Outside My Window ~ 9.19.10

Outside My Window…is a beautiful morning…again.  At 11:15, the temperature is 75ºF with blue skies and sunshine….again.  Our forecast high today is 83ºF with sunshine all day long….zero chance of rain….again.  I’m sure those of you have have experienced a wet summer, or even a different season, have a hard time understanding how very tired I am of the heat and lack of rain.  I love sunshine….but I also love rain too.  I love to sit and listen to the rain, I love to walk or run in the rain.   I like to have a nice combination of the two…sunny days, rainy days.  The surplus of rain we gained last fall has long been gone and then some.    I can’t imagine what it would be like to try and plant a fall garden right now….or even bulbs for next spring.  The ground is so hard and dusty…you would probably need to combine this hard, dusty earth with some very rich compost or topsoil to even work the ground much less plant something.   Our temperature outlook for the month of September is warmer than average but it appears we are suppose to be wetter than average as well.  Dead on with the warmer than average but not too many more days to for the wetter than average to become a reality weather folks!

 I am thinking…that I need to get better organized with my posts online.  I was looking for something the other day and while reading through some old posts I realized I had said I would post something on more than one occasion and never did.  And if you think I’m going to outline my failures right here and now…I am not.  I will just quietly sneak them in one day and pretend all is lovely.  😉

 I am thankful…that I still have the ability to celebrate my mother’s birthday with her.  My daughters and I met her for lunch yesterday.  My sister and her husband joined us…lots of laughter and good food.  I think she enjoyed herself.

 From my kitchen…is a cup of French vanilla coffee right now.  I will be changing over to cinnamon hazelnut as soon as I finish up the remainder of the French vanilla coffee beans I ground yesterday.  I don’t know why I do that, but fall and winter is the cinnamon hazelnut, spring and summer is the French vanilla.   I’m not sure what I will be cooking today ~ another one of those days where I want something good and tasty, but I don’t know what it is that I want.  I’m sure it will come to me later.

I am creating…a camera bag from an handbag.  I have a very large camera bag that carries all my gear…and then some…but it is big, boxy and ugly.  It would not do if I were going someplace and didn’t want big, boxy and ugly as an accessory.  But there are times I want to bring my camera and it won’t fit in my handbag nor does my handbag offer any type of protection for the camera.  Enter an old handbag and some foam padding.  I have ogled and lusted after these online but my desire is quickly diminished when I see the price tag.  I don’t mind paying for quality…firm believer in you get what you pay for….but I like to do it when it is on sale.  🙂  So one day I’m cleaning out my closet and I come across this old handbag that I’m ready to toss in the charity pile because it was too large and I never use it.  And I look at it….and I look at it…and it dawns on me, this would work!  Not quite as large….doesn’t have all the bells and whistles…but it would work.  I have some foam that I am going to cover with fabric, add some Velcro here and there….viola ~ a stylish looking camera bag.  It will carry the camera, my wallet and glasses without a problem and won’t be a big, boxy, ugly accessory.  I will give you a look see once I have finished (no I will not forget this one ~ I’m making a list now!).

 I am going…to attempt to replace some weather stripping around my storm door.  I was washing dishes the other day and glanced out the front storm door…..except I saw more daylight than I expected.  Sure, it is a glass door, but I didn’t expect to see the large gap revealing the outside between the door and the house.  All I could imagine was the mosquitoes and critters that could come in through that space and the large amount of air conditioning escaping outside.  The weather stripping I picked up will hopefully eliminate that and the gap.

I am hoping…the weather cools down soon…..we get some rain…..I finish my chores today…..my friend is able to move in to her new place soon so she can enjoy some peace for a while.

I am hearing…the hum of the ceiling fan…..the ticking of my many clocks…..the air conditioner kicking on….an otherwise quiet house.  Bliss.

Around the house…the never ending pile of laundry….indoor plants that need watering….a few dishes to wash….a cluttered workspace to tidy up.

Plans for the week include…work….work…work….sleep in between….and not so much else this week.  I will be working on the camera bag and cataloging photos.  The sheer volume of images, textures, brushes, actions and presets that I have on my laptop and portable hard drive scream at me to devise a better system for keeping up with everything.  I really should try to do that too….although I’m fairly certain it will take more than a week to do.  There is one more thing I plan on doing this week, for myself….but I’m not going to reveal that just yet in case something falls through.  I will let you know as soon as I do though.

One of my favorite things…is discovering new ways to use old things.  For instance….old, unused handbag becomes new camera bag with a little bit of effort and material I had on hand. 

A picture I’d like to share with you…is of one of my favorite places to photograph….the boat dock area near my mother’s house.  I took this last year around this time with my Canon point and shoot.  At this time of year, the air is generally clear ~ no summer haze hanging in the air, the sky is not blown out but this amazing color of blue with white clouds floating about.  I will be visiting there more often now that summer is leaving us…the bugs will be gone, the skies will be amazing and I’m hopeful the clouds will return.  Stay tuned for more to come in the months ahead…..