Friday, 31 December 2010
December 31, 2010
It's the last day of the year- I don't have anything particularly wise to say, except happy new year. :) 2010 has been a year full of ups and downs, and I'm glad to see the end of it to be honest. But here's to a better 2011, blessings to you all this year!
Saturday, 25 December 2010
December 25, 2010
Merry Christmas everyone!!! I haven't posted in a few days because I've been sorting out my travel- I have finally made it back to Clinton, and been spending lots and lots of time with my family! It's been so good hanging out with my parents and my brother and sister in law and my nieces and nephew! George has been having a good visit with his family too, and we're hoping to have a few get togethers while we're back and lots of hanging out with friends!
I had a fantastic Christmas dinner today, and I'm totally stuffed! I think I'll be off to bed early tonight, and hoping to make it to Ann Arbor for church- I don't have a car here so I've been borrowing my parents' car. Anyone have a spare car they could lend me for a week or 2? :)
I had a fantastic Christmas dinner today, and I'm totally stuffed! I think I'll be off to bed early tonight, and hoping to make it to Ann Arbor for church- I don't have a car here so I've been borrowing my parents' car. Anyone have a spare car they could lend me for a week or 2? :)
Wednesday, 22 December 2010
December 22, 2010
I've got my Air Canada tickets refunded and am now flying out KLM to Amsterdam, sleeping in the airport overnight, then taking the 8am flight to Detroit. So I should be in Michigan tomorrow at about 11am EST. Whew. :) It's been nice to have a surprise extra few days here to visit with people and wrap a few things up, but I'm looking forward to getting back and hanging out with people! I hope to see as many of you as possible while I'm back! :)
Tuesday, 21 December 2010
December 21, 2010
Hopefully you all heard by now that my flight on Dec 19 was canceled due to snow (a very very small amount of snow I might add) at Heathrow airport, and that thankfully I was NOT trapped sleeping overnight there as a kind friend gave me a ride back to Cambridge. Heathrow was not at all prepared for the bad weather, and there are still, even 4 days later, stranded passengers sleeping in the airport. It was like a refugee camp there basically.
The past few days I've been trying to sort out alternate flights, and with the help of my travel agent I managed to get a flight from London City Airport to Amsterdam, where I will sleep in the airport for a night, then fly out to Detroit the morning of Dec 23. I've made space in my carryon bag for my sleeping bag and sleeping mat, a change of clothes, and a towel, so I reckon I'll be all set. :)
Lrd willing I will be back home in Clinton sometime in the afternoon of the 23rd, where I will breathe an enormous sigh of relief!!
In other strange news, our power here has been going on and off the past few days, which is no good when it's an unseasonably cold 20F here. Z and I fired up the fireplace, got candles going, and were all ready for no heat but fortunately they got it back on.
In even STRANGER news I was a witness to a very bad car fire last night. I was driving down the expressway when I saw a ton of smoke on the roadside, and I pulled over since it was coming from a car. There was a car already stopped but they didn't get out, but since the fire wasn't all that bad just yet (I mean it was black smoke but the car wasn't engulfed) I was worried that people might be in it who might still be alive though possibly unconscious. Sometimes people have a heart attack or a stroke and manage to pull the car over but mash the gas pedal so the engine goes up. So I grabbed my tripod in case I needed to smash a window and jumped out and ran over to see if I could see in. There was a LOT of smoke, so I couldn't see, but since the fire was on the front left side (the passenger side here) it was still rather hot on the driver's side, so I carefully approached the rear of the car and touched the hatchback to see how hot it was. It wasn't too hot so I opened the trunk and shouted in, and could see once the smoke cleared that it was empty so then I got back because with the trunk open there's obviously more oxygen and I knew the fire would really take off. But I figured it was worth the risk of opening it because I'd have about 10 or maybe 15 seconds to get someone out of the car if I had to.
I got very good video of the fire from rather closer than I suspect my mom might like me to have been to a potentially enormous flame ball, and then when it really started to go I got back in the car and waited for the fire department, whom I called after I checked for passengers. Turns out the car was abandoned on the roadside, so someone must have lit the car. I was glad I didn't need to pull anyone out, but I've also realised that I ought to have a fire extinguisher, a knife for cutting seat belts, and a glass hammer for breaking a window in case any of that was actually necessary. I seriously considered being trained as a first responder 2 years ago in Swavesey when they asked for volunteers, and I might still do that eventually.
So that's been my week- I'll be really glad to have some rest when I get back home. :)
The past few days I've been trying to sort out alternate flights, and with the help of my travel agent I managed to get a flight from London City Airport to Amsterdam, where I will sleep in the airport for a night, then fly out to Detroit the morning of Dec 23. I've made space in my carryon bag for my sleeping bag and sleeping mat, a change of clothes, and a towel, so I reckon I'll be all set. :)
Lrd willing I will be back home in Clinton sometime in the afternoon of the 23rd, where I will breathe an enormous sigh of relief!!
In other strange news, our power here has been going on and off the past few days, which is no good when it's an unseasonably cold 20F here. Z and I fired up the fireplace, got candles going, and were all ready for no heat but fortunately they got it back on.
In even STRANGER news I was a witness to a very bad car fire last night. I was driving down the expressway when I saw a ton of smoke on the roadside, and I pulled over since it was coming from a car. There was a car already stopped but they didn't get out, but since the fire wasn't all that bad just yet (I mean it was black smoke but the car wasn't engulfed) I was worried that people might be in it who might still be alive though possibly unconscious. Sometimes people have a heart attack or a stroke and manage to pull the car over but mash the gas pedal so the engine goes up. So I grabbed my tripod in case I needed to smash a window and jumped out and ran over to see if I could see in. There was a LOT of smoke, so I couldn't see, but since the fire was on the front left side (the passenger side here) it was still rather hot on the driver's side, so I carefully approached the rear of the car and touched the hatchback to see how hot it was. It wasn't too hot so I opened the trunk and shouted in, and could see once the smoke cleared that it was empty so then I got back because with the trunk open there's obviously more oxygen and I knew the fire would really take off. But I figured it was worth the risk of opening it because I'd have about 10 or maybe 15 seconds to get someone out of the car if I had to.
I got very good video of the fire from rather closer than I suspect my mom might like me to have been to a potentially enormous flame ball, and then when it really started to go I got back in the car and waited for the fire department, whom I called after I checked for passengers. Turns out the car was abandoned on the roadside, so someone must have lit the car. I was glad I didn't need to pull anyone out, but I've also realised that I ought to have a fire extinguisher, a knife for cutting seat belts, and a glass hammer for breaking a window in case any of that was actually necessary. I seriously considered being trained as a first responder 2 years ago in Swavesey when they asked for volunteers, and I might still do that eventually.
So that's been my week- I'll be really glad to have some rest when I get back home. :)
Thursday, 16 December 2010
December 16, 2010
It's been a marathon of networking events so far this week, with 2 more to go- tonight an event for techies, tomorrow all day BNI event. By the time I get home I'll be ready for some peace and quiet! I'm very behind on my photo processing, with China still on the list. :)
Today I'm off to do a bit of Christmas shopping in town, I can't believe I'll be in Michigan in 3 days!!
Today I'm off to do a bit of Christmas shopping in town, I can't believe I'll be in Michigan in 3 days!!
Wednesday, 8 December 2010
December 8, 2010
I happened to be putzing around on YouTube, and came across a fantastic video interview archive of Fred Rogers, a man that so many of us grew up with on TV. The interview was fantastic- what a lovely and genuine man, who had an impact on so many lives. While we were growing up with the world around us picking up speed like a train going downhill, he was on TV promoting values, clean living, love for those around us, an appreciation for other cultures. I couldn't help but think of my Living Proof class- you have been such an inspiration to me, and I don't think I'll ever stop saying how much I love and appreciate you all! It's been over 7 years since Gd called us into your class, and I am so grateful for you all. You are some of the funniest people I know, and the most caring, and you have been role models, each of you in your own way. I think of you all very very often and pray for you, and I always think of you with thankfulness at Gd's blessing me with such incredible friends. And though I know you may sometimes feel old, you never seem old to me! :) See you very soon, at Christmas!
Saturday, 4 December 2010
December 3, 2010
Finally settled back into a routine here in Cambridge, I'm off to Anglesey Abbey for the lantern event today! Pr for the iHUB weekend away that G and Z are at, the internationals are having a retreat this weekend. More updates later!
Saturday, 20 November 2010
November 20, 2010
Business stuff has kept me busy this week, lots of meetings with people. Very good but tiring! more meetings this week as well. Pr for me to have wisdom in considering this opportunity that we have of securing some investment funding. I am feeling more than ever the need to be wise- money and gaining more isnt my primary goal, but obviously investors want a return on investment. It would help us to develop some projects faster, but in the end is that a good thing? Not sure! Gd grants wisdom to those who ask, and thats what I need. I'm more determined than ever to go farther abroad in the future, and China and Cambodia are still in my sights- I think I can use business to do that and I always want to remember that. I'm thankful for Gd's blessing on my little business already.
Our friend J from scottish dancing is visiting this week- pr that I'd be a good host and that things wob't be too weird for her.
Our friend J from scottish dancing is visiting this week- pr that I'd be a good host and that things wob't be too weird for her.
Saturday, 13 November 2010
Wednesday, 10 November 2010
Sunday, 7 November 2010
Nov 7, returning home
Well its bedtime after our last day here in China. We wandered around Beijing, saw scorpions and geckoes being offered as food items on the street, Didn't buy an orange that was $3, and generally rested most of the evening. George bought some studying Chinese books today, about the history of Chinese characters.
On this trip we've seen a LOT of things- roosters being sacrificed to protect a new car (complete with blood splattered on the new car and dripped all around it), beautiful friendly Miao ladies doing their daily chores, and flashy Beijing in all its modern glory. We've smelled a LOT of things too- several of our hotels had bad drainage, many villages had open sewage drains, our lunches smelled amazing, and we even smelled the lovely perfume and shampoo smells of Western tourists as they walked through the villages. Noticable by our own lack of lovely smell courtesy of no proper washing facilities and pants and sweaters worn for 17 days in a row. We tasted a LOT of things, from pickled hot peppers to pig intestines and bits of chicken you wouldn't think were edible. Fantastic fresh local veggies we'd never seen or heard of, tasty fungus, bamboo shoots, and fresh tofu. Dirt in the air from all the construction. We've heard SO many "Helloh! helloh! You want to buy?" and the cacophony of honking on city streets. People shouting loudly everywhere, spiting loudly all over the place, and the lovely sounds of Miao local dialects and beautiful music. We have also felt some unusual things- like pig intestine in your mouth as you're chewing it, sore backsides from hours of bouncing around on mountain roads, aching ears from cars honking 6 inches from you to get you to move, people shoving you from all directions into the person in front of you, village paths beneath our feet, and beautiful sun on our skin. It's been an amazing 17 days for me here in China.
I will miss a lot of things about China- the lovely people, fantastic food, ancient culture, and beautiful language. But there are afew things I'm looking forward to about getting home: my own bed, a bathroom without mold, a toilet that doesn't need squatting to use, clean clothes, quiet streets, proper sanitation, toilet paper, green grass, petting my cat, seeing friends in Cambridge, driving on smooth roads.
It's late here, well after bedtime. See you on the flip side in the West. :)
--
361 Photography
14 Parsonage Close
Burwell
Cambridge
CB25 0ER
t: 01223 850343
m: 07961 530780
e: kristi@361photography.com
w: www.361photography.com
Follow us on:
LinkedIn
Twitter: kristidunlap
Facebook
On this trip we've seen a LOT of things- roosters being sacrificed to protect a new car (complete with blood splattered on the new car and dripped all around it), beautiful friendly Miao ladies doing their daily chores, and flashy Beijing in all its modern glory. We've smelled a LOT of things too- several of our hotels had bad drainage, many villages had open sewage drains, our lunches smelled amazing, and we even smelled the lovely perfume and shampoo smells of Western tourists as they walked through the villages. Noticable by our own lack of lovely smell courtesy of no proper washing facilities and pants and sweaters worn for 17 days in a row. We tasted a LOT of things, from pickled hot peppers to pig intestines and bits of chicken you wouldn't think were edible. Fantastic fresh local veggies we'd never seen or heard of, tasty fungus, bamboo shoots, and fresh tofu. Dirt in the air from all the construction. We've heard SO many "Helloh! helloh! You want to buy?" and the cacophony of honking on city streets. People shouting loudly everywhere, spiting loudly all over the place, and the lovely sounds of Miao local dialects and beautiful music. We have also felt some unusual things- like pig intestine in your mouth as you're chewing it, sore backsides from hours of bouncing around on mountain roads, aching ears from cars honking 6 inches from you to get you to move, people shoving you from all directions into the person in front of you, village paths beneath our feet, and beautiful sun on our skin. It's been an amazing 17 days for me here in China.
I will miss a lot of things about China- the lovely people, fantastic food, ancient culture, and beautiful language. But there are afew things I'm looking forward to about getting home: my own bed, a bathroom without mold, a toilet that doesn't need squatting to use, clean clothes, quiet streets, proper sanitation, toilet paper, green grass, petting my cat, seeing friends in Cambridge, driving on smooth roads.
It's late here, well after bedtime. See you on the flip side in the West. :)
--
361 Photography
14 Parsonage Close
Burwell
Cambridge
CB25 0ER
t: 01223 850343
m: 07961 530780
e: kristi@361photography.com
w: www.361photography.com
Follow us on:
Twitter: kristidunlap
Saturday, 6 November 2010
Nov 7
We're chilling here at the Guiyang airport ready for our flight to
Beijing. 3 hours to Beijing, then we'll be at the hotel and wander
around the city a bit. I think I'll need a post holiday break. :)
Beijing. 3 hours to Beijing, then we'll be at the hotel and wander
around the city a bit. I think I'll need a post holiday break. :)
Interestingly we have to take a bus shuttle to our flight, and there's
no orderly boarding it is all just random! :)
--
*361 Photography
14 Parsonage Close
Burwell
Cambridge
CB25 0ER
t: 01223 850343
m: 07961 530780
e: kristi@361photography.com <andy@361photography.com>
w: www.361photography.com
Follow us on:
LinkedIn
Twitter: kristidunlap
Facebook*
November 7 2010
It was our last day of touring local Miao villages today- we visited a village where they make batik. I had no idea how difficult batik is to make! The lady in this village had many awards for her batik. George bought an awesome batik shirt. :) Batik is made by putting wax onto fabric, and then dying the fabric and removing the wax. it's a common thing for African villages, and I had no idea it was also made in China. After this last village we had our final local lunch, which included one dish that had pig intestines in it! Not for the Western pallete- in case you're wondering it's very tough and chewy with not much flavor, but what little flavor it has is like liver. I didn't much care for it but ate it enthusiastically anyway. :) We spent a lot of time driving back to Guiyang, where we visited a flower and bird market. I bought locally grown tobacco (boy is it strong smelling) and we saw lots of interesting Chinese herbs.
Last night on the way back to our hotel from a big Miao village I was thinking about how night is the same everywhere. An odd idea, but despite all our cultural differences, food, music, clothing, houses, we all experience nighttime. As we drove past villages with teeny lights on and TVs in distant houses, I thought about how people are people everywhere, and some things are universal. I thought of my own small village way off in Michigan, of my road and my neighbors enjoying the warmth of their homes and the light, and thought about how glad I am to be from a village. Like most young people I was eager to experience a bit more of the world again (having seen quite a bit traveling as a child), and the young people here are also keen to leave their villages and rural life and live in the cities. But many find that city life is still leaving them poor, and their quality of life is lower. I hope that as they get older they will remember their villages and return to them. Village life can be difficult because everyone has to live together and work together. But the friendly sense of belonging and connection that comes from that life is something precious that city folks don't experience. I can't help that I was born with an adventure bug, but I know eventually I'll find myself back in a village somewhere enjoying a quiet self sustaining life- growing my own food, and spending the cold winter evenings with friends.
Goodbye for now Guizhou- we had a lovely visit to a rural life that is quickly changing, to a China that is quickly developing, and I look forward to another visit in 5 or 10 years.
--
361 Photography
14 Parsonage Close
Burwell
Cambridge
CB25 0ER
t: 01223 850343
m: 07961 530780
e: kristi@361photography.com
w: www.361photography.com
Follow us on:
LinkedIn
Twitter: kristidunlap
Facebook
Last night on the way back to our hotel from a big Miao village I was thinking about how night is the same everywhere. An odd idea, but despite all our cultural differences, food, music, clothing, houses, we all experience nighttime. As we drove past villages with teeny lights on and TVs in distant houses, I thought about how people are people everywhere, and some things are universal. I thought of my own small village way off in Michigan, of my road and my neighbors enjoying the warmth of their homes and the light, and thought about how glad I am to be from a village. Like most young people I was eager to experience a bit more of the world again (having seen quite a bit traveling as a child), and the young people here are also keen to leave their villages and rural life and live in the cities. But many find that city life is still leaving them poor, and their quality of life is lower. I hope that as they get older they will remember their villages and return to them. Village life can be difficult because everyone has to live together and work together. But the friendly sense of belonging and connection that comes from that life is something precious that city folks don't experience. I can't help that I was born with an adventure bug, but I know eventually I'll find myself back in a village somewhere enjoying a quiet self sustaining life- growing my own food, and spending the cold winter evenings with friends.
Goodbye for now Guizhou- we had a lovely visit to a rural life that is quickly changing, to a China that is quickly developing, and I look forward to another visit in 5 or 10 years.
--
361 Photography
14 Parsonage Close
Burwell
Cambridge
CB25 0ER
t: 01223 850343
m: 07961 530780
e: kristi@361photography.com
w: www.361photography.com
Follow us on:
Twitter: kristidunlap
November 5, 2010
Today we visited 3 villages- it was a bit of a fast tour. Mostly we spent time driving, because the villages are so remote. 3 in one day was a bit much actually- the last village turned out to be the biggest and the best one for shopping for local Miao products, and we had barely any time at all to see the shops.
At the first village, which was called Jidao, we got to experience another welcoming ceremony complete with rice wine, drank this time from bowls though not horns. We saw the local people spinning yarn, weaving, and sewing. All very interesting- the ladies here use their spinning wheels in an upside down way, so they have the needle down at their feet and they control the yarn with their toes, while they turn the wheel with the hand. I thought that was interesting, and wondered why no one thought to do it the other way like the Europeans did, with the needle where you can control it with your hand, and your feet turning the wheel.
The second village was unique in that they stored all their rice in special barns that were in the water, raised up on stilts, but not in their houses. This was meant to reduce fire, but I'm not sure if it was to protect the rice or to keep the fire which might have been caused by rice out of their homes. The Miao houses are all made of wood, and are 2 or 3 floors high. The bottom floor is used mostly like a garage or barn, for storing stuff, and the second and third floors are for living in.
The third village has been designated a special village for tourists to visit. The local government charges you to enter, and they have special Miao traditional costume performances, and you can have your photo taken in a Miao costume in different places around the village. We had ours taken at the entrance to the village- turned out pretty well! Miao people are lighter skinned than Han (Han are the majority people group in China) so I didn't look too different, though my face isn't wide enough. J Anyway with a Miao costume on I attracted a huge crowd of Chinese tourists wanting to take my photo, which was slightly embarrassing but the norm for me here. It was fun to wear the traditional costumes.
Being of a somewhat crazy nature, crazyness seems to find me everywhere. I wanted to buy some of the local pickeled peppers to bring back to make Miao food, which is very very tasty indeed. I also wanted to dried peppers to add to food- the peppers here have a unique flavor and are extremely tasty combined with garlic. So our guide asked a random Miao restaurant lady if she'd sell me some of hers, which resulted in a small crowd of language students surrounding us talking to the lady, and various negotiating, though she was more than happy to sell me hers. In the end I walked away with a kilo of dried peppers with oil and a big old jar of picked peppers for cooking. Yum!!
--
361 Photography
14 Parsonage Close
Burwell
Cambridge
CB25 0ER
t: 01223 850343
m: 07961 530780
e: kristi@361photography.com
w: www.361photography.com
Follow us on:
Twitter: kristidunlap
November 4, 2010
Today was absolute madness- it turns out the Lusheng Festival is like the Miao people's equivalent of our county fairs in Michigan, minus the rides, and with 10 times as many people! There are performances of Miao traditional singing and dancing which are done by local school girls, and everyone wears their festival best. The wealthy families are easy to spot, because wealthier families have more silver for their costumes. Some of the girls had very elaborate silver head dresses, and silver attached to their costumes all over the place. Besides being a yearly reason to celebrate, play the lusheng pipes (a kind of large bamboo flute), and see whose water buffalo bull is the strongest in the bull fighting, it's also a time for people from other villages to meet, and for young people to interact. Traditionally this would have been a prime way for boys and girls to meet and chat, though a matchmaker is still in use. The villages tend to be rather remote, with many footpaths through the mountains between them, so getting from one village to another is not easy. Wealthy families have cars or motorbikes, but some families don't, and gas is expensive for them so walking is still a prime way of getting around.
The festival was absolutely packed- and I mean packed, like we never ever see here in the west. Just when you think not one more person will fit, a car decides to drive along the road honking so loudly you think your eardrums will split, and lo and behold there IS enough space for a car to fit. I got caught between a non moving car and a very slowly moving bus, and I cleaned the side of the bus with my jacket as it went slowly by because I was so close. I did still have plenty of space or I would have hopped onto the car's trunk- see Mom don't worry, I think of all of these things! :)
We really enjoyed the festival- lots of opportunity for photographing people. And I definitely enjoyed the water buffalo bull fights. I don't usually like animal fights, because they tend to be vicious and gruesome, but these water buffalo are part of their families and are critical for their work as farmers plowing the rice paddies, so they don't come to any harm. Also if you've ever seen a water buffalo you might wonder how they could ever come to be angry enough to fight one another- they are so very mild mannered and mild tempered most of the time. And indeed, many of these buffalo were a bit like "Uh, can we go home now?" rather than actually fighting. Even when they did decide to fight, it was more of a putting both heads down and pushing each other around, although we did see one very strong bull flip another one right over. Their horns curve backward, so they don't accidentally gore each other. Mostly they had to be encouraged to fight with each other by being occasionally swatted with a long stick, and by the owners talking to them. Sometimes there was a second round- they would separate the bulls and the owners would pet their noses and talk to them, before the next round. It was really cool actually- I really enjoyed seeing the fairly gentle fighting of such huge and strong creatures.
The days on this tour are very long- after the festival we came back and had a fantastic dinner in a local restaurant. The local flavors are really very good, different from other parts of China. Chinese food is something I get excited about eating, it's about the only kind of food that I love to eat, besides chocolate. J I'm not much of a foodie about any food except Chinese food- mostly I eat because if I don't I'm hungry. :)
--
361 Photography
14 Parsonage Close
Burwell
Cambridge
CB25 0ER
t: 01223 850343
m: 07961 530780
e: kristi@361photography.com
w: www.361photography.com
Follow us on:
Twitter: kristidunlap
November 1, 2010
Today was our first full day in Guiyang. We went out of the city 2 hrs to visit a waterfall and a beautiful park, and then on to an ancient city that was populated by some soldiers 700 years ago. I felt really sad today because we came face to face with the animist beliefs of the people here in Guizhou (Gway-joe). Large rocks suddenly become gods, trees have red ribbons tied on for good luck, all sorts of superstitious beliefs. Especially lots of beliefs about bad luck and how to avoid it. It must be scary to live your life like this, always worried about bad luck, trying desperately to improve your good luck.
--
361 Photography
14 Parsonage Close
Burwell
Cambridge
CB25 0ER
t: 01223 850343
m: 07961 530780
e: kristi@361photography.com
w: www.361photography.com
Follow us on:
LinkedIn
Twitter: kristidunlap
Facebook
--
361 Photography
14 Parsonage Close
Burwell
Cambridge
CB25 0ER
t: 01223 850343
m: 07961 530780
e: kristi@361photography.com
w: www.361photography.com
Follow us on:
Twitter: kristidunlap
Zhengzhou Day 1
I made it to Zhengzhou (which is pronounced jung-joe) via 5 hr Chinese fast train. It was really comfortable, and strangely no one seemed to think it strange that I was taking the train. Though I was definitely the only Westerner in my car. I'd definitely take Chinese trains again- if you go for the soft seat option, which is like First Class in the UK or US, it's very comfortable. I've never had to use a squattie toilet on a moving train before, but there's a first time for everything. :)
Zhengzhou is one of the smaller cities in China- the population is less than 10 million, which barely rates as a city here. It's very spread out, unlike Beijing, but not as widespread as London. Like most of the cities here the population is booming, with people moving in from the countryside like crazy. On the way to my hotel I saw 30 or 40 very large buildings going up. Like 40+ stories. Here in China living in a highrise building in an apartment is considered a good thing, very middle class, which is a step up from the farming life most people live here. That's a problem actually because everyone is moving to a city, but who will produce food for all these urban dwellers?
I'm not sure what's on for tomorrow, but the wedding is Friday so at least I'll have a day to settle in. I'm off to dinner with everyone at 7pm, which is quite late for me- I've gone to sleep at 7pm every night since I got here! :) Anyway it'll help me to adjust properly to the time zone. :)
--
361 Photography
14 Parsonage Close
Burwell
Cambridge
CB25 0ER
t: 01223 850343
m: 07961 530780
e: kristi@361photography.com
w: www.361photography.com
Follow us on:
LinkedIn
Twitter: kristidunlap
Facebook
Zhengzhou is one of the smaller cities in China- the population is less than 10 million, which barely rates as a city here. It's very spread out, unlike Beijing, but not as widespread as London. Like most of the cities here the population is booming, with people moving in from the countryside like crazy. On the way to my hotel I saw 30 or 40 very large buildings going up. Like 40+ stories. Here in China living in a highrise building in an apartment is considered a good thing, very middle class, which is a step up from the farming life most people live here. That's a problem actually because everyone is moving to a city, but who will produce food for all these urban dwellers?
I'm not sure what's on for tomorrow, but the wedding is Friday so at least I'll have a day to settle in. I'm off to dinner with everyone at 7pm, which is quite late for me- I've gone to sleep at 7pm every night since I got here! :) Anyway it'll help me to adjust properly to the time zone. :)
--
361 Photography
14 Parsonage Close
Burwell
Cambridge
CB25 0ER
t: 01223 850343
m: 07961 530780
e: kristi@361photography.com
w: www.361photography.com
Follow us on:
Twitter: kristidunlap
Wednesday, 3 November 2010
November 3, 2010
Calling it a night here in Zhenyuan- went out for some night photography, tomorrow Lusheng Festival then back to KaiLi. So far Zhenyuan is my favorite city, its gorgeous and old Chinese style here! Would like more time here. :) bed time!! zzz....
Tuesday, 2 November 2010
November 2 2010
The time has really flown here- we're nearly half way done with the last part of our trip. We're here in KaiLi and nearby villages today, off to another city and nearby villages tomorrow. We got to meet some local Miao people and see their welcoming ceremony, and their village, and lots of mountain driving. We also saw plenty of farmers and lots of water buffalo (water cow in Chinese). The days have been quite long and we are very tired by the time we get back- bedtimes have averaged about 8:30p or 9p, I've been waking up around 8am, so 11hrs sleep! The hotels are comfortable but not posh, and the food has been tasty (except for one place that tried to pass off potatoes and ketchup as Chinese food).
--
361 Photography
14 Parsonage Close
Burwell
Cambridge
CB25 0ER
t: 01223 850343
m: 07961 530780
e: kristi@361photography.com
w: www.361photography.com
Follow us on:
LinkedIn
Twitter: kristidunlap
Facebook
--
361 Photography
14 Parsonage Close
Burwell
Cambridge
CB25 0ER
t: 01223 850343
m: 07961 530780
e: kristi@361photography.com
w: www.361photography.com
Follow us on:
Twitter: kristidunlap
Saturday, 30 October 2010
October 31, 2010
We've had a lovely visit in Zhengzhou and are off today to visit a museum before we go on to the airport for our flight to Guiyang. For the next 7 days we'll be touring some minority village to see life there and how they live. Pr for us to have chances for good chats about JC with our guide- especially as they speak English and are telling us about local religion and customs it's a good chance to share with them. Not sure what level of internet connectivity we'll have, but I hope we'll have some so we can update you all!
Happy Halloween, Michigan folks be safe tonight esp if you're going into D-town!
--
361 Photography
14 Parsonage Close
Burwell
Cambridge
CB25 0ER
t: 01223 850343
m: 07961 530780
e: kristi@361photography.com
w: www.361photography.com
Follow us on:
LinkedIn
Twitter: kristidunlap
Facebook
Happy Halloween, Michigan folks be safe tonight esp if you're going into D-town!
--
361 Photography
14 Parsonage Close
Burwell
Cambridge
CB25 0ER
t: 01223 850343
m: 07961 530780
e: kristi@361photography.com
w: www.361photography.com
Follow us on:
Twitter: kristidunlap
October 30, 2010- Back from Shaolin Temple
Near Zhengzhou there's a world famous Shaolin Temple- if you've ever seen a martial arts movie where there was KungFu, it was probably filmed here! After the wedding yesterday everyone was very tired, but we still had a good time. We got the true Chinese tour experience- red baseball hats, following the tour guide with the right color flag, and bus full of friendly Chinese people. It was great. :) The temple was amazing, and we had a fantastic lunch. We saw the rest of the wedding party off at the airport just now, and there's only us left. Not sure what we're up to tomorrow, but likely getting lots of rest today. Our flight leaves in the afternoon heading to Guiyang for the next part of our trip.
Time for a nap now!
--
361 Photography
14 Parsonage Close
Burwell
Cambridge
CB25 0ER
t: 01223 850343
m: 07961 530780
e: kristi@361photography.com
w: www.361photography.com
Follow us on:
LinkedIn
Twitter: kristidunlap
Facebook
Time for a nap now!
--
361 Photography
14 Parsonage Close
Burwell
Cambridge
CB25 0ER
t: 01223 850343
m: 07961 530780
e: kristi@361photography.com
w: www.361photography.com
Follow us on:
Twitter: kristidunlap
Thursday, 28 October 2010
October 29, 2010- Wedding photoing in Zhengzhou
I spent yesterday helping the bride take care of last minute errands- one of which being renting bridesmaid dresses. On the evening before the wedding. :) She has 6 bridesmaids, which is a lot for China, so there were only 3 color options for the dresses- white, gold, and silver. The shop where you rent them is hilarious- it's like someone's back room, the dresses are all stuffed into big sacks, and they yank them out when they want them. The tailor is on site and made them herself. I have photos, I'll upload them eventually!
I'm having problems getting photos onto the blog from here- check gkdunlap.phanfare.com if you want to see more of them.
Today is the wedding- it's like an enormous movie pageant, I'm hoping that I'm up for the task of photographing this. There's a huge stage, a video boom, a spotlight....it's a real production! I have to be up for it as I'm photographing it! :) I'll do my best, I'm sure it'll be great and they'll be very happy.
Ok off to get ready for this, grab some breakfast and get photos of the bride getting ready.
--
361 Photography
14 Parsonage Close
Burwell
Cambridge
CB25 0ER
t: 01223 850343
m: 07961 530780
e: kristi@361photography.com
w: www.361photography.com
Follow us on:
LinkedIn
Twitter: kristidunlap
Facebook
I'm having problems getting photos onto the blog from here- check gkdunlap.phanfare.com if you want to see more of them.
Today is the wedding- it's like an enormous movie pageant, I'm hoping that I'm up for the task of photographing this. There's a huge stage, a video boom, a spotlight....it's a real production! I have to be up for it as I'm photographing it! :) I'll do my best, I'm sure it'll be great and they'll be very happy.
Ok off to get ready for this, grab some breakfast and get photos of the bride getting ready.
--
361 Photography
14 Parsonage Close
Burwell
Cambridge
CB25 0ER
t: 01223 850343
m: 07961 530780
e: kristi@361photography.com
w: www.361photography.com
Follow us on:
Twitter: kristidunlap
Monday, 25 October 2010
October 25, 2010- Day 3 in Beijing
The Great Wall yesterday was really amazing- so much better than you see on TV. :) The stretch we went to (which I think is called Mutanyu) is 2 hrs from my hotel, so I got to see what the area surrounding Beijing is like. Interestingly it's like a dry version of Michigan! My guide reminded me that not only to Chinese people and native American people share a common ancestry, our countries also share many similar plants because some were brought by the nomadic people who came to the Americas. I love that my Chinese friends and I share a closer ancestor than Noah- native Americans and Asians are not that distant cousins. :) I think that's very cool.
The Great Wall was built to keep the Manchurians out of China- Manchurians is another name for Huns apparently. But one of the Chinese emperors was actually Manchurian, so I'm not sure what the deal is there. :)
I really enjoyed seeing the Temple of Heaven yesterday, though it was at the end of a very long day of walking and sitting in the car. One of the highlights for me was the wooden tablet that they inscribed "God of Heaven" onto. I know that the message of the real God of heaven made it to China long before JC came, because of the trade routes and the silk road. And after JC came, the message of his coming also came to China and is reflected in some very ancient Chinese characters. But this emperor created a wooden tablet, and it represented the God of Heaven. Whatever his understanding of the God of heaven, he understood the need to meet with him and pray to him. It all went a bit wrong when the emperors decided to make themselves and their ancestors lesser gods, but standing there in the temple I wondered what that ancient emperor thought about all of this. There was even a special stone pathway laid for the tablet to travel over- so many of the things reflected what we know of the Ark of the Covenant, and OT writings.
It's another mostly clear day today- yesterday was a nice clear sky due to the rain and wind, and although some light clouds are appearing now I hope the weather will stay good, without more smog!
The Great Wall was built to keep the Manchurians out of China- Manchurians is another name for Huns apparently. But one of the Chinese emperors was actually Manchurian, so I'm not sure what the deal is there. :)
I really enjoyed seeing the Temple of Heaven yesterday, though it was at the end of a very long day of walking and sitting in the car. One of the highlights for me was the wooden tablet that they inscribed "God of Heaven" onto. I know that the message of the real God of heaven made it to China long before JC came, because of the trade routes and the silk road. And after JC came, the message of his coming also came to China and is reflected in some very ancient Chinese characters. But this emperor created a wooden tablet, and it represented the God of Heaven. Whatever his understanding of the God of heaven, he understood the need to meet with him and pray to him. It all went a bit wrong when the emperors decided to make themselves and their ancestors lesser gods, but standing there in the temple I wondered what that ancient emperor thought about all of this. There was even a special stone pathway laid for the tablet to travel over- so many of the things reflected what we know of the Ark of the Covenant, and OT writings.
It's another mostly clear day today- yesterday was a nice clear sky due to the rain and wind, and although some light clouds are appearing now I hope the weather will stay good, without more smog!
October 24, 2010- Day 2 in Beijing
Made it out of the hotel today! :) Yesterday was a scheduled rest and adjust day, and I pretty much slept for 24 hours hours, so I was keen to get out of here and see some of the city. Today's itinerary included:
1. Tiannamen Square in the pouring pouring rain
2. The Forbidden City in the still pouring but starting to lessen rain
3. Hutong district in the puddles caused by the earlier rain
4. Up a mountain to see the City in the clear air
:)
But first, breakfast- although it was only hotel food, i had very tasty fried noodles with veggies, jaotse (Chinese dumplings), and other sorts of veggies that you might associate with lunch at a good Chinese restaurant back home. None of those sound very breakfast like to a Westerner, but in Asia they don't distinguish so much between meals. Many people would eat fried rice from the previous day's leftovers and that sort of thing for breakfast- whatever is available. I didn't care because I was starving- I brought some flapjacks with me as I suspected I wouldn't bother eating dinner the day I arrived because I'd be too tired to bother, but I was definitely ready for breakfast.
Tiannamen Square is very interesting- it's not really like it seems on TV. When you're walking around on it it's just like an enormous flat park area. There are flowers on the sides, and 2 enormous flat screen TVs showing scenes from all over China. There's a monument to Mao and his family. Mainly people go there because it's the main entrance into the Forbidden City. I didn't think I'd be seeing the Forbidden City in such terrible weather, but in the end we managed! My tour guide's English name is Jeff, he was quite a trooper and showed me the off the beaten path parts of the palace which were great for photographing. It's hard to believe that 250,000 people per day come to the Forbidden City- at $10 each that's a ton of money. If the weather had been nice I think it would have been so packed that I don't know how we would have seen anything at all. If there was ever a special open day with limited access it'd be worth taking it. The rain was so bad that I didn't get as many photos as I might have done- I took quite a few, but I was totally freezing by the end of it. Photos to follow! Fortunately the air was clear for us to walk up this hill and look down on the Forbidden City- I had no idea how enormous it is!
After a tasty lunch (if you haven't guessed tasty food will figure highly in basically every post from now on) we went to Hutong. It's a protected area of Beijing, because the houses there are the same style as most people used to live in before Mao had them demolished to make way for high rises. This old way of living, while lacking modern conveniences like personal bathrooms, has the advantage of being very communal. Each person has a room or 2 in a very big courtyard, but they share cooking space and they have to use the public toilets around the corner. The people seem to have a quiet way of life, and lots of tourists come to take rickshaws through the area. I took a rickshaw for a bit, but wanted to walk around and see what it was like there. I got to have tea in a very kind woman's house- she had a little bird she'd trained to say "ni hao" to visitors. "Ni hao" means hello. :)
After Hutong I was very wet and cold, and came back to the hotel for a nice hot shower and a nap. My jetlag hasn't been too bad- I've slept when I was tired and if I wake up I just do something for a little while and then go back to sleep. It's 3am here right now, and I'm finishing this post that I started earlier in the day. After this back to sleep for me! :)
We're off to the Great Wall tomorrow and the Temple of Heaven, so it'll be a full day. The wall is about a 1.5hr drive from the city, but at least it's a chance to rest a bit in between things to see and do. This car is a bit on the older side- it doesn't have a defroster so the windows just fog up and the driver rolls a window down to defog them. Not bad in the summer, but in the winter it feels a bit chilly. :) People are used to the cold here, houses don't have a lot of heat.
1. Tiannamen Square in the pouring pouring rain
2. The Forbidden City in the still pouring but starting to lessen rain
3. Hutong district in the puddles caused by the earlier rain
4. Up a mountain to see the City in the clear air
:)
But first, breakfast- although it was only hotel food, i had very tasty fried noodles with veggies, jaotse (Chinese dumplings), and other sorts of veggies that you might associate with lunch at a good Chinese restaurant back home. None of those sound very breakfast like to a Westerner, but in Asia they don't distinguish so much between meals. Many people would eat fried rice from the previous day's leftovers and that sort of thing for breakfast- whatever is available. I didn't care because I was starving- I brought some flapjacks with me as I suspected I wouldn't bother eating dinner the day I arrived because I'd be too tired to bother, but I was definitely ready for breakfast.
Tiannamen Square is very interesting- it's not really like it seems on TV. When you're walking around on it it's just like an enormous flat park area. There are flowers on the sides, and 2 enormous flat screen TVs showing scenes from all over China. There's a monument to Mao and his family. Mainly people go there because it's the main entrance into the Forbidden City. I didn't think I'd be seeing the Forbidden City in such terrible weather, but in the end we managed! My tour guide's English name is Jeff, he was quite a trooper and showed me the off the beaten path parts of the palace which were great for photographing. It's hard to believe that 250,000 people per day come to the Forbidden City- at $10 each that's a ton of money. If the weather had been nice I think it would have been so packed that I don't know how we would have seen anything at all. If there was ever a special open day with limited access it'd be worth taking it. The rain was so bad that I didn't get as many photos as I might have done- I took quite a few, but I was totally freezing by the end of it. Photos to follow! Fortunately the air was clear for us to walk up this hill and look down on the Forbidden City- I had no idea how enormous it is!
After a tasty lunch (if you haven't guessed tasty food will figure highly in basically every post from now on) we went to Hutong. It's a protected area of Beijing, because the houses there are the same style as most people used to live in before Mao had them demolished to make way for high rises. This old way of living, while lacking modern conveniences like personal bathrooms, has the advantage of being very communal. Each person has a room or 2 in a very big courtyard, but they share cooking space and they have to use the public toilets around the corner. The people seem to have a quiet way of life, and lots of tourists come to take rickshaws through the area. I took a rickshaw for a bit, but wanted to walk around and see what it was like there. I got to have tea in a very kind woman's house- she had a little bird she'd trained to say "ni hao" to visitors. "Ni hao" means hello. :)
After Hutong I was very wet and cold, and came back to the hotel for a nice hot shower and a nap. My jetlag hasn't been too bad- I've slept when I was tired and if I wake up I just do something for a little while and then go back to sleep. It's 3am here right now, and I'm finishing this post that I started earlier in the day. After this back to sleep for me! :)
We're off to the Great Wall tomorrow and the Temple of Heaven, so it'll be a full day. The wall is about a 1.5hr drive from the city, but at least it's a chance to rest a bit in between things to see and do. This car is a bit on the older side- it doesn't have a defroster so the windows just fog up and the driver rolls a window down to defog them. Not bad in the summer, but in the winter it feels a bit chilly. :) People are used to the cold here, houses don't have a lot of heat.
Saturday, 23 October 2010
Photos
 |
| my air purifier |
 |
| Heathrow standing down? |
 |
| view from my room- it's all lit up at night so more interesting |
October 23, 2010 Made it to Beijing!
I've made it here to my hotel in Beijing! I've had a lovely shower, located the air purifier in the room and pushed the Tree button (which presumably makes the air cleaner) and most importantly, all 7 of my assorted camera batteries are queued up politely at various chargers which are stationed all over the room. :) The smog here is terrible- I've never seen smog so bad. I've flown into smoggy cities but this is like a permanent thick nasty fog. Just being outside is like walking around with an enormously fat cat on your chest squashing the air out of you. Even inside, the air quality is bad. Hence the air purifier. I hope it's working- I think it is, it's making a lot of noise and the air in here is nicer. Could be placebo effect though. :)
The flight from Heathrow was uneventful- quiet, tastier food than usual (w00t British Airways!) and the queues at the passport counters in Beijing went super fast. Beijing airport was redone for the Olympics, and it shows- it's ultramodern, sleek and streamlined, and the guards there zoom around on those Segway things. Traveling to China has never been easier- 10 hrs on a plane and bam you're in Shanghai or Beijing! The world is a shrinking place- that's one of the reasons I'm keen to visit minority groups, as they may not exist in 50 years. It also is nice for them as it generates tourism money, and they can share their culture with foreigners which is something people love to do in China. I already asked about photographing, how to be most polite, etc. Anyway I digress- that's not till next week!
Hopefully the weather will shift and the wind tomorrow will blow the smog away. With great expectation of what tomorrow will bring I am resting up, listening to BBC Radio comedy, and catching up on email. Alas no facebook for me, I can only update it via text because of the firewall here in China.
The flight from Heathrow was uneventful- quiet, tastier food than usual (w00t British Airways!) and the queues at the passport counters in Beijing went super fast. Beijing airport was redone for the Olympics, and it shows- it's ultramodern, sleek and streamlined, and the guards there zoom around on those Segway things. Traveling to China has never been easier- 10 hrs on a plane and bam you're in Shanghai or Beijing! The world is a shrinking place- that's one of the reasons I'm keen to visit minority groups, as they may not exist in 50 years. It also is nice for them as it generates tourism money, and they can share their culture with foreigners which is something people love to do in China. I already asked about photographing, how to be most polite, etc. Anyway I digress- that's not till next week!
Hopefully the weather will shift and the wind tomorrow will blow the smog away. With great expectation of what tomorrow will bring I am resting up, listening to BBC Radio comedy, and catching up on email. Alas no facebook for me, I can only update it via text because of the firewall here in China.
Friday, 22 October 2010
October 22, 2010 off to Beijing!
It's mid afternoon here in cloudy SE England and I'm on the coach to Heathrow again. :) Really looking forward to sleeping on the plane. Check my youtube channel (search for kristidunlap) for videos over the next 2 weeks!
I'm feeling a bit motion sick from the coach so signing off!
I'm feeling a bit motion sick from the coach so signing off!
Sunday, 17 October 2010
October 17, 2010
China plans have been sorted out finally- thanks to all of you who were pring about it! We have 2 Chinese friends getting married in Zhengzhou, and they asked me if I'd photograph their wedding. G decided to go as well, but we couldn't decide whether to both go on a tour after the wedding or not. Traveling together can be a big source of stress for both of us, but in the end G decided to go with me on a tour of the minority Miao villages in SW China. It should be a very interesting tour, pr for us that we wouldn't have too much stress from it.
I mentioned awhile back that because of some mental health issues G has been having we decided after a lot of pr that it would be best to live separately for awhile. Gd has blessed that decision and it has been very healthy and helpful for us both. Pr for us as we try to get to the bottom of these issues and to get G the proper sort of mental health care that he needs as the mental health system here is not as good as we have in the States. We're taking it all in stride as best we can, trying to rely on JC everyday for his wisdom and guidance.
On a totally different note, I'm off to learn how to take care of horses this afternoon- really looking forward to it! But I also have a lot of business stuff to do before I leave on Friday for Beijing!
I hope you are all well and taking care of yourselves in the impending cold- take care on sidewalks!
I mentioned awhile back that because of some mental health issues G has been having we decided after a lot of pr that it would be best to live separately for awhile. Gd has blessed that decision and it has been very healthy and helpful for us both. Pr for us as we try to get to the bottom of these issues and to get G the proper sort of mental health care that he needs as the mental health system here is not as good as we have in the States. We're taking it all in stride as best we can, trying to rely on JC everyday for his wisdom and guidance.
On a totally different note, I'm off to learn how to take care of horses this afternoon- really looking forward to it! But I also have a lot of business stuff to do before I leave on Friday for Beijing!
I hope you are all well and taking care of yourselves in the impending cold- take care on sidewalks!
Tuesday, 12 October 2010
October 12, 2010
I had my 10th riding lesson today- the lessons are roughly 45 minutes. That equates to 7.5 hours of English style riding I've done. I did some Western riding in the past, but not much more than sitting on the horse's back while she walked around for an hour or so- least that's what I remember of it. :) Somehow despite my lack of experience I consistently give my lesson teachers the impression that I have way more experience that I really have, and that I therefore know what I'm doing. It always makes me laugh when someone asks, because I'm still very much a newbie and I don't know where that impression is coming from. :)
I was thinking about it today in particular after my lesson, because I had a feisty horse today who was a wee bit impish I'd say- she definitely preferred to do her own thing to listening to me. I wouldn't say that I have trotting completely under my belt yet- I can make the horse trot, direct it, and make it stop, but not as clearly as I see others doing and there's always some confusion on my part. To date I've not gotten a horse to canter on my own as I don't know how to start or stop. Cantering being a good deal faster it's the next stage up.
At some point in the lesson today Bridie decided she was going to do her own thing, resulting in her full out cantering without any warning or signal on my part. It's funny how our minds work under pressure- when she started cantering I definitely felt a "Hmm I might wish I had bought that fall protector in about 30 seconds" moment, but for the most part I just kept thinking "I am in charge of this animal, and I will make her stop." I could distantly hear the girl giving lessons shouting some how to make her stop instructions, and I remembered somewhere that squeezing= more cantering so armed with that I did manage to stop her. I'm sure my mom is thinking "phew!" :) But I did make Bridie stop- that was a huge confidence booster to me, because I felt like I didn't have a clue what I was doing or what to do. And then our lesson carried on, and we did some cantering but this time under my direction. I learned a lot from the experience.
I was really surprised to hear someone say after all this that I looked quite calm and in control of a slightly wayward horse. That didn't reflect how I felt one bit! But as I thought about it, it didn't matter how I felt so long as I held my nerve and didn't panic. My parents are both brilliant under pressure, and I am grateful to them both for seeing their example of calmly taking control in situations where most people would panic. Riding a horse has to be one of those sorts of things where there's potential for things to go crazy, but there's no need to panic. :)
So far I am really loving riding- it's been a real blessing to me, and I look forward to riding more.
I was thinking about it today in particular after my lesson, because I had a feisty horse today who was a wee bit impish I'd say- she definitely preferred to do her own thing to listening to me. I wouldn't say that I have trotting completely under my belt yet- I can make the horse trot, direct it, and make it stop, but not as clearly as I see others doing and there's always some confusion on my part. To date I've not gotten a horse to canter on my own as I don't know how to start or stop. Cantering being a good deal faster it's the next stage up.
At some point in the lesson today Bridie decided she was going to do her own thing, resulting in her full out cantering without any warning or signal on my part. It's funny how our minds work under pressure- when she started cantering I definitely felt a "Hmm I might wish I had bought that fall protector in about 30 seconds" moment, but for the most part I just kept thinking "I am in charge of this animal, and I will make her stop." I could distantly hear the girl giving lessons shouting some how to make her stop instructions, and I remembered somewhere that squeezing= more cantering so armed with that I did manage to stop her. I'm sure my mom is thinking "phew!" :) But I did make Bridie stop- that was a huge confidence booster to me, because I felt like I didn't have a clue what I was doing or what to do. And then our lesson carried on, and we did some cantering but this time under my direction. I learned a lot from the experience.
I was really surprised to hear someone say after all this that I looked quite calm and in control of a slightly wayward horse. That didn't reflect how I felt one bit! But as I thought about it, it didn't matter how I felt so long as I held my nerve and didn't panic. My parents are both brilliant under pressure, and I am grateful to them both for seeing their example of calmly taking control in situations where most people would panic. Riding a horse has to be one of those sorts of things where there's potential for things to go crazy, but there's no need to panic. :)
So far I am really loving riding- it's been a real blessing to me, and I look forward to riding more.
Saturday, 9 October 2010
October 9, 2010
I went out to a National Trust property today with some camera club friends- it was a bombed area in WWI and WWII. The Ministry of Defense built bombs there, and all that's left now are some old buildings. Creepy reminders of the past. I even saw an exploded bomb casing- something to see. Besides the buildings its a nature preserve- flat as a pancake and desolate looking, but good for water birds. I saw Eiderducks flying past (famous for eiderdown blankets), and cormorants, and goldcrests.
An eagle eyed fotog spotted some silly looking mushrooms on the way out to Orford so we stopped and found out from a nearby group that they are super tasty Parasol Mushrooms! We checked a book to be sure. After fotoing them I picked a few for dinner. :)
We'll be finalising our China plans tomorrow, 3 weeks till Beijing!! I'm thinking of you all back home and pring for you!!
An eagle eyed fotog spotted some silly looking mushrooms on the way out to Orford so we stopped and found out from a nearby group that they are super tasty Parasol Mushrooms! We checked a book to be sure. After fotoing them I picked a few for dinner. :)
We'll be finalising our China plans tomorrow, 3 weeks till Beijing!! I'm thinking of you all back home and pring for you!!
Saturday, 2 October 2010
October 2, 2010
September was like a loaded train- it just got faster and faster (ie busier and busier) until the end of this week when things slowed back to normal. :) Did a lot of business, got a few new clients, spent 2 days straight slaving away preparing a big proposal for the largest suit hire company in the UK! Very exciting potential project, we should know within the week if we've got it or not.
Plans are shaping up for another China trip at the end of the month- unfortunately this means I won't be able to make it back to check out the fall colors at Isle Royale this month. :( We've been waiting for some funding to come through and it's still not come through yet- but Chinese friends of ours here have asked me to photograph their wedding, and have very kindly offered to pay for my ticket there, so that's an exciting piece of news! G's company has been meaning to have a conference in Korea, and if that goes ahead he'll be flying to Korea from China. It's all up in the air, I'll keep you posted when it's sorted out. :)
There have been terrible colds going round Cambridge of late, and I've had one for a few days now. Not terrible but does slow one down. Nelly the Cat has had her second dose of steroid shots to try to knock back this head itching problem she's been having. Unfortunately it also means she is hungry more often, and she's gained 0.1kilo already so I'm keeping an eye on her weight and how much she eats. She seems to think access to dry food is a "human right" where she qualifies as human, but I'm going to try to get her some diet food which I hope will help.
Aside from work not much has gone on this month it seems, though work has kept me very busy and has been rather exciting. :) The new university term starts Monday, so Cambridge is full of new students moving in and parties all over the place. Fall is an exciting time I think, it's a time for new beginnings in a strange sort of way. The weather has gotten cooler here, and we've had days and days of rain. That's a main conversation topic here- the rain. :)
Plans are shaping up for another China trip at the end of the month- unfortunately this means I won't be able to make it back to check out the fall colors at Isle Royale this month. :( We've been waiting for some funding to come through and it's still not come through yet- but Chinese friends of ours here have asked me to photograph their wedding, and have very kindly offered to pay for my ticket there, so that's an exciting piece of news! G's company has been meaning to have a conference in Korea, and if that goes ahead he'll be flying to Korea from China. It's all up in the air, I'll keep you posted when it's sorted out. :)
There have been terrible colds going round Cambridge of late, and I've had one for a few days now. Not terrible but does slow one down. Nelly the Cat has had her second dose of steroid shots to try to knock back this head itching problem she's been having. Unfortunately it also means she is hungry more often, and she's gained 0.1kilo already so I'm keeping an eye on her weight and how much she eats. She seems to think access to dry food is a "human right" where she qualifies as human, but I'm going to try to get her some diet food which I hope will help.
Aside from work not much has gone on this month it seems, though work has kept me very busy and has been rather exciting. :) The new university term starts Monday, so Cambridge is full of new students moving in and parties all over the place. Fall is an exciting time I think, it's a time for new beginnings in a strange sort of way. The weather has gotten cooler here, and we've had days and days of rain. That's a main conversation topic here- the rain. :)
Saturday, 18 September 2010
September 18, 2010
This week most of the chch groups get back to their normal routine. I'm taking a semester off from being an iHUB leader, and am switching to a women's morning bbl study group instead. So I got to meet some new ladies on Tuesday morning, it was good fun, but very different to international work. No screaming children while you're trying to read, no problems understanding each other. It was weird- it'll take me some time to get used to I think! :)
Monday, 13 September 2010
September 13, 2010
A little update today for G's family- he updates facebook regularly so find him and friend him there to get all the details. :) He's writing up 2 presentations this week, one for a talk in Slovenia, and one for a talk in Berlin, both at the end of this month! We have friends getting married in China at the end of October, and I'm photographing their wedding so that is excellent fun. G has a conference in Korea at the beginning of November, so it's a combined trip for him-if I can manage to find the person in charge of said conference and convince them to hire me to photograph it, it'll be a combined trip for me as well. I've never been to Korea, but I'm for sure looking forward to China again!
Things are marching ahead with 361- I'm getting more productive by the day, and able to focus on the business and business development again. It's really exciting- we have several streams that we're taking forward and developing, and I love that aspect of having a business. We certainly have every reasonable expectation for success, but I wonder what things will look like in 5 years!
Boo- it's 8pm and completely dark here. I hate the shortening days, especially when it gets to December and the sun sets at 3:30pm. At least it's warmer here in the winter, which is a good thing. :)
Things are marching ahead with 361- I'm getting more productive by the day, and able to focus on the business and business development again. It's really exciting- we have several streams that we're taking forward and developing, and I love that aspect of having a business. We certainly have every reasonable expectation for success, but I wonder what things will look like in 5 years!
Boo- it's 8pm and completely dark here. I hate the shortening days, especially when it gets to December and the sun sets at 3:30pm. At least it's warmer here in the winter, which is a good thing. :)
Sunday, 12 September 2010
September 12, 2010
Been a busy Sunday here- morning service at 10, then off to foto raptors, and then on to a leaving party for a business colleague. Lots of things struck me about today. The talk this morning at chch was a good reminder to us that JC's friends weren't the religious types who had it all together, the ones who taught people what the holy book said, or were pillars and examples in their community. His friends, the ones who followed him, were primarily the outcasts of his society- tax collectors who stole money from people, gangster types, prostitutes, the homeless and jobless. JC said he came for those who realised that they needed a doctor, not for the ones who thought they were healthy. In fact none of us is spiritually healthy- whether we recognise it or not. But for those who realise their unhealthy state, there's great news- JC came to heal you and make you right with Gd. The ones who realised their state were the ones who were JC's friends, and that's what I want to be.
A BNI colleague of mine who lived 10 years in California and moved back to the UK where he's lived 30 years asked me to come round to photograph a leaving party he and his wife were hosting. They're 67 ish, and have decided to retire and move back to California. Their children all live in the US, 2 daughters in California and a son in Chicago, and so they're going back to their home there to be with their grandchildren and watch them grow up. They have US citizenship so they can do that easily, but what a thing to do- to give up comfortable and established lives here amongst their friends to go be with their little grandchildren and their daughters of course. They are selling their house, and in 2 weeks are off to America. I was impressed by their leaving party- so many people were there with whom they had shared their younger years- people they went to high school with, graduated from college with, raised their children with. To have to say goodbye to people like that would be so very hard. And as they aren't followers of JC they will very likely never see most of those folks again.
Most of you know that although I do love fun and enjoying my life, I'm also a thinker. I think quite deeply about these sorts of things- I try to look for wisdom and pursue it when I find it, and learn from those who are older and wiser than myself. Today as I looked around at the faces at this party, I wondered what it was like for my colleague to see the older, in many cases elderly, versions of the friends he knew in his younger life. I wondered to myself what it will be like for me to be in his shoes in 35 years- how surprised I'll be to find that my friends have gotten older, that I've gotten older, and that life has gone by so quickly in the interrim. I heard him mention that he and his wife first went to the States in 1969- that doesn't seem so very long ago to him. In 35 years it'll be my turn to say "I went to Cambridge in 2007" and that will be nearly 40 years in the past. It will be my turn to deal with a body that is aging, with parts that don't work the way they used to, slowing me down and affecting my day to day, when inside I still feel young.
What I gained from thinking about these things is that I am so grateful that I'll be able to see so many of my friends in heaven someday, where none of us will feel old, seem old, or be frail or infirm. I also thought about how valuable it is to keep in touch with friends. And I was reminded again that keeping a diary and recording things in my life is a valuable practice. In some ways my camera is my diary, but my proper written diary will be so valuable to me in the future, as my past writings have already been to me.
Sometimes it's hard to remember that I'm only 31. I had to remind myself today. I don't feel 31- I've squeezed an enormous amount of adventure, excitement, and life into 31 years. But I hope to always look back on the years of my life and see how Gd has been working, and to always no matter how old I get be looking forward to what He is going to do in the future. To my older friends, remember that you're never too old for Gd to use you in a powerful way- 70, 80, 90, He still has something for you! To my younger friends, remember to keep the joy in your lives as you get older, and to keep seeking Gd. Living life isn't about perfection, it's about trying to put JC first day by day.
I'm off to write up a business plan now, and process photos, and send out quotes. The Bbl says "So whatever you do, whether in word or in deed, do it all for the glory of Gd." So off I go to try and do just that. :)
A BNI colleague of mine who lived 10 years in California and moved back to the UK where he's lived 30 years asked me to come round to photograph a leaving party he and his wife were hosting. They're 67 ish, and have decided to retire and move back to California. Their children all live in the US, 2 daughters in California and a son in Chicago, and so they're going back to their home there to be with their grandchildren and watch them grow up. They have US citizenship so they can do that easily, but what a thing to do- to give up comfortable and established lives here amongst their friends to go be with their little grandchildren and their daughters of course. They are selling their house, and in 2 weeks are off to America. I was impressed by their leaving party- so many people were there with whom they had shared their younger years- people they went to high school with, graduated from college with, raised their children with. To have to say goodbye to people like that would be so very hard. And as they aren't followers of JC they will very likely never see most of those folks again.
Most of you know that although I do love fun and enjoying my life, I'm also a thinker. I think quite deeply about these sorts of things- I try to look for wisdom and pursue it when I find it, and learn from those who are older and wiser than myself. Today as I looked around at the faces at this party, I wondered what it was like for my colleague to see the older, in many cases elderly, versions of the friends he knew in his younger life. I wondered to myself what it will be like for me to be in his shoes in 35 years- how surprised I'll be to find that my friends have gotten older, that I've gotten older, and that life has gone by so quickly in the interrim. I heard him mention that he and his wife first went to the States in 1969- that doesn't seem so very long ago to him. In 35 years it'll be my turn to say "I went to Cambridge in 2007" and that will be nearly 40 years in the past. It will be my turn to deal with a body that is aging, with parts that don't work the way they used to, slowing me down and affecting my day to day, when inside I still feel young.
What I gained from thinking about these things is that I am so grateful that I'll be able to see so many of my friends in heaven someday, where none of us will feel old, seem old, or be frail or infirm. I also thought about how valuable it is to keep in touch with friends. And I was reminded again that keeping a diary and recording things in my life is a valuable practice. In some ways my camera is my diary, but my proper written diary will be so valuable to me in the future, as my past writings have already been to me.
Sometimes it's hard to remember that I'm only 31. I had to remind myself today. I don't feel 31- I've squeezed an enormous amount of adventure, excitement, and life into 31 years. But I hope to always look back on the years of my life and see how Gd has been working, and to always no matter how old I get be looking forward to what He is going to do in the future. To my older friends, remember that you're never too old for Gd to use you in a powerful way- 70, 80, 90, He still has something for you! To my younger friends, remember to keep the joy in your lives as you get older, and to keep seeking Gd. Living life isn't about perfection, it's about trying to put JC first day by day.
I'm off to write up a business plan now, and process photos, and send out quotes. The Bbl says "So whatever you do, whether in word or in deed, do it all for the glory of Gd." So off I go to try and do just that. :)
Saturday, 11 September 2010
September 11, 2010
Ha ha- I just realised with this new blog template I don't need to title my blogs with the date, because the date is automatically posted! Oops. Oh well. :) It's 9/11 today of course- an infamous day for those of my generation. But a few days ago was the 70th anniversary of the start of the Blitz- an infamous day for those of my grandparents' generation. Tragedies are always terrible indeed, no matter what sort. And I wouldn't want to downplay any loss of human life. But when I hear the first hand accounts of the literally millions of people who lived through the Blitz, all over the UK, whose cities were bombed over their heads while they hid in terror in underground shelters, every single night, for months, I am reminded that we have much to learn from that generation. I praise Gd that I grew up in a time of peace- I am so grateful for that. But I might not have had the opportunity to live a peaceful life, nor would my parents, if it wasn't for the tens of thousands of American pilots and crew members who died here defending their far away country in the land of their allies. All of the soldiers who died in the war, so many young men who were doing their jobs and lost their lives as a result, so that we could grow up in a peaceful society.
We have so much to learn from this quickly passing generation, a generation who leaned on Gd for the strength to endure suffering and trials, and who walked daily through experiences we can't even imagine. Some of our dear friends reading this are of that generation, and I just want to say yet again that I'm so grateful for you- your example of persistence and perseverance in the small day to day things as well as the great events that shaped your lives inspires me to thank Gd everyday for his blessings to us all.
It's Z's birthday celebration today, so I'm off to celebrate with her and all our close friends. I hope you have a lovely weekend everyone!
We have so much to learn from this quickly passing generation, a generation who leaned on Gd for the strength to endure suffering and trials, and who walked daily through experiences we can't even imagine. Some of our dear friends reading this are of that generation, and I just want to say yet again that I'm so grateful for you- your example of persistence and perseverance in the small day to day things as well as the great events that shaped your lives inspires me to thank Gd everyday for his blessings to us all.
It's Z's birthday celebration today, so I'm off to celebrate with her and all our close friends. I hope you have a lovely weekend everyone!
Tuesday, 7 September 2010
September 7, 2010
There's been lots of news coverage of the anniversary of the Battle of Britain, and of the Blitz, which happened 70 years ago this year. Having grown up in a time of peace, it's hard for me to imagine just what it was like for that generation to experience WWII. I know many in our Living Proof class lived through that time in the US- I've been thinking of you all today and how blessed we are to know you and learn from your wisdom and experiences!
On a much lighter note, you'll be glad to know that the muntjac deer has made it's way out of our garden thankfully, and has been replaced by a big grey squirrel trying to bury walnuts everywhere. :) We do get a lot of wild life- we've had herons, deer, squirrels, and hedgehogs, besides a lot of song birds. Keeps things interesting. :)
This morning I had BNI at 6:30am, and it's that time of year when you start to notice that you're waking up and it's still dark outside. We've not come to the worst of it yet, but it's still noticeable. BNI was great though- generating new leads, and trying to focus more on getting new clients. Today I'm making a list of companies that I'd like to talk to so I can see if someone will refer me to them, and hopefully I can get some business out of it!
6:30am comes early when you're not used to meetings at that hour, and it's time for my nap. :)
On a much lighter note, you'll be glad to know that the muntjac deer has made it's way out of our garden thankfully, and has been replaced by a big grey squirrel trying to bury walnuts everywhere. :) We do get a lot of wild life- we've had herons, deer, squirrels, and hedgehogs, besides a lot of song birds. Keeps things interesting. :)
This morning I had BNI at 6:30am, and it's that time of year when you start to notice that you're waking up and it's still dark outside. We've not come to the worst of it yet, but it's still noticeable. BNI was great though- generating new leads, and trying to focus more on getting new clients. Today I'm making a list of companies that I'd like to talk to so I can see if someone will refer me to them, and hopefully I can get some business out of it!
6:30am comes early when you're not used to meetings at that hour, and it's time for my nap. :)
Thursday, 2 September 2010
September 2, 2010
I took Nelly to a new vet this morning- my friend Simon from the camera club is a vet, and I decided to switch because the original vet we'd taken Nelly to basically said there wasn't anything they could do about her ears being so itchy. I noticed when I got back from Michigan on Friday that not only has Nelly been scratching a lot, she's rubbing her eyes and also around her mouth seems to be itchy. She scratches quite a bit, and I can hear her scratching at night. She's also more fussy than usual (those of you who know Nelly will know what I mean!) She's been waking me up at night every 3 hours or so, and that usually wears off in a day or 2 after I get back from a trip. Anyway, time for a trip to the vet. Simon said it was probably allergies, and he gave her a steroid shot, hoping that it would knock back her over active immune response. I'm not expecting a cure, I'd just like her to be more comfortable and less fussy especially at night. Anyway if the steroids work she may need them every 3 months or so- it's not good to give them too often. Here's hoping it helps. The vet couldn't believe that Nelly is 16 now- she's very healthy, aside from a slight deafness in the lower ranges at times. Her teeth look great, her fur is nice and shiny, and she's still very active, aside from right now which is typical for a post-vet visit. Yesterday she forgot she was a housecat and was outside stalking a muntjac deer (about the size of a boxer) which somehow made it's way into my garden!
Just now I was drinking some tea, and I got to the bottom of the cup and thought "uh, what's that crunchy thing in my mouth?!" Turns out that it was a decent sized bug! With wings! I was blessed enough to have started to crunch it with my teeth so I got the full effect of crushed bug flavour in my mouth...not the first time I've eaten a bug, but I prefer to have the choice of it. :) This was quite a big one, with a crunchy exoskeleton, and it wasn't very tasty. Yuck.
About that muntjac that I mentioned earlier- you may have missed that as I was mostly talking about Nelly. Muntjac are a small deer, and at first glance might pass for a tan coloured boxer. They are not city dwellers. Important point, because I have no idea where this one came from, how it got in, or where it should go. Apparently they are impossible to catch because they panic and break their legs in the frantic struggle to get away. I've put some water out for this one because I thought it might be thirsty, but Simon my vet friend suggested the only thing to do is provide a way for it to get out of the garden. Great. Where's it going to go though? Into the street? I don't want a dead muntjac, so I guess I better figure something out. Here's a link with some more info on these little deer:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/species/Reeves%27s_Muntjac
Since I got back I've also been doing a lot of cleaning, vacuuming, and getting rid of random clutter that appears over time- it's been nice to get rid of old clothes and just generally nip that "you've lived in the same house and stuff piles up" business that happens to most of us. :) I was thinking about it today, and basically I haven't been living here in my house for over 3 months, between house sitting, traveling, and staying with friends. Time for a clear out! You're probably wondering why I'd want to stay elsewhere for 3 months. I mentioned over a year and a half ago that we'd been meeting with a relationship therapist/counselor, and I've also mentioned to quite a few of you that it's become clearer over the past 6 months that the issue is in fact not relational, but has to do with some quite serious thinking issues that G has, which impact me in a negative way. It's too complicated to put into a blog really. But not living in the same house has been very helpful for both of us, and in light of that G is going to be moving in with a good friend here in Cambridge in a week or 2. I know I'm glossing over a lot of the detail, but suffice it to say it's been a difficult process- pr for us both as we adjust to the changes, and for our community here to be supportive and understanding.
Just now I was drinking some tea, and I got to the bottom of the cup and thought "uh, what's that crunchy thing in my mouth?!" Turns out that it was a decent sized bug! With wings! I was blessed enough to have started to crunch it with my teeth so I got the full effect of crushed bug flavour in my mouth...not the first time I've eaten a bug, but I prefer to have the choice of it. :) This was quite a big one, with a crunchy exoskeleton, and it wasn't very tasty. Yuck.
About that muntjac that I mentioned earlier- you may have missed that as I was mostly talking about Nelly. Muntjac are a small deer, and at first glance might pass for a tan coloured boxer. They are not city dwellers. Important point, because I have no idea where this one came from, how it got in, or where it should go. Apparently they are impossible to catch because they panic and break their legs in the frantic struggle to get away. I've put some water out for this one because I thought it might be thirsty, but Simon my vet friend suggested the only thing to do is provide a way for it to get out of the garden. Great. Where's it going to go though? Into the street? I don't want a dead muntjac, so I guess I better figure something out. Here's a link with some more info on these little deer:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/species/Reeves%27s_Muntjac
Since I got back I've also been doing a lot of cleaning, vacuuming, and getting rid of random clutter that appears over time- it's been nice to get rid of old clothes and just generally nip that "you've lived in the same house and stuff piles up" business that happens to most of us. :) I was thinking about it today, and basically I haven't been living here in my house for over 3 months, between house sitting, traveling, and staying with friends. Time for a clear out! You're probably wondering why I'd want to stay elsewhere for 3 months. I mentioned over a year and a half ago that we'd been meeting with a relationship therapist/counselor, and I've also mentioned to quite a few of you that it's become clearer over the past 6 months that the issue is in fact not relational, but has to do with some quite serious thinking issues that G has, which impact me in a negative way. It's too complicated to put into a blog really. But not living in the same house has been very helpful for both of us, and in light of that G is going to be moving in with a good friend here in Cambridge in a week or 2. I know I'm glossing over a lot of the detail, but suffice it to say it's been a difficult process- pr for us both as we adjust to the changes, and for our community here to be supportive and understanding.
Saturday, 28 August 2010
August 28,2010
Made it back to Cambridge yesterday, G left for Brazil yesterday, I fotoed a wedding today, G arrived in Brazil today. Crazy crazy. :) Its cold here, cool anyway compared to the MI summer that I've been enjoying. It feels weird to be sleeping in a bed- I've been sleeping on the floor for 2 weeks. :) Trying to sort out work stuff after 3 weeks, make to do lists, and generally get back to normal.
I'm jet lagged and pretty worn out after today's work, so off to bed for me. I made it till 9:30pm, quite an accomplishment!
I'm jet lagged and pretty worn out after today's work, so off to bed for me. I made it till 9:30pm, quite an accomplishment!
Saturday, 21 August 2010
August 21, 2010
Been in Michigan for 2 weeks now- since I've been visiting with people I haven't updated the blog! :) I've been helping my parents renovate the house- we've ripped out the carpet in about a 1/3 of the house, removed a wall, ripped out the entire bathroom, put in a new wood floor there, and have primered the walls in the rest of the house. Been very busy!! :)
I've also been doing a bit of research on bird photography in Michigan as well- we've narrowed down that Paradise, Michigan in the UP is a fantastic place to foto birds, so at some point in the near future we'll need to take a trip there and check it out. The workshops are starting to come together, when I get back I'll need to talk to my travel agent to see if he could help us put a package together. Very exciting!!
It's been nice to be home, and to spend time with my family- as usual I've missed lots of people I've wanted to see. Sorry I've missed some of you!!!
Off to Mackinac Island and bird centers tomorrow afternoon, be back Tuesday night!
I've also been doing a bit of research on bird photography in Michigan as well- we've narrowed down that Paradise, Michigan in the UP is a fantastic place to foto birds, so at some point in the near future we'll need to take a trip there and check it out. The workshops are starting to come together, when I get back I'll need to talk to my travel agent to see if he could help us put a package together. Very exciting!!
It's been nice to be home, and to spend time with my family- as usual I've missed lots of people I've wanted to see. Sorry I've missed some of you!!!
Off to Mackinac Island and bird centers tomorrow afternoon, be back Tuesday night!
Tuesday, 3 August 2010
August 3, 2010
Tuesdays are always a bit of an odd day for me- I have a meeting I need to be at for 6:30am, so I'm up much earlier than normal. Some Monday nights (every other one) I have a Cambridge Business Club meeting, which results in my not getting to bed very early. All that to say that after running some errands in town this morning, then having a riding lesson at noon, I came back for some lunch and promptly fell asleep on the sofa till dinner time! I wish I'd just gotten in bed, because now my head is absolutely pounding (this sofa's not the best for long naps) and I feel all groggy and unproductive. Not my usual choice for the day before I need to pack for a trip.
Tomorrow evening I'm heading into London because I have a very early start for an exhibition on Thursday morning. Then very early Friday I'm off to Heathrow, which is starting to feel like a second home now, and by Friday afternoon EST I'll be in Detroit! Looking forward to seeing you all then!
Tomorrow evening I'm heading into London because I have a very early start for an exhibition on Thursday morning. Then very early Friday I'm off to Heathrow, which is starting to feel like a second home now, and by Friday afternoon EST I'll be in Detroit! Looking forward to seeing you all then!
Saturday, 31 July 2010
July 31, 2010
July has come and gone- it hit me yesterday that I'll be back home in a week! One of my tasks while I'm back is to research the possibility of running photography workshops in Michigan. British photographers pay big money to fly all over the world to photograph specific stuff, and we have a very interesting raptor migration in Michigan in the fall which might turn into good business for 361. Also having a look at raptor centers in Michigan, as we have such a great relationship with the one here that the workshops sell out quickly. This part of the business is something I'm not as familiar with- one of the benefits of adding a business partner is that they bring their own special interests and expertise into the mix. A is a brilliant photographer and has a cracking head for business, which has increased my own business already. Since the raptor fotoing is his baby and not really mine, he's coming over mid month to check things out for himself, meet people at the various centers, see the raptor migration, and have a bit of holiday time with his daughter. Some of you may meet him, he'll be the Brit with the enormous camera, hard to miss. :)
This week I've been catching up on projects- late July and all of August are perfect times for fotogs to come from behind on the work that's been piling from the summer. It's been fantastic having some catch up time, and getting to process some of my own photos. I've uploaded loads to facebook and phanfare (they both have the same photos on, now that I can upload to phanfare first and push them over to facebook) and here are a few from our group trip to Keswick:
Chilling out in a local pub in Keswick
The Lake District hills, from the top of a nearby hill.
Wednesday, 28 July 2010
July 28, 2010
I'm starting to get back to work after the group trip to the Lake District. I'll be sorting out my photos to show you all shortly, it was gorgeous the last 4 days there! We went for a C conference, in Keswick, and there was fantastic bbl teaching there. I learned a lot about JC's parables in Matthew's book, and about how we should both be ready for his return but also be aware that he might be delayed- ie it could be awhile. It's been 2000 years already, and when don't know when his return will be, but we shouldn't think that it's been a long time and so he's probably ditched us. :) He is definitely coming back, in Gd's timing.
We did some kayaking, sailing, and mountain climbing while we were in the Lake District, and it was SO beautiful! There are a few photos on facebook, taken by one of the 8 of us who went on the trip. Like I said, sorting mine soon. :)
It's amazing how tiring going on holiday can be- we got back late Saturday night and Z, G, and I all chilled out Sunday. I also spent most of Monday and Tuesday resting and catching up on loose threads including emails, and trying to get back to a normal sleep schedule. In fact it's 10:45pm and past my time to be in my bed, so I better get to it! :)
We did some kayaking, sailing, and mountain climbing while we were in the Lake District, and it was SO beautiful! There are a few photos on facebook, taken by one of the 8 of us who went on the trip. Like I said, sorting mine soon. :)
It's amazing how tiring going on holiday can be- we got back late Saturday night and Z, G, and I all chilled out Sunday. I also spent most of Monday and Tuesday resting and catching up on loose threads including emails, and trying to get back to a normal sleep schedule. In fact it's 10:45pm and past my time to be in my bed, so I better get to it! :)
Wednesday, 21 July 2010
July 21, 2010
Hi everyone! As my last hasty post indicated, I'm not dead! There's just been a lot going on here- some exciting and good, some very difficult but good in the long term. Lots of pr-ing, quite a bit of very crazy stuff. To be honest I havent known how to even begin to explain it all via blog. I think of you all every day, and I certainly never stop thinking of you even when it goes silent here. I'm actually sending this post from my iphone in Keswick- we are here for a C conference in the Lake District. There are 8 of us- the first 2 days it poured but we are in for good weather now!
Business is going well- steadily increasing. www.361photography.com is live now, have a look!
I've decided to spend August back home- with all that's been going on here I'm feeling the need for some R and R and more face time with my family and friends. I'm arriving August 6 and coming back to Cambridge on the 26th. Cant wait to see you all!
I'll write more when I get back from the Lakes this weekend.
Business is going well- steadily increasing. www.361photography.com is live now, have a look!
I've decided to spend August back home- with all that's been going on here I'm feeling the need for some R and R and more face time with my family and friends. I'm arriving August 6 and coming back to Cambridge on the 26th. Cant wait to see you all!
I'll write more when I get back from the Lakes this weekend.
Monday, 28 June 2010
Wednesday, 2 June 2010
June 2, 2010
My nearly 3 week trip Stateside is almost over- the time has gone by so fast, and my time here in Michigan has been very short indeed. I've not been able to spend time with my many friends here, there are so many! :) I'm flying out tomorrow afternoon, I have a connecting flight in Amsterdam, then it's on to Heathrow. I'm catching a 9am bus and should be home in Cambridge around 11am Friday, which will be 6am EST.
Thursday, 20 May 2010
May 21, 2010
Just got consistent web access today- landed in America May 17, made it safely, and after a few days stay in NYC with my great friend Matthew am now in Wichita with 2 other dear friends, getting ready for Focus training next week. Hope to have more time for writing tomorrow, been absolutely crazy these past few weeks! Anyway we'll be back in Michigan the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. Hope to see friends in Ann Arbor Sunday morning! Miss you guys!
Tuesday, 4 May 2010
May 4, 2010
Latest news heard on BBC radio: The volcanic ash has come and gone, and looks like it may be returning again. There was an attempted bombing in Times Square, the suspected bomber was caught. There's an election here on Thursday- vote Lib Dems, Conservatives, or Labour. And that's the news for today. :)
My friend Lauren has been visiting on her way back to DC from Zambia- she's been here a few days, and it's been really awesome! I don't often have someone to go around having mini adventures with, and we've enjoyed hanging out and going round random places. I had BNI this morning so I'm not at my most alert- I could go into more detail about what we've been doing, and I realise that, but I'm definitely wiped out. :) Nelly kept waking me up in the middle of the night, and that on top of going to bed too late and waking up early has done me in.
I'm sorting out my US travel plans now- now that the volcano ash is mostly not keeping people from flying. :)
My friend Lauren has been visiting on her way back to DC from Zambia- she's been here a few days, and it's been really awesome! I don't often have someone to go around having mini adventures with, and we've enjoyed hanging out and going round random places. I had BNI this morning so I'm not at my most alert- I could go into more detail about what we've been doing, and I realise that, but I'm definitely wiped out. :) Nelly kept waking me up in the middle of the night, and that on top of going to bed too late and waking up early has done me in.
I'm sorting out my US travel plans now- now that the volcano ash is mostly not keeping people from flying. :)
Monday, 19 April 2010
Volcanoes!!! :)
This volcano eruption in Iceland is obviously big news here in the UK. It's strange that all commercial flights are grounded- the skies are silent, and places that are usually on the flight path to airports are also silent. It feels a bit like one of those comedy movies where suddenly everyone in Europe is in the wrong place and are all scrambling trying to get to where they're supposed to be. :) Ferries and private hire cars are raking in the money, and there's talk of the British Navy sailing over to Spain or France to pick people up! If you can manage to get to Spain or France that is- the trains are packed and walking takes a LONG time. :) It's a bit WWII like in concept, tho fortunately it's all due to peaceful reasons.
My friend S from the camera club is a pilot for Easyjet, and she's been grounded all week. We're getting good first hand information from her about what's going on, which is pretty cool. There are problems because the private airspace, which is lower, is still open- so some planes are going way too low and it's dangerous for gliders and small planes because big stuff is coming into their airspace. Not good at all.
We all thought the problem would be over in a day or 2, but we're going on 5 days, and altho G is meant to fly back on Saturday from Heathrow, there's no guarantee that a) the cloud will be gone by then or b) flying won't be a mess and his flight might get bumped. We'll keep you all posted on what's up. Of course if this persists, I won't be able to get back for O Week either, and now I have the problem that if I buy my ticket now I may not be able to use it! pr for all the people who are stranded everywhere.
My friend S from the camera club is a pilot for Easyjet, and she's been grounded all week. We're getting good first hand information from her about what's going on, which is pretty cool. There are problems because the private airspace, which is lower, is still open- so some planes are going way too low and it's dangerous for gliders and small planes because big stuff is coming into their airspace. Not good at all.
We all thought the problem would be over in a day or 2, but we're going on 5 days, and altho G is meant to fly back on Saturday from Heathrow, there's no guarantee that a) the cloud will be gone by then or b) flying won't be a mess and his flight might get bumped. We'll keep you all posted on what's up. Of course if this persists, I won't be able to get back for O Week either, and now I have the problem that if I buy my ticket now I may not be able to use it! pr for all the people who are stranded everywhere.
Thursday, 15 April 2010
April 15, 2010
Alas it looks like my iPhone hasn't been uploading the quick blog posts I've been writing so you'll all know I'm not dead. :) Between the Easter events at StAG and Anglesey Abbey and business picking up as it usually does in April, it's been very very busy here.
I have to jet off again- I'm running on jet fuel these days, hopefully I'll have enough to get through Friday 5pm. :)
I have to jet off again- I'm running on jet fuel these days, hopefully I'll have enough to get through Friday 5pm. :)
Saturday, 27 March 2010
March 27, 2010
Been an action packed day today- I have 2 friends coming to visit Tuesday night thru Friday, and I finally got the spare room sorted (wow it is very small though) and my office at about 95% done, which was fantastic. We've got friends visiting Tuesday, and since G isn't back till Monday (and Z is in Cornwall at a wedding this weekend) I had to do it all single handed...I had to dope myself up on espresso mocha coffee to increase the productivity though, seeing as I had to haul 2 mattresses out of the car and upstairs all on my own, and I moved a wardrobe, suitcases, crates, and who knows what else. I picked up the mattresses from Emmaus this morning, went into town to foto the StAG Women's Conference, hung out with the ch staff guys who were hiding upstairs (their offices are in the chch building which was taken over by the women's conference) and then did a bit of shopping, then back home to rearrange the upstairs. Whew. :) I even went through my closet, cleared it out, got rid of loads of stuff, and put all my clothes away. Like I said, it's been a productive day!
Did I ever mention that I love adventures? In chatting with my life coach about dealing with difficult people, we talked about what are sort of called supervalues- the things that are valuable to people that are at the root of people's choices. Because despite the catchy title "dealing with difficult people" the fact is that people are only difficult because we are all different from each other. :) One of the reasons we find it hard to get on with people is that their supervalues are different from ours. Let me give an example. :) I discovered that variety is a supervalue of mine. You're all probably thinking "no duh!" I love trying new things, learning new things, going new places, meeting new people, making new friends, shifting and changing my life and the adventure of it all. Life feels like a gigantic adventure to me, flying around, catching thermals, diving, with JC as my anchor to be sure I don't go launching myself into outer space. :)
I can get along with most people- probably 95% of people, no problem. 5% I may feel an instant dislike for, but for sort of 2% I can with persistence and positive working learn to really love and respect them. But that missing 3% is the tricky bit. It turns out that the people I find the absolutely most difficult to deal with tend to be people who deeply value certainty- which is of course the opposite of variety. :) Everyone values certainty to some degree, but these 3% value certainty the way I value variety, which puts us at polar opposites. I could just try to avoid these people, which I've tried in the past, but as a business person I can't always do that. Meeting with a life coach has been really good in that I've learned a lot about myself, about other people, and how to deal with people who are different from me. The funny thing is that those 3% of people must find me totally intolerable and be wanting to avoid me too! :) While they are trying to keep things certain, calm, and under control, I'm zooming along trying to drag them out of certainty into massive changes.
Actually I'm thankful that Gd created me this way- its fantastic for making new friends and telling them the good news about JC. Besides there's not much I can do about it anyway- at least I don't get into too much trouble. :) ha my mom was a genius and sent extra school work with me or arranged for extra work to do my whole school career (thanks mom!) to keep me interested and occupied, I feel sure I would have been hell on wheels if she hadn't, and that trained me to find more work for myself when I was feeling bored, which was pretty much all the time. :) So now when I feel bored, I generate some "extra" work for myself- could be gardening, photographing, learning a new language, skill, or taking a trip.
I have a few more things I need to do tonight- the time changes tonight for us, so it's sort of 10pm here now. Tomorrow I'm out at the Abbey helping prep for the Easter event, photographing tree planting, and going to an allotments meeting. Hope you all have a blessed weekend!
Did I ever mention that I love adventures? In chatting with my life coach about dealing with difficult people, we talked about what are sort of called supervalues- the things that are valuable to people that are at the root of people's choices. Because despite the catchy title "dealing with difficult people" the fact is that people are only difficult because we are all different from each other. :) One of the reasons we find it hard to get on with people is that their supervalues are different from ours. Let me give an example. :) I discovered that variety is a supervalue of mine. You're all probably thinking "no duh!" I love trying new things, learning new things, going new places, meeting new people, making new friends, shifting and changing my life and the adventure of it all. Life feels like a gigantic adventure to me, flying around, catching thermals, diving, with JC as my anchor to be sure I don't go launching myself into outer space. :)
I can get along with most people- probably 95% of people, no problem. 5% I may feel an instant dislike for, but for sort of 2% I can with persistence and positive working learn to really love and respect them. But that missing 3% is the tricky bit. It turns out that the people I find the absolutely most difficult to deal with tend to be people who deeply value certainty- which is of course the opposite of variety. :) Everyone values certainty to some degree, but these 3% value certainty the way I value variety, which puts us at polar opposites. I could just try to avoid these people, which I've tried in the past, but as a business person I can't always do that. Meeting with a life coach has been really good in that I've learned a lot about myself, about other people, and how to deal with people who are different from me. The funny thing is that those 3% of people must find me totally intolerable and be wanting to avoid me too! :) While they are trying to keep things certain, calm, and under control, I'm zooming along trying to drag them out of certainty into massive changes.
Actually I'm thankful that Gd created me this way- its fantastic for making new friends and telling them the good news about JC. Besides there's not much I can do about it anyway- at least I don't get into too much trouble. :) ha my mom was a genius and sent extra school work with me or arranged for extra work to do my whole school career (thanks mom!) to keep me interested and occupied, I feel sure I would have been hell on wheels if she hadn't, and that trained me to find more work for myself when I was feeling bored, which was pretty much all the time. :) So now when I feel bored, I generate some "extra" work for myself- could be gardening, photographing, learning a new language, skill, or taking a trip.
I have a few more things I need to do tonight- the time changes tonight for us, so it's sort of 10pm here now. Tomorrow I'm out at the Abbey helping prep for the Easter event, photographing tree planting, and going to an allotments meeting. Hope you all have a blessed weekend!
Sunday, 21 March 2010
March 21, 2010
I usually try to update this at least every Saturday, but yesterday was such a long day that it didn't happen! I was out photographing our group of friends from StAG (that's our ch here) and then processing those photos, then on to a little post Paintball social...I love to photograph events, and I'm always looking for new things to photograph. I hope it might lead to some business from the paintball company- we'll see.
These past 2 weeks I've been doing a lot of photographing with 2 friends from the camera club, Andy and Sarah. They are both older than me by about 10 years, married with children under 10, but both have jobs that allow them to go out and photo during the week. Sarah is a pilot for EasyJet, and I have no idea what her husband does. Andy is a Chemical Engineer for a big firm here, but he is off on disability due to some sort of cancer that he has. He's been on chemo for about 5 years it seems- but he's not allowed to do official work, and like most engineers has lots of energy and enthusiam, which he's put into photography. Sarah interestingly is into gliding, and sails a yacht- talk about posh friends! ;) It has been fantastic to go out shooting with other people- I've been out doing hawks and eagles at a raptor center, I've taken them out to do snowdrops at the abbey, and it's been great fun. All 3 of us have enjoyed it- we put our photos up onto Picasa and then comment back and forth on them. Neither of them follow JC, so pr that I'd have the chance to share with them.
The new website is coming along- I hope it'll be done by May. Groups will start coming out to the Abbey the 3rd week of April, and there's a huge Easter event on that I'm helping with Easter weekend. And friends are coming March 30th to visit from Morocco- can't wait to see them!
G is making his way back to Michigan tomorrow, after the conference in Pittsburgh and visiting a close friend in Boston. Z and I are having lots of girly time which is also very good fun. :) Tonight we had an iHUB (that's our bbl study for internationals) discussion about different rlgns and whether they a) all do lead to the same place and b) are just parts of a bigger picture. Those are both untrue, but it was useful to look at especially as some of our friends there aren't followers of JC and are curious about the truth. Pr for K, a friend from Hong Kong who is really curious about things. Also for D, a mom I'll be meeting with in the coming weeks to study the bbl.
That's my week in a nutshell- it's spring here, really enjoying the flowers and wildlife. Hope all is well in MI, and keep holding out as spring is nearly here! :)
These past 2 weeks I've been doing a lot of photographing with 2 friends from the camera club, Andy and Sarah. They are both older than me by about 10 years, married with children under 10, but both have jobs that allow them to go out and photo during the week. Sarah is a pilot for EasyJet, and I have no idea what her husband does. Andy is a Chemical Engineer for a big firm here, but he is off on disability due to some sort of cancer that he has. He's been on chemo for about 5 years it seems- but he's not allowed to do official work, and like most engineers has lots of energy and enthusiam, which he's put into photography. Sarah interestingly is into gliding, and sails a yacht- talk about posh friends! ;) It has been fantastic to go out shooting with other people- I've been out doing hawks and eagles at a raptor center, I've taken them out to do snowdrops at the abbey, and it's been great fun. All 3 of us have enjoyed it- we put our photos up onto Picasa and then comment back and forth on them. Neither of them follow JC, so pr that I'd have the chance to share with them.
The new website is coming along- I hope it'll be done by May. Groups will start coming out to the Abbey the 3rd week of April, and there's a huge Easter event on that I'm helping with Easter weekend. And friends are coming March 30th to visit from Morocco- can't wait to see them!
G is making his way back to Michigan tomorrow, after the conference in Pittsburgh and visiting a close friend in Boston. Z and I are having lots of girly time which is also very good fun. :) Tonight we had an iHUB (that's our bbl study for internationals) discussion about different rlgns and whether they a) all do lead to the same place and b) are just parts of a bigger picture. Those are both untrue, but it was useful to look at especially as some of our friends there aren't followers of JC and are curious about the truth. Pr for K, a friend from Hong Kong who is really curious about things. Also for D, a mom I'll be meeting with in the coming weeks to study the bbl.
That's my week in a nutshell- it's spring here, really enjoying the flowers and wildlife. Hope all is well in MI, and keep holding out as spring is nearly here! :)
Saturday, 13 March 2010
March 13, 2010
I've picked up whatever cold it was that G had at the beginning of the week, but feeling a bit better tonight anyway. I just drove down to meet with a couple whose wedding I'm photographing in May- very nice couple, sounds like we have the same idea about photography so it should be an easy shoot. Excellent. :) G's heading back Tuesday and I've asked him to bring back some power tools for me- I've had my eye on a DeWalt dc 989 for ages but I can't afford one here, so here's hoping I'll win the ebay auction because I'm desperate for a drill- the walls here are ridiculously hard, you need a construction drill to drill through them. They don't use gypsum board due to the damp, everything has to be a sort of concrete type stuff. Anyway looking forward to the new drill. :) G has a conference in Pittsburgh, this is the one he's a committee chair for, so he gets to run the sessions. Very cool indeed. Good thing he likes to travel (and I don't mind him being gone- especially as he brings me back drills and gadgets) because he has yet another conference called Xen Summit at the end of April in California. He's bringing in lots of money for his company so it's worth it for him to be zooming around everywhere. I'm so thankful to have a housemate, so I don't feel too lonely while he's away. Z is an absolute godsend, we're so blessed to have her living with us!
Not much else has been going on here-web site is a growing, wedding business is growing, which means I need to revamp my current website once the new one is done so I can target that market. I'm essentially going to run 2 fronts- KD Photography for weddings, and 361 Photography, which will be commercial stuff only. I'm not quite sure how to manage the transition, I think I'm going to need a PR agent to help me. I have an excellent PR agent friend who will give me a hand though, so it'll be good. Maybe I'll have a little launch party or something once the website is done. Would be very good fun. :)
I think it's early to bed for me tonight, this cough is no fun and I need to rest up. G's off to play games with some coworkers tonight- those guys really love games, and they would have had it here except I haven't been feeling well. And why spread it? Hope you're getting some spring back home! :)
Not much else has been going on here-web site is a growing, wedding business is growing, which means I need to revamp my current website once the new one is done so I can target that market. I'm essentially going to run 2 fronts- KD Photography for weddings, and 361 Photography, which will be commercial stuff only. I'm not quite sure how to manage the transition, I think I'm going to need a PR agent to help me. I have an excellent PR agent friend who will give me a hand though, so it'll be good. Maybe I'll have a little launch party or something once the website is done. Would be very good fun. :)
I think it's early to bed for me tonight, this cough is no fun and I need to rest up. G's off to play games with some coworkers tonight- those guys really love games, and they would have had it here except I haven't been feeling well. And why spread it? Hope you're getting some spring back home! :)
Thursday, 11 March 2010
361 Photography!
I've been chatting with my web designer a lot this week- the website homepage is in full swing, and I can hardly wait for it to be done!! This big pillar project is going to bring in enough to pay well over half of the cost for the new site in one fell swoop, which is fantastic. The conservation guy didn't even flinch at the cost- I should have charged him double. ;) (See dad you taught me well! ) He did ask me to do some more things today than were in the original estimate, so we will probably go a bit over budget, but I'm going to requote for him. I hope this will lead to more conservation type jobs in the future.
But back to the new website- here is my official new logo!
The black one is how it'll look on my website and business cards, and the white one will be for letterhead and invoicing stuff. What do you think?
But back to the new website- here is my official new logo!
The black one is how it'll look on my website and business cards, and the white one will be for letterhead and invoicing stuff. What do you think?
March 11, 2010
Today I met up with the head conservation officer for East of England National Trust region (ok so I might have made that job title up- you get the idea tho) to talk about the state of the dining room pillars in the Abbey. I did some sample photos so we could have a look at what level of detail is required for them to have a good record of the pillars themselves. I'm going to get full use out of all 21 MP of my camera for this project!
Oops- before I go any farther let me tell you what the National Trust is. I may have done this before, but I don't think I did. Since I spend so much time on a Trust property, you must be wondering about the organization that I'm volunteering for. The National Trust is a massive charity that owns quite a lot of the enormous manor houses here in England. During The War (which is what British people call WWII as it's still very fresh in the memory of people here) taxes were raised, and many of the wealthiest families were paying 80% or 90% tax. Which is a bit much I think. Quite a few couldn't afford it, so they gave their houses to the government in payment of the tax. Which didn't really help the government. Anyway the National Trust got the idea that these houses are part of our history and should be preserved. Often the government simply gave them the properties because they couldn't afford the upkeep. But after the war many older members of these families were concerned that the houses would be run down or trashed by younger generations, or they wanted to preserve a record of their way of life, so they donated them to the NT. Anglesey Abbey was donated by a very wealthy old bachelor, Lord Fairhaven, upon his death in 1966. Now the Trust owns tons of coastline, open land, and other sorts of things which are being preserved by them for everyone. Their motto is Forever, for Everyone.
Now, back to Anglesey Abbey and the problem we're having with our 2 disintegrating dining room pillars. :) Because there's still a big hole in the floor around the South pillar (they dug up the flooring to see if the problem was being caused by damp), the public is wondering what's going on, and the ever vigilant house volunteers are up to the task of questions from the public. But today we found something very interesting thanks to one of the older house stewards. As I was showing the conservation guy the photos on my laptop and zooming in really close, I realized a small crowd had gathered around to look on. One of the stewards said "did you know there are some older photographs than the ones from the 1920s? I saw them one time on display." And we were all like "What?!" We managed to locate these said photos, which were even better, they were photos of drawings done in the 1810s. We took said drawings into the dining room and stood there determining which part of the room they were of, and we discovered something very interesting indeed. Namely, that the pillars which are in the room now don't look the same as the ones that are in the drawing. Everyone assumed that the pillars were the same age as the room, that they were there when the monks were some 900 years ago. But actually, in the drawings we could see that the pillars were much bigger, and made from cut stones (like bricks but bigger). What we have now is some sort of stone (I forget what).
I've had the opportunity to get really close to the pillars and to see them on a granular level- I can almost count the grains of "sand" that are falling off the things. So as an engineer I found a few things interesting- if these are solid pillars made of one type of stone, why does the inner part of the pillar look like cement with big chunks of rocks in it? The outside of the pillars is not the same consistency as the inside, which you can easily tell from the photo, and the inside and outside are decaying differently. Also, why has one pillar decayed more rapidly than the other one? They've decided to send off the sandy bits to be analysed- I'm curious to know what they'll discover.
Fortunately we all agreed that photographing the pillars when the house is open would be interesting to the public, but would drive me absolutely mad as I'd have to answer every question about what I'm doing. :) I barely get within 5 feet of the pillars as it is without being questioned about them- either by room stewards or the public. :) I enjoy working with the public, which is why I was appointed as a community warden in the first place. But being questioned makes photography difficult, especially if you happen to be lying on the floor or looking ridiculous. :) I was banging on about the pillars to a group today, when a random member of the public today suggested we should contact R Abbey- apparently she went to school there, it was bought by English Heritage blah blah blah...when I asked her why we should contact them, she told me they had painted their medieval undercroft mustard color. I thought... Uh, thanks for that- what on earth does that have to do with my pillars turning to sand?! I don't think I could deal with that all day for 2 weeks straight. :)
Will keep you all posted as the pillar photos progress- if you find me hard to reach Mondays and Tuesdays it'll be because I'm in the undercroft photographing pillars. :) And as everyone seems to have a suggestion or theory about the cause of the disintegration, post yours here and let's see how we get on. :)
Oops- before I go any farther let me tell you what the National Trust is. I may have done this before, but I don't think I did. Since I spend so much time on a Trust property, you must be wondering about the organization that I'm volunteering for. The National Trust is a massive charity that owns quite a lot of the enormous manor houses here in England. During The War (which is what British people call WWII as it's still very fresh in the memory of people here) taxes were raised, and many of the wealthiest families were paying 80% or 90% tax. Which is a bit much I think. Quite a few couldn't afford it, so they gave their houses to the government in payment of the tax. Which didn't really help the government. Anyway the National Trust got the idea that these houses are part of our history and should be preserved. Often the government simply gave them the properties because they couldn't afford the upkeep. But after the war many older members of these families were concerned that the houses would be run down or trashed by younger generations, or they wanted to preserve a record of their way of life, so they donated them to the NT. Anglesey Abbey was donated by a very wealthy old bachelor, Lord Fairhaven, upon his death in 1966. Now the Trust owns tons of coastline, open land, and other sorts of things which are being preserved by them for everyone. Their motto is Forever, for Everyone.
Now, back to Anglesey Abbey and the problem we're having with our 2 disintegrating dining room pillars. :) Because there's still a big hole in the floor around the South pillar (they dug up the flooring to see if the problem was being caused by damp), the public is wondering what's going on, and the ever vigilant house volunteers are up to the task of questions from the public. But today we found something very interesting thanks to one of the older house stewards. As I was showing the conservation guy the photos on my laptop and zooming in really close, I realized a small crowd had gathered around to look on. One of the stewards said "did you know there are some older photographs than the ones from the 1920s? I saw them one time on display." And we were all like "What?!" We managed to locate these said photos, which were even better, they were photos of drawings done in the 1810s. We took said drawings into the dining room and stood there determining which part of the room they were of, and we discovered something very interesting indeed. Namely, that the pillars which are in the room now don't look the same as the ones that are in the drawing. Everyone assumed that the pillars were the same age as the room, that they were there when the monks were some 900 years ago. But actually, in the drawings we could see that the pillars were much bigger, and made from cut stones (like bricks but bigger). What we have now is some sort of stone (I forget what).
Fortunately we all agreed that photographing the pillars when the house is open would be interesting to the public, but would drive me absolutely mad as I'd have to answer every question about what I'm doing. :) I barely get within 5 feet of the pillars as it is without being questioned about them- either by room stewards or the public. :) I enjoy working with the public, which is why I was appointed as a community warden in the first place. But being questioned makes photography difficult, especially if you happen to be lying on the floor or looking ridiculous. :) I was banging on about the pillars to a group today, when a random member of the public today suggested we should contact R Abbey- apparently she went to school there, it was bought by English Heritage blah blah blah...when I asked her why we should contact them, she told me they had painted their medieval undercroft mustard color. I thought... Uh, thanks for that- what on earth does that have to do with my pillars turning to sand?! I don't think I could deal with that all day for 2 weeks straight. :)
Will keep you all posted as the pillar photos progress- if you find me hard to reach Mondays and Tuesdays it'll be because I'm in the undercroft photographing pillars. :) And as everyone seems to have a suggestion or theory about the cause of the disintegration, post yours here and let's see how we get on. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)