weekend recap, february 24

1. ditch your gear! | 2. storm clouds over richmond (metaphor?) | 3. sugarplums | 4. cozy corner thanks to plumed! | 5. lauren's happy place, sun on my face, sand in my shoes

Erin commented last week asking if my migraines were like that commercial where the woman was on the park bench where her family and kids played around here, and generally they're not. I have what I refer to as "functional migraines," where I can pretty much do what needs to be done to manage my life only in a less fun way. Except yesterday. Yesterday knocked me on my ass. Yesterday I did end up on the sofa with heavy meds to sleep it off. Didn't last all day, but most of it, and that's all I'm going to say about that, except that's why we're running a bit behind here at SPL today.

Other than that, it was a weekend, you know? Our first class of Ditch Your Gear (DYG) was great fun, and we're already seeing some awesome photos show up in our Instagram feeds! I love teaching, and working with my friend Kim is just the best. We're having our inevitable "first go at this" bumps, but we're only going to get smoother over time until it's just the best class ever, SO HA. (Cal used to say that phrase so much, and it's really useful, I've found.)

For totally boring reasons, Neel and I had to dash to grab Cal in Richmond this week, and we ran smack into some fierce thunderstorms. Sky purple. Then sky green. Then sky swirling. Then branches falling. Then rain so hard you couldn't see. Then hail and more branches and more wind. Cars were pulled off on either side of the road, and Neel crept along. It seriously felt like we were in a storm chaser video, and Neel said he was a heartbeat away from pulling over and saying, "RUN!" Still, I think we both thought that the only way out was through. After a long few minutes the wind let up and the whole mood lightened. We learned later that there were 74MPH gusts in the area that we were. Un-fun.

After that dramatic beginning, all was quiet. Poor Cal is sick, but what a trooper! He slept and slurped and coughed his way through the weekend, but he's back at it now. Two more weeks until he's home for good. Neel and I cleaned out kitchen drawers. It's clear that his role in our marriage is to organize things and mine is to make them pretty. That's pretty equal right? Both important? Please say yes. And I finally got a pillow for the pretty case Christine made us and Neel and I stirred ourselves enough for a little field trip that ended with our toes in the sand on a gloriously beautiful warm and sunny Sunday afternoon. It's all good.

five things, february 21

1. I think as I'm trying to write this post the US vs. Canada gold medal hockey game is in sudden death overtime. I have no real idea what's going on, but I'm having trouble concentrating. And... Canada wins again. Darn.

2. I think I found this article, in the Harvard Business Review, fascinating. Even if it's not a regular thing, we all bump up against times when we're less inclined to want to get something done. Some interesting strategies offered here.

3. I think I'm so thrilled to be beginning my 4-week camera phone class today with my good friend Kim. She is a phenomenal photographer who inspires me every day, and I'm simply looking forward to hanging out with her a little more. Our class is called "Ditch Your Gear" and it's all about getting the most out of the camera you have right in your hand. I'll let you know how we get on.

4. I think I'm super proud of Cal this week. He's been battling a cold pretty much since he left us on Sunday, and he worked hard to power through. Can't wait to pick him up this afternoon.

5. I think one of the highlights of my week was attending a talk by the photographer Platon at The Norfolk Forum speaker series on Tuesday. It was spectacular! Honestly, when I linked to his site, I didn't know which page to pick. Click on the menu and look around. He's photographed so many famous and no-so-famous people around the world, for Time Magazine, for Vogue, for The New Yorker. Chances are you've seen at least one of his portraits somewhere. (Oh, and Erin, if you scroll around on the movies & television page, you might see something of interest [cough-GaryOldman-cough].) And his photo of Philip Seymour Hoffman gave me chills. I went with my friend Artemis, and we'd heard that Platon was a compelling story teller. We weren't disappointed. I could have stayed for hours. Every portrait had a story behind it, and I want to hear them all. Add to that, Platon has great sense of the human spirit and a great understanding for our capacity for compassion and kindness.

He said to us, before he stopped speaking and took questions, "What's the one thing you'd do if you weren't afraid?" There are all sorts of versions of that question floating around these days, but somehow having this amazing man ask it, as we faced all these photos of such amazing people (some you'd want to know and others you decidedly wouldn't), it really struck me. It's been in my mind a lot anyway. My fear. My general stuckness. And then I see something like this, and I think, what right do I have to be stuck? What right do I have to be afraid?