five things, september 27

1. I think it's pretty funny that I like to cook different and creative things when all my family wants is meatloaf and sloppy joes. Ha! Joke on me, right? It's all good. Callum really will eat anything I put in front of him (the spicier the better), but we had both meatloaf AND sloppy joes this week, and the gusto with which both my men gobbled up those dinners, not to mention the glee? Well, lesson learned. When they're happy, I'm happy.

2. I think  I've been thinking some about how outsiders see us lately. Outsiders? Wrong word. For the next few weeks, we'll have a young woman living with us while she's in Virginia working on efforts for the gubernatorial campaign. She's a recent graduate of the college Neel and I attended (where we met, actually), and she found us through the alumni directory. She needed a cheap place to stay for a short amount of time (just through the election), so we had a family meeting and decided, why not here? She got here Tuesday, and she's been nothing but a delight ever since.

You can't help but wonder, though, how someone new will see you. After Neel told her to be sure to have cash for the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, I said, "Okay, Dad..."  Are we fuddy? Are we mainstream? Quirky and fun? Does she even give us a second thought? Only time will tell, I guess. At least the guest room was ready for her. I hope she's cozy.

3. I think  I really appreciate the nudge that Christine gave me with this post about shooting in black and white. I tried to do it for most of the week, and I'll share some of those photos on Tuesday if you care to have a look. I'm not sure I'm getting it yet, but I'll keep trying!

4. I think  I'm still not completely out of my funk. I'm getting there, but two of my classes didn't go (not enough students), and even though I've been reassured left and right that it's not personal, it's hard not to feel it, you know? Baby steps, I guess. Perhaps I need to read more of those articles about jumping back from failure. Or not. I've been thinking about friendship too. I'm enjoying some deepening relationships very much, but I've been hurt lately too. How do you let go of a thrum of anger when you feel you've been let down by someone you love?

5. I think it's good that I was "off" these last two weeks. Well, "off-ish." I'll tell you more about what I did next week. I wasn't offline as much as I wanted to be, and I didn't get things straightened out quite the way I wanted to, but where things were slipping into chaos, they're now merely busy. I guess that's a good thing, right?

five things, september 20

1. I KNOW I'm excited to announce that I'll be teaching, along with my dear friend Jackie, another food photography workshop in November. We have some exciting things planned to explore the basics of this exciting genre. This is one of three classes I hope to teach this fall, so if you live in the Tidewater and have any interest in learning more about blogging or photography, contact Amanda at Virginia MOCA or checkout their website  to learn more.

2. I think this week hasn't been nearly as quiet as I had hoped! Last week I had said to myself that I really wanted to stay home all week and get things done. Ha! Best laid plans and all that. Cal got sick. Went in late Monday and stayed home Tuesday. Apparently everyone is hacking and sniffling their way through school right now. Heather had it right. Those first of school year colds? Don't stop after preschool. He better now. Well enough for baseball practice, which started unexpectedly this week and screwed up our evenings on Wednesday and Thursday. Plus, I had a meeting on Wednesday night. Thursday? Out all day. Friday? Out all day. My house is a wreck! I got nothing done! (Well, very little.) We ate dinner standing up! I might need to lie down.

3. I think  one of the best things that happened to me this week was discovering this post by my friend Rooth. As part of my 365 (I should do a catch-up post soon with some highlights, as soon as I'm caught up!), I take a weekly picture of the Elizabeth river from a vantage point a couple points a couple blocks from our home. It's one of my favorite spots in all of our area. And that Rooth thought of me and my photos when she read that lovely poem? Well. I have no words. It was exactly the thing I needed to read right in that moment. How did she know?

4. I think  one of the funnier things that happened this week was that Callum used our friends Richard and Annie and their (and our) beloved Primrose Hill in a word problem for math this week. Here goes: Richard decides to walk through Primrose Hill on his way home from work. Eager to get home, he walks up the hill two kilometers in two hours (!), however he catches up with a few old friends and talks for two more hours. Realizing that his wife will be worried he jogs home and reaches there in one hour. Cal then charted Richard's progress on a graph.

5. I think  this week has been good and necessary, and I think I'll likely take next to go along with it to actually stay home and get things done. I'm trying to monitor and pay really close attention to my on and offline life. To listen to the still small voice. It's easier to do when there's not so much chaos swirling around, isn't it? The absolute bonus is that I've had some amazing conversations with some wonderful people who are very dear to me. People who remind me how special being here really is. Thank you to all of you, near and far. Thank you.