grateful at week's end
it was a week for the good, the bad, and the ugly.
letters came from Portland, and yes, I once again failed to make the cut. sigh. of course, I found out on the same day I found that my total weight loss since surgery hit the 77 pound mark, so I wasn't totally aghast at the Portland news.
during the week I made a lot of good progress on the site. I learned a lot about CSS, I added a search page so people can search for specific flowers, or colors, or art pieces, I kept consolidating my mailing list and added a list join form to the site, and I went through and added to all the ALT tags for all of my photos.
I think I've decided to draw a line in the sand and let my portfolios stand as they are through this year's season, although I suspect that I will add to/subtract from the etherea portfolio a little more. I'm taking good shots this spring, but I don't have time to review the floragraphy portfolio to add and subtract photos every month or so when I need to keep framing.
at week's end I found out I got into the American Art Festival's first show in Pleasanton, which is in Alameda County, California. I was thrilled to get in but it will be a long drive (12+ hours one way), and I don't yet know how well people do at these shows. of course, until my taxes and financials are done, I can't really commit.
I'd kinda rather spend the money to go to a photo seminar in Tuscon in April, to shoot in the desert... or get a new camera, and pay off some debts.
but we'll see what the IRS has to say...
Friday was probably the most convoluted day. I got some good work done, but then I needed to run into Seattle over my lunch break. I also got a chance to stop at the UW Botany Greenhouse to snap some pics. the desert room was great, with a lot of cactus in bloom.
I was also amazed to see that the greenhouse's passionflower varieties appear to be in full bloom, because they had a tray filled with different blossoms. here's my favorite:
once I left Seattle, however, my troubles began.
mid-span on the 520 bridge, the engine light starts flashing on my Saab. the accelerator seems to stop working, and there's a horrific smell of burning plastic/rubber. somehow the Saab manages to get up the east highrise of the bridge, so I exit at Medina and manage to get just past the Tully's in Clyde Hill when it dies completely, with the battery, oil and warning lights on.
the call goes in to AAA, but I can't really describe where I am at, so it takes the tow truck driver longer than an hour to find me, the poor guy. I get towed to my mechanic's, Autologic in Bellevue, but they can't take a look at the Saab until Monday morning. they do, however, pay for a cab to get me home, where my art van, the 91 Toyota Previa, waits.
except the battery is dead. even Gary, my most lesbian of gay male friends, has no jumper cables. however, Ben, mate of Kat, of Katography fame, does have cables, and Ben and Kat drive over to jump my poor Previa, which got a new battery last fall so really shouldn't have needed this!
the Previa starts up, and I make it to UPS (to get books on GoLive and CSS) before they close, and Hiro comes home. I'm so tired after all of the craziness, that we forego the gym, have dinner at Bingo-ya (a local Japanese restaurant whose food isn't quite as good as the prices would indicate), and then go to see Robots over in Crossroads.
may the gods bless Robin Williams. a wonderful movie. true eye-candy, but the humor was fantastic. oddly enough, the headliners, Ewan MacGregor (love him!) and Halle Berry, seemed the least adaptable to doing voice roles. even Drew Carey was subdued. but Robin Williams and Mel Brooks were great.
on Saturday, after some errands, we drove back over to the UW to join Hiro's friends for a true Japanese hanami, minus the alcohol and cigarettes and portable karaoke machines. hanami are picnics under the cherry trees. needless to say, I spent most of time looking at the trees:
I also managed to get a decent shot of Mount Rainier:
and a nice shot of Hiro, who actually let me take a picture for once.
after that, we drove over to the Washington Park Arboretum so I could shoot some magnolia shots with what was left of the sunlight. then a stop at Jamba, and a visit to Kat to thank her and Ben for the jumper cables.
Sunday morning, the selfsame Kat and I drove up to Mount Vernon, to work our ways south, cameras in hand. we started at the WSU garden in Mount Vernon, and then stopped at Christianson's Nursery. no, the tulips in Mount Vernon are not yet out, but the daffs are blazing away. everything seems to be running a month early, so I suspect the tulips will be ready by Easter, at the latest. my favorite flower shot of the day was of a variety of pussy willow we never saw back East (or in Japan, for that matter):
we also got to see a huge flock of snow geese in La Conner as they continued their migration back north:
and a beautiful shot of Mt Baker:
we ended our trip at Flower World in Maltby, for another blitz of photos.
once I got home, though, I was dead. tomorrow promises to be as crazy as ever, so I'm ready for my beauty sleep...
letters came from Portland, and yes, I once again failed to make the cut. sigh. of course, I found out on the same day I found that my total weight loss since surgery hit the 77 pound mark, so I wasn't totally aghast at the Portland news.
during the week I made a lot of good progress on the site. I learned a lot about CSS, I added a search page so people can search for specific flowers, or colors, or art pieces, I kept consolidating my mailing list and added a list join form to the site, and I went through and added to all the ALT tags for all of my photos.
I think I've decided to draw a line in the sand and let my portfolios stand as they are through this year's season, although I suspect that I will add to/subtract from the etherea portfolio a little more. I'm taking good shots this spring, but I don't have time to review the floragraphy portfolio to add and subtract photos every month or so when I need to keep framing.
at week's end I found out I got into the American Art Festival's first show in Pleasanton, which is in Alameda County, California. I was thrilled to get in but it will be a long drive (12+ hours one way), and I don't yet know how well people do at these shows. of course, until my taxes and financials are done, I can't really commit.
I'd kinda rather spend the money to go to a photo seminar in Tuscon in April, to shoot in the desert... or get a new camera, and pay off some debts.
but we'll see what the IRS has to say...
Friday was probably the most convoluted day. I got some good work done, but then I needed to run into Seattle over my lunch break. I also got a chance to stop at the UW Botany Greenhouse to snap some pics. the desert room was great, with a lot of cactus in bloom.
I was also amazed to see that the greenhouse's passionflower varieties appear to be in full bloom, because they had a tray filled with different blossoms. here's my favorite:
once I left Seattle, however, my troubles began.
mid-span on the 520 bridge, the engine light starts flashing on my Saab. the accelerator seems to stop working, and there's a horrific smell of burning plastic/rubber. somehow the Saab manages to get up the east highrise of the bridge, so I exit at Medina and manage to get just past the Tully's in Clyde Hill when it dies completely, with the battery, oil and warning lights on.
the call goes in to AAA, but I can't really describe where I am at, so it takes the tow truck driver longer than an hour to find me, the poor guy. I get towed to my mechanic's, Autologic in Bellevue, but they can't take a look at the Saab until Monday morning. they do, however, pay for a cab to get me home, where my art van, the 91 Toyota Previa, waits.
except the battery is dead. even Gary, my most lesbian of gay male friends, has no jumper cables. however, Ben, mate of Kat, of Katography fame, does have cables, and Ben and Kat drive over to jump my poor Previa, which got a new battery last fall so really shouldn't have needed this!
the Previa starts up, and I make it to UPS (to get books on GoLive and CSS) before they close, and Hiro comes home. I'm so tired after all of the craziness, that we forego the gym, have dinner at Bingo-ya (a local Japanese restaurant whose food isn't quite as good as the prices would indicate), and then go to see Robots over in Crossroads.
may the gods bless Robin Williams. a wonderful movie. true eye-candy, but the humor was fantastic. oddly enough, the headliners, Ewan MacGregor (love him!) and Halle Berry, seemed the least adaptable to doing voice roles. even Drew Carey was subdued. but Robin Williams and Mel Brooks were great.
on Saturday, after some errands, we drove back over to the UW to join Hiro's friends for a true Japanese hanami, minus the alcohol and cigarettes and portable karaoke machines. hanami are picnics under the cherry trees. needless to say, I spent most of time looking at the trees:
I also managed to get a decent shot of Mount Rainier:
and a nice shot of Hiro, who actually let me take a picture for once.
after that, we drove over to the Washington Park Arboretum so I could shoot some magnolia shots with what was left of the sunlight. then a stop at Jamba, and a visit to Kat to thank her and Ben for the jumper cables.
Sunday morning, the selfsame Kat and I drove up to Mount Vernon, to work our ways south, cameras in hand. we started at the WSU garden in Mount Vernon, and then stopped at Christianson's Nursery. no, the tulips in Mount Vernon are not yet out, but the daffs are blazing away. everything seems to be running a month early, so I suspect the tulips will be ready by Easter, at the latest. my favorite flower shot of the day was of a variety of pussy willow we never saw back East (or in Japan, for that matter):
we also got to see a huge flock of snow geese in La Conner as they continued their migration back north:
and a beautiful shot of Mt Baker:
we ended our trip at Flower World in Maltby, for another blitz of photos.
once I got home, though, I was dead. tomorrow promises to be as crazy as ever, so I'm ready for my beauty sleep...
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