Curiosity Quotient

Raindrops on my Moon Roof

2012-01-21T07:45:00.001-08:00

Raindrops on my Moon Roof
Originally uploaded by Jennifer Hartnett-Henderson

The practice of finding things to give thanks to God for is called eucharisteo according to Ann Voskamp in her book called 1000 Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are.

Ann is a wonderful writer, mother of 6, with a distinct and poetic voice. She weaves her own personal stories in and out of her search for living fully an everyday life.

The challenge she undertook as part of this process was to write down 1,000 gifts and to thank God for them as a way to change perspective from what she didn't have to what she did.

In the Old Testament book of Genesis, Eve, poor girl, focused on what she didn't have rather than the abundance around her. It's just this sort of thing that the practice of giving thanks is designed to help us combat.

It sounds really simple but sometimes it's the simple things that are the most transformative of our lives.

My own gift list is up to 126. And I've decided to embark on a 1,000 gifts photo project culminating in a book. This photograph of Raindrops on my Moon Roof is gift photo #1.

Is there anything that you feel is a gift today?

Of Shoes, Glasses and the New Year

2012-01-04T07:44:00.000-08:00

I can't wait for my new glasses! I remember in 7th grade feeling the same way about getting a new pair of running shoes. First purple Pumas, then navy blue Converse. If I had the right kind, I would go faster!

I have the same illusions about my new glasses. I hope ardently that on the day I begin wearing them they vest in me keen powers of insight, maturity and wisdom that I don't possess today but certainly wish I had attained.

Like you, if you're reading this, I'm getting a New Year too. The gift of a new year brings the same sense of outrageous possibility. Things can be different. We can be different. And we make our lists of what to change.

When my new running shoes came, I remember holding them and my breath with anticipation. And then i put them on and ran my first quarter mile. No seconds were shaved off my time. No glorious move up on the track team.

But they did make my experience of running, drudgery at 12 years old, less so and more of a 6 Million Dollar Man slo-mo experience. I probably ran more or at least more cheerfully as a result and through the slow steady application of practice got faster.

My experience of my new glasses will probably be much the same. After the shiny newness wears off, I'll realize that the new glasses have transformed only my experience and over time, that difference, combined with diligent practice, will improve my abilities.

Likewise, every day in this shiny new year, we have choices to enjoy the gift of every day and to diligently practice. And if we miss a day, we don't have to wait for a new year to start again for His mercies are new every morning.

The New Year According to Rilke

2012-01-03T07:35:00.000-08:00

And now let us welcome the new year, full of things that have never been. ~ Rainer Maria Rilke

First Haiku of 2012

2012-01-01T09:59:00.000-08:00

Salmon colored dawn
lays long fingers on top of
frost covered shingles

New Book is Out!

2011-11-19T18:45:00.000-08:00

Southern Spain by Jennifer Hartnett-Henderson | Make Your Own Book

Weekly Photo Challenge: Wonder

2011-11-11T17:30:00.000-08:00

Córdoba, Spain

Convent Church of Santo Angel (Capuchinos)

Inscription: Hermandad de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores 1924

(iPhone, ProHDR, Photocopier, Filterstorm, PhotoStudio)

Weekly Photo Challenge: Windows

2011-11-05T14:57:00.000-07:00

Sometimes a window is a window because of the shadow. This is one of those times.
College of Language, Granada, Spain

1197

2011-10-28T12:27:00.001-07:00

1197
Originally uploaded by Jennifer Hartnett-Henderson

Last weekend I attended the first 1197 iphonographers conference in San Francisco. I was only able to attend half the day but just that was a tremendous boost to my creativity. And I was able to listen to the videos of the afternoon talks on vimeo later.

The app stacking demonstrations were very helpful in showing me new ways to use old apps and new apps to use. The image in this post is an example.

The speakers used the apps that they recommended you come equipped with. My favorite find was Phonto, a font app with lots of fonts.

I'll provide links soon.

Studio Notes: Hen and Chicks

2011-09-30T21:36:00.000-07:00

When I used to photograph in a studio, I kept all my intermediate Polaroids and my notes on exposures and artistic direction in a spiral bound notebook to learn and for reference in future shoots. With iPhone photo apps, there's less room to do that. Without that record I often lose track of what I actually did in the photographic process. That makes it not so repeatable if you find some combination of steps, apps, filters that you like.

So, I decided to start this again....on a smaller scale working up to include the intermediate steps. I envision being able to do this about once a week. Here's the first one.

I started out with a Hipstamatic photo of some hen and chicks outside Amici's Pizza using the Lucifer VI lens and Ina's 1969 film. Later in the week I bought Decim8 because I was impressed with Docpop's photographic deconstructions on Flickr. Though I played around with a lot of the filters in the app the resulting images were too severely deconstructed or not enough, particularly for a fairly organic scene.

So I made a line drawing of the original image in ToonPaint and blended it with the deconstructed image in PhotoWizard to restore some of the hen and chicks and some of the recognizeable subjects.

I also tried some textures in PicGrunger but ultimately decided it was just too much because it made the subject almost unrecognizeable. So I chose the earlier blended version and left it at that. I took it through a final pass in Filterstorm to set IPTC tags and to make some final adjustments.

SwankoLab Experiment

2011-09-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

Dahlia Darling 3 by Jennifer Hartnett-Henderson

I love dahlia's. No way around it. Here's one photo processed through SwankoLab probably using warm tones.

Dahlia Darling 2 by Jennifer Hartnett-Henderson

Here's the same photo processed using cool tones in SwankoLab.

Dahlia Darling 1 by Jennifer Hartnett-Henderson

And this is the original Hipstamatic image using Lucifer VI and AO DLX.

Photo News of the Week

2011-09-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

Here are a curated group of great info I found last week while exploring the world of photography. I've grouped them in apps, publishing, shows, gear, business and iPhone. A hat tip for this idea to Andi of Misadventures with Andi who puts together a Saturdays at Six post covering a select group of interesting reads of her week. Anyway, here goes.

Apps: The hottest app of the week is Hipstamtic's introduction of the Wicker Park Pack. I found out about this from Marty Yawnick's LifeinLoFi. Nox Dineen had guest posted an app update that the pack was finally here. Here are 2 ways to check out the look of the new lens and flash:
* Hipstamatic group pool on Flickr
* Hipstamatic Wicker Park Experiment showing the lens paired sequentially with 9 films

Publishing: Michael Mack is doing Al Gore's book one better by making photo books for the tablet aka iPad more scalable. But it still costs upwards of 12k euro to put one of these together. Someday folks like Blurb, Snapfish and Picaboo will make this accessible for even more.

Shows: If you are into Instagram there's a show of all Instagram art coming up in London called MyWorldShared. You can submit images through Instagram by using @myworldshared or #myworldshared.

Gear: The Canon Powershot s100, a replacement for the s95, is out. I have the s90 and love this camera for quick on the go photography. And the hot red Nikon J1 Mirrorless Camera is out. So far, most of the reviews I've read focus on the feature and not the benefit. Faster focus is good for action. Faster exposure probably means you can take better low light photos all other things equal. What we need now is an example of without and with so we can see.

Business: A great post from Elizabeth Halford about how to dip your toe into the business of photography even when that business requires all or nothing commitment. Working with clients changes everything and she outlines a few ways to even out the balance of power.

iPhone: We're all waiting to see if the Tim Cook speech in October is the moment for the iPhone5 release.

The Sun in Sunday

2011-09-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

Sun Horse by Jennifer Hartnett-Henderson

Due to my lame ankle I did some illegal parking \0/ to get this shot. Fortunately, the illegal parking was temporary.

App info:
Hipstamatic
Ina's 1969 film
Lucifer VI lens

Subject info:
Butterfield sculpture
Mountain View, CA near the Google campus
Incredible sunset, available many days, many places

Enjoy your day of rest:)

Hipstamatic Wicker Park Experiment

2011-09-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

Lucas AB2 Film Experiment

The Hipstamatic 225 Wicker Park pack is out today! I grabbed it and ran the Lucas AB2 lens through all my Hipstamatic "films" to see what the lens does with different film types.

From left to right and top to bottom the film types are:
1. Alfred Infrared 2. Blanko 3. Ina's 1969 4. Kodot XGrizzled 5. BlacKeys B&W 6. BlacKeys SuperGrain 7. Claunch 72 Monochrome 8. AO DLX 9. AO BW

My favorite color image is #2, or the Lucas AB2 with Blanko film. My favorite black and white is #7, Claunch 72 Monochrome.

What's yours?

Photo for the Day: La Bicicleta

2011-09-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

La Bicicleta by Jennifer Hartnett-Henderson

Rather crazy journey: I took this with my iPhone in July and let it sit for a few months intending to come back and have some fun with the orange bicycle

App stack: Snapseed, Rays, Percolator, Photowizard (blended 3 images, 1 from each prior app) and Filterstorm.

I also thought the Rays version was worth a look:

Moving Fast by Jennifer Hartnett-Henderson

Photo for the Day

2011-09-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

Farmer's Market Finds

Processed in Percolator.

Exotic Environs at Home

2011-09-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

Environs Series: 1 by Jennifer Hartnett-Henderson

I love going to blogs that show me photos of foreign and exotic places, places I've never been, that inspire me to travel more and to see the world.

I also am really pleased when, in the comfort and confines of my own home, I find a portal into another world. Often this happens while I'm accidentally staring through the "lens" of my iPhone or just off in space. I see what's in front of me, a "first look", and am struck by or find some detail of it beautiful or interesting. I take a photo of this "second look".

Later, while messing around with the photo, I wind up with an image that makes me feel like I've seen even another dimension, a "third look" at what I walk by every day. I am so happy in these moments of insight and recognition.

In case you're curious I started out with an iPhone image, processed it in FilterMania, then Instagram, then PicGrunger then Filterstorm.

Porteen Photo Bags

2011-09-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of buying a photo gear bag from Robyn Porteen through her Etsy shop. The rich leather and wonderful fabric accents and soft textures were so inviting. So I thought I would give it a whirl.

I found this bag perfect for 1 DSLR with 50mm lens attached and 1 more lens. The 3rd lens pocket I use for my wallet and/or notebook. The shoulder strap will not stay on my shoulder with the leather pad. My advice is to ask for the rubber one. It's totally customizeable.

Robyn answers customer e-mails and is truly wonderful to do business with. If I didn't already have 4 photo bags I would order another one right away, one of which is a Crumpler bag and is quite capacious, the other 2 I have yet to blog about. I stay away from Robyn's Etsy page because I am not sure I could abstain.

Photo for the Day

2011-09-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

Whereas yesterday I used a blend of PC based and iPhone tools, today I used only mobile photo apps....on mostly the same source images.

My app stack here is: Hipstamatic, Frametastic, Filterstorm, Instamatic. I've added a new lower left photo for an additional perspective and swapped out the upper right. The sequencing of images give a more successful vignette than yesterday's.

Here I've changed the proportion or aspect ratio from yesterday from rectangle to square. My app stack is Hipstamatic, Photowizard, and Instagram. Photowizard allows me to control the opacity of the images giving me more control over the resulting blend. I like this one better both for that reason and the overall composition.

I'm always amazed at what happens if I just keep asking "What if....I do x." Keep experimenting, even if it's with the same images. You never know where the trail will lead and what you will learn. Just keep doing differently.

Photo For Today

2011-09-18T10:46:00.000-07:00

The collage feature in Picasa is useful for more than just blog headers. Last night I had the distinct pleasure of helping a friend celebrate his birthday on a cruise of the San Francisco Bay that departed from the Oakland Ferry. I love these cranes and had only seen them from afar while zipping down the freeway. It was great to be so much closer. Collaging the images together gives more of a sense of the place. Playing with different layouts yields different stories too:

Here I replaced the far right image of cranes with one of a Matson ship. It gives a more complete but less symmetrical picture of the activities in the area. I took these images using the Hipstamatic app, Lucifer lens and Alfred Infrared film. The ones below used the same app with the Jimmy Lens for a more sunny look:

Rather than collage these 2 images together side by side, I used the multiple exposure setting in Picasa. Of course you can also do all of this collaging in your iPhone using Blender, PhotoWizard and/or Frametastic. Keep the tools unlocked and use whatever is handy when creativity and the urge to explore, "What happens if?" strike.

Photo For the Day

2011-09-17T08:32:00.001-07:00

Texas New Mexico State Line
Originally uploaded by Jennifer Hartnett-Henderson

Dinner out on a recent trip to El Paso, Texas at State Line was a fun introduction to a restaurant that straddles the state line between Texas and New Mexico. One side of the restaurant houses a liquor store. You can buy a bottle of wine or beer on one side, the waitress walks it over the state line for you, and you can drink it on the other side.

I originally took the photo in color on my iPhone, then converted it to an Instagram, used Tilt Shift Generator to selectively focus on the name banner and converted the image to black and white using the Gotham filter.

Enjoy!

Patterns for Two

2011-09-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

Patterns for Two
Originally uploaded by Jennifer Hartnett-Henderson

It's funny how little it takes to tell you there are 2 people in the scene.

This is the rug and the base of two chairs at Steve Smith's Tea in Portland, Oregon

Photo for Today

2011-09-15T16:37:00.000-07:00

I took this photo on the Stanford campus. I started with 3 HDR exposures, processed them in Photomatix, then exported the result to the iPhone where I used Instagram to finish it off.

Sculpture, Images and Intellectual Property

2011-09-08T20:07:00.000-07:00

Unlike the Statue of Liberty, there will be no tchotchkes running around of Portlandia. Artist Raymond Kaskey owns all the rights to the image for reproduction for commercial purposes.

This is an interesting idea and one that most other sculptors don't use. What would happen if you, in your business, whatever it is, locked up all the rights to the duplication of your image, your work or your DNA?

Stanford Photo Walk with Stuck in Customs and Google

2011-08-15T05:52:00.000-07:00

On Thursday evening last week I managed to get out of work early enough to participate in the Stanford Photo Walk led by Trey Ratcliffe of Stuck in Customs fame and a number of coaches and sponsored by Google.

I've always wanted to spend some quality time on the Stanford campus taking pictures but I never scheduled it in. This gave me a perfect reason to do so and a former Stanford student had taken care of designing a walking route. He even took us off road to see Stone River, an Andy Goldsworthy sculpture I would have never found on my own or with a map. Unfortunately, the light wasn't that great so my photo didn't turn out. After a weekend of processing I have a few that turned out though.

Here are a few HDR photos from that walk.

Stanford is full of oak trees and the late afternoon sun was gorgeous shining through them.

A little later on we hit the Rodin Sculpture Garden outside the Cantor Arts Center (where else would it be).

Here's the Student Union after dusk.

I have a few more to process and post. More later.

Underwater

2011-08-09T21:49:00.001-07:00

Underwater

Originally uploaded by Jennifer Hartnett-Henderson

Tried out the new Snapseed app today. More expensive than most at $4.99 but love what you can do with it.

Here's what I started with:

The Sum of Experiments

2011-08-07T10:08:00.001-07:00

The Sum of Experiments
Originally uploaded by Jennifer Hartnett-Henderson

What happens if?

I crop it differently? If I Percolate it? If I make a line drawing in ToonPaint and merge that with the Percolated image in PhotoWizard?

What happens if I take it into FilterMania and chose Retro? or Hot Flash? What happens if I try Rays? and the Enhance automation in Filterstorm? How about adding PicGrunger effects as well as ScratchCam?

Rather than try to hit a particular target (Zones 1 through 10 properly printed), this path is about exploring what is possible. For one image, many different things are possible.

Yet, some would call this overprocessed or "tarted up". Maybe so. At the least, playing with tools increases skill. At the most, you come up with something you really like that is qualitatively different from the original image.

My Must Have iPhone Camera Bag

2011-07-25T19:40:00.000-07:00

The only "must have" photo apps that I know of are the ones you know and love and can't stop using if you tried. That answer differs for every person based on your artistic preferences abilities and of course, your ability to know about the app in the first place.

Which leads me to a small digression: the iTunes store. Much as I appreciate being able to shop from 100s of photography apps, I would spend more (hint hint Apple) if I could compare apps based on functionality, category, rating and longevity. For example, there are many apps such as Magic Camera and Filter Mania that provide different "filters" to change the look and feel of a photo. But there's no super-category called "Filters" for all the apps that allows me to find all the apps that do that and compare. There's only search.

So how do I find apps I want to try? When I find an image that I like, I look to see what it was made with. Believing that there is no substitute for checking it out, I've looked at the iTunes and home pages of over 50 photo apps and purchased 16 apps, about 10 of which I use on a regular basis. That's a 20% yield.

So here's what I love and therefore is in my iPhone "camera bag" at the moment:

Basic Branded Effects: Hipstamatic, Instagram (it's hip to be square)
Basic Capture: TrueHDR (there are many HDR apps) and TiltShiftGenerator
Basic Editing: In this category, I use PhotoWizard and Filterstorm (perhaps not properly named) though there are lots of alternatives that I have not yet tested.
Special Effects: Percolator (prefer to Phototropedelic), Pic Grunger (prefer this to Grungetastic because I can't get a picture to come out in a manner I like in the latter), Frametastic (more pleasing templates to me than Diptic), Light, HalfTone (for that comics look)
Filters: Filter Mania (love the grunge filter in here), Photocopier
Still testing: Cropulator, Rays

What are your faves?

Note: I am not compensated in any way for my opinions about these apps.

Wherein I Become My Shadow in 3 Apps

2011-07-24T16:28:00.000-07:00

Metamorphosis into my shadow in 3 apps:

Hipstamatic using Libatique lens and Kodot XGrizzled film

Added a rose window gobo in Light and moved it to center on the shadow of my head.

Then I used Pic Grunger to add bleach spill effect, burlap texture, and I think, After Hours style.

Creative Journey in 5 Easy Photo Apps

2011-07-22T21:50:00.000-07:00

Recently, over the course of 2 days, I was fascinated by the transformative power of the creative process unfolding over time in my photographs.

1. The Hipstamatic iPhone app with Lucifer VI lens and Alfred Infrared film gives regular asphalt an eerie red glow. Just imagine if all our roads were red instead of black. Totally different feeling.

2. Then I used Percolator, another iPhone photo app, to get a champagne bubbles effect that added a sense of drama and comic story feel:

3. Then I did this with a few other road signs and thought they would look good together. Originally I was thinking diptic but Diptic didn't have the right proportions for 2 so I tried Frametastic because they had a well proportioned template for 4:

4. Then just to see what would happen I took it through Instagram:

5. Then I wondered what I could add in Filterstorm. Turns out it has a very hand text tool with the copyright symbol built in:

Personally, my favorite is step 3.

Four Faves in iPhone Photo Apps

2011-06-19T20:01:00.000-07:00

I just joined the 21st century by buying an iPhone 4 last weekend. Since then I've had great fun with photo apps.

1. Pano will help you stitch together photos and saves the result to your camera roll. This one is tricky to use at least in bright sunlight because you need to line up guides from the previous photo with what you're looking at for the next photo. Also, you have to pivot the iPhone, never mind yourself, around a fixed spot. Any exporting or sharing you'll need to do on your own.

2. The whole world has Instagram. I was sitting at the bar eating dinner while turning photos into Instagrams and the guy sitting 2 seats down from me was doing the exact same thing. But that doesn't make it any less fun. You can import from your camera roll and it's easy to send to Twitter, Facebook and Flickr as well as through e-mail. You can also save to the camera roll.

3. TiltShiftGen is very useful for narrowly defining fields of focus like those needed to create miniature scenes. You can import from your camera roll and easily export to Mail, Twitter, Facebook and SuperPopCam (but not Flickr) or save to the camera roll. Here's an example:

4. 100 Cameras in 1 by Stuck in Customs (Trey Ratcliff) has the most beautiful clean & musical interface. It's also got the most poetic memorable filter names like "Going back for ice, cream when no one is watching." It takes some doing for me to find a good fit between the filter and the image. But when I do it's nice.

You can share on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Smugmug and send to Dropbox and Instagram as well as e-mail.

I've got four more apps that I'm trying out. I'll let you know how it goes.

Future Self

2011-05-31T05:00:00.000-07:00

As part of by Tara Mohr's Playing Big program we've been asked to think about our "future selves" and to consult with our future selves for conundrums of today. I have issues with this for a number of reasons.

The problems of today can't be solved with the level of thinking that created them in the first place.

Einstein.

If I imagine a future self and ask her for help with current puzzles, I'm really only asking myself. And myself is part of what created the puzzle I'm in to begin with.

A different perspective than my own is probably more likely to yield new information and new ideas to solve current puzzles. Spouses and friends are extremely helpful in clarifying my thinking by providing a different way of looking at it. Famous people can too. Thinking about questions from photographer Imogen Cunningham, US newspaper executive Katherine Graham or US business woman's Rosabeth Moss Kanter's perspective is likely to yield richer input.

Life isn't one straight line. Most of us have to be transplanted, like a tree, before we blossom.

Louise Nevelson

And above and beyond all that is asking my God for divine inspiration and wisdom through the Holy Spirit.

James 1:5 promises, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." (NIV)

Unfortunately, the only thing I got from the "future self" exercise was the word "biceps".

NewSpace Center for Photography

2011-05-30T08:21:00.000-07:00

I had visited the NewSpace Center for Photography on a past trip to Portland, Oregon. It's a wonderful gallery and teaching space, clean and light with rental facilities for photographers including darkroom, studio, lighting equipment and digital lab. NewSpace also offers a nice long list of classes for aspiring photographers every season. Recently, I had the opportunity to check one out.

HDR, Panoramas and Extended DoF taught by Mark Fitzgerald went from 10am to 5pm. All the how to's came in the morning followed by 2 hours for shooting and lunch. Then we returned to the digital lab and began to implement the how tos. Here's a before shot:

Here's the after shot:

You can see there's a pretty big difference.

Mark was a fabulous teacher, providing handouts that matched the lecture talking points and were easy to follow. For our shooting exercise, he also provided a shot list of considerations for each type of shot so we'd experience the greatest success in the lab afterwards. Mark's own images using HDR were captivating.

My class mates included some new to photography within the year, serious enthusiasts and long-time as well as more recent professionals. But no one seemed to be a braggart, no one was intent on proving themselves to the others so the atmosphere was easy.

The digital lab is well equipped with 10 computers split between Mac and PC.

With the additional skills I learned particularly in Photomatix, I suddenly could "see" differently. I could see what could happen with a scene with some digital work. I walked around all the rest of that weekend reminded that the world is such a beautiful place.

I had such a good experience that I'm looking into their summer class schedule.

Zombie Runner Chocolate

2011-05-11T21:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I stopped by Zombie Runner in Palo Alto for a refreshment, chose hot chocolate and look at the incredible creation the co-owner / barista made! He is seriously talented.

There are a couple of couches and coffee tables complete with books about zombies to enjoy while you sip a hot beverage of your choice.

Made my day to see this totally consumable and perishable artwork.

Making Your Own Book

2011-05-01T10:25:00.000-07:00

Having recently decided to make my own book with text and photos as a result of participating in Playing Big, I've had the opportunity to blaze a trail, form some opinions and develop some resources.

My Advice:

Let's put the key takeaways first.

Think of making, marketing and selling the book as a separate project from creating the content.
Think of it as equal in importance and effort.
Select a service with your creative and customer end in mind

3 Options:

Here are 3 websites that help you publish your own photo book:

4 Considerations:
Here are a few things to ask yourself as you look at these services. Notice, all of these questions aren't related to creating the content to go into the book. They are all about what happens to it.

Product

Software: For each any required layout software is free but how easy is it for me to use? Does it allow me to accomplish my creative vision? Or am I going to have to make a lot of manual adjustments aligning my photos to where I want them to be?
Form: Does the selection of things like size, paper quality, font selection and layout options match my creative vision? Does one have a cool feature like lay-flat binding that I think is really important to the overall presentation? What sizes does that feature come in?

Price

Is there a way to set a price for wholesalers separate than from end customers? If I buy direct for resale, can I buy it at a discounted price for resale?
What price point should my book sell for? Think of shopping at Borders for a soft cover fiction book at around $8 and an oversized coffee table book at upwards of $70. Do the prices allow me to achieve my target price points?
Is the book specifically for a family special occasion like Mother's Day so I don't care about price?

Place aka Distribution:

If I get a direct order (from friends or family who don't like to order on-line), does the company drop ship to my customer's address?
Will the company act like my store? Or do I need to set up my own store front?

Promotion aka Marketing:

Does the company just print my book(s) or do they help me market it with links (Facebook and Twitter).
Can I put a badge on my blog that links to their store?
Does their logo appear on the book or can I go logo-less?

If you're making, and/or marketing and/or selling a book or thinking about it I would love to know what you've learned from the process.

Interest in Women's Leadership Over Time

2011-04-26T07:09:00.000-07:00

Interest in "women's leadership" over time is declining as measured by Google Insights for Search which tracks search volume patterns across specific regions, categories, time frames and properties. In addition, that particular search term is used exclusively in the US.

If we're not searching for "Women's Leadership" as a term, what are we searching for instead? What search terms are other countries using instead?

Moving Forward Playing Big

2011-04-25T20:58:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure where to start this blog post but I know it all begins and ends with movement, first the lack and then the presence of.

For years now, I've wanted to publish a book, but I haven't moved on it. According to Dan Miller, experts tell us that 81% of Americans want to write a book. So I'm definitely in the majority.

Why write a book? Dan lists 4 reasons: for communication, fame, fortune and/or credibility. He didn't really list expression but I think he would put it in communication if pressed. For me, it's not the fame (well, maybe among friends and family), nor the fortune (I don't think being a writer is a sure route to a fortune) and it's not the credibility, or at least I don't think so. It's about expressing and communicating.

Yes, but expressing and communicating about what? For years I've thought that a book of......photographs of......f...l...o...w....e...r..s, yes those, would be wonderful BUT I've talked myself out of it over and over again. First, because I didn't know how to start the ginormous task of pulling together the huge pile of photos that it would take to make an actual book. Second, because I thought NO ONE would bother to look at a book of flowers. Talk about an overpopulated and trivialized genre!

However, while recently in Portland, I visited an exhibit at the Froelick Gallery of photographer Ron Von Dongen's work, and, guess what I found? He has published no less than 12, count them, twelve, books, oh, actually huge monographs, of nothing but f....l....o....w....e....r....s!!!!!!! So clearly, I was wrong.

At about this same time, I started Playing Big with Tara Mohr in part because Playing Big is for you if "You feel a calling or a creative inspiration - but you aren't moving forward with it as powerfully as you could." I resonated with that and one of her early journaling questions had to do with honoring your callings or assignments and jumping in. So I took another look at Ron's flowers.

Why did people pay attention to his flower photos? I figured I could learn from a master who had managed to work with Nazraeli Press to publish so many.......monographs. So I observed:

Form: 1. The background of the photo is always lighter on high key and darker on low key photos with white on white and black on black 2. For color he uses analogous color contrast and complementary contrast. 3. He uses consistently very shallow depth of field
Content: 1. Usually one or two flowers 2. One group of 3 consisted of photos of pairs 3. Another group of 3 consisted of photos of flowers that bloom in bunches of tiny blossoms
Text: 1. The text is always on the left page, centered, 1/3 down, followed by 1 to 3 photographs. 2. The titles include the botanical name, the common name where available, the year of the negative and a roman numeral for the plate number

But, after going on like this for some time, I realized that none of that observed stuff is really the stuff that makes work "valuable", whatever that means. From my perspective, right now, it means "the work is of enough value to spend time and energy and love working on." That pronouncement of value comes only from inside, from inside me. And I made it!

So I'm moving. I'm making my first book, my book of flowers.

4 Resources for Finding Your Calling

2011-04-24T09:14:00.000-07:00

On this Easter, I realized I've repeatedly worked to get closer to my calling in life and along the way have collected 4 resources worth sharing.

Full disclosure: My default go to resource for most of life's problems and joys is to ...read a book. So lots of these resources are books. However, I'm not receiving payment from anyone for talking about these resources and, while I should be, I'm not an Amazon Affiliate....yet.

1. The 4:8 Principle: The Secret to a Joy Filled Life by Tommy Newberry
Extremely practical advice focused on the things that you can control like your thoughts, your diet, your exercise, the premise of this book is:

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whateve is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." Philippians 4:8

Essentially, this speaks to the power of positive thinking. Newberry recommends disciplining your thinking because the Law of Attraction and the Law of the Harvest both say the same thing. What you send out into your world, what you sow, is what you will reap. It is more about the how you approach things than the what.

2. 48 Days to the Work You Love: Preparing for the New Normal by Dan Miller

I'm on Day 5 of this 48 days project which includes journaling answers to questions at the end of each chapter. Dan's goal is to help you "find the work you love." One of the most useful things he's said so far is, "Jobs will come and go, but they should never derail you from the fulfillment of your calling."

3. The Happiness Project or Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchin Rubin

Rubin examines a number of different theories about what makes us happy. For example, a de-cluttered space is supposed to contribute to happiness. Gretchin puts the theory into practice and, as an engaged reader I did the same. It's definitely a good book for understanding what you can affect in your own happiness vs the theory that you have a certain set point that can't be changed.

4. Playing Big with Tara Mohr

This one is different from all the others because Tara coaches a group over 6 months. As she says,

"Playing Big is for you if:
You want to be more effective and have a greater impact in changing the world
You feel a calling or a creative inspiration but you aren't moving forward with it as powerfully as you could
You want to make a positive difference in the world and find that you are held back by self-doubt, fear, or procrastination
You suspect it would be a whole lot more fun to play bigger."

There are over 100 participants from all over the world including New Zealand and Nova Scotia. All the participants are women. We connect through the use of the Ning network, Maestro teleconferencing and soon, MeetUps in locations of concentration such as the Pacific Northwest and the San Francisco Bay Area.

The most useful thought so far is that we don't receive ONE calling but many assignments that vary over time and with our individual circumstances. That frees me from the fear of making a mistake and choosing the "wrong trousers" Wallace and Gromit style.

I'll write more in the coming days and weeks about what I'm learning and the changes I'm making. In the meantime, I hope these resources are helpful to you.

Life Lessons In Odd Places

2011-04-17T20:07:00.000-07:00

Sometimes life hands you lessons in some odd places.

The Value of Mistakes
I was fascinated to find, when I took some DMAIC training recently, that mistakes are not considered waste. DMAIC stands for Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control and it is generally most useful in high volume processes where even the slightest improvement makes a material impact to quality and margins.

In DMAIC-land things like motion, waiting, rework and wasted intellect are considered waste but not mistakes because mistakes are useful learning opportunities.

The Non-Utility of Average
There's a good bit in the analyze section of DMAIC about defining the average. It basically says, be careful how you define the average because it matters. There are different ways to define the average! The average called "mean", the one we normally think of when we say "average", is not always a good choice because it is easily distorted by outliers. There are 2 methods for removing this noise. One is to hack off the top and bottom 5% of the results. The other is to delete outliers that don't have significant meaning.

If this still doesn't give you a neutral average, there are a couple of other ways to define average...the mode and the median. The most frequently occurring value is called the mode. The median is an average where 50 % of the number of results lie above and 50% below that point.

So the next time you compare yourself (not a good idea in the first place) remember that what you consider average can actually vary quite a bit!

Here's to life lessons in odd places.

Lines and Repetition

2011-04-11T19:25:00.000-07:00

Day 1 of Week 2 of the SITS Spring Into Action Photo Challenge focused on lines and repetition.

I started out with basics, the straight repeated lines of a souffle dish and oven rack, and then forgot all about it to eat souffle, my first. Yum!

Then I found some curved lines in these repeated sunflower petal edges.

Then I began to wonder what makes a pattern? And to try things out. Is it a pattern or a repetition when you can't really see it like in this strawberry leaf? Is it a pattern of repetition when only part of it is in focus?

Is it a pattern if it's organic and irregular?

A very satisfying exploration of the jazzification of lines.

Old Engine Oil and Gravity

2011-04-10T20:50:00.001-07:00

Old Engine Oil
Originally uploaded by Jennifer Hartnett-Henderson

After reading Gretchin Rubin's Happiness Project, wherein she works on being happier for a year one area at a time and develops a set of "commandments" to support that, I decided to work on a set of my own.

However, "commandments" is a word already taken in my life so I call these operating principles.

Drink beer
Run
Do the right thing
Have an opinion
Chase what matters

I recently had the opportunity to put the first operating principle into practice at Gravity, a wine bar in Palo Alto. I was surprised by their long list of unusual beers. The Old Engine Oil was a chocolatey beer, dark as a Guiness but much lighter in weight. The label was great! I can't wait to go back and try the London Porter.

Honorable Mention

2011-04-08T22:15:00.000-07:00

Here's a great summary of each day of the first week of the SITS Spring Into Action Photo Challenge.

And, hey, somebody noticed! My blog entry 2 Sunflowers Caress: Rule of Thirds about Composition was listed!

First Story Board Construction

2011-04-07T06:46:00.001-07:00

First Story Board Construction
Originally uploaded by Jennifer Hartnett-Henderson

I'm continuing to participate in the SITS Girls Spring into Action Photography Challenge. Yesterday's exercise introduced us to the use of storyboards. Thanks to templates from Rita at the Coffee Shop I was able to focus only on what colors and subjects looked good together and on the relationship between the photos. A reasonable first step.

The relationship of the compositions is not quite ideal. While the middle two images point the eye into the storyboard, the top two direct the eye outside the storyboard as does the bottom left. It would be better if they all pointed to one another because that would keep the eye.

The color consistency is decent with yellow and red being the dominant ones and blue for accent.

The selection of topics is a bit too diverse (books, flowers and a card) but the color scheme provides the unity.

A great exercise in thinking about unity and diversity in a composition. Next up I'll work to learn how to make a template myself.

How to Collage a Blog Header in Picasa

2011-04-05T19:18:00.000-07:00

I first learned how to make a blog header for free using Picasa about a year ago from an article on Blissfully Domestic. I haven't looked back. Every month I look through my photos from the prior month and, using Picasa, collage them together for a fresh look.

I keep them all in a set called Blog Header Collages on Flickr.

Enjoy!

2 Sunflowers Caress: Rule of Thirds

2011-04-05T18:02:00.001-07:00

2 Sunflowers Caress: Rule of Thirds
Originally uploaded by Jennifer Hartnett-Henderson

I've joined the 10 Day SITS Girls Spring Into Action Photo Challenge. The first day's assignment on Composition was to apply both unusual perspective and the rule of thirds.

It was getting near the end of the day so I grabbed what was in my environment, a vase of sunflowers in the kitchen. Once I got the image into Photoshop it wasn't quite working for the rule of thirds. So I put in some thirds guides and began to crop until I could get interesting content in more of the thirds, moving the guides to the right place for the smaller size. The above is the result. The below is the original SOOC.

Most of the visual activity in the original version on the left runs along a diagonal band across the photo. It isn't really in or near the target intersections which are the yellow lines.

You can see the new cropped version with guides and targets on the right. More of the visual activity occurs closer to the targets.

Born to Run

2011-04-03T09:41:00.000-07:00

I had passed by this book lots of times in the last 2 years because I thought it would be boring. The long subtitle, the heavy anthropology overtones and the simple graphic design of the cover put me off.

Four days ago, I finally flipped open the cover at Costco and thought, "What the hell, I'll give it a try." Boy was I surprised.

Christopher McDougall is an excellent storyteller! This book has all the ups and downs of the Leadville Trail 100. There's the drama of his own story as a persistently injured runner who's looking for a way to experience distance running without ruining his body and the drama of the pursuit of the story, finding a lead in Caballo Blanco, plus 4 chapters devoted to the duel between Ann Trason and the Tarahumara in one Leadville 100 race, to the final showdown in Mexico.

McDougall covers a vast amount of relevant side territory intermittently ranging from the scientific research of paleontologists, anthropologist and biologists on free footed movement and the actual practice of persistence hunts in Africa to the on-the-spot construction of a pair of rubber tire tread sandals with a twine thong and the real background of the mysterious Caballo Blanco.

I not only highly recommend this book just for the pleasure of reading good writing but also for the development of running skill. In fact, as a fellow runner who suffers from more overuse injuries than I like, I'm' going to put the Vibram Five Fingers that I bought last fall to use today.

The Value of Mistakes

2011-04-02T19:08:00.001-07:00

Thinking of You 2
Originally uploaded by Jennifer Hartnett-Henderson

"Don't worry if you make a mistake. I'll show you how you can fix it by adding some flowers or other touches. It may turn out to be the most creative of all" the instructor said.

All 8 of us were listening intently as Nancy showed us how to make greeting cards using an array of tools from embossing powders to cut papers.

This card ended up being an example of her advice. I didn't get the stamp inked all the way to the top of the basket of flowers on the bicycle. So they looked faded. Nancy suggested I add a few flower stickers to both cover the area and add more spice to the piece.

She was right. Having a mistake pushed me to do something extra that actually added to the overall effect in the end.

Here's to mistakes and creative ways of addressing them!

Via Flickr:
My favorite of all the cards I made today at the Paper Source card making class.

The Emotional Life of a Program Manager

2011-03-20T21:28:00.000-07:00

The emotional life of a program manager may be somewhat akin to the emotional life of an iguana.

Day after day you put in steady performance, basking in the sun, which consists primarily of listening to people and laying down an architecture of expectations that helps guide their amazing experience, gifts and knowledge along the paths of the project you are working on together. You provide the architecture. They provide the expertise. Followed by a big push up milestone which in the iguana's case could be the season of mating with its push-ups of attention attraction and which for the program manager could be a formal presentation to an august audience to signify the beginning of something new.

Milestones such as these are a particularly joyous event. First because you make them...culminating months of effort. Second because they are over...sadly often in a matter of a few brief intense hours. Unfortunately, they bring with them a sort of post-milestone funk that lingers for a restless weekend...only to be replaced later next week or even earlier by the imperative for the next milestone.

While sometimes put aside for the purpose of accomplishing a milestone, the firm presence of family, friends or outside interests and hobbies helps speed recovery and rebalancing.

Occasionally you find yourself spit out the back side of a milestone in an eddy totally unprepared for the inability to disengage with that stuff and re-engage with the rest of your life. The transition can then be a bit of a white water rafting experience while you look around you and wonder what else there is to do besides work.

All in all, not getting swept up in the biological imperative, the swift current or the unyielding pace of the project is healthiest for balance.

Getting Your Groove Back

2011-03-06T22:14:00.000-08:00

You wake up one day and feel better and by virtue of feeling better realize that for quite some time you've been feeling worse. You realize you lost your mojo only because you found it again. It could be due to family fights, work is not going so well, a health scare, poor self care, a breakup or whatever. But you're not your usual feisty self. Sometimes it's hard to tell where the problem starts and therefore where to focus on solutions. It could be:

Physical - some ideas include eat, feed yourself! get rest, take naps, sleep, exercise - get the blood running through those veins and generate some endorphins
Relational - you've gotten isolated somehow. Pick up the phone, IM or e-mail and make arrangements to spend time with friends, family, shiny people at work, anyone who raises your spirits
Spiritual - touch base and reaffirm what you know to be true.
Developmental - it may be time to change. It could be your job, your home, your decor, where you derive self worth from. That takes energy.
Or all of the above plus more.

Some ideas on how to triangulate:

Get away - it could be a long drive, a picnic or a weekend away. Just dump it all and get away. See if you get new perspective just from the change in scenery and turning your back on the things that drive you crazy.
Wait - sometimes these things just take time and you need to wait while looking for answers, aka active waiting
Read - see if you recognize yourself in someone else's writing. Perhaps they can describe perfectly what you're going through and help you identify the problem
Talk - grab a friend and talk it out. Listen to your friend's counsel.

Whatever it is, God's mercies are new every morning. Every day is a new day and a chance to dance again. Take advantage of it!

Battles of the Mind: Making It

2011-02-25T12:08:00.000-08:00

Do you ever have trouble going to sleep at night because you're worried about "making it"? I do sometimes. Anxious and intimidated I think:

I will not make it being a mother, for I have no children.
I will not make it as a runner, being an 8:00 to 10:00 minute miler.
I will likely not, probably not make it to the top of the heap in corporate america or perhaps not even to the next rung.

Then I shake myself and remember to be thankful for in many ways I have "made it". In no particular order:

I have a husband who loves me and whom I love.
I have a great women's bible study.
I have a job that enables me to live in comfort.

There's more but by this list alone I have "made it" in many important ways.

If I didn't have anything, would I still have made it? Remember Job. Everything he had, the Lord gave him. Everything I have, the Lord gave me. God took all of Job's haves away not for the purpose of hurting him but to show Satan that Job loved God for nothing. When nothing was left but some questionably useful friends, Job still believed in, prayed to and loved God.

What is worth having in God's sight? I found one thing at least:

"Your beauty....should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet inner spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves be beautiful." I Peter 3:3-5.

Here's another translation:

"What matters is not your outer appearance - the styling of your hair, the jewelery you wear, the cut of your clothes - but your inner disposition. Cultivate inner beauty, the gentle, gracious kind that God delights in. The holy women of old were beautiful before God that way, and were good, loyal wives to their husbands....You'll be true daughters of Sarah if you do the same, unanxious and unintimidated."

Having "made it" is putting my hope in God, not being anxious, not being intimidated. The context is what matters in drawing husbands to Christ but it could also be drawing others to Christ. I won't be dressing like a slob anytime soon. However, I will focus on "making it" by cultivating inner beauty that God delights in by putting my hope and my trust in God and in his plans for my life. How 'bout you?

The Value of Vacation

2011-02-20T20:49:00.000-08:00

My scattered thoughts about a recent 3 day weekend spent in Portland can be gathered into 3 categories:

Peaves
Any time you travel there are the blessings of on-time departures, early arrivals and smart, kind personnel. There are also the things that are not so much.

Airport restroom stalls that are too small to change your mind in let alone accommodate your rollaboard and purse
Toilet seat covers that are so ephemeral they rip while pulling them out of the holder or float off the seat before you have a chance to weigh them down
Airport PA systems that sound like "osknadr;2b'onvoivj[ait" which could be fine except they expect you to respond.

Grieve
Some very good and long-standing businesses have gone out of business. It's hard to accept that when a business does something so well that it can still go lights out.

Ten 01 - beautiful restaurant with so so food in a fabulous location, no explanation
Everett Street Bistro - outstanding breakfast place closed due to multiple defaults on the lease
Alu Wine Bar - when we arrived all we saw was a notice of trustee sale

Sieve
There's something about putting your life in your peripheral vision while on a weekend getaway that helps your back matter sieve through that life for patterns, insight and perspectives. After 3 days of play, on the plane ride home, I had no fewer than 9 epiphanies. These are revelations that change how I live my life. Almost anything that can give me that kind of insight on how to live is worth it

Running Lessons

2011-02-16T22:11:00.000-08:00

I've been learning a few things recently through running. It's funny what you can learn from keeping yourself company for 2 short miles:

Of all the sports my body could be suited for, it is most suited for running. Though my stride may not be the most efficient yet, I'm reminded of what Joan Benoit accomplished despite or because of an ungainly gate and I am not discouraged. Though I am not the springest of chickens I'm reminded of what Dara Torres was able to accomplish "too late" in life according to some. I'm inspired by women who peel off the limit stickers and push the envelop of possibility for us all.

If you've run for any length of time you've gone from once again a couch potato, albeit enforced by illness or injury or pregnancy or a schedule that would knock out an Olympian, to once again a runner. You've developed a practice of beginning again, sometimes at the very beginning, and sometimes a bit further along, that is a transferable skill to other areas of life. Never underestimate the value of beginning again. It pays twice. Once in progress and once in character.

The Imperfectionists

2011-02-11T19:42:00.000-08:00

I could not advise reading this book. It is a series of vignettes of individuals who are part of the social network of the paper whether as employees, financiers, readers or family of said.

But each one of the individuals is making choices that are terrible, self destructive and in some cases, cruel to others. And though I almost managed to finish this hope less book, I could not because it was so depressing to see people so crippled.

It's rare, in fact it has only happened once, now, that I strongly suggest not to read a book. But this once, I'm saying, pick up something else.

Talent

2011-02-11T06:09:00.000-08:00

Use the talent you possess - for the woods would be silent if no birds sang but the best.
Henry Jackson van Dyke

So, whether you have 2, 5 or 10 talents, let's get out there and use them to our best.

Red Tulip

2011-02-08T21:30:00.001-08:00

Red Tulip
Originally uploaded by Jennifer Hartnett-Henderson

It was just too beautiful to pass up, alive from the glow of my monitor in the completely dark otherwise room. Reminded me of Georgia O'Keefe and her obsession with closely observed flowers. The intensity and drama of it all are captivating.

2011 Super Bowl A Cultural Event

2011-02-06T20:20:00.000-08:00

I don't watch much football, except accidentally at restaurants at the bar. Sounds bad but a lot of times I can get seated much faster if I eat at the bar and I don't mind not having a table. So it works out for both faster food and I get an education of sorts. I learned about Peyton Manning and his fast change the plan quarterbacking style this way as well as the 2 point conversion play through the Oregon Ducks game. That's just for starters.

The only down side is the screens are usually rather small. So when lovely friends of ours invited us over to watch the Super Bowl on their 44" plasma screen tv I decided why not. I'd picked up a few tidbits. This would be a further step into an alternative culture.

My learning paid off. Guess who exercised and executed a 2 point conversion play during the Super Bowl? The Pittsburg Steelers!!! And guess who told them they should? Me:) Plus their coach:)

Rashard Mendenhall, RB Steelers, impressed me with his ability to wriggle through clogged spaces. Aaron Rodgers, QB Packers, seemed a bit impatient and impetuous but he was able to execute to his imperiousness and the MVP award recognized him for it. Forcing 3 turnovers, it looks like the Green Bay Packers defense deserves the most kudos.

While I can't see myself converting wholeheartedly to football culture, I did yell, "Where's the defense?!" and earned the robust ribbing of "You go tell 'em Tiny"...so I at least made credible strides.

Tinkers

2011-02-05T15:14:00.000-08:00

I bought this book at an airport book store just before taking off into 8 hours of planes, airports and rental cars. I selected it because it was short at less than 200 pages with easy-on-the-eyes font, the cover artwork was intriguing, and because I had heard the sentences themselves were finely wrought and the use of language unique.

Some other things are true as well. It won a Pulitzer Prize. It is Paul Harding's first novel. But these didn't enter into it.

It is also a story about a man winding down like the clockworks he fixed and since I was on my way to visit my father in the hospital, I thought this might not be such a good book to buy. But I bought it anyway.

In this book, houses disappear and reappear. So do people as 3 generations collapse into one another and then separate and then join again so that you have to read carefully to find out whom you're really reading about and if it might actually apply to all 3.

Finishing the book was easier on the way back, after my father was better and soon ready to leave the hospital and go home. There's something somewhat off about this book but at the same time, revelatory of something right. I recommend.

Conviction

2011-02-05T14:49:00.000-08:00

A friend sent us this video that uses type and tone to say something worth hearing and seeing about conviction:
Speak with Conviction in Typography: Poem by Taylor Mali

Yasa

2011-01-09T21:38:00.001-08:00

Yasa
Originally uploaded by Jennifer Hartnett-Henderson

We have a wonderful boutique wine store up the street called Artisan Wine Depot but I never remember the names of wines we try so the benefit is lost on me. I decided to take some notes as that's the surest route to memory.

Having just returned from Spain this summer and enjoyed the albarino and other off-main versions of white wine, our latest trip to Artisan was focused on trying to recapture the tastes of that time.

Yaba, from Spain, is a white wine made from macabeo calatayud grapes (never heard of them before) grown on old vines fifty years old and older. It is a wonderful sipping wine (meaning tastes good without food) with definite tropical fruit on top of mineral notes. The best of both worlds without the nastiness of a proper sauvignon blanc or the sometimes overriding sweetness of riesling.

Yasa is very reasonably priced at $11.99 per bottle and would go well with many hors d'ourves plates such as mini-quiches and mains such as pasta with white sauce and seafood.

Remodeling is Not for Wimps

2011-01-09T10:41:00.000-08:00

Remodeling is not for wimps. Just yesterday we began the process of tearing out our carpeting, ruined by a chimney flashing leak plus 15 years of wear and replacing it with bamboo flooring. It will be beautiful. Already I've learned some things and we're only on day two.

The vision of the completed room or space is clear as day.....to you. You've selected a contractor who understands the materials, likes your choice and is adding to that vision through design touches. Life is good. Day one of picking up 58 boxes of flooring and finding space in the house that's already turned upside down has gone well. Life is good.

The vision of the completed room is clear as day to you and every fiber of your being is straining toward the finish line. Six days the contractor says. And you believe him. And that faith sustains you. But when something threatens the smooth progression of that schedule calm as a boat gliding on the water whether with a ripple or a tidal wave, you clench and think Edvard Munch's Scream. Because your life doesn't get back to normal until this is over. You can't sleep in your bed, cook in your kitchen or even work at your computer undisturbed until the last nail is driven, the tools are packed up and it's time to bust out the Lemon Pledge. You've only got so much in the stress budget to allocate among all the various things that take up that budget and frankly, work has got 100% of it this week. So you're overallocated.

Then, take a deep breath and remember. Remember a lot of things. God is in the details so taking time for the details, even if they slow you down - keep you from reaching your end state on time - is important. Remember if God brought you to it he'll get you through it. Remember that it's not the finish on the dining room floors that matters, it's how you treat people, including your nearest and dearest, and the state of their souls. Am I helping or hurting?

No, remodeling is not for wimps.

Will Shoot Barns for Friends

2011-01-07T20:53:00.001-08:00

Barn #1
Originally uploaded by Jennifer Hartnett-Henderson

My friend Carol loves photographs of barns so I have begun a San Francisco Bay Area barn hunt. They can be anywhere really. I just have to be able to get there to take a picture.

This one is near Sky Londa, California off Highway 84 and is owned by the Mid Peninsula Open Space Preserve. It is creatively known as The Red Barn.

I've dubbed my project 31 Barns and my hope is to find and photograph 31 barns for Carol, one for every day of the month.

If I were sitting in the median at an intersection holding a sign, it would say, "Will Shoot Barns for Friends" It's great to be able to put my skills to good use.

Friends Through Photographs

2011-01-07T06:12:00.000-08:00

When cleaning out my Pile O Negatives, I've been returning negatives to people when I have a pile of them of that person. This means finding people I haven't talked to in 10 years. Each person has been excited to have those photos.

This experience had led me to take more photos of people. As a result, I have been discovering that another way to be a friend is to take photographs at special events. It can be a photo of something they made:

It can be a photo of the group:

Or it can just be of the fun you're having together:

Either way, people like having evidence of how they show up in life.

Humble Friends

2011-01-04T06:21:00.000-08:00

Another way to be a good friend is to take the advice of the apostle Paul in Philippians 2: 3-4 (NIV 2010):

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others.

I think I'm more often guilty of focusing on how my friends can help and support me. This was a great reminder to switch that around.

Acts of Friendship

2011-01-03T08:23:00.000-08:00

One way to be a good friend is to "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn." Romans 12:15 NIV 2010

Birthdays are easy times to rejoice with friends and family by remembering to call or send an e-mail or send a card. With Google Calendar or Microsoft Outlook calendar this remembrance has gotten more scalable. And with people having often moved away from families, it's a good time to hear "Happy Birthday!" This week I have 3 birthdays to celebrate in some way as a way of rejoicing with those who rejoice.

Deaths in the family are times to mourn with those who mourn. I know my tendency is to not want to acknowledge the loss, to just keep right on going as if everything were normal. But it's not. So might as well face up to it and acknowledge the loss of my friend. This week I know of one person who had a death in the family over the holidays. I think just offering to have lunch or coffee would help in this time of mourning.

Have a good first Monday of the year,
Jennifer

Overheard

2011-01-03T00:45:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you overhear the best snatches of conversation. When I do, I'll post them as "Overheard"

~"I have 3 addictions: Oprah, texting and wine."

Friends

2011-01-02T09:17:00.000-08:00

There's something in the air about friendship. It's like a drumbeat and the the beats I've heard over the past few months are increasing in frequency:

It all started in the summer when my friend Dar kept persistently and pleasantly inviting me to join the Women's Bible Study. (I had been away for 10 years.) I went to their summer potluck and at the time was debating but honestly, those ladies are too charming to resist. In the last several months I haven't regretted attending once.
In December I was telling my friend Emm that I'd like to be a better friend. She said she was thinking the same thing too!
We celebrated A's birthday yesterday. I don't know A well but she's a Bible Study member and I thought it would be fun to just be supportive and enjoy the company of these lovely ladies. At said celebration, my friend Dar gave everyone unique notebooks, some with decorative quotes. Mine happened to say, "The better part of one's life consists of his friendships." ~ Abraham Lincoln
Yesterday, at church, the pastor's sermon was all about the value of community, how we strengthen each other, hold each other accountable....
And today, NaBloPoMo is devoting the whole month of January to the topic of friends.

I think I'm getting the message! 2011 will be a year of focusing on friends!

Pile O' Negatives Reduced

2010-12-31T16:01:00.000-08:00

All because of Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project I started with the above. That's 18 plastic 3 ring negative carriers or notebooks full of negatives or slides or 4 x 5 transparencies or medium format film.

[You may be saying "Jeez, why don't you just go digital?" Well, I did from 2007 onward but time existed before then. Plus I did an extended tour of duty and lots of work using processes from the 1800s. No digital there then.]

Four hours later I'm down to this.

Honestly, it doesn't look much better. But, it is. There are only 12 negative carriers now along with the same amount of other stuff on top. There's hope.

The big strides were:

I'm returning one whole negative carrier of images of people or their work back to them. What a hoot to get back in touch after 8 years or so for some.
I took loads of images as part of various experiments and while I got the learning I no longer need the meticulous record of the experiments themselves.

I still need to manage this mischief down a bit more but this is as good as it's going to get today. Next steps are to:

Move my medium format negatives to the 8 x 10 negative binder. Both have lots of room.
See if I can consolidate my impressive collection of unused copy slides.

Maybe tomorrow. The biggest consolation was finding work I wanted to scan and edit and the fact that culling my 2010 digital image bank just took 30 mins. I need a run now!

Blogoversary Today

2010-12-31T11:22:00.000-08:00

Today is my second blogoversary! Thank you for reading, visiting, commenting and bearing witness to this blog. I appreciate you!

After 2 years of writing about whatever suits, I can see some themes emerge that work for both you and for me. Thinking about the year ahead I looked back over the posts that you commented on the most and they seem to fall roughly in 3 topic areas: photography, faith and blogging. And, not surprisingly, the things I write about the most are photography, faith and blogging. I'm updating my blog description to state this new condensed focus.

Sometimes, it takes awhile to come to the self knowledge you need to hone in on a direction. But it's well worth the work and the wait. Thanks for your part in that process and for showing me where my skills intersect your interests and needs.

NOTE: Blogoversary.com provides a cool little widget that helps keep track of the number of days until the next blogoversary. And, on their site, you can also see who else has a blogoversary on the same day.

A Year in Review

2010-12-30T09:45:00.000-08:00

Seth had a great post today on what did you ship this year. Got me thinking, what did I "ship"?

Running
Ran 870 miles in 5 countries and 6 states
Ran 7 races in 2 countries
Reduced my race times from 10 min/mile to 8 min/mile
Burned 548 donuts in the process
Ran the whole year injury free
Got myself into and implemented recommendations from the RunSafe Clinic

Photography
Made 365 photos
Made 4 family calendars and 12 calendars for friends
Sold 27 greeting cards to individuals and another ~10 to a distributor
Bought and learned a new camera

Work
Traveled to 4 countries and 5 states
Brought 8 distributors in US and EU up on a new process
Renewed my PMP (Project Management Professional ) certification and added BOST (Business, Operations, Systems, Process) certification
Reached for risk and started a new project

Home
Countless loads of laundry
Remodeled the kitchen and installed a new ceiling fan
Celebrated our 20th anniversary with a trip to Barcelona in June
Visited family in August

Spiritual
Some things are easier to quantify than others and this one is not easy.
Continued with daily devotional practice
Volunteered as co-lead of the Budget Coach Ministry
Provided budget coaching to 2 families
Rejoined a women's bible study for community

Writing
137 blog posts

This makes it easier to see what holes I'd like to fill in 2011, the places where I didn't ship something. I'll do some thinking about what I'd like to "ship" in 2011. Feel free to share your shipments too.

Pile O' Negatives

2010-12-29T20:02:00.000-08:00

I have just started the book, The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin who studied happiness for a year. I've made it through Chapter 1 where she works on de-cluttering her life and getting more rest. Enthused, I started de-cluttering mine by taking 5 bags to Goodwill and Freecycling about 5 more bags. However, despite the fact that this is big progress, I am overwhelmed by what remains to be addressed. This picture is symbolic:

Can you say "pile o' negatives"? And this was before I went digital in about 2006. I couldn't face going through these so I went through my digital 2010 folder and got rid of 4.5GB of photos that weren't any good or were those duplicate files with all the detailed info that Canon gives you that I can't open for some reason.

Tomorrow, I'm giving myself one hour to work on consolidating this enormous batch before I put them in boxes off to storage.

Some negatives you keep because they are "work", some you keep because they are memories and some you just keep because they're too hard to find to throw away. I'm hoping to find the work that I'm not done with and the memories I want to keep and to toss the rest or much of the rest.

Just working on consolidating all the prints I have was an enormous task. Looking that "the work" brings back the feelings and the memories associated. It's just so much.

At times like these when I'm pretty far down the discouragement path, I have to remember, this ability to take photos that I have is a gift that God gave me and one that I need to steward just like all the other abundant gifts that he gave me. I throw my hand out and ask for God to help me through this because, seriously, it's just a stack of negative holders, but it is way too much for me right now and I need help. I can't wait to see what happens now.

Project 365: The End

2010-12-28T07:50:00.001-08:00

Project 365: The End
Originally uploaded by thyme2003

I finally finished Project 365 Year One. I got the idea from a Blissfully Domestic group on Flickr. They had embarked on the journey of taking one photo a day for a whole year. I learned 4 things from the process:

1. Perfect execution isn't required.
Technically to do this "right" I should have taken a photo a day for 365 straight days. But I didn't. Some days I took zero, some days tens. Some days I processed or made and posted photos but didn't take any. And it took me longer than 365 days. More like 444. Those last 90 days were the hardest. But, I did it.

2. Just focus on the purpose - to make work.
The intent of the rules of the game are to make me make work and if I'm making work I can't help but grow in skill and ability. Some of the photos were really not up to my standards. But, I made work. And if I hadn't been making work, some of those really good photos wouldn't have happened.

3. The impact is something you get by doing.
By doing Project 365, I developed habits that support making work. I carry my tools with me at all times (Can't wait for my new ONA camera purse/bag to make that easier). I pay attention more, looking for opportunities and small worlds at the grocery store, walking to the mailbox, sitting at a table in a restaurant.

4. Little by little, daily discipline moves me toward big goals.
I have 365 more photos that I would have had I not tried this project and stuck with it. Plus several greeting cards which have sold, Christmas cards that I sent out, a family calendar, a calendar for friends and several images I've posted on my blog, all from this project.

Project 365 is something I would like to do for every year for the next 10 years (that's 30,650 photos!) for exactly these benefits.

Presidential Lady Pearls

2010-12-27T10:17:00.000-08:00

What do Barbara Bush, Jackie Onassis and Michelle Obama have in common? Pearls!

My husband bought me a new set of pearls for Christmas and they are lovely! They replace a set my parents gave me that I've worn for the last quarter of a century. I've learned on that set, through mistakes, how to better appreciate and care for my new ones.

I have committed every sin against those pearls known to woman except soaking them in port wine or swimming with them in chlorinated water. I've worn them to bed, to dance class, jogging, gardening, in the shower, while spraying on perfume and hairspray. I expected them to hold up regardless of their material frailties - much like I expect my body and mind to hold up to repeated overuse despite their physical limitations. Anyone who understands material science understands that each material, sand, ash, oak, marble all have different strengths and different limitations under cold, heat, gravity, stress and pressure.

And anyone who's smart should treat that material accordingly. If I got a new body now, like this new strand of pearls, I'd treat it much better, appreciate it more, baby it. For now, I am where I am. As I get ready for bed, I put my new pearls in a soft cloth bag for safe overnight rest from my tossing and turning. I wait to spray on my nighttime perfume until after they are protected. With smart regard for their material qualities, I hope these pearls will last me another 25 years.

Four by Six for Trade

2010-12-26T20:05:00.001-08:00

Four by Six for Trade
Originally uploaded by thyme2003

As you know from my post about my new Canon printer, I'm no longer able to use the HP Photo Paper soooooo, if you use this paper, I have 400 in 4" x 6" size, glossy. Ideally, I'd like to trade for some Canon paper, but if that's not in the cards, I'm open to ideas. The 100 pack on the left is Premium Plus. The rest are regular. Let me know if you're interested.

Happy Boxing Day!

Jennifer

Postscript: Thanks to my husband's help I was able to Freecycle these to an excited recipient!

Canon PIXMA MG8120

2010-12-25T20:34:00.000-08:00

My husband did an amazingly wonderful thing and got me a new Canon PIXMA MG8120 printer for Christmas! It replaces a squeeky HP Photosmart 7960 which has done its service valiantly for about 6 or 8 years give or take.

After reconfiguring the office to get rid of a scanner (which the MG also has) and my old printer and getting the new one set up I got busy with experiments on print quality to determine the exact character of my newfound friend.

From left to right (in geek speak):

Paper: Canon PhotoPaper Plus Glossy II, Selections: Printer Manages Color Space, Perceptual, High Quality
Paper: Canon PhotoPaper Plus Glossy II, Selections: Photoshop Manages Color Space, Adobe RGB (1998) Color Profile, Perceptual, High Quality
Paper: HP Photo Paper Glossy, Selections: Printer Manages Color Space, Perceptual, High Quality
Paper: Canon PhotoPaper Plus Glossy II, Selections, Printer Manages Color Space, Perceptual, Standard Quality

My plainspoken observations from all this:

The third one is clearly darker and grayer. So, out with the HP paper, alas.
The differences between the other 3 are not as extreme but on closer examination, some do exist.

When the Canon manages the colors the orange in the gingerbread house doors has more pop in both Standard (#4) and High Quality (#1) than when Photoshop uses Adobe RGB (1998) to manage colors (#2).
When comparing the High Quality (#1) with the Standard (#4), the Standard is slightly lighter which can be an advantage sometimes.

Key Takeaway: While #4 is a close second, #1 takes the prize!

Postscript: I also have this posted on flickr where I've received the opinions and feedback of other photographers if you're interested.

Christmas Day

2010-12-25T09:12:00.000-08:00

We bring ornaments to a tree and decorate with symmetry around a central gathering force. Each ornament takes on even more splendor when nestled in sparkling array
with the others.

Though decorating a tree may have originally been a pagan ritual, what a picture of our souls, brought as a gift, ornamented and arranged around Christ, better together and with Him.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Eve

2010-12-24T16:28:00.001-08:00

Christmas Cards
Originally uploaded by thyme2003

I wish you a wonderful Christmas Eve surrounded by warmth and love. Jennifer

5 Years From Today

2010-12-23T17:35:00.001-08:00

5 Years From Today
Originally uploaded by thyme2003

This is a great book!
It's perfect for anyone who goes cross-eyed at the mere though of vision and mission exercises and who hasn't a clue for how to answer the dreaded question, "Where will you be 5 years from today."
At only 1/2" thick, it's not intimidating. And even better, it's filled with fun exercises like Thank God It's Monday. Over the next 5 years you'll have 260 Mondays. What can you do to make them as special and fun as Friday's?
I used to think that you had to do the Vision and Mission exercises perfectly, but now, going through this book and getting some good ideas of things I want to do from only a couple of pages, I realize I still get value even if I don't have 5 years from now defined.
I've even given myself permission to be totally non-committal. Rather than ink or even pencil in my answers, I put them on small post -it notes that I can change 5 years from now or tomorrow.

While I still don't have my mission or vision figured out, I do have some concrete ideas about things I want to do. That's enough clarity for me. Even small movements will generate new possibilities. It's being stagnant that doesn't create opportunities.

Future Self

2010-12-21T20:09:00.000-08:00

Reverb10 Day 21: Imagine yourself five years from now. What advice would you give your current self for the year ahead?

Be as beautiful as you can every day because someday you'll be less so.
Run every mile you can because someday you may be unable to.
Go everywhere you can because someday you may not be able to.
Read everything you can because......
Enjoy your parents because someday, they'll be gone.
Love your husband fiercely and fully because he's a big part of your ballast.
Do not stop and do not give up no matter what. Every time you fight again you're training for the next thing.
Take way more time for joy and enjoyment.
Pamper yourself. You work hard, very hard.
Drink your vegetables. They don't taste so good otherwise.
Don't forget, the Lord hasn't forgotten you. Look for evidence of his love and care and you will find it.

Beyond Avoidance

2010-12-21T20:00:00.000-08:00

Reverb10: Day 20 What should I have done this year but didn't because I was too scared, worried, unsure, busy or otherwise deterred from doing?

Facing up to the fact that my office is going mobile and getting a home or other virtual office setup. This change has caused me to question everything from where I live to why I put certain things in my office. If there's no one there to see them, do they need to be there anymore?
I was too busy working hard and having fun on my job to do career planning so that's on tap for 2011.
Active management of retirement planning makes me panic. I cannot hide my head for another year. The dog can see me and it will bite.
Creating a photo book (I did however get to creating my first photo calendar which requires similar steps on a smaller scale.) This will entail developing a theme or a plan for the book and pursuing that theme over the year.

Do you suppose I can catch up on all of that over Christmas break? :)

A Seth Start to the Day

2010-12-21T08:18:00.000-08:00

After having a really tough couple of weeks at work, when everything looks like "It's China Town, Jake", Seth's post on The First Rule of Doing Work That Matters really helped my morning.

It reminded me of a saying, "Get up, dress up, show up" even when it looks like you've just done a permanent face plant, just keep going. Eventually, things will change. Circumstances aren't what makes your character. It's the choices you make in those circumstances that are crucial.

So, I got up, dressed up and now I'm going to show up in my day and keep plugging. Have a great one!

Healing Reverb10

2010-12-19T20:48:00.000-08:00

What healed you this year? Was it a sudden or drip by drip evolution? How would you like to be healed in 2011?

Getting my remodeled kitchen with working appliances healed my concept of myself as a bad cook. Turns out you can work miracles with an oven that stays at a constant temperature!
Physically, I was able to run all year long injury free because I spent time in the basics - core work, stretches, flexibility exercises.
Spiritually, it took the whole year to heal from our pastor's sudden departure. But a year later, I can still see that God is in the house and He has not forgotten his children.
For other areas of healing, I hang onto God's grace to take me over the bridge to new behaviours.

For 2011, I'd like to be healed in my ability to

to envision and plan a future 5 years out and to take steps toward it.
to be at peace with people without giving up self
to have deep friendships that are mutual
to make decisions quickly, wisely and accepting the consequences.
to methodically and thoughtfully move throughout my day, life and world without hurry

Lesson Learned Reverb10

2010-12-17T17:34:00.000-08:00

What was the best thing you learned about yourself this past year? And how will you apply that lesson going forward?

I can and do bounce back. I have grit, true grit. I may get knocked for a loop for a day or a month, but with my faith, I am able to stand back up, get back in the game and trust God for my future.

Setting the Lonely in Families

2010-12-16T20:49:00.000-08:00

This verse has been on my mind for a few weeks now:

God sets the lonely in families (Psalm 68:6a)

I decided recently to rejoin my women's bible study - the same one I went to for 2 or 3 years ten years ago. They have given me much. Each one cares immensely about her children, now grown, and follows their travails and triumphs avidly. Those without have more attention span for others. I see this in them:

Sing barren woman, you who never bore a child;

burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labor;

because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband (Isaiah 54:1)

There are 2 different kinds of lonely (at least). The kind in Psalm 25:16, the kind under duress:

Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.

And the kind under eustress Luke 5:16:

But Jesus often withdrew to the lonely places and prayed.

It's the first kind that God sets the lonely in families for.

Friendship Reverb10

2010-12-16T07:17:00.000-08:00

How has a friend changed you or your perspective on the world this year? Was this change gradual, or a sudden burst?

My friends have made me much happier. Each one gives me someone to look forward to seeing, someone to brighten my day, someone to laugh with and care about. In the up times and the down times they make me rich.

Appreciate Reverb10

2010-12-14T08:04:00.000-08:00

I'm a bit late to the 31 day Reverb10 conversation but Lucrecer over at Art Slam inspired me to do so with this Reverb10 post - Move Forward in Boldness and Faith. So, late or not, I decided I lay down some more e-tracks in internet space and join in.

Today's prompt is: Appreciate. What's the one thing you have come to appreciate most in the past year? How do you express gratitude for it?

This year is the first year that I have been able to run injury free. I have expressed my appreciation for the ability to move by:
1. taking more steps to ensure I can such as stretching and strengthening
2. studying how best to train to get the maximum benefit from the running I do get to do
3. carrying a camera with me to photograph all the beauty I get to see out on a run

Have a great day!

Curiousity Quotes

2010-12-14T08:02:00.000-08:00

We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. ~Walt Disney

December Blog Header

2010-12-12T21:07:00.000-08:00

I have so enjoyed changing my blog header every month with the seasons, with the mood, with what I've photographed lately. In all other cases I've used only photos from 2010 but in this case, I dipped back to one cell phone photo I took of The Golden Gate Express Special Exhibit at the San Francisco Conservatory in 2008. That exhibit formed the subject of my first post ever.

This is also my first all vertical blog header. I realized that I have more horizontals than verticals to chose from. Something to work on in the new year. More verticals.

Here's the year in review:
February, March, April and May
July and August
Missed September
October
November

If you'd like to try it yourself it's fairly easy, once you have all the material to work with.

Regrets

2010-12-11T10:11:00.000-08:00

Last night I watched the Bones episode the Doctor in the Photo and Brennan's regret over not having accepted Booth's overtures got me thinking.

What would I regret in the future if I didn't do it and became unable to do it?

If I became physically disabled I would regret not having run more.
If I became poor I would regret not having enjoyed my current state more.
If I became blind I would regret not having taken more pictures.
If I lost my husband, I would regret not having enjoyed him more.
When my parents pass away, I would regret not having told them I love them more.

The list goes on but you get the idea. The remedy for each of these is enjoying where I am more and more fully. This flies in the face of the statement, "I'll be happy when....."

Let's be happy now.

UCSF RunSafe Healthy Runners Clinic

2010-12-05T08:21:00.000-08:00

This month, for the first time in about 5 years, I was able to celebrate running injury free for a whole year. Last week, in hopes of keeping this trend going, I visited the UCSF RunSafe Healthy Runners Clinic profiled in the November issue of Runner's World.

Over a two hour period four specialists, a dietitian, podiatrist, physical therapist and orthopedic surgeon, run participants through a battery of assessments one-on-one. Then as a team they review your case and video of your form to discover potential causes of future injuries. In the wrap up of the session, they show you the video of your running form to identify muscle weaknesses and tightness that may result in injury.

The following day you receive (in my case) a 17 page document showing you the test name, the results for each side, the corrective exercise name along with a description and instructional photographs. In my case, the short summary is weak gluteals causing knock knees. I have 10 strengthening exercises, 5 stretching exercises and 3 things to focus on while running. Six weeks of strengthening and 12 weeks of strengthening and I'll be able to safely increase my mileage.

I was so excited to do this that I even took my November issue of Runner's World and asked the folks there to sign the article. And, that excitement was justified. The people who run the clinic are super nice. You just could not meet a nicer group of folks whose competence makes you trust them. The writeup I received afterwards was a bit hard to understand because of the lack of information design, use of jargon (just looked it up on the web) and the resistance created by the fact that I wasn't prepared for the disconnect between what I was told at the clinic and the information in the document.

On a personal level, I had to work a bit to get over the additional resistance to being told that I needed to change my form. True, this is exactly what I went there to discover. I just needed some time to get over it and get on with it.

I would highly recommend this experience. People fly in from all over the country to benefit. My sincere hope is that the information from the UCSF RunSafe Healthy Runners Clinic and my use of it enables me to run another year injury free.

4 Things That Changed My 2010

2010-12-01T16:41:00.000-08:00

It's not that reflective time of year yet but during Thanksgiving I had time to reflect on what the big changes were for the year. You know, the things that have the biggest impact on you. Here's my list so far:

1. Kitchen Remodel - This by far has increased my joy most on a daily basis. I like operating my kitchen plainly put. As a result, I cook more and more of what I cook tastes good! Recent Beef Burgundy experience is proof. Rolling my own pie and quiche crusts is more proof!

2. Pastor Change - at my church, the pastor, a wonderful funny man, left suddenly and under suspicious circumstances. While it rocked me quite a bit and made me question whom I was following, a pastor, a church or my God, ultimately, the whole mess has strengthened my faith.

3. 20th Anniversary Vacation! - I am so proud to have reached our 20th anniversary and I'm thankful to God. We celebrated by visiting Barcelona in large part to see Gaudi's works but it also turned out to be fun just to be there. The Barcelonians know how to relax, eat and slow down.

4. New Job - Lastly, I got a new job at the same company in February and I have really enjoyed the opportunities to learn and grow that have been afforded to me there.

I did the same sort of reflecting last year and found it helpful in providing perspective. What changed for you?

Twist

2010-11-29T20:28:00.000-08:00

Earrings by Cathy Waterman

One of the best places to shop for unique designer jewelry in Portland is Twist Jewelry. Renee, the sales person, was extremely knowledgeable about the artists, extremely nice and willing to pose with my favorite pair.

These are by Cathy Waterman and representative of the kind of beautiful, quality unique items they carry.

Unlike many jewelry stores, Twist is housed in a spacious building. Outside is a must see duck sculpture made of stainless steel parts of things. It's truly a tribute to creative thinking. Inside, various collections have room to breathe and customers don't feel visually overwhelmed.

Between the space, the special collection of artists and the wonderful people at Twist, you can't go wrong.

In the spirit of ethical blogging, I must let you know that, sadly, I didn't buy anything from Twist (this time around) nor do any of the Twistians, except Renee, know that I was going to write a post. But I did have fun, really enjoyed them and will go back!

Boov Shoes

2010-11-28T18:45:00.001-08:00

Boov Shoes
Originally uploaded by thyme2003

Actually, these are Vibram 5 Finger Bikila running shoes. But they look like alien Boov shoes (from the book, The True Meaning of Smek Day). My cat now thinks I'm Darth Vader and my husband is convinced I'm an alien Boov:)

Sparking the minimalist shoe movement, these joggers separate the toes and more importantly, the difference between the heel height and the forefoot height is basically zero in contrast to many other jogging shoes and in contrast to my 4" platform heels.

So I'm breaking myself in by wearing them around the house to get that Boov stretch between toes. If you don't know what a Boov looks like, here's a picture from www.smekday.com. Don't you think these would look good on the blue guy?

November Blog Header

2010-11-27T16:09:00.000-08:00

Again a bit late but composed of pics taken in October with one repeat from the also late October blog header.

Holiday Reads

2010-11-27T15:39:00.000-08:00

The holidays are a great chance to curl up with a good book and catch up on some reading. Here's a selection that veers from tears that you try to hide while you're sitting in the window seat of an airplane to the sharp intake of breath and a smile from whimsy to the serious sofa shaking delight of laughter. Could be good stocking stuffers too.

Miz Lil & the Chronicles of Grace came my way from friends at Open Door Fellowship in Denver, CO. Twelve stories weave Walter Wangerin Jr.'s growing up as a boy with his growing up as an inner-city pastor. The characters from Grandpa Storck to Miz Lil are tenderly drawn but Walter's foibles less so. I came away from the book with a sense of hopelessness about the struggles of trying to do good while being human. Yet, we receive grace, unmerited favor.

Something Rotten, was a hard cover abandoned to the sale rack. It's the 4th in a continuing saga of literary detective Thursday Next as she attempts to recover her eradicated husband and save the world by winning the Swindon Super Hoop. The author, Jasper Fforde from Wales, takes his whimsical world building seriously persisting through the credits: "No penguins were killed or pianos destroyed in order to write this book. The penguin meal on page 146 and the piano incident on page 305 were merely fictional narrative devices and have no basis in fact." This book also happens to be a Powell's book store staff pick.

The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex was a recommended hand-me-on from my husband and it's the most fun I've had reading a book in a long time. It's a story about aliens invading the earth and how a 10 year old girl, one cat named Pig and a fugitive Boov alien make the most of it. Great laughter medicine. Best voice for both J.Lo, the Boov and Tip, the 10 year old girl. Here's a sample line from J.Lo "Everybodies is always wanting to make a clone for to doing their work. If you are not wanting to do your work, why would a clone of you want to do your work."

Enjoy!

Best Places to Shop for Shoes in Portland

2010-11-26T19:42:00.001-08:00

New Boots!
Originally uploaded by thyme2003

Halo Shoes is one of my favorite shoe stores. When I was last there I bought a pair of Camilla Skovgaard sandals also worn by Halle Berry and still love them. This time, they were in the process of moving to their new location at 938 NW Everett so I didn't get my quality time.

However, all was not lost. Halo Shoes' old location at 1425 NE Broadway is still owned by Halo but has a new name and stocks only one brand called something like Cordinali. Fortunately for me, they were still clearing out other brands and I found these lovely Tentazione boots there with lovely detailing and smart design. Originally, I was looking for a black boot but these changed my mind.

Lastly, a stop by Imelda's and Louie's across the street from the new Halo at 935 Everett is a great place for comfortable round toed shoes of all types from boots to pumps to ballet flats.

I haven't made it to all the great shoe stores in Portland but so far, these are my 3 faves!

Boeuf Bourguignon for Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T15:09:00.000-08:00

It was a little over a year ago when I first attempted to cook bœuf bourguignon or The Sacred Vache! My kitchen was not yet remodeled and looks a bit quaint in the photographs. My new kitchen, which emerged after a scant 13 days, is a wonder to work in. Not a day goes by that I don't breath a prayer of thanks for it.

So, this Thanksgiving, I tackled the sacred cow again. Again it took me 7 hours from empty cupboards to meal on the table but this effort can certainly be made more efficient with some advance planning in the provisioning. I shopped the day before Thanksgiving. Though I started early at 8:15am, arriving at Dittmer's, the local and best butcher, at 18 minutes after opening bell put me #48 in line. The quality of the stew meat was worth the wait but could have been purchased weeks before and stored at the ready in the freezer.

Rather than the Pyrex dish I used last time (and cracked) this time I had a beautiful blue Le Creuset (snatched up at Tuesday Morning, an off-price store) and a Crate & Barrel casserole both filled with the full dosage of Julia's recipe. One other significant change as well. This time I chose a 90 point Norton Reserva Malbec at Costco and was richly rewarded by the excellent pairing by dinner time. We had an arugula salad with a light Meyer lemon, olive oil and sea salt dressing. I was a bit engrossed so I forgot the veg and starch. Tonight I'll see if I can add some asparagus with shaved aged Manchego and a super simple microwaved baked potato.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Best Places for Breakfast in Portland

2010-11-23T13:53:00.000-08:00

Having just returned from a weekend getaway in Portland, I can give you the inside and tested scoop on great places for breakfast.

Hash in Sellwood at 8728 SE 17^th gets props for upstart originality. Friendly staff serve press pot coffee, aebleskiver, construct your own omelets and……hash as you can see to the right. I had a chantrelle (the ingredient of the day), arugula and manchego omelet garnished with poached pear and suave caramel sauce. Jam is homemade.

Pine State Biscuits, formerly a food cart, serves anything with a biscuit, mostly fruit, sausage gravy or fried chicken in a variety of combinations including with mustard and honey. All ingredients are piled chest high. The biscuits are crispy, not Pillsbury dough boy soft. With only 12 chairs in the house, seating is communal and you bus your own table. All staff remains behind the counter working the stove and cash register. Great place for an "experience".

At the other end of the formality spectrum, breakfast at the Heathman Restaurant in the Heathman Hotel is a safe and predictable white table cloth affair. Waiters wear ties and starched white shirts. The smoked salmon omelet and eggs benedict were both very good. Go here if you just need things to be as expected.

We return over and over to the Everett Street Bistro, "a European style charcuterie", in downtown Portland. The spinach scramble is laced with parmesan and garlic and the coffee, served by accomplished and approachable wait staff, is dark and welcome. They also serve aebleskiver and cocktails if your morning calls for it.

Rainy Night Run

2010-11-19T22:06:00.001-08:00

rain shines dark asphalt
nacreous lights unfurl against velvet
showing me the way

Creating Photo Calendars

2010-11-09T21:19:00.000-08:00

I made my first calendar and I had no idea it would be so hard! The questions that came up for me were particularly esoteric:

Audience: Who am I making this calendar for?
Motivation: If for someone else, what's important about that? What do I expect their reaction to be?
Taste: If I'm making for someone else, how on earth can I pick 12 photos they would like? 3. If I'm making one for several someone elses, how can I pick something that would appeal to most? If I'm making it for me, what are my 12 favorite photos from 2010?
Theme: What's the uniting theme or topics that provides a consistent thread through the calendar?
Season: Should the photos relate to the season or not be constrained in that way?

The practicalities were a bit, well, tedious?

What is the recommended pixel per inch and size for a particular service provider's user interface? I never did find the answer for Snapfish. I just used the guess and guess again rule until I stopped getting "Warning, your image is too small" message and the entire image fit into the "box".
There's no approval copy sent to you. You have to order one, pay for it, then decide if it works and order more.
The supposedly easy interface between Flickr and Snapfish doesn't really meet the need because if you size photos small enough so that others can't print them as their own then they are no good for you for any of the print facilitating sites like Blurb or Snapfish.

What looked like "quick and easy" turned out to be about 4 to 6 hours of work for 1 calendar that I haven't received yet so I don't know if I'm done. I'm sure I could do this smarter next time. For now, I'll just never believe what I read.

Dark Morning Haiku

2010-11-05T17:46:00.001-07:00

leaves whisked into an
airy dance lit gold by the
bright sun of headlights

It's The Simple Things

2010-10-20T06:20:00.001-07:00

Window Pull Softer Warmer
Originally uploaded by thyme2003

I was sitting in a very nice restaurant called Il Fornaio in the Saint Claire hotel with splendid decor all around me and this window shade pull is what really got my attention.

It was the light, the simplicity.

Outside, it's raining in the early afternoon, the sun nowhere to be seen. But the effect of that soft light was to wrap itself around things like a cloud and illumine them more evenly, leaving detail in the shadows and highlights.

This is post processed to accentuate the glow.

It's always the light.