weekend recap, october 7

1. friday hike | 2. photo prompt (paper) | 3. noreen's squash | 4. pre-game ritual | 5. pre-game breakfast | 6. game | 7. saturday night | 8. photo prompt (corner) | 9. campari shandy (because it feels like summer | 10. cal paddles | 11. neel paddles | 12. fatty paddles

Well, I'm late this morning. Took a walk with my girlfriends last night instead of writing and ironing. Got up to do the ironing this morning because, well, Cal had to go to school in clothes today. Pffft. 

And here we are. You know what? I pretty much managed to get my wish. Busy and relaxing. Saturday was a little crazy. Baseball weekends are. Not gonna lie. I love it. What I do not love is A) baseball day headaches and B) 90+ degree heat. I'll do the math for you celsuis folk. It was like 32.2º. In October. HOT. I have a lot to say about Cal's little baseball season, so I'll likely save it for a separate post. There are highs and lows as there are with most things. A high? Ballpark food. A low? The heat.

We've developed a lovely routine of heading to the Bay on Sunday mornings for a walk. Sometimes we meet my friend Kim and her family, sometimes it's just us. We've been taking Lucy, but I'm so hesitant to take her off leash and she's so hesitant to dip a paw in the water...well. This week we decided to take Thea.

If you follow me in Instagram, you know how delightfully that turned out.  

We're calling her Seabiscuit. I think she'll get to go back.

It's been so hot and dry here. I really am starting to feel fretful. Ready to hop a plane and move in with Christine. But they're calling for cooler air and rainy skies this week. I can't wait. Ready. So ready.  

five things, october 4

1. I think I first have to tell you that Kate, our houseguest, is great! We've been having a great time with her. Our schedules overlap slightly, so she's not around all the time when we're around, but when she is, she's just so fun and easy to be with. Last night while Neel and Cal were at baseball practice, she and I worked on our laptops and watched House Hunters. Match made in heaven. And you guys. She loves The Devil Wears Prada. Who could ask for more, really?

2. I think it's been just great talking photography with you guys all week. Face it, I've been thinking photography a lot. A bunch of you have asked about the various projects I'm working on, so let me tell you about a couple of them. I'm participating in a month-long Instagram photo prompt developed by Raincoast Creative Salon. So far, really fun. And the month is young! It's not too late to jump in if you're interested. There are tons of great prompt projects out there, and I don't always play along, but I find it can be a fun way to help you think about your photography rather than just snap a shot that appeals to you.

Another project I'm in the middle of is with my Thursday Morning Photo Group (Now on Fridays). Late in the summer we did a photo scavenger hunt using about eight words as prompts. Some photos were "found" and some were  "created." That was great fun, and it really stretched me and inspired me. I'll share the results of my scavenger hunt in the next weeks. Our most recent project was a slight shift on the hunt. This time everyone wrote a prompt on a piece of paper to place in a bowl and we each pulled out one prompt. This way, everyone does a different prompt. One to three pictures for each. The prompts range from black and white to water, and my prompt is tiny. There's a lot I can do with that. It's due in a week! YIPES!!

3. I think you're right. We're over the moon about our upcoming trip to Greece. Part of it is that it's so nice to have next year's trip already settled. A luxury, really. And the bonus? My dad is coming with us. Well, not to the Greece part actually. We always tack on a little extra to these trips (although I lovelovelove these meetings that Neel goes to, and for that part Cal and I can't wait!), so where else will we go? All will be revealed in the fullness of time.

4. I think if I were moving to a House Hunters International location, I'd pick Copenhagen. Just based on today. That might change.

5. I think I'm going to establish a no-more sleepovers rule. We all still seem to be recovering from the one Callum had last weekend, and here it is, the weekend again. For us that means more baseball, more photos and hopefully more walks on the beach. Restful and busy? Is that possible? Lord, I hope so.