust off a trinket or two, talk about old tools and equipment that's way before his time, and still manages to leave the shop empty-handed.

When Jay Farnsworth of the Red Art Gallery recommends you an antique shop, you go, so off we went to Richmond Antiques & Curios at the top of Salisbury Road, and I was converted. The items there were clean and lovingly displayed, and the shop owner was so interested in the individual pieces. We found a fly-fishing rod in a wooden case (mended a few times, but it can clearly be used, with a special compartment for the flies inside the lid); a beautiful but hard-bottomed nursing chair (kind of like a dining chair with a larger seat and legs about 1/2 as long - perfect for short people!); delicate silver servings (some with ivory handles - now we could never take those out of the country) with even more delicate cases.

Normally I'd want to leave within 10 minutes, but yesterday, after over an hour of going to our own sections and oohing and aaahing, I had to leave or else I would have come home with one, or all three, of the leather cases for men's detachable shirt collars.

Well, I didn't come home empty-handed. I bought a set of five linen napkins for NZ$15; these are the generous old-fashioned sizes, in fine brocade (I think), washed and pressed by someone who knows how to press linen. I can't decide if I want to start a collection of textiles from antique shops, or use every piece, because I'm usually in the "use them" school.

Static Web Sites

Ben got my weaving web site, MegWeaves, up around Easter last year; the English version has been tidied up in a big way a couple of times, but the Japanese version stayed untouched for the most part, because it takes me long to translate and make it sound natural, (yes, my first language is Japanese,) and I can't be bothered.

So we did a little work last night. The Japanese side is still not 100%, but the next lot of cosmetic changes, I can manage myself.

The fundamental problem now is the overwhelming boring-ness of a static web site. I, as a minuscule, money-loosing business, seriously wondered if it's worth keeping both that and a blog. A year ago, (and the four or five years it took me to decide what I wanted in a web site), the static one was the main bit, and the blog an add-on to fill in my "short essay" section. Now I don't even check the StatCounter for the web, except once in a blue moon. And for the time being, I'm not distributing any newsletters to repeat clients, either, though I know I must do this at least once a year.

I know the how I differentiate the two in my mind, because I talk about it enough when I try to help get their web sites up. Besides the comparatively static/permanent vs. chronological, the static is more or less official/officious, whereas the blog is more personal/temporary.

And most weavers don't generate sell textile over the Internet; I mean, who buys not-so-cheap textiles over the net without seeing/feeling it first! There are a few who have had success with it, and/or there have been instances of clients who have bought in person, came back to check the web, and placing orders. Other weavers sell weaving books or workshops over the net quite successfully. For me, it's just been a "yes, I have a web site" thing.

Don't get me wrong, it's been a great tool for communication with people, and I cherish that very much, so it's unlikely I'll get rid of it entirely. But the time spent has not produced any revenue in my case, and I'm trying to be a little less haphazard with my so-called business, you see.

Can you share your personal/biased opinion on internet and business in general, static vs. chronological, or any other thoughts, please?

Other Finds

Someone had the most magnificently overgrown grape vine; its leaves shone in the afternoon sun that made the whole "hedge" look like it's covered with rubies and garnets.

My Piika shot.

What's the name of that lion's mouth in Rome, where Audry Hepburn hesitates to put her hand in lest Gregory Peck finds out she's a princess? This reminds me of that just a little, when seen as a thumbnail.

Autumnal Leaves II

That afternoon, the sun came and went as it pleased, and there were occasional breezes, which made the leaves rustle and it looked and sounded beautiful, not good conditions for still photography. That's when I remembered my tiny camera is capable of shooting simple, short videos.

Normally I think of videos only at family gatherings, but I thought I could use it to capture the leaves in motion, or over time, and/or get a whole bunch of leaves without concentrating on the composition. So here are a few of my experiments.

The video quality is very poor. As well, this camera allows me to focus only before, and not while, shotting, so I had to position myself to put the leaves in focus. And, as with still shots, I shot these portrait-shaped thinking I could just flip it over later; so you now need to tilt your head 90 degrees to the left (or right, if you're so inclined) if you'd like to see it in the original orientation. But it's all about colors and shapes, so if you're not fazed by cars parked vertically, no worries.

This one has the reds I love. The colors in real life are far more intense and saturated, but this clip is the best among all my attempts.

This one shows the variety of colors even on just one branch; this is also the only one where I managed to get the carpet of dead leaves underneath. (This is actually the worst of my eight attempts, but I so love the carpet of leaves.)

I like the movements of the leaves and the wind being "shown" here. Yeah, Christina Rossetti! I have, I have!!!

These shows were brought to you by Fred in the red & green jersey, and Denise in the yellow.

Autumnal Leaves I

For me, autumnal trees, even one tree, is the favorite for studying color mixing and matching. So I had a great time photographing leaves one afternoon last week.

These are the stills I started out with. First I am always amazed with the beauty of the individual colors. Then I take in the combination of colors, most notably of reds and greens. I am impressed with the way the simple, unobtrusive browns can be made to look beautiful in combination with more vibrant colors, especially next to the warmer colors, but also in combination with purples. Then I admire the red-to-purples, and whatever combinations that can enhance these stunning colors. I love the simplicity of green-and-yellow combinations, whether the yellow is a clean, young yellow, or is an aging one accompanied by browns. And lastly, but not at all the least, I appreciate the quiet beauty of the fallen and crumpled leaves.

Sometimes I move on to position/placement of colors, and sometimes to proportions, but often I am overcome with awe with the beauty and variety of colors in just one tree, even one leaf.

Corporate Suits, Nylon Stockings, Plain Pumps

On Wednesday, I went to my Toastmasters' club meeting; this week it was a kind of a open meeting where interested members of the public were invited to have a listen and give an impromptu speech a go.

Prepared speeches were given by long-time members, and the subjects were about speeches: preparing speeches, combating nervousness, rules about impromptu speeches; very informative, excruciatingly boring. (Sorry.) I did find out that with Toastmasters speeches, we aren't allowed to make things up. Good thing they told me early in the game, because that's something I don't recall reading in the manuals.

Excruciating, also, because usually there are only around a dozen people in our meetings, so usually everybody gets to do something during the hour; on Wednesday there were about 20 in all, and I kept getting this haunting memories of sitting up straight in Ethics class in my convent school when I was six, and seven, and eight, and sixteen.

In our regular meetings, though, I don't understand why members want to give speeches about giving speeches, and there have been a few. These are professional, well-traveled, interesting people, some with kids, and at times their speeches have been rehashing of the stuff in the manuals. So, am I allowed to say it? "Boring." Maybe these are speeches they are asked to give as demonstrations elsewhere and they are rehearsing; maybe they've been doing it so long they've talked about every single interesting members of their family, pets, and schoolmates already. But when they get up, it's as if they strip themselves of their colorful personality, and become Mr/Ms Boring Gray Toastmaster.

Good thing I don't take it too seriously; my new goal is to crack them up and let the laughter interrupt my speech every single time. Because I joined to have fun, myself.

Well, I'm ranging again. Going back to the start of the meeting, we were to introduce ourselves, and what brought us to Toastmasters. I said, "I am long-winded, and I like to practice speaking within a time limit," which pleased me because it was short and succinct. And Lynn laughed; I like it when she laughs.

But I wasn't going to rant about the meeting; in fact, for an open meeting (or whatever the correct Toastmasters term is), it was a superbly organized and smoothly run meeting, and a great success. So good on you, High Noon Club. Ignore the restless newbie; I don't like changes, and I just got used to our small size.

DP May Theme Day Challenge

I am not one for thinking out side of square, at all, so when Zsolt suggested we pair up for the May theme day, it was with certain amount of trepidation as well as excitement that we approached it. We looked up Hungarian composers, bands or authors, and went to the music and book shops looking for CDs and books, to no avail. Then Zsolt told us of his idea, and I thought of something like this. Really, this was a big adventure for me, and I'm glad Ben liked the idea.

As well, we go to our favorite places to show the best of Nelson, but we've never "created" a scene, and to tell you the truth, this was great fun.

Thank you, Zsolt, for the challenge. If it weren't for you, we would have settled for a London bus or Turkish costumes in a restaurant. (Say, that's not a bad idea for a NDP pic!)

Ben setting up the photos.

Ben shooting, and trying not to get the green bag (mine)
or the black camera case (his) in the photo.

It was like an outdoor gallery!

My best.

We chose the photos from Zsolt's Flickr, and realized afterwards the we had at least one which hadn't been posted on his BDP at the time! The dead tree on which we pinned all the photos was, by the way, this one.

Ben Goes Crane Shotting on Rabbit Island

You might be able to see the head and the tail of the bird on the far right. He removed a pin from one of the photos because one corner kept creeping into his bird pic.