I've been playing Scrabble a fair amount lately, or at least versions of it. I've been playing an online version with my sister and sister-in-law over the past few weeks, and tonight I played the board game with Curtis (he won 338 to 288). It's nice to have something to challenge my brain cells.
The last couple of days I've been fighting a cold, and so haven't been working. I've got a few shifts lined up though, so I hope I get better soon. Curtis' health has not been good lately either, and now he seems to be getting this cold as well, poor guy! He's been busy with various projects for his business, so it would be nice if his health would be restored soon.
Isaac's imagination has been amazing me lately. He comes up with the most interesting scenarios from something as simple as a pile of sunflower seeds and a potato ricer, combined with various toy loaders and dump trucks. He spent hours playing with them yesterday. Today we played with his train set for awhile, then did some cutting and gluing projects. He also asked his Daddy to make him some cardboard swords, and enjoyed playing with them, too. Boys will be boys!
The weather here has been very cold the last few days - on Sunday it was at least -25 degrees C,and the wind was blowing. Today I think it was -15 or so, and now it's down to -17 (at our house, anyway.)
I guess I should get some sleep if I want to get healthy again. Good night.
Last night was the 2nd class of my 3-class workshop on digital photography. There were less people in the class (I know two ladies dropped out, and as for the other, well, I'm not sure why she didn't show up), but it turned out quite good as far as I'm concerned. To me it makes it easier to have committed, dedicated people (like the four that did show up) there who REALLY want to learn. Turns out I over planned which was fine, because I'd rather plan too many activities than not enough. We had good discussions about a number of different points, and I felt like I really was a help to each person there (as far as teaching them things they didn't know before). At the very least I made them aware or exposed them to a lot of different ideas that I hope they can investigate on their own. And at the end of the class as I packed up and drove home, I found that I was saying to myself how much I enjoyed it. Things are always better when you can speak with passion about something you TRULY enjoy. I'm much less intimidated doing this than if I were speaking about something I knew very little about.So we've got one more class next week and then I hope to transition into a few different ideas I'm developing. The one that has the most traction right now is an introduction to self-publishing coffee-table books like this one HERE (click the link to view a 15-page preview of a book I've already made).
Last Wednesday afternoon I took a phone call from a lady here in Smithers who works for Community Services. It turns out she was looking for a photographer to help with an event they're putting on in February. (She was referred to me by one of the local web design companies here in town).So we met the next day to discuss the event and what specific needs she had. I took that information and then sent her a quote this past Monday. She called back a few minutes later to clarify a couple points and then told me that the quote was fine and they'd like to go ahead with hiring me for this event. There's also a good possibility that they will do 2 more events similar to this one in February (on the 9th) later in the year so that would mean a couple more jobs for me too.
Needless to say it was a very encouraging day when I got that news. Things like this really help me feel like my business is validated. Being actively sought out by someone not as a result of any direct effort by me. For me it's the hand of God moving and directing.
Last night went pretty well all things considered. At the close of registration yesterday afternoon, I was told I had 8 registrants for my course. As it turned out, one must have dropped out after registering as only 7 people were there for the evening.Anyways there was a good mix of people that came and a good mix of cameras--4 DSLR's and 3 Point and Shoots. So it was a bit of a challenge to be general enough with what I focused on that I didn't solely focus on the DSLR's at the expense of the P&S cameras. I'm hoping to be able to tailor my lesson plans for nights #2 & 3 of the course to address specific issues for all cameras.I share a couple images here to give an idea of the room I had to work with. Both were shot before anyone showed up.
(In case you're wondering whose lips are on the screen, that remains a mystery even to me. It's a photograph of a poster advertising some sort of bottled water or fruit juice. It caught my eye in May '06 when Bonnie and I were in New York.)
I can't believe thirteen days have already passed in this new year, and I haven't written since the 29th of December. Why do the days go by so quickly?
These last two weeks I've had steady work, which is a blessing, although the last four days I've been getting up at 5am to be at work by 6, which is tiring. I have one more tomorrow before I'll have a couple of days off (I think - I actually have nothing scheduled after tomorrow, so if they call me for overtime, I may take it).
Curtis and I spent a quiet New Year's eve at home this year, which was nice. I/we have usually spent it with friends in the past. New Year's day we went to Curtis' parents' place for breakfast, then returned home by lunch time, as Curtis had things to prepare for his solo show at the art gallery.
Curtis' opening night had a good turnout, so I was told, with close to 40 people attending. Several of them were family and friends, and we appreciate their support. It was fun to hear our nieces claim which photos were their favorites. We even had a couple of small sales that night. I've had several people tell me that they'd like to stop by and see the show while it's up, so I hope they do.
Yesterday Isaac got to try out the ice skates he got for Christmas - he and Curtis went to Telkwa to join Michael, his kids, and a bunch of their friends for Bethany's birthday party. Apparently he did okay, with some help from Daddy and Uncle Michael. I was working.
Isaac has really gotten into counting lately, and asking what the words are that he sees. He can already sound some words out, and his memory for stories we haven't read in awhile blows me away sometimes. That probably has something to do with envy, as my memory can be quite poor. Another thing that has been amazing me about him lately is his imagination, and his stretching of mine. At night he still likes me to lay down with him for a few minutes, and he wants me to ''read some made-up stories from your head". I can think of several people much more gifted than me at making up stories from their head, but I do my best.
Last night Curtis and I had a date night, and we decided to check out the local bowling alley, which is just down the street from us. We were the only customers the whole time we were there, which was long enough to bowl three games. I must say, I still need a lot of practice!
Here's a couple shots from the gallery opening last Friday night.
