Scattered Thoughts . . .

I 've been spending quite a bit of time trying to emulate Super 8 video footage fairly accurately and I have now come quite close. The two biggest factors in trying to get this emulation believable turned out to be, first, making sure I shoot in a rather flat color profile and, second, learning more about the hundreds of video effects I have with my video editing software.  "Learning" about these video effects means knowing what each is supposed to do and learning how to effectively use each effect.  This alone was a time consuming process. I chose to make things a bit easier for myself by switching cameras from my Fuji X30 that I used in earlier tests to a camera that is capable of shooting video in "Cine-like D".  The older Fuji X30 doesn't have a flatter profile.  It has nice contrasty images, which is great for images straight-out-of-the-camera but not so great for video footage when you want to do some editing.  The "Cine-like D" profile on my

I 've really fallen very far behind in writing blog entries and sharing photos lately due to really lousy health for much of this year.  Well, actually, I've fallen behind due to lousy health through much of the pandemic!  I've honestly lost track of how many times I've had the virus at this point.   Frustratingly inaccurate COVID tests have also clouded my memory of how many times I've actually been very sick.  You need to test about six times before you get a positive result which pretty much renders the tests useless.  While people are testing negative (IF they even have enough of a moral compass to test at all), they are going to work and socializing and spreading the virus even more.  This pandemic has become a bit of a blur of illness, death and nothingness so I honestly can no longer remember how and when I've been sick.  This period from January 2020 to today has been a blur of nothingness.  What I do know for sure is that I've been down far more mon

I t has been a pretty quiet week.  The weather has been lousy and my energy level has been depleted so I have mostly been resting and sleeping this week.   We had a leaking washing machine.  I quickly determined it was a leak out the front door of the washer due to gunk, grime and sliminess on the door boot seal.  I spent a day and a half resolving that problem.   First, I spent half a day manually cleaning the inside of the washing machine as well as inside all the folds of the door boot seal.  I didn't want to be too abrasive on the seal because I knew that would only cause more leaking so I carefully and methodically cleaned it up, little by little.   While I was doing that, I also ordered a new boot seal for the front door in case my efforts failed or in case this fix only lasts a short time.  Plus, I don't want to be without a washing machine for a week or two so I would prefer to have a part that I know I will need on hand for when we do need it.  That new boot seal arriv

W e started our Thanksgiving weekend yesterday with some food prep, Florida and Dayton NCAA Tournament basketball games ( never, never, never  lunkhead football in this house), and a nice Thanksgiving Eve dinner.   Yesterday, I started my morning making some sweet mint tea and homemade blackberry syrup.  Then I got started on making homemade cranberry sauce.  I made very small batches this year since we will again be home alone due to the lingering and once again flaring pandemic.   Sheila and I both had this virus before testing was even available last year (not that I have any faith in our lame testing and almost non-existent standard guidelines for testing) and it was an absolutely miserable experience so we are avoiding all chances of getting this virus again.  I am actually still struggling with debilitating inflammation and swelling so I have no desire to prolong this any longer than necessary.  So, we'll be home alone again for this holiday.  We do, however, have our Alexa S

Every year we expand and improve our landscaping and gardens and this Spring was no exception. Each year, things are a little bit different in our yard with different plants and slightly different gardens and we seem to add a little more each year as well.   I'm not at all into having little figures and figurines in our gardens and backyard, in general,  but we do have our frog, Dawn, perched on our front step to greet all visitors. This frog is named after Sheila's lifelong friend, Dawn. If you were fortunate enough to know Dawn, you'll understand why our frog is named Dawn... We added cedar planters and window boxes this year and hope to add more to more windows in the future... As always, our stone walls, stone paving, and timbers tend to expand and artistically spread as well. This stone walkway to our backyard and back door , lined by wildflowers and stones,  is one of my favorite features (and required a lot of back-breaking work for someone with extensive

Before a patient can be discharged from Post-Op Recovery, the patient must be able to effectively void their bladder on their own. Of course, they should also be able to get themselves to the bathroom without falling over to the floor and their vitals should be in a safe, healthy range. If everything checks out okay, then the patient can be discharged and sent home to continue recovery. One of the problems Sheila has had consistently in her previous two surgeries was bladder paralysis due to general anesthesia. Her team of doctors worked together to come up with a solution so Sheila would not again experience this excruciating problem again this time around. Both Sheila and I are very happy to report that her team of doctors succeeded in solving this problem this time around! When Sheila was able to effectively void her bladder on her own by mid-afternoon, we began our journey of checking out of Recovery and the hospital. Here, Whitney is wheeling Sheila out of Post-Op Recovery...

Even though I had great difficulty breathing again today (it is my 'new normal', I suspect) , I managed to start working on a new project this morning. I didn't get a whole lot done but it was nice to have a fairly productive morning, for a nice change of pace. Our old bedroom has been relegated as a temporary storage facility rather than a nice bedroom since we moved into our new bedroom just before Christmas. This morning, I started moving things out of this room so we could begin renovating.  I needed to take a lot of breaks to catch my breath... used my inhaler about three times... got a little dizzy a few times... but, slowly, I managed to make a slightly noticeable dent in clearing this room of clutter.  After lunch, I went outside and started excavating for a small foundation for a small three window alcove we plan to add to this bedroom.  The good news is I did not encounter any buried utilities. I started this digging by hand with a plastic shovel just in

We've had a stench coming from our range and it has not been my cooking! Unfortunately, anytime we turned out the stovetop or the oven, we would get a strong smell of rodent and urine. Something needed to be done! I pulled out the range when this odor first presented itself a few weeks ago figuring that maybe some mice had taken up residence behind the range or under the range since it is a warm place... I found some mouse poop and urine stains but I didn't think this was the source of our problem. I was hoping, but I wasn't sure. While I had the range pulled out away from the cabinets, I vacuumed and then cleaned and then painted... I wanted to seal up any of the urine smell. Our problem was mostly minimized now but there were still some really stinky times especially when we used the broiler. Then we attended a dinner party at the house of some close friends. They have the same model range as we do... a Frigidaire Gallery line... with a full commercial quality coo

This is a view which is seen in countless books and photographs but I felt compelled to shoot this angle too. Sheila and I had an opportunity to visit close friends in Virginia for Christmas so we spent the bulk of our Christmas week in and around Monticello. The weather at Monticello was sunny and in the 70's... flowers were in bloom... the grass was green... the weather was typical beautiful springtime weather! I started studying Thomas Jefferson and his architecture decades ago and had always wanted to walk these hallowed grounds. I have to say that this was an inspiring experience to meander through history.  If there ever was a time in history needing a visit from Thomas Jefferson, it is today. I have always based my beliefs on Jefferson's philosophies and this visit reinforced my convictions even more. It truly was a moving and inspiring experience to see and touch all I had studied for decades.   I shot hundreds of photos and I will probably put together an

My plan for today was to rip lumber to use as crown molding and baseboard molding as well as build two hollow 'L' shaped beams to cover exposed rough plumbing... I started with measuring for the 'L' shaped beam in the new half bath.  I measured again to make sure I had the correct measurements and then I went outside to the tablesaw to start cutting. I even made a little diagram to go with all my measurements. I reviewed the measurements again before cutting. Before fastening the pieces together to form the 'L' shaped cedar beam, I thought that maybe I should test my measurements by doing a dry fit of each piece... The moment I tried placing these two pieces up on the ceiling where the plumbing is located, I immediately noticed that I somehow screwed up. It turns out that my measurements were fine but I screwed up on what those measurements were truly measuring. What I thought I wrote down were outside, total measurements but, in reality, the measurement