Trying out my new toy

Yesterday I bought myself a new camera, a Nikon Coolpix, which is probably the most significant thing I've bought for my Etsy shop since my dressmaker's dummy. Picking it out was very exciting; now I just have to figure out how to use it right. I first tried taking photos of - guess who? Then I experimented with the macro function and took some pictures of the sweater I knit for my cousin's baby. Not sure how to get these to where they don't come out all yellowish; these photos are unedited, and somehow the zoomed photo came out showing the truest colors. I have some work to do.

A photo journal from the Florida Keys

This past weekend I was down in Florida attending a family wedding, a lovely beach ceremony in Summerland Key. It also made for a nice family reunion and mini-vacation. I got to spend some time at the beach in Bahia Honda State Park, which had some great wildlife: herons, pelicans, seagulls, lizards, and my personal favorite, iguanas. (I'm praying the oil spill doesn't make it there; it's absolutely beautiful.) I also got to go into Key West and visit some tourist spots like the Hemingway House - another favorite, because of the fifty or so cats that live there! Here are some of my photos.

Wedding cake toppers!

Just painted them today. :)

Bouquet!

Finally finished knitting and assembling my wedding bouquet. The roses were knit from embroidery thread using this excellent pattern, floral wire, metal and glass gems, satin ribbon, and fabric glue. Now all that's left for me to do is to finish off four bridesmaid bouquets and a bunch of boutonnieres. Yes, I can do it!

A little about my model

My model, Cleo, is neither young nor thin. She doesn't shave or wax or wear makeup. She diets only when forced to do so, and with great reluctance. She's your basic American Shorthair, with no illustrious pedigree. The only way in which she fits the supermodel stereotype is in her diva personality; she works when she wants to, and when she's tired of a photo shoot, she scratches me.

Miss Cat, as I frequently call her, launched her modeling career somewhat late in life. Her early life is unknown to anyone but her. When my parents and I adopted her from the local animal shelter, she was a fully-grown, skinny stray. Now, more than ten years later, she's a middle-aged kitty with a bit of a weight problem, a very loud voice, and a life of leisure. Though she is now quite famous, she has not let her career affect her; she's just as self-satisfied as she was when we brought her home from the shelter all those years ago.

Like most cats, she spends her days happily napping in various places, getting up to patrol her territory, eat, or request some petting. She used to do some hunting but is now retired. She's not an unusual cat by any appearances, but for years I've strongly suspected that in that little cat brain of hers she's smarter than most people.

And why not? One thing I've learned from working with animals, children, and developmentally disabled people is that there's a lot more going on in their minds than most people give them credit for. Just look at that cat and you can see she's something else.

Growing up with Harry Potter

The unique experience of growing up alongside a character in a book is something I often take for granted. I mean Harry Potter, of course. Let me explain.

I read the first three books when I was 12. The much-celebrated fourth book came out when I was 13, and I was at the local bookstore the minute it opened on July 8th, 2000. (That date is forever etched in my memory.) I awaited each successive book with a mixture of eagerness and anxiety - eager because I knew the next one would be great, anxious because I was terrified of which characters would die next.

You could say that those books punctuated my teenage years. I grew up alongside Harry. I experienced so many transitions - many, I think, even compared to most people's teenage years. Friendships and relationships came and went, of course. I went from a public junior high to a private boarding school. I experienced the deaths of several people I loved very much. It's interesting that death is such a prominent theme in the Harry Potter books, because in my late teens it became prominent in my life as well. And I can't neglect to mention that through that loss I became a Dharma practitioner. But through everything, the books were there for me.

When the seventh and final installment, the Deathly Hallows, came out in summer of 2007, I was 20 years old. It was a rough summer, as it involved the death of someone I loved and the most painful breakup I hope I'll ever have to experience. (It was like a death, slow and painful, but then I was reborn.) The book encapsulated every emotion I was having at that time - the pain, the loss, the grief, but also the courage, the humor, the affirmation of life that comes when you've endured so much and realized you were stronger than you ever knew. I took all that to heart.

Now, more than ten years after the first book came into my hands, all that is still with me. Those formative years are so important. What those books gave me will be with me the rest of my life - I have no doubt about that.

My fiance and I both bemoan the fact that our children won't experience the Harry Potter books as we did. It can't be helped. We belong to that lucky bunch of now-20-somethings who grew up with Harry. I can't speak for all of us, but I know that those books have influenced my life and my self more than I can ever know.

Featured on Soul Reader blog!

I'm very excited to be featured as a Scorpio craft artist on the Soul Reader blog - have a look!