New Beginnings

I've been doing research for my 52 Week Photo Project, and I think I'm going to compile my own list.  This way I can tailor it to suit my own interests and problem areas.

Since the weather has been so cool for June, I've taken advantage and done a lot of gardening.  It's amazing how quickly weeds can grow, while the things I've planted take so long to fill out.  I was able to trim most of my rose bushes this year, except for a few in a back area that needed major weeding.  I'm still not done back there.  I call that area the "Grandma Garden," because it seems to have mostly flowers that kids give their grandmothers on holidays, like Easter and Mother's Day.  There are some hyacinth and lilies, along with some irises.  The irises are in dire need of transplanting, which will have to wait until I decide where to move them.  The roses in that area are English roses, and they haven't been in great shape since I inherited them when we moved in.

I took a general DSLR 101 class with my friend Jean at a local camera store.  They're also having a Canon class in July, which I am considering.  While I know the basics of photography, this time around I would really like to learn what all the dials and options on my camera can do.

I took this picture of the roses in my front yard after it rained the day before my class.  Unfortunately, it's been raining here for most of the week, and I haven't been able to get outside and practice.  This week I plan on going to a local botanical garden with Jean to get in some camera time.  I should be sharing that experience at the end of the week.

A kind of hiatus...

I meant to post when we first came home, but I haven't really been feeling well.  We went on a family vacation to Walt Disney World for a week.  It was a lot of fun, but it was very hot, 90+ degrees most days we were there.

This picture was taken in Epcot, by the China exhibition.  It's one of my favorite shots.  I think the countries were one of the best parts of Epcot.  (Okay, the Nemo ride was pretty cool, too!)  The fireworks there were really great, and I wish we would have had a better spot to watch them, so I could have gotten pictures or something.  At Magic Kingdom, I was able to take some really nice pictures of the Wishes fireworks.

I took about 600 pictures, so I'm sure I'll be posting more of them eventually.  I'm currently working on a crocheting charity challenge that I've been neglecting since we left for our trip.  I really have to get back to that, since it's over mid-June.

Dahlia

This was a lazy weekend. I've had an ear infection all week, and I've been feeling so drained. I'm not sure that it's better yet, either.

This is another picture I took from my trip to the LI Fair last week. It's a strange shot, since you really have to look to see the stem of the dahlia, but it's such a pretty flower. In fact, the dahlias were some of the nicer flowers there. Judging takes place on Thursday, so by the time we got there on Saturday morning, some of the roses, etc. were looking a little wilted. Maybe next year I'll be able to take the day off and see the judging firsthand.

Weekend Plans

Didn't really do much this weekend. I somehow hurt my back/neck this week, so I wasn't up for too much. It rained for most of today, so I took my niece to A.C. Moore, and we got some crafts. She did some Halloween foam art, and I bought some crochet supplies. I haven't crocheted in a long time, so I bought a book on learning to crochet. It has some stitches I don't know in it, so I thought it might be a good learning experience.

My friend Maryanne and I plan to go to the Long Island Fair next Saturday. Right now the forecast is for rain, but I'm hoping it'll change over the course of the week.

We went a few years ago, and it was a lot of fun. The picture to the right has a little too much light, but it's the only picture I have on the computer from our last visit. I'm pretty sure I used a film camera. I have a disk of pictures somewhere, which I've been looking for most of the week. I found quite a few other photo disks instead, which have been interesting to look over.

Hopefully I'll have some pictures to post Saturday night. :)