Gold!

Yesterday was my first Project 365 miss. I've had a cold this week and crashed on the couch before I could take any photos. When Dave came down and woke me up, I thought it was after midnight. Turns out it was 9:30! :p Feeling only slightly more energetic after sleeping until noon today, I spent the afternoon on the couch in my patriotic pyjamas. I'd like to believe that they helped the hockey boys win gold! Yay, Canada - you put on a great show the last couple weeks and I'm proud to call you home.

Deets: f/4.5, 32mm, 1/40, ISO1600

"Home" is now Bermuda

Dave came home for good around noon today...all three of us are so glad to have him back! I bought a package of cheesy party decorations and decorated the house to surprise him...the blue fringe is what the tight shot was earlier this week...Sam, you were pretty close with your pom pom guess! I also cooked some of his favorites: pulled pork and apple crisp (okay, I didn't do all the cooking...he helped with some of the prep/chopping :p).

On a bittersweet note, our house sale closed this afternoon. We're no longer homeowners and our "dream home" now belongs to someone else. :(

Deets: f/2.8, 1/100, ISO1600

Dreary day...

...leading into what is supposed to be a dreary weekend. Boo!

Deets: f/1.4, 1/80, ISO1600

Abandoned Home

I noticed this shell outside our front door a few weeks ago. I pointed it out to Dave, who was unimpressed....apparently I should've know that was a snail's shell (apparently common place in England) and what the heck do they teach Canadians in school anyway?! :p Anyway, I am home "early" from work today (as in before 6!) because I've managed to catch the cold that's working its way around the office. I figured I'd take advantage of the daylight and try out my new lens. I took a number of shots and am not really happy with any of them....clearly getting the right focus point with this lens is challenging. I'll have to keep practicing!

Deets: f/4.5, 1/100, ISO400

Kid in a candy store

I got a new toy this afternoon via a local resale website...apparently the guy's wife accidentally purchased two when she was over-zealously on-line shopping. Her oops = my lucky day? Anyway, I am a bit distracted by a few things tonight (plus I don't know anything about macro photography), so it's still in the box for now. Hopefully it'll see some action soon.

Deets: f/2, 1/640, ISO800

Around the house...

...it was after 9 before I got to photo-taking today, hence, the uninspired bathroom tile shot.

Deets: f/2, 1/160, ISO800

To be continued...

This object will make another appearance later this week.

Deets: f/1.4, 1/125, ISO1600

Like a weed

I swear the basil grows an inch each day.


Deets: f/2.5, 1/800, ISO1600

Who'd know...

...she's 100% monster? (or maybe even 110%.)

Bonus shot:



Deets: f/1.8, 1/60, ISO1600

Escape Artist

After the last two evenings, I'll be nervous to come home tomorrow. Although, tonight it was the other dog giving me grief...so maybe the show is over now? Or, maybe things come in threes?

As I dismounted the Vespa tonight, I noted a pointy, wet brown nose peering at me through the front door window. I think my jaw dropped. Backstory: we have two dogs (a Boston Terrier and a Beagle) and we crate them when we aren't home. (I know some people are against crating...but it's the best option for all involved.) There should not be any wet noses greeting me at the door. A wet Beagle nose is particularly concerning because the Beagle attached to that nose is a t.r.o.u.b.l.e-maker. When we first "rescued" her, she'd escaped several conventional crate assemblies. After several iterations, we'd arrived at the wire crate combo, with the additional security of two carabiners. Sounds like overkill, but clearly it is not per today's evidence. Over the past many months, we've become a bit lackadaisical about locking both carabiners in addition to the latch that actually is part of the crate; we've only been clipping the top carabiner, figuring the space at the bottom was far to small for a Beagle to sneak through. She is over 20 lbs, after all.

My mind races as I scramble to unlock the door and prevent the Beagle from escaping at the same time. I went back to work after lunch around 2:30 (lunch was delayed!). It is now just after 7 (coming home was delayed). That is quite a span of time. The Beagle has had the run of the house for God knows how long. The couch stuffing could be all over the living room. Whatever was on the dining table or kitchen counter could be all over the floor (the Beagle has remarkable leaping skills). There could be animal waste on the bed. Why the hell is this all happening while Dave is in Canada?!

After putting the dogs outside, I searched the house for carnage. Surprisingly, I have yet to unearth any! Perhaps she'd just escaped? Perhaps she was having a leisurely nap on the couch? Perhaps she's more well behaved than we think? Or, perhaps the damage is hiding and I'll uncover it in the coming days and wonder WTF went on.

...the longest Project 365 post is now over.

Deets: f/1.4, 1/250, ISO1600

Follow the yellow brick road

I came home to a bit of a nasty surprise courtesy of Lola tonight but I'll spare the internets that photo (although I did send it along to Dave so he'd appreciate what I was dealing with in his absence). Instead, here's a shot of the fireplace hearth. It's not exciting...but much less stomach churning than the other one, trust me. :p

Deets: f/5, 1/20, 41mm, ISO1600

If you haven't tried these...

...you should.

Deets: f/1.4, 1/250, ISO1600

So short of inspiration...

...really need to get out more! The best I've got today is this really exciting shot of a tablecloth...

Deets: f/1.4, 1/500, ISO1600

Tick, tock...

Although I got spoiled for Valentine's Day, what I'd like most is for Dave to be here. I'm glad this is the last return visit to Calgary...but it seems so long when it's just begun.

Deets: f/1.4, 1/160, ISO1600

I'm not spoiled if I'm appreciative, right?

This morning I got heart-shaped waffles served to me. Food-related posts will be on the decline now, as frozen dinners will resume regular appearances. :p

Deets: f/1.4, 1/800, ISO1600

Friday night feast

Wine, cheese and other good stuff, Slumdog Millionaire and the Olympic opening ceremonies....the makings of a good Friday night.

Deets: f/1.4, 1/250, ISO1600

Early Valentine's

Today's photo is brought to you by my blackberry. An early Valentine's present arrived at my desk today. :) Here's where I've been spending 12+ hours a day for the last while...note the waist-high walls and lack of non-artificial light.

Deets: f/auto, autoshutter, autoISO ;)

Dinner is served

When I arrived home from work tonight (you know, around 9 pm, *eyeroll*), my chef had been busy chopping up ingredients for sweet & sour chicken...it's gonna suck to go back to my frozen meal regime when he leaves me again on Saturday. :(

Deets: f/2.2, 1/250, ISO1600

New front door

The monsters much prefer this one to the old solid, windowless version. However, it leads to much more barking!

Deets: f/1.4, 1/80, ISO1600

Anybody remember....

...stubbies?! I remember these being around when I was a kid, so early 80s? No worries, I wasn't drinking at that age! Dave buys this Jamaican beer...I wonder if they're still using bottles they got a deal on twenty years ago. :p

(The lack of inspiration can be attributed to yet another 12+ hour work day...ugh.)


Deets: f/1.4, 1/500, ISO1600

Superbowl Sunday

Nachos. That is all.

Deets: f/2.8, 1/40, ISO1600, 59mm

Saturday afternoon

We're hunkered down in the storm this afternoon...

I'm not gonna lie...between this "quads" on a triple word score and another triple word score with "faze" just to the right of the frame, I got my ass royally whopped. But how's a girl to win when she only gets letters worth one point?!

Deets: f/2.8, 1/60, ISO1600, 55mm

HNIB

Hurray for east cost road trips, which mean I can actually make it to the third period! Even better, tomorrow night the Flames are the early game on CBC...how often does that happen?! :p


Deets: f/1.4, 1/200, ISO800 (crappy quality - who knew it was so hard to photograph the TV?)

A collection

It feels like I've been saving corks forever. At first, I was planning to make a bulletin board but I've since changed goals and am hoping to make a wreath sometime in the next decade. We opened another bottle tonight, so I'm just one baby step closer!

Deets: f/1.4, 1/400, ISO 1600

Reflection

Another long day of work and lack of photo subjects. I was trying to get the reflection of the room in this vase...it was hard to keep myself out of the reflection!

Deets: f/5, 1/15, 44mm, ISO1600

Better keep him!

Tonight when I came home from work (around 9...grr) a warm dinner awaited me, the house had been tidied and stuff had been hung on the walls. Sweet!

Deets: f3.5, 1/40, 18mm, ISO1600

An end to posting from the bed

We bought this pre-fab desk from Staples before we left. I unpacked it two weekends ago with the ambition to put it together on my own and surprise Dave when he returned. However, I soon learned that it weighed a few hundred pounds and came in more than 50 pieces, not including the hundreds of screws, dowels and other bits. At that point, my motivation waned and I decided removing it from the boxes it came in and disposing of the ridiculous amount of styrofoam packaging was achievement enough. The picture-only instructions indicated the estimated build time was approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes. Ummmm...not quite accurate...

Anyway, the computer now has a home...and no real trees were harmed in the making of this desk!

Deets: f/1.4, 1/80, ISO1600