Five!!!

Oh my goodness, there are only five blog posts left.  *GASP*

I can see the finish line.

The crowd has started to roar with excitement.

The adrenaline that was there at the beginning of the challenge is back, coursing through my veins, giving me exactly what I need to push myself these last few steps.

The questions that plagued me during parts of this mammoth effort are fading into insignificance. Of course I can finish!!

The new ideas and plans are starting to enter my brain, boosted by my very first competition win. But these new ideas won’t distract me from my ultimate goal………..to complete “A photo every day for 365 days”

And what better way to celebrate countdown day 5 than with a photo of my foot, and its five painted toes, in the magnificent, clear, warm waters of Anglesea back beach.

It’s OK friends and followers. I will continue to blog in 2016. (Among other things)

 

Ten………….

Thank you #1 son for your cooperation in today’s photo.

We are into countdown mode. Well, not we…… me.

Only ten more photos to go.

Only ten more blog posts to write.

Only ten more days of leaving events with a “Sorry. Must leave. I have to do my blog before midnight.” (Truly, I was worse than Cinderella at the ball, only I’m pretty certain that there will not be a prince to come searching for me once I finish this.)

Only ten more days of carrying my camera EVERYWHERE I go. (Who am I kidding? I’m still going to carry my camera with me. It is almost an extension of my body now. They say that it only takes 21 days to create a habit……….At 356 days this is beyond habitual.)

Only ten more days of looking at my stats page to see what countries have been peeking at my blog.

Only ten more days of checking to see who likes my latest post or who has chosen to follow me.

Only ten days to figure out what to do with this blog once the “A photo a day for 365 days” title is no longer relevant.

Somebody mentioned that it’s Xmas Day on Friday………only 3 sleeps away. I can only offer this most sincere apology to my son, my family, my friends and work colleagues for being so totally and utterly vague about Xmas and presents and days and dates and holidays and where I’m supposed to be. The only date that has any significance at all to me is December 31. Day 365.

Until I complete this challenge nothing else matters.

Let’s begin the countdown.

TEN……………..

Boys and balls

Give a little boy some balls and he will happily play with them for hours.

You are welcome to take that line anyway your mind wishes to travel.

There is the safe, sanitised, blissfully naive path of thinking that the balls being referred to are the sporting kind. Tennis balls, footballs, basketballs, soccer balls, billiard balls……….

Or……

You can take the path that heads straight to the gutter and imagine that I was referring to the balls given to the male of the species homo sapiens through the wonders of the x and y chromosome combination. Yes, I am referring to testicles.

Either way, the little devils will happily play for hours with them.

Tis the season to be jolly…….

Fa la la la la…la la la la

But why am I the only house in the street decked out with Xmas lights?  😦

Come on neighbours. Get into the spirit. Don’t let the heathen and proclaimed atheist be the only shining light.

 

When kids want to create

They were so proud of their Lego creation

Libraries are not what they used to be. There are two common reactions to this statement. Either people breathe a huge sigh of relief and say “Thank goodness!” or they shake their heads sadly and mumble something about how the whole world has gone to rack and ruin.

I’m part of the first group. I’m very happy that libraries have moved forward and have become places for the community to meet, learn, create and discover.

Anyone who knows me would correctly declare that I am not the sort of person suited to a place of quiet and seriousness. I’m just a tiny bit to loud. I like to interact with people and that means that I will talk to them. Good lord, can you imagine working in a place where saying hello to people who arrive was frowned upon??

The library service that I have worked in for more than 11 years has expanded the programs that it offers to all it’s members but especially the youngest members, the children.

We do Baby Rhyme Time, Toddler Time and Pre-school Story Time at every branch every week. We now also offer a Lego Club, Chess Club and Cartooning at one of the branches every week.

You might ask why we run all these things for the kids. We do it because these programs enhance their learning skills. The Baby, Toddler and Pre-school programs encourage a love of language and books and give the parents the skills to interact and read to their children to create good literacy habits. Chess is amazing for the maths brain. Cartooning enriches their imaginations and creativity and the structured Lego sessions direct their creativity to a specific subject and then they get the chance to improve their oral skills through explaining their designs.

So what if we make a little noise once or twice a week. We are building places where all members of the community feel comfortable to enter. Places where they can find information as well as enjoy different experiences.  Places where they can build or draw a spaceship AND get the chance to tell us all about it.

 

When you just know that there is a good photo in there

The other week when I was wandering the paths of the Docklands precinct with my new photo buddy, I stopped to photograph something that brought a bit of consternation from said photo buddy.

The weathered, derelict, graffiti-covered, boarded-up storage sheds that stare directly into the vibrant restaurant area are not what most people consider to be ‘good photography fodder’. Especially when you are in an area that is filled with amazing bridges and boats and lights…….

But I’m not most people. I don’t see dereliction in these sheds. I see character. I see history. I see stories. I see the photo opportunities.

And only a week later I saw a news report regarding this exact piece of land. Redevelopment is on it’s way and these sheds may not be there for much longer.

 

Thank heavens for the vault

As I sit here exhausted after my first day back at work in a week, I am so very glad that I have taken so many photos this year. I can just pick one and post it because I have not had the time or energy today to do more than the basics.

So tonight I share a photo that I took with my four day old Nikon D750.

More of the magnificent street art that decorates the laneways of my marvellous Melbourne, except this time take from a different perspective. This time I was up off the ground on the second or third floor of a multi-level carpark.

I was eye to eye with this piece of art which is an unusual occurrence for me. But the moment I began driving up the levels to a car parking space all I could see was this amazing art. I simply had to shoot it from the carpark rather than down in the lane.

I was also late to the dinner I was going to because, once again, the photos came before the food.

What’s a few minutes between friends.   🙂

 

The atheist has put up her Xmas tree

It is true. I am an atheist. I do not believe in a God.

What is also true is that I put up a Christmas/Xmas tree every year on, or about December 1st. I spend hours trimming my tree with lights and decorations collected over many years. The personalised Xmas ball that I bought for my son in 1996 for his first Xmas still takes pride of place on the tree.

But why does this atheist put up a Xmas tree? For two reasons. Firstly, out of habit. My mother puts up a Xmas tree, her mother put up a Xmas tree and probably her mother before that …….and the history  and traditions prevail. And secondly, because of my son. He was horrified the one year I didn’t put up our tree. It had been a very tough year for me emotionally and mentally that year and I was not in the mood for Xmas festivities so I didn’t put up the tree. He really struggled with the lack of Xmas in the house so I have never not put the tree up again.

But there is a third reason why I put up the tree. Because I like it and it serves as an annual reminder to take joy in life. The other eleven months of the year are all about work. December is about relaxing, going out, catching up with friends, thinking about those who are no longer with us and being kind to one another.

I love the twinkling lights. I love making that extra bit of effort to make the house look pretty. I even bought a beautiful nativity set that I put out. Hahahaha. The atheist with her Xmas tree AND her nativity figures.

And I love the public holidays that this annual Christian celebration offers all Australians.

What photo to use…………???

I was presented with a major dilemma tonight. What photo to use? Purely because I’m still stuck at home and have not taken a photo since last Tuesday.

Six days!!!!!!

Six days of untapped creativity. Six days of not playing with my lovely Nikon. Six days of feeling like crap. Six days of feeling like I’m missing out on something.

So I’m having to pull one from the vault yet again.  😦

But it was fun looking at some of the shots I’ve taken in the recent past with my new Nikon. I spent some time editing a group that I had shot after having owned D750 for a mere 4 days. I was intending on using one of them until I exported them into my ‘365 Photos’ folder and had a squiz.

There was another that stood out for me tonight. An image that has a number of different qualities. Almost two stories. The story of the river and the story of the path.

The walking path that runs along both sides of the Maribyrnong River between the Afton Street footbridge and the Maribyrnong Road bridge is one of my favourite places to walk. It’s long enough, at just over 4km, to be a good bit of exercise without being too long to make you think twice about putting on the active wear. It’s never a boring walk because the river itself is different every time you wander down and there are always plenty of people out walking, running or riding to keep you company.

Unless you are down there at 9:30pm on a Monday night. By then only the dedicated non-smiling joggers or crazy photographers are out on the path.

Puppies in the park

Sorry folks, but it’s going to be short and sweet tonight.  I am exhausted after actually getting out of the house today.

I was more than a bit like Old Mother Hubbard who went to the cupboard to get her poor doggie a bone. When she went there the cupboard was bare and so the poor doggie had none. Except that there is plenty of food in the house for the dogs, it’s just the #1 son who is complaining.

Gee, sorry son, but your mother has barely been able to get out of bed for the last five days let alone out to the supermarket to restock the fridge and pantry. I personally couldn’t have cared less about how much food there wasn’t in the house. Food and eating are not especially high on my agenda at the moment.

But today was the day. I started small by walking the dogs slowly around the block. I did some washing. I showed #1 son how to start the wipper-snipper. And I hit the supermarket.

But I have not taken a photo since Tuesday and I’m certainly not going to try and take one now. Just those few small tasks have left me exhausted. My back aches, my legs are shaky and I’m feeling foggy in the head.

So I give you a very cute French Bulldog cross that I met on Monday night