State of the Ed
Therapy has been going really well. I feel a lot better. Still a ways to go, but progress is there.
That said, I think it is time for me to get back up, off my ass, and get out with the camera more.
The fact that we only get 78 clear days a year here is a bit of a hindrance, of course, but really it has been the depression that has kept me away. And I think I am now in a spot where I can start picking up my feet and moving again, so to speak.
Next week I am going to crack Artist's Way again. I won't be posting the exercises here, but rather on my art page. I'll link though. It will be interesting to see some of the changes made doing the same exercises from my new perspective. I also have two art club projects to finish up this weekend and a gift to a friend to start working on.
So far things are going in the garden. I really spent too much money in getting the damned thing going this year, but I hope that it will pay off in the future. It is funny how things from decades ago can come flooding back when I think about vegetable gardening. It is also funny how much I have fogotten. My poor step-father tried so hard to drive gardening into me, and I guess he did plant a seed (yeah - terrible metaphor, I know) but it has been so long and I am having to relearn so much b_hamsterno26 and doccross have both been very inspirational and helpful, and mechanteanemone , who admits to having no desire whatsoever to root around in the dirt, has graciously agreed to do her part by coming out with me on weekends to mow the yard and such while I dig and plant and weed.
I'm only expecting moderate success with my garden this year - combining the fact that I am very rusty with my gardening with the fact that gardening in this area has some unique challenges due to our soil and weather patterns (which are very atypical even for coastal California) and the fact that the soil probably hasn't been worked much for some years, and you don't exactly have a formula for prize-winning tomatoes (having a formula for ANY tomatoes here is a bit of a challenge, incidentally). But it's relaxing, and I can feel like I am making some sort of progress and being productive, even if it is the plants that are doing most of the work.
Gaming continues as it has been. I am playing in one game of Sundered Skies on Google Wave (which is moving as slowly as one would expect an online game to move) and running a game of Hot War, also on Google Wave (which has taken about forever to get off the ground, much to my frustration). I am still running Fading Suns using the Heroquest System and Dark Heresy using the Savage Worlds system. I still miss my friends and face-to-face gaming, of course, but that's the way it is, and at least if I get to hang around with gaming buddies less, I get to hang around with godwits and ospreys more.
I haven't been much inspired to be creative in my cooking recently - mostly relying on old,easy recipes. Nothing wrong with that of course, but once again I think it is time to shake off some accumulating creativity cobwebs and branch out. I have been enjoying making soups and stews for Sophie's lunch, even though I am not much of a soup eater myself, and have been able to dabble with a few other things. Mostly I am interested in seeing what sort of things come out of the garden and what I can do with them.
Just finished reading "Freethinkers" which was a very enjoyable book - I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the history of freethought in the United States. You will likely discover that it has been far more influential and prevalent than the current political situation suggests. Seriously, read it. It's good. The author is Susan Jacoby. Now I am starting on a Carl Sagan book "The Demon Haunted World", followed by some readings on atheism - then back to WARHAMMER 40K! I have also been doing some sporadic reading of Emily Dickinson poetry and haiku, and I found a used book on the history of photography that I am very interested in as well.
That said, I think it is time for me to get back up, off my ass, and get out with the camera more.
The fact that we only get 78 clear days a year here is a bit of a hindrance, of course, but really it has been the depression that has kept me away. And I think I am now in a spot where I can start picking up my feet and moving again, so to speak.
Next week I am going to crack Artist's Way again. I won't be posting the exercises here, but rather on my art page. I'll link though. It will be interesting to see some of the changes made doing the same exercises from my new perspective. I also have two art club projects to finish up this weekend and a gift to a friend to start working on.
So far things are going in the garden. I really spent too much money in getting the damned thing going this year, but I hope that it will pay off in the future. It is funny how things from decades ago can come flooding back when I think about vegetable gardening. It is also funny how much I have fogotten. My poor step-father tried so hard to drive gardening into me, and I guess he did plant a seed (yeah - terrible metaphor, I know) but it has been so long and I am having to relearn so much b_hamsterno26 and doccross have both been very inspirational and helpful, and mechanteanemone , who admits to having no desire whatsoever to root around in the dirt, has graciously agreed to do her part by coming out with me on weekends to mow the yard and such while I dig and plant and weed.
I'm only expecting moderate success with my garden this year - combining the fact that I am very rusty with my gardening with the fact that gardening in this area has some unique challenges due to our soil and weather patterns (which are very atypical even for coastal California) and the fact that the soil probably hasn't been worked much for some years, and you don't exactly have a formula for prize-winning tomatoes (having a formula for ANY tomatoes here is a bit of a challenge, incidentally). But it's relaxing, and I can feel like I am making some sort of progress and being productive, even if it is the plants that are doing most of the work.
Gaming continues as it has been. I am playing in one game of Sundered Skies on Google Wave (which is moving as slowly as one would expect an online game to move) and running a game of Hot War, also on Google Wave (which has taken about forever to get off the ground, much to my frustration). I am still running Fading Suns using the Heroquest System and Dark Heresy using the Savage Worlds system. I still miss my friends and face-to-face gaming, of course, but that's the way it is, and at least if I get to hang around with gaming buddies less, I get to hang around with godwits and ospreys more.
I haven't been much inspired to be creative in my cooking recently - mostly relying on old,easy recipes. Nothing wrong with that of course, but once again I think it is time to shake off some accumulating creativity cobwebs and branch out. I have been enjoying making soups and stews for Sophie's lunch, even though I am not much of a soup eater myself, and have been able to dabble with a few other things. Mostly I am interested in seeing what sort of things come out of the garden and what I can do with them.
Just finished reading "Freethinkers" which was a very enjoyable book - I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the history of freethought in the United States. You will likely discover that it has been far more influential and prevalent than the current political situation suggests. Seriously, read it. It's good. The author is Susan Jacoby. Now I am starting on a Carl Sagan book "The Demon Haunted World", followed by some readings on atheism - then back to WARHAMMER 40K! I have also been doing some sporadic reading of Emily Dickinson poetry and haiku, and I found a used book on the history of photography that I am very interested in as well.