4th

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We roadtripped to Harrisonburg with my friend, Taylor, to take part in the Valley Fourth festivities this afternoon. Amusements included art booths, a couple food trucks, a BBQ competition, giant cups of lemonade, and bluegrass music by the Hackensaw Boys. We ate Polish cabbage and noodles for lunch, stopped into the Artful Dodger for drinks, participated in the People’s Choice voting portion of the BBQ competition, and chatted up Bruce Rosenwasser of Wildwood Design. The weather was pleasant, the journey was scenic, and the festival was fun. Virginia’s full of pleasant mountain towns with scenic downtown streets.

hula girl bobble head

on the trail

Spring is here!

I went on a long, meandering (physically and conversationally) walk on the Saunders-Monticello Trail with my friends, Kristen and Amy, this afternoon. Parts of the trail were damaged due to Wednesday’s aggressive snowfall, so we courageously maneuvered through blocked pathways and locked gates to make it to the end.

blue ridge mountains snow trail snow trail monticello visitor's centerlimbs and sunlight trail damage

It’s incredible that this mountain landscape is only an interstate exit way. As soon as the snow clears and flowers start to bloom, I’d like to take a tour of Monticello.

monticello visitor's centerI’m looking forward to a long Charlottesville springtime.

To see photos of the trail from my visit in November, click here

snow day

snow fallWe got at least 8 inches of snow yesterday in Charlottesville. The snow day would have been fun, I’m sure, if we hadn’t lost power for over 11 hours. According to The Daily Progress, 40,000 people lost power in the city and county alone.

house in snow snow through windowpaneI opted to photograph the meteorological events from inside my rapidly cooling house rather than risk opening the door and letting our lifeline of remaining heat out.

snow flurries snow on branchwinter wonderland chimney in snow Daniel and I spent most of the day huddled inside our small library with three candles and our own body heat to keep us warm. I read, made a style collage from magazines, drank some lukewarm tea, and called my parents for entertainment while Daniel graded papers and revisited his wildlife books.

collagecandleWe were relieved when the power came back on at around 6:45, just after sunset. Since we don’t have family nearby, I’m not sure how we would have coped with the cold overnight.

The city quickly plowed roads and put down salt and I was able to go back to work today. I was too anxious to enjoy the snowfall yesterday, but I am greatly amused by the aftermath: snow-filled truck beds, white mountains in parking lots, slushy rivers trickling down sloped streets, and people rewarding themselves for surviving with large mochas and croissants.

snow fall

week(s) in photos

leahwise - alphabet shirt leahwise - tea leahwise - skeleton keystyle and tulips leah wise leahwise - tulips leahwise - daffodilleahwise - watermark and wall art

  • Photographing things to sell on ebay
  • Attempting to capture steam on a cool day
  • Skeleton key necklace for sale at Water Lily Thrift
  • Cut and dyed my hair
  • Tulips for Valentine’s Day
  • Daffodil in bloom
  • Testing my new watermark
  • New wall art arrangement

month in review: January ’13

January flew by despite being full of ups and downs. The weather was cold, then hot, then cold again, and my brain chemicals didn’t know how to react. I was really hard on myself for being lazy and depressed, but I came out of it and now I’m on an emotional upswing.

cardinal

This month, I (and sometimes Daniel):

  • attended two concerts at Mockingbird before it closed down
  • reached out to a band about joining them as a vocalist
  • contacted a local photographer to look into assistant opportunities
  • started a Fair Trade blog; I’m really proud of it
  • witnessed a friend’s marriage dissolve
  • went on several walks (one, two, three, four)
  • became obsessed with Trader Joe’s (that’s worn off a bit now)
  • attended a swing dance lesson and Sock Hop
  • took a lot of photos
  • survived a couple snow days
  • attended a game night
  • started modeling for my online shop
  • experienced record sales at my online shop
  • wrote three poems
  • finished decorating the library
  • got the mullet trimmed off my outgrown pixie cut
  • felt insignificant
  • felt proud
  • watched a lot of The Wire
  • wore many layers
  • was almost always cold
  • bought a digital scale for mailing orders from home
  • talked to some llamas
  • visited many thrift stores
  • nurtured new friendships

snow

How’d I do with my 4 Simple Goals?

  1. Grow my online business: things have been looking up. I use new bookkeeping software that helps me keep track of fees, purchases, and revenue.
  2. Put money in savings every month: I should be able to do this as soon as I deposit my paycheck.
  3. Buy fair trade/ second hand as often as possible: I think I’ve stuck to this.
  4. Travel to a new place: we visited an antique mall in Ruckersville; that kind of counts.

Hope you had a fun, productive first month of the year.

snow day

Every morning I open the bedroom curtain just a bit to let more light in to do my makeup. This morning, I looked out and exclaimed, Oh my gosh!, waking up Daniel on accident. A blanket of snow covered every horizontal surface, including my car. They predict another snowfall this evening. Tomorrow may be my lucky day for capturing snow in action!

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by a different route

or, Why Walks are the Best

moon in daylight sun sheer leaves glove love stark branch forest berries shallow dof tree stump virginia roadAfter taking Daniel to school on Monday afternoon, I looked about me on the drive home and realized suddenly that it was a beautiful day. We had about a week and a half of weird, dreary weather; it messed with my mood – everything felt stagnant. But Monday was cold and dry and crisp. The winter sun was at its brightest and the leaves and houses shone with its glaring light. I walked, this time, by a different route and felt refreshed. And at night, I looked up and saw Orion as clearly as if it were beaming out from a constellation chart.

Enjoy the winter light while it lasts.

weekly review

last red leafThis week felt a little off, sort of like Marie Cardouat’s surrealist artwork in the game, Dixit (more on that later). Either my positive attitude or my energy level – or both – tend to run in a cyclical pattern: one week on, one week off. I had such a satisfying week before last that I guess my brain gave my body a break without telling me.

That’s why I need to reflect on it now, to give myself closure and perspective.

This week:

  • a customer compared my coworkers and I to the donuts on a Krispy Kreme conveyor belt in terms of efficiency; it was meant as the highest of compliments.
  • I wrote another poem. I feel really good about this one.
  • I gladly partook in American Apparel’s Friends and Family sale. Hooray for checking things off my wishlist.
  • I considered joining choir, backed out, then considered taking ballet lessons again.
  • three of my sister’s photographs were accepted into a Jacksonville art show; it’s the first non-student exhibit in which her work will be featured!
  • I met with a friend at a local coffee shop and had a marvelous time conversing on various topics (and imbibing too much caffeine) as the snow came down.
  • several friends and acquaintances visited the coffee shop where I work.
  • I talked for nearly forty minutes with some customer friends about poetry, the elderly, and the Vietnam war. He survived some of the worst parts of the war and writes poetry now to cope and help others through their trauma. It’s really great!
  • Speaking of Vietnam, a customer told a coworker and me that we are beautiful women in Vietnamese (but couldn’t tell us how to answer, thank you, as he forgot the phrase).
  • the sun finally came out on Friday morning, bringing me much cheer.
  • Daniel and I joined some friends for a game night. We played a fun interpretation game called Dixit, which includes whimsical surrealist paintings by Marie Cardouat.
  • I slowly continued to work through the book, Sexing the Body. It’s a good read despite its small print and daunting size.
  • Daniel and I had a heart to heart on my seeming embarrassment over not attending grad school. It was an emotional but necessary discussion on which I’ll reflect in a separate post.
  • my dad was interviewed on the radio about his new book, Working Would Be Great If It Weren’t for Managers.
  • my camera remote came in the mail, so now I can model vintage clothing for my store! I guess that’s this week’s project.

As always with these wrap-up posts, I feel immensely better after reading through my list. So much of my angst is due to an emotional funk rather than any real lack of progress or efficiency. Here’s to another good week!

 

tutorial: digital photo film effect

Have you noticed that black and white film, especially older film, has a slight green tinge that distinguishes it from black and white digital photography? I prefer the softness film provides to the harsh gray scale of desaturating a digital image in photo processing software.

Since I use PicMonkey for most of my photo editing, I thought I’d share an easy tutorial on how to make your digital images look like black and white film prints.

1. Open your image in PicMonkey.

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2. Click on the Effects button (it looks like a flask), then click on the Black and White effect located under the Basics category. Click Apply.

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3. Scroll down to the Time Machine effect, select Trixi, and move the saturation tab to somewhere in the 70-80% range.

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4. Go to the Basic Edits category and click Exposure. Adjust the brightness and shadows tabs to achieve desired amount of contrast. It helps to zoom in on the focal point of your image for this part.

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5. If cropping is desired, click on Crop and adjust to your heart’s content. I typically set the crop tool to Original Proportions or 4×6.

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6. Congratulations! Black and white film perfection.

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Compare to a real black and white film image:

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end of isolation

bug in paper lantern

For the past two weeks it’s just been Daniel and me. And it’s nice to spend time together – to work and read and relax in the same room for hours on end – but almost everyone else left town and you kind of feel like you’re holed up in a room the size of Charlottesville with nothing to do and only your second half to talk to (which may really just be yourself).

Last night we broke the fast from socialization with a potluck dinner. I sat on a couch squished between two people, leaning forward to take in the conversation, and felt grateful – and lucky – to be a small part of such an interesting, dynamic, funny, and thoughtful group. The isolation was worth it for the chance to realize that.

That being said, the past few weeks have helped me think through and intensify my goals:

  • I’m eating (a little bit) healthier, eating in more, and saving money.
  • I’m taking more walks.
  • I’m considering delving back into the world of portrait photography (I’m offering free photo sessions in the Charlottesville area).
  • The advertisements I put out for my store are slowly but surely bringing in new customers and I’m staying on top of bookkeeping.
  • My fair trade blog venture is bringing me great satisfaction.
  • I’m in the process of working with Fair Trade Towns USA to approve the city of Charlottesville for their Fair Trade directory.

How do you work through periods of isolation? How are you achieving your short and long term goals?