Spastic

So I cannot shovel for the rest of the season... Hubby's orders. I did something to my neck when shoveling Thursday. Just a wee bit sore. Then on Friday, sharp pain. Then by Saturday night, unbearable. Pain up the neck and down to the shoulder. St. Clare's ER is surprisingly quiet on a late Saturday night! But apparently I have a sprain/strain with horrible muscle spasms. I was supposed to shoot buildings on Main Street with an HPC partner in crime on Friday. Canceled b/c it was just too darn cold. Then I have to cancel on him today b/c the pain was unbearable. With the painkillers I had to get, it is ok, but I am extremely loopy. And now to the segue on how this connects to Photography...

So even if I could have managed walking up and down the street, because the shutter release is on the right, I could not have shot all those pictures with a right arm throbbing with pain. So... this southpaw is wondering why there are not cameras made for lefty's. Hmmm... I think there is certainly a market for that...

I also determined that since I cannot drive or go anywhere today, I might at well catch up on submissions. Finished two, and will try to do two more before signing off...

Re-do

So aggravation ran rampant today. Is it the full moon? The snow? The .... senioritis/junioritis/sophomoritis/freshmanitis? Anyhoo... could not wait to get home... but sat in doc's office for an hour. He thinks it is carpal tunnel... oral cortisone didn't do a thing... the shot will be in April. Ugh...
Then I get home and hubby's car(s) are there. He could not even get out of town this morning to get to work and couldn't get the car back up the hill and had to leave it and get it later when all the roads were clear or the snow melted! Whoa!

But then I read the three posts so far this week and the responses made me happy... And I have Millie on my lap!

A blog for someone...

So I have a secret blog with my name not attached - teachers do need to keep their privacy - and one of the blogs I follow on that one is an indie fashion magazine form Canada. I found a link to a blog that I think ZN from Photo II would like. It is called "fieldguided" and some of the soft toned pictures struck me as something she might like...

Judy....

I finished the biography of Judy Chicago last night. I was always ambivalent about her work until I saw an extremely good exhibit on her at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Seeing her work in person, I actually got it... Now after reading all about her and the cr*p she has dealt with as a woman artist and educator, I feel like more people need to know about her, not just her work. She is a female who speaks her mind, wants to be respected and treated fairly, does not like it when sexist or competitive people try to push her aside and speaks up often and loudly when she needs to. Bravo! Anybody wonder why I like her? Oh, and she's short... and some of us know how much a short, sassy, vocal woman with strong opinions and beliefs is accepted...

Raced to Rockaway to meet the accountant to give her the taxes... then raced home to get work done. Worked in the garden until dark after dinner. And lo and behold... the mosquitoes know I am out and about. But the bulbs are coming up so nicely. I am eager to plant more, but to be honest, if our governor runs for president and wins, there will be a 3 bedroom/ 2 bath house in Morris County for sale right away. And that means lots of perennials and bulbs to dig up and transport. Not the time to plant more...

I have been keeping up on the union and education issues and just want to know - yes, I keep asking this question - what ever happened to respect? If teachers can withhold opinions and let students speak their minds and still respect them - particularly if I vehemently disagree - then why can others?

Hoping to go and see some friends tonight... need to get rid of this bleakness...

Drinks?

My security code for one student's blog response was "skybar" but I have never had a drink on a plane that was alcoholic. Go figure.

Drove home with music on, jacket on the seat - not me - and the window open. Ran to the backyard to peek at the bursting bulbs, started to unearth some stuff. Ready to get the gloves on and work in the garden! By the time I feed Millie, clouds... and my hands were itching... grrrr.... but tomorrow is to be sunny and warm!

The book ideas from the Photo I students are very interesting. I think I will enjoy the results this year! I also realized I do need to make time to do more art. I started three mini-books this weekend. But they are just... eh... stuff to try to sell. I need to get back to my autobiographical stuff. I also started a photo project with fur and skin... need to move on that one.

Oh yeah... and this...

http://www.hungarian-multicultural-center.com/id78.html

Wish I could squeeze in a trip there...

Updating...

So I was going to take a personal day tomorrow but the flooding is so bad that there is no school... Much rather have to use the personal day...

Liking the work on the indie projects so far... of course, the usual suspects are not doing a thing... grrr... but did get some nice stuff from the one with the monitor monitoring him! Oh, those shots are nice...

My pictures from Paris came in... all 398 of them! And not a sunny sky to be seen .... cannot wait for June... three or four cameras, at least...

And I finally got out and socialized... I have been spending so much on work and town stuff and it was very nice to see some old friends... I must get out more... perhaps when the weather is nicer.

And speaking of nice weather... with Spring coming you know what that means... gardening!!! I saw my Alderman and his wife at a town meeting Wednesday. She asked when I will be starting back at the M-K house! Oh dear! I cannot wait to get back there to weed and prune! I think I was salivating.... seriously... And I also have pulled out my seed catalogues. Since it is pledge time and nothing is on TV, I will be working on my list of what to order for the gardens: more herbs, some new perennials and replacing veggie seeds I have used up... Yippee!!!

last place...

Yeah, that's the feeling right now...

but I am really referring to the posts from this past week. And they were really good and insightful. I loved reading them. I didn't really find any of them to be cliche. My last place would be Hungary. After my grandmother died, I had to go to the house to help my parents clean it up and prepare it for sale. I was the only one helping and I went about once or twice a week - weekends and maybe a day or two after work. I found so many things - bibles, cards, funeral cards, clothes, 78's, magazines, mementos, legal forms, and pictures. I have been working since then to piece my father's family history back together. That includes nagging him to id people in photos (he hates it and so does mother), figuring out what languages were in the bibles and written on the photos - Hungarian - and then trying to translate a language I do not speak. I have also looked up the towns on the forms and collected images (from the internet) of where the family lived. This is one of the things I do in my spare time. I even found out what my real last name should be - it was treated by dad as a big family secret lost to time. So eventually I will have enough information to go to Hungary and perhaps find some relatives - if any are still alive. The American faction is nearly gone... I should call this the Matta-Beri project... ha...