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Over the Christmas break, OH and I went for several walks along the beach. The fresh sea air was the perfect antidote to our holiday torpor.
I haven’t been able to get out today, as it’s too wet and miserable outside. So I busied myself taking down the decorations. I had my annual battle trying to get the fairy lights back into their box neatly. Grrrr! I don’t mind the flat without decorations - it’s a clearer space in which to start the new year. I wish I could clear my mind as easily. I’ve got loads of projects and ideas jostling for attention and I can’t decide which to tackle first.
There have been festive preparations in the GiW household. I put up the tree last week and festooned it with fairy lights, tinsel and decorations. In case you’re thinking, “blimey, that photo’s out of focus” the blur is intentional!
I made some gluten-free mince pies at the weekend, which were a welcome accompaniment to the annual viewing of The Muppet Christmas Carol. I can’t help but think that Dickens’ classic story is improved by the addition of the penguins’ skating party and Mr Fozziwig’s rubber chicken factory.
I have mixed feelings about Christmas, actually. I like the time off work, twinkly lights, nice food and presents. However, it can be a difficult time with family tensions exacerbated by unrealistic expectations of what Christmas should be like. More than anything, I need a rest.
You might be wondering where the knitting content has gone. I am working on Secret Knitting at the moment. All will be revealed in due course…
Here are some more images from my winter wonderland.
The post title is taken from the first song on Tori Amos’ album Midwinter Graces.
I got my wish – it snowed overnight. I woke up to find about 4 inches of snow had fallen and settled. It made my small corner of the world look like Narnia.
This photo makes me smile. I love that someone has built a snowman on the beach. He looks like he’s on holiday.
It’s snowing on my blog too!
It snowed this afternoon. It was only a teeny bit compared to the rest of the UK, but yay!
I am keeping very cosy in my Central Park Hoodie. I’ve worn it a lot and it has been much envied by chillier colleagues.
This weekend was very cold, but we didn’t have any snow. One part of me is pleased, because it makes driving and getting about generally much easier. However, another part of me is childishly disappointed that I don’t get to frolic in the snow like other people.
I went for a walk along the beach yesterday. I prefer the seaside out of season and I’m definitely a winter, not a summer, person. In summer, I get hot and uncomfortable. In winter, I can sit by the fire, drink hot chocolate and achieve maximum cosiness.
As you can see, the sea was calm.
The sky turned dark and looked as if it was heavy with snow, but alas not a flake fell.
I got bored waiting for a drink in a seafront cafe and so wrote rude words with magnetic letters on the wall (*tee hee hee*).
I have a confession about my photos. I have a new point and shoot camera. I’ve had my Canon Ixus for a few years now and I’ve started to notice the images weren’t looking great (perhaps I’ve been spoiled since getting my DSLR). I like to carry a camera with me all the time, but my DSLR is too bulky and heavy to carry easily. So I did some research and I found the Canon Powershot SX210 IS (NB you can get £30 cashback from Canon if you purchase this camera before 13 January 2011).
I liked the Powershot because it is small and light, but it also has 14x optical zoom. It is a point and shoot, but it also has similar functionality to my DLSR (aperture priority, shutter priority, program and manual modes). Obviously the images won’t be of the same quality as a DSLR, but it’s portable and it allows me to practice skills I can transfer to my DLSR.
It’s a Christmas present from my OH and my parents, but I was allowed to have to have it early.
The trees look amazing in my part of the country this autumn. I’ve been meaning to get out with my camera to take some photos for ages. I decided to get on with it this weekend, before winter is upon us and the trees are bare.
The colours are so rich at this time of year, aren’t they?
Unfortunately it wasn’t the clear, sunny day I’d hoped for and I had to dodge some heavy showers by hiding under the trees. I kept my camera dry, but I ended up feeling quite soggy.
In case you’re interested, I was using a Canon 450D with a 50mm f1.8 lens.
I was listening to one of my favourite CDs this lunchtime, Raising Sand, and this song described the colours of my weekend perfectly:
Leaves were falling.
Just like embers.
In colours red and gold
They set us on fire…
Hope you had a good weekend, whatever you did.
I’ve been dabbling in photography for a few months now. In that time, I’ve learned that I enjoy taking macro shots. I love to see the world in close up, which reminds me of these lines by Blake:
To see the world in a grain of sand
And heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.
Blake, ‘Auguries of Innocence’.
Anyway, I made an investment purchase recently – a macro lens. I debated getting some Kenko extension tubes, which would have been the cheaper option. They sit between your camera body and your lens. Basically, they extend the focusing distance, allowing your camera to get closer to smaller objects. However, in the end I took a deep breath and I bought a Canon EF-S 60mm f2.8 USM macro lens.
It arrived last week and although I was hugely excited, I confess I’m also a bit scared of such a posh lens. I took it out for the first time at the weekend and played about with the camera in my parents’ garden. I didn’t really know what I was doing, so I just gave it a try and hoped for the best. The bee was difficult to capture as he kept moving from flower to flower (I guess that what bees do…).
Greedy bee
I tried it out again when I got home. This time I put my camera on a tripod to cut down on any shake from my hands which was blurring some images. I took shots of things I had in my living room. My favourite is this one of coloured pencils.
Get the point?
I’m still very much an amateur, but I’m loving just playing around with my camera and seeing what happens.
OH and I went to the beach for a walk yesterday. It was a glorious day, too hot for my still wintry clothes. As we strolled along, I spotted these bird footprints in the sand which made me smile.
Bird feet on sand
We headed back up to the grassy cliff where we bought icecreams and sat on a nearby bench to enjoy them. There are some advantages to living by the seaside! This plaque was fixed to the bench – I wonder who Betty Papworth was? It is such a lovely sentiment, I had to take a picture.
Enjoy the view
We tried out the monochrome setting on our cameras for the first time yesterday. I’m determined to get out with my SLR as much as possible, I’m missing the discipline of my weekly photography class. OH took this photo of me in action. It’s one of the few photos of me I like, despite the screwed up face and double chins.
Move over, Cartier-Bresson...
There was also lots of knitting action at the weekend, but more of that another time…
I have a bunch of daffodils, which OH bought me, on the mantelpiece in my bedroom. They are so splendid – a vase of pure sunshine – I had to photograph one so I can remember them when they’ve faded.
Pure sunshine
Nature rarer uses yellow
Than another hue;
Saves she all of that for sunsets,–
Prodigal of blue,
Spending scarlet like a woman,
Yellow she affords
Only scantly and selectly,
Like a lover’s words.
Emily Dickinson.
